Hypertension and estrogen deficiency in women have been identified as significant risk factors for cerebrovasculardiseases. Hypertension causes excessive vascular stretch and contributes to the initiation of cellular injury in bloodvessels while estrogen has been demonstrated to exert beneficial protective effects on the vascular system. Although thespecific biological outcomes exerted by either excessive stretch or estrogen exposure are well established, the combinedbiochemical effects of both stimuli remain unclear. Therefore, this study was conducted for quantitative proteomics studyon human cerebral microvascular endothelial cells (HCMECs) subjected to 20% “pathological” cyclic stretch for aperiod of 18 hour in the presence or absence of 17β-estradiol by isobaric Taqs for Relative and Absolute Quantification.The results showed that only some proteins responded to 17β-estradiol (e.g., thioredoxin reductase-1), stretch (e.g., 14-3-3 protein epsilon or acidic leucine-rich nuclear phosphoprotein 32 family member B) and interestingly, some proteinsreturned to control pre-treatment levels when exposed to both (e.g., d-dopachrome decarboxylase, thrombospondin-1). Inaddition, HCMECs that exposed only to estrogen had a very similar proteomic profile (i.e., up-regulation of structural,cellular adhesion and proliferation proteins) as to those exposed to estrogen with 20% stretching for 18 hour, suggestingthat estrogen ablated the detrimental effects by the stretch alone. These findings sheds light on the molecular mechanismsby which the cerebrovascular protective actions of estrogen on HCMEC exposed to pathological levels of cyclic stretchwhich could provide a platform for future research in therapeutic approach.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is widely used as a food additive but its excessive intake leads to oxidative stress of severalorgans. However, the oxidative effect of MSG on male accessory reproductive organs remains unclear. Therefore, theaim of this study was to evaluate the effect of MSG on the status of oxidative stress and morphological alterations in themale accessory reproductive organs such as epididymis, prostate glands and seminal vesicle of Sprague-Dawley rats.A total of 24 male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups with 8 rats per group. Control groupreceived distilled water (1 ml/kg) while MSG60 and MSG120 received 60 mg/kg and 120 mg/kg of MSG, respectively.All the substances were administered via force feed oral for 28 consecutive days. At the end of the study, the rats weresacrificed to obtain the accessory organs for biochemical analysis and histological observations. The SOD activity in theepididymis showed a significant increase in MSG60 and MSG120 compared to control (p < 0.05). The GSH levels in theepididymis of MSG 120 showed a significant reduction (p < 0.05) compared to the control group. The levels of MDA andPC in the epididymis and prostate gland of MSG60 and MSG120 showed a significant increased (p < 0.05) comparedto the control group. Histological alterations were found in the epididymis and prostate gland of MSG treated rats. Inconclusion, MSG at both doses induced oxidative stress in the epididymis and prostate gland of experimental rats.

Inhibition of xanthine oxidase (XO) activity is an effective therapeutic approach for the treatment of diseases such as goutand hyperuricemia. Additionally, the use of XO inhibitors can further be extended to injury treatments such as ischemicreperfusion in various organs such as heart, liver and kidney. In this study, 7 aurone compounds were synthesized andtested on XO and compared with the positive control allopurinol. Compound 5e was identified as the most potent compoundand was able to inhibit half of XO activity at 33.23 μM followed by compounds 5f and 5d at 210.22 μM and 302.0 μM,respectively. Finally, molecular docking study was conducted to understand the important binding interactions of theselected aurone with the active site of XO.

Nigeria has a population of about 180 million, estimated to double in 22 years due to low uptake of family planningservices. Low utilization of family planning is the major factor associated with high fertility pattern in Nigeria. Thistrend is higher among rural women in Northern Nigeria. Without a thorough understanding of, and due attention to thelocal context, utilization of family planning may continue to be low. Identification of correlates of family planning wouldbe invaluable in designing strategies for ultimately improving uptake of family planning services. This study becamerelevant as no previous study on family planning has been carried out in Ushafa Community. The study was conductedat Ushafa community, a rural community, located in Bwari Area Council on the northern axis of the Federal CapitalTerritory (FCT) of Nigeria. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted among women of reproductiveage (15-49 years) who were permanent resident of Ushafa Community. Using proportion of contraceptive usage of 16%from a previous study, 240 women were recruited into the study by systematic sampling technique. Data was collected bymeans of a structured interviewer administered questionnaire, data was entered and analysed using statistical packagefor social sciences (SPSS) version 20. All tests were conducted using 2 tails while level of significance was set at 0.05.About a quarter of respondents (26.3%) knew that amenorrhoea could be a side effect of oral contraceptive pills, 51.1%knew that oral contraceptive pills must be taken daily, 58% were not using any form of family planning. Age (χ2 = 8.382,p = 0.01) and marital status (χ2 = 8.915, p = 0.01) were significantly associated with family planning knowledge. Levelof education was significantly associated with current use of family planning (χ2 = 10.78, p = 0.03). Educational statuswas significantly associated with likelihood of using family planning in the future (χ2 = 8.64, p = 0.04). Although therespondents had fairly good knowledge of family planning, the study observed some misconceptions especially withrespect to side effects and methodology of use of the commodities. Low uptake of family planning was observed amongthe respondents. Age and marital status were significantly associated with family planning knowledge; level of educationwas significantly associated with current use of family planning. There is need for incorporation of facts on usage andside effects of family planning in message disseminated by health workers in health facilities in Ushafa Community so as to correct misconceptions.

