In silico approach for predicting the bioactive compound of Cyperus rotundus to inhibit NF-kB and iNOS signaling pathways.

This study aims to evaluate the anti-cancer-related inflammation activity of Cyperus rotundus bioactive compounds. The component of C. rotundus was analyzed using LC-HRMS. The drug-likeness of all compounds were analyzed using swissADME webserver. In addition, the analysis of inhibition potential of compounds against NF-κB and iNOS were carried out using molecular docking in PyRx software. This study found 1-Nitro-2-phenoxybenzene, ethyl 4-(acetylamino)-3-phenyl-2-thioxo-2,3-dihydro-1,3-thiazole-5-carboxylate, and nootkatone passed all the parameters of drug-likeness including Lipinski, ghose, veber, egan, and muege. Based on molecular docking, verbascoside A and n-Pentyl isopentyl phthalate has the lowest binding affinity against iNOS (-10 and -8.9 kcal/mol, respectively). In addition, verbascoside A and maltopentaose have binding affinity of -7.6 and -6.6 kcal/mol, respectively, for NF-κB. The anti-cancer activity of verbascoside A, maltopentaose, and n-Pentyl isopentyl phthalate, according to PASS analysis were anti-inflammatory, antineoplastic, chemopreventive, and chemoprotectant. The cytotoxic effect prediction showed that these compounds were relatively selective to kill tumor cell but not non-tumor cell. Rat toxicity analysis showed maltopentaose was non-toxic, where n-Pentyl isopentyl phthalate was only toxic (class IV) for intravenous administration. perMM analysis showed verbascoside A and n-Pentyl isopentyl phthalate can translocate and across the cell membrane.

Improving routine health data in Indonesia: Utilising the WHO data quality tool for Aplikasi Satu Data Kesehatan.

INTRODUCTION: Assessment of data quality in the era of big data is crucial for effective data management and use. However, there are gaps in data quality assessment for routine health data to ensure accountability. Therefore, this research aims to improve the routine health data quality that have been collected and integrated into Aplikasi Satu Data Kesehatan (ASDK) as the primary health data system in Indonesia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This descriptive study utilises a desk review approach and employs the WHO Data Quality Assurance (DQA) Tool to assess data quality of ASDK. The analysis involves measuring eight health indicators from ASDK and Survei Status Gizi Indonesia (SSGI) conducted in 2022. The assessment focuses on various dimensions of data quality, including completeness of variables, consistency over time, consistency between indicators, outliers and external consistency. RESULTS: Current study shows that routine health data in Indonesia performs high-quality data in terms of completeness and internal consistency. The dimension of data completeness demonstrates high levels of variable completeness with most variables achieving 100% of the completeness. CONCLUSION: Based on the analysis of eight routine health data variables using five dimensions of data quality namely completeness of variables, consistency over time, consistency between indicators, outliers. and external consistency. It shows that completeness and internal consistency of data in ASDK has demonstrated a high data quality.

Survey data of COVID-19-related knowledge, attitude, and practices among indonesian undergraduate students.

The dataset presented in this paper is an examination of COVID-19-related knowledge, attitude, and practice among Indonesian undergraduate students. The data were collected during first month of college or university closure due to COVID-19 through a survey distributed via an online questionnaire, assessing sociodemographic information (6 items), knowledge (18 items), attitude (6 item), and practice (12 items), from 27th April and 2nd May 2020, gathering a total of 6,249 responses. A combination of purposive and snowball techniques helped to select the respondents via Whatsapp from more than ten universities in Indonesia. The survey data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The data will assist in preventing and curbing the spread of COVID-19 in the university and can assist with planning for educational interventions for students' awareness.

A novel serum-free medium for the isolation, expansion and maintenance of stemness and tissue-specific markers of primary human periodontal ligament cells.

