Publications by authors named "Hooi-Leng Ser"

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  • Monkeys provide a relevant model for studying periodontal health due to their similar dental anatomy to humans, but it's unclear if both groups have comparable oral microbial status.
  • The study compared alveolar bone resorption, gingival inflammation, and oral microbiota between periodontally healthy middle-aged humans and monkeys using various analytical methods, including CBCT examination and 16S rRNA sequencing.
  • Results indicated that humans exhibited greater attachment loss and gingival inflammation, along with a less diverse salivary microbiome compared to monkeys, suggesting a link between oral microbiome diversity and periodontal health status in these primates.
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is a perennial herb that has been used for generations in traditional medicine to address a variety of diseases, including diabetes, hypertension, cancer, microbial disorders, inflammatory conditions, and wound healing. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of existing knowledge on with regards to its botanical description, ethnomedicinal uses, and pharmacological properties. Databases such as Scopus, Wiley-Online, PubMed, Springer, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect were used to select relevant articles based on their title and abstract.

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  • - Natural products, like those from the black soldier fly (BSF), offer safer alternatives to antibiotics and are gaining popularity in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries for their bioactive compounds that promote environmental sustainability.
  • - The review examines the biological properties of BSF extracts, their extraction methods, and the potential for these larvae to be used as active ingredients in new cosmeceutical products, highlighting their antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and wound healing benefits.
  • - The findings suggest that BSF can effectively serve in the treatment of various skin conditions due to its diverse biological activities and the influence of its diet on its beneficial compounds.
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  • * Researchers utilized computational methods to analyze the essential oil from Maqian, focusing on twelve of its chemical components and their interactions with proteins related to gut bacteria in type 1 diabetes.
  • * Findings indicate that certain compounds, particularly α-phellandrene, show strong potential in modulating gut microbiota and may help regulate inflammatory responses linked to type 1 diabetes.
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  • * Natural products show promise as anti-obesity agents by influencing metabolic processes like appetite regulation, glucose control, and fat breakdown, while also showing potential in promoting healthy fat tissue.
  • * Key proteins and pathways involved in fat tissue browning and weight regulation have been identified, suggesting that further research into natural products could lead to safer and more effective obesity treatment options.
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Fair flawless skin is the goal for some cultures and the development of irregular skin pigmentation is considered an indication of premature skin aging. Hence, there is a rising demand for skin whitening cosmetics. Thus, this research will be focusing on discovering the anti-pigmentation properties of Swietenia macrophylla seeds.

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  • MMP12, also known as macrophage metalloelastase, is crucial for breaking down components in the extracellular matrix and has been linked to periodontal diseases.
  • Recent findings indicate MMP12 is involved in various oral health issues, such as periodontitis, temporomandibular joint dysfunction, and oral cancers.
  • Further research is needed to clarify MMP12's specific role in these conditions, which could lead to new treatment strategies for related inflammatory oral diseases.
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  • Endometriosis impacts around 6 to 10% of women of reproductive age worldwide, but its causes and progression are still not fully understood.
  • Dysbiosis, or an imbalance in the microbiome, is linked to various diseases, and emerging research suggests a connection between gut health and endometriosis development.
  • Utilizing advanced molecular technologies and computational tools, researchers aim to leverage microbiome studies to create treatments and biomarkers for endometriosis, potentially leading to therapies that improve symptoms and quality of life for affected women.
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  • Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are tiny membrane-bound sacs released by cells, with bacterial EVs (BEVs) being of particular interest due to their potential as diagnostic markers linked to diseases due to the human microbiota.
  • Studies show that differences in BEV composition between patients and healthy individuals could aid in disease detection, emphasizing their role as potential biomarkers.
  • Despite the promising outlook for BEVs in diagnostics, challenges remain in the research that need to be addressed for their clinical application.
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Prostate cancer is a widespread form of cancer that affects patients globally and is challenging to diagnose, especially in its early stages. The common means of diagnosing cancer involve mostly invasive methods, such as the use of patient's blood as well as digital biopsies, which are relatively expensive and require a considerable amount of expertise. Studies have shown that various cancer biomarkers can be present in urine samples from patients who have prostate cancers; this paper aimed to leverage this information and investigate this further by using urine samples from a group of patients alongside FTIR analysis for the prediction of prostate cancer.

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  • ANP deficiency contributes to salt-sensitive hypertension and cardiac injury, with studies showing increased blood pressure and cardiac hypertrophy in ANP mice compared to wild-type mice.
  • Antibiotic treatments provided relief from high blood pressure and cardiac issues in ANP mice, while a high-salt diet exacerbated these conditions and negatively impacted ileal health in both ANP and wild-type mice.
  • Microbiome transfer from ANP mice to healthy mice increased blood pressure and cardiac hypertrophy, highlighting the role of ileal microbiota in exacerbating salt sensitivity and cardiac damage in the context of ANP deficiency.
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The importance of cosmetics in our lives is immeasurable. Covering items from daily personal hygienic products to skincare, it has become essential to consumers that the items that they use are safe and effective. Since natural products are from natural sources, and therefore considered "natural" and "green" in the public's eyes, the rise in demand for such products is not surprising.

