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Phytotherapeutic potential of natural herbal medicines for the treatment of mild-to-severe atopic dermatitis: A review of human clinical studies

Hussain Z, Thu HE, Shuid AN, Kesharwani P, Khan S, Hussain F

Biomed Pharmacother, 2017 Sep;93:596-608.
PMID: 28686974 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2017.06.087

For many decades, natural herbal medicines, polyherbal formulations and/or decoctions of plant-derived materials have widely been accepted as alternative complementary therapies for the treatment, cure or prevention of a wide range of acute and chronic skin diseases including chronic herpes, prurigo, acute and chronic wounds, psoriasis and atopic dermatitis (AD). This review was aimed to summarize and critically discuss about the therapeutic viability and clinical applicability of natural herbal medicines for the treatment of AD in human. The critical analysis of the literature revealed that oral (in the form of capsules, syrup or granules) and/or topical application (alone or in conjunction with wet-wrap dressing and/or acupuncture) of natural herbal medicines exhibit remarkable potential for the treatment of mild-to-severe AD in adults, children, infants and in the pregnant women. In this review, the clinical efficacy of various herbal formulations such as Chinese herbal therapies, Korean medicines, Iranian medicines, honey, natural herbal oils (coconut oil, olive oil and mineral oil), beeswax, dodder seeds and whey for the treatment of AD has been discussed. The clinical anti-AD efficacy of these complementary therapies has been observed in terms of down-regulation in Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index, erythematic intensity, Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), pruritus and itching frequency, transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and expression of AD-mediated chemokines. Conclusively, we recognized that natural herbal medicines demonstrate remarkable clinical efficacy when used alone or in conjunction with other complementary therapies for the treatment of AD in patients of all ages as well as pregnant women.

Matched MeSH terms: Herbal Medicine/methods
Cost Effectiveness of a Platelet-rich Plasma Preparation Technique for Clinical Use

Hamid MSA

Wounds, 2018 Jul;30(7):186-190.
PMID: 30059343

INTRODUCTION: Despite limited clinical evidence, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is currently used for the treatment of various soft tissue injuries, but optimal use of PRP has yet to be determined. In many instances, PRP is prepared using commercial devices that lack standardized preparation techniques and consistent quality of the PRP produced.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to explore a simple, easy, economical method of PRP preparation that is practical for clinical use.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Sports Medicine Clinic at the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia. Participants were healthy postgraduate students and staff at the Sports Medicine Department. The PRP was prepared using a single centrifugation technique. Leukocyte and platelet levels were compared with that of a whole blood baseline and a commercial preparation kit.
RESULTS: The PRP produced using this technique contained significantly higher mean platelet (1725.0 vs. 273.9 x 109/L) and leukocyte (33.6 vs. 7.7 x 109/L) levels compared with whole blood. There was no significant difference in the mean platelet and leukocyte levels between the PRP produced in this study and by a commercial PRP system.
CONCLUSIONS: A single-centrifugation protocol using readily available materials in a typical clinical setting could produce PRP of comparable quality to those of a commercial PRP production system.

Matched MeSH terms: Sports Medicine/methods*
Current attempts to implement microRNA-based diagnostics and therapy in cardiovascular and metabolic disease: a promising future

Thanikachalam PV, Ramamurthy S, Wong ZW, Koo BJ, Wong JY, Abdullah MF, et al.

Drug Discov Today, 2018 Mar;23(3):460-480.
PMID: 29107764 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2017.10.020

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNAs regulating gene expression at the post-translational level. miRNA-based therapeutic agents are important because of the functionality of miRNAs in regulating lipid and glucose metabolism and their role in the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity, where dysregulation leads to disease; they are also important in angiogenesis. miRNAs additionally serve as biomarkers in the diagnosis, prognosis and risk assessment of disease and in monitoring the response to treatment. Here, we provide a brief overview of progress in miRNA-based therapeutics in the preclinical and clinical setting and highlight the novel outcomes and opportunities in the diagnosis and treatment of metabolic conditions. In addition, we present the role of miRNAs in stem cell therapy which could have great potential in regenerative medicine.