PURPOSE: Periodontal ligament (PDL) cell cultures are classically maintained in serum-containing media. However, unwanted side-effects of these conditions on cellular and molecular characteristics demand a serum-free alternative. Even though these limitations are well known and efforts for the development of adequate serum-free alternatives have been made, these approaches for replacement remained unsuccessful so far. This study aimed at developing a well-defined, serum-free formulation supporting both isolation from tissue samples and efficient expansion of PDL cells. Here, of particular focus was the perpetuation of tissue-characteristic markers detectable in primary tissues and of stemness features. BASIC PROCEDURES: Primary PDL cell cultures from generally healthy human donors (n = 3) were maintained in basal media N2B27 and E6 together with different concentrations of growth and attachment factors. Cell proliferation was recorded via microscopy and WST assay. Gene expression of RUNX2, Periostin, ALP, CD73, CD90, CD105, CD45, SOX10 and SOX2 was compared to primary PDL explants via qRT-PCR. Immunocytochemistry was performed for anti-CD105, SSEA-3, CD271, HNK1. Serum-containing sDMEM medium served as control. MAIN FINDINGS: N2B27 medium substituted with 25 ng/mL EGF, 25 ng/mL IGF1, 0.5 mg/mL Fetuin plus gelatine coating (designated N2B27-PDLsf) emerged as potent serum-free formulation ensuring adequate culture isolation and expansion. Here, PDL primary tissue signature markers RUNX2 and Periostin remained stable in N2B27-PDLsf compared to controls (229.0-fold ±101.0 and 83.2-fold ±9.6 increase). Additionally, stemness markers ALP and CD105 were significantly upregulated on transcriptional, and CD105 and SOX2 on protein level. PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS: This investigation identified a novel serum-free medium for the isolation, and expansion of primary human PDL cells with constantly high proliferation rates. Here, purity and stemness properties are maintained. Thus, N2B27-PDLsf represents a valid replacement for serum-containing media in PDL cultures.

The stability of different housekeeping genes in human periodontal ligament cells under inflammatory conditions.

PURPOSE: Stability of housekeeping genes as internal reference for RT-qPCR analyses is mandatory for a correct interpretation of results. As no normalization benchmark exists and reference gene validation is highly specific for individual experiments, it was the purpose of this study to identify stable candidates for investigations on periodontal inflammation. BASIC PROCEDURES: Human PDL cells from one cell line (Lonza) and three primary donors were challenged with IL-1ß (5 ng/ml) or centrifugation (170 × g) for 6 h under serum-free conditions. Unstimulated cells represented controls. qRT-PCR was performed with a TaqMan® array of 32 housekeeping genes (n = 3). Transcriptional stability was analyzed for (i) mean absolute CT values and (ii) relative fold changes. Finally, stability of mean CT values across specimens was evaluated for most stable candidates. Statistics were performed with one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni correction and one sample t-test, with 95% confidence level. Values represent mean ± SEM. MAIN FINDINGS: 18S was constant in experimental groups and specimens for mean absolute CT values and relative fold changes, and MT-APT6 for mean absolute CT values. Both genes exhibited low CT thresholds ranging from 20.2 ± 0.1 to 25.9 ± 0.2 for 18S, and from 18.9 ± 0.0-23.7 ± 0.1 for MT-APT6. Likewise stable YWHAZ ranged between 32.6 ± 0.2 and 37.2 ± 0.2 cycles. However, candidates were unstable across specimes. PRINCIPAL CONCLUSIONS: Reference validation is mandatory for RT-qPCR analyses in new experimental designs. Here, only three genes out of 32 turned out to be appropriate candidates. Due to low CT values and stability, 18S and MT-APT6 are most valid genes for data normalization in experiments with PDL cells under inflammatory conditions and are recommended as standards under these premises.

Referrals for movement disorder surgery: under-representation of females and reasons for refusal.

OBJECTIVE: Referral of movement disorder patients for deep brain stimulation surgery was examined to determine whether referred patients were representative of gender proportions in our population, and reasons why patients do not proceed to surgery. METHODS: Demographic information on referrals to the surgical program was retrospectively reviewed from our database and from a detailed chart review. RESULTS: Although almost equal numbers of movement disorder patients are male and female, of the 91 patients referred for surgery, only 31% were female. Sixty-one percent of referred patients did not undergo surgery. Of these, the majority were denied for medical reasons, including cognitive decline (21%), psychiatric concerns (5%) and neurological reasons (42%). CONCLUSIONS: Almost one-third of patients referred for movement disorder surgery were denied for medical reasons. This underscores the importance of evaluation of all potential patients by a multidisiplinary team to fully assess suitablity for stereotactic surgery. Interestingly, women were under-represented in those referred. In order that all appropriate patients have the opportunity to consider surgery, education of both physicians and patients, and different strategies to approach females regarding surgery may allow more patients to benefit from this treatment.

