Possible Risk Factors and Their Potential Associations with Combined Heavy Metal Exposures in Pregnant Women in the Republic of Suriname.

Background: The exposure of pregnant women to multiple environmental pollutants may be more disadvantageous to birth outcomes when compared to single-compound contaminations.

Objective: This study investigated the mixed exposures to mercury, manganese, or lead in 380 pregnant Surinamese women. The factors that might be associated with the heavy metal exposures and the relative risk of the potential factors to cause the mixed exposures were explored.

Endophytic fungus Penicillium steckii DF33 promoted tanshinones biosynthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza by regulating the expression of CYP450 genes.

Salvia miltiorrhiza, a prominent traditional Chinese medicinal resource, has been extensively employed in the management of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular ailments. Ensuring the consistency of S. miltiorrhiza raw materials revolves around the imperative task of maintaining stable tanshinones content and composition.

Antioxidative and Cytoprotective Effects of Ganoderma applanatum and Fomitopsis pinicola in PC12 Adrenal Phaeochromocytoma Cells.

Considering the impact of oxidative stress on the development of many diseases, together with the role of natural antioxidants in maintaining physiological balance in humans, medicinal mushrooms are potential sources of bioactive compounds against many diseases. In the present work, in vitro evaluation of the biological activities of the alcoholic extracts of two wild tree mushrooms, namely, Ganoderma applanatum and Fomitopsis pinicola, has been performed. Extraction of G.

Challenges in Bioinformatics Workflows for Processing Microbiome Omics Data at Scale.

The nascent field of microbiome science is transitioning from a descriptive approach of cataloging taxa and functions present in an environment to applying multi-omics methods to investigate microbiome dynamics and function. A large number of new tools and algorithms have been designed and used for very specific purposes on samples collected by individual investigators or groups. While these developments have been quite instructive, the ability to compare microbiome data generated by many groups of researchers is impeded by the lack of standardized application of bioinformatics methods.

Insight into the antioxidant activities of ten Fabaceae plant species that are medicinally used by the Aucan Tribal Peoples from the Republic of Suriname (South America).

Fabaceae are associated with a high antioxidant activity (AA) and a high total phenolic (TPC), total flavonoid (TFC), and selenium content (SeC). In this study, the aqueous extracts from ten Fabaceae species that are medicinally used by the Aucan Tribal Peoples from Suriname (South America), were evaluated for AA using a DPPH and a FRAP assay, and for TPC, TFC, and SeC using Folin-Ciocalteu's, an AlCl3 colorimetric, and an azure B-based method. Associations between pairs of these variables were determined by Pearson correlation coefficient.

Prenatal Exposure to Mercury, Manganese, and Lead and Adverse Birth Outcomes in Suriname: A Population-Based Birth Cohort Study.

Globally, adverse birth outcomes are increasingly linked to prenatal exposure to environmental contaminants, such as mercury, manganese, and lead. This study aims to assess an association between prenatal exposure to mercury, manganese, and lead and the occurrence of adverse birth outcomes in 380 pregnant women in Suriname. The numbers of stillbirths, preterm births, low birth weights, and low Apgar scores were determined, as well as blood levels of mercury, manganese, lead, and relevant covariates.

The distribution of disease in the Republic of Suriname - A pharmacoepidemiological analysis using the claims database of the State Health Foundation of the year 2017.

The patterns of prescription drug use in Suriname in the year 2017 have been determined with the purpose of obtaining indications about the distribution of disease in the country. The claims database of the State Health Foundation (Staatsziekenfonds, SZF) of Suriname was used for calculations of prescription rates of the fifty most prescribed drugs overall and after stratification according to gender, age, and residence of the insured persons. Information in the database had been de-identified, and the prescribed medicines had been coded according to the Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical Classification System.

Endophytic fungus Cladosporium tenuissimum DF11, an efficient inducer of tanshinone biosynthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza roots.

Salvia miltiorrhiza is a traditional medicinal plant mainly used for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease treatment. Tanshinones are the main bioactive constituents of S. miltiorrhiza, which mainly accumulate around its root periderm tissue.

Prevalence and safety of prescription medicine use during pregnancy in the Republic of Suriname in the year 2017: a pharmacoepidemiological analysis.

Background: Using the claims database of the State Health Foundation from 2017, the prevalence and safety of prescription medicines given to pregnant women in Suriname (South America) have been determined.

Methods: Prescription rates and proportions of the total number of prescriptions were calculated, overall and stratified for subgroups of age, region of residence, major Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical - and safety classification (Australian categorization system). Data were compared with the Σ-test and the two samples test of proportions using normal theory method; p-values <0.

The complete chloroplast genome of (Lamiaceae) from Shaanxi Province, China.

C.Y.Wu is a medicinal perennial herb native to China.

Vaginal herb use and infection: cross-sectional study among women of various ethnic groups in Suriname.

Objective: Vaginal steam baths with herb leaves (herb use) is practised by some Surinamese women. We assessed herb use among women from the five most prevalent ethnic groups, and if herb use is associated with infection.

Setting: Participants were recruited at a sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic and a family planning clinic (FP) in Paramaribo, Suriname.

A binary matrix for the rapid detection and characterization of small-molecule cardiovascular drugs by MALDI-MS and MS/MS.

A mixture of α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid and 1,5-diaminonaphthalene was discovered as a novel binary matrix for the qualitative analysis of 14 small-molecule (~250-550 Da) cardiovascular drugs by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) and MS/MS in either positive or negative ion mode.

