Transcriptome profile of the human endothelial cell response to high- and low-density infections of Candida albicans

Background: Candida albicans morphology switching and quorum-sensing are important factors for pathogenicity and virulence in persons with a compromised or deficient immune system. This study investigates the in vitro response of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) to infections with low and high densities of C. albicans. We hypothesize that higher cell densities of C. albicans yeast-form cells (blastospores), are more detrimental to HUVECs than lower cell densities of hyphal forms. Methods: Three biological replicates of confluent HUVECs in 6-well plates were challenged with 106 C. albicans blastospores (low-density infection) and 5 x 107 blastospores (highdensity infection) for 8 hours. The low-density infection generated true hyphae, but in the high-density infection, C. albicans remained as blastospores. RNA from these samples were subjected to DNA microarray transcript profiling. For MTT and XTT cell proliferation assays, conditioned media from the co-cultures for microarray experiments were incubated with HUVECs in 96-well plates for 24 hours. Results: The high-density blastospore-HUVEC co-cultures elicited significantly higher differential expression of genes involved in functional pathways of apoptosis, immune response, cell-cell signaling and cancer development, such as ZC3HAV1, HES1, CSF2, CXCL2 and PIM1, compared to the low-density true hyphae-HUVEC co-cultures. Cell proliferation assays also show that HUVECs incubated with conditioned media from the highdensity infection caused a higher percentage of cell death compared to incubation with conditioned media from the low-density infection. These results suggest that high densities of unattenuated, innate C. albicans blastospore cells can cause significant cellular toxicity, even though the cells are in the yeast form, not filamentous. Conclusion: Transcript profiling of this in vitro endothelial cell model may provide new insights into how C. albicans cell densities affect the host during the colonization and invasion through the bloodstream to the deep organs. We also suggest that quorum-sensing molecules and other unknown secretions from high-density C. albicans infections are strong inducers of cellular injury leading to cell death in systemic candidiasis

In vitro antibacterial activity of crude medicinal plant extracts against ampicillin+penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause for foodborne diseases. Extensive use of antibiotics has led to emergence of antibiotic-resistant S. aureus. Hence, interest on natural plant-based alternative which limits the use of synthetic chemicals is growing. The present work evaluated the antibacterial capacity of garlic, aloe vera, galangal, pineapple peel, neem, papaya leaf, lemongrass, peppermint, nutmeg and clove separately extracted with hexane, ethanol and water to a final concentration of 10% w/v against ampicillin+penicillin-resistant isolates of S. aureus in vitro. Streptomycin was used as a drug control against the resistant isolates; BRS023, BRS068 and DRS072. According to the interpretive standards for inhibition zone diameter provided by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, isolates BRS068 and DRS072 were considered resistant (≤ 12 mm), and isolate BRS023 was considered intermediate (13-14 mm). Against these isolates, all crude plant extracts exhibited varying degrees of inhibition. However, a coherent trend was observed in the inhibition between resistant and intermediate isolates regardless of plants and solvents used. It was also found that extraction solvent types impacted the resulting antibacterial activity. In terms of positive inhibition, the solvents were ranked in the order of hexane (77%) > water (73%) > ethanol (57%). 10% hexane extract of galangal gave the overall highest inhibition zones (17.8 ± 1.4 mm) closely followed by 10% ethanol extract of nutmeg (16.3 ± 1.1 mm). Further phytochemical analyses of the antibacterial compounds from galangal and nutmeg, and their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) are needed. Potential applications of plant-based antibacterial compounds as natural, costeffective and less-toxic food preservatives against drug-resistant foodborne pathogens should be explored

Atrial fibrillation genetic risk differentiates cardioembolic stroke from other stroke subtypes

AbstractObjectiveWe sought to assess whether genetic risk factors for atrial fibrillation can explain cardioembolic stroke risk.MethodsWe evaluated genetic correlations between a prior genetic study of AF and AF in the presence of cardioembolic stroke using genome-wide genotypes from the Stroke Genetics Network (N = 3,190 AF cases, 3,000 cardioembolic stroke cases, and 28,026 referents). We tested whether a previously-validated AF polygenic risk score (PRS) associated with cardioembolic and other stroke subtypes after accounting for AF clinical risk factors.ResultsWe observed strong correlation between previously reported genetic risk for AF, AF in the presence of stroke, and cardioembolic stroke (Pearson’s r=0.77 and 0.76, respectively, across SNPs with p &lt; 4.4 × 10−4 in the prior AF meta-analysis). An AF PRS, adjusted for clinical AF risk factors, was associated with cardioembolic stroke (odds ratio (OR) per standard deviation (sd) = 1.40, p = 1.45×10−48), explaining ∼20% of the heritable component of cardioembolic stroke risk. The AF PRS was also associated with stroke of undetermined cause (OR per sd = 1.07, p = 0.004), but no other primary stroke subtypes (all p &gt; 0.1).ConclusionsGenetic risk for AF is associated with cardioembolic stroke, independent of clinical risk factors. Studies are warranted to determine whether AF genetic risk can serve as a biomarker for strokes caused by AF.</jats:sec

The Rohingya Crisis: Political Impacts on Bangladesh

Bachelor'sBachelor of Social Sciences (Honours) in Political Scienc

A conceptual model for car park network system.