Matched MeSH terms: Regenerative Medicine/methods
Identification and Characterization of Intraoral and Dermal Fibroblasts Revisited

Mohd Nor NH, Berahim Z, Azlina A, Mokhtar KI, Kannan TP

Curr Stem Cell Res Ther, 2017;12(8):675-681.
PMID: 28969579 DOI: 10.2174/1574888X12666170929124621

BACKGROUND: Fibroblasts are the common cells used in clinical regenerative medicine and dentistry. These cells are known to appear heterogeneous in vivo. Previous studies have only investigated the biological properties of these cell subpopulations in vitro. Despite sharing similarity in their spindle-shaped appearance, previous literatures revealed that they play distinguished functional and biological activities in the body.
OBJECTIVE: This paper highlights the similarities and differences among these cell subpopulations, particularly between intraoral fibroblasts (human periodontal ligament, gingival and oral mucosa fibroblasts) and dermal fibroblasts based on several factors including their morphology, growth and proliferation rate.
RESULTS: It could be suggested that each subpopulation of fibroblasts demonstrate different positionspecified gene signatures and responses towards extracellular signals. These dissimilarities are crucial to be taken into consideration to employ specific methodologies in stimulating these cells in vivo.
CONCLUSION: A comparison of the characteristics of these cell subpopulations is desired for identifying appropriate cellular applications.

Matched MeSH terms: Regenerative Medicine/methods
The Advancement of Biomaterials in Regulating Stem Cell Fate

Hiew VV, Simat SFB, Teoh PL

Stem Cell Rev Rep, 2018 Feb;14(1):43-57.
PMID: 28884292 DOI: 10.1007/s12015-017-9764-y

Stem cells are well-known to have prominent roles in tissue engineering applications. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can differentiate into every cell type in the body while adult stem cells such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be isolated from various sources. Nevertheless, an utmost limitation in harnessing stem cells for tissue engineering is the supply of cells. The advances in biomaterial technology allows the establishment of ex vivo expansion systems to overcome this bottleneck. The progress of various scaffold fabrication could direct stem cell fate decisions including cell proliferation and differentiation into specific lineages in vitro. Stem cell biology and biomaterial technology promote synergistic effect on stem cell-based regenerative therapies. Therefore, understanding the interaction of stem cell and biomaterials would allow the designation of new biomaterials for future clinical therapeutic applications for tissue regeneration. This review focuses mainly on the advances of natural and synthetic biomaterials in regulating stem cell fate decisions. We have also briefly discussed how biological and biophysical properties of biomaterials including wettability, chemical functionality, biodegradability and stiffness play their roles.

Matched MeSH terms: Regenerative Medicine/methods
Fulltext Towards precision medicine: from quantitative imaging to radiomics

Acharya UR, Hagiwara Y, Sudarshan VK, Chan WY, Ng KH

J Zhejiang Univ Sci B, 2018 1 9;19(1):6-24.
PMID: 29308604 DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1700260

Radiology (imaging) and imaging-guided interventions, which provide multi-parametric morphologic and functional information, are playing an increasingly significant role in precision medicine. Radiologists are trained to understand the imaging phenotypes, transcribe those observations (phenotypes) to correlate with underlying diseases and to characterize the images. However, in order to understand and characterize the molecular phenotype (to obtain genomic information) of solid heterogeneous tumours, the advanced sequencing of those tissues using biopsy is required. Thus, radiologists image the tissues from various views and angles in order to have the complete image phenotypes, thereby acquiring a huge amount of data. Deriving meaningful details from all these radiological data becomes challenging and raises the big data issues. Therefore, interest in the application of radiomics has been growing in recent years as it has the potential to provide significant interpretive and predictive information for decision support. Radiomics is a combination of conventional computer-aided diagnosis, deep learning methods, and human skills, and thus can be used for quantitative characterization of tumour phenotypes. This paper discusses the overview of radiomics workflow, the results of various radiomics-based studies conducted using various radiological images such as computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron-emission tomography (PET), the challenges we are facing, and the potential contribution of radiomics towards precision medicine.

