Displaying publications 41 - 60 of 95 in total

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  1. Anwar A, Soomaroo A, Anwar A, Siddiqui R, Khan NA
    Exp Parasitol, 2020 Aug;215:107915.
    PMID: 32461112 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2020.107915
    Acanthamoeba castellanii is an opportunistic protozoan responsible for serious human infections including Acanthamoeba keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Despite advances in antimicrobial therapy and supportive care, infections due to Acanthamoeba are a major public concern. Current methods of treatment are not fully effective against both the trophozoite and cyst forms of A. castellanii and are often associated with severe adverse effects, host cell cytotoxicity and recurrence of infection. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutic approaches for the treatment and management of Acanthamoebic infections. Repurposing of clinically approved drugs is a viable avenue for exploration and is particularly useful for neglected and rare diseases where there is limited interest by pharmaceutical companies. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems offer promising approaches in the biomedical field, particularly in diagnosis and drug delivery. Herein, we conjugated an antihyperglycemic drug, metformin with silver nanoparticles and assessed its anti-acanthamoebic properties. Characterization by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry and atomic force microscopy showed successful formation of metformin-coated silver nanoparticles. Amoebicidal and amoebistatic assays revealed that metformin-coated silver nanoparticles reduced the viability and inhibited the growth of A. castellanii significantly more than metformin and silver nanoparticles alone at both 5 and 10 μM after 24 h incubation. Metformin-coated silver nanoparticles also blocked encystation and inhibited the excystation in Acanthamoeba after 72 h incubation. Overall, the conjugation of metformin with silver nanoparticles was found to enhance its antiamoebic effects against A. castellanii. Furthermore, the pretreatment of A. castellanii with metformin and metformin-coated silver nanoparticles for 2 h also reduced the amoebae-mediated host cell cytotoxicity after 24 h incubation from 73% to 10% at 10 μM, indicating that the drug-conjugated silver nanoparticles confer protection to human cells. These findings suggest that metformin-coated silver nanoparticles hold promise in the improved treatment and management of Acanthamoeba infections.
  2. Mustafa S, Qiao Y, Yan X, Anwar A, Hao T, Rana S
    Front Psychol, 2022;13:956281.
    PMID: 35936293 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.956281
    During the COVID-19 pandemic, online teaching modes were found vital to continue students' learning process, but sustainable implementation of online teaching models is an area of concern for policymakers. Psychiatrists are also eager to know students' behavior toward learning and modes of teaching during COVID-19. We have drawn a model based on the big five personality traits to study students' satisfaction with online teaching modes and their adoption intentions toward online teaching modes. We have collected data from 718 bachelor's and master's level students from four different universities. We have applied the SEM-ANN dual-stage approach to test personality traits' influence and ranked them based on their normalized importance. The results revealed that agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness positively influence students' satisfaction with online teaching models, but that extraversion negatively influences their satisfaction. Agreeableness, extraversion, and neuroticism positively impact, but openness negatively influences. Conscientiousness does not affect adoption intention. Furthermore, agreeableness is the most significant, and conscientiousness is the least important factor for students to adopt online teaching modes. The findings of the study have useful perceptiveness for educational policymakers, academics, and psychiatrists.
  3. Vincent-Chong VK, Salahshourifar I, Razali R, Anwar A, Zain RB
    Head Neck, 2016 04;38 Suppl 1:E783-97.
    PMID: 25914319 DOI: 10.1002/hed.24102
    BACKGROUND: This purpose of this meta-analysis study was to identify the most frequent and potentially significant copy number alteration (CNA) in oral carcinogenesis.

    METHODS: Seven oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)-related publications, corresponding to 312 samples, were identified for this meta-analysis. The data were analyzed in a 4-step process that included the genome assembly coordination of multiple platforms, assignment of chromosomal position anchors, calling gains and losses, and functional annotation analysis.

