Depression, Anxiety, Stress and Perceived Social Support Among Breast Cancer Survivors in Tertiary Hospital in Malaysia

The emotional distress and psychosocial factors are links to the worst quality of life among cancer patients as well as survivors. It gives a negative impact on the survivors and their families. The objective of the study was to determine the correlation of depression, anxiety, and stress with perceived social support among breast cancersurvivors. This is a baseline finding of an educational intervention study. A total of 131 female breast cancer survivors were recruited while they went for their appointment at the Oncology clinic in one of the Tertiary Hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Baseline data was collected using the Depression, Anxiety and Stress (DASS) and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) questionnaires. Descriptive analysis andcorrelation tests were used to determine the strength of a linear relationship between depression, anxiety and stress with perceived social support. The descriptive analysis showed that breast cancer survivors had a higher prevalence of anxiety (30.5%) as compared to depression (14.5%) and stress (12.2%). Perceived social support was higher among family support (96.2%) as compared to significant others (84.7%) and friends (71.8%). There was a fair negative correlation between: (i) depression and family support (r = -0.372, p < 0.001), and (ii) stress and family support (r = -0.342, p < 0.001). Other domains had a poor correlation (r < 0.030). The finding showsthat social support from the family and significant others have a significant but fair inverse association with the emotional aspect (depression and stress) of breast cancer survivors. Keywords: Correlation, DASS, MSPSS, breast cancer, Malaysia

Handling practices and food safety measures about umai delights among Bintulu locals, Borneo Sarawak

Umai is a popular traditional dish among the Melanau ethnic group indigenous to Sarawak. The local people believed that the acidity of the citrus juice can slightly cook the fish and remove the fishy smell. The aim of the study was to investigate the umai preparation process and to study the food safety awareness among the locals in Bintulu. A purposive sample of 100 umai makers divided into two equal groups; the professionals and non-professionals, participated in the study. The most recommended fish for making umai in the professional and non-professional group were Spanish Mackerel (62%; 32/50) and Empirang (82%; 41/50), respectively. Majority of the respondents in both groups (>60%) determined the freshness of the fish by observing the condition of the gills. Both groups were using calamansi juice as their main ingredients, as well as vinegar, lemon juice, asam paya and salt. Only 12% of the professional and 14% of the non-professional respondents agreed on freezing the raw fish chunks before processing them into umai. Most of the respondents indicated, that soon after marinating the raw fish in calamansi juice with other ingredients, the umai dish is ready to eat. A higher proportion of the non-professional (60%) compared to the professional respondents (50%) affirmed umai need to be chilled for 30 min before serving. Overall, the respondents showed little understanding of food safety measures. Hence, this study revealed that, the handling and processing of umai, and the food safety measures need to be improved among the Bintulu population

Adsorption of paracetamol on activated charcoal in the presence of dextropropoxyphene hydrochloride, N-acetylcysteine and sorbitol

Paracetamol, an over the counter analgesic and antipyretic drug, causes hepatic and renal tubular necrosis at higher doses ingested accidentally, or intentionally. The situation worsens clinically upon the ingestion of product containing paracetamol and dextropropoxyphene. In paracetamol poisoning, activated charcoal is used to adsorb the drug from the gastrointestinal tract, sorbitol to remove charcoaldrug complexes and N-acetylcysteine to reduce the drug and its metabolites from systemic circulation. Activated charcoal being non-specific adsorbent may adsorb other chemical moieties from the intestine as well as antidotes. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the adsorption of paracetamol on activated charcoal in presence of dextropropoxyphene hydrochloride, N-acetylcysteine and sorbitol. Paracetamol was combined separately with dextropropoxyphene hydrochloride, N-acetylcysteine and sorbitol. These mixtures were combined with varying amounts of activated charcoal to evaluate the in vitro adsorption of paracetamol using Langmuir Isotherm. Paracetamol adsorption was 96.6 % at charcoal-drug ratio (6:1) while only 2 % higher in 8:1 and 2.9 % in 10:1. The binding constant (K2), maximum adsorption capacity per gram of activated charcoal for paracetamol alone and in presence of dextropropoxyphene hydrochloride, N-acetylcysteine and sorbitol was found to be 366, 339, 313 and 355 mg/g, respectively. The results of the present study indicate that except sorbitol other investigated substances significantly reduce the adsorption of paracetamol on activated charcoal, which may be compensated by increasing the concentration of activated charcoal.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Offshore structural reliability assessment by probabilistic procedures—a review

Offshore installations must be built to resist fatigue as well as extreme forces caused by severe environmental conditions. The structural reliability analysis is the popular practise to assess a variety of natural waves determined by the long‐term probability distribution of wave heights and corresponding periods on the site. In truth, however, these structures are subjected to arbitrary wave‐induced forces in the open ocean. Hence, it is much more reasonable to account for the changed loading characteristics by determining the probabilistic characteristics of the random loads and outcomes responses. The key challenges are uncertainties and the non‐linearity of Morison’s drag element, which results in non‐Gaussian loading and response distributions. This study would analyze advances achieved to date in a comprehensive probabilistic review of offshore fixed jacket-type platforms

Protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B inhibitors isolated from Artemisia roxburghiana

Artemisia roxburghiana is used in traditional medicine for treating various diseases including diabetes. The present study was designed to evaluate the antidiabetic potential of active constituents by using protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) as a validated target for management of diabetes. Various compounds were isolated as active principles from the crude methanolic extract of aerial parts of A. roxburghiana. All compounds were screened for PTP1B inhibitory activity. Molecular docking simulations were performed to investigate the mechanism behind PTP1B inhibition of the isolated compound and positive control, ursolic acid. Betulinic acid, betulin and taraxeryl acetate were the active PTP1B principles with IC50 values 3.49 ± 0.02, 4.17 ± 0.03 and 87.52 ± 0.03 µM, respectively. Molecular docking studies showed significant molecular interactions of the triterpene inhibitors with Gly220, Cys215, Gly218 and Asp48 inside the active site of PTP1B. The antidiabetic activity of A. roxburghiana could be attributed due to PTP1B inhibition by its triterpene constituents, betulin, betulinic acid and taraxeryl acetate. Computational insights of this study revealed that the C-3 and C-17 positions of the compounds needs extensive optimization for the development of new lead compounds

Current practice of early leak detection methods for underground storage tanks

This article aims to provide general review on current practice of leak detection methods of underground storage tanks (UST). Fuel (i.e. gasoline and diesel oil) leakage from UST can contaminate groundwater and drinking water with various hydrocarbon contaminants. These leaks create ponds of fuel that spill into the land and aquifers, polluting and seriously destroying habitats. Numerous efforts have been focused on the development of leak detection to the tanks. However, without the opportunity to conduct fault intensity calibration and estimate a product's lifetime, there is a lack of information provided to consider the condition of previous underlying leakage. As a result, it is too late whether the harm has already been done. There are methods of detection that have been studied for the past ten years. Many approaches have been practised to detect leakage. Specific sensing devices will combine with additional applications that analyse and interpret the data to detect storage tank leaks. Various methods will provide different results depending on the feature chosen. Some approaches will use machine learning to analyse the provided data and provide the best leak detection result. This paper will explore the best leak detection techniques to improve underground tanks' structural integrity. At the end, this paper will give some overview on current practice early detection methods on underground storage tanks for future research

BRCA1 Interacts with Smad3 and Regulates Smad3-Mediated TGF-β Signaling during Oxidative Stress Responses

BRCA1 is a key regulatory protein participating in cell cycle checkpoint and DNA damage repair networks. BRCA1 plays important roles in protecting numerous cellular processes in response to cell damaging signals. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a potent regulator of growth, apoptosis and invasiveness of tumor cells. TFG-beta activates Smad signaling via its two cell surface receptors, the TbetaRII and ALK5/TbetaRI, leading to Smad-mediated transcriptional regulation.Here, we report an important role of BRCA1 in modulating TGF-beta signaling during oxidative stress responses. Wild-type (WT) BRCA1, but not mutated BRCA1 failed to activate TGF-beta mediated transactivation of the TGF-beta responsive reporter, p3TP-Lux. Further, WT-BRCA1, but not mutated BRCA1 increased the expression of Smad3 protein in a dose-dependent manner, while silencing of WT-BRCA1 by siRNA decreased Smad3 and Smad4 interaction induced by TGF-beta in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. BRCA1 interacted with Smad3 upon TGF-beta1 stimulation in MCF-7 cells and this interaction was mediated via the domain of 298-436aa of BRCA1 and Smad3 domain of 207-426aa. In addition, H(2)O(2) increased the colocalization and the interaction of Smad3 with WT-BRCA1. Interestingly, TGF-beta1 induced Smad3 and Smad4 interaction was increased in the presence of H(2)O(2) in cells expressing WT-BRCA1, while the TGF-beta1 induced interaction between Smad3 and Smad4 was decreased upon H(2)O(2) treatment in a dose-dependent manner in HCC1937 breast cancer cells, deficient for endogenous BRCA1. This interaction between Smad3 and Smad4 was increased in reconstituted HCC1937 cells expressing WT-BRCA1 (HCC1937/BRCA1). Further, loss of BRCA1 resulted in H(2)O(2) induced nuclear export of phosphor-Smad3 protein to the cytoplasm, resulting decreased of Smad3 and Smad4 interaction induced by TGF-beta and in significant decrease in Smad3 and Smad4 transcriptional activities.These results strongly suggest that loss or reduction of BRCA1 alters TGF-beta growth inhibiting activity via Smad3 during oxidative stress responses

Access and utilisation of primary health care services comparing urban and rural areas of Riyadh Providence, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has seen an increase in chronic diseases. International evidence suggests that early intervention is the best approach to reduce the burden of chronic disease. However, the limited research available suggests that health care access remains unequal, with rural populations having the poorest access to and utilisation of primary health care centres and, consequently, the poorest health outcomes. This study aimed to examine the factors influencing the access to and utilisation of primary health care centres in urban and rural areas of Riyadh province of the KSA