Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a heterogeneous endocrine disorder characterised by elevated levels of male hormones, acne and hirsutism. Hormonal imbalances in PCOS women can lead to immature eggs, anovulation and infertility. Plant extracts have been shown to improve PCOS however, there was a lack of systematic review on this topic. The aim of this paper was to review the plant extracts claimed to improve PCOS in the literature. In depth searches of the literature was carried out based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Me- ta-analyses (PRISMA) guideline. A bibliographic search was performed on MEDLINE, Science Direct, Web of Science and Cochrane library databases using the following search terms; [‘Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome’ or ‘PCOS’] and [‘plant extracts’]. A total of 38 studies were included in the final review. 15 plant extracts hypothesised to reduce PCOS were identified; Chinese herbal medicine (n=22), Black Cohosh (n=2), Jatamansi (n=1), Tribulus (n=1), Kacip Fatimah (n=1), Fenugreek seed (n=2), Coconut tree flower (n=1), Maitake mushroom (n=1), Wood Betony (n=1), Cinnamon (n=2), Marjoran (n=1), Korean Red Ginseng (n=1), Hazelnut (n=1), Adlay (n=1) and Northern White Ce- dar (n=1). Three different models were used; randomised control trials (n=23), animal models (n=14) and non-ran- domised surveillance study (n=1). PCOS characteristics were improved with the used of plant extracts by improving insulin resistance, pregnancy outcomes and ovarian morphology. However, most of these researches are at the early stages. Further researches are needed to elucidate the mechanisms of these plant extracts in treating PCOS.
Human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) isolated from umbilical cord is widely used as endothelial cell model.
However, HUVEC has been characteristically hard to maintain and showed molecular heterogeneity depending on the
umbilical cord donors. Commercial HUVEC is commonly derived from European and Caucasian population which have
different molecular characteristics from Asian women. This study aimed to optimize the isolation and culture condition of
HUVEC using combinations of growth factors and extracellular matrix components so that the isolated HUVEC will purely
represent the population under study. Umbilical cords were obtained from women post-labour. Different incubation times
and digestive enzymes were used during endothelial cells isolation process. The culture conditions were optimized based
on the coating materials and the media supplements. The results showed that 0.1% collagenase for 40 min incubation
was the optimal isolation condition of HUVEC. HUVEC grown in 0.2% gelatin coated plate with 10% heat-inactivated
fetal calf serum showed higher proliferative capacity and reduced cell death compared to other conditions (p<0.05). The
results generated from this study provide a basic protocol of HUVEC isolation and culture conditions in order to generate
working endothelial cell populations purely represent the Malaysian population.
Introduction: The health effects of inhaling rice dust contaminated with endotoxin include respiratory problems, asthma, chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Thus, this comparative cross-sectional study aims to associate the concentration of endotoxin levels in inhalable rice dust and the lung function decline among rice millers.
Materials and Methods: The endotoxin level in inhalable dust for both area and personal samplings were collected using 25 mm Glass Fiber (A) filter loaded in IOM samplers connected to a pump by tygon tubing. The pump was operated at 2.0 litres/min and clipped around the breathing zone of the rice millers for eight hours. The endotoxin concentrations were analysed using Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate Chromogenic Endpoint assay at 405 nm. Lung function tests were carried out using Spirometer (Pony FX), for both the rice millers and the non-exposed groups.
Results: Findings for the mean concentration of endotoxin for areas was 0.26(standard deviation (SD) = 0.12) EU/m3 whereas the mean personal inhalable endotoxin level among the rice millers was 0.29(SD = 0.15) EU/m3. Post-shift lung function tests for FEV1/FVC measured appeared lower among rice millers (54%) compared to non-exposed workers (62%), but not statistically significant (p = 0.313). However, there were significant correlations between endotoxin concentration and post-shift LFT parameters of measured FVC, FEV1 and PEFR (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Despite the low level of endotoxin exposure, proper protective measures should be applied for rice millers for long term protection.
