10.18639/RABM.2020.1109565
Original Research Article
May 18, 2020
Extended average length of stay (ALOS) leads to increased hospital expenditure. Prioritization of emergency endoscopies over routine elective procedures results in delay and adds on to patients’ ALOS at tertiary hospitals. The gastroenterology department of Fiona Stanley Hospital aimed a service improvement project to shorten the ALOS of inpatients by implementing a new quarantined booking and proce- dural system allowing elective access to endoscopic procedures. An additional endoscopy list (quarantine list) was implemented with full participation of the stakeholders once a month for a 3-month trial period for inpatients by moving resources from a nearby satellite service. A comparison of the ALOS of patients before and after realizing the preceding intervention was carried out using the time and date infor- mation obtained from the theater management and the e-referral system of all routine inpatients with a valid e-referral for gastroscopy or colonoscopy. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopies comprised over two-thirds of the inpatient scopes performed. The ALOS and average time spent for referral improved by 1.09 and 1.97 days, respectively. The ALOS reduced by over 1 day, and improvement was noticed in the prereferral segment. Postreferral efficiency did not improve, and undertaking further analysis to determine the root causes for the continual delay is recommended.
10.18639/RABM.2020.1110185
Cancer and Oncology
Apr 30, 2020
The objective of this study was to analyze the molecular characteristics of the podophyllotoxins and its derivatives with the metabolic enzymes and regulate the designing of therapeutic mechanism against malignant cells. One such inhibitor is podophyllotoxin with anticancer activity because of the capability to stop the metabolic enzymes. In this study, we undertook the in silico analysis with respect to molecular docking podophyllotoxin and its derivatives using the Patchdock server. Moreover, drug likeness of podophyllotoxin, etoposide, and teniposide was investigated using Lipinski filter and SwissADME. According to the molecular docking score, podophyllotoxin indicated that both derivatives (especially teniposide) showed a good binding affinity toward selected protein receptors.
10.18639/RABM.2020.1101035
Original Research Article
Apr 30, 2020
The effect of the Albutrisan-NR substrate on the differentiation of the primary brain culture of aging rats and on the culture of the rabbit vibrissa dermal papilla was studied. The substance is a hydrolysate of fish tissue with a molecular weight of up to 5 kDa. It was found that adding 2% of the substance to the culture medium stimulates the growth and differentiation processes in rat brain cells. The possibility of using the substance as a growth factor for 3D cultivation of pluripotent dermal papilla cells and maintaining an uncommitted state was demonstrated. The use of Albutrisan-NR as a trophic factor in neuronal induction of dermal papilla cells was also shown.
10.18639/RABM.2020.1110909
Diabetes
Apr 30, 2020
This study was undertaken to assess the thyroid profile of diabetes mellitus (DM) patients and patients with some associated complications in the Edo state, Nigeria. Blood samples from 267 subjects, consisting of 164 diabetic patients (24 type 1 DM and 140 type 2 DM) and 103 nondia- betic apparently healthy individuals (as controls), were analyzed. The thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine (T4) levels were determined using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). From the result obtained, the T3 level was found signifi- cantly (p < 0.05) higher in diabetic-nephropathy (D-NEPHR) patients than the control subjects, while the TSH and T4 levels of D-NEPHR were insignificantly (p > 0.05) higher than those of the control group. The mean TSH level was significantly (p < 0.05) lower in diabetic hypertensive patients when compared with the control group, while the plasma T3 level was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in diabetic hypertensive patients when compared with the control group. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the mean value of T4 of diabetic hypertensive patients when compared with the control subjects. The mean plasma T3 and T4 were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in diabetic neuropathy (D-NEUR) patients than those of control subjects. There were no significant (p > 0.05) differences in the mean plasma TSH level of D-NEUR patients when compared with those of control subjects. The mean plasma T3and T4 levels of diabetic patients with coronary heart disease (DM-CHD) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those of control subjects while the mean plasma TSH level of DM-CHD was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than that of control subjects. No significant (p > 0.05) difference in the mean plasma TSH, T4, and T3 levels of diabetic retinopathy subjects when compared with those of control subjects was obtained.
