Antimicrobial, antiviral and cytotoxic activities of selected marine organisms collected from the coastal areas of Malaysia

Many marine organisms have developed the capability of producing unique metabolites and thus are highly likely to contain anti-infective agents. This study was conducted to investigate extracts of three seaweeds (Caulerpa racemosa, Caulerpa sertularioides, Kappaphycus alvarezii), two soft corals (Lobophytum microlobulatum, Sarcophyton auritum) and a marine sponge (Spheciospongia vagabunda) collected from Malaysian coast for antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and cytotoxic activities. The samples were subjected to sequential solvent extraction in order to obtain hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol and water extracts. The antibacterial and antifungal activities were studied using a colorimetric broth microdilution method. The hexane extract of L. microlobulatum had the strongest antibacterial activity and exhibited the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (0.04 mg/mL) and minimum bactericidal concentration (0.08 mg/mL) against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus, respectively. For antifungal activity, the lowest MIC and minimum fungicidal concentration values were produced by the hexane extract of S. auritum against the dimorphic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans, both with 0.04 mg/mL. None of the extracts were active against the filamentous fungus Aspergillus fumigatus. Only the hexane and ethanol extracts of L. microlobulatum and the ethyl acetate extract of S. auritum exhibited strong inhibition on the cytopathic effect induced by the Chikungunya virus (a re-emerging mosquito-borne virus) with 50% effective concentrations of 14.3 0.2, 124.3 1.9 and 176.6 9.7 µg/mL, respectively. Extracts from the two soft corals, L. microlobulatum and S. auritum possessed stronger antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activities compared to the seaweeds and the sponge

Children’s and adolescents’ rising animal-source food intakes in 1990–2018 were impacted by age, region, parental education and urbanicity

Animal-source foods (ASF) provide nutrition for children and adolescents’ physical and cognitive development. Here, we use data from the Global Dietary Database and Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify global, regional and national ASF intakes between 1990 and 2018 by age group across 185 countries, representing 93% of the world’s child population. Mean ASF intake was 1.9 servings per day, representing 16% of children consuming at least three daily servings. Intake was similar between boys and girls, but higher among urban children with educated parents. Consumption varied by age from 0.6 at <1 year to 2.5 servings per day at 15–19 years. Between 1990 and 2018, mean ASF intake increased by 0.5 servings per week, with increases in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa. In 2018, total ASF consumption was highest in Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, and lowest in Uganda, India, Kenya and Bangladesh. These findings can inform policy to address malnutrition through targeted ASF consumption programmes.publishedVersio

Incident type 2 diabetes attributable to suboptimal diet in 184 countries

The global burden of diet-attributable type 2 diabetes (T2D) is not well established. This risk assessment model estimated T2D incidence among adults attributable to direct and body weight-mediated effects of 11 dietary factors in 184 countries in 1990 and 2018. In 2018, suboptimal intake of these dietary factors was estimated to be attributable to 14.1 million (95% uncertainty interval (UI), 13.8–14.4 million) incident T2D cases, representing 70.3% (68.8–71.8%) of new cases globally. Largest T2D burdens were attributable to insufficient whole-grain intake (26.1% (25.0–27.1%)), excess refined rice and wheat intake (24.6% (22.3–27.2%)) and excess processed meat intake (20.3% (18.3–23.5%)). Across regions, highest proportional burdens were in central and eastern Europe and central Asia (85.6% (83.4–87.7%)) and Latin America and the Caribbean (81.8% (80.1–83.4%)); and lowest proportional burdens were in South Asia (55.4% (52.1–60.7%)). Proportions of diet-attributable T2D were generally larger in men than in women and were inversely correlated with age. Diet-attributable T2D was generally larger among urban versus rural residents and higher versus lower educated individuals, except in high-income countries, central and eastern Europe and central Asia, where burdens were larger in rural residents and in lower educated individuals. Compared with 1990, global diet-attributable T2D increased by 2.6 absolute percentage points (8.6 million more cases) in 2018, with variation in these trends by world region and dietary factor. These findings inform nutritional priorities and clinical and public health planning to improve dietary quality and reduce T2D globally.publishedVersio

A qualitative study on oncology nurses’ experiences of providing palliative care in the acute care setting

Background: With the renewed emphasis on palliative care in Singapore, coupled with a dearth of studies on provision of palliative care in acute services, it is timely to explore the experiences, barriers and challenges faced by oncology nurses in the acute care setting. Aim: This study aimed to explore nurses’ experiences of providing palliative care in the acute oncology care unit. Method: An exploratory descriptive research methodology was adopted. Focus group interviews, involving a total of 24 nurses, were conducted. Interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Data was analyzed using an inductive content analysis approach. Results: Five key themes emerged from the analysis: (1) nurses’ perceptions of palliative care; (2) multiple roles of nurses in palliative care; (3) emotional burden of providing palliative care; (4) misconceptions of palliative care; (5) challenges in providing palliative care. Conclusion: The provision of palliative care in the acute care setting remained challenging. This is partly due to the attitudes of patients, families and healthcare workers, as well as organizational factors such as lack of training. Nurses play an important role in giving and facilitating palliative care for patients in the hospitals. Future studies can explore interventions to help overcome the challenges that are impeding nurses from providing high-quality palliative care in the acute care setting

Sugar-sweetened beverage intakes among adults between 1990 and 2018 in 185 countries

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are associated with cardiometabolic diseases and social inequities. For most nations, recent estimates and trends of intake are not available; nor variation by education or urbanicity. We investigated SSB intakes among adults between 1990 and 2018 in 185 countries, stratified subnationally by age, sex, education, and rural/urban residence, using data from the Global Dietary Database. In 2018, mean global SSB intake was 2.7 (8 oz = 248 grams) servings/week (95% UI 2.5-2.9) (range: 0.7 (0.5-1.1) in South Asia to 7.8 (7.1-8.6) in Latin America/Caribbean). Intakes were higher in male vs. female, younger vs. older, more vs. less educated, and urban vs. rural adults. Variations by education and urbanicity were largest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Between 1990 and 2018, SSB intakes increased by +0.37 (+0.29, +0.47), with the largest increase in Sub-Saharan Africa. These findings inform intervention, surveillance, and policy actions worldwide, highlighting the growing problem of SSBs for public health in Sub-Saharan Africa.Peer reviewe