The Development Of A Candidate Tuberclosis DNA Vaccine Expressing Mtb8.4 And Ag85B of Mycobacterium Tuberclosis [RA644.T7 M393 2007 f rb].

Tuberculosis (TB) is still one of the major health problems worldwide. The only TB vaccine currently available is an attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis, bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG). However, the efficacy of BCG vaccine continues to be debated. Tuberkulosis (TB) merupakan salah satu penyakit utama di dunia. Satu-satunya vaksin TB yang terdapat pada masa ini ialah strain yang telah dilemahkan iaitu, Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG). Bagaimanapun, keberkesanan BCG masih diperdebatkan. Oleh itu, vaksin yang lebih efektif terhadap TB sangat diperlukan

The role of monocytic microparticles (mMP) in endothelial cell function

Monocytic microparticles (mMP) are membrane-derived microvesicles released from activated or apoptotic monocytes. Monocytic MP are associated with inflammation and may play important role in endothelial cell function. The main aim of this study was to identify phenotypic profiles of mMP derived from THP-1, unseparated monocytes, co14• monocytes and CD1 a• monocytes by flow cytometry and to identify the role of mMP in endothelial cell activation. Monocytic MP derived from unseparated monocytes, co14• monocytes and CD1a+ monocytes but not THP-1 showed high expression of CD14 and CD16, secreted IL-113 and TNF-a and activated endothelial cells. Taken together our findings suggest that mMP derived from different cell types exhibit different phenotypes and functions. Future study of mMP is necessary to understand their mechanism of action

The Development Of A Candidate Tuberculosis Dna Vaccine Expressing MtbS.4 And Ag858 of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is still one of the major health problems worldwide. The only TB vaccine currently available is an attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis, bacille ealmette Guerin (BeG). However, the efficacy of BeG vaccine continues to be debated. Therefore, a more effective vaccine against TB is urgently needed. DNA vaccination is a new approach to the control of infectious agents. In this study, a DNA vaccine encoding the candidate TB antigens Mtb8.4 and Ag85B was developed using assembly peR. Balb/c mice were immunized intramuscularly with 50 JAg of the DNA vaccine, pNMN023, containing the two antigens. in each hindleg. Reactivity against the Ag85B peptides, P1 and P3 as well as Mtb8.4 showed a consistent Th1 type of immune response by virtue of the increased expression of IL-2, IFN-y and IgG2a. Splenocytes from immunized mice were also found to proliferate more aggressively when stimulated with the antigens compared to the vector alone. In order to improve the vaccine efficacy, a preliminary prime-boost approach was used. Priming with pNMN023 and boosting with recombinant BeG (rBeG) in Balb/c mice was carried out. Flow cytometric intracellular cytokine analyses of splenocytes from mice immunized with the DNA-rBeG prime-boost regime showed that both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells showed an increase in IL-2 and IFN-y production following stimulation with either antigens at significantly higher levels than those immunized with rBeG-DNA prime-boost. In conclusion, the data obtained from this study suggest that DNA vaccination in combination with the prime-boost approach provide a potential strategy for developing a candidate vaccine against TB

Orogastric lavage: a lifesaving procedure now forgotten.

Orogastric lavage has been performed since 200 years ago for intoxicated patients. Due to the risk that outweighs benefits it has fallen out of favour for the last decade. A teenage girl presented to Emergency Department with history of ingestion of a bottle of pesticide within the time frame before gastric emptying. The girl was resuscitated, intubated and orogastric lavage was performed. Fifty cc of the toxic substance was siphoned and antidote of the toxin was administered. She was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, subsequently recovered and discharge five days later. Definitive airway management, proper technique, correct selection of patients and adequate monitoring are paramount to the success of orogastric lavage

Effects of saffron extract and crocin on anthropometrical, nutritional and lipid profile parameters of rats fed a high fat diet