10.18639/RABM.2020.980000
Toxicology and Pharmacology
Mar 30, 2020
Toxicity studies of methamidophos on the physiological aspects of mammalian organs are limited in the literature. This study aimed to assess hepatic and renal functions in response to a sublethal dose of methamidophos in male domestic rabbits. A daily dose of 1/10 LD50 metha- midophos was given orally to rabbits for 6 weeks. Control animals were given distilled water. Blood samples were collected and analyzed weekly. Serum glucose and bilirubin were increased upon methamidophos intake versus control, with the significant change commenced from the second and fifth weeks, respectively. In general, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, g-glutamyl transferase, and alkaline phosphatase showed significant elevation throughout the whole experiment. Conversely, cholinesterase was significantly inhibited all over the experimental intervals studied. Serum urea and creatinine showed a significant increase whereas total protein, albumin, and globulin exhibited a significant decrease during the last five weeks of the experiment. Hypocalcemia and hyperphosphatemia were also observed in methamidophos- treated rabbits. Methamidophos exposure at a sublethal dose had a potential toxic effect on liver and kidney functions as indicated by significant alterations in their biomarkers. Such findings can then be extrapolated to human beings to assess the potential hazards in human populations due to methamidophos exposure.
10.18639/RABM.2020.972504
Original Research Article
Mar 30, 2020
Malaysia has high prevalence of obesity in young adults. Obesity leads to health problems such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It is a condition where nocturnal breathing cessation occurs during sleep. Thus, the quantity and quality of sleep is affected. Epworth Sleepiness Score (ESS) is a standardized tool to determine the quality of sleep. The aim of this study was to find the relationship between students’ sleep quality using this questionnaire and their anthropometric measurements. This study adopted a cross-sectional study design, with the convenience sampling technique applied on students of a private university in Malaysia. The participants answered the ESS questionnaire. Their height, weight, neck circumference, and abdominal circumference were obtained and the body mass index (BMI) was calculated. This study was conducted on 200 students with a mean age of 21.55 years. Their average BMI was 23.24 +/- 6.1. The mean duration of sleep in the study population was 6.3 +/- 1.4 SD hours. In the study population, the mean score for ESS was 10.32. A negative correlation between ESS scores and the BMI was noted. Pearson correlation showed —0.026 with a significance of 0.712. ESS scores showed that 17.9% of the study population had high risk of developing OSA. This study shows that as the BMI increases, the quality of sleep decreases, although it is not statistically significant.
10.18639/RABM.2020.958557
Microbiology and Immunology
Feb 20, 2020
Helicobacter pylori has been associated with peptic ulcer and gastric carcinoma. This study aimed to find the seroprevalence of H. pylori infection in some male students of Jazan University, Saudi Arabia. Twenty students were enrolled in the study (n 5 20). Informed consent was obtained from the students. About 2 ml blood was collected intravenously in Improvacuter® evacuated blood collection tubes. The blood was allowed to clot at room temperature. The serum was collected and stored at 2208C for further use. The separated serum was used to detect IgG and IgM antibodies by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) against H. pylori for the in vitro diagnosis. A total of 11 (55.00%) students tested positive for IgG antibodies against H. pylori indicating previous infection. All the samples tested negative for IgM antibodies against H. pylori indicating no active infection. The seroprevalance of IgG antibodies against H. pylori was found to be very high in some male university students and is a cause of concern regarding their health. Obesity (p < 0.05; Value statistically significant), stress and bad eating habits, eating out, drinking carbonated beverages, and eating spicy food were some of the factors found to be associated with IgG seropositive students. The students were counseled and were instructed to undergo a confirmatory test and get medical intervention. Further large-scale studies need to be performed to plan action against this disease causing organism and to improve the health of students.
10.18639/RABM.2020.960446
Review Article
Feb 15, 2020
Marjolin’s ulcer is a rare malignancy found in nonhealing chronic wounds, with burn injury as the most common predisposing factor. It is an aggressive malignancy that has a long latency period, and it is diagnosed through clinical findings, histopathology, and imaging modalities. Prompt surgical treatment and proper burn wound care strategies are key to prevent further complications and increase in mortality.
10.18639/RABM.2020.964046
HIV and AIDS
Feb 14, 2020
There is growing evidence indicating that drug-resistant bacteria notably Extended spectrum β-lactamases producing Enterobacteria are greatly implicated in immunocompromised groups namely HIV-infected patients. Little is known about the burden of ESPL-E in places where HIV infec- tion is rampant. Therefore, the study was aimed to assess the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance pattern of ESPL-E among HIV/AIDS patients. A cross-sectional study was conducted among HIV/AIDS patients seeking Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) service at the University of Gondar Hospital from February–May, 2017. The pretested and -structured questionnaire was used to collect data on sociodemographic and clinical- related factors. Clean catch midstream urine samples were collected and cultured in line with standard procedures. The drug susceptibility testing was performed by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) detection was performed using a double- disc synergy test and combined disc methods. Data entry and analysis were performed using SPSS version 20. Among a total of 387 HIV/AIDS patients, 42 (10.9%) Enterobacteria uropathogens were identified. Among these isolates, nine (21.4%) were ESBL producers. The highest preva- lence of ESBL production was Escherichia coli (44.4%) followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (22.2%) and Enterobacter spp. (22.2%). Higher drug resistance rates were observed among ESBL-producing isolates compared to ESBL-nonproducing isolates. Amox-clavulanic (100%), ampicillin (95%), cotrimoxazole (74%), cefotaxime (88.9%), and ceftazidime (88.9%) had high resistance rates to Extended spectrum β-lactamases pro- ducing Enterobacteria. The overall prevalence of multidrug resistance of all isolates was 92.9%, and all the ESBL isolates were multidrug resistant. Therefore, antimicrobial stewardship programs needed to be promoted for the rational use of drugs especially in the management of HIV/AIDS patients.
