Effect of rifampicin and isoniazid on cytochrome P-450 in mycobacteria

Background & objectives: Rifampicin and isoniazid are the most important first line drugs used in the treatment of tuberculosis. These drugs are also used in combination with other medications to treat co-infections. It, therefore, becomes important to study the effect of these drugs on the drug metabolizing system, namely, cytochrome P-450, not only in the host but also in the bacteria. We report the effect of rifampicin and isoniazid on the cytochrome P-450 activity in Mycobacterium smegmatis and M tuberculosis H37Rv. Methods: Subinhibitory concentrations of rifampicin and isoniazid were added to the organisms after they had attained the growth phase and cytochrome P-450 activity was estimated in the membranous fractions of the bacteria at different time points. Results: Rifampicin was able to significantly enhance cytochrome P-450 in both M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis H37Rv. Isoniazid was found to inhibit cytochrome P-450 in M. tuberculosis H37Rv, While there seemed to be no effect in M. smegmatis. Interpretation & conslusion: We report here the effect of rifampicin and isoniazid on mycobacterial cytochrome P-450. These findings are similar to those found in eukaryotic organisms. The role of mycobacterial cytochrome P-450 in the metabolism of drugs within the bacteria needs to be elucidated

Purification of cytochrome P-450 in mycobacteria

Purification of cytochrome P-450 from Mycobacterium smegmatis, M. chelonae, M. fortuitum and M. tuberculosis H37RV was undertaken. The electrophoretic pattern revealed a single band corresponding to a molecular weight of 66 kDa in all the four species. Cytochrome P-450 purified from drug-resistant M. tuberculosis showed a different pattern from that of the sensitive bacteria, and the former was similar to the purified product obtained from phenobarbitalinduced cytochrome P-450 in M. tuberculosis H37RV. It therefore appears that different forms of cytochrome P-450 are present in drug-sensitive and resistant M. tuberculosis, and that there is similarity in the pattern between drug-resistant and phenobarbital-induced M. tuberculosis

A simple and specific method for estimation of lipoic acid in human plasma by high performance liquid chromatography

A rapid high performance liquid chromatographic method for determination of lipoic acid in human plasma was developed and validated. The method involved extraction of lipoic acid in ethanol consisting of 50 mM disodium hydrogen phosphate: acetonitrile: methanol in the ratio of 50:30:20. The separation was done using a C18 column (150 mm) and detection was carried out using UV detection at 201 nm. The assay was found to be linear in the range of 0.78-50 μg/ml with the correlation coefficient of 0.9998. Intra and inter-day variations were determined by processing each standard concentration in duplicate for five consecutive days. The average recovery of lipoic acid from plasma was 113%. The developed method demonstrates better sensitivity, precision, accuracy, stability and linearity when compared with the methods previously used. The method is simple and can be used for the determination of lipoic acid in basic research studies as well as in standard clinical laboratories

Association between components of metabolic syndrome and elevated intraocular pressure

Background: Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases which result in damage to the optic nerve and ultimately vision loss. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) remains as the one major known risk factor for both the development and progression of glaucoma. Metabolic syndrome (MS) have been found to relate to elevated IOP. The aim of the study is to examine the association between MS and IOP by comparing central corneal thicknesses (CCT).Methods: The study was carried out with 169 subjects consists of 94 were clinically diagnosed MS patients and 75 are healthy controls. Serum fasting glucose, triglyceride and HDL cholesterol levels were measured, and waist circumference, body mass index and blood pressure of all patients were recorded. Ophthalmological examinations, including IOP and CCT measurements were done on everyone.Results: Higher IOP was observed in subjects with MS than those without MS. There was significant difference in the CCT values between the groups with and without MS (p<0.05). Most of the MS components were associated with IOP and CCT (p<0.05).Conclusions: The study concludes that components of MS have strong association with IOP and CCT. The prevalence of MS is increasing rapidly in developing countries and the main cause for MS is sedentary lifestyle. Since there is relationship between MS and IOP, lifestyle intervention might have therapeutic potential to reduce IOP. Further studies are warranted to bring about the possible underlying relationship between components of MS and IOP

Exploring Academics’ Work-Life Balance and Stress Levels Using Flexible Working Arrangements

Flexible working arrangements (FWAs) provide academics a degree of freedom to control their working time, location and method. Academics need to be agile in managing their multiple work roles, but many universities are still not supportive. This research explores whether FWAs can affect academics’ work-life balance (WLB) and stress levels. Using a focus group discussion, eight academics were interviewed. Findings reveal that FWAs have a positive impact on WLB and reduce stress levels amongst Malaysian academics. Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home (WFH) has become a new normal, paving the way for similar policies to be put in place. Keywords: Flexible working arrangements; academics; work-life balance; stress eISSN: 2398-4287© 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning &amp; Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v5i15.2497