Matched MeSH terms: Precision Medicine/methods*
Proteogenomics: From next-generation sequencing (NGS) and mass spectrometry-based proteomics to precision medicine

Ang MY, Low TY, Lee PY, Wan Mohamad Nazarie WF, Guryev V, Jamal R

Clin Chim Acta, 2019 Nov;498:38-46.
PMID: 31421119 DOI: 10.1016/j.cca.2019.08.010

One of the best-established area within multi-omics is proteogenomics, whereby the underpinning technologies are next-generation sequencing (NGS) and mass spectrometry (MS). Proteogenomics has contributed significantly to genome (re)-annotation, whereby novel coding sequences (CDS) are identified and confirmed. By incorporating in-silico translated genome variants in protein database, single amino acid variants (SAAV) and splice proteoforms can be identified and quantified at peptide level. The application of proteogenomics in cancer research potentially enables the identification of patient-specific proteoforms, as well as the association of the efficacy or resistance of cancer therapy to different mutations. Here, we discuss how NGS/TGS data are analyzed and incorporated into the proteogenomic framework. These sequence data mainly originate from whole genome sequencing (WGS), whole exome sequencing (WES) and RNA-Seq. We explain two major strategies for sequence analysis i.e., de novo assembly and reads mapping, followed by construction of customized protein databases using such data. Besides, we also elaborate on the procedures of spectrum to peptide sequence matching in proteogenomics, and the relationship between database size on the false discovery rate (FDR). Finally, we discuss the latest development in proteogenomics-assisted precision oncology and also challenges and opportunities in proteogenomics research.

Matched MeSH terms: Precision Medicine/methods*
Fulltext Recent Advances in Biopolymeric Composite Materials for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicines: A Review

Aslam Khan MU, Abd Razak SI, Al Arjan WS, Nazir S, Sahaya Anand TJ, Mehboob H, et al.

Molecules, 2021 Jan 25;26(3).
PMID: 33504080 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26030619

The polymeric composite material with desirable features can be gained by selecting suitable biopolymers with selected additives to get polymer-filler interaction. Several parameters can be modified according to the design requirements, such as chemical structure, degradation kinetics, and biopolymer composites' mechanical properties. The interfacial interactions between the biopolymer and the nanofiller have substantial control over biopolymer composites' mechanical characteristics. This review focuses on different applications of biopolymeric composites in controlled drug release, tissue engineering, and wound healing with considerable properties. The biopolymeric composite materials are required with advanced and multifunctional properties in the biomedical field and regenerative medicines with a complete analysis of routine biomaterials with enhanced biomedical engineering characteristics. Several studies in the literature on tissue engineering, drug delivery, and wound dressing have been mentioned. These results need to be reviewed for possible development and analysis, which makes an essential study.

Matched MeSH terms: Regenerative Medicine/methods*
Fulltext Impact of Graphene Derivatives as Artificial Extracellular Matrices on Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Ikram R, Shamsuddin SAA, Mohamed Jan B, Abdul Qadir M, Kenanakis G, Stylianakis MM, et al.

Molecules, 2022 Jan 07;27(2).
PMID: 35056690 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27020379

Thanks to stem cells' capability to differentiate into multiple cell types, damaged human tissues and organs can be rapidly well-repaired. Therefore, their applicability in the emerging field of regenerative medicine can be further expanded, serving as a promising multifunctional tool for tissue engineering, treatments for various diseases, and other biomedical applications as well. However, the differentiation and survival of the stem cells into specific lineages is crucial to be exclusively controlled. In this frame, growth factors and chemical agents are utilized to stimulate and adjust proliferation and differentiation of the stem cells, although challenges related with degradation, side effects, and high cost should be overcome. Owing to their unique physicochemical and biological properties, graphene-based nanomaterials have been widely used as scaffolds to manipulate stem cell growth and differentiation potential. Herein, we provide the most recent research progress in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) growth, differentiation and function utilizing graphene derivatives as extracellular scaffolds. The interaction of graphene derivatives in human and rat MSCs has been also evaluated. Graphene-based nanomaterials are biocompatible, exhibiting a great potential applicability in stem-cell-mediated regenerative medicine as they may promote the behaviour control of the stem cells. Finally, the challenges, prospects and future trends in the field are discussed.

