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A robust background correction algorithm for forensic bloodstain imaging using mean-based contrast adjustment

Lee WC, Khoo BE, Abdullah AFL

Sci Justice, 2016 May;56(3):201-209.
PMID: 27162018 DOI: 10.1016/j.scijus.2016.01.001

Background correction algorithm (BCA) is useful in enhancing the visibility of images captured in crime scenes especially those of untreated bloodstains. Successful implementation of BCA requires all the images to have similar brightness which often proves a problem when using automatic exposure setting in a camera. This paper presents an improved background correction algorithm (BCA) that applies mean-based contrast adjustment as a pre-correction step to adjust the mean brightness of images to be similar before implementing BCA. The proposed modification, namely mean-based adaptive BCA (mABCA) was tested on various image samples captured under different illuminations such as 385 nm, 415 nm and 458 nm. We also evaluated mABCA of two wavelengths (415 nm and 458 nm) and three wavelengths (415 nm, 380 nm and 458 nm) in enhancing untreated bloodstains on different surfaces. The proposed mABCA is found to be more robust in processing images captured in different brightness and thus overcomes the main issue faced in the original BCA.
Fulltext A quasi-experiment on using guided mobile learning interventions in ESL classrooms: Time use and academic performance

Ng SF, Azlan MAK, Kamal ANA, Manion A

Educ Inf Technol (Dordr), 2020;25(6):4699-4719.
PMID: 32355450 DOI: 10.1007/s10639-020-10191-7

This quasi-experimental study examined a guided learning approach towards the use of mobile devices and investigated the performance of language learners who were guided in the usage. A total of 419 students from two faculties were invited to participate in this 8-week intervention, 155 participants in the control group and 264 in the experimental group. In the experimental group, the researchers incorporated guided activities Module Intervention Model (MIM) using mobile devices into the ESL lessons whereas the control group lessons were without guided activities. Participants from both groups were asked to record their daily mobile device use for activities related to English language learning using an online form. These data were compared to the results of the tests conducted pre- and post-treatment. At the end of the study, students who received guided language activities utilizing the mobile devices had significantly higher levels of language performance than control group students. However, treatment group students who spent more time using mobile devices to learn the language did not display better performance compared to those who spent minimal time. This finding re-established the importance of guided activities as intervention to facilitate students' learning and points to the need for curricular modernization and faculty development in the instructional use of technology. Due to the increased need for online instruction precipitated by "social distancing and isolation' required to overcome the coronavirus pandemic, the need for faculty to acquire skills in guided use of mobile devices for school-related learning is anticipated to be greater than ever.
Stem cells differentiation and probing their therapeutic applications in hematological disorders: a critical review

Ali F, Taresh S, Al-Nuzaily M, Mok PL, Ismail A, Ahmad S

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci, 2016 Oct;20(20):4390-4400.
PMID: 27831631

Numerous lines of evidence support that bone marrow is a rich source of stem cells that can be used for research purposes and to treat some complex blood diseases and cancers. Stem cells are a potential source for regenerative medicine and tissue replacement after injury or disease, and mother cells that possess the capacity to become any type of cell in the body. They are cells without specific structure and characterized by their ability to self-renew or multiply while maintaining the potential to develop into other types of cells. Stem cells can normally become cells of the blood, heart, bones, skin, muscles or brain. Although, there are different sources of stem cells, all types of stem cells have the same capacity to develop into multiple types of cells. Stem cells are generally described as unspecialized cells with unlimited proliferation capacity that can divide (through mitosis) to produce more stem cells. Several types of adult stem cells have been characterized and can be cultured in vitro, including neural stem cells, hematopoietic stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, cardiac stem cells and epithelial stem cells. They are valuable as research tools and might, in the future, be used to treat a wide range of diseases such as hematological hereditary diseases, Parkinson's disease, diabetes mellitus, heart disease and many other diseases. Currently, two types of stem cells have been identified based on their origins, namely embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Collectively, although many kinds of literature have been studying stem cell application in terms of clinical practice, stem cell-based therapy is still in its infancy stage.
Multi-class of endocrine disrupting compounds in aquaculture ecosystems and health impacts in exposed biota

