Effects of polyol and surfactant plasticisers on lyophilised rice starch wafers for buccal drug delivery.

Rice starch is a promising biopolymer for buccal formulations but typical oven drying may promote starch retrogradation that affects mechanical properties. Hence, lyophilisation was proposed here to improve starch product's stability. This study aims to investigate the effects of plasticisers (sorbitol and Tween® 80, T80) on the characteristics and drug release profiles of lyophilised rice starch wafers incorporated with propranolol hydrochloride.

Impact of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth on symptoms and quality of life in irritable bowel syndrome.

Objective: To explore the factors associated with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and to further evaluate the impact of SIBO on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in terms of symptom severity and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Methods: A cross-sectional study of consecutive adult patients who underwent glucose hydrogen breath test was conducted. Factors associated with SIBO were evaluated.

Using an appetitive operant conditioning paradigm to screen rats for tinnitus induced by intense sound exposure: Experimental considerations and interpretation.

In an effort to help elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying tinnitus in humans, researchers have often relied on animal models; a preclinical approach which ultimately required that behavioral paradigms be designed to reliably screen animals for tinnitus. Previously, we developed a two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) paradigm for rats that allowed for the simultaneous recording of neural activity at the very moments when they were reporting the presence/absence of tinnitus. Because we first validated our paradigm in rats experiencing transient tinnitus following a high-dose of sodium salicylate, the present study now sought to evaluate its utility to screen for tinnitus caused by intense sound exposure; a common tinnitus-inducer in humans.

A label-free electrochemical DNA biosensor used a printed circuit board gold electrode (PCBGE) to detect SARS-CoV-2 without amplification.

The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) motivates continuous efforts to develop robust and accurate diagnostic tests to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Detection of viral nucleic acids provides the highest sensitivity and selectivity for diagnosing early and asymptomatic infection because the human immune system may not be active at this stage. Therefore, this work aims to develop a label-free electrochemical DNA biosensor for SARS-CoV-2 detection using a printed circuit board-based gold substrate (PCBGE).

Variability in the Estimated Amplitude of Vowel-Evoked Envelope Following Responses Caused by Assumed Neurophysiologic Processing Delays.

Vowel-evoked envelope following responses (EFRs) reflect neural encoding of the fundamental frequency of voice (f). Accurate analysis of EFRs elicited by natural vowels requires the use of methods like the Fourier analyzer (FA) to consider the production-related f changes. The FA's accuracy in estimating EFRs is, however, dependent on the assumed neurophysiological processing delay needed to time-align the f time course and the recorded electroencephalogram (EEG).

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth In Various Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: A Case-Control Study.

Introduction: Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is prevalent in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but its' association with other functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) is less certain. This study aimed to explore SIBO in a multi-racial Asian population with various FGIDs compared to non-FGID controls.

Methodology: Consecutive Asian adults with Rome III diagnosed common FGIDs (functional dyspepsia/FD, IBS and functional constipation/FC) and non-FGID controls were subjected to glucose breath testing, with hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4) levels determined.

The epidemiology and quality of life of functional gastrointestinal disorders according to Rome III vs Rome IV criteria: A cross-sectional study in primary care.

Objective: To explore the differences in frequency and epidemiology of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) in a primary care setting, and to examine the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and healthcare utilization of FGID patients based on the Rome III and Rome IV criteria.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of consecutive adults in a primary healthcare setting was conducted. Differences in epidemiology, and HRQOL of common FGIDs (functional dyspepsia [FD], irritable bowel syndrome [IBS], functional diarrhea, functional constipation [FC]) between the Rome III and IV criteria were explored.

The association of body mass index with functional dyspepsia is independent of psychological morbidity: A cross-sectional study.

Background And Aim: The association between body mass index (BMI) and functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) has been inconsistent. We aimed to explore the association of BMI with FGIDs in a primary care setting to provide more data in this area.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of consecutive Asian adults attending a primary healthcare setting was conducted.

Uncovering the contribution of enhanced central gain and altered cortical oscillations to tinnitus generation.

Various theories and their associated mechanisms have been proposed as the neural basis of phantom sound perception (tinnitus), including central gain enhancement and altered cortical oscillations. However, it remains unknown whether these cortical changes directly cause tinnitus, or simply coexist with the phantom percept. Using chronically-implanted electrodes and drug delivery cannulae in rats, we examined whether enhanced central gain and cortical oscillations are consistent across different tinnitus induction methods (noise exposure; salicylate), and if directly-inducing enhanced central gain or altered cortical oscillations via pharmacologic manipulation of inhibition along the auditory pathway would cause behavioral evidence of tinnitus.

Survival advantage of initiating dialysis in elderly and non-elderly incident end-stage kidney disease patients.