Matched MeSH terms: Regenerative Medicine/methods
An evaluation of knowledge and skill on cricoid pressure among emergency personnel

Hanizah N, Affirul CA, Fadzlon MY

Clin Ter, 2014;165(5):e336-41.
PMID: 25366949 DOI: 10.7417/CT.2014.1759

BACKGROUND: Cricoid pressure (CP) is a step during rapid sequence induction. Previous studies showed a poor clinical application of CP despite a reasonable theoretical knowledge of CP. This study aims to evaluate the proficiency and knowledge retention on CP among the emergency staff in the Emergency Department, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is questionnaire-based observational comparative study. Once the questionnaire is filled, the application of CP is tested on an airway model and competency level is documented. An education hand out is passed to all participants after the procedure. The improvement and knowledge retention were assess after 2 month.
RESULTS: A total of 81 completed surveys were returned comprises of of 34 medical officers, 23 staff nurses and 24 assistant medical officers. 75.3% subjects have work experience more than a year but only 59.3% of them were trained in CP application. A total of 69.1% participants passed the pre educational handout test and 100% passed the post educational handout test. However, for pre educational handout phase, 81.5% participants passed the theory part while only 42% passed the practical component. In post educational handout phase, the number of respondents who passed both components was 97.5% and 63% respectively. There are positive correlation between designation and working experience with overall passes in this study.
CONCLUSIONS: The theoretical knowledge of CP is satisfactory but clinical application is poor especially in the pre educational handout phase. The educational handout is proved to improve the knowledge transfer and retention with regards to CP.

Matched MeSH terms: Emergency Medicine/methods
Fulltext Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for acute muscle injury: a systematic review

Hamid MS, Yusof A, Mohamed Ali MR

PLoS One, 2014;9(2):e90538.
PMID: 24587389 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090538

INTRODUCTION: Acute muscle injury is one of the commonest injuries that often result in loss of training and competition time. The best management for muscle injury has not been identified. Sports medicine practitioners used several approaches in attempt to accelerate time to recovery from muscle injury. More recently growing interest focussed on autologous blood product injection.
METHODS: A literature search was conducted systematically using OvidMEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus and CINAHL databases to retrieve articles published until December 2012. Controlled trials and controlled laboratory studies comparing different strategies to promote early recovery of muscle injury were included. The methodological quality of studies was assessed.
RESULTS: There are limited studies on the effects of PRP therapy for muscle injury. Three in vivo laboratory studies and one pilot human study were reviewed. The laboratory studies reported histological evidence on significant acceleration of muscle healing in animals treated with autologous conditioned serum (ACS), platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet rich fibrin matrix (PRFM). A pilot human study found athletes treated with repeated ACS injection recovers significantly faster than retrospective controls.
CONCLUSION: Several in vivo laboratory studies suggest beneficial effects of ACS, PRP and PRFM in accelerating muscle recovery. Evidence to suggest similar effects on humans is however limited, as valuable information from robust human controlled trials is still not available at this moment. Hence, more studies of satisfactory methodological quality with platelet-rich plasma interventions on muscle injury are justified.

Matched MeSH terms: Sports Medicine/methods
Fulltext Hypoxic culture conditions as a solution for mesenchymal stem cell based regenerative therapy

Haque N, Rahman MT, Abu Kasim NH, Alabsi AM

ScientificWorldJournal, 2013;2013:632972.
PMID: 24068884 DOI: 10.1155/2013/632972

Cell-based regenerative therapies, based on in vitro propagation of stem cells, offer tremendous hope to many individuals suffering from degenerative diseases that were previously deemed untreatable. Due to the self-renewal capacity, multilineage potential, and immunosuppressive property, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered as an attractive source of stem cells for regenerative therapies. However, poor growth kinetics, early senescence, and genetic instability during in vitro expansion and poor engraftment after transplantation are considered to be among the major disadvantages of MSC-based regenerative therapies. A number of complex inter- and intracellular interactive signaling systems control growth, multiplication, and differentiation of MSCs in their niche. Common laboratory conditions for stem cell culture involve ambient O₂ concentration (20%) in contrast to their niche where they usually reside in 2-9% O₂. Notably, O₂ plays an important role in maintaining stem cell fate in terms of proliferation and differentiation, by regulating hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) mediated expression of different genes. This paper aims to describe and compare the role of normoxia (20% O₂) and hypoxia (2-9% O₂) on the biology of MSCs. Finally it is concluded that a hypoxic environment can greatly improve growth kinetics, genetic stability, and expression of chemokine receptors during in vitro expansion and eventually can increase efficiency of MSC-based regenerative therapies.