Ismail NAH, Wee SY, Aris AZ

Chemosphere, 2017 Dec;188:375-388.
PMID: 28892772 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.08.150

Fishes are a major protein food source for humans, with a high economic value in the aquaculture industry. Because endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) have been introduced into aquatic ecosystems, the exposure of humans and animals that depend on aquatic foods, especially fishes, should be seriously considered. EDCs are emerging pollutants causing global concern because they can disrupt the endocrine system in aquatic organisms, mammals, and humans. These pollutants have been released into the environment through many sources, e.g., wastewater treatment plants, terrestrial run-off (industrial activities, pharmaceuticals, and household waste), and precipitation. The use of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and fertilizers for maintaining and increasing fish health and growth also contributes to EDC pollution in the water body. Human and animal exposure to EDCs occurs via ingestion of contaminated matrices, especially aquatic foodstuffs. This paper aims to review human EDC exposure via fish consumption. In respect to the trace concentration of EDCs in fish, types of instrument and clean-up method are of great concerns.
Fulltext Dihydrotestosterone, a robust promoter of osteoblastic proliferation and differentiation: understanding of time-mannered and dose-dependent control of bone forming cells

Thu HE, Mohamed IN, Hussain Z, Shuid AN

Iran J Basic Med Sci, 2017 Aug;20(8):894-904.
PMID: 29085581 DOI: 10.22038/IJBMS.2017.9111

OBJECTIVES: The present study was aimed to evaluate the time-mannered and dose-dependent effects of 5α-dihydrotestosterone (5α-DHT) on the proliferation and differentiation of bone forming cells using MC3T3-E1 cells.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cell proliferation was analyzed using MTS and phase contrast microscopic assays. Osteogenic differentiation was assessed through a series of in vitro experiments including crystal violet staining, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and Van Gieson (VG) staining. Taken together, the efficiency of bone mineralization was examined by using alizarin red s (ARS) staining, Von Kossa staining, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis.
RESULTS: The resulting data revealed that 5α-DHT exhibits promising potential particularly at a dose of 0.1 ng/ml, in promoting the growth of MC3T3-E1 cells compared to the control group (CN). Moreover, a significantly higher ALP activity was evident in the experimental group treated with 5α-DHT compared to the CN group at various time intervals. MC3T3-E1 cells treated with 5α-DHT also expressed a remarkably higher collagen deposition and mineralization (calcium and phosphate contents) compared to the CN group at various time intervals.
CONCLUSION: Conclusively, we suggest that 5α-DHT exhibits outstanding potential of promoting proliferation and differentiation in osteoblasts which could be the in vitro basis for the efficacy of 5α-DHT in the treatment of androgen-deficient male osteoporosis.
Rutamarin, an Active Constituent from Ruta angustifolia Pers., Induced Apoptotic Cell Death in the HT29 Colon Adenocarcinoma Cell Line

Suhaimi SA, Hong SL, Abdul Malek SN

Pharmacogn Mag, 2017 Jul;13(Suppl 2):S179-S188.
PMID: 28808378 DOI: 10.4103/pm.pm_432_16

