Pharmacokinetic control of orally dosed cyclosporine A with mucosal drug delivery system.

This study aimed to control the oral absorption of cyclosporine A (CsA) with the use of a mucosal drug delivery system (mDDS). Mucopenetrating nanocarriers (MP/NCs) and mucoadhesive nanocarriers (MA/NCs) were prepared by flash nanoprecipitation employing polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene glycol) and polystyrene-block-poly(N,N-dimethyl aminoethyl methacrylate), respectively. Their particle distribution in the rat gastrointestinal tract were visualized by fluorescent imaging. Plasma concentrations were monitored after oral administration of CsA-loaded MP/NCs (MP/CsA) and MA/NCs (MA/CsA) to rats. MP/NCs and MA/NCs had a particle size below 200 nm and ζ-potentials of 4 and 40 mV, respectively. The results from in vitro experiments demonstrated mucopenetration of MP/NCs and mucoadhesion of MA/NCs. Confocal laser scanning microscopic images showed diffusion of MP/NCs in the gastrointestinal mucus towards epithelial cells and localization of MA/NCs on the surface of the gastrointestinal mucus layer. In a pH 6.8 solution, rapid and sustained release of CsA were observed for MP/CsA and MA/CsA, respectively. After oral dosing (10 mg-CsA/kg) to rats, amorphous CsA powder exhibited a time to maximum plasma concentration (Tmax) of 3.4 h, maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) of 0.12 µg/mL, and bioavailability of 0.7%. Compared with amorphous CsA powder, MP/CsA shortened Tmax by 1.1 to 2.3 h and increased the bioavailability by 43-fold to 30.1%, while MA/CsA prolonged Tmax by 3.4 to 6.8 h with Cmax and bioavailability of 0.65 µg/mL and 11.7%, respectively. These pharmacokinetic behaviors would be explained by their diffusion and release properties modulated by polymeric surface modification. The mDDS approach is a promising strategy for the pharmacokinetic control of orally administered CsA.

Morphological and molecular characterizations of Pratylenchus coffeae infecting Ming aralia and coffee in Vietnam.

Pratylenchus coffeae, belonging to the root-lesion nematode group, is a highly prevalent and destructive plant-parasitic nematode that is able to infest a wide range of host plants. Although this species' devastating impacts on coffee plantations across the world are widely known on other host plants, its association with Ming aralia has never been reported. Our study characterized two popu lations of P. coffeae (associated with Ming aralia and coffee) and compared them with other popu lations from previous studies in Vietnam and other countries in the world. The identification of P. coffeae in our study was confirmed by the comprehensive analysis encompassing morphological examination, morphometric data, and molecular characterizations of the COI mtDNA and D2D3 of 28S rRNA regions. The cluster and MDS analyses revealed that the two populations of P. coffeae from Vietnam are closely related to those from Japan and Indonesia. The D2-D3 sequences of 28S rRNA and COI mtDNA regions exhibited high similarity among these populations, indicating a stable genetic profile. Our research contributes to a better understanding of the distribution and genetic characterizations of P. coffeae by offering new morphological and molecular insights into the presence of this nematode in Vietnam. Additionally, this nematode species was found to be associated with host plant's symptoms such as chlorotic leaves, stunted growth and root lesion in both hosts. Given the economic significance of both Ming aralia and coffee crops in Vietnam, as well as the damaging potential of P. coffeae, this study emphasizes the need of proactive nematode management measures to control this destructive pest.

Analyzing the correlation between protein expression and sequence-related features of mRNA and protein in Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655 model.