The antioxidant activities of twelve naphthalene compounds containing (E)-1-((3-iodophenylimino)methyl) naphthalen2-ol(NAPH1), (E)-1-((3-bromophenylimino) methyl) naphthalen-2-ol (NAPH2), E)-1-((4-bromo-2-(trifluoromethoxy)phenylimino) methyl) naphthalen-2-ol, (E)-1-((4-bromo-2-(trifluoromethoxy) phenylimino) methyl)naphthalen-2-ol(NAPH3), (E)-1-((2-methoxy-5-(trifluoromethyl) phenylimino) methyl) naphthalen-2-ol (NAPH4), (E)-1-((naphthalen-2-ylimino) methyl) naphthalen-2-ol (NAPH5), (E)-1-((2-bromo-3-methylphenylimino) methyl) naphthalen-2-ol (NAPH6),(E)-N-((2-ethoxynaphthalen-1-yl)methylene)-3-methylaniline (NAPH7), (E)-4-ethoxy-N-((2-ethoxynaphthalen-1-yl)methylene) aniline (NAPH8), (E)-N-((2-ethoxynaphthalen-1-yl) methylene) naphthalen-1-amine (NAPH9), (E)-1-(2,5-difluorophenyl)-N-((2-ethoxynaphthalen-1-yl) methylene) methanamine (NAPH10), (E)-N-((2-ethoxynaphthalen-1-yl)methylene)-4-fluoroaniline (NAPH11), (E)-N-((2-ethoxynaphthalen-1-yl)methylene)-2-ethylaniline (NAPH12) wereinvestigated in vitro by antioxidant activity (phosphomolybdenum assay), reducing power, H2O2 scavenging activity,metal chelating effects and lipid peroxidation. Scavenging activities of the naphthalen compounds were tested against1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl, hydroxyl and superoxide anion radicals. Most of them are potent antioxidant, radicalsuperoxide anion scavengers and in vitro inhibition of lipid peroxidation. The compounds; NAPH5, NAPH10 and NAPH12were found to exhibit promising antioxidant profiles at 10 and 50 mM concentrations. Among these, NAPH5 at higherconcentration was the most active compound in inhibiting lipid peroxidation as shown in the homogenates of kidney,heart and spleen. The presented results validate that NAPH5, NAPH10 and NAPH12 can be possessed as a source ofantioxidant potential and a rich source of synthetic antioxidant for medicinal or foods.

The first responders who are often exposed to emergency condition play important roles in providing PHEC to victims withroad accident trauma. Hence, empowerment of first responders is highly required to achieve the target of response timeof less than 10 minutes to provide PHEC in order to minimize the numbers of deaths and disabilities caused by trauma.This study applied quasi-experimental design with static group comparison pattern using cross-sectional approach. Anumber of 40 samples of common people consisting of 20 samples in treatment group and 20 samples in control groupwere taken. The statistic test used in this research is t-test. The results reveals that simulation model using algorithminfluences the improvement of traffic volunteers’ emergency management capabilities with p-value of < 0.05 and meanscore difference of 34.5%, and the model is highly effective to be implemented to improve the capability of traffic assistantvolunteers to manage trauma emergency with the mean score difference of 11.5%. Algorithm models for PHEC simulationhave some strengths in real setting and effective interactive learning to evaluate the capabilities of first responders inmanaging pre-hospital emergency, and improve problem-solving skills, as well as their performance in such aspects asskill, knowledge, and attitude.

