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Background: Medication errors significantly compromise patient safety in emergency departments. Although previous studies have investigated the prevalence of these errors in this setting, results have varied widely., Aim: The aim was to report pooled data on the prevalence and severity of medication errors in emergency departments, as well as the proportion of patients affected by these errors., Method: Systematic searches were conducted in Embase, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library from database inception until June 2023. Studies provided numerical data on medication errors within emergency departments were eligible for inclusion. Random-effects meta-analysis was employed to pool the prevalence of medication errors, the proportion of patients experiencing these errors, and the error severity levels. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed using the I 2 statistic and Cochran's Q test., Results: Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis gave a pooled prevalence of medication errors in emergency departments of 22.6% (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 19.2-25.9%, I 2  = 99.9%, p < 0.001). The estimated proportion of patients experiencing medication errors was 36.3% (95% CI 28.3-44.3%, I 2  = 99.8%, p < 0.001). Of these errors, 42.6% (95% CI 5.0-80.1%) were potentially harmful but not life-threatening, while no-harm errors accounted for 57.3% (95% CI 14.1-100.0%)., Conclusion: The prevalence of medication errors, particularly those potentially harmful, underscores potential safety issues in emergency departments. It is imperative to develop and implement effective interventions aimed at reducing medication errors and enhancing patient safety in this setting., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Two new xanthones, oblongixanthones I ( 1 ) and J ( 2 ), and seven known compounds ( 3 - 9 ), were isolated from an EtOAc extract of the twigs of Garcinia oblongifolia . Their structures were elucidated using spectroscopic methods, mainly 1 D and 2 D NMR. The antidiabetic effects of the two new compounds were evaluated using α-glucosidase and PTP1B inhibition assays. Both compounds displayed strong inhibition towards α-glucosidase with IC 50 values of 258.7 ± 49.3 and 187.1 ± 27.5 μM, respectively (compared with acarbose, IC 50 = 900.0 ± 3.0 μM) and moderate effects against PTP1B with IC 50 values of 93.9 ± 12.3 and 64.1 ± 5.8 μM, respectively (compared with RK682, IC 50 = 4.4 ± 0.3 l μM).

Introduction: Breast cancer remains one of the major cancers worldwide. In Asia, breast cancer is leading both incidence and mortality rates. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) studies play an important role in clinical treatment. This systematic review aimed to summarize the evidence of HRQoL and associated factors among patients with breast cancer in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) in Asia., Method: Performed according to PRISMA guidelines for systematic review, the studies were searched from three databases (PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus) up to November 2020. The studies which met the predefined eligibility criteria were selected, extracted, and assessed the quality according to the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) tool., Results and Discussion: A total of 2,620 studies were searched on the three databases, of which 28 met the selection criteria, then, were included in the systematic review. The Global Health Status (GHS) score of breast cancer patients based on the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire ranged from 56.32 ± 25.42 to 72.48 ± 15.68. The overall HRQoL scores using the FACT-G and FACT-B instruments ranged from 60.78 ± 13.27 to 82.23 ± 12.55 and from 70.29 ± 13.33 to 108.48 ± 19.82, respectively. Factors affecting HRQoL of patients with breast cancer included age, education level, income, marital status, lifestyle, tumor stage, method, and treatment duration. Patient's income showed a consistent effect on HRQoL while the remaining factors reported inconsistent findings across the studies. In conclusion, the HRQoL of breast cancer patients in LMICs in Asia was low and affected by several sociodemographic factors which should be studied more in future research., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2023 Ngo, Nguyen, Nguyen, Vo, Phung, Pham, Vo, Dang, Nguyen Le Bao and Duong.)

Nine compounds including a new one, garcichaudiic acid ( 1 ), were isolated from the bark of G. gaudichaudii and their structures were characterized mainly by 1 D and 2 D NMR experiments. The antioxidant capacity of the isolated compounds was determined using DPPH radical scavenging assay and the anti-hyperglycemic activity was assessed by measuring the inhibitory effect against α-glucosidase. Among them, compound 4 showed higher antioxidant activity than the positive control, ascorbic acid, while both compounds 1 and 7 exhibited more significant α-glucosidase inhibitory activity than the reference drug acarbose. Molecular docking analysis of the bioactive compounds was also performed to examine the binding modes and key interactions with the catalytic site.

