Factors associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease grades detected by ultrasound at a screening center in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a very common liver disease in the world, particularly in Western and developed countries. It is rapidly growing in the Asia- Pacific region. Objectives: This study was designed to determine the association between risk factors and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease grades among Malaysian adults. Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study design was prospectively carried out in this study. Consecutive 628 respondents who attended for a medical checkup at urban health center had been recruited for the study. All respondents had the physical examination, blood tests, clinical assessments, and abdominal ultrasound. A structured self-administered questionnaire has been also used in this study in this survey. Results: From a total of 628 “health screened” subjects, 235 subjects (37.4%) were diagnosed to have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Female gender and Chinese race were predominant in our study population. Of those with NAFLD, more than half subjects (63.4) had a moderate grade of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The mean age of the study population was 54.54 ±6.69 years. Differences of the mean body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio (WHR) were found to be significant among non-alcoholic fatty liver disease grades (P< 0.001). Similarly, mean triglycerides (TG) and high-densiy lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels had significant differences among non-alcoholic fatty liver disease grades (P< 0.001 and P= 0.016, respectively). Conclusion: the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is common among urban Malaysian adult population. Anthropometric measurements were closely correlated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease grades

The antimetastatic and antiangiogenesis effects of kefir water on murine breast cancer cells

Background. Kefir is a unique cultured product that contains beneficial probiotics. Kefir culture from other parts of the world exhibits numerous beneficial qualities such as anti-inflammatory, immunomodulation, and anticancer effects. Nevertheless, kefir cultures from different parts of the world exert different effects because of variation in culture conditions and media. Breast cancer is the leading cancer in women, and metastasis is the major cause of death associated with breast cancer. The antimetastatic and antiangiogenic effects of kefir water made from kefir grains cultured in Malaysia were studied in 4T1 breast cancer cells. Methods. 4T1 cancer cells were treated with kefir water in vitro to assess its antimigration and anti-invasion effects. BALB/c mice were injected with 4T1 cancer cells and treated orally with kefir water for 28 days. Results. Kefir water was cytotoxic toward 4T1 cells at IC50 (half-maximal inhibitory concentration) of 12.5 and 8.33 mg/mL for 48 and 72 hours, respectively. A significant reduction in tumor size and weight (0.9132 ± 0.219 g) and a substantial increase in helper T cells (5-fold) and cytotoxic T cells (7-fold) were observed in the kefir water–treated group. Proinflammatory and proangiogenic markers were significantly reduced in the kefir water–treated group. Conclusions. Kefir water inhibited tumor proliferation in vitro and in vivo mainly through cancer cell apoptosis, immunomodulation by stimulating T helper cells and cytotoxic T cells, and anti-inflammatory, antimetastatic, and antiangiogenesis effects. This study brought out the potential of the probiotic beverage kefir water in cancer treatment

Subchronic toxicity, immunoregulation and anti-breast tumor effect of Nordamnacantal, an anthraquinone extracted from the stems of Morinda citrifolia L.