Epigastric pain and sonographic assessment of the pancreas in dengue hemorrhagic fever.

PURPOSE: This study reports the sonographic features of the pancreas in children who have dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) with epigastric pain, evaluates pancreatic abnormalities as the source of this pain, and relates sonographic findings, DHF status, and serum levels of amylase and lipase. METHODS: Over 3.5 years, real-time sonographic examination of the pancreas was prospectively performed in 148 children (age range, 5 months-14 years) who had DHF with epigastric pain. The DHF diagnosis was confirmed by serologic examination and viral isolation. RESULTS: Of the 142 children included in this study, 72 had mild DHF (grade I or II) and 70 had severe DHF (grade III or IV). An enlarged pancreas was found in 41 patients (29%), 10 (14%) of whom had mild DHF and 31 (44%) of whom had severe DHF. The pancreas was hyperechoic relative to the liver in 36 patients (25%), isoechoic in 98 (69%), and hypoechoic in 8 (6%). CONCLUSIONS: The majority of patients with DHF and epigastric pain do not have an enlarged pancreas, different echogenicity of the pancreas compared with the liver, or a dilated pancreatic duct. Thus, pathologic changes of the pancreas cannot be the only cause of epigastric pain in DHF patients. Increased serum levels of amylase and lipase are commonly seen in patients with severe DHF and an enlarged pancreas.

Dengue haemorrhagic fever: ultrasound as an aid to predict the severity of the disease.

In a prospective study, the relationship between the clinical severity of dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) and the sonographic findings was examined. The study comprised 73 cases classified as mild (grades I-II) and 75 as severe (grades III-IV). Ultrasonography in the mild group revealed pleural effusions in 30%, ascites in 34%, gallbladder wall thickening in 32%, hepatomegaly in 49%, splenomegaly in 16%, and pancreatic enlargement in 14%. In the severe group, pleural effusions, ascites and gallbladder wall thickening were found in 95%, pararenal and perirenal fluid collections in 77%, hepatic and splenic subcapsular fluid collections in 9%, pericardial effusion in 8%, hepatomegaly in 56%, splenomegaly in 16%, and pancreatic gland enlargement in 44%. Ultrasound may be useful for early prediction of the severity of DHF in children.

Gallbladder wall thickening in dengue hemorrhagic fever: an ultrasonographic study.

This study attempts to investigate whether gallbladder wall thickening (GBWT) measured by ultrasonography can be used in children as a reliable criterion to predict the onset of severe dengue hemorrhage fever (DHF). In this prospective study, we performed ultrasound examinations focusing on the gallbladder wall and the presence of intraperitoneal free fluid in 48 mild DHF cases (grades I-II) and 48 severe cases (grades III-IV). GBWT varied between 1 mm and 8 mm with a mean of 3.77 mm +/- 2.04 mm. The mean value of DHF grades I and II (2.39 mm +/- 1.48 mm) is significantly lower than that of grades III and IV (5.14 mm +/- 1.54 mm), p < 0.001. GBWT exceeded 3 mm in only 16 of 48 (33.3%) grade I-II patients and in 45 of 48 (93.8%) grade III-IV patients. A significant positive correlation was apparent between GBWT and the severity of illness, p < 0.001. Patients with ascites have significantly thicker gallbladder walls than those without, p < 0.01. In clinically confirmed DHF cases, the sonographic finding of GBWT > 3 mm to 5 mm, with 93.8% sensitivity, can be used as a criterion indicating the need for admission and monitoring. A GBWT of > or = 5 mm, with 91.7% specificity, is useful as a criterion for identifying DHF patients at high risk of developing hypovolemic shock.