BACKGROUND: Ruta angustifolia Pers. is a perennial herb that is cultivated worldwide, including Southeast Asia, for the treatment of various diseases as traditional medicine.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to identify an active principle of R. angustifolia and to investigate its effect on the HT29 cell death.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The methanol and fractionated extracts (hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and water) of R. angustifolia Pers. were initially investigated for their cytotoxic activity against two human carcinoma cell lines (MCF7 and HT29) and a normal human colon fibroblast cell line (CCD-18Co) using sulforhodamine B cytotoxicity assay. Eight compounds including rutamarin were isolated from the active chloroform extract and evaluated for their cytotoxic activity against HT29 human colon carcinoma cell line and CCD-18Co noncancer cells. Further studies on the induction of apoptosis such as morphological examinations, biochemical analyses, cell cycle analysis, and caspase activation assay were conducted in rutamarin-treated HT29 cells.
RESULTS: Rutamarin exhibited remarkable cytotoxic activity against HT29 cells (IC50 value of 5.6 μM) but was not toxic to CCD-18Co cells. The morphological and biochemical hallmarks of apoptosis including activation of caspases 3, 8, and 9 were observed in rutamarin-treated HT29 cells. These may be associated with cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 and G2/M checkpoints, which was also observed in HT29 cells.
CONCLUSIONS: The present study describes rutamarin-induced apoptosis in the HT29 cell line for the first time and suggests that rutamarin has the potential to be developed as an anticancer agent.
SUMMARY: Rutamarin was cytotoxic to HT29 colon cancer cells but exerted no damage to normal colon cellsRutamarin induced morphological and biochemical hallmarks of apoptosis in HT29 cellsRutamarin induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 and G2/M checkpoints in a dose-dependent manner in HT29 cellsRutamarin activated caspases 3, 8, and 9 in a dose-dependent manner in HT29 cells. Abbreviations used: ACN: Acetonitrile, ANOVA: One-way analysis of variance, BrdU: Bromodeoxyuridine, 13C-NMR: Carbon-13 Nuclear magnetic resonance, CAD: Caspase-activated endonuclease, CCD-18Co: Human colon normal, DLD1: Human Duke's type C colorectal adenocarcinoma, DMRT: Duncan's multiple range test, DMSO: Dimethyl sulfoxide, DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid, DR4/5: Death receptor 4/5 protein, EMEM: Eagle's minimum essential media, FBS: Fetal bovine serum, FITC Annexin V: Annexin V conjugated with fluorescein isothiocyanate, FITC-DEVD-FMK: Fluorescein isothiocyanate conjugate of caspase inhibitor Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-fluoromethyl ketone, FITC-IETD-FMK: Fluorescein isothiocyanate conjugate of caspase inhibitor Ile-Glu-Thr-Asp-fluoromethyl ketone, FITC-LEHD-FMK: Fluorescein isothiocyanate conjugate of caspase inhibitor Leu-Glu-His-Asp-fluoromethyl ketone, G0: Quiescent phase of cell cycle, G1: Gap 1 phase of cell cycle, G2: Gap 2 phase of cell cycle, GC-MS: Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, HeLa: Human cervical adenocarcinoma, HPLC: High performance liquid chromatography, HT29: Human colon adenocarcinoma, Huh7.5: Human hepatocellular carcinoma, IC50: Half maximal inhibitory concentration, KSHV: Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, M phase: Mitotic phase of cell cycle, MCF7: Human breast adenocarcinoma, NMR: Nuclear magnetic resonance, PBS: Phosphate-buffered saline, PI: Propidium iodide, RNase: Ribonuclease, rt: Retention time, S phase: Synthesis phase of cell cycle, SD: Standard deviation, SRB: Sulforhodamine B, TCA: Trichloroacetic acid, TLC: Thin layer chromatography, TNF-R1: Tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 protein, TUNEL: Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) dUTP nick-end labeling, UV: Ultraviolet.
Fulltext Metastasis within a metastasis to the thyroid: A rare phenomenon

Wong YP, Affandi KA, Tan GC, Muhammad R

Indian J Pathol Microbiol, 2017 9 25;60(3):430-432.
PMID: 28937391 DOI: 10.4103/IJPM.IJPM_287_16

Metastatic disease involving the thyroid gland is uncommon. Solitary thyroid metastases from various primary sites particularly kidney, lung, and breast had been previously described. To the best of our knowledge, metastases from two topographically separate primary malignancies to the thyroid have never been documented hitherto. This is the first reported case of cancer-to-cancer metastasis involving an invasive breast carcinoma metastasized within a metastatic renal cell carcinoma in the nonneoplastic thyroid in a 58-year-old woman. Distinguishing a secondary thyroid metastases from a primary thyroid malignancy is utmost crucial as treatment differs. The possibility of tumor metastases from two separated primaries should always be considered in a tumor exhibiting malignant cell populations with two distinctive histomorphological appearances. The role of immunohistochemistry stains in equivocal cases cannot be overemphasized.
Fulltext Mechanics Model for Simulating RC Hinges under Reversed Cyclic Loading

