Displaying publications 41 - 60 of 432 in total

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  1. Moin M, Saadat S, Rafique S, Maqsood A, Lal A, Vohra F, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:5185613.
    PMID: 34950734 DOI: 10.1155/2021/5185613
    Introduction: Oral health is considered as one of the essential components of the overall health of every individual. Maintaining oral health is a gradual process that requires commitment. Children who require special care such as hearing impairment experience difficulty in maintaining oral health primarily due to communication difficulties. This study is aimed at using different interventions to evaluate the improvement of oral hygiene in hearing impaired children.

    Materials and Methods: Fifty-nine children were recruited in this study that were allocated randomly into each group with twenty children as follows: group 1: pictorial, group 2: video, and group 3: control. Mean plaque and gingival scores were noted before and after the use of different interventions. Oral hygiene was categorized as "excellent," "good," and "fair." Gingival health was categorized as "healthy," "mild gingivitis," and "moderate gingivitis."

    Results: Thirty-four children (57.6%) were from 12-13 years of age bracket, and 25 (42.4%) belonged to 14-16 years of age. Regarding gender, there were 37 (62.7%) males and 22 (37.3%) females. About comparison of mean gingival and plaque scores before and after interventions in each group, a significant difference was found in group 1 (p < 0.001) and group 2 (p < 0.001), as compared to group 3 where the difference in scores was not significant (p > 0.05).

    Conclusion: Maintaining oral health requires the compliance of individuals to perform different methods of preventive dentistry, such as tooth brushing and use of dental floss. The use of different oral hygiene educational interventions such as pictorial and video methods have been proven and useful for hearing impaired children in improving oral health.

  2. Maqsood A, Sadiq MSK, Mirza D, Ahmed N, Lal A, Alam MK, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:5437237.
    PMID: 34845437 DOI: 10.1155/2021/5437237
    Objective: The present study was aimed at assessing the impact of teledentistry, its application, and trends in uplifting dental practice and clinical care around the world. Material and Methods. The present observational study comprised of an electronic survey distributed among dental professionals around the globe. The validated survey form consisted of a total 26 questions with 5-point Likert scale response. The questionnaire used was divided into four domains: usefulness of teledentistry for patients, its usefulness in dental practice, its capacity to improve the existing practice, and the concerns attached to its use. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS-25. ANOVA test was used to assess the effect of independent variables on dependent variables. A p value of ≤0.05 was taken as statistically significant.

    Results: A total of 506 dental professionals participated in the study with the response rate of 89.39%. More than half of the participants (50-75%) endorsed that teledentistry is a useful tool for improving clinical practice as well as patient care. Two-thirds of the participants (69.96%) considered that teledentistry would reduce cost for the dental practices. On the other hand, about 50-70% of dental professionals expressed their concerns regarding the security of the data and consent of patients. The most preferred communication tool for teledentistry was reported to be videoconference followed by phone. The majority of participants recommended the use of teledentistry in the specialty of oral medicine, operative dentistry, and periodontics. There was a significant difference between the age, experience of dentists, and their qualifications with domains of teledentistry.

    Conclusions: The overall impact of dental professionals towards teledentistry was positive with adequate willingness to incorporate this modality in their clinical practice. However, the perceived concerns pertaining to teledentistry are significant impediments towards its integration within the oral health system. An in-depth study of its business model and cost-benefit needs of time, especially in the context of developing countries, in order to avail the optimum benefits of teledentistry.

  3. Ahmad WMAW, Yaqoob MA, Noor NFM, Ghazali FMM, Rahman NA, Tang L, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:5436894.
    PMID: 34904115 DOI: 10.1155/2021/5436894
    Background: Cancer is primarily caused by smoking, alcohol, betel quit, a series of genetic alterations, and epigenetic abnormalities in signaling pathways, which result in a variety of phenotypes that favor the development of OSCC. Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common type of oral cancer, accounting for 80-90% of all oral malignant neoplasms. Oral cancer is relatively common, and it is frequently curable when detected and treated early enough. The tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging system is used to determine patient prognosis; however, geographical inaccuracies frequently occur, affecting management.

