AIM: To determine the susceptibility of A. baumannii isolates to commonly-used biocides, investigate their biofilm-forming capacities and the prevalence of biocide resistance and biofilm-associated genes.
METHODOLOGY: . The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 100 A. baumannii hospital isolates from Terengganu, Malaysia, towards the biocides benzalkonium chloride (BZK), benzethonium chloride (BZT) and chlorhexidine digluconate (CLX), were determined by broth microdilution. The isolates were also examined for their ability to form biofilms in 96-well microplates. The prevalence of biocide resistance genes qacA, qacE and qacDE1 and the biofilm-associated genes bap and abaI were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
RESULTS: Majority of the A. baumannii isolates (43%) showed higher MIC values (> 50 µg/mL) for CLX than for BZK (5% for MIC > 50 µg/mL) and BZT (9% for MIC > 50 µg/mL). The qacDE1 gene was predominant (63%) followed by qacE (28%) whereas no isolate was found harbouring qacA. All isolates were positive for the bap and abaI genes although the biofilm-forming capacity varied among the isolates.
CONCLUSION: The Terengganu A. baumannii isolates showed higher prevalence of qacDE1 compared to qacE although no correlation was found with the biocides' MIC values. No correlation was also observed between the isolates' biofilm-forming capacity and the MIC values for the biocides.
METHODS: The anticancer activity of plant extracts and isolated compounds from Anchusa arvensis (A. arvensis) were studied against the cell culture of HepG-2 (human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines) using 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-yl)-diphenyl tetrazoliumbromide (MTT) assay. Apoptosis was investigated by performing Acridine orange -ethidium bromide staining, styox green assay and DNA interaction study. We also used tools for computational chemistry studies of isolated compounds with the tyrosine kinase.
RESULTS: In MTT assay, the crude extract caused a significant cytotoxic effect with IC50 of 34.14 ± 0.9 μg/ml against HepG-2 cell lines. Upon fractionation, chloroform fraction (Aa.Chm) exhibited the highest antiproliferative activity with IC50 6.55 ± 1.2 μg/ml followed by ethyl acetate (Aa.Et) fraction (IC50, 24.59 ± 0.85 μg/ml) and n-hexane (Aa.Hex) fraction (IC50 29.53 ± 1.5μg/ml). However, the aqueous (Aa.Aq) fraction did not show any anti-proliferative activity. Bioactivity-guided isolation led to the isolation of two compounds which were characterized as para-methoxycatechol (1) and decane (2) through various spectroscopic techniques. Against HepG-2 cells, compound 1 showed marked potency with IC50 6.03 ± 0.75 μg/ml followed by 2 with IC50 18.52 ± 1.9 μg/ml. DMSO was used as a negative control and doxorubicin as a reference standard (IC50 1.3 ± 0.21 μg/ml). It was observed that compounds 1-2 caused apoptotic cell death evaluated by Acridine orange -ethidium bromide staining, styox green assay and DNA interaction study, therefore both compounds were tested for molecular docking studies against tyrosine kinase to support cytotoxic activity.
CONCLUSION: This study revealed that the plant extracts and isolated compounds possess promising antiproliferative activity against HepG-2 cell lines via apoptotic cell death.
METHODS: This systematic review will be based on the review of original articles on the impact of kiddie packs on smoking. There is no restriction on the publication dates. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Scopus will be searched to retrieve potential original articles. Additional records identified through other sources: Google Scholar, as well as Journal of Substance Use and Tobacco Control, are also to be searched. These will include original articles in any language which included all study designs (randomised controlled trials, quasi experimental and experimental studies, observational cross-sectional and cohort studies) comparing kiddie packs with regular cigarette packs. The primary outcomes of interest will be initiation of smoking and urge/tendency to buy cigarettes in the general population and attempts to reduce cigarette consumption among current smokers. Secondary outcomes will be the prevalence of smoking using kiddie packs among the current smokers.
DISCUSSION: This systematic review will provide evidence to support the impact of kiddie packs on smoking in terms of smoking initiation, smoking prevalence, urge/tendency to purchase cigarettes and attempts to reduce cigarette consumption. The findings from this review could be helpful to policymakers in regulating kiddie packs to control the consumption of tobacco.
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42018102325.
METHOD: The presence of Entamoeba species was examined in 504 fresh fecal samples, collected randomly from 411 humans and 93 dogs using microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifying 16 s ribosomal RNA (rRNA). Data was analyzed using appropriate statistical analysis.