10.18639/RABM.2020.963114
HIV and AIDS
Jan 31, 2020
Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) is the major source of HIV infection among children under the age of 15 years. There were limited studies on the MTCT rate in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to measure mother-to-child transmission and to identify factors asso- ciated with MTCT. An institutional-based retrospective cohort study was conducted among HIV-exposed infants (HEIs). The HEIs who booked in mother–baby pair cohort register between January 2014 and December 2016 were abstracted and included in the study. A structured pretested questionnaire was used for data abstraction. The collected data were coded and double entered into EPI Info version 3.5.4 and exported to STATA version 14 for analysis. A penalized logistic regression model was used. p-value <0.05 was taken as the significance level. A total of 796 HEIs participated in the study in which 96.9% received nevirapine prophylaxis, 97.5% were exclusively breastfed for 6 months, and 95.2% received HIV test at 6 weeks. About 36.5% of mothers of HEIs received ART (Antiretroviral Treatment) for less than 4 weeks during delivery. Of the mothers of HEIs, 7.6% were in WHO clinical stage I and 64.1% had >350 CD4 count at the first antenatal care visit. Overall, MTCT of HIV was 1.5%, and 59.2% of HEIs were discharged from the PMTCT care at the age of 12-18 months. The vertical transmission of HIV was significantly associated with the duration of ART (AOR 0.16; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.96). The MTCT was 84.0% less likely in mothers who did receive Antiretrovirals (ARVs) >12 months compared with mothers who did receive ARVs <4 weeks during delivery. The study indicated that vertical transmission of HIV was significantly associated with the duration of ART. Even if a considerable low MTCT rate was observed, early identification and treatment among HIV-positive pregnant women should be strengthened.
10.18639/RABM.2020.962631
Original Research Article
Jan 31, 2020
Objective was to determine the prevalence of galactorrhea among respondents, to determine the correlation between the dose of antipsychotic and the presence of galactorrhea, to determine the relationship between the duration of drug use and the prolactin level, to determine the relationship between class of antipsychotic and galactorrhea, and to determine the predictors of galactorrhea among the respondents. This is a cross-sectional study. From 81 consenting patients taking prescribed antipsychotic medications and all of whom have met the inclusion cri- teria, a sociodemographic interview schedule was administered. Next, the venous blood sample was collected for the estimation of the serum prolactin level. The prevalence of galactorrhea was 50.6%, there was a correlation between galactorrhea and chlorpromazine equivalent dose of antipsychotics (r 5 0.356, p 5 0.001), there is an association between galactorrhea and the use of typical antipsychotics, there was also an association between the duration of antipsychotic use and galactorrhea, and the greatest predictor of galactorrhea was found to be the duration of antipsychotic medication usage. Galactorrhea can result from the use of atypical or typical antipsychotics, and the duration of antipsychotic use was the greatest predictor of galactorrhea.
10.18639/RABM.2019.961845
Original Research Article
Dec 30, 2019
Vaccination is a proven tool to prevent and eradicate communicable diseases. It can prevent more than 2.5 million child deaths each year. However, many children are still left unvaccinated and still die from communicable diseases in developing countries. Hence, this study was conducted to assess the vaccination status in children at Debre Berhan town, Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out from June 2017 to September 2017 in Debre Berhan town. A total of five kebeles were included in the study to collect data from 621 study participants. The data were entered into EPI-Info version 7 and analyzed using SPSS version 20 statistical software. Only 73% of children were fully vaccinated. Vaccination for oral polio 0, pentavalent3, and measles was done in 47.3%, 79.7%, and 72.6% of the children, respectively. About 19% of the children did not receive any vaccination. The dropout rate for Bacillus Calmette Guerin to measles, pentavalent1 to pentavalent3, and pneumococcus vaccine (PCV) 1 to PCV3 was 10.7%, 1.8%, and 0.6%, respectively. In multivariable analysis, mother’s educational status (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 0.102; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.022-0.487), distance from the vaccination site (AOR: 4.669; 95% CI: 1.498-14.547), number of antenatal care (ANC) visits (AOR: 4.472; 95% CI: 1.209-16.543), and income of mother per month (AOR: 2.192; 95% CI: 1.112-4.323) were associated factors for unsuccessful vaccination. The vaccination of children was still low in Debre Berhan town. Distance, family income, education, and number of mothers’ ANC visit were associated factors for the low coverage of vaccination. Health intervention programs including encouraging awareness of the community is important to achieve the recommended vaccines among children.