It was necessary to have a tool that could predict the amount of protein and optimize the gene sequences to produce recombinant proteins efficiently. The Transim model published by Tuller et al. in 2018 can calculate the translation rate in E. coli using features on the mRNA sequence, achieving a Spearman correlation with the amount of protein per mRNA of 0.36 when tested on the dataset of operons' first genes in E. coli K-12 MG1655 genome. However, this Spearman correlation was not high, and the model did not fully consider the features of mRNA and protein sequences. Therefore, to enhance the prediction capability, our study firstly tried expanding the testing dataset, adding genes inside the operon, and using the microarray of the mRNA expression data set, thereby helping to improve the correlation of translation rate with the amount of protein with more than 0.42. Next, the applicability of 6 traditional machine learning models to calculate a "new translation rate" was examined using initiation rate and elongation rate as inputs. The result showed that the SVR algorithm had the most correlated new translation rates, with Spearman correlation improving to R = 0.6699 with protein level output and to R = 0.6536 with protein level per mRNA. Finally, the study investigated the degree of improvement when combining more features with the new translation rates. The results showed that the model's predictive ability to produce a protein per mRNA reached R = 0.6660 when using six features, while the correlation of this model's final translation rate to protein level was up to R = 0.6729. This demonstrated the model's capability to predict protein expression of a gene, rather than being limited to predicting expression by an mRNA and showed the model's potential for development into gene expression predicting tools.

Development of Artificial Intelligence-Teaching Assistant System for Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Field-Testing Study.

Keeping students engaged and motivated during online or class discussion may be challenging. Artificial intelligence has potential to facilitate active learning by enhancing student engagement, motivation, and learning outcomes. The purpose of this study was to develop, test usability of, and explore undergraduate nursing students' perceptions toward the Artificial Intelligence-Teaching Assistant System. The system was developed based on three main components: machine tutor intelligence, a graphical user interface, and a communication connector. They were included in the system to support contextual machine tutoring. A field-testing study design, a mixed-method approach, was utilized with questionnaires and focus group interview. Twenty-one undergraduate nursing students participated in this study, and they interacted with the system for 2 hours following the required activity checklist. The students completed the validated usability questionnaires and then participated in the focus group interview. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data, and thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data from the focus group interviews. The results showed that the Artificial Intelligence-Teaching Assistant System was user-friendly. Four main themes emerged, namely, functionality, feasibility, artificial unintelligence, and suggested learning modality. However, Artificial Intelligence-Teaching Assistant System functions, user interface, and content can be improved before full implementation.

Synthesis of (±)-Angustatin A: Assembly of the Phenanthrene Moiety Despite Increasing Ring Strain.

The synthesis of (±)-angustatin A, a phenanthrene-containing cyclophane that possesses conformational chirality, is reported. Key steps include a Pd-catalyzed Negishi coupling to assemble the necessary terphenyl intermediate, its closure into a 14-membered macrocycle via a catalytic-in-phosphine Wittig olefination, and finally a Pt-catalyzed alkyne hydroarylation, which is able to assemble the phenanthrene unit despite the thermodynamic cost of significantly bending arene A from the ideal plane.

Preparation of Bacillus subtilis cell samples and generation of an SDS-PAGE.

Bacillus subtilis is a critical host for producing recombinant proteins. However, the SDS-PAGE process, including the sample preparation steps, varies among B. subtilis-related studies, making it impossible to compare findings. Hence, this paper provides a simple guide to culture and collect B. subtilis cells through an OD600 measurement and a protocol for SDS-PAGE. These techniques were applied to check the expression of a BgaB, a reporter protein and LukF-PV, a potential vaccine candidate against S. aureus, in the cytoplasm of B. subtilis under the control of a strong promoter, Pgrac212. This protocol could be helpful for scientists in preparing samples and generating an SDS-PAGE experiment, as well as favoring the unification of research about protein expression in B. subtilis.

The characteristics and acceptance of Technology-Enabled diabetes prevention programs (t-DPP) amongst individuals with prediabetes: A scoping review.