Background: Morinda citrifolia L. that was reported with immunomodulating and cytotoxic effects has been traditionally used to treat multiple illnesses including cancer. An anthraquinone derived from fruits of Morinda citrifolia L., nordamnacanthal, is a promising agent possessing several in vitro biological activities. However, the in vivo anti-tumor effects and the safety profile of nordamnacanthal are yet to be evaluated. Methods: In vitro cytotoxicity of nordamnacanthal was tested using MTT, cell cycle and Annexin V/PI assays on human MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 breast cancer cells. Mice were orally fed with nordamnacanthal daily for 28 days for oral subchronic toxicity study. Then, the in vivo anti-tumor effect was evaluated on 4T1 murine cancer cells-challenged mice. Changes of tumor size and immune parameters were evaluated on the untreated and nordamnacanthal treated mice. Results: Nordamnacanthal was found to possess cytotoxic effects on MDA-MB231, MCF-7 and 4T1 cells in vitro. Moreover, based on the cell cycle and Annexin V results, nordamnacanthal managed to induce cell death in both MDA-MB231 and MCF-7 cells. Additionally, no mortality, signs of toxicity and changes of serum liver profile were observed in nordamnacanthal treated mice in the subchronic toxicity study. Furthermore, 50 mg/kg body weight of nordamncanthal successfully delayed the progression of 4T1 tumors in Balb/C mice after 28 days of treatment. Treatment with nordamnacanthal was also able to increase tumor immunity as evidenced by the immunophenotyping of the spleen and YAC-1 cytotoxicity assays. Conclusion: Nordamnacanthal managed to inhibit the growth and induce cell death in MDA-MB231 and MCF-7 cell lines in vitro and cease the tumor progression of 4T1 cells in vivo. Overall, nordamnacanthal holds interesting anti-cancer properties that can be further explored

The growth inhibitory potential and antimetastatic effect of camel urine on breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo

Although it may sound unpleasant, camel urine has been consumed extensively for years in the Middle East as it is believed to be able to treat a wide range of diseases such as fever, cold, or even cancer. People usually take it by mixing small drops with camel milk or take it directly. The project aims to study the effects of camel urine in inhibiting the growth potential and metastatic ability of 4T1 cancer cell line in vitro and in vivo. Based on the MTT result, the cytotoxicity of camel urine against 4T1 cell was established, and it was dose-dependent. Additionally, the antimetastatic potential of camel urine was tested by running several assays such as scratch assay, migration and invasion assay, and mouse aortic ring assay with promising results in the ability of camel urine to inhibit metastatic process of the 4T1 cells. In order to fully establish camel urine’s potential, an in vivo study was carried out by treating mice inoculated with 4T1 cells with 2 different doses of camel urine. By the end of the treatment period, the tumor in both treated groups had reduced in size as compared to the control group. Additional assays such as the TUNEL assay, immunophenotyping, cytokine level detection assay, clonogenic assay, and proteome profiler demonstrated the capability of camel urine to reduce and inhibit the metastatic potential of 4T1 cells in vivo. To sum up, further study of anticancer properties of camel urine is justified, as evidenced through the in vitro and in vivo studies carried out. Better results were obtained at higher concentration of camel urine used in vivo. Apart from that, this project has laid out the mechanisms employed by the substance to inhibit the growth and the metastatic process of the 4T1 cell

Cross-Linking Effect on Electrospun Hydroxyethyl Cellulose/Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Nanofibrous Scaffolds

The electrospinning of hydroxyethyl cellulose/poly(vinyl alcohol) (HEC/PVA) was carried out with glutaraldehyde as a cross li nker to fabricate water insoluble nanofibers. The concentration of HEC (5wt%) and PVA (15wt%) was prepared and blended in different weight ratios of HEC to PVA (50:50, 40:60 and 70:30) were electrospun to get nanofibers. The microstructure of the obtained nanofibers were analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) before and after crosslinking. SEM images showed that there was no swelling or remarkable changes in the surface morphology after treated with glutaraldehyde. XRD analysis il lustrated the effect of crosslinking on the crystallinity of the nanofibers. The results showed that these crosslinked HEC/PVA fibers were suitable for variety of applications such as tissue engineering scaffolds, drug delivery and medical prostheses

Oblique Impact on Crashworthiness: Review

This paper reviewed the crashworthiness of foam-filled thin-walled structure subjected to oblique loading conditions. Crashworthiness is the most important part in designing a safety vehicle, so, the types of collisions, crashworthiness parameter and the modes of collapse of structural components are included in this part. Secondly, the energy absorber regarding the axial loading and oblique loading in terms of geometry parameters and materials of the previous research is reviewed. In addition, the manufacturing and properties of aluminium foams with the collapse behavior of foam-filled structures are studied to understand the performance and the relation under loading

