Correlation between the HBsAg level and the peripheral blood lymphocytes profile in chronic hepatitis B patients from Malaysia

Background: In recent times, the hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) level, a cheaper marker compared to the molecular method, has been used not only for indicating active hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, but also for predicting the clinical and treatment outcomes. Chronic HBV (CHB) infection is related to defects in cells-mediated immunity; however, data linking the level of HBsAg with changes of immune response during a CHB infection is still lacking in Malaysia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to quantify the HBsAg level in CHB patients and to investigate its correlation with the immune status. Materials and methods: A total of 50 patients with CHB infection and 20 healthy controls were recruited for this cross-sectional study. Serological and biochemical analyses were performed on the serum samples. The HBV genotype was determined by direct sequencing and the viral load in the serum was measured using qPCR. The immunophenotype profiles of the peripheral blood lymphocyte were analyzed using flow cytometry and the HBsAg concentration was measured using Roche’s Elecsys HBsAg II assay. Results: The analyzed data demonstrated a narrowly higher mean level of bilirubin and liver enzymes exhibited by the viremic CHB patients compared to the healthy controls. In the viral load study, 15 patients had a high viral DNA load (≥ 3×106 genome copies/ mL), while 35 patients had a low or undetectable viral load (< 3×106 genome copies/mL). The phylogenetic tree analysis for 35 detectable samples elucidated that the genotypes were B and C, and they were at equal prevalence rates. The outcome of the peripheral blood lymphocyte study revealed that the percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ cells were significantly reduced, while the CD4+/CD8+ ratio were observed to be slightly increased in the CHB patients compared to the healthy controls. At the same time, there were no statistically significant differences between the CHB patients and healthy controls with respect to other peripheral blood lymphocyte cells. More than half of the patients had HBsAg titre above 1000 IU/mL, and there was a positive and negative correlation between the HBsAg titre and the percentage of total T cell lymphocytes and natural killer cells, respectively. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that serum HBsAg suppressednatural killer cells population, but enhanced total T cells lymphocyte in response to CHB infection. This study has shown the importance of quantitative HBsAg as a laboratory biomarker that may help to define the immune state of CHB patients

Zerumbone-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier induces apoptosis in human colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco2) cell line

The incorporation of zerumbone (Zer) into nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) is hypothesized to increase the efficacy of the drug. Nanostructured lipid carrier has sustained-drug release characteristics and is able to improve the solubility and bioavailability of the lipophilic drug. In this study, the anti-cancer effect of Zer was tested on human colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cell line. The effect of Zer, zerumbone-loaded nanostructured lipid carrier (Zer-NLC) and NLC on the Caco-2 cell viability were determined using the MTT assay. The treatment concentration ranges from 0 to 120 μM at four different time intervals (i.e., 0 h, 24 hrs, 48 hrs and 72 hrs) were evaluated. At 24 hrs, the half-growth inhibitory concentration (GI50) of Zer-NLC (i.e., 4.25 μM) is lower than that of Zer (i.e., 23.75 μM). However, Zer outperformed the Zer-NLC at the subsequent time points. Similar trend was observed in other parameters including the cytostatic concentration (CC) and half-lethal concentration 50 (LC50). Phase contrast imaging and AO/PI fluorescence staining were performed at the CC and LC50 values. The morphological changes and the apoptosis features could be seen in cells treated with Zer and Zer-NLC while cells treated with NLC showed minor morphological changes. The cells treated with Zer-NLC demonstrated a slightly slower progression of apoptosis, which could be due to the controlled release of Zer from the NLC matrix. It was concluded that the incorporation of Zer into NLC did not compromise the potency and efficacy of the drug

Replication and Meta-analysis of the Association between BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism and Cognitive Impairment in Patients Receiving Chemotherapy.

Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) adversely affects cancer patients. We had previously demonstrated that the BDNF Val66Met genetic polymorphism is associated with lower odds of subjective CRCI in the multitasking and verbal ability domains among breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. To further assess our previous findings, we evaluated the association of BDNF Val66Met polymorphism with subjective and objective CRCI in a temporally separate cohort of patients and pooled findings from both the original (n = 145) and current (n = 193) cohorts in a meta-analysis. Subjective CRCI was assessed using FACT-Cog. Objective CRCI was evaluated using computerized neuropsychological tests. Genotyping was carried out using Sanger sequencing. The association of BDNF Val66Met genotypes and CRCI was examined with logistic regression. A fixed-effect meta-analysis was conducted using the inverse variance method. In the meta-analysis (n = 338), significantly lower odds of CRCI were associated with Met allele carriers based on the global FACT-Cog score (OR = 0.52, 95% CI 0.29-0.94). Furthermore, Met allele carriers were at lower odds of developing impairment in the domains of memory (OR = 0.34, 95% CI: 0.17-0.70), multitasking (OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.18-0.59), and verbal ability (OR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.24-0.88). Consistent with the previous study, lower odds of subjective CRCI among patients with the BDNF Met allele was observed after adjusting for potential confounders in the multitasking (OR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.14-0.67) domain. In conclusion, carriers of the BDNF Met allele were protected against global subjective CRCI, particularly in the domains of memory, multitasking, and verbal ability. Our findings further contribute to the understanding of CRCI pathophysiology