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: As rising global prevalence of diabetes burdens an overstrained healthcare system, it would be prudent to employ primary prevention strategies. This review aims to detail characteristics of technology-enabled diabetes prevention programs (t-DPP) and the technology acceptance amongst prediabetic individuals. DESIGN: A scoping review. REVIEW METHODS: Summative and direct content analysis. DATA SOURCES: Seven electronic databases-PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, PsycINFO and Web of Science-were searched from inception till 9 June 2022 for primary studies conducted on t-DPP. Initial search identified 2412 unique articles. Removal of duplicates and irrelevant articles resulted in 58 full text articles screened and 17 articles meeting the eligibility criteria. There was no limitation to study type or year of publication, but language was limited to English. RESULTS: Common t-DPP characteristics include physical activity (n = 17), diet control (n = 16), coaching (n = 12), social support (n = 9) and skills acquisition (n = 12). Technological acceptance of t-DPPs were generally positive as participants found them useful (n = 5) and easy to use (n = 4), with majority of the participants interested (n = 5) and engaging well with it (n = 13). However, personal-, design- and technological-level factors were found to negatively influence t-DPPs acceptance. CONCLUSION: This review reported a generally positive technological acceptance. The result encourages remote delivery of diabetes prevention programs, offering researchers a guide to t-DPP development. However, it also highlights the need for integration of behavioural change theories and socio-cultural considerations, with gaps in knowledge amongst men and young adults. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: The success of t-DPP can reinforce clinical advice and sustain health behaviours advocated by nurses. Involvement of diabetes-trained nurses would enable continual risk assessment, monitoring and timely intervention to prevent diabetes and potential complications. REPORTING METHOD: PRISMA-ScR checklist.

First Probe of Sub-GeV Dark Matter beyond the Cosmological Expectation with the COHERENT CsI Detector at the SNS.

The COHERENT Collaboration searched for scalar dark matter particles produced at the Spallation Neutron Source with masses between 1 and 220 MeV/c^{2} using a CsI[Na] scintillation detector sensitive to nuclear recoils above 9 keV_{nr}. No evidence for dark matter is found and we thus place limits on allowed parameter space. With this low-threshold detector, we are sensitive to coherent elastic scattering between dark matter and nuclei. The cross section for this process is orders of magnitude higher than for other processes historically used for accelerator-based direct-detection searches so that our small, 14.6 kg detector significantly improves on past constraints. At peak sensitivity, we reject the flux consistent with the cosmologically observed dark-matter concentration for all coupling constants α_{D}<0.64, assuming a scalar dark-matter particle. We also calculate the sensitivity of future COHERENT detectors to dark-matter signals which will ambitiously test multiple dark-matter spin scenarios.

Measurement of the Coherent Elastic Neutrino-Nucleus Scattering Cross Section on CsI by COHERENT.

We measured the cross section of coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) using a CsI[Na] scintillating crystal in a high flux of neutrinos produced at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. New data collected before detector decommissioning have more than doubled the dataset since the first observation of CEvNS, achieved with this detector. Systematic uncertainties have also been reduced with an updated quenching model, allowing for improved precision. With these analysis improvements, the COHERENT Collaboration determined the cross section to be (165_{-25}^{+30})×10^{-40} cm^{2}, consistent with the standard model, giving the most precise measurement of CEvNS yet. The timing structure of the neutrino beam has been exploited to compare the CEvNS cross section from scattering of different neutrino flavors. This result places leading constraints on neutrino nonstandard interactions while testing lepton flavor universality and measures the weak mixing angle as sin^{2}θ_{W}=0.220_{-0.026}^{+0.028} at Q^{2}≈(50 MeV)^{2}.

Utilizing educational technology in enhancing undergraduate nursing students' engagement and motivation: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Modern educational technology (Edtech) combines technological tools with educational theories. Over the years, Edtech has been adopted in nursing education to address student needs and expectations, institutional resources, community stakeholder expectations, and healthcare trends. However, regardless of the technologies used, keeping students engaged in learning is still challenging. As intrinsic motivation is significantly related to academic achievement, ensuring student engagement and motivation for learning becomes crucial. AIMS: This scoping review aims to explore the types and features of modern Edtech that have impacted on undergraduate nursing students' engagement and motivation. DESIGN: This scoping review is based on the five-stage approach following Arksey and O'Malley's framework, and the Engagement theory framework for technology-based teaching and learning. METHODS: A systemic search was conducted across 10 electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ProQuest, Web of Science, Cochrane, Engineering Village, and IEEE Explore). The titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened and reviewed based on the inclusion criteria of undergraduate nursing students, using innovative Edtech, and outcomes of engagement and motivation. Studies published in non-peer reviewed journals, or not in English were excluded. Study characteristics were summarized and quantified. Descriptions of educational technology characteristics from selected studies were coded and categorized as follows: "Facilitating collaboration", "Stimulating problem-solving", and "Pursuing authentic focus". RESULTS: Majority of the studies utilised gamification over other types of Edtech such as virtual reality or smart glasses, successfully engaging and motivating students through the features of collaboration, competition, and challenge. Despite the high technology aspect of the interventions used, the human presence as an authentic focus was perceived to be important in engaging students in learning experience. Moreover, attaining meaningful achievements also improves engagement and motivation. CONCLUSIONS: Edtech can promote positive engagement and motivation of undergraduate nursing students. Educators should emphasize an authentic focus in students' learning experience with Edtech.