    Objective: To determine the additional relationship between factors discovered by searching for sociodemographic and metastasis factors, as well as treatment outcomes, which could help improve the prediction of the survival rate in cancer patients. Material and Methods. A total of 56 patients were recruited from the ambulatory clinic at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). In this retrospective study, advanced computational statistical modeling techniques were used to evaluate data descriptions of several variables such as treatment, age, and distant metastasis. The R-Studio software and syntax were used to implement and test the hazard ratio. The statistics for each sample were calculated using a combination model that included methods such as bootstrap and multiple linear regression (MLR).

    Results: The statistical strategy showed R demonstrates that regression modeling outperforms an R-squared. It demonstrated that when data is partitioned into a training and testing dataset, the hybrid model technique performs better at predicting the outcome. The variable validation was determined using the well-established bootstrap-integrated MLR technique. In this case, three variables are considered: age, treatment, and distant metastases. It is important to note that three things affect the hazard ratio: age (β 1: -0.006423; p < 2e - 16), treatment (β 2: -0.355389; p < 2e - 16), and distant metastasis (β 3: -0.355389; p < 2e - 16). There is a 0.003469102 MSE for the linear model in this scenario.

    Conclusion: In this study, a hybrid approach combining bootstrapping and multiple linear regression will be developed and extensively tested. The R syntax for this methodology was designed to ensure that the researcher completely understood the illustration. In this case, a hybrid model demonstrates how this critical conclusion enables us to better understand the utility and relative contribution of the hybrid method to the outcome. The statistical technique used in this study, R, demonstrates that regression modeling outperforms R-squared values of 0.9014 and 0.00882 for the predicted mean squared error, respectively. The conclusion of the study establishes the superiority of the hybrid model technique used in the study.

  4. Jesmin F, Kamarudin A, Baharin F, Ahmad WMABW, Mohammed M, Marya A, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:8424206.
    PMID: 34977246 DOI: 10.1155/2021/8424206
    Introduction: Hall's technique preformed metal crown (HTPMC) has been used widely by pediatric dentists in developed countries as a new approach for managing decayed primary molars without local anesthesia, caries removal, and tooth preparation. Currently, inadequate information is available regarding the implementation of this technique (HTPMC) in Malaysia. This study is aimed at evaluating the implementation of HTPMC by Malaysia's pediatric dentists and identify the co-occurrence frequencies of the HTPMC implementation with the respondents' demographic profile.

    Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based research was conducted among 65 pediatric dentists in Malaysia. Online questionnaires were distributed to the pediatric dentists employed at public hospitals (MOH) and universities in Malaysia.

    Result: It was found that over half of the respondents (65.6%) employed HTPMC. The analysis of the co-occurrence network frequency revealed that a high frequency of female pediatric dentists who were within the age group of 31-40 years old had fulfilled their postgraduation overseas and was employed in the university mainly applied HTPMC.

    Conclusion: The application of HTPMC among respondent pediatric dentists in Malaysia was high. However, most respondents considered HTPMC a treatment option only to manage carious primary molar rather than a treatment of choice.

  5. Aklilu E, Harun A, Singh KKB, Ibrahim S, Kamaruzzaman NF
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:5596502.
    PMID: 34660793 DOI: 10.1155/2021/5596502
    Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) has been a public health risk in several countries, and recent reports indicate the emergence of CRE in food animals. This study was conducted to investigate the occurrence, resistance patterns, and phylogenetic diversity of carbapenem-resistant E. coli (CREC) from chicken. Routine bacteriology, PCR detection of E. coli species, multiplex PCR to detect carbapenemase-encoding genes, and phylogeny of CRE E. coli were conducted. The results show that 24.36% (19/78) were identified as CREC based on the phenotypic identifications of which 17 were positive for the tested carbapenemases genes. The majority, 57.99% (11/19), of the isolates harbored multiple carbapenemase genes. Four isolates harbored all bla NDM, bla OXA, and bla IMP, and five and two different isolates harbored bla NDM and bla OXA and bla OXA and bla IMP, respectively. The meropenem, imipenem, and ertapenem MIC values for the isolates ranged from 2 μg/mL to ≥256 μg/mL. Phylogenetic grouping showed that the CREC isolates belonged to five different groups: groups A, B1, C, D, and unknown. The detection of CREC in this study shows that it has become an emerging problem in farm animals, particularly, in poultry farms. This also implies the potential public health risks posed by CRE from chicken to the consumers.
  6. Godman B, Wladysiuk M, McTaggart S, Kurdi A, Allocati E, Jakovljevic M, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:9996193.
    PMID: 34676266 DOI: 10.1155/2021/9996193
    BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus rates and associated costs continue to rise across Europe enhancing health authority focus on its management. The risk of complications is enhanced by poor glycaemic control, with long-acting insulin analogues developed to reduce hypoglycaemia and improve patient convenience. There are concerns though with their considerably higher costs, but moderated by reductions in complications and associated costs. Biosimilars can help further reduce costs. However, to date, price reductions for biosimilar insulin glargine appear limited. In addition, the originator company has switched promotional efforts to more concentrated patented formulations to reduce the impact of biosimilars. There are also concerns with different devices between the manufacturers. As a result, there is a need to assess current utilisation rates for insulins, especially long-acting insulin analogues and biosimilars, and the rationale for patterns seen, among multiple European countries to provide future direction. Methodology. Health authority databases are examined to assess utilisation and expenditure patterns for insulins, including biosimilar insulin glargine. Explanations for patterns seen were provided by senior-level personnel.