    RESULTS: Gains were more frequent than losses in the entire dataset. High-frequency gains were identified in chromosomes 5p, 14q, 11q, 7p, 17q, 20q, 8q, and 3q, whereas high-frequency losses were identified in chromosomes 3p, 8p, 6p, 18q, and 4q. Ingenuity pathway analysis showed that the top biological function was associated with immortalization of the epithelial cells (p = 1.93E-04).

    CONCLUSION: This study has identified multiple recurrent CNAs that are involved in various biological annotations associated with oral carcinogenesis. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E783-E797, 2016.

  4. Vincent-Chong VK, Karen-Ng LP, Abdul Rahman ZA, Yang YH, Anwar A, Zakaria Z, et al.
    Head Neck, 2014 Sep;36(9):1268-1278.
    PMID: 31615169 DOI: 10.1002/hed.23448
    BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the cause of behavioral difference between tongue and cheek squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) by verifying the copy number alterations (CNAs).

    METHODS: Array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) was used to profile unique deletions and amplifications that are involved with tongue and cheek SCC, respectively. This was followed by pathway analysis relating to CNA genes from both sites.

    RESULTS: The most frequently amplified regions in tongue SCC were 4p16.3, 11q13.4, and 13q34; whereas the most frequently deleted region was 19p12. For cheek SCC, the most frequently amplified region was identified on chromosome 9p24.1-9p23; whereas the most common deleted region was located on chromosome 8p23.1. Further analysis revealed that the most significant unique pathway related to tongue and cheek SCCs was the cytoskeleton remodeling and immune response effect on the macrophage differentiation pathway.

    CONCLUSION: This study has showed the different genetic profiles and biological pathways between tongue and cheek SCCs. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 36: 1268-1278, 2014.

  5. Alishba, Ahmed U, Taha M, Khan NA, Salar U, Khan KM, et al.
    Heliyon, 2024 Jan 15;10(1):e23258.
    PMID: 38205285 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23258
    A rare but lethal central nervous system disease known as granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE) and potentially blinding Acanthamoeba keratitis are diseases caused by free-living Acanthamoeba. Currently, no therapeutic agent can completely eradicate or prevent GAE. Synthetic compounds are a likely source of bioactive compounds for developing new drugs. This study synthesized seventeen 1,4-benzothiazine derivatives (I -XVII) by a base-catalyzed one-pot reaction of 2-amino thiophenol with substituted bromo acetophenones. Different spectroscopic techniques, such as EI-MS, 1H-, and 13C NMR (only for the new compounds), were used for the structural characterization and conformation of compounds. These compounds were assessed for the first time against Acanthamoeba castellanii. All compounds showed anti-amoebic potential in vitro against A. castellanii, reducing its ability to encyst and excyst at 100 μM. Compounds IX, X, and XVI showed the most potent activities among all derivatives and significantly reduced the viability to 5.3 × 104 (p 
  6. Zhou XD, Targher G, Byrne CD, Somers V, Kim SU, Chahal CAA, et al.
    Hepatol Int, 2023 Aug;17(4):773-791.
    PMID: 37204656 DOI: 10.1007/s12072-023-10543-8
    BACKGROUND: Fatty liver disease in the absence of excessive alcohol consumption is an increasingly common condition with a global prevalence of ~ 25-30% and is also associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Since systemic metabolic dysfunction underlies its pathogenesis, the term metabolic (dysfunction)-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has been proposed for this condition. MAFLD is closely intertwined with obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and atherogenic dyslipidemia, which are established cardiovascular risk factors. Unlike CVD, which has received attention in the literature on fatty liver disease, the CVD risk associated with MAFLD is often underestimated, especially among Cardiologists.

    METHODS AND RESULTS: A multidisciplinary panel of fifty-two international experts comprising Hepatologists, Endocrinologists, Diabetologists, Cardiologists and Family Physicians from six continents (Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Oceania) participated in a formal Delphi survey and developed consensus statements on the association between MAFLD and the risk of CVD. Statements were developed on different aspects of CVD risk, ranging from epidemiology to mechanisms, screening, and management.