Shukri AA, Visintin P, Oehlers DJ, Jumaat MZ

Materials (Basel), 2016 Apr 22;9(4).
PMID: 28773430 DOI: 10.3390/ma9040305

Describing the moment rotation (M/θ) behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) hinges is essential in predicting the behavior of RC structures under severe loadings, such as under cyclic earthquake motions and blast loading. The behavior of RC hinges is defined by localized slip or partial interaction (PI) behaviors in both the tension and compression region. In the tension region, slip between the reinforcement and the concrete defines crack spacing, crack opening and closing, and tension stiffening. While in the compression region, slip along concrete to concrete interfaces defines the formation and failure of concrete softening wedges. Being strain-based, commonly-applied analysis techniques, such as the moment curvature approach, cannot directly simulate these PI behaviors because they are localized and displacement based. Therefore, strain-based approaches must resort to empirical factors to define behaviors, such as tension stiffening and concrete softening hinge lengths. In this paper, a displacement-based segmental moment rotation approach, which directly simulates the partial interaction behaviors in both compression and tension, is developed for predicting the M/θ response of an RC beam hinge under cyclic loading. Significantly, in order to develop the segmental approach, a partial interaction model to predict the tension stiffening load slip relationship between the reinforcement and the concrete is developed.
Novel Fluorometric Turn On Detection of Aluminum by Chalcone-Based Chemosensor in Aqueous Phase

Yeap GY, Chan YH, Mahmood WAK

J Fluoresc, 2017 Nov;27(6):2017-2022.
PMID: 28856483 DOI: 10.1007/s10895-017-2140-0

A novel, 100% water-soluble chalcone based chemosensing receptor {1-[3-(2-Hydroxy-phenyl)-3-oxo-propenyl]-naphthalen-2-yloxy}-acetic acid, L was synthesized and characterized. The receptor L is designed based on the chelation enhanced fluorescence (CHEF) mechanism. The chemosensing properties of L were evaluated by UV-vis and fluorescence spectrometric methods. It exhibits highly selective recognition ability towards aluminum ions in water over other metal ions. The binding stoichiometry of L- Al3+complex is 2:1 by means of Job's plot and the detection limit is 5.66 × 10- 8M.
The Role of Dietary Compounds in the Therapy of Nicotine-Induced Osteoporosis

Mohamed N, Muhammad N, Shuid AN, Soelaiman IN

Curr Drug Targets, 2018;19(12):1424-1430.
PMID: 28950810 DOI: 10.2174/1389450118666170925154428

Nicotine is one of the most abused substances worldwide and can cause several harmful effects on health. One of the harmful effects, which is often ignored, is osteoporosis. Smoking has been shown to cause a decrease in bone mineral density in humans. Animal studies have proven that nicotine exerts negative effects on bone. The number of people who smoke increases each day. Those who smoke start at a very young age and they usually smoke for years. This will increase the risk of developing osteoporosis. As the prevalence of osteoporosis increases, the risk of fractures also increases. The major concerns are disability following fractures, mortality due to complications after fractures and the increasing cost of management and therapy. This paper will review the effects of nicotine on bone and the potential natural products which can be used as treatment for nicotine-induced osteoporosis.
New in Situ Measurements of the Viscosity of Gas Clathrate Hydrate Slurries Formed from Model Water-in-Oil Emulsions

Majid AAA, Wu DT, Koh CA

Langmuir, 2017 10 24;33(42):11436-11445.
PMID: 28926254 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b02642