Aim: Many patients, especially the elderly, who require renal replacement therapies (RRT) have delayed or rejected dialysis for various reasons. Current dialysis guidelines may not be relevant for the elderly or frail patients. We aim to determine survival advantage of initiating dialysis in patients deemed to require RRT.

QuickCount: a novel automated software for rapid cell detection and quantification.

We describe a novel automated cell detection and counting software, QuickCount (QC), designed for rapid quantification of cells. The Bland-Altman plot and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) analyses demonstrated strong agreement between cell counts from QC to manual counts (mean and SD: -3.3 ± 4.

Efficacy of Oral Mixed Tocotrienols in Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Management of painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy remains challenging. Most therapies provide symptomatic relief with varying degrees of efficacy. Tocotrienols have modulatory effects on the neuropathy pathway and may reduce neuropathic symptoms with their antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities.

Prevalence of non motor features in a cohort of Parkinson's disease patients.

Background: There is a lack of awareness among physicians of the considerable disability caused by non-motor symptoms (NMS) in PD. The aim of this work is to estimate the prevalence of NMS in a series of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Materials And Methods: We studied 112 patients with Parkinson's disease.

Efficacy and safety of levetiracetam as adjunctive therapy in adult patients with uncontrolled partial epilepsy: the Asia SKATE II Study.

This study evaluated the safety and efficacy of levetiracetam as adjunctive therapy for partial seizures in everyday clinical practice in Asian populations. Patients aged > or =16 years (N=251) with inadequately controlled partial epilepsy were recruited from 29 centers across Asia. Levetiracetam was added to existing antiepileptic medication for 16 weeks at a starting dose of 500 or 1000 mg/day and titrated to a maximum of 3000 mg/day according to clinical response.

A preliminary study of possible genetic influences on the susceptibility of sheep to Johne's disease.

Objective: To investigate possible genetic influences on susceptibility or resistance of sheep to Johne's disease.

Design: A field and laboratory study of two fine-wool Merino flocks with a high prevalence of disease due to Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis infection.

Procedure: Adult sheep were phenotypically classified as having severe, mild or no disease on the basis of clinical, pathological and cultural tests for paratuberculosis, and as positive or negative in tests for humoral immunity (agar gel immunodiffusion test) or cell mediated immunity (skin test for delayed type hypersensitivity).

A mixed-model approach for the analysis of cDNA microarray gene expression data from extreme-performing pigs after infection with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae.

We proposed a novel statistical approach for the analysis of cDNA experiments based on mixed-model methodology combined with mixtures of distributions. Our objective was to detect genes that may be involved in conferring heritable differences in susceptibility to common infections in intensive pig production. We employed a microarray expression profiling strategy and a mixed-model approach to the analysis of the expression data.

A genome scan for quantitative trait loci affecting resistance to Trichostrongylus colubriformis in sheep.

A genome linkage scan was carried out using a resource flock of 1029 sheep in six half-sib families. The families were offspring of sires derived by crossing divergent lines of sheep selected for response to challenge with the intestinal parasitic nematode Trichostrongylus colubriformis. All animals in the resource flock were phenotypically assessed for worm resistance soon after weaning using a vaccination/challenge regime.

An enhanced linkage map of the sheep genome comprising more than 1000 loci.

A medium-density linkage map of the ovine genome has been developed. Marker data for 550 new loci were generated and merged with the previous sheep linkage map. The new map comprises 1093 markers representing 1062 unique loci (941 anonymous loci, 121 genes) and spans 3500 cM (sex-averaged) for the autosomes and 132 cM (female) on the X chromosome.

Molecular analysis and nematode resistance association of a polymorphism at the 5' end of the sheep IgE gene.

Previous work using Southern analysis of genomic DNA detected a polymorphism at the 5' end of the sheep and cattle IgE gene. Identical length differences found between fragments following digestion with restriction enzymes indicated that the basis for the polymorphism was an insertion/deletion event. To characterise the polymorphism, the entire cattle and sheep Cvarepsilon genes were sequenced including 668bp of 5' untranslated DNA.

Production and verification of an anti-ovine IgE monoclonal antibody.

Recombinant mouse/sheep IgE was used in the production of an anti-IgE monoclonal using conventional hybridoma techniques. The specificity of hybridomas secreting anti sheep IgE monoclonal antibodies was verified using a number of assays including competitive ELISAs, ability to induce mediator release from mast cells, and IgE binding using western blotting. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated the binding of putative anti-IgE monoclonals to the sheep mast cell surface.

A tandemly repetitive DNA sequence is present at diverse locations in the genome of Ostertagia circumcincta.

A novel repetitive DNA sequence in the sheep parasitic nematode Ostertagia circumcincta was cloned and sequenced. This 1.2-kb sequence (Oc1B) was not found in the closely related cattle parasite Ostertagia ostertagi, nor in the more distantly related sheep parasites Haemonchus contortus or Trichostronylus colubriformis.