With rising levels of car ownership and usage, searching for a parking space has become increasingly difficult for drivers, especially in city-centres with limited land space. The drivers’ choice of car park and the route they take to reach it are the outcomes of highly complex decision processes. To influence such choices, an important mean is to provide drivers with information. Thus we propose a Car Park Network system which provides real-time parking information to drivers through a centralized database. It is a two-way communication system for exchange of information between the operators and the end-users. The system also offers other applications such as reservation function, payment processing, car park navigation and reports and statistics. Hence, it allows end-users to make informed decisions, brings convenience, saves time and money and reduces frustration. At the same time, the car park operators can, with minimal costs, enhance their quality of service, ensure competitiveness, anticipate demand and earn additional revenue. However, as this system is sophisticated and complex, there are many potential challenges and further research needs to be done on certain area.BUSINES

Novel nanostructured photocatalyst of vanadium-doped silica-titania aerogel

An excellent UV and visible irradiation response of vanadium-doped silicatitania photocatalysts has been successfully prepared. The designed photocatalyst possesses high surface areas of 610 m2/g. Its outstanding photocatalytic activity is attributed to the presence of tetrahedrally coordinated vanadia species in forms of Ti-OV bonding. Besides, the incorporation of V extends the light adsorption edge of V-doped silica titania aerogels and resulting in reduced band gap energy

Visible light enabled v and cr doped titania-silica aerogel photocatalyst

A series of high surface area (~700 m2/g) nanostructured coupled semiconductor photocatalysts (NCSP) based on transition metals (M = Cr, V) doped titania-silica aerogel of various molar ratios of Ti:Si (1:25, 1:33 and 1:50) were synthesized via direct synthesis and wet impregnation methods. All samples reveal well-dispersed TiO2 with three different types of Ti coordination namely isolated Ti, non-isolated Ti and octahedrally coordinated Ti species. Cr and V (5 wt%)-titania silica aerogel under visible light irradiation reduced the bandgap energy of T25 to 2.9 eV. The photocatalytic activity of NCSP is 3 fold more active than photocatalyst supported on amorphous silica. Cr (5 wt%)-titania silica aerogel photocatalyst gives the highest conversion of styrene under both UV and visible light irradiation (55% and 47% respectively)

#23 : Correlation of Multinucleated Embryo and Pregnancy Outcome

Background and Aims: Single embryo transfer is increasingly done in practice to avoid multiple pregnancy. Therefore, it is important to ensure the embryo with the best pregnancy outcome is selected. Although new criteria involving genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic have been developed to predict embryo outcome, morphology of the embryo remains as the main indicator because it is easy to implement and less controversial. To study the correlation of multinucleated embryos and pregnancy outcomes Method: This is a retrospective review of a total of 411 embryos from 225 women undergoing their first IVF or ICSI cycle in University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur between January 2019 and October 2021. Multinucleation was defined as the presence of more than one nucleus within at least one of the blastomeres of a 2-cell embryo and a time-lapse imaging system was used to observe embryo development (Embryoscope; Unisense Fertilitech). Group allocation was based on the presence or absence of multinucleation on day 2 after egg retrieval. Embryos with evidence of one or more blastomere having multinucleation were included in the studied group (n = 67 embryos). Embryos without any blastomere exhibiting multinucleation were included in the control group (n = 344 embryos). Results: The data were based on 225 transfers of 411 embryos consisting of 16.3% (n = 67) from studied group and 83.7% (n = 344) from the control group. The biochemical pregnancy rate and implantation rate is lower in the studied group compared to the control group although not statistically significant (Table 1). Conclusion: Multinucleated embryos reduce the implantation rate and clinical pregnancy rate although not statistically significant

Unveiling the functional epitopes of cobra venom cytotoxin by immunoinformatics and epitope-omic analyses

Abstract Approximate 70% of cobra venom is composed of cytotoxin (CTX), which is responsible for the dermonecrotic symptoms of cobra envenomation. However, CTX is generally low in immunogenicity, and the antivenom is ineffective in attenuating its in vivo toxicity. Furthermore, little is known about its epitope properties for empirical antivenom therapy. This study aimed to determine the epitope sequences of CTX using the immunoinformatic analyses and epitope-omics profiling. A conserved CTX was used in this study to determine its T-cell and B-cell epitope sequences using immunoinformatic tools and molecular docking simulation with different Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLAs). The potential T-cell and B-cell epitopes were 'KLVPLFY,' 'CPAGKNLCY,' 'MFMVSTPTK,' and 'DVCPKNSLL.' Molecular docking simulations disclosed that the HLA-B62 supertype exhibited the greatest binding affinity towards cobra venom cytotoxin. The namely L7, G18, K19, N20, M25, K33, V43, C44, K46, N47, and S48 of CTX exhibited prominent intermolecular interactions with HLA-B62. The multi-enzymatic-limited-digestion/liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (MELD/LC–MS) also revealed three potential epitope sequences as 'LVPLFYK,' 'MFMVS,' and ‘TVPVKR’. From different epitope mapping approaches, we concluded four potential epitope sites of CTX as ‘KLVPLFYK’, ‘AGKNL’, ‘MFMVSTPKVPV’ and ‘DVCPKNSLL’. Site-directed mutagenesis of these epitopes confirmed their locations at the functional loops of CTX. These epitope sequences are crucial to CTX’s structural folding and cytotoxicity. The results concluded the epitopes that resided within the functional loops constituted potential targets to fabricate synthetic epitopes for CTX-targeted antivenom production