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Fulltext Appointment waiting times and education level influence the quality of bowel preparation in adult patients undergoing colonoscopy

Chan WK, Saravanan A, Manikam J, Goh KL, Mahadeva S

BMC Gastroenterol, 2011;11:86.
PMID: 21798022 DOI: 10.1186/1471-230X-11-86

Risk factors for poor bowel preparation are recognized to be independent of the type of bowel preparation method used. Patient and administrative factors influencing bowel preparation are known to vary in different healthcare systems.
Fulltext The Effect of DPP4 Inhibitor on Glycemic Variability in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes treated with twice-daily Premixed Human Insulin

Tan FHS, Tong CV, Tiong XT, Lau BK, Kuan YC, Loh HH, et al.

J ASEAN Fed Endocr Soc, 2021;36(2):167-171.
PMID: 34966201 DOI: 10.15605/jafes.036.02.11

Objective: To evaluate the effect of adding DPP4 inhibitor (DPP4-i) on glycemic variability (GV) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treated with premixed human insulin (MHI).
Methodology: We conducted a prospective study in patients with T2DM on twice-daily MHI with or without metformin therapy. Blinded continuous glucose monitoring was performed at baseline and following 6 weeks of Vildagliptin therapy.
Results: Twelve patients with mean (SD) age of 55.8 (13.1) years and duration of disease of 14.0 (6.6) years were recruited. The addition of Vildagliptin significantly reduced GV indices (mmol/L): SD from 2.73 (IQR 2.12-3.66) to 2.11 (1.76-2.55), p=0.015; mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE) 6.94(2.61) to 5.72 (1.87), p=0.018 and CV 34.05 (8.76) to 28.19 (5.36), p=0.010. In addition, % time in range (3.9-10 mmol/l) improved from 61.17 (20.50) to 79.67 (15.33)%, p=0.001; % time above range reduced from 32.92 (23.99) to 18.50 (15.62)%, p=0.016; with reduction in AUC for hyperglycemia from 1.24 (1.31) to 0.47 (0.71) mmol/day, p=0.015. Hypoglycemic events were infrequent and the reduction in time below range and AUC for hypoglycemia did not reach statistical significance.
Conclusion: The addition of DPP4-I to commonly prescribed twice-daily MHI in patients with T2DM improves GV and warrants further exploration.
Fulltext Changes in body pain among overweight and obese housewives living in Klang Valley, Malaysia: findings from the MyBFF@home study

Mohd Sallehuddin S, Mohamad Nor NS, Ambak R, Abdul Aziz NS, Mohd Zaki NA, Omar MA, et al.

BMC Womens Health, 2018 07 19;18(Suppl 1):101.
PMID: 30066647 DOI: 10.1186/s12905-018-0597-x

BACKGROUND: Obesity leads to the increase of pain at different parts of the body and it is a potential marker for complications of chronic diseases. This paper aims to assess changes in the body pain among overweight and obese housewives who participated in the My Body is Fit and Fabulous at home (MyBFF@home) study.
METHODS: Housewives aged 18 to 59 years old from the MyBFF@home study were selected and pain was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) questionnaire. VAS measured the pain intensity at different parts of the body (score of 0-10). Data were collected at base line, 3 months and 6 months among the housewives in both the control and intervention group. Pain scores and other variables (age, Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference) were analysed using SPSS version 22.
RESULTS: A total of 328 housewives completed the VAS questionnaires at baseline, while 185 (56.4%) of housewives completed the VAS at 3 months and 6 months. A decreasing trend of mean pain score in both groups after 6 months was observed. However, the intervention group showed a consistent decreasing trend of pain score mainly for back pain. In the control group, there was a slight increment of score in back pain from baseline towards the 6 months period. Older housewives in both groups (aged 50 years and above) had a higher mean score of leg pain (2.86, SD: 2.82) compared to the other age group. Higher BMI was significantly associated with pain score in both groups.
CONCLUSION: There were some changes in the level of body pain among the housewives before and after the intervention. Older obese women had a higher pain score compared to younger obese women. Pain was associated with BMI and change in BMI appears to be beneficial in reducing body pain among overweight and obese individuals.
Biohydrogen from organic wastes as a clean and environment-friendly energy source: Production pathways, feedstock types, and future prospects

Saravanan A, Senthil Kumar P, Khoo KS, Show PL, Femina Carolin C, Fetcia Jackulin C, et al.

Bioresour Technol, 2021 Dec;342:126021.
PMID: 34600315 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126021

Microbial fermentation of organic matter under anaerobic conditions is currently the prominent pathway for biohydrogen production. Organic matter present in waste residues is regarded as an economic feedstock for biohydrogen production by dark and photo fermentative bacteria. Agricultural residues, fruit wastes, vegetable wastes, industrial wastewaters, and other livestock residues are some of the organic wastes most commonly used for biohydrogen production due to their higher organic content and biodegradability. Appropriate pretreatments are required to enhance the performance of biohydrogen from complex organic wastes. Biohydrogen production could also be enhanced by optimizing operation conditions and the addition of essential nutrients and nanoparticles. This review describes the pathways of biohydrogen production, discusses the effect of organic waste sources used and microbes involved on biohydrogen production, along with addressing the key parameters, advantages, and difficulties in each biohydrogen production pathway.
Recent advances and discoveries of microbial-based glycolipids: Prospective alternative for remediation activities

Ng YJ, Chan SS, Khoo KS, Munawaroh HSH, Lim HR, Chew KW, et al.

Biotechnol Adv, 2023 Nov;68:108198.
PMID: 37330152 DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2023.108198

Surfactants have always been a prominent chemical that is useful in various sectors (e.g., cleaning agent production industry, textile industry and painting industry). This is due to the special ability of surfactants to reduce surface tension between two fluid surfaces (e.g., water and oil). However, the current society has long omitted the harmful effects of petroleum-based surfactants (e.g., health issues towards humans and reducing cleaning ability of water bodies) due to their usefulness in reducing surface tension. These harmful effects will significantly damage the environment and negatively affect human health. As such, there is an urgency to secure environmentally friendly alternatives such as glycolipids to reduce the effects of these synthetic surfactants. Glycolipids is a biomolecule that shares similar properties with surfactants that are naturally synthesized in the cell of living organisms, glycolipids are amphiphilic in nature and can form micelles when glycolipid molecules clump together, reducing surface tension between two surfaces as how a surfactant molecule is able to achieve. This review paper aims to provide a comprehensive study on the recent advances in bacteria cultivation for glycolipids production and current lab scale applications of glycolipids (e.g., medical and waste bioremediation). Studies have proven that glycolipids are effective anti-microbial agents, subsequently leading to an excellent anti-biofilm forming agent. Heavy metal and hydrocarbon contaminated soil can also be bioremediated via the use of glycolipids. The major hurdle in the commercialization of glycolipid production is that the cultivation stage and downstream extraction stage of the glycolipid production process induces a very high operating cost. This review provides several solutions to overcome this issue for glycolipid production for the commercialization of glycolipids (e.g., developing new cultivating and extraction techniques, using waste as cultivation medium for microbes and identifying new strains for glycolipid production). The contribution of this review aims to serve as a future guideline for researchers that are dealing with glycolipid biosurfactants by providing an in-depth review on the recent advances of glycolipid biosurfactants. By summarizing the points discussed as above, it is recommended that glycolipids can substitute synthetic surfactants as an environmentally friendly alternative.