Introduction: Optimal humidity, temperature, improper handling and storage of rice will increase the likeliness of aflatoxin growth in the air. The most common and carcinogenic aflatoxin is Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) that may cause lung cancer if inhaled. This study aims to associate the exposure of AFB1 in inhalable dust and its respiratory effects among rice millers.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study utilised the purposive sampling method and recruited 76 rice millers as exposed subjects and 48 office workers as the control group. The total inhalable dust was collected using the filter-loaded air samplers for an eight working hours’ exposure. The subjects’ hands were swabbed with cotton pads wetted with 0.5 ml Phosphate buffered Saline Tween-20 solution post shift. The collected samples were analysed for AFB1 by using the ELISA kits. The questionnaire gathering information on sociodemographic, work data and respiratory symptoms were completed. The lung function test was performed for the pre- and post-shifts.
Results: The mean airborne AFB1 at the rice mill area and personal exposure were 2.22 ng/m3 ± 0.07 and 0.25 ng/m3 ± 0.24, respectively. The mean contamination level of AFB1 on hands was 0.25 ng/ml detected on two rice millers (2.3%) while non-detectable in non-exposed workers. The most complained symptoms among rice millers were wheezing and breathlessness (n = 6, 9.2%). There was a significant difference in the mean forced expiration volume (FEV1) for pre- and post-shifts between rice millers and the non-exposed workers, but no significant correlation between the mean AFB1 concentration and lung function. Age and work factors were confounders in lung function.
Conclusion: Despite no association being established in this study, the promotion of wearing suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) is highly recommended to prevent cumulative exposure among the rice millers.
Introduction: Bioethics subject which is part of the curriculum in higher education has a slightly different orientation compared to the science subjects. This study investigates the challenges of teaching bioethics subject to the health sciences students and the outcome of using mixed educational background classes in bioethics. Methods: Discussions among lecturers of bioethics were conducted to determine the possible challenges when teaching bioethics to the health sciences students who are accustomed to the format of science subjects. Results of written bioethics tests (multiple choice questions [MCQs] versus short essays) were also analysed among students from nine different health sciences background (biomedical sciences, nursing, speech pathology, dietetics, nutrition, medical radiation, audiology, sports science, and occupational safety and health) as a measure of the students’ understanding of the bioethics subject. Findings: The challenges of bioethics teaching were divided into five categorical themes; (i) attitude/discipline, (ii) background knowledge, (iii) reasoning/critical thinking, (iv) knowledge/jargon, and (v) diverse educational background. Excellence performances were demonstrated by the students across the ten disciplines in the direct MCQs while they did very poorly (p < 0.01) in the critical thinking short essay questions. Conclusions: Bioethics proof to be a challenging subject for the health sciences students as this subject deal with complex issues of ethical concerns which differ with most science subjects. Combined efforts of the educators and students are needed in order to address these challenges and stimulate the understanding of bioethics.
Introduction: Exposure to total inhalable dust has become a public concern because constant exposure to the dust
concentration exceeding workplace exposure limit may cause decline in lung function. This study aims to compare
the total inhalable dust exposure among rice mill, sawmill, furniture factory and non-exposed workers as well as
to correlate the dust exposure with lung function. Methods: A total of 77 exposed and 39 non-exposed workers
were recruited into this study utilising purposive sampling method. The total inhalable dust concentration was
collected using Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) personal airborne sampler loaded with glass microfibre
filter connected to a sampling pump via tygon tubing which was attached to the workers. Post-shift lung function
test was also measured. Results: There was a significant difference in the dust concentration between rice mill,
sawmill, furniture factory and non-exposed workers (p = 0.001) with the highest median value of 2.4 x 103
µg/m3
(IQR: 1.1 x 103
– 5.8 x 103
) among sawmill workers. Significant difference (p = 0.001) was shown between
workers for measured forced expiratory value in one second (FEV1), measured forced expiratory value in one second
and forced vital capacity ratio (FEV1/FVC) and predicted FEV1/FVC. Among the exposed workers, weak negative
significant correlations were portrayed between total inhalable dust with the predicted forced vital capacity (FVC)
(r = -0.282, p = 0.013) and predicted FEV1 (r = -0.241, p = 0.035). Conclusion: Dust concentration might be attributable to the lung function decline among exposed workers especially sawmill workers.