Expression of IGFBP-rP1 in ovarian and breast cancers in association with diabetes mellitus status.

Introduction: Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-related protein 1 (IGFBP-rP1) is an important component of the IGF system that regulates insulin resistance-related to tumour development. The aim of this study is to investigate the expression of IGFBP-rP1 among female cancer patients who are known or not known to have Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM).

Materials And Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, cases of ovarian and breast cancer with clinical status of T2DM were selected over a 10-year period in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia.

Microbial Diversity in Decaying Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (OPEFB) and Isolation of Lignin-degrading Bacteria from a Tropical Environment.

Oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) are the most abundant, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly lignocellulosic biomass in Malaysia. Investigations on the microbial diversity of decaying OPEFB may reveal microbes with complex enzymes that have the potential to enhance the conversion of lignocellulose into second-generation biofuels as well as the production of other value-added products. In the present study, fungal and bacterial diversities in decaying OPEFB were identified using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene and V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene.

Perceived impact of contextual determinants on depression, anxiety and stress: a survey with university students.

Background: Young adults starting college or university education encounter multiple stressors related to transitional life-stage and novel environments. Current studies reveal high rates of symptoms related to common mental health problems like depression, anxiety and stress. However, limited knowledge exists on the determinants on these problems among Canadian students.

Preparation and Characterization of Low-Molecular-Weight Natural Rubber Latex via Photodegradation Catalyzed by Nano TiO₂.

Natural rubber is one of the most important renewable biopolymers used in many applications due to its special properties that cannot be easily mimicked by synthetic polymers. To sustain the existence of natural rubber in industries, modifications have been made to its chemical structure from time to time in order to obtain new properties and to enable it to be employed in new applications. The chemical structure of natural rubber can be modified by exposure to ultraviolet light to reduce its molecular weight.

Diabetic Nephropathy Following Posttransplant Diabetes Mellitus.

Diabetic nephropathy is one of the main long-term diabetic microangiopathies that can complicate type 1 and 2 and other secondary forms of diabetes mellitus, including posttransplant diabetes mellitus. Posttransplant diabetes mellitus was initially reported in the 1960s, with case reports of recurrent and de novo diabetic nephropathy after kidney transplant reported in the early 2000s, mostly as a result of same-risk and precipitating factors of diabetic nephropathy as in native kidneys. The disease may appear early in view of the hyperfiltration risk of being a single grafted kidney.

Diversity of respiratory viruses detected among hospitalized children with acute lower respiratory tract infections at Hospital Serdang, Malaysia.

Background: The role of respiratory viruses as the major cause of acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTIs) in children is becoming increasingly evident due to the use of sensitive molecular detection methods. The aim of this study was to use conventional and molecular detection methods to assess the epidemiology of respiratory viral infections in children less than five years of age that were hospitalized with ALRTIs.

Methods: The cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the occurrence of respiratory viruses including respiratory syncytisl virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), influenza virus A and B (IFV-A and B), parainfluenzavirus 1, 2, 3 and 4 (PIV 1, 2, 3 and 4), human rhinoviruses (HRV), human enterovirus (HEV), human coronaviruses (HCoV) 229E and OC43, human bocavirus (HBoV) and human adenovirus (HAdV) in hospitalized children with ALRTIs, at Hospital Serdang, Malaysia, from June 16 to December 21, 2009.

Assessment of Diabetes Knowledge Among Renal Transplant Recipients With Posttransplant Diabetes Mellitus: Kuwait Experience.

Objectives: Diabetes knowledge among kidney transplant recipients with posttransplant diabetes has not been exhaustively assessed. We evaluated levels of diabetes knowledge among our kidney transplant patients using a 35-item diabetes self-care management questionnaire.

Materials And Methods: The study comprised renal transplant patients with posttransplant diabetes mellitus who were referred from Hamed Al-Essa Organ Transplant Center of Kuwait to the Dasman Diabetes Institute.