    RESULTS: Typically increasing use of long-acting insulin analogues across Europe including both Western and Central and Eastern European countries reflects perceived patient benefits despite higher prices. However, activities by the originator company to switch patients to more concentrated insulin glargine coupled with lowering prices towards biosimilars have limited biosimilar uptake, with biosimilars not currently launched in a minority of European countries. A number of activities were identified to address this. Enhancing the attractiveness of the biosimilar insulin market is essential to encourage other biosimilar manufacturers to enter the market as more long-acting insulin analogues lose their patents to benefit all key stakeholder groups.

    CONCLUSIONS: There are concerns with the availability and use of insulin glargine biosimilars among European countries despite lower costs. This can be addressed.

  7. Albaayit SFA, Maharjan R, Abdullah R, Noor MHM
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:3123476.
    PMID: 33748267 DOI: 10.1155/2021/3123476
    BACKGROUND: Clausena excavata Burum. f. has long been applied in ethnomedicine for the treatment of various disorders like rhinitis, headache, cough, wound healing, fever, and detoxification. This study is aimed at investigating the antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 49532 using AlamarBlue assay and atomic force microscopy (AFM) as well as the cytotoxicity, anticancer, and phytotoxicity of C. excavata.

    METHOD: Bacterial cell viability was performed by using microplate AlamarBlue assay. Atomic force microscopy was used to determine morphological changes in the surface of bacterial cells. Cytotoxicity and phytotoxicity were determined by brine shrimp lethality and Lemna minor bioassay. Caco-2 (colorectal adenocarcinoma) cell line was used for the evaluation of the anticancer effects.

    RESULT: Among the fractions tested, ethyl acetate (EA) fraction was found to be active with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 750 μg/mL against E. faecalis, but other fractions were found to be insensitive to bacterial growth. Microscopically, the EA fraction-treated bacteria showed highly damaged cells with their cytoplasmic content scattered all over. The LC50 value of the EA fraction against brine shrimp was more than 1000 μg/mL showing the nontoxic nature of this fraction. Chloroform (CH), EA, and methanol (MOH) fractions of C. excavata were highly herbicidal at the concentration of 1000 μg/mL. EA inhibited Caco-2 cell line with an IC50 of 20 μg/mL.

    CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to reveal anti-E. faecalis property of EA fraction of C. excavata leaves, natural herbicidal, and anticancer agents thus highlight the potential compound present in its leaf which needs to be isolated and tested against multidrug-resistant E. faecalis.

  8. Harun AM, Awang H, Noor NFM, Makhatar NM, Yusoff ME, Affandi NDN, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:6173143.
    PMID: 34859102 DOI: 10.1155/2021/6173143
    BACKGROUND: Potential antibacterial substances, such as titanium dioxide (TiO2), are being extensively studied throughout the research world. A modified hydrothermal nanotitania extraction was shown to inhibit Staphylococcus aureus growth in the laboratory. However, the toxicity effect of the extract on rats is unknown. In this study, we observed the effects of a modified hydrothermal nanotitania extraction on the skin and behavior of Sprague-Dawley rats.

