Obesity is a growing epidemic due to an accelerated phase of industrialization and urbanization with the overfed people now outnumbered the underfed. It is the major public health problem with a lot of research interest as it is associated with many complicated chronic disorders such as type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cancers. A global estimation of 2.8 million deaths per year is due to obesity and there are tremendous on-going efforts to identify hosts and environmental factors that infl uence the cause and pathogenesis of obesity. Concerted efforts from different research groups had successfully shown that obese subjects have altered composition of gut microbiota and transplantation of this microbiota infl uences body weight in the germ-free recipient mice. The advancement of technology had made possible the study of gut microbiota which was unculturable for better understanding of their impact to human health. Rapid deep sequencing of DNA at reasonable cost through various options of platforms followed by data analysis using robust bioinformatic tools are an important way of analysing the gut microbiome. Here we review the role of gut microbiota which modulates host’s metabolic functions and gene expression, facilitating the extraction and storage of energy from the ingested dietary substances and leading to body-weight gain. We will discuss on the different techniques used, focusing on the high-defi nition technologies for the determination of the composition, function and ecology of gut microbiota. This allows the appropriate selection of platform which becomes the key for success of subsequent research.
Obesity

Introduction: Dengue fever (DF) is a prominent vector-borne disease spread by mosquitos of the Aedes genus (mainly Aedes aegypti, and even Aedes albopictus), a tropical regions vector. The purpose of this research was to establish the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of DF cases in the study area between 2010 and 2020. Methods: The correlation between the Kuantan sub-district and dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) incidence is examined in this study using spatial analysis. The correlation was calculated using spatial autocorrelation, Moran’s Index (Moran’s I) and Spatial Autocorrelation of Local Indicators (LISA). Moran’s index is a worldwide indicator used to determine whether or not disease transmission has geographical autocorrelation in disease transmission. Results: The results indicated that between 2011 and 2020, the monthly Moran’s I of dengue transmission in Kuantan was estimated to range between -0.685 and 0.338. The lowest reading of Moran’s index was -0.685 in May 2015, whereas the highest reading was 0.338 in May 2019. This reflects the strong spatial autocorrelation of dengue transmission in Kuantan over the last decade. The LISA analysis revealed significant spatial autocorrelations on DF cases in Kuantan for three (3) out of six (6) sub-districts (50%) with a significance level of 2%. This suggests that there are spatial autocorrelations in Kuala Kuantan, Beserah and Penor sub-district that influence the distribution of DHF transmission. Conclusion: The results reveal that the spatial autocorrelation analysis method can be a tool for relevant researchers to understand the pattern of DF transmission study and establish the direction for further study.

The continuous sequence of bone healing phases starts off with osteoconduction to the implant surface, depending on the migration of osteogenic cells. Osteoneogenesis ensues resulting in a mineralised interfacial matrix and is followed by bone remodelling to the implant interface at discrete sites. Dental implant drilling procedure and placement produce osseous defect which is filled by blood. Within seconds, blood proteins are adsorbed onto the implant surface and platelets are activated resulting in the release of cytokines and growth factors. Further platelet aggregation initiates osteoconduction to the surface, followed by osteoneogenesis, forming an extracellular matrix. Subsequently, remodelling creates a bone to implant interface which can be explained through distance and contact osteogenesis. The dental implant surface has been shown to influence osteoconduction by modifying protein properties and adsorption around the implant. Salivary biomarkers may be considered as a specific and sensitive diagnostic tool to detect these changes in protein expressions after implant placement. Thus, the purpose of this narrative review is to provide a detailed account of the bone healing mechanism associated with dental implant placement, as well as how the implant surface architecture and protein release play a role in bone healing, and the potential use of saliva to detect these biomarkers.

Myocardial infarction (MI) in the young adults are more common among the Asians compared to the Caucasians. It is of great interest to investigate the genetic risks that increase the susceptibility of MI in young patients with no family history. We conducted a genetic analysis on a young adult diagnosed with acute MI. The coronary angiogram showed acute complete occlusion of the left anterior descending artery with 40% left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Patient’s DNA was subjected to genotyping using Infinium Asian Screening Array. The genotypes were annotated and associated with risks of cardiovascular diseases catalogued in GWAS database. Ninety-four genetic variants were detected. Patient has more than half of the genetic variants being homozygous risk genotypes for coronary artery and coronary heart diseases. Identifying the potential genetic modifiers associated with MI in young patients is of great interest to help the clinician make informed decisions to implement preventive and personalised medicine for this patient.