Role of Diabetes Education Program in Controlling Posttransplant Diabetes in a Recent Renal Transplant Bodybuilder: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Posttransplant diabetes is a common complication of solid-organ transplantation. We present the possible role of diabetes education in improvement of posttransplant diabetes in a 36-year-old bodybuilder who was a kidney transplant recipient. The patient had been abusing some medications to help in bodybuilding.

Depolymerization of lignocellulose of oil palm empty fruit bunch by thermophilic microorganisms from tropical climate.

Previous studies on screening of lignin-degrading bacteria mainly focused on the ligninolytic ability of the isolated bacteria for the utilization of lignin monomers. In this study, we focused on the depolymerization of alkali lignin to prove the ability of the isolated thermophilic bacterial strains to utilize and depolymerize more than a monomer of alkali lignin within 7 days of incubation. Indigenous thermophilic bacterial isolates from the palm oil plantation were used to evaluate the depolymerization and utilization of alkali lignin.

Whole gene transcriptomic analysis of PCB/biphenyl degrading Rhodococcus jostii RHA1.

This study gives the first picture of whole RNA-Sequencing analysis of a PCB-degrading microbe, Rhodococcus jostii RHA1. Genes that were highly expressed in biphenyl-grown cells, compared with pyruvate-grown cells, were chosen based on the Reads Per Kilobase Million (RPKM) value and were summarized based on the criteria of RPKM ≥100 and fold change ≥2.0.

Routine Preoperative Coagulation Tests in Children Undergoing Elective Surgery or Invasive Procedures: Are They Still Necessary?

Introduction: Preoperative coagulation screening tests in pediatric patients was once routine clinical practice globally and still used as standard practice in some countries before surgical procedures to assess of perioperative bleeding risk.

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate unselected routine preoperative coagulation testing in children undergoing elective or invasive surgery to predict abnormal perioperative bleeding. The study also aimed to provide a rational approach of determining bleeding and family history of coagulation disorders as a predictive risk for bleeding.

Empathy among undergraduate medical students: A cross-sectional study in one Malaysian public medical school.

Background: Empathy is one of the cardinal components for physician-patient relationships, optimal outcomes in patient care, improved patient satisfaction, greater adherence to therapy, and lower malpractice liability. It is also considered an essential quality for health-care professionals to practice medicine. The aim of the present study was to assess the empathy level of medical students of Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) National Defense University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Treatment of Wastewater Using Seaweed: A Review.

Inadequately treated or untreated wastewater greatly contribute to the release of unwanted toxic contaminants into water bodies. Some of these contaminants are persistent and bioaccumulative, becoming a great concern as they are released into the environment. Despite the abundance of wastewater treatment technologies, the adsorption method overall has proven to be an excellent way to treat wastewater from multiple industry sources.

Synthesis and Optimization of Chitosan Nanoparticles Loaded with L-Ascorbic Acid and Thymoquinone.

The combination of compounds with different classes (hydrophobic and hydrophilic characters) in single chitosan carrier is a challenge due to the hydrophilicity of chitosan. Utilization of l-ascorbic acid (LAA) and thymoquinone (TQ) compounds as effective antioxidants is marred by poor bioavailability and uptake. Nanoparticles (NPs) solved the problem by functioning as a carrier for them because they have high surface areas for more efficient delivery and uptake by cells.

Efficient Deployment of Multi-UAVs in Massively Crowded Events.

In this paper, the efficient 3D placement of UAV as an aerial base station in providing wireless coverage for users in a small and large coverage area is investigated. In the case of providing wireless coverage for outdoor and indoor users in a small area, the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and K-means with Ternary Search (KTS) algorithms are invoked to find an efficient 3D location of a single UAV with the objective of minimizing its required transmit power. It was observed that a single UAV at the 3D location found using the PSO algorithm requires less transmit power, by a factor of 1/5 compared to that when using the KTS algorithm.

