Displaying publications 41 - 60 of 182 in total

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  1. Arockiaraj J, Easwvaran S, Vanaraja P, Singh A, Othman RY, Bhassu S
    Fish Shellfish Immunol, 2012 May;32(5):929-33.
    PMID: 22361112 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2012.02.011
    This study reports the first full length gene of interferon related developmental regulator-1 (designated as MrIRDR-1), identified from the transcriptome of Macrobrachium rosenbergii. The complete gene sequence of the MrIRDR-1 is 2459 base pair long with an open reading frame of 1308 base pairs and encoding a predicted protein of 436 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 48 kDa. The MrIRDR-1 protein contains a long interferon related developmental regulator super family domain between 30 and 330. The mRNA expressions of MrIRDR-1 in healthy and the infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) infected M. rosenbergii were examined using qRT-PCR. The MrIRDR-1 is highly expressed in hepatopancreas along with all other tissues (walking leg, gills, muscle, haemocyte, pleopods, brain, stomach, intestine and eye stalk). After IHHNV infection, the expression is highly upregulated in hepatopancreas. This result indicates an important role of MrIRDR-1 in prawn defense system.
  2. Arockiaraj J, Easwvaran S, Vanaraja P, Singh A, Othman RY, Bhassu S
    Fish Shellfish Immunol, 2012 Jul;33(1):121-9.
    PMID: 22565019 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2012.04.010
    In this study, we have reported a full length of peroxiredoxin (designated MrPrdx) gene, identified from the transcriptome of freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii. The complete gene sequence of the MrPrdx is 940 base pairs in length, and encodes 186 amino acids. MrPrdx contains a long thioredoxin domain in the amino acid sequence between 34 and 186. The gene expressions of MrPrdx in healthy and the infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) challenged M. rosenbergii were examined using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction. MrPrdx is highly expressed in all the other tissues of M. rosenbergii considered for analysis and the highest in gills. The expression is strongly up-regulated in gills after IHHNV infection. To understand MrPrdx functional properties, the recombinant MrPrdx protein was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) and purified. A peroxidise activity assay was conducted using recombinant MrPrdx protein at different concentrations. This peroxidises activity showed that the recombinant MrPrdx is a thiol-dependant protein. Additionally, this result showed that recombinant MrPrdx protein, as a secretory protein can remove H₂O₂ and protect DNA damage. This finding leads a possible way to propose the recombinant MrPrdx protein as an effective medicine for reactive oxygen species (ROS) related diseases.
  3. Arockiaraj J, Vanaraja P, Easwvaran S, Singh A, Othman RY, Bhassu S
    Fish Shellfish Immunol, 2011 Dec;31(6):1259-67.
    PMID: 21945707 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2011.09.008
    Apoptosis is genetically programmed cellular killing processes that execute unnecessary or infected cells. It plays an important role in embryogenesis, homeostasis, insect metamorphosis and immunity. Apoptosis inhibitor (MrIAP) was sequenced from the freshwater giant prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii using Illumina Solexa Genome Analyzer Technique. MrIAP consisted of 1753 base pair nucleotides encoded 535 polypeptide with an estimated molecular mass of 60 kDa. MrIAP amino acid sequence contains IAP superfamily domain between 5 and 490. The deduced amino acid sequences of the MrIAP were aligned with the other IAP family members. The highest sequence similarity was observed in IAP-5 from ant Camponotus floridanus (67%) followed by IAP from body louse Pediculus humanus corporis (66%) and the lowest (62%) in IAP-5 isoform-5 from common chimpanzee Pan troglodytes and IAP-5 from Aedes aegypti. The IAP phylogenetic