Matched MeSH terms: Regenerative Medicine/methods
A systematic review of interventions by healthcare professionals on community-dwelling postmenopausal women with osteoporosis

Lai P, Chua SS, Chan SP

Osteoporos Int, 2010 Oct;21(10):1637-56.
PMID: 20379700 DOI: 10.1007/s00198-010-1199-0

A systematic review was conducted to evaluate evidence concerning the effect of non-drug interventions by healthcare professionals on community-dwelling postmenopausal osteoporotic women. Evidence available indicates that such interventions are effective in improving the quality of life, medication compliance, and calcium intake, but effect on other outcomes is less conclusive.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review to evaluate evidence concerning the effect of non-drug interventions by healthcare professionals on community-dwelling postmenopausal osteoporotic women.

METHODS: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English between year 1990 and 2009 were identified. Types of patient outcome used as assessment included quality of life (QOL), bone mineral density (BMD), medication compliance and persistence, knowledge level, and lifestyle modification.

RESULTS: Twenty four RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Seven studies assessed interventions by physiotherapists, six by physicians, seven by nurses, three by multi-disciplinary teams and one by dietitians. Variability in the types and intensity of interventions made comparison between each study difficult. Collectively, these studies provided some evidence to show that interventions by healthcare professionals improved the QOL medication compliance and calcium intake of patients but its effects on BMD, medication persistence, knowledge, and other lifestyle modifications were less conclusive.

CONCLUSIONS: From this review, it was found that some outcome measures of such non-drug interventions still required further studies. Future studies should use validated instruments to assess the outcomes, with focus on common definitions of interventions and outcome measures, more intensive one-to-one interventions, appropriate control groups, adequate randomization procedures, and also provide information on effect size.

Matched MeSH terms: Evidence-Based Medicine/methods
Asian consensus statements on endoscopic management of walled-off necrosis. Part 2: Endoscopic management

Isayama H, Nakai Y, Rerknimitr R, Khor C, Lau J, Wang HP, et al.

J Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2016 Sep;31(9):1555-65.
PMID: 27042957 DOI: 10.1111/jgh.13398

Walled-off necrosis (WON) is a new term for encapsulated necrotic tissue after severe acute pancreatitis. Various terminologies such as pseudocyst, necroma, pancreatic abscess, and infected necrosis were previously used in the literature, resulting in confusion. The current and past terminologies must be reconciled to meaningfully interpret past data. Recently, endoscopic necrosectomy was introduced as a treatment option and is now preferred over surgical necrosectomy when the expertise is available. However, high-quality evidence is still lacking, and there is no standard management strategy for WON. The consensus meeting aimed to clarify the diagnostic criteria for WON and the role of endoscopic interventions in its management. In the Consensus Conference, 27 experts from eight Asian countries took an active role and examined key clinical aspects of WON diagnosis and endoscopic management. Statements were crafted based on literature review and expert opinion, employing the modified Delphi method. All statements were substantiated by the level of evidence and the strength of the recommendation. We created 27 consensus statements for WON diagnosis and management, including details of endoscopic procedures. When there was not enough solid evidence to support the statements, this was clearly acknowledged to facilitate future research. Proposed management strategies were formulated and are illustrated using flow charts. These recommendations, which are based on the best current scientific evidence and expert opinion, will be useful for guiding endoscopic management of WON. Part 2 of this statement focused on the endoscopic management of WON.

Matched MeSH terms: Evidence-Based Medicine/methods
Microenvironmental factors involved in human amnion mesenchymal stem cells fate decisions

Syva SH, Ampon K, Lasimbang H, Fatimah SS

J Tissue Eng Regen Med, 2017 02;11(2):311-320.
PMID: 26073746 DOI: 10.1002/term.2043

Human amnion mesenchymal stem cells (HAMCs) show great differentiation and proliferation potential and also other remarkable features that could serve as an outstanding alternative source of stem cells in regenerative medicine. Recent reports have demonstrated various kinds of effective artificial niche that mimic the microenvironment of different types of stem cell to maintain and control their fate and function. The components of the stem cell microenvironment consist mainly of soluble and insoluble factors responsible for regulating stem cell differentiation and self-renewal. Extensive studies have been made on regulating HAMCs differentiation into specific phenotypes; however, the understanding of relevant factors in directing stem cell fate decisions in HAMCs remain underexplored. In this review, we have therefore identified soluble and insoluble factors, including mechanical stimuli and cues from the other supporting cells that are involved in directing HAMCs fate decisions. In order to strengthen the significance of understanding on the relevant factors involved in stem cell fate decisions, recent technologies developed to specifically mimic the microenvironments of specific cell lineages are also reviewed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Matched MeSH terms: Regenerative Medicine/methods*
Sharpening the Sharpened Romberg