    CONCULSIONS: The expert panel identified important clinical associations between MAFLD and the risk of CVD that could serve to increase awareness of the adverse metabolic and cardiovascular outcomes of MAFLD. Finally, the expert panel also suggests potential areas for future research.

  7. Abdelkader E. Ashour, Anwar A. Almuslim, Sheikh F. Ahmad, Sabry M. Attia, Rehan Ahmed, Ashok Kumar, et al.
    IIUM Medical Journal Malaysia, 2019;18(102):44-0.
    MyJurnal
    Colorectal cancer (CRC) constitutes one of the most aggressive malignancies worldwide and in Malaysia. Due to high recurrence rate and toxic side effects associated with radiation and chemotherapies, new agents are urgently needed. CARP-1 is a peri-nuclear phospho-protein which plays a dynamic role in regulating cell growth and apoptosis. CARP-1 functional mimetics (CFMs) are a class of compounds that stimulate CARP-1. CFM-4, a lead compound, was shown to suppress growth and metastasis of various cancers, other than CRC. We hypothesized that CFM-4 inhibits proliferation and metastasis in CRC. Materials and method: CFM-4 anti-cancer effects of on CRC cells were investigated using MTT assay, Annexin V/Propidium iodide (PI) apoptosis assay, cell cycle analysis, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. Antimetastatic activities were assessed by migration, colony formation and invasion assays. Results: CFM-4 inhibited CRC cell proliferation and was much more potent than the classical anti-CRC 5-fluorouracil. These effects were shown to be mediated at least in part by stimulating apoptosis, as indicated in our Annexin V/PI assay results. Cell cycle analysis showed that CFM-4 induced G2/M phase arrest. Molecularly, qRT-PCR results revealed that CFM-4 promoted intrinsic apoptosis by upregulating expression of caspase-8 and -9 , p53, PUMA and Noxa, and stimulated extrinsic apoptosis by enhancing expression of death receptors (DR4 and DR5). CFM-4 upregulated NF- k B signaling inhibitor A20-binding inhibitor protein and the PI3K negative regulator PTEN. Western blot analysis results revealed that CFM-4 enhanced expression of CARP1, caspase-8 and executioner caspase-3. Metastatic properties of the CRC cells were reduced by CFM-4 through blocking their capabilities to form colonies, migrate and invade through the matrix-coated membranes. Conclusion: The potent antitumor and anti-metastatic properties of CFM-4 against CRC are due to collective pro-apoptotic, anti-proliferative and anti-metastatic activities. Together our data warrants further investigations of CFM-4 as potential anti-tumor agent for CRC malignancy and metastasis.
  8. Khairul, A.J., Anwar, A., Ramelah, M.
    MyJurnal
    Background: (13) C – urea breath test (UBT) is sensitive and specific for detection of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection. Gastric biopsy culture for H. pylori confirms the diagnosis. Here, we analyzed data of all patients who were investigated for H. pylori infection using both tests throughout the year 2005. Materials and Methods : Retrospective data of 377 patients between the ages of 17 – 88 were identified through endoscopy records from January to December 2005. Upper endoscopy, UBT and gastric biopsy culture were performed on all patients simultaneously during each endoscopy session. Patients who had positive UBT and biopsy culture for H. pylori were treated with triple therapy of PPI, amoxicillin and clarithromycin for one week. A repeat of UBT was done at one-month post therapy. Results and Analysis: Twenty-eight patients on the list had no available data on UBT and were omitted from the analysis. Ethnic group Chinese comprised of 45.4% (n=163), followed by Malay, 37.3% (n=134), Indian, 10.6% (n=38) and others, 3.9% (n=14). UBT was positive in 23.7% (n=85)(figure1). H. pylori culture was positive in 19.2% (n=69)(figure1). Sixteen patients with UBT positive had H. pylori culture negative, 18.8% (n=16/85)(figure2). Five patients with H. pylori culture positive had UBT negative, 7.2% (n=5/69)(figure3). Ethnic group Indian had the highest incidence of UBT positive, 47.4% (n=18/38), followed by Others (Sikhs and foreigners) 42.8% (n=6/14), the Chinese 27.6% (n=45/163) and the Malays 11.6% (n= 16/138). UBT positive was the highest in the age group of 50 and above, 64.7% (n=55/85), followed by the age group between 30 to 49, 21.2% (n=18/85) and the age group of 29 and below, 14.5% (n=12/85). Out of the 85 UBT positive patients 91.8% (n=78/85)(figure4) of them responded to the conventional one week of triple therapy (PPI, amoxicillin, clarithromycin) with negative UBT at one-month post therapy compared to only 8.2% (n=7/85)(figure4) who failed with positive UBT at one-month post therapy.
  9. Aizuddin AN, Chan CM, Anwar AR, Ong YX, Chin KY
    Int J Gen Med, 2021;14:3251-3257.
    PMID: 34267543 DOI: 10.2147/IJGM.S316360
    Purpose: Body mass index (BMI) is used universally to define obesity. Many studies have indicated that the current BMI cutoff value for obesity may be inaccurate in identifying individuals with excess body fat (BF) and at risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). This study aims to assess the performance of BMI in diagnosing obesity defined by BF percentage (BF%).

