Surface Roughness of Tooth Coloured Materials after Streptococcus Mutans Culture

Surface texture of a dental material may cause non-aesthetic appearance, secondary caries and periodontal problem. Factors influencing surface roughness include the type of the material, its filler, and exposure to bacterial accumulation. The aim of this study was to investigate surface roughness of glass ionomer cement (GIC) and resin composite (CR). A total of 112 specimens consisting of Fuji II LC (microfilled GIC), Ketac N100 (nanofilled GIC), Z250 (microfilled composite) and Z350 (nanofilled composite) were used. All specimens were packed in acrylic mould, light cured for 40 s and polished with Sof-Lex discs. The samples were divided into two groups of 7 and 24 hrs (n=7). Ra values were assessed at baseline and after bacterial colonization using Atomic Force Microscope (AFM, Ambios, USA). The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20 and the level of significance had been set at p Ketac Nano>Filtek Z250). After 24-hrs culture with Streptococcus Mutans, all materials were significantly different P=0.000 from each other, except between Z350 and Z250. (Fuji II>Ketac Nano>Filtek Z250=Filtek Z350). There was no significant difference between 7 and 24 hrs in all tested materials. In conclusion, in the early stages of bacterial growth; after 7 and 24 hrs culture with Streptococcus Mutans. the microfilled GIC shows the highest surface roughness, followed by nanofilled GIC and the resin composites

Commuting Accidents among Health Care Workers Working in Malaysia Government Hospitals

Commuting accidents are accidents occurring while travelling to and from work, and in the course of work. Studies have demonstrated that long working hours are associated with deprived sleeping time. Acute sleep deprivation may result in significant changes in cognitive functioning, alteration of mental status resembling depression or anxiety and difficulty with short-term memory. Some other studies have found that sleep deprivation significantly affects physician performance, alertness and patient safety. However, individual factors concerning workers’ behavior, family-related factors (parenting responsibility), work burden, workplace support as well as environmental factors such as bad weather and bad road conditions are also significant contributors of commuting accidents. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship of long working hours or odd working hours and the risk exposure of the drivers during their work-commuting trips. The study was based on data collected from official notification forms. Sample size for this research was 554 based on 2014 to 2017 reported cases. Review of the statistics showed that most of the commuting accident causalitiesoccurred during travel to work (30.1%), compared to back from work after normal office hours (28.7%) and during odd hours (night shift and post-call) (12.5%). Nurses contributed significantly to these causalities (53%), followed by hospital attendants (17%), medical officer and assistant medical officer, respectively, 6 percent. Theincreasing number of commuting accidents among healthcare workers is alarming. As such, it is timely that proactive actions be taken by employers to educate their employees, their most valuable assets, on safe commuting management. Keywords: commuting accident, healthcare workers, road crashe

Sustainable bio-economy that delivers the environment-food-energy-water nexus objectives: the current status in Malaysia

Biomass is a promising resource in Malaysia for energy, fuels, and high value-added products. However, regards to biomass value chains, the numerous restrictions and challenges related to the economic and environmental features must be considered. The major concerns regarding the enlargement of biomass plantation is that it requires large amounts of land and environmental resources such as water and soil that arises the danger of creating severe damages to the ecosystem (e.g. deforestation, water pollution, soil depletion etc.). Regarded concerns can be diminished when all aspects associated with palm biomass conversion and utilization linked with environment, food, energy and water (EFEW) nexus to meet the standard requirement and to consider the potential impact on the nexus as a whole. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the detail interactions between all the components in the nexus once intended to look for the best solution to exploit the great potential of biomass. This paper offers an overview regarding the present potential biomass availability for energy production, technology readiness, feasibility study on the techno-economic analyses of the biomass utilization and the impact of this nexus on value chains. The agro-biomass resources potential and land suitability for different crops has been overviewed using satellite imageries and the outcomes of the nexus interactions should be incorporated in developmental policies on biomass. The paper finally discussed an insight of digitization of the agriculture industry as future strategy to modernize agriculture in Malaysia. Hence, this paper provides holistic overview of biomass competitiveness for sustainable bio-economy in Malaysia

Insulin resistance, lipotoxicity, type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis: the missing links. The Claude Bernard Lecture 2009

Insulin resistance is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes mellitus and is associated with a metabolic and cardiovascular cluster of disorders (dyslipidaemia, hypertension, obesity [especially visceral], glucose intolerance, endothelial dysfunction), each of which is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Multiple prospective studies have documented an association between insulin resistance and accelerated CVD in patients with type 2 diabetes, as well as in non-diabetic individuals. The molecular causes of insulin resistance, i.e. impaired insulin signalling through the phosphoinositol-3 kinase pathway with intact signalling through the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, are responsible for the impairment in insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism and contribute to the accelerated rate of CVD in type 2 diabetes patients. The current epidemic of diabetes is being driven by the obesity epidemic, which represents a state of tissue fat overload. Accumulation of toxic lipid metabolites (fatty acyl CoA, diacylglycerol, ceramide) in muscle, liver, adipocytes, beta cells and arterial tissues contributes to insulin resistance, beta cell dysfunction and accelerated atherosclerosis, respectively, in type 2 diabetes. Treatment with thiazolidinediones mobilises fat out of tissues, leading to enhanced insulin sensitivity, improved beta cell function and decreased atherogenesis. Insulin resistance and lipotoxicity represent the missing links (beyond the classical cardiovascular risk factors) that help explain the accelerated rate of CVD in type 2 diabetic patients

