Phase separation, aggregation, and complexation of triton-X100 and bovine serum albumin mixture: A combined cloud point and UV-visible spectroscopic approaches.

Phase separation and aggregation behaviour of triton X-100 (TX-100) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) mixture were investigated using cloud point and UV-visible spectroscopic techniques. The effects of various hydrotropes (HYTs) - namely, sodium salicylate (SS), sodium benzoate (SB), glycerol (Glyc), and 4-aminobenzoic acid (4-ABA) - on the cloud point (CP) of TX-100 + BSA were determined. The obtained CP values for the mixed system in the presence of HYTs followed the order: The measured critical micellization concentration (CMC) values of the TX-100 + BSA mixture were found to be significantly altered with varying amounts of BSA. The calculated free energy of clouding and micellization indicated the non-spontaneous nature of the phase transition and the spontaneous association of the TX-100 + BSA mixture. The non-spontaneity of phase separation decreased with increasing concentrations of HYTs. The enumerated values of ∆Hco and ∆Sco were consistently recorded as negative and positive magnitudes, respectively, in all aqueous HYTs media. The clouding process occurred due to a combination of hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. The binding constant of the mixed system was determined employing the UV-vis spectroscopic method using the Benesi-Hildebrand equation.

Minerals and fatty acid profile of small indigenous fish species from homestead ponds within a Sub-tropical coastal region.

Malnutrition has emerged as a noticeable obstruction to the socio-economic advancement of rural areas along the coastal regions of Bangladesh. Small indigenous fish species (SIS) have the potential to alleviate the malnutrition issue because of having higher nutritional compositions. However, prior research has overlooked the detailed nutritional value of SIS originating from coastal regions. Consequently, the current investigation sought to analyze the mineral and fatty acid composition of twelve SIS obtained from coastal homestead ponds. The findings indicated that the mineral composition in SIS exhibited the following descending order: calcium (Ca) > phosphorus (P) > potassium (K) > magnesium (Mg) > iron (Fe) > zinc (Zn). Furthermore, when considering the overall mineral content in SIS, it ranked in the following decreasing order: A. testudineus, M. tengara, C. punctatus, N. nandus, P. sophore, C. fasciatus, A. mola, C. batrachus, H. fossilis, P. sarana, M. aculeatus, and O. pabda. The analysis of the fatty acid profile further revealed that SIS is a rich source of palmitic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid, stearic acid, myristic acid, palmitoleic acid, and linolenic acid. The saturated fatty acid content of the SIS varied between 42.66 % and 63.37 %, and the highest content was found in A. mola whereas the lowest was in A. testudineus. On the other hand, the total monounsaturated fatty acid content of the SIS ranged from 26.49 % (A. mola) to 46.12 % (P. sarana), and the total PUFAs contents among the fish species ranged from 5.7 % (A. mola) to 16.54 % (H. fossilis). Therefore, SIS could be a key source of minerals and essential fatty acids for human well-being. This can help fulfill nutrient requirements and reduce malnutrition among coastal populations. It can be said that, if these fishes are introduced in the culture systems, it will be used for consumption as well as support the livelihood of coastal people.

Prostaglandin E2 receptor EP4 regulates cell migration through Orai1.

The EP4 prostanoid receptors are one of four receptor subtypes for prostaglandin E2 (PGE2 ). Therefore, EP4 may play an important role in cancer progression. However, little information is available regarding their function per se, including migration and the cellular signaling pathway of EP4 in oral cancer. First, we found that mRNA and protein expression of EP4 was abundantly expressed in human-derived tongue squamous cell carcinoma cell lines HSC-3 and OSC-19. The EP4 agonist (ONO-AE1-437) significantly promoted cell migration in HSC-3 cells. In contrast, knockdown of EP4 reduced cell migration. Furthermore, we confirmed that knockdown of EP4 suppressed metastasis of oral cancer cells in the lungs of mice in vivo. Therefore, we focused on the mechanism of migration/metastasis in EP4 signaling. Interestingly, EP4 agonist significantly induced intracellular Ca2+ elevation not in only oral cancer cells but also in other cells, including normal cells. Furthermore, we found that EP4 activated PI3K and induced Ca2+ influx through Orai1 without activation of store depletion and stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1). Immunoprecipitation showed that EP4 formed complexes with Orai1 and TRPC1, but not with STIM. Moreover, the EP4 agonist ONO-AE1-437 phosphorylated ERK and activated MMP-2 and MMP-9. Knockdown of Orai1 negated EP4 agonist-induced ERK phosphorylation. Taken together, our data suggested that EP4 activated PI3K and then induced Ca2+ influx from the extracellular space through Orai1, resulting in ERK phosphorylation and promoting cell migration. Migration is regulated by EP4/PI3K/Orai1 signaling in oral cancer.

Effect of Lean Six Sigma on quality performance in Malaysian hospitals.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) and workforce management on the quality performance of Malaysian hospitals. This paper also investigates the direct and indirect relationships between top management commitment and quality performance of the healthcare organisations in Malaysia. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This study applied stratified random sampling to collect data from 15 different hospitals in Peninsular Malaysia. The self-administered survey questionnaires were distributed among 673 hospital staff (i.e. doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and medical laboratory technologists) to obtain 335 useful responses with a 49.47 per cent valid response rate. The research data were analysed based on confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling by using AMOS version 23 software. FINDINGS: The research findings indicated that LSS and workforce management have a significant impact on quality performance of the Malaysian hospitals, whereas senior management commitment was found to have an insignificant relationship with quality performance. The research findings indicate that senior management commitment has no direct significant relationship with quality performance, but it has an indirect significant relationship with quality performance through the mediating effects of LSS and workforce management. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS: This research focussed solely on healthcare organisations in Malaysia and thus the results might not be applicable for other countries as well as other service organisations. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This research provides theoretical, methodological, and practical contributions for the LSS approach and the research findings are expected to provide guidelines to enhance the level of quality performance in healthcare organisations in Malaysia as well as other countries.