tree showed that MrIAP closely related to other arthropod blacklegged tick Ixodes scapularis, formed a sister group with IAP from a hemichordate acorn worm Saccoglossus kowalevskii and finally clustered together with IAPs from fish groups. The quantitative real time PCR analysis revealed that significantly (P < 0.05) highest expression was noticed in hepatopancreas and significantly (P < 0.05) lowest expression in pleopods. Based on the results of gene expression analysis, MrIAP mRNA transcription in M. rosenbergii challenged to infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) was highly induced in hepatopancreas. The collective results of this study indicate that the MrIAP is an essential immune gene and influences the immune response against IHHNV infection in M. rosenbergii.
  4. Arockiaraj J, Easwvaran S, Vanaraja P, Singh A, Othman RY, Bhassu S
    Mol Biol Rep, 2012 Feb;39(2):1377-86.
    PMID: 21614523 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-011-0872-5
    The prophenoloxidase activating system is an important innate immune response against microbial infections in invertebrates. The major enzyme, phenoloxidase, is synthesized as an inactive precursor and its activation to an active enzyme is mediated by a cascade of clip domain serine proteinases. In this study, a cDNA encoding a prophenoloxidase activating enzyme-III from the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii, designated as MrProAE-III, was identified and characterized. The full-length cDNA contains an open reading frame of 1110 base pair (bp) encoding a predicted protein of 370 amino acids including an 22 amino acid signal peptide. The MrProAE-III protein exhibits a characteristic sequence structure of a long serine proteases-trypsin domain and an N- and C-terminal serine proteases-trypsin family histidine active sites, respectively, which together are the characteristics of the clip-serin proteases. Sequence analysis showed that MrProAE-III exhibited the highest amino acid sequence similarity (63%) to a ProAE-III from Atlantic blue crab, Callinectes sapidus. MrProAE-III mRNA and enzyme activity of MrProAE-III were detectable in all examined tissues, including hepatopancreas, hemocytes, pleopods, walking legs, eye stalk, gill, stomach, intestine, brain and muscle with the highest level of both in hepatopancreas. This is regulated after systemic infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus infection supporting that it is an immune-responsive gene. These results indicate that MrProAE-III functions in the proPO system and is an important component in the prawn immune system.
  5. Arockiaraj J, Vanaraja P, Easwvaran S, Singh A, Alinejaid T, Othman RY, et al.
    Fish Shellfish Immunol, 2011 Jul;31(1):81-9.
    PMID: 21549198 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2011.04.004
    Arginine kinase-1 (MrAK-1) was sequenced from the freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii using Illumina Solexa Genome Analyzer Technique. MrAK-1 consisted of 1068 bp nucleotide encoded 355 polypeptide with an estimated molecular mass of 40 kDa. MrAK-1 sequence contains a potential ATP:guanido phosphotransferases active domain site. The deduced amino acid sequence of MrAK-1 was compared with other 7 homologous arginine kinase (AK) and showed the highest identity (96%) with AK-1 from cherry shrimp Neocaridina denticulate. The qRT-PCR analysis revealed a broad expression of MrAK-1 with the highest expression in the muscle and the lowest in the eyestalk. The expression of MrAK-1 after challenge with the infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) was tested in muscle. In addition, MrAK-1 was expressed in Escherichia coli by prokaryotic expression plasmid pMAL-c2x. The optimum temperature (30 °C) and pH (8.5) was determined for the enzyme activity assay. MrAK-1 showed significant (P < 0.05) activity towards 10-50 mM ATP concentration. The enzyme activity was inhibited by α-ketoglutarate, glucose and ATP at the concentration of 10, 50 and 100 mM respectively. Conclusively, the findings of this study indicated that MrAK-1 might play an important role in the coupling of energy production and utilization and the immune response in shrimps.