    METHODS: Sprague-Dawley (Rattus norvegicus) rats were used as the experimental animals. The skin around the dorsum of the tested animals was shaved and pasted with 0.1 mg and 0.5 mg of the nanotitania extraction. The color and condition of the pasted area and the behavior of the animals were observed.

    RESULTS: 0.1 mg nanotitania extraction application on the dorsum of the rat produced no skin color changes at day 1, day 3, day 5, or day 7 postapplication. There were no changes in their behavior up to day 7 with no skin rashes or skin scratches seen or fur changes. However, 0.5 mg of nanotitania extraction resulted in redness and less fur regrowth at day 7.

    CONCLUSIONS: A 0.1 mg modified nanotitania extraction was observed to have no effect on the skin of Sprague-Dawley rats.

  9. Subhan R, Ismail WA, Musharraf S, Khan M, Hafeez R, Alam MK
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:8757859.
    PMID: 34540998 DOI: 10.1155/2021/8757859
    The current scenario of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced dentists to seek different options for delivering healthcare services other than the in-person direct examination in clinical practice. Teledentistry is one of the options for remote patient care and monitoring. Objective. The present survey was conducted to assess the knowledge and perception of the dentists in Pakistan regarding teledentistry as an emergent supportive tool. Materials and Methods. A self-administered, close-ended, and prevalidated survey questionnaire was used, comprising 21 questions, and distributed electronically via e-mail, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger to evaluate the knowledge and perception of dentists regarding teledentistry. The data collected was compiled in a systematic manner and analyzed in terms of frequency (yes/no). Results. Out of a total of 350 dentists, 325 responded to the questionnaire, and it was seen that 62.5% of them did not have knowledge about teledentistry prior to COVID-19. 65.8% of dentists considered the practice of teledentistry in nonpandemic situations in the future. Conclusion. In the present study, it was observed that most of the dental professionals had inadequate knowledge about teledentistry before COVID-19, but the awareness and perception regarding teledentistry were currently satisfactory among the dental professionals in Pakistan. This emerging trend gives a positive hope for the implementation of teledentistry in the healthcare setup of Pakistan in the near future, as it will prove to be beneficial for safe dental practice during times of pandemic and even after.
  10. Khalaf AT, Wei Y, Alneamah SJA, Al-Shawi SG, Kadir SYA, Zainol J, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:8823222.
    PMID: 33681381 DOI: 10.1155/2021/8823222
    Nutraceuticals have taken on considerable significance due to their supposed safety and possible nutritional and medicinal effects. Pharmaceutical and dietary companies are conscious of monetary success, which benefits healthier consumers and the altering trends that result in these heart-oriented value-added products being proliferated. Numerous nutraceuticals are claimed to have multiple therapeutic benefits despite advantages, and unwanted effects encompass a lack of substantial evidence. Several common nutraceuticals involve glucosamine, omega-3, Echinacea, cod liver oil, folic acid, ginseng, orange juice supplemented with calcium, and green tea. This review is dedicated to improving the understanding of nutrients based on specific illness indications. It was reported that functional foods contain physiologically active components that confer various health benefits. Studies have shown that some foods and dietary patterns play a major role in the primary prevention of many ailment conditions that lead to putative functional foods being identified. Research and studies are needed to support the possible health benefits of different functional foods that have not yet been clinically validated for the relationships between diet and health. The term "functional foods" may additionally involve health/functional health foods, foods enriched with vitamins/minerals, nutritional improvements, or even conventional medicines.
  11. Ranjbarzadeh R, Jafarzadeh Ghoushchi S, Bendechache M, Amirabadi A, Ab Rahman MN, Baseri Saadi S, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:5544742.
    PMID: 33954175 DOI: 10.1155/2021/5544742
    The COVID-19 pandemic is a global, national, and local public health concern which has caused a significant outbreak in all countries and regions for both males and females around the world. Automated detection of lung infections and their boundaries from medical images offers a great potential to augment the patient treatment healthcare strategies for tackling COVID-19 and its impacts. Detecting this disease from lung CT scan images is perhaps one of the fastest ways to diagnose patients. However, finding the presence of infected tissues and segment them from CT slices faces numerous challenges, including similar adjacent tissues, vague boundary, and erratic infections. To eliminate these obstacles, we propose a two-route convolutional neural network (CNN) by extracting global and local features for detecting and classifying COVID-19 infection from CT images. Each pixel from the image is classified into the normal and infected tissues. For improving the classification accuracy, we used two different strategies including fuzzy c-means clustering and local directional pattern (LDN) encoding methods to represent the input image differently. This allows us to find more complex pattern from the image. To overcome the overfitting problems due to small samples, an augmentation approach is utilized. The results demonstrated that the proposed framework achieved precision 96%, recall 97%, F score, average surface distance (ASD) of 2.8 ± 0.3 mm, and volume overlap error (VOE) of 5.6 ± 1.2%.