In situ rheological measurements for clathrate hydrate slurries were performed using a high pressure rheometer to determine the effect of hydrate particles on the viscosity and transportability of these slurries. These measurements were conducted using a well-characterized model water-in-oil emulsion ( Delgado-Linares et al. Model Water in-Oil Emulsions for Gas Hydrate Studies in Oil Continuous Systems . Energy Fuels 2013 , 27 , 4564 - 4573 ). The emulsion consists of a model liquid hydrocarbon, water, and a surfactant mixture of sorbitane monooleate 80 (Span 80) and sodium di-2-ethylhexylsulfosuccinate (Aerosol OT, AOT). This emulsion was used as an analog to water-in-crude oil (w/o) emulsions and provides reproducible results. The flow properties of the model w/o emulsion prior to hydrate formation were investigated in terms of several parameters including water percentage, temperature and pressure. A general equation that describes the viscosity of the emulsion as a function of the aforementioned parameters was developed. This general equation was able to predict the viscosity of a saturated emulsion at various temperatures and water percentages to within ±13% error. The general equation was then used to analyze the effect of hydrate formation on the transportability of gas hydrate slurries. As for hydrate slurries investigation, measurements were performed using methane gas as the hydrate former and a straight vane impeller as a stirring system. Tests were conducted at constant temperature and pressure (1 °C and 1500 psig of methane) and water percentages ranging from 5 to 30 vol %. Results of this work were analyzed and presented in terms of relative values, i.e., viscosities of the slurries relative to the viscosities of the continuous phase at similar temperature and pressure. In this work, a correlation to predict the relative viscosity of a hydrate slurry at various hydrate volume fractions was developed. Analysis of the developed correlation showed that the model was able to predict the relative viscosity of a hydrate slurry to within ±17% error.
Liquid Chromatographic Analysis of α-Dicarbonyls Using Girard-T Reagent Derivatives

Lawrence GD, Rahmat R, Makahleh A, Saad B

J Chromatogr Sci, 2017 Nov 01;55(10):1043-1050.
PMID: 28977384 DOI: 10.1093/chromsci/bmx073

The measurement of α-dicarbonyls and other degradation products of sugars has become important in view of their toxicity. Although there are several methods used for their analysis, most require long reaction times to form UV absorbing or fluorescent derivatives and the nonpolar nature of commonly used derivatives necessitates relatively high concentrations of organic solvents for elution in reverse phase liquid chromatography. The present method describes the use of Girard-T reagent in a simple, one step derivatization of α-dicarbonyls and conjugated aldehydes and analysis using ion-pair reverse phase liquid chromatography. The limit of detection was in the range of 0.06-0.09 μM (4-12 ng/mL) for glyoxal, methylglyoxal, 3-deoxyglucosone and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural with good linear response and reproducibility using UV detection. The hydrazone derivatives were stable for several days in solution. The method was used to study degradation of several sugars and quantification of the target α-dicarbonyls and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in several soft drinks.
Fulltext The Tension-Stiffening Contribution of NSM CFRP to the Behavior of Strengthened RC Beams

Shukri AA, Darain KMU, Jumaat MZ

Materials (Basel), 2015 Jul 08;8(7):4131-4146.
PMID: 28793429 DOI: 10.3390/ma8074131

Tension stiffening is a characteristic behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams which is directly affected by the bond-slip property of steel bar and concrete interfaces. A beam strengthened with a near-surface mounted (NSM) technique would be even more affected by tension stiffening, as the NSM reinforcement also possess a bond-slip property. Yet assessing how much the tension stiffening of NSM contributes to the behavior of RC beams is difficult due to the fact that bond-slip effects cannot be directly incorporated into a strain-based moment-curvature analysis. As such, the tension stiffening is typically incorporated through various empirical formulations, which can require a great deal of testing and calibrations to be done. In this paper a relatively new method, which can be called the mechanics-based segmental approach, is used to directly simulate the tension stiffening effect of NSM reinforcements on RC beams, without the need for empirical formulations to indirectly simulate the tension stiffening. Analysis shows that the tension stiffening of NSM fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) contributes a significant portion to the stiffness and strength of the strengthened RC beam not only during serviceability, but at all load levels.
Fulltext A functional pipeline framework for landmark identification on 3D surface extracted from volumetric data

Zheng P, Belaton B, Liao IY, Rajion ZA

PLoS One, 2017;12(11):e0187558.
PMID: 29121077 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187558

Landmarks, also known as feature points, are one of the important geometry primitives that describe the predominant characteristics of a surface. In this study we proposed a self-contained framework to generate landmarks on surfaces extracted from volumetric data. The framework is designed to be a three-fold pipeline structure. The pipeline comprises three phases which are surface construction, crest line extraction and landmark identification. With input as a volumetric data and output as landmarks, the pipeline takes in 3D raw data and produces a 0D geometry feature. In each phase we investigate existing methods, extend and tailor the methods to fit the pipeline design. The pipeline is designed to be functional as it is modularised to have a dedicated function in each phase. We extended the implicit surface polygonizer for surface construction in first phase, developed an alternative way to compute the gradient of maximal curvature for crest line extraction in second phase and finally we combine curvature information and K-means clustering method to identify the landmarks in the third phase. The implementations are firstly carried on a controlled environment, i.e. synthetic data, for proof of concept. Then the method is tested on a small scale data set and subsequently on huge data set. Issues and justifications are addressed accordingly for each phase.
Contactless Visualization of Latent Fingerprints on Nonporous Curved Surfaces of Circular Cross Section-A Statistical Evaluation on the Materials as Plane Mirror