  6. Arockiaraj J, Vanaraja P, Easwvaran S, Singh A, Othman RY, Bhassu S
    Mol Biol Rep, 2012 Jun;39(6):6671-82.
    PMID: 22290288 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-012-1473-7
    In this study, we have reported a full length of small heat shock protein 37 (designated MrHSP37) gene, identified from the transcriptome database of freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii. The complete gene sequence of the MrHSP37 is 2,425 base pairs in length, and encodes 338 amino acids. MrHSP37 contains a long heat shock protein family profile in the amino acid sequence between 205 and 288. The mRNA expressions of MrHSP37 in healthy and the infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) challenged M. rosenbergii were examined using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). MrHSP37 is highly expressed in hepatopancreas and all the other tissues (walking leg, gills, muscle, stomach, haemocyte, intestine, pleopods, brain and eye stalk) of M. rosenbergii taken for analysis. The expression is strongly up-regulated after IHHNV challenge. To understand its biological activity, the recombinant MrHSP37 gene was constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The results of ATPase assay showed that the recombinant MrHSP37 protein exhibited apparent ATPase activity which increased with the concentration of the protein. And also the purified recombinant MrHSP37 protein was used for thermal aggregation assay (chaperone activity). It showed that the recombinant MrHSP37 protein is an active chaperone in this assay. Taken together, these results suggest that MrHSP37 is potentially involved in the immune responses against IHHNV challenge in M. rosenbergii.
  7. Arockiaraj J, Easwvaran S, Vanaraja P, Singh A, Othman RY, Bhassu S
    Fish Shellfish Immunol, 2012 May;32(5):670-82.
    PMID: 22293093 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2012.01.013
    In this study, we reported a full length of catalase gene (designated as MrCat), identified from the transcriptome database of freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii. The complete gene sequence of the MrCat is 2504 base pairs in length, and encodes 516 amino acids. The MrCat protein contains three domains such as catalase 1 (catalase proximal heme-ligand signature) at 350-358, catalase 2 (catalase proximal active site signature) at 60-76 and catalase 3 (catalase family profile) at 20-499. The mRNA expressions of MrCat in healthy and the infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) challenged M. rosenbergii were examined using quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The MrCat is highly expressed in digestive tract and all the other tissues (walking leg, gills, muscle, hemocyte, hepatopancreas, pleopods, brain and eye stalk) of M. rosenbergii taken for analysis. The expression is strongly up-regulated in digestive tract after IHHNV challenge. To understand its biological activity, the recombinant MrCat gene was constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The recombinant MrCat existed in high thermal stability and broad spectrum of pH, which showed over 95% enzyme activity between pH 5 and 10.5, and was stable from 40 °C to 70 °C, and exhibited 85-100% enzyme activity from 30 °C to 40 °C.
  8. Arockiaraj J, Easwvaran S, Vanaraja P, Singh A, Othman RY, Bhassu S
    Fish Shellfish Immunol, 2012 Jan;32(1):161-9.
    PMID: 22119573 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2011.11.006
