The Antiproliferative and Apoptotic Effects of Capsaicin on an Oral Squamous Cancer Cell Line of Asian Origin, ORL-48

Background and Objectives: The antitumor activities of capsaicin on various types of cancer cell lines have been reported but the effect of capsaicin on oral cancer, which is prevalent among Asians, are very limited. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects of capsaicin on ORL-48, an oral cancer cell line of Asian origin. Materials and Methods: Morphological changes of the ORL-48 cells treated with capsaicin were analyzed using fluorescence microscopy. The apoptotic-inducing activity of capsaicin was further confirmed by Annexin V-Fluorescein isothiocyanate/Propidium iodide (V-FITC/PI) staining using flow cytometry. In order to establish the pathway of apoptosis triggered by the compound on ORL-48 cells, caspase activity was determined and the mitochondrial pathway was verified by mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) assay. Cell cycle analysis was also performed to identify the cell cycle phase of ORL-48 cells being inhibited by the capsaicin compound. Results: Fluorescence microscopy exhibited the presence of apoptotic features in capsaicin-treated ORL-48 cells. Apoptosis of capsaicin-treated ORL-48 cells revealed disruption of the mitochondrial-membrane potential, activation of caspase-3,-7 and-9 through an intrinsic apoptotic pathway and subsequently, apoptotic DNA fragmentation. The cell cycle arrest occurred in the G1-phase, confirming antiproliferative effect of capsaicin in a time-dependent manner. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that capsaicin is cytotoxic against ORL-48 cells and induces apoptosis in ORL-48 cells possibly through mitochondria mediated intrinsic pathway resulting in cell cycle arrest. © 2019 by the authors

Prevalence of high aldosterone-renin ratio and plasma aldosterone levels among hypertensive patients at a primary care clinic

Screening test by using aldosterone-renin ratio (ARR) resulted in a higher prevalence (5-15%) of primary aldosteronism than was previously expected but to date there is no such study performed in Malaysia. Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of high ARR (>20) and high plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) (>150 pg/mL) in hypertensive subjects attending a primary care clinic. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 220 essential hypertension subjects from a primary care clinic in Kuala Lumpur. Bloods for aldosterone, renin and renal profile were taken as specified in previously published protocols. Results: The prevalence of positive test for PA was 7.3%. When either ARR>20 or PAC >150 pg/mL were used, 15.0% and 17.7% of subjects fulfilled the criteria, respectively. Conclusions: The prevalence of hypertensive subjects with high ARR (>20) and PAC (>150 pg/mL) was 7.3%, justifying the need to investigate this group of subjects for PA

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) onboard a naval ship: a comparative study between compartments

Naval ships are made up of confined and enclosed spaces where air circulation is limited. For the Royal Malaysian Navy’s (RMN) ageing assets that are still in service, inefficient ventilation is one of the concerns. This can lead to the elevation of indoor air pollutants (IAP) and worsen indoor air quality (IAQ) onboard, which can indirectly cause Sick Boat Syndrome (SBoS). In order to prevent SBoS, this study aims to assess the IAQ conditions of compartments inside a naval ship and to determine the parameters of compliance with the relevant standards, namely the Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality 2010 (ICOP IAQ 2010), United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA 2006) and Malaysian Ambient Air Quality Standards (MAAQS 2013). In addition, the differences in the IAQ parameters between the ship’s compartments were determined. IAQ assessment was performed at four different compartments, namely the wardroom, cabin, machinery control room (MCR) and bridge, using calibrated handheld IAQ devices. A total of nine parameters were assessed, which were temperature, relative humidity (RH), carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), total volatile organic compound (TVOC) particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), formaldehyde (CH2O), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The differences in IAQ parameters were analysed with IBM SPSS version 26, using the Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn’s Post Hoc tests. The results found that compliance with the standards can be observed for almost all of the IAQ parameters, except for PM10, PM2.5, TVOC, CH2O, and NO2, in several compartments. The Kruskal-Wallis test concluded that there were significant differences in the IAQ parameters in the compartments with p-values < 0.05. The results of Dunn’s Post Hoc test indicated that all sampling points pairwise had significant differences with p-values < 0.05. The incompliance with the standards and variations of the IAQ parameters were attributed to several factors, namely crews’ activities, furnishings and fuel combustion from machinery onboard the ship. In conclusion, continuous monitoring of IAQ is required to ensure good IAQ for the ship’s crew to keep them healthy and improve their productivity. In the bigger picture, good IAQ is needed to ensure the readiness of the naval fleet, to preserve the sovereignty of the country