This study was aimed to determine the efficiency of synthetic protein-free media in spermatozoa washing, preparationand retention of the activity of washed spermatozoa over short periods in vitro. Normozoospermic semen samples (n =71) were equally apportioned and washed using synthetic protein-free medium (PFM), minimum essential medium + HSA(MEM) or commercial protein-containing medium (CPC). Washed spermatozoa were cultured in vitro using PFM, MEM orCPC media and held for 24 hrs at 4°C, 15°C, 22°C or 37°C. Spermatozoa activity was evaluated at 0 hr, 4 to 7 hrs and24 hrs post-wash. The effects of PFM on spermatozoa motility, vitality, membrane integrity and DNA fragmentation levelwere not significantly different from that of MEM and CPC media at 0 hr, 4 to 7 hrs and 24 hrs post-wash in vitro. SyntheticPFM, MEM and CPC retained spermatozoa activity highest when specimen were held at 22°C and it was significantly higher(p < 0.05) than that at 37°C after 24 hrs incubation in vitro. However, no significant changes (p > 0.05) were notedin spermatozoa DNA fragmentation (SDF) levels when specimen were held at 22°C or 37°C at 4 to 7 hrs and also after24 hrs post-wash in vitro in all media. The use of synthetic PFM as an alternative to the commercial protein-containingmedia in human spermatozoa washing and preparation procedure for an efficient and safer (Assisted ReproductionTechnology) ART outcome. Spermatozoa activity can be successfully retained at room temperature post-wash over shortperiods; spermatozoa may lose viability rapidly if held for long hours at 37°C in a

One hundred seventy-one patients suffering from chronic renal diseases at Kuala Lumpur Hospital participated in a crosssectionalstudy with purposive sampling to ascertain prevalence rates of Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum), Giardiaintestinalis (G. intestinalis), Blastocystis hominis (B. hominis) and Strongyloides stercoralis (S. stercoralis). The patientswere divided into 2 groups: post-transplant group (138 patients) and pre-transplant group (33 patients). In this study, theparasite infection is linked to the aspects of race, gender, renal patient’s group and the postrenal transplantation period.Immunofluorescence staining was performed on fecal slides for the detection of C. parvum oocysts and G. intestinalis cysts.Sand charcoal culture technique was also used to detect the presence of S. strongyloides in fecal samples. The findingsshowed that the prevalence of C. parvum, G. intestinalis dan B. hominis among post-transplant patients was 18.1%,10.9% and 22.5%, respectively but none of the pretransplant patient was infected. Meanwhile, both patient groups werefree of S. stercoralis infection. Furthermore, there was no significant association between post-transplantation periodand pattern in prevalence of the studied parasites, however, it was noted that the prevalence rates of C. parvum and G.intestinalis had declined after 6 months post transplantation.

Awareness, involvement and training in dysphagia management are essential to ensure that patients are appropriatelyassessed for dysphagia and provided with intervention. The study aimed to identify levels of awareness, involvement andtraining of medical officers in dysphagia management. A total of 51 medical officers from the family medicine, medical,otorhinolaryngology, surgery, and neurosurgery departments in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia participated in thestudy. Levels of awareness, involvement and training of medical officers in dysphagia management were reported usingdescriptive analysis. Results indicate that medical officers lacked awareness and training in dysphagia management.Referral rates to speech-language pathologists for dysphagia management were low with 58.4% of medical officers havinghad seldom or never referred patients. The results provide valuable information for addressing dysphagia managementin the hospital.

Knowledge of normal anatomy and physiology of swallowing is fundamental in the identification of individuals with orat risk for swallowing disorders. Learning anatomy and physiology however, is not an easy task thus, computer-assistedlearning (CAL) approaches have been incorporated into the learning of the topics to enhance understanding. Althoughevidence exists on the benefits of using CAL in education, more studies are necessary in the field of swallowing. Whilecourseware for the learning of anatomy and physiology of swallowing exist, they are not comprehensive. Therefore, thisstudy aimed to develop a comprehensive CAL courseware for anatomy and physiology of swallowing. The current studyused a designed-based research following the ADDIE (analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation)model to create a multimedia courseware, incorporating the use of text, still images, animations, audio narrations,and presented on a simple graphical user interface. The courseware was evaluated by 27 undergraduate students interms of its usefulness, ease of use, and users’ satisfaction. Results indicate that the participants were satisfied with thecourseware and that they perceived the courseware as useful, easy to learn and easy to use. The study represents aninitiative to investigate the use of CAL in the subject and to establish the basis for further work which includes assessmenton the learning outcomes from the usage of the CAL courseware. It is hoped that the use of this courseware in teachingand learning of anatomy and physiology of swallowing can enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of the areaefficiently and effectively.