Growth inhibition of bacterial pathogens by photo-catalyst process of nano-alloys FeCuNi doped TiO2 under ultraviolet irradiation.

This study reports the application of FeCuNi nano-alloy doped TiO2 synthesized via the sol-gel method as an antibacterial with a sterilization rate greater than 95% under ultra-violet (UV) irradiation. The performance was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal analysis (TG-DTA), scanning electron microscope (SEM-EDX), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results showed that the sterilization process of FeCuNi-TiO2 in cell suspension of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis increased the effectiveness of UV irradiation at wavelength (λ) ≥ 385 nm after 120 min. The optimum growth inhibition of FeCuNi-TiO2 was observed in the concentrations 1.5 g/L of E. coli, 1.5 g/L of S. aureus and 2.0 g/L of B. subtilis. The highest antimicrobial efficiency of FeCuNi-TiO2 powder was provided by a particle size of 16.8 nm, surface area of 70.98 m2/g. The increased antimicrobial activity in multiplied-three doped ions was related to the increase of illumination energy of UV absorption in the photo-catalyst process. The inhibition mechanism reaction of the three species of bacteria cell affects the lipid peroxidation process at the microbe cell's wall. This was indicated by the formation of malondialdehyde (MDA). Lipid oxidation was based on the reaction of 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBARS) as an indicator of primary and secondary oxidation.

Ocimum basilicum alleviates blood glucose, lipid profile and iNOS in diabetes gestational rat model.

OBJECTIVES: Gestational diabetes (GDM) complications affect maternal and fetus in utero. GDM's vascular dysfunction showed inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) alteration and was linked to the higher production of nitrogen species, leading to diabetic embryopathy. Ocimum basilicum (O. basilicum) has been reported for its anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic effects. Thus, the present study investigates the anti-diabetic effect, lipid-lowering effect, and iNOS expression in GDM animal models treated with O. basilicum extract. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES: Four groups of pregnant rats consist of control and GDM groups. One GDM group was set for control positive. Two GDM groups were treated with O. basilicum extract in two doses (100 and 200 mg/kg BW) for 14 days. Blood glucose of all groups was observed at 72 h after STZ injection and 14 days after administration of O. basilicum extract. Lipid profile and iNOS expression using real-time PCR were measured afterward. RESULTS: O. basilicum extract lowered blood glucose levels in both doses, from 262.60 mg/dL±6.89-136.80 mg/dL ± 15.6 mg/dL and 113.20 mg/dL±5.25 mg/dL. Total cholesterol, LDL and triglyceride showed a reduction, especially in 200 mg/kg BW dose extract from 122.37 mg/dL ± 14.84 mg/dL, 69.75 mg/dL±3.78 mg/dL and 137.51 mg/dL ± 8.12-74.64 mg/dL±8.71 mg/dL, 40.26 mg/dL±3.31 mg/dL and 87.57 mg/dL±6.29 mg/dL, respectively. iNOS expression downregulated in both doses, from 2.17±0.39 to 0.94±0.3 and 0.41±0.08. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that O. basilicum extract has a potential therapeutic activity in lowering blood glucose, improved lipid profile, and downregulating iNOS in GDM.

Low Maternal Vitamin D and Calcium Food Intake during Pregnancy Associated with Place of Residence: A Cross-Sectional Study in West Sumatran Women, Indonesia.

BACKGROUND: There is a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in pregnancy worldwide, and variable availability of vitamin D-rich foods may affect the adequacy of vitamin D food intake in different regions. AIM: We analysed the relationship between place of residence and maternal food intake of vitamin D and calcium in West Sumatra, Indonesia. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 203 pregnant women. Data collection was carried out in four districts in West Sumatra - two in coastal locations and two in mountainous locations - with subjects divided into groups based on their place of residence. The dietary intakes of pregnant women were assessed through a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire (SQ-FFQ). RESULTS: The means of maternal vitamin D and calcium food intake were 7.92 ± 5.26 µg/day and 784.88 ± 409.77 mg/day, respectively. There were no reports of vitamin D supplement intake during pregnancy. A total of 86.7% and 89.7% of the study subjects had low vitamin D and calcium food intake status, respectively. There was a significant association between maternal vitamin D intake and place of residence (p = 0.02) and significant different mean levels of vitamin D food intake with the place of residence (9.04 vs 6.55 µg/day; p = 0.01). Mothers who had higher education levels had adequate calcium food intake (p = 0.015; OR: 0.295; 0.116-0.751). CONCLUSION: Low maternal vitamin D and calcium food intake were found to be common in West Sumatra, Indonesia and their differed between those residents in mountainous and in coastal areas.