    Patients and Methods: A total of 136 participants who attended an annual health screening programme were recruited. The subjects completed the health examinations, including BMI, BF% and blood pressure measurement. A receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis was conducted to determine the optimal cutoff value of BMI in classifying obesity based on BF% (>25%).

    Results: The ROC analysis revealed that the optimal BMI cutoff value in classifying subjects with obesity based on BF% was 24.8 kg/m2. The agreement between the classification scheme based on the new BMI cutoff (>24.8 kg/m2) and BF% was higher (κ=0.722) compared to the standard BMI cutoff (>27.5 kg/m2) (κ=0.532). BMI 24.8 kg/m2 also had higher sensitivity (80.0%) than 27.5 kg/m2 (56.0%) in detecting subjects with high adiposity. The new BMI cutoff also showed a sensitivity of 63.9% in identifying subjects with hypertension compared to the standard cutoff (36.1%).

    Conclusion: The current definition of obesity based on BMI value needs to be reassessed by taking BF% into account. A new BMI cutoff point, 24.8 kg/m2 for obesity, can identify a higher percentage of Malaysian at risk for CVD.

  10. Mungroo MR, Khan NA, Anwar A, Siddiqui R
    Int Microbiol, 2021 Aug 09.
    PMID: 34368912 DOI: 10.1007/s10123-021-00201-0
    Pathogenic free-living amoebae are known to cause fatal central nervous system infections with extremely high mortality rates. High selectivity of the blood-brain barrier hampers delivery of drugs and untargeted delivery of drugs can cause severe side effects. Nanovehicles can be used for targeted drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier. Inorganic nanoparticles have been explored as carriers for various biomedical applications and can be modified with various ligands for efficient targeting and cell selectivity while lipid-based nanoparticles have been extensively used in the development of both precision and colloidal nanovehicles. Nanomicelles and polymeric nanoparticles can also serve as nanocarriers and may be modified so that responsiveness of the nanoparticles and release of the loads are linked to specific stimuli. These nanoparticles are discussed here in the context of the treatment of central nervous system infections due to pathogenic amoebae. It is anticipated that these novel strategies can be utilized in tandem with novel drug leads currently in the pipeline and yield in the development of much needed treatments against these devastating parasites.
  11. Hussain MA, Ahmed D, Anwar A, Perveen S, Ahmed S, Anis I, et al.
    Int Microbiol, 2019 Jun;22(2):239-246.
    PMID: 30810990 DOI: 10.1007/s10123-018-00043-3
    Silver nanoparticles (SN) have been recently developed as a new class of antimicrobial agents against numerous pathogenic microorganisms. SN have also been used as efficient drug delivery systems and have been linked with increasing drug potency. Here, we demonstrated the enhanced antifungal efficacy of nystatin (NYT) and fluconazole (FLU) after conjugation with SN. The antifungal bioactivity of NYT- and FLU-coated SN was evaluated against Candida albicans ATCC 10231 and Aspergillus brasiliensis ATCC 16404 by the agar tube dilution method. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the antifungal efficacy of NYT and FLU with their SN and, finally, the combination of both nanoparticles as NYT-SN + FLU-SN against pathogenic fungi. The results indicated that all test samples showed a dose-dependent response against tested fungi. SN significantly enhanced the antifungal effects of NYT and FLU as compared to drugs alone. We observed a remarkable increase in the percent inhibition of both fungi (90-100%) when treated with a combination of both nanoparticles NYT-SN + FLU-SN at 200 μg/mL only. Furthermore, the morphological modifications occurred at the surface of fungal species were also analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). While tested against primary human cell line, all SN showed negligible cytotoxicity. Hence, these results suggest that the combination of SN with NYT and FLU may have clinical implications in the treatment of fungal infections. However, in vivo studies are needed before recommending the use of these nanoparticles safely in clinical situations.
  12. Ahmed U, Ong SK, Tan KO, Khan KM, Khan NA, Siddiqui R, et al.
    Int Microbiol, 2023 Nov 28.
    PMID: 38015290 DOI: 10.1007/s10123-023-00450-1
    Acanthamoeba are free living amoebae that are the causative agent of keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Alpha-Mangostin (AMS) is a significant xanthone; that demonstrates a wide range of biological activities. Here, the anti-amoebic activity of α-Mangostin and its silver nano conjugates (AMS-AgNPs) were evaluated against pathogenic A. castellanii trophozoites and cysts in vitro. Amoebicidal assays showed that both AMS and AMS-AgNPs inhibited the viability of A. castellanii dose-dependently, with an IC50 of 88.5 ± 2.04 and 20.2 ± 2.17 μM, respectively. Both formulations inhibited A. castellanii-mediated human keratinocyte cell cytopathogenicity. Functional assays showed that both samples caused apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP production, while increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) cytochrome-c reductase in the cytosol. Whole transcriptome sequencing of A. castellanii showed the expression of 826 genes, with 447 genes being up-regulated and 379 genes being down-regulated post treatment. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that the majority of genes were linked to apoptosis, autophagy, RAP1, AGE-RAGE and oxytocin signalling pathways. Seven genes (PTEN, H3, ARIH1, SDR16C5, PFN, glnA GLUL, and SRX1) were identified as the most significant (Log2 (FC) value 4) for molecular mode of action in vitro. Future in vivo studies with AMS and nanoconjugates are needed to realize the clinical potential of this work.
  13. Anwar A, Khan NA, Alharbi AM, Alhazmi A, Siddiqui R
    Int Ophthalmol, 2024 Mar 15;44(1):140.
    PMID: 38491335 DOI: 10.1007/s10792-024-03062-4
    Keratitis is corneal inflammatory disease which may be caused by several reason such as an injury, allergy, as well as a microbial infection. Besides these, overexposure to ultraviolet light and unhygienic practice of contact lenses are also associated with keratitis. Based on the cause of keratitis, different lines of treatments are recommended. Photodynamic therapy is a promising approach that utilizes light activated compounds to instigate either killing or healing mechanism to treat various diseases including both communicable and non-communicable diseases. This review focuses on clinically-important patent applications and the recent literature for the use of photodynamic therapy against keratitis.