IL-8 as a potential in-vitro severity biomarker for dengue disease

Dengue is a common infection, caused by dengue virus. There are four different dengue serotypes, with different capacity to cause severe dengue infections. Besides, secondary infections with heterologous serotypes, concurrent infections of multiple dengue serotypes may alter the severity of dengue infection. This study aims to compare the severity of single infection and concurrent infections of different combinations of dengue serotypes in-vitro. Human mast cells (HMC)-1.1 were infected with single and concurrent infections of multiple dengue serotypes. The infected HMC-1.1 supernatant was then added to human umbilical cord vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) and severity of dengue infections was measured by the percentage of transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER). Levels of IL- 10, CXCL10 and sTRAIL in HMC-1.1 and IL-8, IL-10 and CXCL10 in HUVEC culture supernatants were measured by the ELISA assays. The result showed that the percentage of TEER values were significantly lower in single infections (p0.4), indicating that IL-8 may be suitable as an in-vitro severity biomarker. In conclusion, this in-vitro model presented few similarities with regards to the conditions in dengue patients, suggesting that it could serve as a severity model to test for severity and levels of severity biomarkers upon different dengue virus infections

Changes in heart rate variability and post exercise blood pressure from manipulating load intensities of resistance-training

Background: The isolated effect of resistance training (RT) on heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure (BP) is crucial when prescribing suitable training programmes for healthy individuals. Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare BP and HRV responses in physically active men after an acute RT session with loads of 5-, 10- or 15-repetition maximums (5RM, 10RM and 15RM). Method: Eighty-one men (age: 21.6±1.1yr; body mass: 74.1±5.8 kg; height: 175.3 ±7.1cm) who performed moderate to vigorous physical activities for at least 30 min a day on most days of the week participated in this study. After the of 5RM loads for the bent-over row (BR), bench press (BEP), Dead-lift (DL) and squats (SQ), participants were divided into three training load groups (15RM = GrpL, 10RM = GrpM or 5RM = GrpH). During the experimental session, each group (n=27) performed 3 sets for each of the four exercise, with 2-min rest intervals between sets and exercises with their assigned training load. BP and HRV were measured prior to, immediately after, and at 15-min intervals until two hours post-experiment. Results: All three groups attained improved BP (p = .001) reductions and longer HRV (p = .0001) changes after an acute exercise session but the GrpM (10RM) and and GrpL (15RM) performed better than GrpH (5RM). Conclusion: Strength and conditioning professionals may prescribe exercises with 10-15RM loads if the aim is to obtain an acute reduction in BP after an RT session

Detection of leptospiral DNA in urine sample following prolonged hospitalization: a case report

We described a case of positive molecular detection of leptospirosis in urine sample following prolonged hospitalization. Relevant clinical history had raised suspicion to leptospirosis infection. A significantly high level of creatinine kinase suggested possibility of rhabdomyolysis. Blood and urine samples collected on 4th day of admission were negative for leptospires culture and serological method showed no significant evidences of positive infection. Molecular detection of Leptospira spp. in blood sample was positive but not in urine sample. After seven weeks of infection, leptospiral DNA was detected in urine sample using molecular method

Detection of dengue using PAMAM dendrimer integrated tapered optical fiber sensor

The exponential escalation of dengue cases has indeed become a global health crisis. This work elaborates on the development of a biofunctionalized tapered optical fber (TOF) based sensor with the integration of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer for the detection of dengue E protein. The dimension of the TOF generated an evanescent feld that was sensitive to any changes in the external medium while the integration of PAMAM promoted more adhesion of bio-recognition molecules; antiDENV II E protein antibodies; that were complementary to the targeted protein. This in return created more active sites for the absorption of DENV II E proteins onto the tapered region. The resolution and detection limit of the sensor are 19.53nm/nM and 1 pM, respectively with Kd=1.02×10−10M

Determinants of exchange rate volatility in Asian countries

The intention of this research is to determine the relationship between the exchange rate volatility and the independent variables which includes unemployment rate, consumer price index, foreign direct investment, interest rate and terms of trade in Asian countries. Secondary data is the sourced data used within the period of year 2007 to 2016 which data obtained from the World Bank Data sources. On the other hand, the techniques that implemented to estimate the model was the Ordinary Least Square (OLS). The result shows that the exchange rate volatility was being influenced by the unemployment rate, consumer price index, foreign direct investment, interest rate and terms of trade. However, the results show it has a direct and statistically significant relationship but there is an insignificant relationship and mix result between the exchange rate volatility and the independents variables. In addition, a diagnostic checking is conducted by using the E-view 11 software to run out the collected data within 10 years in 5 different Asian countries. According to the literature review, the researcher studies shows different results which includes positively and significant relationship, negatively and insignificant relationship as well as mix result between the exchange rate volatility and independent variables. Although this research experienced and occurred some limitation, hence the recommendation has been suggested to enhance for the future researchers