A Cough-based deep learning framework for detecting COVID-19.

This paper presents a deep learning framework for detecting COVID-19 positive subjects from their cough sounds. In particular, the proposed approach comprises two main steps. In the first step, we generate a feature representing the cough sound by combining an embedding extracted from a pre-trained model and handcrafted features extracted from draw audio recording, referred to as the front-end feature extraction. Then, the combined features are fed into different back-end classification models for detecting COVID-19 positive subjects in the second step. Our experiments on the Track-2 dataset of the Second 2021 DiCOVA Challenge achieved the second top ranking with an AUC score of 81.21 and the top F1 score of 53.21 on a Blind Test set, improving the challenge baseline by 8.43% and 23.4% respectively and showing deployability, robustness and competitiveness with the state-of-the-art systems.

Arterial Dissection of an Anomalous Right Vertebral Artery Arising From the Right Common Carotid Artery Associated With an Acute Right Middle Cerebral Artery Stroke.

In rare cases, the right vertebral artery can have its origin from the right proximal common carotid artery. This anatomical variant can be incidental, but if trauma to the vertebral artery occurs, there can be devastating neurological deficits. Our patient was an adult female who initially presented with new-onset left arm weakness and dysarthria. After a CT angiogram and ultrasound imaging were performed, she was found to have an acute right middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke in association with dissection of the anomalous right vertebral artery. The patient underwent urgent mechanical thrombectomy in the right MCA and thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (TICI) grade 3 recanalization was successfully achieved. The patient made a complete recovery with no neurological sequelae. A follow-up CT angiogram after six months showed resolution of the dissection and restored patency of the right vertebral artery.

Pediatric Cerebral Spetzler-Martin Grade 5 Arteriovenous Malformation.

Brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are a type of intracranial high-flow vascular malformation composed of enlarged feeding arteries and draining veins. Without a capillary bed connection, there can be damage to the walls of the arteries and veins, which causes abnormally high blood flow. AVMs are rarely found in children and are thought to expand over time until they become symptomatic. We present an interesting case of a pediatric male who initially presented with seizure-like episodes and was found to have a large frontoparietal Spetzler-Martin (SM) grade 5 AVM after cerebral digital subtraction angiography. Unfortunately, given how much eloquent brain and deep cortical structures were intertwined in the SM5 AVM, risk-benefit analysis favored observation over surgical management. The patient's clinical presentation and imaging findings are described followed by a discussion of the epidemiology, grading system, and treatment of AVMs. After extensive literature review, this clinical entity has been previously reported but is relatively rare in children with prognosis and therapy correlating to the severity of the SM index.

Effectiveness of a nurse-led smartphone-based self-management programme for people with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial.

AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of a nurse-led smartphone-based self-management programme (NSSMP) on improving self-efficacy, promoting diabetes self-care, increasing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and decreasing HbA1c, acute complications and unplanned medical consultation for people with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes compared with a nurse-led diabetic service (NDS). DESIGN: A two-arm randomized controlled trial with repeated measures was conducted. METHODS: Participants were recruited from June 2018 to September 2020. Eligible participants were assigned to either the intervention or control group randomly. Participants assigned to intervention group received the 6-month NSSMP, while those in the control group received existing NDS provided by the study hospital. Outcomes were measured at baseline, and at 3 and 6 months from baseline. RESULTS: A total of 114 participants were recruited. There were no significant interactions between group and time for all the outcomes except for blood glucose testing activities (F = 4.742, p = .015). Both groups had reduced HbA1c over 6 months. The intervention group had a lower HbA1c than the control group at follow-ups, but the differences were not statistically significant. None of the participants had acute diabetes complications at follow-up. Similarly, the differences in the number of unplanned medical consultation at 6-month follow-up between two groups were statistically insignificant. CONCLUSION: The NSSMP is as effective as existing NDS provided by the study hospital in improving most of the outcomes. NSSMP can liberate valuable time for nurses to provide care to critically ill patients and supports healthcare resource constraints in the current COVID-19 pandemic. IMPACT: The existing diabetes service is labour intensive as nurses are required to deliver education, follow-up telephone calls to trace blood sugar monitoring and provide therapeutic consultations and necessary referrals. The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has added further strain on the overworked professionals. NSSMP provides an alternative programme that is just as effective, to reduce nurses' workload by delegating them back to the individuals through self-management strategies. This enables nurses to increase contact time with patients, and individuals to take onus of their disease through increased self-efficacy, facilitated by technology. CLINICAL TRIAL: This study is registered under clinical registration number NCT03088475.