Antibacterial, antidiarrhoeal, and cytotoxic activities of methanol extract and its fractions of Caesalpinia bonducella (L.) Roxb leaves.

BACKGROUND: Caesalpinia bonducella is an important medicinal plant for its traditional uses against different types of diseases. Therefore, the present study investigated the antimicrobial, antidiarrhoeal, and cytotoxic activities of the methanol extract and ethyl acetate, chloroform, and petroleum ether (pet. ether) fractions of C. bonducella leaves. METHODS: The antibacterial potentialities of methanol extract and its fractions of C. bonducella leaves were investigated by the disc diffusion method against four gram-positive and five gram-negative bacteria at 300, 500 and 800 µg/disc. Kanamycin (30 µg/disc) was used as the standard drug. Antidiarrhoeal activities of leaf extracts were evaluated at two doses (200 and 400 mg/kg) and compared with loperamide in a castor oil-induced diarrhoeal model in rat. The fractions were subjected to a brine shrimp lethality test to evaluate their cytotoxicity. RESULTS: The methanol extract and other three fractions exhibited better activities at higher concentrations. Amongst, the chloroform fraction showed maximum activity at all three concentrations (300, 500, and 800 µg/disc) against almost all bacteria. S. aureus and P. aeruginosa showed better sensitivities to all extracts at all three concentrations excluding the pet. ether fraction. Bacillus megaterium and Klebsiella spp. were two bacteria amongst nine that showed lowest sensitivity to the extracts. Maximum zone of inhibition (25-mm) was obtained by the methanol extract at an 800 µg/disc concentration against S. aureus. In the antidiarrhoeal test, all fractions exhibited dose-dependent actions, which were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Ethyl acetate fraction exerted maximum inhibition (51.11%) against defecation, whereas 57.75% inhibition was obtained for loperamide. Moderate cytotoxicity was found for the methanol extract and its three fractions compared with the standard drug vincristine sulfate in the brine shrimp bioassay. In the present study, the LC50 values of the methanol crude extract and ethyl acetate, chloroform, pet. ether fractions and vincristine sulfate were 223.87, 281.84, 112.2, 199.53, and 12.59 µg/mL, respectively. Therefore, the ethyl acetate fraction showed maximum cytotoxicity, whereas minimum cytotoxicity was observed for the chloroform fraction. CONCLUSION: The present study revealed that the ethyl acetate fraction of the C. bonducella leaves has significant antidiarrhoeal properties. The methanol extract and other three fractions of the C. bonducella leaves possess potent antibacterial activities along with moderate cytotoxicities that may lead to new drug development.

Estimation of total phenol and in vitro antioxidant activity of Albizia procera leaves.

BACKGROUND: Research on natural products has gained a wide popularity due to the potential of discovering active compounds. The antioxidant properties contained in plants have been proposed as one of the mechanisms for the observed beneficial effect. Therefore, the present study investigated the antioxidant activity and total phenolic contents of various solvent extracts of Albizia procera leaves. METHODS: Antioxidant activity of the methanol extract and its derived fractions petroleum ether (APP), carbon tetrachloride (APC), dichloromethane (APD), ethyl acetate (APE), and residual aqueous fraction (APA) of the leaves of Albizia procera was performed by in vitro chemical analyses. Total phenolic content of the APM and other five fractions were also determined. APM and its derived fractions were also subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening test for various constituents. RESULTS: Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of saponins, steroids, tannins, glycosides and flavonoids in the extracts. Amongst the extracts, APE showed the highest total phenolic content (449.18 ± 18.41mg of gallic acid equivalent/g of extract). In DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging test, the IC(50) value of APM, APP, APC, APD, APE and APA was 43.43, 63.60, 166.18, 41.15, 11.79, and 63.06 µg/mL, respectively. Therefore, among the APM and its derived fractions, APE showed the highest antioxidant activity which is comparable to that of standard ascorbic acid (AA) (IC(50) 10.12 µg/mL). The total antioxidant capacity was found to be varied in different fractions. The reducing activity on ferrous ion was ranked as APE > APD > APM > APA > APC. CONCLUSION: The above evidences suggest that APE of A. procera leaf is a potential source of natural antioxidant and can be used to prevent diseases associated with free radicals.

Effects of Lean Six Sigma application in healthcare services: a literature review.

The healthcare organization is the place where defects and mistakes cannot be tolerated. A simple mistake can cost a human life so defects or mistakes must be eliminated in healthcare service processes. A Lean Six Sigma (LSS) approach is the best option in a healthcare environment for dealing with a critical patient. The LSS methodology optimizes the average reduction of a desired process. The expected results can be reductions in several aspects of healthcare such as patient waiting time in emergency departments, lost charges for billing in patient financial services, delinquent medical records, diagnostic result turnaround times, accounts receivable days, patients' length of stay, or medication errors. This paper mainly discusses the effects of the LSS approach in different hospitals around the world according to the literature review. This review also discusses the relationship between LSS as well as their impacts on healthcare services based on literature review.