    Caspase 3c (MrCasp3c) was sequenced from the freshwater giant prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii using Illumina Solexa Genome Analyzer Technique. MrCasp3c consisted of 2080 bp nucleotide encoded 521 polypeptide with an estimated molecular mass of 59 kDa. MrCasp3c sequence contains caspase family p20 domain profile and caspase family p10 domain profile at 236-367 and 378-468 respectively. The quantitative real time PCR analysis revealed a broad expression of MrCasp3c with the highest expression in haemocyte and the lowest in stomach. The expression of MrCasp3c after challenge with the infectious hypodermal and haematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) was tested in haemocyte. In addition, MrCasp3c was expressed in Escherichia coli by prokaryotic expression plasmid pMAL-c2x. The enzyme activity of MrCasp3c was also found to be up-regulated by IHHNV in haemocyte and hepatopancreas tissues. This study suggested that MrCasp3c may be an effector caspase associated with the induction of apoptosis which is potentially involved in the immune defence of M. rosenbergii.
  9. Saw SH, Lee S, Roy F, Chong PL, Vengadeswaran V, Sidik AS, et al.
    Rev Sci Instrum, 2010 May;81(5):053505.
    PMID: 20515137 DOI: 10.1063/1.3429207
    The static (unloaded) electrical parameters of a capacitor bank are of utmost importance for the purpose of modeling the system as a whole when the capacitor bank is discharged into its dynamic electromagnetic load. Using a physical short circuit across the electromagnetic load is usually technically difficult and is unnecessary. The discharge can be operated at the highest pressure permissible in order to minimize current sheet motion, thus simulating zero dynamic load, to enable bank parameters, static inductance L(0), and resistance r(0) to be obtained using lightly damped sinusoid equations given the bank capacitance C(0). However, for a plasma focus, even at the highest permissible pressure it is found that there is significant residual motion, so that the assumption of a zero dynamic load introduces unacceptable errors into the determination of the circuit parameters. To overcome this problem, the Lee model code is used to fit the computed current trace to the measured current waveform. Hence the dynamics is incorporated into the solution and the capacitor bank parameters are computed using the Lee model code, and more accurate static bank parameters are obtained.
  10. Nurul-Syakima AM, Yoke-Kqueen C, Sabariah AR, Shiran MS, Singh A, Learn-Han L
    Int J Mol Med, 2011 Sep;28(3):327-36.
    PMID: 21637912 DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2011.714
    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that involved in various cancer-related cellular processes. Diverse studies on expression profiling of miRNAs have been performed and the data showed that some miRNAs are up-regulated or down-regulated in cancer. Until now, there are no data published on the miRNA expression in head and neck cancers from Malaysia. Hence, this study aimed to investigate potentially crucial miRNAs in head and neck cancer patients from Malaysian populations. A global miRNA profiling was performed on 12 samples of head and neck cancer tissue using microarray analysis followed by validation using real-time RT-PCR. Microarray analysis identified 10 miRNAs that could distinguish malignant head and neck cancer lesions from normal tissues; 7 miRNAs (hsa-miR-181a-2*, hsa-miR-29b-1*, hsa-miR-181a, hsa-miR-181b, hsa-miR-744, hsa-miR-1271 and hsa-miR-221*) were up-regulated while 3 miRNAs (hsa-miR-141, hsa-miR-95 and hsa-miR-101) were down-regulated. These miRNAs may contribute in a simple profiling strategy to identify individuals at higher risk of developing head and neck cancers, thus helping in the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms involved in head and neck cancer pathogenesis.
  11. Mitra NK, Xuan KY, Teo CC, Xian-Zhuang N, Singh A, Chellian J
    Res Pharm Sci, 2020 Dec;15(6):602-611.
    PMID: 33828603 DOI: 10.4103/1735-5362.301345
    Background and Purpose: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by demyelination and axonal loss. Quantitative estimation of behavioral, locomotor, and histological changes following the use of alpha-tocopherol (AT) in the animal model of MS have not been reported. The present study was planned to evaluate whether AT can improve sensorimotor dysfunction and reduce demyelination in the cuprizone (CPZ)-induced rat model of MS.