  14. Wang W, Balsalobre-Lorente D, Anwar A, Adebayo TS, Cong PT, Quynh NN, et al.
    J Environ Manage, 2024 Apr;357:120708.
    PMID: 38552512 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120708
    The recent progress report of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2023 highlighted the extreme reactions of environmental degradation. This report also shows that the current efforts for achieving environmental sustainability (SDG 13) are inadequate and a comprehensive policy agenda is needed. However, the present literature has highlighted several determinants of environmental degradation but the influence of geopolitical risk on environmental quality (EQ) is relatively ignored. To fill this research gap and propose a inclusive policy structure for achieving the sustainable development goals. This study is the earliest attempt that delve into the effects o of geopolitical risk (GPR), financial development (FD), and renewable energy consumption (REC) on load capacity factor (LCF) under the framework of load capacity curve (LCC) hypothesis for selected Asian countries during 1990-2020. In this regard, we use several preliminary sensitivity tests to check the features and reliability of the dataset. Similarly, we use panel quantile regression for investigating long-run relationships. The factual results affirm the existence of the LCC hypothesis in selected Asian countries. Our findings also show that geopolitical risk reduces environmental quality whereas financial development and REC increase environmental quality. Drawing from the empirical findings, this study suggests a holistic policy approach for achieving the targets of SDG 13 (climate change).
  15. Anwar A, Siddiqui R, Raza Shah M, Khan NA
    J Microbiol Biotechnol, 2019 May 28;29(5):713-720.
    PMID: 31030451 DOI: 10.4014/jmb/1903.03009
    Acanthamoeba castellanii belonging to the T4 genotype may cause a fatal brain infection known as granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, and the vision-threatening eye infection Acanthamoeba keratitis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiamoebic effects of three clinically available antidiabetic drugs, Glimepiride, Vildagliptin and Repaglinide, against A. castellanii belonging to the T4 genotype. Furthermore, we attempted to conjugate these drugs with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to enhance their antiamoebic effects. Amoebicidal, encystation, excystation, and host cell cytotoxicity assays were performed to unravel any antiacanthamoebic effects. Vildagliptin conjugated silver nanoparticles (Vgt-AgNPs) characterized by spectroscopic techniques and atomic force microscopy were synthesized. All three drugs showed antiamoebic effects against A. castellanii and significantly blocked the encystation. These drugs also showed significant cysticidal effects and reduced host cell cytotoxicity caused by A. castellanii. Moreover, Vildagliptin-coated silver nanoparticles were successfully synthesized and are shown to enhance its antiacanthamoebic potency at significantly reduced concentration. The repurposed application of the tested antidiabetic drugs and their nanoparticles against free-living amoeba such as Acanthamoeba castellanii described here is a novel outcome that holds tremendous potential for future applications against devastating infection.
  16. Anwar A, Siddiqui R, Raza Shah M, Ahmed Khan N
    J Microbiol Biotechnol, 2019 Jan 28;29(1):171-177.
    PMID: 30415525 DOI: 10.4014/jmb.1805.05028
    Parasitic infections have remained a significant burden on human and animal health. In part, this is due to lack of clinically-approved, novel antimicrobials and a lack of interest by the pharmaceutical industry. An alternative approach is to modify existing clinically-approved drugs for efficient delivery formulations to ensure minimum inhibitory concentration is achieved at the target site. Nanotechnology offers the potential to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of drugs through modification of nanoparticles with ligands. Amphotericin B, nystatin, and fluconazole are clinically available drugs in the treatment of amoebal and fungal infections. These drugs were conjugated with gold nanoparticles. To characterize these gold-conjugated drug, atomic force microscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were performed. These drugs and their gold nanoconjugates were examined for antimicrobial activity against the protist pathogen, Acanthamoeba castellanii of the T4 genotype. Moreover, host cell cytotoxicity assays were accomplished. Cytotoxicity of these drugs and drug-conjugated gold nanoparticles was also determined by lactate dehydrogenase assay. Gold nanoparticles conjugation resulted in enhanced bioactivity of all three drugs with amphotericin B producing the most significant effects against Acanthamoeba castellanii (p < 0.05). In contrast, bare gold nanoparticles did not exhibit antimicrobial potency. Furthermore, amoebae treated with drugs-conjugated gold nanoparticles showed reduced cytotoxicity against HeLa cells. In this report, we demonstrated the use of nanotechnology to modify existing clinically-approved drugs and enhance their efficacy against pathogenic amoebae. Given the lack of development of novel drugs, this is a viable approach in the treatment of neglected diseases.
  17. Anwar A, Khalid S, Perveen S, Ahmed S, Siddiqui R, Khan NA, et al.
    J Nanobiotechnology, 2018 Jan 29;16(1):6.
    PMID: 29378569 DOI: 10.1186/s12951-017-0332-z
    BACKGROUND: Gold nanoparticles are useful candidate for drug delivery applications and are associated with enhancement in the bioavailability of coated drugs and/or therapeutic agent. Since, heterocyclic compounds are known to exhibit antimicrobial potential against variety of pathogens, we designed this study to evaluate the antibacterial effects of gold nanoparticles conjugation with new synthesized cationic ligand; 4-Dimethyl aminopyridinium propylthioacetate (DMAP-PTA) in comparison with pure compound and antibiotic drug Pefloxacin. Antibacterial activity of DMAP-PTA coated gold nanoparticles was investigated against a fecal strain of E. coli (ATCC 8739).