The Reactivity Levels of Progesterone, Nitric Oxide and Nuclear Factor Kappa-B on the Serum of Term and Post-Term Pregnancy, Clinical Study in Padang, West Sumatera, Indonesia.

BACKGROUND: A variety of recent evidence exists about the clinical implication of low level of Pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) in pregnancy. This glycoprotein is a protease, which releases the Insulin-like growth factor from IGFBP 4. Its role is a trophoblastic invasion of decidua, stimulation of cell mitosis and differentiation. It has an immunosuppressive effect in the placenta, inhibition of coagulation and complex role for integration of all these processes in the placenta. Level of PAPP-A (under 0.4 MoM-Multiple of Medians) in first-trimester screening in chromosomally and morphologically normal fetuses, could influence fetal weight, preeclampsia, premature birth and stillbirth. As a result of the complications as mentioned earlier, there is implication on timing, mode of delivery and condition of the newborn. AIM: The study aims to evaluate the influence of low PAPP-A, measured in the first trimester on the outcome of pregnancy, with accent disorders, which are the result of placental insufficiency. Also, gestational week, mode of delivery and condition of newborn secondary underlying conditions will be evaluated. MATERIAL AND METHODS: After given information and consultation about the expectation from the screening, pregnant women with a singleton pregnancy were tested for First Trimester Screening to estimate the risk for Trisomy 21, 13, 18- the most frequent chromosomopathies. After exclusion of chromosomopathies and congenital malformations, one hundred and fourteen patients enrolled in the study. The target group (n = 64) with PAPP-A below 0.4 MoM and control group (n = 50) with PAPP-A equal and above 0.4 MoM. An assessment of mode and time of delivery and presence of small for gestational age newborns, preeclampsia, premature birth and newborn condition at delivery was made. RESULTS: The percentage of the patients delivered in term was similar between the target group (n = 64) and the control group (n = 50), 82.81% vs 82.0% respectively. The rate of cesarean section was 29.7 % in the target group vs 32% in the control group. A significant difference was found about elective vs urgent cesarean section in favour of the target group. The difference was present about the complication in pregnancy before delivery, 56% vs 22%, p = 0.023, which were the main indication for cesarean section. The difference in newborn outcome was not significant. CONCLUSION: There is a difference in frequency of complications, in the cases with PAPP-A under 0.4 MoM, such as premature birth, preeclampsia compound with SGA fetuses versus the control group. The difference for SGA newborn and premature birth among the groups has statistical significance. The patients delivered with cesarean section were with the main indications SGA or elevated blood pressure, often occurred combined with prematurity. Apgar score and birth weight were similar in target and control group, but the newborns with a birth weight under 2500 g. were more frequent in the target group. Because these results did not show another significance among two groups, probably lower cut-off is needed, combining with another test (Doppler of uterine arteries in the first trimester, biochemical test). Presence of other diseases which could hurt placental function should be emphasised.

Polymorphisms of CYP2E1 rs2031920 is not Associated with Risk of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma in Minangkabau Ethnic Group.

BACKGROUND: Various environmental factors have been suspected to be associated with the risk of developing Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma (NPC). Volatile nitrosamines found in salted fish are thought to be carcinogenic substances for NPC. Nitrosamines are activated by the CYP2E1 enzyme. Several studies investigated the relationship between polymorphism in the CYP2E1 gene and susceptibility to NPC, but the results obtained were inconsistent. AIM: This study was conducted to analyze the association of the CYP2E1 rs2031920 polymorphisms with the incidence of NPC in the Minangkabau ethnic group. METHODS: The subjects of this study were newly diagnosed NPC Minangkabau ethnic patients, while the controls were healthy people. A total of 23 cases of NPC and 23 aged (± 3 years) and sex-matched controls participated in the study. The method used to identify these polymorphisms is PCR sequencing. RESULTS: On recent study we found CYP2E1 rs2031920 gene polymorphism in both the NPC and control groups, in the NPC group there were 8.7% heterozygote mutants while in the control group there were 26.1% heterozygote mutants, and there were no homozygote mutants in the two groups, and statistically none a significant relationship between CYP2E1 gene polymorphism and the incidence of NPC, with p > 0.05. CONCLUSION: Our study reveals that there is no association of CYP2E1 gene polymorphism (rs2031920) with the incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the Minangkabau ethnic group.