Overweight and obesity are the most common nutritional disorders in the world. The aim of this study was to evaluate anti-obesity effects of ethanolic extracts of saffron and crocin in comparison to orlistat in animal model. Male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were fed high-fat diet (HFD) for 12 weeks to induce obesity. The saffron extracts (40 and 80 mg/kg), crocin (40 and 80 mg/kg) and orlistat (20 mg/kg) were fed to rats by mixing with high fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks. Changes in anthropometrical, nutritional and lipid profile parameters were measured. The saffron extract significantly decreased food consumption in obese rats. Crocin (80 mg/kg) showed a significant decrease on rate of body weight gain, total fat pad and weight ratio of epididymal fat to body. Furthermore, crocin (80 mg/kg) significantly reduced plasma levels of triacylglycerol (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) while saffron extract (40 mg/kg) showed major improvement in low-density lipoprotein to high-density lipoprotein (LDL/HDL) level as atherogenic index. These findings demonstrated the potential anti-obesity benefits of saffron extract and crocin in preclinical study

Immunogenicity of recombinant Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guèrin clones expressing T and B cell epitopes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens

Recombinant Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette-Guèrin (rBCG) expressing three T cell epitopes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) Ag85B antigen (P1, P2, P3) fused to the Mtb8.4 protein (rBCG018) or a combination of these antigens fused to B cell epitopes from ESAT-6, CFP-10 and MTP40 proteins (rBCG032) were used to immunize Balb/c mice. Total IgG responses were determined against Mtb8.4 antigen and ESAT-6 and CFP-10 B cell epitopes after immunization with rBCG032. Mice immunized with rBCG032 showed a significant increase in IgG1 and IgG2a antibodies against ESAT-6 and MTP40 (P1) B cell epitopes and IgG3 against both P1 and P2 B cell epitopes of MPT40. Splenocytes from mice immunized with rBCG018 proliferated against Ag85B P2 and P3 T cell epitopes and Mtb8.4 protein whereas those from mice-immunized with rBCG032 responded against all Ag85B epitopes and the ESAT-6 B cell epitope. CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes from mice immunized with rBCG018 produced primarily Th1 type cytokines in response to the T cell epitopes. Similar pattern of recognition against the T cell epitopes were obtained with rBCG032 with the additional recognition of ESAT-6, CFP-10 and one of the MTP40 B cell epitopes with the same pattern of cytokines. This study demonstrates that rBCG constructs expressing either T or T and B cell epitopes of MTB induced appropriate immunogenicity against MTB

Saffron extract and crocin reduced biomarkers associated with obesity in rats fed a high-fat diet

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the effect of saffron extract and crocin on blood biomarkers associated with obesity using the rat model. Methods: Obesity was induced by feeding a high-fat diet to 42 male Sprague-Dawley rats for 12 weeks, after which they were equally distributed into seven groups. Three groups served as controls namely, normal diet (ND), high-fat diet (HFD), and high-fat diet plus orlistat (HFD + ORL), while the remaining four treatment groups consisted of HFD added low or high dose (40 and 80 mg/kg/day) of either saffron extract or crocin in the food. At the end of 8 weeks, blood samples were collected by cardiac puncture for biochemical analysis. Results: Obese rats treated with a high dose of saffron extract and crocin showed significantly lower plasma glucose levels (5.26 and 5.67 mmol/L respectively) than the HFD rats (6.92 mmol/L). Saffron extract and crocin at a high dose showed significantly lower levels of plasma insulin (3.97 and 3.88 ng/mL respctively) compared to HFD control (5.41 ng/mL). Adiponectin levels significantly increased in obese rats fed saffron extract and crocin at high doses (7.44 and 7.92 μg/mL respectively) compared to HFD control (5.34 μg/mL). Ghrelin level significantly increased from 419.10 to 284.10 pg/mL,while leptin level significantly decreased from 8.08 to 5.68 ng/mL for the high dose crocin groups compared to HFD control. No significant differences in plasma serotonin levels were found among the groups. Conclusion: Saffron extract and crocin show potential in reducing blood biomarkers associated with obesity as well as anti-inflammatory and regulatory potential of adipocytokines in an animal model