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Children with cerebral palsy (CP) present a higher prevalence and severity of caries. Although researchers have studied multiple risk factors for caries in CP, the role of microorganisms in caries remains one of the critical factors worth exploring. In order to explore the differences in the supragingival plaque microbiota (SPM), supragingival plaque samples were collected from 55 CP children and 23 non-CP children for 16S rRNA sequencing.

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The discovery of small molecular inhibitors targeting essential and conserved bacterial drug targets such as FtsZ protein is a promising approach to fight against multi-drug resistant bacteria. In the present study, two new series of FtsZ inhibitors based on a 1-methylquinolinium scaffold were synthesized. The inhibitors possess a variety of substituent groups including the cyclic or linear amine skeleton at the 2- and 4-position of the quinolinium ring for structure-activity relationship study.

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Sunlight is an important factor in regulating the central circadian rhythm, including the modulation of our sleep/wake cycles. Sunlight had also been discovered to have a prominent influence on our skin's circadian rhythm. Overexposure or prolonged exposure to the sun can cause skin photodamage, such as the formation of irregular pigmentation, collagen degradation, DNA damage, and even skin cancer.

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There is growing evidence of studies associating COVID-19 survivors with increased mental health consequences. Mental health implications related to a COVID-19 infection include both acute and long-term consequences. Here we discuss COVID-19-associated psychiatric sequelae, particularly anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), drawing parallels to past coronavirus outbreaks.

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Extensively produced by members of the genus Streptomyces, piericidins are a large family of microbial metabolites, which consist of main skeleton of 4-pyridinol with methylated polyketide side chain. Nonetheless, these metabolites show differences in their bioactive potentials against micro-organisms, insects and tumour cells. Due to its close structural similarity with coenzyme Q, piericidins also possess an inhibitory activity against NADH dehydrogenase as well as Photosystem II.

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Bacterial vaginosis (BV) has been reported in one-third of women worldwide at different life stages, due to the complex balance in the ecology of the vaginal microbiota. It is a common cause of abnormal vaginal discharge and is associated with other health issues. Since the first description of anaerobic microbes associated with BV like in the 1950s, researchers have stepped up the game by incorporating advanced molecular tools to monitor and evaluate the extent of dysbiosis within the vaginal microbiome, particularly on how specific microbial population changes compared to a healthy state.

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Fecal microbiome transplant (FMT) has gained popularity over the past few years, given its success in treating several gastrointestinal diseases. At the same time, microbial populations in the gut have been shown to have more physiological effects than we expected as "habitants" of the gut. The imbalance in the gut microbiome or dysbiosis, particularly when there are excessive harmful pathogens, can trigger not just infections but can also result in the development of common diseases, such as cancer and cardiometabolic diseases.

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Article Synopsis
  • People globally entered 2021 with anxiety due to COVID-19, losing loved ones and facing job insecurity due to the pandemic.
  • Researchers are working quickly to create effective vaccines, exploring various types such as inactivated viral, protein subunit, mRNA, and recombinant viral vector vaccines after the SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequence was released in January.
  • Several vaccines have received emergency use authorization and are being distributed worldwide, while more candidates are in Phase III clinical trials, showing promise in generating immune responses with minimal side effects.
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Noncaloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) are extensively introduced into commonly consumed drinks and foods worldwide. However, data on the health effects of NAS consumption remain elusive. Saccharin and sucralose have been shown to pass through the human gastrointestinal tract without undergoing absorption and metabolism and directly encounter the gut microbiota community.

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  • There is a growing need for new antibiotics due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria like MRSA, and researchers discovered a new strain, MUSC 125, from mangrove soil in Malaysia that shows promise against this issue.
  • The methanolic extract from strain MUSC 125 exhibited anti-MRSA, anti-biofilm, and antioxidant properties, and contained specific polyketide synthase gene clusters suggested to be linked to these effects.
  • Chemical analysis identified eight compounds in the extract that could contribute to its antibiotic activity, indicating that strain MUSC 125 may be a valuable resource for developing new anti-MRSA treatments.
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Objective: To compare relative efficacy of different antibiotic therapies either with or without the addition of corticosteroids among adult patients with acute bacterial meningitis on all-cause mortality, neurological complications and any hearing loss.

Methods: We searched nine databases from inception to 8 February 2018 for randomized controlled trials evaluating pharmacological interventions and clinical outcomes in adult bacterial meningitis. An updated search from 9 February to 9 March 2020 was performed, and no new studies met the inclusion criteria.

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  • New antimicrobial agents are crucial due to the rise of multi-drug resistant bacteria, prompting the synthesis of novel thiazole-quinolinium derivatives from benzothiazolidine derivatives.
  • The study examined the antibacterial effects of these derivatives on various Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, finding that some had strong bactericidal activity against resistant strains.
  • Key compounds (4a4 and 4b4) not only showed low toxicity but also disrupted bacterial cell division by stimulating FtsZ polymerization, indicating potential as effective treatments for resistant infections.
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  • The mangrove ecosystem in Malaysia is still being explored for microbes that can produce beneficial metabolites, particularly focusing on strain MUSC 14 from Pahang.
  • Strain MUSC 14 has been identified based on its genetic and physical traits, and it exhibits strong antioxidant properties when tested against various assays.
  • The study highlights a significant link between the strain's phenolic content and its antioxidant activity, suggesting potential for therapeutic applications of its metabolites.
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