Pharmacological Assessment of the Medicinal Potential of Acacia mearnsii De Wild.: Antimicrobial and Toxicity Activities

Acacia mearnsii De Wild. (Fabaceae) is a medicinal plant used in the treatment of microbial infections in South Africa without scientific validation of its bioactivity and toxicity. The antimicrobial activity of the crude acetone extract was evaluated by both agar diffusion and macrobroth dilution methods while its cytotoxicity effect was assessed with brine shrimp lethality assay. The study showed that both bacterial and fungal isolates were highly inhibited by the crude extract. The MIC values for the gram-positive bacteria (78.1–312.5) μg/mL, gram-negative bacteria (39.1–625) μg/mL and fungal isolates (625–5000) μg/mL differ significantly. The bacteria were more susceptible than the fungal strains tested. The antibiosis determination showed that the extract was more (75%) bactericidal than bacteriostatic (25%) and more fungicidal (66.67%) than fungistatic (33.33%). The cytotoxic activity of the extract was observed between 31.25 μg/mL and 500 μg/mL and the LC50 value (112.36 μg/mL) indicates that the extract was nontoxic in the brine shrimp lethality assay (LC50 > 100 μg/mL). These results support the use of A. mearnsii in traditional medicine for treatment of microbial infections. The extract exhibiting significant broad spectrum antimicrobial activity and nontoxic effects has potential to yield active antimicrobial compounds

Alga-made anti-Hepatitis B antibody binds to human Fcγ receptors.

Microalgae are unicellular eukaryotic organisms which represent an emerging alternative to other cell biofactories commonly used to produce monoclonal antibodies. Microalgae display several biotechnological advantages such as their rapid growth rate and their phototrophic lifestyle allowing low production costs as protein expression is solar-fueled. Recently, a fully assembled recombinant IgG antibody directed against Hepatitis B surface antigen is produced and secreted in the culture medium of the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. A biochemical characterization of this recombinant antibody demonstrated that the Asn-297 is N-glycosylated by oligomannosides. In the immune system, antibodies interact with effector molecules and cells through their Fc part and the recognition of Fcγ receptors (FcγR) which are important for inducing phagocytosis of opsonized microbes. Interactions between IgG and FcγR are influenced by the N-glycan structures present on the Asn-297. In this study, the authors characterized the binding capacity of the anti-hepatitis B recombinant IgG produced in P. tricornutum to two human Fcγ receptors (FcγRI and IIIa) using a cellular binding assay and surface plasmon resonance (SPR). This allowed us to demonstrate that the alga-made antibody is able to bind FcγRI with a reduced affinity and engages FcyRIIIa with 3-times higher affinity compared to a control human IgG1

Investigating the use of smartphone technology for nutrition monitoring post-bariatric surgery

Optimising successful long-term outcomes of bariatric surgery is contingent on patient commitment to follow-up care. The reasons for lost to follow-up remain unclear, but might be due to patients not recognising the need for lifelong support from a dietitian. An original, online survey exploring technology use, communication preferences, nutrition monitoring methods, professional relationship expectations, reasons for lost to follow-up, smartphone and app use was developed and distributed to a convenience sample of specialist bariatric dietitians and bariatric patients. Recruitment methods included e-newsletters, social media and word of mouth. The survey completion rate was 85% (n = 50/59) for dietitians and 80% (n = 39/49) for patients. Smartphone ownership was 98% and 95% for dietitians and patients, respectively. Common reasons for lost to follow-up indicate that a traditional in-clinic setting could be a barrier. Ninety-one percent of dietitians prefer to see patients face-to-face in their clinic, while patients are open to a greater variety of communication methods including email, apps and messaging. Both cohorts recognised the potential for emerging technologies to be used in practice with 78% (n = 42) of dietitians already using apps in practice, 93% of these recommending apps to patients and 76% (n = 29) of patients using health apps. The survey found existing apps do not meet the needs of the respondents. This study provides the first insight into the potential use of mobile devices and apps by dietitians and bariatric patients. It would appear embracing emerging technology could improve engagement, communication and support between dietitian and patient allowing for greater monitoring of long-term clinical outcomes

Systematic review and meta-analysis on the influence of surgeon specialization on outcomes following appendicectomy in children

The aim of this study is to assess the influence of surgeon specialization on outcomes following appendicectomy in children.General surgeons and pediatric surgeons manage appendicitis in children; however, the influence of subspecialization on outcomes remains unclear.Two authors searched Medline and Embase to identify relevant studies. Eligible studies were comparative and provided data on children who had appendicectomy while under the care of general or pediatric surgical teams. Two authors initially screened titles and abstracts and then full text manuscripts were evaluated. Data were extracted by 2 authors using an electronic spreadsheet. Pooled risk ratios and pooled mean differences were used in analyses.We identified 9 relevant studies involving 50,963 children who were managed by general surgery teams and 15,032 children who were managed by pediatric surgery teams. A normal appendix was removed in 4660/48,105 children treated by general surgery units and in 889/14,760 children treated by pediatric units (pooled risk ratio 1.79; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26-2.54; P=0.001). Children managed in general units had shorter mean hospital stays compared with children managed in pediatric units (pooled mean difference -0.70 days; 95%CI -1.09 to -0.30; P=0.0005). There were no significant differences regarding wound infections, intra-abdominal abscesses, readmissions, or mortality.We found that children who were managed by specialized pediatric surgery teams had lower rates of negative appendicectomy although mean length of stay was longer. Our article is based upon a group of heterogeneous and mostly retrospective studies and therefore there is little external validity. Further studies are needed