Low WZ, Khoo BE, Abdullah AFLB

J Forensic Sci, 2018 Jul;63(4):1092-1098.
PMID: 29178492 DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.13702

A new contactless technique for latent fingerprint visualization on nonporous curved surfaces of circular cross section was introduced by Low et al. (1). The technique utilizes a plane mirror to convey the light rays toward the inspected surfaces for latent fingerprint visualization. This research activity came up as an extension of the previous study which utilized an aluminum plate as the plane mirror to illuminate the inspected surfaces. Dulling spray was used to increase the diffuse component of the reflective aluminum plate. However, the amount of dulling spray will affect the uniformity of the illumination on the inspected curved surfaces. In this study, a study on the new materials for the plane mirror was carried out. Coated aluminum, opal, and ground glass diffusers were selected as the new materials. The performance of the new materials was compared to the aluminum based on the quality of the captured images on various nonporous cylindrical surfaces. A statistical approach known as randomized complete block design was used to design the experiment. The quality of the captured images was obtained using Spectral Image Validation and Verification. Two-way analysis of variance and Fisher's least significant difference test were used to analyze the quality of the images. From the results of the statistical analysis, coated aluminum has the best performance compared to aluminum, opal, and ground glass diffusers.
Fulltext Manifold absolute pressure estimation using neural network with hybrid training algorithm

Muslim MT, Selamat H, Alimin AJ, Haniff MF

PLoS One, 2017;12(11):e0188553.
PMID: 29190779 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188553

In a modern small gasoline engine fuel injection system, the load of the engine is estimated based on the measurement of the manifold absolute pressure (MAP) sensor, which took place in the intake manifold. This paper present a more economical approach on estimating the MAP by using only the measurements of the throttle position and engine speed, resulting in lower implementation cost. The estimation was done via two-stage multilayer feed-forward neural network by combining Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm, Bayesian Regularization (BR) algorithm and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm. Based on the results found in 20 runs, the second variant of the hybrid algorithm yields a better network performance than the first variant of hybrid algorithm, LM, LM with BR and PSO by estimating the MAP closely to the simulated MAP values. By using a valid experimental training data, the estimator network that trained with the second variant of the hybrid algorithm showed the best performance among other algorithms when used in an actual retrofit fuel injection system (RFIS). The performance of the estimator was also validated in steady-state and transient condition by showing a closer MAP estimation to the actual value.
Fulltext Therapeutic intervention scoring system in medical intensive care

Adam BA, Liam CK, Abdul Wahab AS

Med J Malaysia, 1989 Jun;44(2):134-9.
PMID: 2626120

A scoring system based on therapeutic intervention on critically ill patients called the therapeutic intervention scoring system (TISS) was used to assess the quantity of care provided in a medical intensive care unit. Besides observing the unit census, the severity of illness and the work load were studied. The survival rate was 77 percent. The non-survivors had admission TISS points higher than the survivors and their mean daily TISS was more than 20 points. The survivors at discharge had a mean TISS of five points. The work load showed that a nurse can effectively manage two patients who together may accumulate 24 TISS points per day. TISS points per patient rather than bed occupancy is a better indicator of the nurse's work load. Admission criteria and procedures before death certification are outlined.
Comment in: Delilkan AE. Therapeutic intervention scoring system in medical intensive care. Med J Malaysia. 1989 Dec;44(4):361-2
Fulltext Exploring molecular mechanism of bone-forming capacity of Eurycoma longifolia: Evidence of enhanced expression of bone-related biomarkers

Thu HE, Mohamed IN, Hussain Z, Shuid AN

J Ayurveda Integr Med, 2017 11 13;9(4):272-280.
PMID: 29146110 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaim.2017.04.005