GAMBARAN PENGETAHUAN TENTANG OBAT PADA SISWA, FASILITAS DAN KEGIATAN USAHA KESEHATAN SEKOLAH DI SEKOLAH DASAR NEGERI KECAMATAN DEPOK, SLEMAN, YOGYAKARTA

Usaha Kesehatan Sekolah (UKS) is one of the program health promotion that progress in Indonesia�s schools. This study was conducted to determine the knowledge about medicines among student, health facilities and activities in elementary school district in Depok, Sleman, Yogyakarta. This research method is descriptive non-experimental with purposive sampling. A questionnaire was used as a tool to measure the students's knowledge of medicines, while the interviews were conducted with the teachers whom were responsible of UKS�s school. A number of 379 students consisting of children aged 9 to 15 years parcipitation in this study. The evaluation is based on four categories of demographics (age student, mother's education, father education and occupation of parents), indicates that the student age and maternal education significantly affect the child's knowledge. Measurement results on student knowledge of medicines is good (45.22%) out of 32 score questions. Highest value of the knowledge possessed by students is the knowledge based on image provided with knowledge about drugs (91.76%) and the lowest value of the drugs is a category of knowledge about the vaccine (43.27%). From the interview among the teacher in charge of the UKS, shows that the activities of UKS is typically form �dokter kecil� among primary students, schedule duty of �dokter kecil�, learn the first aid and simple treatment. The knowledge of a drug dosage, form drugs, drug use and storage method of the drugs is needed for suggests in school-based health education. Conclusion, the results of measurements of knowledge about medicine by students is good, but could be improved in the activities of UKS and replenish of the sign boards about health education in school

Molecular Characterization of Somatic Alterations in Dukes’ B and C Colorectal Cancers by Targeted Sequencing

Despite global progress in research, improved screening and refined treatment strategies, colorectal cancer (CRC) remains as the third most common malignancy. As each type of cancer is different and exhibits unique alteration patterns, identifying and characterizing gene alterations in CRC that may serve as biomarkers might help to improve diagnosis, prognosis and predict potential response to therapy. With the emergence of next generation sequencing technologies (NGS), it is now possible to extensively and rapidly identify the gene profile of individual tumors. In this study, we aimed to identify actionable somatic alterations in Dukes’ B and C in CRC via NGS. Targeted sequencing of 409 cancer-related genes using the Ion AmpliseqTM Comprehensive Cancer Panel was performed on genomic DNA obtained from paired fresh frozen tissues, cancer and normal, of Dukes’ B (n = 10) and Dukes’ C (n = 9) CRC. The sequencing results were analyzed using Torrent Suite, annotated using ANNOVAR and validated using Sanger sequencing. A total of 141 somatic non-synonymous sequence variations were identified in 86 genes. Among these, 64 variants (45%) were predicted to be deleterious, 38 variants (27%) possibly deleterious while the other 39 variants (28%) have low or neutral protein impact. Seventeen genes have alterations with frequencies of ≥10% in the patient cohort and with 14 overlapped genes in both Dukes’ B and C. The adenomatous polyposis coli gene (APC) was the most frequently altered gene in both groups (n = 6 in Dukes’ B and C). In addition, TP53 was more frequently altered in Dukes’ C (n = 7) compared to Dukes’ B (n = 4). Ten variants in APC, namely p.R283∗, p.N778fs, p.R805∗, p.Y935fs, p.E941fs, p.E1057∗, p.I1401fs, p.Q1378∗, p.E1379∗, and p.A1485fs were predicted to be driver variants. APC remains as the most frequently altered gene in the intermediate stages of CRC. Wnt signaling pathway is the major affected pathway followed by P53, RAS, TGF-β, and PI3K signaling. We reported the alteration profiles in each of the patient which has the potential to affect the clinical decision. We believe that this study will add further to the understanding of CRC molecular landscape