  12. Myint KA, Yaakub Z, Rafii MY, Oladosu Y, Samad MYA, Ramlee SI, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:6620645.
    PMID: 33997027 DOI: 10.1155/2021/6620645
    Molecular characterization of oil palm germplasm is crucial in utilizing and conserving germplasm with promising traits. This study was conducted to evaluate the genetic diversity structures and relationships among 26 families of MPOB-Senegal oil palm germplasm using thirty-five microsatellite markers. High level of polymorphism (P = 96.26%), number of effective allele (N e = 2.653), observed heterozygosity (H o = 0.584), expected heterozygosity (H e = 0.550), total heterozygosity (H T = 0.666), and rare alleles (54) were observed which indicates that MPOB-Senegal germplasm has a broad genetic variation. Among the SSR markers, sMo00053 and sMg00133 were the most informative markers for discrimination among the MPOB-Senegal oil palm germplasm for having the highest private alleles and the rare alleles. For selection and conservation, oil palm populations with high rare alleles and Nei's gene diversity index should be considered as these populations may possess unique genes for further exploitation.
  13. Ling TS, Chandrasegaran S, Xuan LZ, Suan TL, Elaine E, Nathan DV, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:5550938.
    PMID: 34285915 DOI: 10.1155/2021/5550938
    Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that is caused by the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain. Currently, there is no definitive cure available to treat Alzheimer's disease. The available medication in the market has the ability to only slow down its progression. However, nanotechnology has shown its superiority that can be applied for medical usage and it has a great potential in the therapy of Alzheimer's disease, specifically in the disease diagnosis and providing an alternative approach to treat Alzheimer's disease. This is done by increasing the efficiency of drug delivery by penetrating and overcoming the blood-brain barrier. Having said that, there are limitations that need to be further investigated and researched in order to minimize the adverse effects and potential toxicity and to improve drug bioavailability. The recent advances in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease using nanotechnology include the regeneration of stem cells, nanomedicine, and neuroprotection. In this review, we will discuss the advancement of nanotechnology which helps in the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease as well as its challenges.
  14. Karobari MI, Khijmatgar S, Bhandary R, Krishna Nayak US, Del Fabbro M, Horn R, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:5599724.
    PMID: 34327231 DOI: 10.1155/2021/5599724
    OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to understand and analyze the prescription patterns of dentists across various demographic locations for managing oral infections and pain with antibiotics and explore the evidence-based practices by clinicians as well as the need for further education. Materials and methods. This cross-sectional study was carried out using an online questionnaire framed to explore the knowledge, attitude, and practices among dentists with varying levels of experience and qualifications, regarding antimicrobial prescription. The questions were validated from previous published studies that explored the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) with respect to antimicrobial prescription. In total, N = 300 of dentists from four different countries responded to the online questionnaire out of which 53% were specialists while 47% were general dentists. After data collection, descriptive analysis was carried out along with a one-sided hypothesis test to depict the power of the sample.

    RESULTS: It was seen from the results of the study that the first-choice antibiotics for 67.8% of dentists were found to be the β-lactam group while sulfonamides and tetracyclines at 20% were the second most prescribed group. Another important finding was that 45.6% of dentists ignored hypersensitivity testing before prescription of antibiotics even though 83.3% of the total dentists interviewed were aware of the increase in antibiotic resistance.

    CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the dentists are partially aware of the guidelines but need further training and education on antimicrobial prescription that enables evidence-based decision-making for better practices and outcomes.