Overexpression of miR‑361‑5p plays an oncogenic role in human lung adenocarcinoma through the regulation of SMAD2.

The silencing of Bcl‑xL in the non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell line, A549, downregulates miR‑361‑5p expression. This study aimed to determine the biological effects of miR‑361‑5p on NSCLC, and to elucidate the molecular mechanisms through which apoptosis is regulated. MicroRNA (miRNA or miR) functional analyses were performed via transfection of miR‑361‑5p mimics and inhibitors, demonstrating that the inhibition of miR‑361‑5p induced the apoptosis of NSCLC cells.

: Quantitative Proteomics Analysis Reveals Putative Virulence-Associated Differentially Abundant Membrane Proteins.

is a protozoan parasite that causes amebiasis and poses a significant health risk for populations in endemic areas. The molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis and regulation of the parasite are not well characterized. We aimed to identify and quantify the differentially abundant membrane proteins by comparing the membrane proteins of virulent and avirulent variants of HM-1:IMSS, and to investigate the potential associations among the differentially abundant membrane proteins.

Analysis of Entamoeba histolytica Membrane Proteome Using Three Extraction Methods.

Entamoeba histolytica membrane proteins are important players toward the pathogenesis of amoebiasis, but the roles of most of the proteins are not fully understood. Since efficient protein extraction method is crucial for a successful MS analysis, three extractions methods are evaluated for the use in studying the membrane proteome of E. histolytica: Two commercial kits (ProteoExtract from Calbiochem and ProteoPrep from Sigma), and a conventional laboratory method.

The Independent and Combined Effects of Omega-3 and Vitamin B12 in Ameliorating Propionic Acid Induced Biochemical Features in Juvenile Rats as Rodent Model of Autism.

Metabolites of proper fatty acids modulate the inflammatory response and are essential for normal brain development; equally, abnormal fatty acid metabolism plays a critical role in the pathology of autism. Currently, dietary supplements are often used to improve the core symptoms of Autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study analyzed the effects of orally supplemented omega-3 (ω-3) and vitamin B12 on ameliorating oxidative stress and impaired lipid metabolism in a propionic acid (PPA)-induced rodent model of autism, together with their effect on the gut microbial composition, where great fluctuations in the bacterial number and strains were observed; interestingly, polyunsaturated fatty acids such as omega-3 induced higher growth of the gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus and decreased the survival rates of Clostridia sp.

Update on laboratory diagnosis of amoebiasis.

Amoebiasis, an enteric protozoan disease caused by Entamoeba histolytica, is a public health problem in many developing countries, causing up to 100,000 fatal cases annually. Detection of the pathogenic E. histolytica and its differentiation from the non-pathogenic Entamoeba spp.

Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibilities of Acinetobacter baumannii and non-baumannii Acinetobacters from Terengganu, Malaysia and their carriage of carbapenemase genes.

A total of 153 non-repeat Acinetobacter spp. clinical isolates obtained in 2015 from Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah (HSNZ) in Terengganu, Malaysia, were characterized. Identification of the isolates at species level was performed by ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) followed by sequencing of the rpoB gene.

The satisfaction and perception of Provisionally Registered Pharmacists (PRP) towards their internship training in the Ministry of Health, Malaysia facilities: A national survey.

Background: The pharmacy internship program is designed to provide comprehensive training for interns to perform various roles in pharmacy practice. In Malaysia, the current internship program has been in place since 2004 in public health facilities, but has never been extensively evaluated.

Aim: To assess the level of job satisfaction and perception of Provisionally Registered Pharmacists (PRP) towards the internship training provided.

Development of a Collaborative Algorithm for the Management of Type 2 Diabetes during Ramadan: An Anchor on Empowerment.

Empowerment plays significant roles in the complex management of type 2 diabetes. International guidelines have provided recommendations on management of Muslims who fast during Ramadan. However, there remains a lack of patient-centered epistemic tool to empower healthcare providers and patients in managing diabetes during Ramadan.