10.18639/RABM.2019.961432
Original Research Article
Dec 27, 2019
Apitherapy is a branch of alternative medicine that uses honey bee products including honey, propolis, pollen, bee venom, and royal jelly. Stingless bee honey reportedly has many medicinal and therapeutic uses and excellent potency. This study aimed to identify the phenolic compounds using a fast and specific reversed-phase HPLC method in the extract of stingless bee honey. A magnetic stirrer was used for the pretreatment process of a sample with methanol at a temperature of 50°C for 40 min, followed by separation on a column size of 250 mm × 4.6 mm (5 μm) hypersil gold-C18 (Thermo Electron Corporation) with water–methanol–acetonitrile (45:40:15 v/v/v) containing acetic acid 1.0% as a mobile phase. A 254-nm wavelength was used to detect the extract. The standard retention times of the gallic acid, rutin, ascorbic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol were found to be at 2.610, 2.875, 3.150, 5.789, and 8.983 min, respectively. The existence of gallic acid, rutin, ascorbic acid, kaempferol, and quercetin in the stingless bee honey extract was found to match according to the standard retention time. In the stingless bee honey, the retention times of gallic acid, rutin, ascorbic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol were found to be at 2.613, 2.866, 3.157, 5.790, and 8.966 min, respectively. In the stingless bee honey, the amounts of gallic acid, rutin, ascorbic acid, quercetin, and kaempferol were 1.426%, 2.533%, 16.922%, 1.851%, and 13.773%, respectively. According to the results, it is concluded that stingless bee honey is rich in phenolic acids and flavonoid compounds that have strong antioxidant properties.
10.18639/RABM.2019.960771
Agriculture and Allied Sciences
Dec 23, 2019
This investigation was undertaken to establish an efficient protocol for virus-free plant regeneration in Coccinia grandis L. through shoot apical meristem culture. Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium supplemented with different concentrations and combinations of 6-benzyl amino purine (BAP), gibberellic acid (GA3), naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) was used for meristem establishment, shoot regeneration, and root induction as well as elongation. MS liquid medium supplemented with 1.0 mg l21 BAP 1 0.10 mg l21 NAA was found to be the best medium for the primary establishment of meristems. MS medium containing 1.5 mg l21 BAP 1 0.5 mg l21 GA3 1 0.5 mg l21 NAA was found to be best for shoot regeneration percentage at 100.0 6 0.0 and multiplication with 10.0 6 0.8 shoots per meristem as well as shoot elongation (highest 9.0 6 0.0 cm). In vitro grown shoots were subcultured and rooted with 11.0 6 0.8 roots per shoot subsequently on MS medium containing 0.5 mg l21 IBA. Well-rooted plantlets were gradually acclimatized and successfully established in the field condition with 100% survival rate.
10.18639/RABM.2019.959614
Diabetes
Nov 11, 2019
A successful treatment of dental implant needs a good jaw bone support, which depends on healthy bone metabolism. Bone metabolism can be affected by Diabetes Mellitus (DM). It may trigger various complications, including osteoporosis. Molecular triads consisting of Receptor Activator of NF-kappaB (RANK), Activator of nF-κB Ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG), have an important role in the formation, function, and osteoclast survival. In this study, molecular triads were observed on mandible and femur bones in type 2 DM Wistar rats. The aim of this study was to observe the molecular triad RANK / RANKL / OPG expressions in type 2 DM Wistar rats. This laboratory research used 18 male Wistar rats divided into three groups: nondiabetic group (control), uncontrolled DM injected with single dose of Streptozotocin (STZ), and controlled DM treated with Metformin. On day 20, the mandible and femur were collected and specimen processing was carried out. The results of RANK / RANKL / OPG expressions were obtained from immunohistochemical staining. In both mandible and femur groups, RANK, RANKL, OPG expressions showed no difference between the control and uncontrolled DM groups. RANKL / OPG ratio in uncontrolled DM was higher than that in the control group. RANK expression was lower in uncontrolled DM group compared with controlled DM, and the RANKL expression in uncontrolled DM group was higher than that in the controlled DM group. RANKL / OPG ratio was lower in the controlled DM group. The study suggested that DM affects resorptive activity in mandible and femur bones which can be observed via RANK/RANKL/OPG.