Role of pharmacogenomics in the treatment of tuberculosis: a review

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is one of the major public health problems worldwide. Modern antituberculous treatment can cure most patients; cure rates > 95% are achieved with standard short-course chemotherapy regimens containing isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol among patients with drug-susceptible strains of tuberculosis; however, a small proportion do not respond to treatment or develop serious adverse events. Pharmacogenomic studies of drugs used in the treatment of tuberculosis could help us understand intersubject variations in treatment response. In this review, we compiled pharmacogenomic data on antituberculous drugs that were available from different settings that would give a better insight into the role of pharmacogenomics in the treatment of tuberculosis, thereby enhancing the efficacy and limiting the toxicity of existing antituberculosis medications. METHODS: The PubMed database was searched from 1960 to the present using the keywords “tuberculosis”, “antituberculosis treatment”, “isoniazid”, “rifampicin”, “pyrazinamide”, “ethambutol”, “pharmacogenomics”, and “polymorphism”. Abstracts from meetings and review articles were included. CONCLUSION: Studies conducted in different settings suggest that pharmacogenomics plays a significant role in isoniazid metabolism, and impacts both treatment efficacy and frequency of adverse reactions. Single nucleotide polymorphisms influencing plasma rifampicin concentrations are also reported. No data are available regarding other first-line drugs, ie, ethambutol and pyrazinamide. There is a need to incorporate pharmacogenomics into clinical trials of tuberculosis in order to understand the factors impacting therapeutic success and occurrence of adverse drug effects

A FlexiWork App – An Innovative Way to Measure and Monitor Productivity while WFH for Academicians

Academics need better workplace flexibility as their brains can never wholly switch off from work. Therefore, flexible working arrangements (FWA) are linked with enhanced productivity. This research proposes a self-monitoring tool using a mobile application. FlexiWork App is a self-monitoring application designed for an academic to self-measure the impact of workplace flexibility on productivity; and secondly, for the institution to monitor the academic's key performance indicator (KPI) achievement. Hence, this application will benefit both the academics and the university in monitoring the KPI of the staff. Keywords: Flexible Working, Productivity, Academic, Mobile Apps eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under the responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians), and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning &amp; Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i21.371

Emerging small scale trap fishery for whelk, (Babylonia spirata) in Malpe, Southern Karnataka

Babylonia spirata is a commercially important edible gastropod found inhabiting the coastal waters with sandy bottom. Commonly known as whelks, they are landed as by-catch in shrimp trawlers in Kerala and Tamilnadu.There is an emerging fishery for whelks along the Malpe coast (13° 21’ N and 74°42’5” E) with the increase in export demand. Specially designed whelk traps are operated from traditional fishing crafts to collect whelks since January 2005

A RAPID ISOCRATIC HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY (HPLC-UV) METHOD FOR THE QUANTIFICATION OF RITONAVIR IN HUMAN PLASMA

Objective: An accurate, simple, and rapid HPLC-UV based method for the quantitative determination of ritonavir (RTV) in human plasma is developed.Methods: The method involved deproteinization of the sample with 0.125N NaOH and methyl tertiary butyl ether and evaporated to dryness. The residue was reconstituted with mobile phase (20 mM Sodium Acetate and Acetonitrile–55:45 v/v). The analysis was done using C8 column (250 x 4.6 mm ID) and detection at a wavelength of 212 nmResults: The method range was linear over the range 0.5–10.0 µg/ml as derived using calibration curve method. Mean intra-and inter-day variations over the ranges of the standard curves were less than 10 % and mean extraction recoveries from human plasma ranged from 96 to 110 %.Conclusion: A rapid and accurate method for quantitation of RTV in plasma was validated. The assay spans the concentration range of clinical interest. The easy sample preparation and small sample size makes this assay highly suitable for pharmacokinetic studies of RTV in HIV-infected patients with TB.Keywords: Ritonavir, Pharmacokinetics, HPLC, Plasma extraction, HI

Mediating Role of Autonomy on FWA and WLB among Malaysian Academics

Many organizations are increasingly providing flexible work arrangements (FWA) to fulfil employees’ work-life balance (WLB), needs of happiness, well-being and productivity. This further affects WLB via a high sense of work autonomy observed. This study examines whether autonomy mediates the relationship between FWA and WLB. Using purposive sampling procedure, 302 usable online survey data were collected from university academics. Data analyses were carried out using SPSS and Smart PLS software. Results revealed a significant indirect influence of FWA on WLB, integrating well-being, happiness, and productivity through autonomy. Implementing FWA increases autonomy, which then increases the respective WLB. Discussions are elaborated