Cytotoxic effect of clinacanthus nutans semi-purified fraction (SF1) in combination with cisplatin against human cervical cancer

Cervical cancer is one of the most diagnosed malignancies in the world, and it is associated with HPV virus infection and invasion. A standard fraction from the medicinal plant Clinacanthus nutans was successfully separated, isolated, and identified as SF1 (semi-purified fraction). According to the previous study, SF1 has shown cytotoxic action against the cervical cancer cell line, SiHa. This study aims to further annotate the effect of SF1 in combination with cisplatin against SiHa to increase the selectivity of the anti-cancer treatment. The MTT assay was used to analyse the combination treatment’s cytotoxicity, and its index value was calculated using the Chou-Talalay method. A cell survival test was conducted to evaluate the reproducibility of cancer cells after being treated. The combination treatment has enhanced cytotoxic action and inhibited SiHa’s cell proliferation the most (IC50 value = 5.10 ± 0.86 μg/mL) compared to the individual cytotoxic activity of SF1 (IC50 value = 9.60 ± 0.20 µg/mL) and cisplatin (IC50 value = 3.60 ± 0.60 μg/mL). Simultaneously, the combination study has shown lesser cytotoxic activity towards normal cells, Vero (IC50 value = 10.30 ± 3.10 μg/mL) compared to SiHa cells. The combination also showed an antagonism effect with CI values of 2.60 to 1.50 and fractional inhibition (Fa) of 0.50 to 0.90. The findings have demonstrated that in contrast with single-agent therapy, the treatment of SF1 and cisplatin in combination has increased the efficacy because it selectively targets cancer cells by antagonism action

Perlis’s Tourism: Accomodation and facilities determination based on GIS application

Accommodation is one of the important aspects in the tourism development which is the competitive tourist sector. By providing adequate information of accommodation in terms of place, availability of facilities and price, it will be easier for travellers to choose any accommodation that meets their needs and budget. Thus, the aim of this project is to develop a one-stop centre of information for accommodation in Perlis to support the needs of tourists. The goals of the project are to prepare the georeferenced location, ii) detailed information about the facilities and the rate of each accommodation provided. As a result, the information on accommodation can retrieve from the centre of information, and it will help tourists in planning their vacation. In addition, the project will aid the Ministry of Tourism, Perlis office to manage and update every hotel and homestay information surrounding Perlis

Suicide bomb attack identification and analytics through data mining techniques

Suicide bomb attacks are a high priority concern nowadays for every country in the world. They are a massively destructive criminal activity known as terrorism where one explodes a bomb attached to himself or herself, usually in a public place, taking the lives of many. Terrorist activity in different regions of the world depends and varies according to geopolitical situations and significant regional factors. There has been no significant work performed previously by utilizing the Pakistani suicide attack dataset and no data mining-based solutions have been given related to suicide attacks. This paper aims to contribute to the counterterrorism initiative for the safety of this world against suicide bomb attacks by extracting hidden patterns from suicidal bombing attack data. In order to analyze the psychology of suicide bombers and find a correlation between suicide attacks and the prediction of the next possible venue for terrorist activities, visualization analysis is performed and data mining techniques of classification, clustering and association rule mining are incorporated. For classification, Naïve Bayes, ID3 and J48 algorithms are applied on distinctive selected attributes. The results exhibited by classification show high accuracy against all three algorithms applied, i.e., 73.2%, 73.8% and 75.4%. We adapt the K-means algorithm to perform clustering and, consequently, the risk of blast intensity is identified in a particular location. Frequent patterns are also obtained through the Apriori algorithm for the association rule to extract the factors involved in suicide attacks