Diversifying Recruitment Registries: Considering Neighborhood Health Metrics.

BACKGROUND: Disparities in clinical research participation perpetuate broader health disparities. Recruitment registries are novel tools to address known challenges in accrual to clinical research. Registries may accelerate accrual, but the utility of these tools to improve generalizability is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To examine the diversity of a local on-line recruitment registry using the Area Deprivation Index (ADI), a publicly available metric of neighborhood disadvantage. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis. SETTING: Data were collected in the University of California Irvine Consent-to-Contact Registry. PARTICIPANTS: We categorized N=2,837 registry participants based on the ADI decile (collapsed into quintiles) using a state-based rankings. MEASUREMENTS: We examined the proportion of enrollees per ADI quintile and quantified the demographics of these groups. We assessed willingness to participate in studies involving unique research procedures among the ADI groups. RESULTS: Although registry enrollees represented the full spectrum of the ADI, they disproportionately represented less disadvantaged neighborhoods (lowest to highest quintiles: 42%, 30%, 15%, 6%, 7%). Compared to participants from less disadvantaged neighborhoods, participants from more disadvantaged neighborhoods were more often female, of non-white race, and Hispanic ethnicity. Despite demographic differences, ADI groups were observed to have similar willingness to participate in research studies. CONCLUSIONS: People from more disadvantaged neighborhoods may be underrepresented in recruitment registries, increasing the risk that they will be underrepresented when using these tools to facilitate prospective recruitment to clinical research. Once enrolled in registries, participants from more disadvantaged neighborhoods may be equally willing to participate in research. Efforts to increase representation of participants from disadvantaged neighborhoods in registries could be an important first step toward increasing the generalizability of clinical research.

A Protocol to Enhance Soluble Protein Expression in the Cytoplasm of Bacillus subtilis.

Bacillus subtilis is a generally regarded as safe (GRAS) microorganism, which has been used for industrial production of recombinant enzymes. Many inducible and inducer-free expression vectors have been developed for intracellular production; some of those demonstrated the capability for protein expression up to 42% of total cellular proteins. In this chapter, we introduce the method to enhance the expression of soluble protein in B. subtilis. It includes the construction of vectors, the transformation of a plasmid into B. subtilis, and checking the expression of the protein.

Clofazimine-Loaded Mucoadhesive Nanoparticles Prepared by Flash Nanoprecipitation for Strategic Intestinal Delivery.

PURPOSE: This study was undertaken to develop novel mucoadhesive formulations of clofazimine (CFZ), a drug candidate for the treatment of cryptosporidiosis, with the aim of strategic delivery to the small intestine, the main site of the disease parasites. METHODS: CFZ-loaded nanoparticles (nCFZ) coated with non-biodegradable anionic polymer (nCFZ/A) and biodegradable anionic protein complex (nCFZ/dA) were prepared by Flash NanoPrecipitation (FNP) and evaluated for their physicochemical and biopharmaceutical properties. RESULTS: The mean diameters of nCFZ/A and nCFZ/dA were ca. 90 and 240 nm, respectively, and they showed narrow size distributions and negative ζ-potentials. Both formulations showed higher solubility of CFZ in aqueous solution than crystalline CFZ. Despite their improved dispersion behaviors, both formulations exhibited significantly lower diffusiveness than crystalline CFZ in a diffusion test using artificial mucus (AM). Quartz crystal microbalance analysis showed that both formulations clearly interacted with mucin, which appeared to be responsible for their reduced diffusiveness in AM. These results suggest the potent mucoadhesion of nCFZ/A and nCFZ/dA. After the oral administration of CFZ samples (10 mg-CFZ/kg) to rats, nCFZ/dA and nCFZ/A exhibited a prolongation in Tmax by 2 and >9 h, respectively, compared with crystalline CFZ. At 24 h after oral doses of nCFZ/A and nCFZ/dA with mucoadhesion, there were marked increases in the intestinal CFZ concentration (4-7 fold) compared with Lamprene®, a commercial CFZ product, indicating enhanced CFZ exposure in the small intestine. CONCLUSION: The use of FNP may produce mucoadhesive CFZ formulations with improved intestinal exposure, possibly offering enhanced anti-cryptosporidium therapy.