    Experimental approach: Female Sprague-Dawley rats (8 weeks) were fed with cuprizone diet for 5 weeks followed by intraperitoneal injections of alpha-tocopherol (100 mg/Kg) or PBS for 2 weeks (groups E1 and E2, n = 8). Group C (n = 8) was fed with normal pellets followed by intraperitoneal doses of PBS. Open-field test and beam walking were carried out on every 10th day. The mean area of demyelination in the corpus callosum was quantified in Luxol® fast blue (LFB) stained histological sections of the forebrain. Qualitative grading for relative changes in the stains of myelinated fibers was also done.

    Findings/Results: During withdrawal of CPZ, AT treatment increased the average speed by 22% in group E1, compared to group E2 (P < 0.05). The mean time to walk the beam was reduced in group E1 by 2.6% compared to group E2 (P < 0.05). The rearing frequency was increased in group E1 during week 6-7 compared to that in the period of CPZ treatment. The mean area of demyelination in the corpus callosum showed a 12% reduction in group E1 compared to group E2 (P < 0.05).

    Conclusion and implications: Short-term AT therapy showed improvement in motor dysfunction and reduction of demyelination in the animal model of MS.

  12. Lim YF, Chan YJ, Abakr YA, Sethu V, Selvarajoo A, Singh A, et al.
    Environ Technol, 2021 Feb 18.
    PMID: 33502966 DOI: 10.1080/09593330.2021.1882587
    As the population increases, energy demands continue to rise rapidly. In order to satisfy this increasing energy demand, biogas offers a potential alternative. Biogas is economically viable to be produced through anaerobic digestion (AD) from various biomass feedstocks that are readily available in Malaysia, such as food waste (FW), palm oil mill effluent (POME), garden waste (GW), landfill, sewage sludge (SS) and animal manure. This paper aims to determine the potential feedstocks for biogas production via AD based on their characteristics, methane yield, kinetic studies and economic analysis. POME and FW show the highest methane yield with biogas yields up to 0.50 L/g VS while the lowest is 0.12 L/g VS by landfill leachate. Kinetic study shows that modified Gompertz model fits most of the feedstock with R 2 up to 1 indicating that this model can be used for estimating treatment efficiencies of full-scale reactors and performing scale-up analysis. The economic analysis shows that POME has the shortest payback period (PBP), highest internal rate of return (IRR) and net present value (NPV). However, it has already been well explored, with 93% of biogas plants in Malaysia using POME as feedstock. The FW generation rate in Malaysia is approximately 15,000 tonnes per day, at the same time FW as the second place shows potential to have a PBP of 5.4 years and 13.3% IRR, which is close to the results achieved with POME. This makes FW suitable to be used as the feedstock for biogas production.
  13. Anwar ET, Gupta N, Porwal O, Sharma A, Malviya R, Singh A, et al.
    PMID: 34579638 DOI: 10.2174/1871526521666210927120334
    BACKGROUND: In the rural areas of sub-Saharan African regions, skin diseases are so common. Due to which the population of the sub-Saharan region suffers from different types of skin disorders. In these regions, many treatment options are not available for the treatment of skin disease.

    AIM: The current study aims to discuss various skin diseases and their treatment strategies specifically in sub-Saharan African regions.

    METHOD: Extensive literature survey was carried out by using scopus, science direct, elsevier, google scholar and bentham science databases.

    RESULT AND DISCUSSION: It was demonstrated from the literature surveys that different effective techniques are used in the management of skin disease. In the result, it was shown that the condition of the disease is at a dangerous level which must be controlled.

    CONCLUSION: It is concluded from the manuscript that the skin disorder in the sub-Saharan region is at a very dangerous level. The research must be done to develop a better understanding of the disease and its treatment.

  14. Kumari N, Bangar SP, Petrů M, Ilyas RA, Singh A, Kumar P
    Foods, 2021 Aug 24;10(9).
    PMID: 34574085 DOI: 10.3390/foods10091976
    The present investigation studied the physicochemical, mechanical, structural, thermal, and morphological attributes of a novel edible film formed from fenugreek protein concentrate. Films were produced at different pH-9, 10, 11, and 12-and the effect of the pH on the films was studied. As the pH increased, tensile strength increased while water vapor absorption decreased, which is interrelated to the surface morphological properties; as the pH increased, the surface became smoother and compact without any cavities. The films produced were darker in color. Fenugreek protein films exhibited good thermal stability. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed the presence of strong bonding for the films made at alkaline pH. X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) indicated the major structure of the film was amorphous. The study demonstrated that the fenugreek protein concentrate film has influential characteristics and can be used as an edible packaging film.
  15. Singh A, Patel P, Patel VK, Jain DK, Veerasamy R, Sharma PC, et al.
    Curr Cancer Drug Targets, 2017;17(5):456-466.
    PMID: 28067178 DOI: 10.2174/1568009617666170109150134
    BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is a devastating disease with a dismal prognosis which is heavily hampered by delayed diagnosis. Surgical resection, radiation therapy and chemotherapy are the curative options. Due to few therapeutic treatments available i.e., mono and combination therapy and development of resistance towards drug response, novel and efficacious therapy are urgently needed.

    OBJECTIVE: In this study, we have studied the potential of histone deacetylase inhibitors in colorectal cancer.

    RESULTS: Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) are an emerging class of therapeutic agents having potential anticancer activity with minimal toxicity for different types of malignancies in preclinical studies. HDACIs have proven less effective in monotherapy thus the combination of HDACIs with other anticancer agents are being assessed for the treatment of colorectal cancer.

    CONCLUSION: The molecular mechanism emphasizing the anticancer effect of HDACIs in colorectal cancer was illustrated and a recapitulation was carried out on the recent advances in the rationale behind combination therapies currently underway in clinical evaluations.

  16. Sidhu P, Shankargouda S, Rath A, Hesarghatta Ramamurthy P, Fernandes B, Kumar Singh A
    J Ayurveda Integr Med, 2018 11 01;11(1):82-88.
    PMID: 30391123 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaim.2017.12.004
    Oral health influences general well-being and quality of life. Oral diseases can be debilitating and are a major heath concern worldwide. Medicinal plants have been used for thousands of years for treating human diseases. Considering the emergence of multi-drug resistant pathogens and financial difficulties in developing countries, there is an urgent need for developing new antimicrobial compounds which are safe, efficient and cost effective. Liquorice also known as yashtimadhu, sweetwood or mulhatti is one such herbal remedy which has shown to have immense potential in treatment of orofacial diseases. Liquorice is rich in secondary metabolites which are used in cosmetics, foods, traditional and modern medicine. It has well known properties such as antiviral, glucocorticoid, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-ulcerative, anti-carcinogenic and many more. Liquorice extracts and liquorice bioactive ingredients such as glabridin, licoricidin, licorisoflavan A, licochalcone A, and glycyrrhizin have shown beneficial effects in preventing and treating oral diseases. This paper reviews the effects of liquorice and its constituents on oral diseases such as dental caries, periodontitis, gingivitis, candidiasis, recurrent aphthous ulcer and oral cancer and its use as a root canal medicament and summarizes the results of clinical trials that investigated the potential beneficial effects of liquorice and its constituents as a prevention and treatment modality in oral diseases. Clinical trials, case reports and review of literature evaluating the effect of liquorice on oral microorganisms and oral diseases are included. Literature pertaining to the effects of liquorice on systemic diseases have been excluded from this review of literature.
  17. Bhattacharya S, Pradhan KB, Bashar MA, Tripathi S, Semwal J, Marzo RR, et al.
    J Family Med Prim Care, 2019 Nov;8(11):3461-3464.
    PMID: 31803636 DOI: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_155_19
    In this paper, we have described the health care problem (maldistribution of doctors) in India. Later, we have introduced the concept of artificial intelligence and we have described this technology with various examples, how it is rapidly changing the health care scenario across the world. We have also described the various advantages of artificial intelligence technology. At the end of the paper, we have raised some serious concerns regarding complete replacement of human based health care technology with artificial intelligence technology. Lastly, we concluded that we have to use artificial intelligent technology to prevent human sufferings/health care problems with proper caution.
  18. Bhattacharya S, Singh A, Semwal J, Marzo RR, Sharma N, Goyal M, et al.
    PMID: 32154300 DOI: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_423_19
    INTRODUCTION: Disaster can occur at any time any place. Disaster preparedness plays an important role to reduce the loss of a community/country. The aim of this interventional study was to ascertain the impact of a video-based educational intervention program on improvement in knowledge and attitude of paramedical students in a hospital.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: A pre-post study (interventional study design) was conducted on paramedic students. Our study period was 6 months which was divided into Phases I, II, and III. For administrative purpose, we included all paramedical students, and our sample size was 119. The baseline assessment of knowledge and attitude of paramedic students was done by a pretested questionnaire (Observation 1) with having a baseline scoring. After that, intervention Phase 1 was implemented, and later, end line observation (Observation 2) was made. Changes in knowledge and attitude were observed by the score difference (Observation 2-Observation 1). Descriptive statistics were calculated, and the mean of cumulative score was compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. We applied Mann-Whitney U-test for finding associations between dependent variables with an independent variable using SPSS version 22 (IBM, Chicago, USA) software.