BACKGROUND: Among the numerous well-documented medicinal herbs, Eurycoma longifolia (EL) has gained remarkable recognition due to its promising efficacy of stimulating bone formation in androgen-deficient osteoporosis. Though numerous animal studies have explored the bone-forming capacity of EL, the exact mechanism was yet to be explored.
OBJECTIVE(S): The present study was aimed to investigate the mechanism of bone-forming capacity of EL using MC3T3-E1 as an in vitro osteoblastic model.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cell differentiation capacity of EL was investigated by evaluating cell growth, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, collagen deposition and mineralization. Taken together, time-mannered expression of bone-related mediators which include bone morphogenic protein-2 (BMP-2), ALP, runt-related transcription factor-2 (Runx-2), osteocalcin (OCN), type I collagen, osteopontin (OPN), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and androgen receptor (AR) were measured to comprehend bone-forming mechanism of EL.
RESULTS: Results demonstrated a superior cell differentiation efficacy of EL (particularly at a dose of 25 μg/mL) that was evidenced by dramatically increased cell growth, higher ALP activity, collagen deposition and mineralization compared to the testosterone. Results analysis of the bone-related protein biomarkers indicated that the expression of these mediators was well-regulated in EL-treated cell cultures compared to the control groups. These findings revealed potential molecular mechanism of EL for the prevention and treatment of male osteoporosis.
CONCLUSION: The resulting data suggested that EL exhibited superior efficacy in stimulating bone formation via up-regulating the expression of various mitogenic proteins and thus can be considered as a potential natural alternative therapy for the treatment of osteoporosis.
Fulltext Assessment of medication adherence and the costs associated with a calendar blister pack intervention among hypertensive patients in Malaysia: A randomized controlled trial

Tan BY, Shafie AA, Hassali MAA, Saleem F

SAGE Open Med, 2017;5:2050312117709189.
PMID: 28839933 DOI: 10.1177/2050312117709189

OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy and costs of a calendar blister packaging intervention used to improve medication adherence.
METHOD: A parallel randomized controlled trial was conducted with 73 hypertensive patients (intervention group = 35, control group = 38) at Hospital Kulim, Malaysia, for 7 months.
RESULTS: The intervention group demonstrated a significant improvement in medication possession ratio (p
Recent Advances in Antibacterial, Antiprotozoal and Antifungal Trends of Eurycoma longifolia: A Review of Therapeutic Implications and Future Prospects

Thu HE, Hussain Z, Mohamed IN, Shuid AN

Curr Drug Targets, 2018;19(14):1657-1671.
PMID: 29468964 DOI: 10.2174/1389450119666180219123815

BACKGROUND: Eurycoma longifolia (E. longifolia) has gained widespread recognition due to its versatile pharmacological activities including aphrodisiac, anticancer, antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic, anti-diabetic, ergogenic, insecticidal, anti-rheumatism, bone protection, and anti-ulcer effects.
OBJECTIVE: This review was aimed to critically overview the literature and summarizes the antibacterial, antiprotozoal, and antifungal trends of E. longifolia and its medicinally active components.
RESULTS: Besides its well-documented safety, efficacy, and tolerability, a plethora of in vitro, in vivo, and human clinical studies has evidenced the antimicrobial efficacy of E. longifolia and its bioactive constituents. Phytochemical screening of various types of extracts (methanolic, ethyl acetate, and nbutanolic) from different parts (roots, stem, and leaves) of E. longifolia displayed a dose-dependent antibacterial, antiprotozoal, and antifungal responses. Comparative analysis revealed that the root extract of E. longifolia exhibited the highest antimicrobial efficacy compared to other parts of the plant. Bioactivity-guided fractionation identified that among all of the medicinal compounds isolated/ extracted from different parts of E. longifolia, eurycomanone displayed the strongest antibacterial, antiprotozoal and antifungal activities.
CONCLUSION: Based on the critical analysis of the literature, we identified that E. longifolia exhibits promising antibacterial, antiprotozoal, and antifungal efficacies against various pathogenic microbes and thus can be considered as a potential complementary and alternative antimicrobial therapy.

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