RESULTS: The microscopy data showed an overall occurrence of Entamoeba species of 26.3% (108/411) and 36.6% (34/93) in humans and dogs respectively. In humans, the most common species was a single infection of E. dispar (26.5%; 13/49), followed by E. histolytica and E. moshkovskii, (20.4% for each species respectively). Double infection of E. dispar + E. moshkovskii was detected at 10.2%, followed by E. dispar + E. histolytica (8.2%) and E. moshkovskii and E. histolytica (6.1%). 8.2% of the samples had triple infection with all three species. In animals, E. moshkovskii (46.7%) was the most common species detected, followed by E. histolytica, and E. dispar, at 20.0% and 13.3% respectively. Double infection with E. moshkovskii + E. histolytica and a triple infection were found in 2 samples (13.3%) and 1 (6.7%) sample respectively. Risk factor analysis showed that members of the community who used untreated water were more prone to be infected with Entamoeba.
CONCLUSION: This study provides information on the species-specific occurrence of Entamoeba infection, the potential risk factors and their zoonotic potential to humans. This is the first report to describe the molecular occurrence of Entamoeba species in dogs in Malaysia. The presence of pathogenic Entamoeba species implies that dogs could be a reservoir or mechanical host for human amoebiasis. Further studies need to be conducted to better understand the transmission dynamics and public health significance of Entamoeba species in human and animal hosts.
Methods: In vitro models of breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231) and normal fibroblast cell line (NIH/3T3) were employed. Cellular localization and cytotoxicity studies were conducted prior to inspection on the radiosensitization effects and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on three proposed radiosensitizers: BiONPs, Cis, and BiONPs-Cis combination (BC). The optimal, non-cytotoxic concentration of BiONPs (0.5 mM) and the 25% inhibitory concentration of Cis (1.30 µM) were applied. The radiosensitization effects were evaluated by using a 0.38 MeV Iridium-192 HDR brachytherapy source over a prescribed dose range of 0 Gy to 4 Gy.
Results: The cellular localization of BiONPs was visualized by light microscopy and accumulation of the BiONPs within the vicinity of the nuclear membrane was observed. Quantification of the sensitization enhancement ratio extrapolated from the survival curves indicates radiosensitization effects for MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 when treated with BiONPs, Cis, and BC. However, NIH/3T3 cells exhibited contradictive behavior as it only reacted towards the BC combination. Nonetheless, the MCF-7 cell line loaded with BC shows the highest SER of 4.29. ROS production analysis, on the other hand, shows that Cis and BC radiosensitizers generated the highest free radicals in comparison to BiONPs alone.
Conclusion: A BiONPs-Cis combination was unveiled as a novel approach that offers promising radiosensitization enhancement that will increase the efficiency of tumor control while preserving the normal tissue at a reduced dose. This data is the first precedent to prove the synergetic implication of BiONPs, Cis, and HDR brachytherapy that will be beneficial for future chemoradiotherapy strategies in cancer care.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study of COPD patients who attended the outpatient clinic of the Serian Divisional Hospital and Bau District Hospital from 23th January 2018 to 22th January 2019. The HRQoL was assessed using modified Medical Research Council (mMRC), COPD Assessment Test (CAT), and St George's Respiratory Questionnaire for COPD (SGRQ-c).
RESULTS: Of 185 patients, 108 (58.4%) were non-exacerbators (NON-AE), 51 (27.6%) were frequent exacerbators (AE), and the remaining 26 (14.1%) had asthma-COPD overlap (ACO). Of AE patients, 42 (82.4%) had chronic bronchitis and only 9 (17.6%) had emphysema. Of the 185 COPD patients, 65.9% had exposure to biomass fuel and 69.1% were ex- or current smokers. The scores of mMRC, CAT, and SGRQ-c were significantly different between COPD phenotypes (p
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving patients aged between 18 and 65 years diagnosed with T2DM with IHD (n = 150). Ultrasonography of the abdomen to determine NAFLD severity category and CIMT measurements was performed by two independent radiologists. NAFLD was graded according to the severity of steatosis (NAFLD-3, NAFLD-2, NAFLD-1, and NAFLD-0). Comparison between different stages of NAFLD (NAFLD-3, NAFLD-2, NAFLD-1, and NAFLD-0) was analyzed using Chi-square and analysis of variance tests for categorical and continuous variables, respectively.
Results: The prevalence of NAFLD was 71% (n = 107). NAFLD-1 was detected in 39% of the patients, 32% had NAFLD-2, no patients with NAFLD-3, and 29% had non-NAFLD. There were no patients with NAFLD-2 having higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) concentration was highest within the NAFLD-2. NAFLD-2 showed higher mean CIMT. Every 1% rise in HbA1c for patients with NAFLD significantly increases the CIMT by 0.03 mm (95% CI: 0.009, 0.052, P = 0.006).
Conclusion: These findings suggest additional atherosclerotic risks within the NAFLD-2 group with significantly higher HbA1c and CIMT compared to the NAFLD-1 and NAFLD-0 groups. It is, therefore, vital to incorporate stricter glycemic control among patients with T2DM and IHD with moderate NAFLD as part of atherosclerotic risk management strategy.