Two new rocaglamides, 8b- O -5-oxohexylrocaglaol ( 1 ) and elaeagnin ( 2 ), together with twelve known compounds, were isolated from the bark of Aglaia elaeagnoidea and the whole tree of A. odorata . Their structures were determined using spectroscopic methods, mainly 1D and 2D NMR. Cytotoxic activity against HepG2 human liver cancer cells of the isolated compounds was evaluated in vitro using the SRB assay. Three rocaglamide derivatives, dehydroaglaiastatin ( 13 ), 8b- O -5-oxohexylrocaglaol ( 1 ) and rocaglaol ( 5 ), exhibited significant effects with IC 50 values of 0.69, 4.77 and 7.37 µM, respectively.

Modification of alkyl glycosides, to alter their properties and widen the scope of potential applications, is of considerable interest. Here, we report the synthesis of new anionic alkyl glycosides with long carbohydrate chains, using two different approaches: laccase/2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) oxidation of a long-carbohydrate-chain alkyl glycoside and cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase)-catalyzed elongation of anionic alkyl glycosides. The laccase/TEMPO oxidation of dodecyl β- d-maltooctaoside proceeded efficiently with the formation of aldehyde and acid products. However, depolymerization occurred to a large extent, limiting the product yield and purity. On the other hand, CGTase-catalyzed coupling/disproportionation reactions with α-cyclodextrin and dodecyl β- d-maltoside diuronic acid (DDM-2COOH) or octyl β- d-glucuronic acid (OG-COOH) as substrates gave high conversions, especially when the CGTase Toruzyme was used. It was found that pH had a strong influence on both the enzyme activity and the acceptor specificity. With non-ionic substrates (dodecyl β- d-maltoside and octyl β- d-glucoside), Toruzyme exhibited high catalytic activity at pH 5-6, but for the acidic substrates (DDM-2COOH and OG-COOH) the activity was highest at pH 4. This is most likely due to the enzyme favoring the protonated forms of DDM-2COOH and OG-COOH, which exist at lower pH (pKa about 3)., (© 2021 The Authors. Biotechnology and Bioengineering published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Methodology was developed to expand the range of benign alkyl glycoside surfactants to include also anionic types. This was demonstrated possible through conversion of the glycoside to its carboxyl derivative. Specifically, octyl β-D-glucopyranoside (OG) was oxidised to the corresponding uronic acid (octyl β-D-glucopyranoside uronic acid, OG-COOH) using the catalyst system T. versicolor laccase/2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyloxy (TEMPO) and oxygen from air as oxidant. The effects of oxygen supply methodology, concentrations of laccase, TEMPO and OG as well as reaction temperature were evaluated. At 10 mM substrate concentration, the substrate was almost quantitatively converted into product, and even at a substrate concentration of 60 mM, 85% conversion was reached within 24 h. The surfactant properties of OG-COOH were markedly dependent on pH. Foaming was only observed at low pH, while no foam was formed at pH values above 5.0. Thus, OG-COOH can be an attractive low-foaming surfactant, for example for cleaning applications and emulsification, in a wide pH range (pH 1.5-10.0).

Alkyl glycosides with long hydrophobic chains have attractive surfactant properties, but their wider application is hampered by their low solubility in water. Here, a route to increased solubility by introduction of carboxyl groups via laccase/TEMPO oxidation is presented. The oxidation pathways for dodecyl β-maltoside and hexadecyl β-maltoside were studied in detail. Close to full conversion was achieved for both substrates and conditions were found under which the diacid products dominated, with only minor amounts of under-oxidized and over-oxidized products. Dodecyl β-maltoside oxidation was improved to give a yield of 85 % of the diacid derivative. Interestingly, in spite of low substrate solubility the oxidation of hexadecyl β-maltoside was very efficient in aqueous medium, due to the higher solubility of the products. Addition of organic cosolvents did not provide additional advantages. The method is promising for producing soluble anionic derivatives of alkyl glycosides in an environmentally friendly and efficient way., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors report no declarations of interest., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Three new limonoids, walsucochinones A-C (1-3), along with eight known compounds, were isolated from an ethyl acetate extract of the bark of Walsura cochinchinensis. Their structures were determined using spectroscopic techniques, mainly 1-D and 2-D NMR. The ethyl acetate extract showed cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 human breast cancer cells and cytotoxicity of the isolated compounds were evaluated in vitro using the SRB assay. Walsucochinone C (3) exhibited the most active effect with IC 50 value of 16.4 ± 0.2 μM., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)