  15. Rahman MA, Uddin MN, Babteen NA, Alnajeebi AM, Zakaria ZA, Aboelenin SM
    Biomed Res Int, 2021;2021:6978450.
    PMID: 34725640 DOI: 10.1155/2021/6978450
    BACKGROUND: Hatikana is a traditional medicinal plant used to treat inflammation, urolithiasis, goiter, cancer, wounds and sores, gastrointestinal, tumor, tetanus, arthritis, hepatic damage, neurodegeneration, and other ailments. The goal of this study is to investigate the antidiabetic properties of Hatikana extract (HKEx) and to construct the effects of its natural constituents on the genes and biochemical indices that are connected with them.

    METHODS: HKEx was evaluated using GC-MS and undertaken for a three-week intervention in fructose-fed STZ-induced Wistar albino rats at the doses of HKEx50, HKEx100, and HKEx200 mg/kg bw. Following intervention, blood serum was examined for biochemical markers, and liver tissue was investigated for the mRNA expression of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and superoxide dismutase (SOD1) by RTPCR analysis. Most abundant compounds (oleanolic acid, 7α, 28-olean diol, and stigmasterol) from GC-MS were chosen for the network pharmacological assay to verify function-specific gene-compound interactions using STITCH, STRING, GSEA, and Cytoscape plugin cytoHubba.

    RESULTS: In vivo results showed a significant (P < 0.05) decrease of blood sugar, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), creatinine kinase (CK-MB), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and increase of liver glycogen, glucose load, and serum insulin. Out of three antioxidative genes, catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD1) were found to be few fold increased. Oleanolic acid and stigmasterol were noticed to strongly interact with 27 target proteins. Oleanolic acid interacted with the proteins AKR1B10, CASP3, CASP8, CYP1A2, CYP1A2, HMGB1, NAMPT, NFE2L2, NQO1, PPARA, PTGIR, TOP1, TOP2A, UGT2B10, and UGT2B11 and stigmasterol with ABCA1, ABCG5, ABCG8, CTSE, HMGCR, IL10, CXCL8, NR1H2, NR1H3, SLCO1B1, SREBF2, and TNF. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis revealed the involvement of 25 target proteins out of twenty seven. Cytoscape plugin cytoHubba identified TNF, CXCL8, CASP3, PPARA, SREBF2, and IL10 as top hub genes. Pathway analysis identified 31 KEGG metabolic, signaling, and immunogenic pathways associated with diabetes. Notable degree of PPI enrichment showed that SOD1 and CAT are responsible for controlling signaling networks and enriched pathways.

    CONCLUSION: The findings show that antioxidative genes have regulatory potential, allowing the HKEx to be employed as a possible antidiabetic source pending further validation.