Fifty years of primary health care in the rainforest: temporal trends in morbidity and mortality in indigenous Amerindian populations of Suriname.

Background: The Amazonian Amerindian populations living in the southern and southwestern hinterlands of Suriname (South America) have come into contact with western health care since approximately fifty years ago. In this study, secondary data were used to assess the impact of Medical Mission's fifty-year old primary health care program on the health status of these populations.

Methods: Using data from the primary health care facilities of Medical Mission for 1965-1970, 1973-1977, 1982-1985, and 1997-2014, temporal trends in incidence and mortality of respiratory tract infections, gastroenteritis, and malaria; population composition; birth and death rates; and polyclinic consultations in these communities have been assessed over the period between 1965 and 2014.

Homozygous loss-of-function mutations in MNS1 cause laterality defects and likely male infertility.

The clinical spectrum of ciliopathies affecting motile cilia spans impaired mucociliary clearance in the respiratory system, laterality defects including heart malformations, infertility and hydrocephalus. Using linkage analysis and whole exome sequencing, we identified two recessive loss-of-function MNS1 mutations in five individuals from four consanguineous families: 1) a homozygous nonsense mutation p.Arg242* in four males with laterality defects and infertility and 2) a homozygous nonsense mutation p.

Broadly Applicable Stereoselective Syntheses of Serrulatane, Amphilectane Diterpenes, and Their Diastereoisomeric Congeners Using Asymmetric Hydrovinylation for Absolute Stereochemical Control.

A stereogenic center, placed at an exocyclic location next to a chiral carbon in a ring to which it is attached, is a ubiquitous structural motif seen in many bioactive natural products, including di- and triterpenes and steroids. Installation of these centers has been a long-standing problem in organic chemistry. Few classes of compounds illustrate this problem better than serrulatanes and amphilectanes, which carry multiple methyl-bearing exocyclic chiral centers.

Liver cyst gene knockout in cholangiocytes inhibits cilium formation and Wnt signaling.

Mutations in the PRKCSH, SEC63 and LRP5 genes cause autosomal dominant polycystic liver disease (ADPLD). The proteins products of PRKCSH (alias GIIB) and SEC63 function in protein quality control and processing in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), while LRP5 is implicated in Wnt/β-catenin signaling. To identify common denominators in the PLD pathogenesis, we mapped the PLD interactome by affinity proteomics, employing both HEK293T cells and H69 cholangiocytes.

Presence of pesticide residues on produce cultivated in Suriname.

Agricultural pesticides are widely used in Suriname, an upper middle-income Caribbean country located in South America. Suriname imported 1.8 million kg of agricultural pesticides in 2015.

The cataract situation in Suriname: an effective intervention programme to increase the cataract surgical rate in a developing country.

Aims: To provide an overview of cataract data in Suriname and to describe and evaluate a programme to control cataract blindness in a developing country.

Design: Evaluation of hospital data and findings from a population-based cross-sectional survey.

Methods: The implementation of a new cataract surgical intervention programme was described and retrospectively evaluated by analysing the number of cataract operations and other related indicators at the Suriname Eye Centre (SEC) in the period 2006-2014.

Characterization of the methemoglobin forming metabolites of benzocaine and lidocaine.

1. Topical anesthesia with benzocaine or lidocaine occasionally causes methemoglobinemia, an uncommon but potentially fatal disorder where the blood has a reduced ability to transport oxygen. Previous in vitro studies using human whole blood have shown that benzocaine causes more methemoglobin (MetHb) formation than lidocaine, and that both compounds require metabolic transformation to form the MetHb producing species.

An organelle-specific protein landscape identifies novel diseases and molecular mechanisms.

Cellular organelles provide opportunities to relate biological mechanisms to disease. Here we use affinity proteomics, genetics and cell biology to interrogate cilia: poorly understood organelles, where defects cause genetic diseases. Two hundred and seventeen tagged human ciliary proteins create a final landscape of 1,319 proteins, 4,905 interactions and 52 complexes.

A novel ICK mutation causes ciliary disruption and lethal endocrine-cerebro-osteodysplasia syndrome.

Background: Endocrine-cerebro-osteodysplasia (ECO) syndrome [MIM:612651] caused by a recessive mutation (p.R272Q) in Intestinal cell kinase (ICK) shows significant clinical overlap with ciliary disorders. Similarities are strongest between ECO syndrome, the Majewski and Mohr-Majewski short-rib thoracic dysplasia (SRTD) with polydactyly syndromes, and hydrolethalus syndrome.

Epidemiology and aetiology of childhood ocular trauma in the Republic of Suriname.

Purpose: To describe the epidemiology and aetiology of ocular trauma in school-aged children who previously visited the Suriname Eye Centre (SEC) of the Academic Hospital Paramaribo.

Methods: In a hospital-based retrospective study, all cases of children who were school aged (8-15 years) at the time of the survey and previously underwent evaluation and/or treatment at the SEC because of ocular trauma were analysed. Demographic and ophthalmologic data were taken out of patient records; eye injuries were classified using the Birmingham Eye Trauma Terminology classification system.

In vitro evaluation of traditionally used Surinamese medicinal plants for their potential anti-leishmanial efficacy.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Plant-based preparations are extensively used in Surinamese folk medicine for treating leishmaniasis, but often without a scientific rationale.

Aim Of The Study: To evaluate 25 Surinamese medicinal plants for their potential efficacy against leishmaniasis.

Materials And Methods: Concentrated plant extracts were evaluated for their effect on the viability of L.