Associated Factors of Growth With the Prevalence of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Among Female Primary School Children in Kuala Langat

@#Introduction: Scoliosis is a deformity of the spine that presents with a ‘S’ or ‘C’ curve with the most common type called Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS). The deformity begins unnoticed and can rapidly progress into severe deformation during the adolescent’s growth spurt. Factors such as onset of puberty, dietary intake, physical activity and ethnicity contributes to the development of AIS. Therefore, this study aims to determine the association of these factors with the prevalence of AIS among female school children in Kuala Langat. Methods: A total of 374 students between age 10 and 12 from six different primary schools in Kuala Langat were recruited according to the inclusion criteria. Consent form and questionnaire was distributed to the student’s parents/guardian prior conducting the research. Adam’s Forward Bend Test was performed to measure the rotation of the trunk using a smartphone Scoliometer Application. Results:Out of 374 students, 21 students from schools in Kuala Langat were found positive for AIS with a prevalence rate of 5.6%. However, no association was seen between the student’s age of menarche, dairy intake, frequency in physical activity and ethnicity with the prevalence of AIS. Conclusion: The factors measured in this study showed no association with the prevalence of AIS among school children in Kuala Langat.

PCSK9 inhibitory activity of marine-derived compounds, aaptaminoids, and benzamide originated from Aaptos aaptos and Acanthaster planci as a potential treatment for atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disorder of the vasculature and one of the underlying causes of cardiovasculardiseases. Numerous preventative and therapeutic approaches are being explored to limit the morbidity and mortalityof this disease. Nevertheless, some of the treatments cost greatly and contributed to various side effects; for example,statin therapy is associated with substantial residual cardiovascular risk as well as issues such as tolerability and patientdependent efficacy. Currently, proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor has been attractinginterests in the drug discovery of atherosclerosis treatment, but ezetimibe, a successful PCSK9 inhibitor, is an expensivemonoclonal antibody. Thus, exploring new PCSK9 inhibitors is crucial in overcoming this constraint. In the previouswork, aaptaminoids and methyl benzoate were isolated from marine sponges Aaptos aaptos and Acanthaster planci,respectively. These compounds enhance the transcription of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma(PPARγ) in the luciferase assay. PPARγ agonist was hypothesized to inhibit the expression of the PCSK9 gene becausethe former is a transcription factor toward the latter. The synthesis of three aaptaminoids and 11 methyl benzoatederivative was carried out to address its potential as a PCSK9 inhibitor. The structure of the synthesized compound waselucidated using nuclear magnetic resonance spectral and electron impact mass spectral data. The PCSK9 inhibitoryactivities were determined by luciferase assay. Four aaptaminoids, such as aaptamine, N1,N4-bisbenzylaaptamine,N4-[(3,4,5-trimethoxy)benzyl]aaptamine, and N1-[(3,4,5-trimethoxy)benzyl]aaptamine, and one benzamide derivative,N-(2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-2-yl)-2-methoxybenzamide, were found to inhibit the expression of PCSK9 gene.

Etiologies of tropical acute febrile illness in West Pahang, Malaysia: A prospective observational study

Objective: To determine the etiologies of tropical acute febrile illness (TAFI) in West Pahang, Malaysia and to investigate morbidity and mortality factors in relation to TAFI. Methods: A multicenter prospective cohort study was conducted between January and June 2016 in six district hospitals throughout the western part of Pahang State in Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 336 patients answered a standardized questionnaire and blood samples were collected for laboratory confirmation of infectious etiology. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression were performed to identify factors associated with TAFI. Results: A total of 336 patients were included. The patients were mainly Malays (70.2%), males (61.3%), aged (44.6±17.4) years, with more than half (58.9%) presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms. The majority were diagnosed with dengue (35.7%) while malaria (4.5%) was the least frequent. The in-hospital mortality due to TAFI was 9.2%. Patients with meliodosis had five times higher mortality [Adjusted OR: 5.002, 95% CI: (1.233, 20.286)]. Patients with comorbidities such as cardiovascular symptoms (P <0.001) and renal replacement therapy initiation (P <0.001) were significantly associated with in-hospital mortality in all TAFI. Conclusions: The etiology of TAFI in the western Pahang includes dengue, leptospirosis, malaria and melioidosis, which carry the highest risk of in-hospital mortality. The presence of cardiovascular symptoms may be used to assess the disease severity in TAFI, but more studies are needed in the future.

