Dehydroepiandrosterone and Bone Health: Mechanisms and Insights.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands, plays a key role in various physiological processes, including bone health. Its age-related decline is linked to reduced bone density, though the mechanisms by which DHEA affects bone metabolism remain complex. This review summarises the diverse effects of DHEA on bone metabolism and density, highlighting its therapeutic potential; Methods: A literature search on the effects of DHEA on bone-related parameters was conducted from PubMed and Scopus using a specific search string, and after removing duplicates and irrelevant articles, 36 relevant full-text studies were included; Results: DHEA promotes osteoblast differentiation and proliferation, regulates the RANKL/OPG ratio, and inhibits osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption.

Nanotechnology and LSTM machine learning algorithms in advanced fuel spray dynamics in CI engines with different bowl geometries.

This study explores the integration of nanotechnology and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) machine learning algorithms to enhance the understanding and optimization of fuel spray dynamics in compression ignition (CI) engines with varying bowl geometries. The incorporation of nanotechnology, through the addition of nanoparticles to conventional fuels, improves fuel atomization, combustion efficiency, and emission control. Simultaneously, LSTM models are employed to analyze and predict the complex spray behavior under diverse operational and geometric conditions.

-Methyl-d-Aspartate-Induced Excitotoxicity and Its Impact on the Renin-Angiotensin System in Retinal Tissue.

Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is expressed in neuronal tissue and plays a role in neurodegenerative diseases involving excitotoxicity as a pathophysiological mechanism. In retina, excessive excitatory neurotransmission via -methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors underlies neuronal apoptosis in conditions like glaucoma. However, it is not known if NMDA-mediated excitotoxicity alters retinal RAS expression.

The Renewing Intimacy and SExuality Intervention for Female Cancer Survivors: A Feasibility Study.

Purpose: This study examined the feasibility and acceptability of a three-session, psychological-based intervention to improve intimacy and sexuality outcomes among women with breast and gynaecologic cancer in Singapore.

Method: Patients from outpatient oncology clinics completed screeners for marital and sexual distress. Those who endorsed either marital or sexual distress were invited into the study, and were randomized to receive the intervention immediately or be waitlisted.

Visible light- and dark-driven degradation of palm oil mill effluent (POME) over g-CN and photo-rechargeable WO.

The investigations of real industrial wastewater, such as palm oil mill effluent (POME), as a recalcitrant pollutant remain a subject of global water pollution concern. Thus, this work introduced the preparation and modification of g-CN and WO at optimum calcination temperature, where they were used as potent visible light-driven photocatalysts in the degradation of POME under visible light irradiation. Herein, g-CN-derived melamine and WO photocatalyst were obtained at different calcination temperatures in order to tune their light absorption ability and optoelectronics properties.

Role of TGF-β1/SMADs signalling pathway in resveratrol-induced reduction of extracellular matrix deposition by dexamethasone-treated human trabecular meshwork cells.

Deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) in the trabecular meshwork (TM) increases aqueous humour outflow resistance leading to elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP) in primary open-angle glaucoma, which remains the only modifiable risk factor. Resveratrol has been shown to counteract the steroid-induced increase in IOP and increase the TM expression of ECM proteolytic enzymes; however, its effects on the deposition of ECM components by TM and its associated pathways, such as TGF-β-SMAD signalling remain uncertain. This study, therefore, explored the effects of -resveratrol on the expression of ECM components, SMAD signalling molecules, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and tissue plasminogen activator in dexamethasone-treated human TM cells (HTMCs).

Ecotoxicological impact of heavy metals on wild mud crabs (Scylla olivacea) in Malaysia: An integrative approach of omics, molecular docking and human risk assessment.

Mud crab, one of the aquatic organisms found in estuary areas, has become a significant economic source of seafood for communities due to its delectable taste. However, they face the threat of heavy metal contamination, which may adversely affect their biological traits. This study explored the comparison of the mud crabs collected from Setiu Wetland as a reference site, while Kuala Sepetang is an area that contains a higher concentration of heavy metals than Setiu Wetlands.

