The Potential of QP3VH-Chitosan Peptide as Biomimetic Remineralization in Early Dental Caries Treatment: An In Vitro Study.

OBJECTIVES: The development of remineralization biomimetics using organic peptide molecules is expected to resemble the hydroxyapatite (HA) mineralization process in tooth enamel. The development of an amelogenin derivative peptide combined with antimicrobial peptide was designed, resulting in QP3VH. This combination then was mixed with chitosan as a carrier. This study aimed to evaluate the biomimetic efficacy of QP3VH as a remineralizing agent combined with chitosan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty deciduous mandibular incisor enamel samples were used in this study. The artificial enamel lesions were created on a buccal surface and were randomly assigned to five groups of 10 each according to the remineralizing agent used: QP3VH, NaF, QP3VH + NaF, QP3VH + CS (QP3VH + chitosan), and saline distilled water (SDW). Each group was performed pH cycling for seven days. Enamel surface morphology and evaluation of mineral content Ca/P (calcium and phosphate) using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The assessment was carried out, after demineralization, and after application with remineralization agents. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Data were analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance followed by least significance difference post-hoc test. The paired t-test was utilized to compare the demineralization and remineralization results. The significance level used was 95%. RESULTS: The remineralized group exhibited a significant increase in calcium and phosphate content on the enamel surface (p <0.05), and QP3VH + CS produced the maximum Ca/P mass percent after remineralization. CONCLUSION: Combining QP3VH with chitosan produces greatest remineralization than QP3VH, QP3VH + NaF, Naf, and SDW; therefore, QP3VH peptide has potential as a remineralizing agent, in the future.

A novel synthetic peptide analog enhanced antibacterial activity of the frog-derived skin peptide wuchuanin-A1.

In recent years, there has been a growing focus on the development of novel antibacterial compounds for clinical applications, such as antimicrobial peptide (AMP). Among the developed AMP, wuchuanin-A1, a coil-shaped bioactive peptide derived from Odorrana wuchuanensis frog skin, has been reported to exhibit antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant activity, but there are limited studies on its potential as an antibacterial agent. Therefore, this study aims to molecularly modify the sequence of wuchuanin-A1 to enhance its antibacterial properties. The interaction of both the native and analog peptide with bacterial inner membranes was initially assessed using computational methods. Specific amino acid substitutions were then used to enhance the modified peptide's antibacterial efficacy, followed by several preliminary tests to evaluate its activity. This study bridges the gap in exploring the potential of wuchuanin-A1 for antibacterial purposes, providing insights into the design of effective antimicrobial agents.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Proteome of monocled cobra (Naja kaouthia) venom and potent anti breast cancer peptide from trypsin hydrolyzate of the venom protein.

Anticancer peptide is one of the target in the development of new anticancer drug. Bioactive peptide can be originated from isolated free peptide or produced by hydrolysis of protein. Protein is the main component of Naja kaouthia venom, and due to the toxicity of the venom, it can be assessed as the source of anticancer peptides. This study aims to characterize the venom protein and to identify peptides from the snake venom of N. kaouthia as anticancer. Proteome analysis was employed trypsin hydrolysis of N. kaouthia venom protein completed with HRMS analysis protein database query. Preparative tryptic hydrolysis of the protein followed by reverse-phased fractionation and anti breast cancer activity testing were performed to identify the potent anticancer from the hydrolysate. Proteomic analysis by high-resolution mass spectrometry revealed that there are 20 enzymatic and non-enzymatic proteins in N. kaouthia venom. The 25% methanol peptide fraction had the most active anticancer activity against MCF-7 breast cancer cells and showed promising selectivity (selectivity index = 12.87). Amino acid sequences of eight peptides were identified as potentially providing anticancer compounds. Molecular docking analysis showed that WWSDHR and IWDTIEK peptides gave specific interactions and better binding affinity energy with values of -9.3 kcal/mol and -8.4 kcal/mol, respectively. This study revealed peptides from the snake venom of N. kaouthia became a potent source of new anticancer agents.

Academic Performance in Medical Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review.

Backgrounds: Several academic performance studies during the COVID-19 pandemic on education outside medicine showed varying results. This scoping review aims to identify research trends in medical education that focus on the academic performance of medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic to enable available research to be mapped and summarized, and gaps in research results can be identified. Methods: The authors applied the Arksey and O'Malley framework to conduct the scoping review. This review was conducted from January to 30 May 2022. Comprehensive article searches were conducted on six databases (PubMed, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, ERIC, Science Direct, Google Scholar) using keywords of COVID-19, academic performance, academic achievement, medical education, and medical students. Results: A literature search identified 24 publications eligible for analysis. The cohort is the most chosen research design. The publications were only taken from three continents; those were from Asia, America, and Europe. Most of the publications came from the Asian continent, and most of the participants involved in the studies were undergraduates. Eleven out of 24 publications reported on the impact of research before and during the COVID-19 pandemic on academic performance. Six out of 11 studies showed differences in results. Three studies indicated that students achieved lower grades during the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, three other studies reported that students got higher grades during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty studies reported the influencing factors of the academic performance. Conclusion: The literatures reported differences in medical students' academic performance before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twelve variables affected medical students' academic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic.