2792 research outputs found
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Driving home the message about salt
No full textAccording to the World Health Organisation (WHO), non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the main cause of mortality and disability in Malaysia.
Known as "silent killers", NCDs continue to claim lives despite being largely preventable
Promote mentor-mentee relationships among academics
No full textLETTERS: RECENT concerns about the publication of substandard research articles by Malaysian academics has heightened the concerns about the quality of higher education and academicians in the country. A contributing factor is insufficient mentorship between seasoned and emerging scholars. Most individuals who enter into the world of academia perceive teaching as the primary role of the profession. However, the challenging reality of publish or perish sinks in, a task for which early-career researchers are often inadequately prepared. Mentorship plays an important role in sustaining knowledge creation and professional growth of academics towards strengthening and enhancing research quality
NOMA-based retrodirective frequency diverse array for multi-user communication
No full textFrequency Diverse Array (FDA) and retrodirective array have found applications in wireless communication networks, offering cost-effective and efficient beamforming capabilities. In this paper, a novel concept of the retrodirective frequency diverse array (RFDA) is introduced, which empowers each array element to handle multiple communication channels, thereby enabling support for multiple users. This is made possible by utilizing the non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) scheme. The antenna elements are organized in a uniform circular array configuration. The system supports the multitude of users by assigning them into distinct clusters based on the serving antenna and then allocating transmit power to each user based on their respective channel conditions and distances from the base station. Consequently, efficient schemes for user clustering and power allocation tailored to the NOMA-RFDA system are developed. As a result, multi-user connectivity is achieved while maintaining low design costs. The simulation outcomes affirm that the proposed system attains superior performance in terms of both data rate and energy efficiency when compared to similar reference schemes
Bioactive compounds from nature: Antioxidants targeting cellular transformation in response to epigenetic perturbations induced by oxidative stress
No full textOxidative stress results from a persistent imbalance in oxidation levels that promotes oxidants, playing a crucial role in the early and sustained phases of DNA damage and genomic and epigenetic instability, both of which are intricately linked to the development of tumors. The molecular pathways contributing to carcinogenesis in this context, particularly those related to double-strand and single-strand breaks in DNA, serve as indicators of DNA damage due to oxidation in cancer cases, as well as factors contributing to epigenetic instability through ectopic expressions. Oxidative stress has been considered a therapeutic target for many years, and an increasing number of studies have highlighted the promising effectiveness of natural products in cancer treatment. In this regard, we present significant research on the therapeutic targeting of oxidative stress using natural molecules and underscore the essential role of oxidative stress in cancer. The consequences of stress, especially epigenetic instability, also offer significant therapeutic prospects. In this context, the use of natural epi-drugs capable of modulating and reorganizing the epigenetic network is beginning to emerge remarkably. In this review, we emphasize the close connections between oxidative stress, epigenetic instability, and tumor transformation, while highlighting the role of natural substances as antioxidants and epi-drugs in the anti-tumoral context
QSAR modelling to predict structural features of certain sulfonamide as Urokinase-type Plasminogen Activator inhibitors
No full textThe serine hydrolase family includes serine proteases. It is essential for hydrolyzing protein peptide bonds and breaking them. The urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) selectively binds to the uPAR on numerous cell types, including cancer cells. Pericellular proteolysis of cell-bound proteins requires this interaction. High uPA and uPAR levels regularly worsen cancer prognoses. Thus, small chemical active-site inhibitors that block uPA may diminish cancer cell invasion and metastasis. In compliance with Organization for Economic Corporation and Development guidelines, this research performed a complete Quantitative structure activity relationship analysis of sulfonamide compounds as Urokinase-type Plasminogen Activator inhibitors. Py-Descriptors were used for this investigation. PyDescriptor uses PyMOL standards and idioms to calculate 11,145 simple molecular descriptors. This plugin calculates molecular descriptors irrespective of molecular representation properties like atom numbering or labelling, spatial reference frame, translational and rotational invariance, etc. The investigation sought to find essential and hidden structural characteristics that regulate sulfonamide-type drugs’ Urokinase-type Plasminogen Activator Inhibitory action. Twenty-eight sulfonamide chemicals are used in the Quantitative structure activity relationship study to generate statistically robust and highly predictive univariate and multivariate models. All models were thoroughly evaluated and meet several statistical parameter thresholds (e.g., R 2 =0.9259–0.9280, Q 2 Loo =0.8579–0.8558, Q 2 LMO =0.8013–0.7865). The analysis reveal that occurance of ring carbon atoms exactly at 3 A0 from carbon atom, number of negatively charged atoms from sulphur atoms within 5 bonds, presence of hydrogen atom exactly at 3 bonds from donar atoms, presence of carbon atom exactly at 4 A0 from donar atom, presence of acceptor atom exactly at 5 A0 from sulphur atom and sum of partial charges of lipo atoms within 6 bonds from sulphur atom are important pharmacophoric features for Urokinase- type Plasminogen Activator Inhibition binding affinity. Thus, the developed Quantitative structure activity relationship study has an equilibrium of quantitative and qualitative tactics. The results could be useful for future optimizations of sulfonamide analogues
Revisiting the environmental Kuznets curve: assessing the impact of climate policy uncertainty in the Belt and Road Initiative
No full textClimate change repercussions such as temperature shifts and more severe weather occurrences are felt globally. It contributes to larger-scale challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss in food production. As a result, the purpose of this research is to develop strategies to grow the economy without harming the environment. Therefore, we revisit the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis, considering the impact of climate policy uncertainty along with other control variables. We investigated yearly panel data from 47 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) nations from 1998 to 2021. Pooled regression, fixed effect, and the generalized method of moment (GMM) findings all confirmed the presence of inverted U-shaped EKC in BRI counties. Findings from this paper provide policymakers with actionable ideas, outlining a framework for bringing trade and climate agendas into harmony in BRI countries. The best way to promote economic growth and reduce carbon dioxide emissions is to push for trade and climate policies to be coordinated. Moreover, improving institutional quality is essential for strong environmental governance, as it facilitates the adoption of environmentally friendly industrialization techniques and the efficient administration of climate policy uncertainties
A simulation study on the radiosensitization properties of gold nanorods
No full textObjective. Gold nanorods (GNRs) have emerged as versatile nanoparticles with unique properties, holding promise in various modalities of cancer treatment through drug delivery and photothermal therapy. In the rapidly evolving field of nanoparticle radiosensitization (NPRS) for cancer therapy, this study assessed the potential of gold nanorods as radiosensitizing agents by quantifying the key features of NPRS, such as secondary electron emission and dose enhancement, using Monte Carlo simulations.Approach. Employing the TOPAS track structure code, we conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the radiosensitization behavior of spherical gold nanoparticles and gold nanorods. We systematically explored the impact of nanorod geometry (in particular size and aspect ratio) and orientation on secondary electron emission and deposited energy ratio, providing validated results against previously published simulations.Main results. Our findings demonstrate that gold nanorods exhibit comparable secondary electron emission to their spherical counterparts. Notably, nanorods with smaller surface-area-to-volume ratios (SA:V) and alignment with the incident photon beam proved to be more efficient radiosensitizing agents, showing superiority in emitted electron fluence. However, in the microscale, the deposited energy ratio (DER) was not markedly influenced by the SA:V of the nanorod. Additionally, our findings revealed that the geometry of gold nanoparticles has a more significant impact on the emission of M-shell Auger electrons (with energies below 3.5 keV) than on higher-energy electrons.Significance. This research investigated the radiosensitization properties of gold nanorods, positioning them as promising alternatives to the more conventionally studied spherical gold nanoparticles in the context of cancer research. With increasing interest in multimodal cancer therapy, our findings have the potential to contribute valuable insights into the perspective of gold nanorods as effective multipurpose agents for synergistic photothermal therapy and radiotherapy. Future directions may involve exploring alternative metallic nanorods as well as further optimizing the geometry and coating materials, opening new possibilities for more effective cancer treatments
Protein expression, crystallization and in-silico studies on cytochrome P450 Oxidoreductase wildtype and mutant variants
No full textCytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (POR) is a crucial membrane-bound enzyme that facilitates the transfer of electrons to all cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes. Several mutations in the POR gene have been reported to cause cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase deficiency (PORD), an autosomal recessive genetic disorder. This study explored the consequences of seven POR missense mutations (Y181D, A287P, R457H, R498P, C569Y, Y607C, and H628P), which have been documented in PORD patients, on the structural integrity and stability of the POR enzyme in vitro. The comparison between these mutants and the wild-type POR focused on in vitro protein expression, purification, and crystallization characteristics. The mutation-induced alterations in the POR architecture significantly influenced the protein's expression and crystallization capabilities. The magnitude of these effects on the enzyme's behavior varied from moderate to severe, contingent on the mutation's nature and position. This research illuminates the influence of specific mutations on POR stability, underlining the necessity of understanding mutation-driven effects on enzyme stability to devise personalized therapeutic approaches for PORD patients. Future studies will involve the functional characterization of these mutant enzymes to further understand their impact on the POR enzyme's activity and stability
Association of Fusobacterium nucleatum infection with the clinicopathological characteristics in colorectal cancer patients
No full textBackground: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a global health problem. The gut microbiome is now recognized as an important underlying factor to the initiation and progression of CRC. Fusobacterium nucleatum (FN) is one of the most studied bacteria in the aetiology of CRC. This study provided cohort evidence on the association of FN infection with clinicopathologic features in CRC patients.
Methods: We analysed the cancerous and adjacent non-cancerous formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue of 83 CRC patients from a single medical centre in Malaysia. TaqMan probe-based qPCR targeting the 16S rRNA gene was used to detect the presence of FN in the extracted FFPE DNA. The differences in FN expression between cancer and non-cancer tissues were evaluated. Association studies between FN infection in the tumour and relative FN abundance with available clinical data were conducted.
Results: FN was more abundant in the cancerous tissue compared to non-cancerous tissue (p = 0.0025). FN infection in the tumour was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis (p = 0.047) and cancer staging (p = 0.032), but not with other clinicopathologic variables. In double-positive patients where FN was detected in both cancerous and non-cancerous tissue, the expression fold-change of FN, calculated using 2-ΔΔCT formula, was significantly higher in patients with tumour size equal to or greater than 5 cm (p = 0.033) and in KRAS-mutated patients (p = 0.046).
Conclusions: FN is enriched in CRC tumour tissue and is associated with tumour size, lymph node metastasis, cancer staging, and KRAS mutation in this single-centre small cohort study
Influence of Dilution Upon the Ultraviolet-Visible Peak Absorbance and Optical Bandgap Estimation of Tin (IV) Oxide and Tin(IV) Oxde-Molybdenum(IV) Sulfide Solutions
No full textThe study investigated the constraints associated with the dilution technique in determining the optical bandgap of nanoparticle dispersion and modified nanocomposites, utilizing ultraviolet-visible absorbance spectra and Tauc plot analysis. A case study involving SnO2 dispersion and SnO2-MoS2 nanocomposite solutions, prepared through the direct solution mixing method, was conducted to assess the implications of dilution upon the absorbance spectra and bandgap estimation. The results emphasize the considerable impact of the dilution technique on the measured optical bandgap, demonstrating that higher dilution factors lead to shift in bandgap values. Furthermore, the study highlights that dilution can induce variations in the average nanoparticle sizes due to agglomeration, thereby influencing bandgap estimation. In the context of nanocomposites, the interaction between SnO2 nanoparticles and exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets diminishes with increasing dilution, leading to the estimated optical bandgap being primarily attributable to SnO2 nanoparticles alone. These observations underscore the necessity for caution when employing the dilution technique for bandgap estimation in nanoparticles dispersion and nanocomposites, offering valuable insights for researchers and practitioners in the field