Effects of carbon source and additives on biomass, exopolysaccharide production and morphology of Pleurotus ostreatus in submerged cultivation

Aims@#To investigate the influence of carbon sources and additives/surfactants on the mycelium growth and exopolysaccharides (EPS) production, including the morphology during submerged cultivation of Pleurotus ostreatus in the minimal-medium as the base medium. @*Methodology and results@#Pleurotus ostreatus was cultivated in different types of carbon sources to investigate the effects of carbon sources to mycelium growth and changes of mycelium morphology which directly affects the synthesis of EPS. In addition, additives or surfactants can increase the bioavailability of less soluble substrates in the cultured medium for the mycelium growth and indirectly affects the EPS production. In this study, the cultivation of P. ostreatus in the minimal-medium by using glucose as the carbon source with the addition of lecithin at 1% (w/v) gave the highest EPS production 4.53 ± 0.30 g/L, an increase of about 89.53% when compared to the cultivation without the addition of lecithin. Addition of lecithin changes morphology of the pellets outer layer and under microscope showing a dense hyphal network surrounding the pellets with the sizes of micro pellets almost 0.5-1.5 mm which contributed to the increase of EPS production after 14 days cultivation at 26 °C @*Conclusion, significance and impact of study@#The choice of the carbon source should not only be for high productivity rate of mycelium growth and EPS production, but a cheaper alternative source should also be considered. In conclusion, high mycelium biomass and EPS production was achieved either by changes of the morphology through the type of carbon source and addition of additives such as lecithin.

Proapoptotic activities of Oroxylum indicum leave extract in HeLa cells

Objective: To examine the proapoptotic properties of Oroxylum indicum methanol extract on cervical cancer cells. Methods: Methylene blue assay was used to determine the IC50 value of the extract. Western blotting assays were done to analyze the expression of HPV oncoproteins (HPV18 E6 and E7) and apoptotic molecules (caspase-3 and caspase-8). Reverse transcriptase PCR assays were performed to determine genetic alteration of tumor suppressors p53 and pRb and apoptosis markers Fas and FasL. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was done to determine the expression of cytokine levels (IL-6 and IL-12). Results: The determination of IC50 value indicated a higher anti-proliferative activity of the extract compared to cisplatin. After 24 hours of treatment, Western blot analysis showed that treated HeLa cells exhibited a significant down-regulation of HPV18 oncoproteins E6 and E7, and a significant induction of caspase-8 and caspase-3 activation level. Meanwhile, the mRNA expressions of p53, pRb, Fas and FasL were significantly upregulated in treated cells. Moreover, ELISA showed an increased IL-12 and decreased IL-6 production after Oroxylum indicum treatment. Conclusions: The methanol extract of Oroxylum indicum has an anti-proliferative activity and proapoptotic potential. It induces localized-immunity improvements by altering cytokine production in HPV-positive cervical cancer cells.

Proapoptotic activities of Oroxylum indicum leave extract in HeLa cells

Objective: To examine the proapoptotic properties of Oroxylum indicum methanol extract on cervical cancer cells. Methods: Methylene blue assay was used to determine the IC

Fever with intradialytic pelvic pain: a case of iliopsoas abscess complicated with Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus Aureus bacteraemia in an end stage renal failure patient

Staphylococcus Aureus is a Gram-positive cocci bacteria which had been found to be the causative organism in over 88% of patients with primary iliopsoas abscess. We report the case of a 53-year-old diabetic woman with end-stage renal failure diagnosed with left iliopsoas abscess with a catheter-related infection. Computed tomogram (CT) of abdomen and pelvis revealed hypodense lesions of left psoas, iliacus and quadratus lumborum suggestive of psoas abscesses. In addition, osteomyelitis changes at left sacroiliac and hip joint were seen. At surgery, she was found to have abscess at the posterior psoas muscle where she underwent open surgery drainage and percutaneous drain was inserted. A high index of suspicion of iliopsoas abscess should be maintained among haemodialysis patients presenting with intradialytic pelvic and hip pain and treated with optimal antibiotics therapy with appropriate surgical intervention.

Clinical features and early diagnosis of typhoid fever emphasizing usefulness of detecting mesenteric lymphadenopathy with ultrasound as diagnostic method.

Typhoid fever is endemic in Pakistan. Most patients are children. As the symptoms and signs are often unspecific, it is difficult to diagnose typhoid fever without blood culture. We retrospectively reviewed 51 cases of typhoid fever who were all admitted from 1 June through 31 August 2002. Sixteen cases were positive by blood culture and confirmed as typhoid fever. All cases had Salmonella typhi. Although 16 cases were culture-negative, they were clinically diagnosed as typhoid fever. The remaining 19 cases were clinically diagnosed without blood culture. The clinical features of the culture-confirmed cases were more severe than the culture-negative cases. Mesenteric lymphadenopathy was very frequently detected with ultrasonography, in both culture-confirmed and culture-negative cases. The rates of detecting mesenteric lymphadenopathy were 69% and 63%, respectively. Meanwhile, the rate in non-typhoid fever patients was 5.5%. It was considered that detecting mesenteric lymphadenopathy with ultrasonography was very useful in the diagosis of typhoid fever in endemic areas.