    RESULTS: A new dimethyl aminopyridine based stabilizing agent named as DMAP-PTA was synthesized and used for stabilization of gold nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles coated with DMAP-PTA abbreviated as DMAP-PTA-AuNPs were thoroughly characterized by UV-visible, FT-IR spectroscopic methods and transmission electron microscope before biological assay. DMAP-PTA, DMAP-PTA-AuNPs and Pefloxacin were examined for their antibacterial potential against E. coli, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined to be 300, 200 and 50 µg/mL respectively. Gold nanoparticles conjugation was found to significantly enhance the antibacterial activity of DMAP-PTA as compared to pure compound. Moreover, effects of DMAP-PTA-AuNPs on the antibacterial potential of Pefloxacin was also evaluated by combination therapy of 1:1 mixture of DMAP-PTA-AuNPs and Pefloxacin against E. coli in a wide range of concentrations from 5 to 300 µg/mL. The MIC of Pefloxacin + DMAP-PTA-AuNPs mixture was found to be 25 µg/mL as compared to Pefloxacin alone (50 µg/mL), which clearly indicates that DMAP-PTA-AuNPs increased the potency of Pefloxacin. AFM analysis was also carried out to show morphological changes occur in bacteria before and after treatment of test samples. Furthermore, DMAP-PTA-AuNPs showed high selectivity towards Pefloxacin in spectrophotometric drug recognition studies which offers tremendous potential for analytical applications.