Plasma membrane damage limits replicative lifespan in yeast and induces premature senescence in human fibroblasts.

Plasma membrane damage (PMD) occurs in all cell types due to environmental perturbation and cell-autonomous activities. However, cellular outcomes of PMD remain largely unknown except for recovery or death. In this study, using budding yeast and normal human fibroblasts, we found that cellular senescence-stable cell cycle arrest contributing to organismal aging-is the long-term outcome of PMD.

Curcumin piperidone derivatives induce caspase-dependent apoptosis and suppress miRNA-21 expression in LN-18 human glioblastoma cells.

Background: Previously, we have reported on the two curcuminoid analogues with piperidone derivatives, namely FLDP-5 and FLDP-8 have more potent anti-proliferative and anti-migration effects than curcumin. In this study, we further investigated the mode of cell death and the mechanism involved in the cell death process induced by these analogues on human glioblastoma LN-18 cells.

Results: The FLDP-5 and FLDP-8 curcuminoid analogues induced LN-18 cell death through apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner following 24 h of treatment.

Water Quality Assessment and Decolourisation of Contaminated Ex-Mining Lake Water Using Bioreactor Dye-Eating Fungus (BioDeF) System: A Real Case Study.

The environmental conditions of a lake are influenced by its type and various environmental forces such as water temperature, nutrients content, and longitude and latitude to which it is exposed. Due to population growth and development limits, former mining lakes are being converted to more lucrative land uses like those of recreational zones, agriculture, and livestock. The fungus Ganoderma lucidum has the potential to be utilised as a substitute or to perform synergistic bacteria-coupled functions in efficient contaminated lake water treatment.

Parametric study of coagulant recovery from water treatment sludge towards water circular economy.

This study aims to recover the used coagulants from two water treatment plants via acidification technique. The water treatment sludge (WTS) was acidified with sulfuric acid (H2SO-4) at variable normalities (0.5, 1, 1.

Cold compared with room temperature compress on the repaired primiparous perineum following injury at normal vaginal delivery: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The perineum is typically injured at the first vaginal birth. The application of a cold compress to the perineal repair site can reduce pain; however, the effect usually dissipates after a couple of hours. Repeated applications may be needed for sustained analgesia.

Roles of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases signaling pathway in inflammation-related cancer: Impact of rs10889677 variant and buparlisib in colitis-associated cancer.

Background: Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases (PI3K) is a well-known route in inflammation-related cancer. Recent discovery on PI3K-related genes revealed a potential variant that links ulcerative colitis (UC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) with colitis-associated cancer (CAC). PI3K/AKT pathway has been recommended as a potential additional therapeutic option for CRC due to its substantial role in modifying cellular processes.

Perception towards palliative care among patients with pulmonary hypertension in malaysia: a correlation with disease status.

Objectives: This study aimed to describe the perception of Malaysian patients with pulmonary hypertension towards palliative care and their receptivity towards palliative care.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional, single-centre study conducted via questionnaire. Patients aged 18 years old and above, who were diagnosed with non-curable pulmonary hypertension were recruited and given the assessment tool - perceptions of palliative care instrument electronically.

Connective tissue growth factor: Role in trabecular meshwork remodeling and intraocular pressure lowering.

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) is a distinct signaling molecule modulating many physiological and pathophysiological processes. This protein is upregulated in numerous fibrotic diseases that involve extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. It mediates the downstream effects of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) and is regulated via TGF-β SMAD-dependent and SMAD-independent signaling routes.

Novel image analyser-assisted morphometric methodology offer unique opportunity for selection of embryos with potential for implantation.

Background: Previous studies looked into the connections between pregnancy and the Zona Pellucida (ZP) thickness and Zona Pellucida Thickness Variation (ZPTV), as well as the embryo's radius, circumference, perimeter and global symmetry. However, no research has linked embryo implantation and pregnancy to the percentage of ZP thinning, the reduction in ooplasm volume, and the increase in perivitelline space (PVS) volume. Our objective is to correlate the percentage of ZP thinning, the percentage of ooplasm volume shrinkage and the percentage of PVS increase to the implantation.