The Prognostic Significance of Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog Loss in Breast Cancer.

AIM: This study aims to determine the prognostic significance of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) loss in breast cancer. METHODS: We conducted a meta-analysis study. Sample of this study were research articles that evaluated PTEN loss and prognosis in breast cancer patients. We searched for relevant studies published in PubMed and Proquest from January 2010 to July 2018. We reviewed studies that examined the association between immunohistochemical expression of PTEN and breast cancer prognosis using meta-analysis methods. Pooled risk ratios (RR) were calculated using fixed and random-effect models. Data were processed using Review Manager 5.3 (RevMan 5.3). RESULTS: There were 7 studies conducted a systematic review then continued to evaluate the association of PTEN loss and breast cancer prognosis by meta-analysis. There was a significant association of PTEN loss with poor prognosis of breast cancer (RR = 0.76 [95% CI 0.59-0.98 p <0.07), and there was not any significant publication bias for studies included. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed PTEN loss is an important independent factor for breast cancer prognosis.

The association between lifestyle and maternal vitamin D during pregnancy in West Sumatra, Indonesia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: An adequate level of maternal vitamin D is essential for maternal and fetal health during pregnancy. We examined the relationship between lifestyle, maternal vitamin D intake and the vitamin D status of pregnant women. Methods and Study designs: The sample of the cross-sectional study was 203 third trimester pregnant women in September-November 2016 in four different districts of West Sumatra, Indonesia. Questionnaire was used to assess lifestyles, dietary intake, anthropometry, maternal characteristics, demography and socioeconomic data. The Vitamin D serum level was measured by the ELISA method and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-squared tests, Pearson's correlation and logistic regression. RESULTS: 160 blood serum samples of pregnant women were collected. The means of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and maternal vitamin D intake were 29.06±11.39 ng/mL and 7.92±5.26 µg/day respectively. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency- insufficiency was 61.25%, and more than 85% of the women had inadequate vitamin D intake. We found that living in mountainous areas (p=0.03) and low physical activity (p=0.02) were significantly associated with maternal vitamin D levels as a prediction factor. In addition, younger who had lower pre-pregnancy weight had a higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Low levels of vitamin D were common among pregnant women in West Sumatra, Indonesia. Additional intake of vitamin D from supplements may be important to meet the recommended dietary level for pregnant women.

Changes in expression of proteasome in rats at different stages of atherosclerosis.

It has been suggested that proteasome system has a role in initiation, progression, and complication stages of atherosclerosis. Although there is still controversy, there has been no research that compares the expression of proteasome in tissue and serum at each of these stages. This study aimed to investigated the expression of proteasome at different stages of atherosclerosis using rat model. We measured the expression of aortic proteasome by immunohistochemical analyses and were then analyzed using ImageJ software for percentage of area and integrated density. We used Photoshop version 3.0 to analyze aortic proteasome expression as a comparison. We measured serum proteasome expression by enzyme linked immunosorbents assays. Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare mean value of percentage of area and serum proteasome. Analysis of variance test was used to compare mean value of integrated density. Correlation test between vascular proteasome expression and serum proteasome expression was made using Spearman test. A P-value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Compared with normal, percentage of area was higher in initiation, progression, and complication. Compared with normal, integrated density was higher in initiation and further higher in progression and complication. Data from Image J is similar with data from Photoshop. Serum proteasome expression was higher in initiation compared with normal, and further higher in progression and complication. It was concluded that there were different vascular proteasome expression and serum proteasome expression at the stages of atherosclerosis. These results may be used in research into new marker and therapeutic target in atherosclerosis.