    CONCLUSIONS: Gold nanoparticles conjugation was shown to enhance the antibacterial efficacy of DMAP-PTA ligand, while DMAP-PTA-AuNPs also induced synergistic effects on the potency of Pefloxacin against E. coli. DMAP-PTA-AuNPs were also developed as Pefloxacin probes in recognizing the drug in blood and water samples in the presence of other drugs.

  18. Sam CX, Anwar AZ, Ahmad AR, Solayar GN
    Malays Orthop J, 2021 Mar;15(1):119-123.
    PMID: 33880158 DOI: 10.5704/MOJ.2103.018
    Introduction: Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty provides a surgical alternative to standard total shoulder arthroplasty for the treatment of cuff tear arthropathy, arthritis and fracture sequelae. This study aimed to assess the short-term outcomes following reverse total shoulder arthroplasty for patients in a large public hospital in Malaysia.

    Materials and Methods: We identified and performed five primary reverse total shoulder arthroplasties between 1 May 2019 and 1 June 2020. All patients were contactable and available for analysis. Assessment of functional outcomes was performed using the Constant-Murley score, the patient satisfaction score (PSS), and imaging studies. The mean follow-up from operation to the time of reporting was 9.6 months (range, 3 to 14 months).

    Results: The median age for our patients was 58 years (±11.91). The most common indication for surgery was post-traumatic arthritis, followed by rotator cuff arthropathy and osteoarthritis. The mean Constant score improved from 9.0 pre-operatively to 52.3 post-operatively at a mean of 9.6 months. The majority of the patients were satisfied with the surgery as the post-operative range of motion, especially anterior elevation and abduction, improved in four of our patients and there were no short-term complications, for example, of infection or revisions, reported at the last follow-up.