  16. Ng SW, Selvarajah GT, Hussein MZ, Yeap SK, Omar AR
    Biomed Res Int, 2020;2020:3012198.
    PMID: 32596292 DOI: 10.1155/2020/3012198
    Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is an important feline viral disease, causing an overridden inflammatory response that results in a high mortality rate, primarily in young cats. Curcumin is notable for its biological activities against various viral diseases; however, its poor bioavailability has hindered its potential in therapeutic application. In this study, curcumin was encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles to improve its bioavailability. Curcumin-encapsulated chitosan (Cur-CS) nanoparticles were synthesised based on the ionic gelation technique and were spherical and cuboidal in shape, with an average particle size of 330 nm and +42 mV in zeta potential. The nanoparticles exerted lower toxicity in Crandell-Rees feline kidney (CrFK) cells and enhanced antiviral activities with a selective index (SI) value three times higher than that of curcumin. Feline-specific bead-based multiplex immunoassay and qPCR were used to examine their modulatory effects on proinflammatory cytokines, including tumour necrosis factor (TNF)α, interleukin- (IL-) 6, and IL-1β. There were significant decrements in IL-1β, IL-6, and TNFα expression in both curcumin and Cur-CS nanoparticles. Based on the multiplex immunoassay, curcumin and the Cur-CS nanoparticles could lower the immune-related proteins in FIP virus (FIPV) infection. The single- and multiple-dose pharmacokinetics profiles of curcumin and the Cur-CS nanoparticles were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Oral delivery of the Cur-CS nanoparticles to cats showed enhanced bioavailability with a maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) value of 621.5 ng/mL. Incorporating chitosan nanoparticles to deliver curcumin improved the oral bioavailability and antiviral effects of curcumin against FIPV infection. This study provides evidence for the potential of Cur-CS nanoparticles as a supplementary treatment of FIP.
  17. Castañeda-Ramírez GS, Torres-Acosta JFJ, Sánchez JE, Mendoza-de-Gives P, González-Cortázar M, Zamilpa A, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2020;2020:6078917.
    PMID: 32685507 DOI: 10.1155/2020/6078917
    The present paper reviewed publications on the nematocidal activity of edible mushrooms (EM) and their potential use as sustainable tools for the control of parasitic nematodes affecting agriculture and livestock industry. Nematodes are organisms living in the soil and animals' guts where they may live as parasites severely affecting economically important crops and farm animals, thus causing economic losses to worldwide agriculture. Traditionally, parasitic nematodes have been controlled using commercial pesticides and anthelmintic (AH) drugs. Over the years, nematodes developed resistance to the AH drugs, reducing the usefulness of many commercial drugs. Also, the use of pesticides/anthelmintic drugs to control nematodes can have important negative impacts on the environment. Different EM have been not only used as food but also studied as alternative methods for controlling several diseases including parasitic nematodes. The present paper reviewed publications from the last decades about the nematocidal activity of EM and assessed their potential use as sustainable tools for the control of nematodes affecting agriculture and livestock industry. A reduced number of reports on the effect of EM against nematodes were found, and an even smaller number of reports regarding the potential AH activity of chemical compounds isolated from EM products were found. However, those studies have produced promising results that certainly deserve further investigation. It is concluded that EM, their fractions and extracts, and some compounds contained in them may have biotechnological application for the control of animal and plant parasitic nematodes.
  18. Naes SM, Ab-Rahim S, Mazlan M, Abdul Rahman A
    Biomed Res Int, 2020;2020:5197626.
    PMID: 33344638 DOI: 10.1155/2020/5197626
    Equilibrative nucleoside transporter 2 (ENT2) is a bidirectional transporter embedded in the biological membrane and is ubiquitously found in most tissue and cell types. ENT2 mediates the uptake of purine and pyrimidine nucleosides and nucleobase besides transporting a variety of nucleoside-derived drugs, mostly in anticancer therapy. Since high expression of ENT2 has been correlated with advanced stages of different types of cancers, consequently, this has gained significant interest in the role of ENT2 as a potential therapeutic target. Furthermore, ENT2 plays critical roles in signaling pathway and cell cycle progression. Therefore, elucidating the physiological roles of ENT2 and its properties may contribute to a better understanding of ENT2 roles beyond their transportation mechanism. This review is aimed at highlighting the main roles of ENT2 and at providing a brief update on the recent research.
  19. Kemung HM, Tan LT, Chan KG, Ser HL, Law JW, Lee LH, et al.
    Biomed Res Int, 2020;2020:6402607.
    PMID: 32258133 DOI: 10.1155/2020/6402607
    The mangrove ecosystem of Malaysia remains yet to be fully explored for potential microbes that produce biologically active metabolites. In the present study, a mangrove-derived Streptomyces sp. strain MUSC 14 previously isolated from the state of Pahang, Malaysia Peninsula, was studied for its potential in producing antioxidant metabolites. The identity of Streptomyces sp. strain MUSC14 was consistent with the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of the Streptomyces genus. The antioxidant potential of Streptomyces sp. strain MUSC 14 was determined through screening of its methanolic extract against sets of antioxidant assays. The results were indicative of Streptomyces sp. strain MUSC 14 displaying strong antioxidant activity against ABTS, DPPH free radicals and metal chelating activity of 62.71 ± 3.30%, 24.71 ± 2.22%, and 55.82 ± 2.35%, respectively. The result of ferric reducing activity measured in terms of dose was equivalent to 2.35-2.45 μg of positive control ascorbic acid. Furthermore, there was a high correlation between the total phenolic content and the antioxidant activities with r = 0.979, r = 0.858, and r = 0.983 representing ABTS, DPPH, and metal chelation, respectively. Overall, the present study suggests that Streptomyces sp. strain MUSC 14 from mangrove forest soil has potential to produce antioxidant metabolites that can be further exploited for therapeutic application.
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