Lee CT

SPUMS J, 1998 Sep;28(3):125-32.
PMID: 11542272

The Sharpened Romberg Test (SRT) is a test of balance commonly used in Diving Medicine. Interpretation of an abnormal test can be confounded by several factors. This study was conducted to further evaluate the usefulness of the SRT. In the first part of the study, naval and civilian volunteers in a Naval Base were recruited as subjects. The SRT scores were recorded in two separate trials; once in the morning (4 attempts) and once in the evening (4 attempts) to evaluate the effect of practice on the SRT. In the second part of the study immediate pre- and post-dive scores in a group of divers were measured to evaluate: (1) the effect of decompression; (2) the effect of the normal post-dive fatigue; and (3) the vestibular effect of swaying after a boat ride. Comparisons were also made between the distributions of the SRTs of the normal subjects and those of a retrospective group of DCI patients treated at the Slark Hyperbaric Unit, Royal New Zealand Navy Hospital (RNZNH), Auckland. The SRT was found to have an early learning effect. Second attempts were significantly better than the first (p<0.001) within the same trial. However this learning effect plateaued by the third and fourth attempts. No difference was found between trials (morning and evening). There was a post-dive decline in the scores of the first attempts only (p<0.05). Subsequent second to fourth attempts were not affected by diving. The practice effect is only evident between the first and second attempts within the same trial but not between trials. The pre- and post-dive data showed that the SRT was not affected by decompression, post-dive fatigue or the vestibular sensation of swaying that is commonly experienced after a boat ride. Comparison of the distributions between controls and DCI patients showed a bimodal pattern. Fifty-four percent (54%) of the DCI patients had 'normal' scores (60 seconds), while 14% had scores between 16-35 seconds and 32% scored less than 15 seconds. In contrast, 95% of the control groups had 'normal' scores while 5% scored between 16-35 seconds. Therefore, accepting a score of less than 40 seconds as being "abnormal" will give the SRT a sensitivity of 46%, specificity of 95% and predictive value of 82%.

Matched MeSH terms: Naval Medicine/methods
Three-dimensional image analysis of developing mandibular third molars apices for age estimation: A study using CBCT data enhanced with Mimics & 3-Matics software

Asif MK, Nambiar P, Ibrahim N, Al-Amery SM, Khan IM

Leg Med (Tokyo), 2019 Jul;39:9-14.
PMID: 31158731 DOI: 10.1016/j.legalmed.2019.05.003

Three-dimensional imaging has improved the method of analysis in many forensic science investigations. The study aimed to derive regression equation for age estimation by investigating the relationship between chronological age and surface area of the developing mandibular 3rd molars apices. Furthermore, other predictor variables: ethnicity (Malay and Chinese), gender and status of the root development completion (open/closed apices) were also investigated in terms of fit to the age estimation model. One hundred and twenty eight training and 55 validation samples of intact mandibular 3rd molars were selected from 183 CBCT scans. The samples comprised of 93 Malays and 90 Chinese, ranging in age from 13 to 24 years. Three-dimensional image modeling and surface area analysis of the developing mandibular 3rd molars apices were performed using Mimics and 3-Matics software. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to derive age estimation model using chronological age as a dependent variable and surface area of the apices, ethnicity, gender and status of the root development completion (open/closed apices) as predictor variables. A strong inverse correlation (r = 0.95, SD = 1.144) was observed between chronological age and all the predictor variables. The results showed that 89.6% of the variation in age can be explained by the predictor variables. Mean absolute error (MAE) value of 0.8223 was observed when the derived regression equation was tested on the independent validation sample. In conclusion, three-dimensional surface area analysis of the developing mandibular 3rd molars apices can be used as a reliable method for age estimation.

Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Medicine/methods*
Fulltext DNA typing of Calliphorids collected from human corpses in Malaysia

Kavitha R, Tan TC, Lee HL, Nazni WA, Sofian-Azirun M

Trop Biomed, 2013 Mar;30(1):119-24.
PMID: 23665717 MyJurnal

Estimation of post-mortem interval (PMI) is crucial for time of death determination. The advent of DNA-based identification techniques forensic entomology saw the beginning of a proliferation of molecular studies into forensically important Calliphoridae (Diptera). The use of DNA to characterise morphologically indistinguishable immature calliphorids was recognised as a valuable molecular tool with enormous practical utility. The local entomofauna in most cases is important for the examination of entomological evidences. The survey of the local entomofauna has become a fundamental first step in forensic entomological studies, because different geographical distributions, seasonal and environmental factors may influence the decomposition process and the occurrence of different insect species on corpses. In this study, calliphorids were collected from 13 human corpses recovered from indoors, outdoors and aquatic conditions during the post-mortem examination by pathologists from the government hospitals in Malaysia. Only two species, Chrysomya megacephala and Chrysomya rufifacies were recovered from human corpses. DNA sequencing was performed to study the mitochondrial encoded COI gene and to evaluate the suitability of the 1300 base pairs of COI fragments for identification of blow fly species collected from real crime scene. The COI gene from blow fly specimens were sequenced and deposited in GenBank to expand local databases. The sequenced COI gene was useful in identifying calliphorids retrieved from human corpses.

Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Medicine/methods*
Fulltext Validity and reliability of the Noor Evidence-Based Medicine Questionnaire: A cross-sectional study

Norhayati MN, Nawi ZM

PLoS One, 2021;16(4):e0249660.
PMID: 33886615 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249660

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a widely accepted scientific advancement in clinical settings that helps achieve better, safer, and more cost-effective healthcare. However, presently, validated instruments to evaluate healthcare professionals' attitude and practices toward implementing EBM are not widely available. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the validity and reliability of a newly developed knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) questionnaire on EBM for use among healthcare professionals.
METHODS: The Noor Evidence-Based Medicine Questionnaire was tested among physicians in a government hospital between July and August 2018. Exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency reliability-based Cronbach's alpha statistic were conducted.
RESULTS: The questionnaire was distributed among 94 physicians, and 90 responded (response rate of 95.7%). The initial number of items in the KAP domains of the Noor Evidence-Based Medicine Questionnaire were 15, 17, and 13, respectively; however, two items in the practice domain with communalities <0.25 and factor loadings <0.4 were removed. The factor structure accounted for 52.33%, 66.29%, and 55.39% of data variance in the KAP domains, respectively. Cronbach's alpha values were 0.81, 0.81, and 0.84 for KAP domains, respectively, indicating high reliability.
CONCLUSIONS: This questionnaire can be used to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour of healthcare professionals toward EBM. Future testing of this questionnaire among other medical personnel groups will help expand the scope of this tool.

Matched MeSH terms: Evidence-Based Medicine/methods*
Fulltext Behavioral studies and veterinary management of orangutans at Bukit Merah Orang Utan Island, Perak, Malaysia

Hayashi M, Kawakami F, Roslan R, Hapiszudin NM, Dharmalingam S

Primates, 2018 Mar;59(2):135-144.
PMID: 29383576 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-018-0650-2

The Bukit Merah Orang Utan Island (OUI) Foundation has been conducting behavioral and veterinary research on orangutans as an attempt at ex situ conservation. Since 2010, the Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University has been collaborating with OUI to promote environmental enrichment and infant rearing by biological mothers in addition to the continuous efforts of refining the veterinary management of the endangered species. In 2011, three Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus) were released on an island, called BJ Island, adjacent to OUI. This island is approximately 5.6 ha in size, and 635 trees belonging to 102 plant species were identified prior to their release. Behavioral monitoring of the released individuals has been conducted to evaluate their behavioral adaptation to the new environment. Two of the three released orangutans were born in the wild, whereas the youngest individual was born on OUI and expected to learn forest survival strategies from the two older individuals. One of the orangutans was pregnant at the time of release and subsequently gave birth to two male infants on BJ Island. The behavioral monitoring indicated that these orangutans traveled more and spent more time on trees following their release onto BJ Island. However, resting was longer for two females both on OUI and BJ Island when compared to other populations. The orangutans consumed some natural food resources on BJ Island. The release into a more naturalistic environment may help the orangutans to develop more naturalistic behavioral patterns that resemble their wild counterparts.

Matched MeSH terms: Veterinary Medicine/methods*

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