    Conclusion: This study has shown that reverse total shoulder arthroplasty can yield good short-term outcomes for the treatment of complex shoulder problems in addition to cuff tear arthropathy. It should be considered a treatment for rotator cuff tears, severe arthritis and ≥ 3 parts proximal humeral fractures.

  19. Rahim NI, Mohammed BS, Al-Fakih A, Wahab MMA, Liew MS, Anwar A, et al.
    Materials (Basel), 2020 Jun 22;13(12).
    PMID: 32580327 DOI: 10.3390/ma13122804
    Deep beams are more susceptible to shear failure, and therefore reparation is a crucial for structural reinforcements. Shear failure is structural concrete failure in nature. It generally occurs without warning; however, it is acceptable for the beam to fail in bending but not in shear. The experimental study presented the structural behavior of the deep beams of reinforced concrete (RC) that reinforces the web openings with externally connected carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite in the shear zone. The structural behavior includes a failure mode, and cracking pattern, load deflection responses, stress concentration and the reinforcement factor were investigated. A total of nine reinforced concrete deep beams with openings strengthened with CFRP and one control beam without an opening have been cast and tested under static four-point bending load till failure. The experimental results showed that the increase the size of the opening causes an increase in the shear strength reduction by up to 30%. Therefore, the larger the openings, the lower the capability of load carriage, in addition to an increase in the number of CFRP layers that could enhance the load carrying capacity. Consequently, utilization of the CFRP layer wrapping technique strengthened the shear behavior of the reinforced concrete deep beams from about 10% to 40%. It was concluded that the most effective number of CFRP layers for the deep beam with opening sizes of 150 mm and 200 mm were two layers and three layers, respectively.
  20. Rashid B, Anwar A, Shahabuddin S, Mohan G, Saidur R, Aslfattahi N, et al.
    Materials (Basel), 2021 Aug 04;14(16).
    PMID: 34442891 DOI: 10.3390/ma14164370
    The MXenes are a novel family of 2-D materials with promising biomedical activity, however, their anticancer potential is still largely unexplored. In this study, a comparative cytotoxicity investigation of Ti3C2 MXenes with polypropylene glycol (PPG), and polyethylene glycol (PEG) surface-modified 2-D Ti3C2 MXene flakes has been conducted towards normal and cancerous human cell lines. The wet chemical etching method was used to synthesize MXene followed by a simple chemical mixing method for surface modification of Ti3C2 MXene with PPG and PEG molecules. SEM and XRD analyses were performed to examine surface morphology and elemental composition, respectively. FTIR and UV-vis spectroscopy were used to confirm surface modification and light absorption, respectively. The cell lines used to study the cytotoxicity of MXene and surface-modified MXenes in this study were normal (HaCaT and MCF-10A) and cancerous (MCF-7 and A375) cells. These cell lines were also used as controls (without exposure to study material and irradiation) to measure their baseline cell viability under the same lab environment. The surface-modified MXenes exhibited a sharp reduction in cell viability towards both normal (HaCaT and MCF-10A) and cancerous (MCF-7 and A375) cells but cytotoxicity was more pronounced towards cancerous cell lines. This may be due to the difference in cell metabolism and the occurrence of high pre-existing levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within cancerous cells. The highest toxicity towards both normal and cancerous cell lines was observed with PEGylated MXenes followed by PPGylated and bare MXenes. The normal cell's viability was barely above 70% threshold with 250 mg/L PEGylated MXene concentration whereas PPGylated and bare MXene were less toxic towards normal cells, even at 500 mg/L concentration. Moreover, the toxicity was found to be directly related to the type of cell lines. In general, the HaCaT cell line exhibited the lowest toxicity while toxicity was highest in the case of the A375 cell line. The photothermal studies revealed high photo response for PEGylated MXene followed by PPGylated and bare MXenes. However, the PPGylated MXene's lower cytotoxicity towards normal cells while comparable toxicity towards malignant cells as compared to PEGylated MXenes makes the former a relatively safe and effective anticancer agent.
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