Eye-mask and earplugs compared with sleep advice leaflet to improve night sleep duration in pregnancy: a randomized controlled trial.

Study Objectives: To evaluate at-home use of eye-mask and earplugs (EMEP) versus sleep hygiene advice leaflet (AL) on actigraphy-derived night sleep duration in sleep-deprived pregnant women.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in the antenatal clinic of University Malaya Medical Centre from June 2021 to June 2022. Women at 34-36 weeks gestation with self-reported night sleep duration ≤6 hours were recruited.

Watermelon and dietary advice compared to dietary advice alone following hospitalization for hyperemesis gravidarum: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) affects about 2% of pregnancies and is at the severe end of the spectrum of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy. HG causes severe maternal distress and results in adverse pregnancy outcomes long after the condition may have dissipated. Although dietary advice is a common tool in management, trial evidence to base the advice on is lacking.

Detection of orthodontically induced inflammatory root resorption-associated biomarkers from the gingival crevicular fluid by proteomics analysis: a randomized-controlled clinical trial.

Unlabelled: Orthodontically induced inflammatory root resorption (OIIRR) is an undesirable complication of orthodontic treatment (OT) with an ambiguous aetiologic mechanism. This study aimed to identify OIIRR-associated biomarkers in the gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) using proteomic analysis. In this randomized clinical trial, the upper first premolars (UFP) were exposed either to light or heavy force.

Small RNA-mediated silencing of phototropin suppresses the induction of photoprotection in the green alga .

Small RNAs (sRNAs) form complexes with Argonaute proteins and bind to transcripts with complementary sequences to repress gene expression. sRNA-mediated regulation is conserved in a diverse range of eukaryotes and is involved in the control of various physiological functions. sRNAs are present in the unicellular green alga , and genetic analyses revealed that the core sRNA biogenesis and action mechanisms are conserved with those of multicellular organisms.

Association between dietary 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol esters (3-MCPDE) and renal cancer in Peninsular Malaysia: exposure assessment and matched case-control study.

3-Monochloropropane-1,2-diol esters (3-MCPDE) are food contaminants commonly found in refined vegetable oils and fats, which have possible carcinogenic implications in humans. To investigate this clinically, we conducted an occurrence level analysis on eight categories of retail and cooked food commonly consumed in Malaysia. This was used to estimate the daily exposure level, through a questionnaire-based case-control study involving 77 subjects with renal cancer, with 80 matching controls.

Enhancement Technique Based on the Breast Density Level for Mammogram for Computer-Aided Diagnosis.

Mass detection in mammograms has a limited approach to the presence of a mass in overlapping denser fibroglandular breast regions. In addition, various breast density levels could decrease the learning system's ability to extract sufficient feature descriptors and may result in lower accuracy performance. Therefore, this study is proposing a textural-based image enhancement technique named Spatial-based Breast Density Enhancement for Mass Detection (SbBDEM) to boost textural features of the overlapped mass region based on the breast density level.

Neuroprotection by trans-resveratrol in rats with N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced retinal injury: Insights into the role of adenosine A1 receptors.

Adenosine A1 receptors (AA1R) have been shown to counteract N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-mediated glutamatergic excitotoxicity. In the present study, we investigated the role of AA1R in neuroprotection by trans-resveratrol (TR) against NMDA-induced retinal injury. In total, 48 rats were divided into the following four groups: normal rats pretreated with vehicle; rats that received NMDA (NMDA group); rats that received NMDA after pretreatment with TR; and rats that received NMDA after pretreatment with TR and 1,3-dipropyl-8-cyclopentylxanthine (DPCPX), an AA1R antagonist.

Case report: Bipolar disorder in 48,XXYY syndrome.

48,XXYY syndrome is a rare condition. The presentations of impulsive and aggressive behavior have been reported in several case reports among patients with 48,XXYY syndrome. The management of the psychological impact and neuropsychiatric sequela of this condition is a significant issue faced by families, carers, and healthcare professionals.