The effectiveness of a nurse-led home-based heart failure self-management programme (the HOM-HEMP) for patients with chronic heart failure: A three-arm stratified randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Although important, heart failure self-care remains a challenge for many patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a nurse-led, home-based self-management psychosocial education intervention (HOM-HEMP). The primary outcome was patient's HF self-care in terms of maintenance, management and confidence. The secondary outcomes were cardiac self-efficacy, psychological wellbeing in terms of perceived social support, health related quality of life and levels of anxiety and depression. The clinical outcomes included New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class and numbers of unplanned health service visits due to cardiac-related reasons. DESIGN: A three-arm stratified randomized controlled trial was conducted (Clinical trial registration number: NCT03108235). METHODS: A total of 213 participants admitted for heart failure were recruited from the inpatient wards of a tertiary public hospital in Singapore. They were randomly allocated to the control group, the experimental group A or the experimental group B. All participants received the usual care provided by the hospital. Participants in experimental groups A and B received the HOM-HEMP intervention, and those in experimental group B received an additional supplemental smartphone application. Data were collected at baseline, 6 weeks, 3 months and 6 months from baseline. RESULTS: Compared to the control groups, participants in either of the experimental group had significantly higher levels of heart failure self-care maintenance (F = 4.222, p = 0.001), self-care confidence (F = 5.796, p < 0.001) and self-care management (p < 0.05) at 6-week, 3-month and 6-month follow-ups. In addition, both experimental groups had significantly higher levels of cardiac self-efficacy, better health related quality of life and lower depression levels than the control group after the study intervention. A higher proportion of participants in both experimental groups had a better New York Heart Association functional class at 6-week and 3-month follow-ups. Participants in the experimental group B also had significantly fewer cardiac-related unplanned hospital admissions and emergency room visits than the control group at 6-month follow-up. Results on perceived social support were not significant. The study outcomes in experimental group A and B were not significantly different at any of the post intervention follow-up. CONCLUSION: The findings suggested that HOM-HEMP is an effective intervention for patients with heart failure in Singapore.

Ostracods as pollution indicators in Lap An Lagoon, central Vietnam.

Southeast Asia is particularly susceptible to the negative impacts of increasing coastal pollution as coastal populations and cities grow at unprecedented rates. Although water chemistry can be monitored, there are greater advantages in using bioindicators as reflectors of the combined effect of multiple pollution types on coastal ecosystem health and for early detection of the negative impacts of pollutants on biotic systems. This study explores the utility and application of ostracods as pollution bioindicators and examines the response of ostracod assemblages to variable pollution in Lap An Lagoon, central Vietnam. From 14 sites within the lagoon, 79 species of 46 genera were identified and sediment grain size, total organic carbon, organic matter and heavy metal concentration were measured. Cluster analysis, detrended correspondence analysis and canonical correspondence analysis identified four distinct ostracod biofacies that were highly correlated to the physical environmental variables (salinity, depth, sediment type, heavy metal concentrations, total organic carbon and organic matter) and are shown to be the main factors controlling ostracod biofacies. Low ostracod diversities were found in silty sediments with heavy metal concentrations likely toxic. Sinocytheridea impressa was indicative of a marginally polluted environment within the lagoon. This study provides evidence for the potential for Southeast Asian ostracods to be used in water quality assessments and the data collected can be used as a baseline for future pollution monitoring.