    RESULTS: Our baseline results showed that most of our participants had average knowledge (54.6%), followed by poor knowledge (24.4%). Approximately one-fifth (21.0%) of the participants had good knowledge regarding disaster preparedness. A significant improvement was observed in cumulative score (P < 0.005). A significant difference was observed in knowledge and attitude with respect to age and courses (P < 0.05). Forty percent of the students responded that they would like to get trained by that mock drill, and 26.1% were interested in disaster preparedness workshops in the future.

    CONCLUSION: Our present study results indicate that the overall knowledge and attitude level of the students was average and required improvement. A similar result was reported in some studies conducted globally for the same purpose. All of our students perceived that training for disaster preparedness is necessary for all health facilities, and it is important to have an emergency plan and disaster management committee. Regarding training methods, most of our students liked our interactive audiovisual method. However, their preferred methods were mock drill and workshops. It can be arranged in the future for them.

  19. Zhang F, Shih SF, Harapan H, Rajamoorthy Y, Chang HY, Singh A, et al.
    BMC Res Notes, 2021 Nov 25;14(1):428.
    PMID: 34823587 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-021-05846-8
    OBJECTIVES: This study assessed changes in behaviors/attitudes related to the COVID-19. With the understanding that behaviors and vaccine decision-making could contribute to global spread of infectious diseases, this study collected several waves of internet-based surveys from individuals in the United States, mainland China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and India. The aims of this study were to (1) characterize the relationship between the epidemiology of disease and changes over time in risk perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes towards hygienic behaviors; (2) examine if risk perceptions affect acceptance of less-than-ideal vaccines; and (3) contrast adherence to public health recommendations across countries which have had different governmental responses to the outbreak.

    DATA DESCRIPTION: We conducted cross-sectional online surveys in six countries from March 2020 to April 2021. By the end of June 2021, there will be six waves of surveys for the United States and China, and four waves for the rest of countries. There are common sets of questions for all countries, however, some questions were adapted to reflect local situations and some questions were designed intentionally for specific countries to capture different COVID-19 mitigation actions. Participants were asked about their adherence towards countermeasures, risk perceptions, and acceptance of a hypothetical vaccine for COVID-19.

  20. Bungau SG, Behl T, Singh A, Sehgal A, Singh S, Chigurupati S, et al.
    Nutrients, 2021 Sep 26;13(10).
    PMID: 34684377 DOI: 10.3390/nu13103376
    Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a progressive inflammatory disorder characterized by swollen joints, discomfort, tightness, bone degeneration and frailty. Genetic, agamogenetic and sex-specific variables, Prevotella, diet, oral health and gut microbiota imbalance are all likely causes of the onset or development of RA, perhaps the specific pathways remain unknown. Lactobacillus spp. probiotics are often utilized as relief or dietary supplements to treat bowel diseases, build a strong immune system and sustain the immune system. At present, the action mechanism of Lactobacillus spp. towards RA remains unknown. Therefore, researchers conclude the latest analysis to effectively comprehend the ultimate pathogenicity of rheumatoid arthritis, as well as the functions of probiotics, specifically Lactobacillus casei or Lactobacillus acidophilus, in the treatment of RA in therapeutic and diagnostic reports. RA is a chronic inflammation immunological illness wherein the gut microbiota is affected. Probiotics are organisms that can regulate gut microbiota, which may assist to relieve RA manifestations. Over the last two decades, there has been a surge in the use of probiotics. However, just a few research have considered the effect of probiotic administration on the treatment and prevention of arthritis. Randomized regulated experimental trials have shown that particular probiotics supplement has anti-inflammatory benefits, helps people with RA enhance daily activities and alleviates symptoms. As a result, utilizing probiotic microorganisms as therapeutics could be a potential possibility for arthritis treatment. This review highlights the known data on the therapeutic and preventative effects of probiotics in RA, as well as their interactions.
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