Liver and Muscle in Morbid Obesity: The Interplay of Fatty Liver and Insulin Resistance

INTRODUCTION: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can be seen as a manifestation of overnutrition. The muscle is a central player in the adaptation to energy overload, and there is an association between fatty-muscle and -liver. We aimed to correlate muscle morphology, mitochondrial function and insulin signaling with NAFLD severity in morbid obese patients. METHODS: Liver and deltoid muscle biopsies were collected during bariatric surgery in NAFLD patients. NAFLD Activity Score and Younossi's classification for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) were applied to liver histology. Muscle evaluation included morphology studies, respiratory chain complex I to IV enzyme assays, and analysis of the insulin signaling cascade. A healthy lean control group was included for muscle morphology and mitochondrial function analyses. RESULTS: Fifty one NAFLD patients were included of whom 43% had NASH. Intramyocellular lipids (IMCL) were associated with the presence of NASH (OR 12.5, p<0.001), progressive hepatic inflammation (p = 0.029) and fibrosis severity (p = 0.010). There was a trend to an association between IMCL and decreased Akt phosphorylation (p = 0.059), despite no association with insulin resistance. In turn, hepatic steatosis (p = 0.015) and inflammation (p = 0.013) were associated with decreased Akt phosphoryation. Citrate synthase activity was lower in obese patients (p = 0.047) whereas complex I (p = 0.040) and III (p = 0.036) activities were higher, compared with controls. Finally, in obese patients, complex I activity increased with progressive steatosis (p = 0.049) and with a trend with fibrosis severity (p = 0.056). CONCLUSIONS: In morbid obese patients, presence of IMCL associates with NASH and advanced fibrosis. Muscle mitochondrial dysfunction does not appear to be a major driving force contributing to muscle fat accumulation, insulin resistance or liver disease. Importantly, insulin resistance in muscle might occur at a late point in the insulin signaling cascade and be associated with IMCL and NAFLD severity

Trace elements in glucometabolic disorders: an update

Many trace elements, among which metals, are indispensable for proper functioning of a myriad of biochemical reactions, more particularly as enzyme cofactors. This is particularly true for the vast set of processes involved in regulation of glucose homeostasis, being it in glucose metabolism itself or in hormonal control, especially insulin. The role and importance of trace elements such as chromium, zinc, selenium, lithium and vanadium are much less evident and subjected to chronic debate. This review updates our actual knowledge concerning these five trace elements. A careful survey of the literature shows that while theoretical postulates from some key roles of these elements had led to real hopes for therapy of insulin resistance and diabetes, the limited experience based on available data indicates that beneficial effects and use of most of them are subjected to caution, given the narrow window between safe and unsafe doses. Clear therapeutic benefit in these pathologies is presently doubtful but some data indicate that these metals may have a clinical interest in patients presenting deficiencies in individual metal levels. The same holds true for an association of some trace elements such as chromium or zinc with oral antidiabetics. However, this area is essentially unexplored in adequate clinical trials, which are worth being performed

Drug Off-Target Effects Predicted Using Structural Analysis in the Context of a Metabolic Network Model

Recent advances in structural bioinformatics have enabled the prediction of protein-drug off-targets based on their ligand binding sites. Concurrent developments in systems biology allow for prediction of the functional effects of system perturbations using large-scale network models. Integration of these two capabilities provides a framework for evaluating metabolic drug response phenotypes in silico. This combined approach was applied to investigate the hypertensive side effect of the cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitor torcetrapib in the context of human renal function. A metabolic kidney model was generated in which to simulate drug treatment. Causal drug off-targets were predicted that have previously been observed to impact renal function in gene-deficient patients and may play a role in the adverse side effects observed in clinical trials. Genetic risk factors for drug treatment were also predicted that correspond to both characterized and unknown renal metabolic disorders as well as cryptic genetic deficiencies that are not expected to exhibit a renal disorder phenotype except under drug treatment. This study represents a novel integration of structural and systems biology and a first step towards computational systems medicine. The methodology introduced herein has important implications for drug development and personalized medicine

Effects of molecular structure on the physical, chemical, and electrical properties of ester‐based transformer insulating liquids

This article presents the experimental studies carried out on the environmental friendly polyol ester insulating liquids to investigate the effect of molecular structure on the physical, chemical, and electrical properties. Six different polyol esters that can be produced from the transesterification of various methyl esters with neopentylglycol/trimethylolpropane alcohols were synthesized and compared with those of refined, bleached, and deodorized palm oil (RBDPO) and mineral transformer oil. The finding suggests that the physical properties like fire point, pour point, and viscosity are very much affected by the molecular weight and molecular composition of the polyol esters. The electrical properties are also highly influenced by the molecular structure‐related characteristics, such as the polarity, dipole polarization, carbon chain length, and degree of branching. The results confirm the findings of previous studies that the polyol esters and RBDPO have more polarity and dipole polarization compared to mineral oil. The experimental evidence showed that the newly synthesized insulating liquids have favorable thermal and electrical properties, thus suggesting that the insulating liquids have the potential to replace conventional insulating liquids to provide a more sustainable power system in the future