INTRODUCTION: The objectives of this study were to examine the effects of ethnicity, gender and a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), omeprazole, on the human gut microbiome. PPIs are commonly used for the treatment of acid-related disorders. We hypothesised that PPI therapy might perturb microbial communities and alter the gut microbiome. METHODS: Healthy subjects of Chinese (n = 12), Malay (n = 12) and Indian (n = 10) ancestry, aged 21-37 years, were enrolled. They provided a baseline stool sample (Day 1) and were then given a course of omeprazole at therapeutic dose (20 mg daily) for seven days. Stool samples were collected again on Day 7 and 14 (one week after stopping omeprazole). Microbial DNA was extracted from the stool samples, followed by polymerase chain reaction, library construction, 16S rRNA sequencing using Illumina MiSeq, and statistical and bioinformatics analyses. RESULTS: The findings showed an increase in species richness (p = 0.018) after omeprazole consumption on Day 7, which reverted to baseline on Day 14. There were significant increases in the relative abundance of Streptococcus vestibularis (p = 0.0001) and Veillonella dispar (p = 0.0001) on Day 7, which diminished on Day 14. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Sutterella stercoricanis and Bacteroides denticanum were characteristic of Chinese, Malays and Indians, respectively. Lactobacillaceae and Bacteroides xylanisolvens were the signature taxa of male and female subjects, respectively. CONCLUSION The study demonstrated alterations in the gut microbiome following omeprazole treatment. This may explain the underlying pathology of increased risk of Clostridium difficile infections associated with omeprazole therapy.

Excessive salt intake has been linked to the development of hypertension and non-communicable diseases. This study aims to explore the different types of salt reduction intervention implemented among adults aged ≥18 years and to identify the suitable settings, duration and tools used for effective salt reduction interventions. This review adapted the established structured scoping review framework by Arksey and O’Malley. Related articles from the year 2008 to 2018 were retrieved based on the study objectives using keywords in electronic databases and through a bibliographic search of books, reports, conference proceedings, posters and summaries. Out of 130 potentially relevant full-text articles assessed, 14 articles were included in the review. Suitable salt reduction initiatives for the community who regularly consume home-cooked food are through cooking and usage of a tool such as a salt-restriction spoon, together with awareness on the benefits of salt reduction in their daily diet. Healthy catering initiative should be implemented in the workplace or institution-based settings. Policy development targeting the source of salts such as mandatory usage of salt-substitutes or Front-of-Pack labelling of salt content in all food products suitable for population-level intervention.

Introduction: Prevalence of malnourished children in Putrajaya was unexpectedly high in 2016. This paper describes the study protocol for a case-control study conducted to identify the associated factors of malnutrition among children under 5 years old in Putrajaya. Methods: This study involved two phases. Phase I was ‘screening’ where all children aged 6-59 months in 118 preschools and four government health clinics were measured for their weight and height. The World Health Organization Anthro software was used to determine the nutritional status of these children. Phase II was the ‘interview’ where children from screening were sampled into four pairs of case and control. The optimum sample size for the case of stunted, wasted, underweight, and overweight were 380, 335, 318, and 308, respectively. The same number of controls were recruited. Parents/caregivers of selected children were approached to obtain data on parental factors, children factors, food intake factors, and environmental factors that contributed to malnutrition. Data analysis was performed by multiple logistic regression in SPSS version 26. Results: Screening phase successfully measured 8,261 (50.1%) children from an estimated 16,500 children under 5 years old in Putrajaya. The number of children who were stunted, wasted, underweight, and overweight were 2,105 (25.5%), 512 (6.2%), 1,516 (18.4%), and 248 (3.0%), respectively. As overweight was undersampled, the number of controls for overweight was doubled to increase the power of the study. Parents/caregivers of selected cases and controls were interviewed in their household or any other venues at their convenience. Conclusion: This protocol promises beneficial outputs to stakeholders and policy makers that can be used for combating malnutrition in children.