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Blastocystis sp. has been considered as an opportunistic intestinal parasite particularly in immunocompromised patient. Recent findings of the predominance of Blastocystis subtypes infection in the clinical disease with its interaction with gut microbiota in the hosts will be discussed accordingly. A total of 57 eligible studies, published from 2010 to October 2020 from a broad search in electronic databases were accessed. The studies showed that bloating, abdominal pain and diarrhoea were among the common symptoms in Blastocystis sp. infection in the immunocompromised patients. However, asymptomatic and healthy individuals were also infected by the Blastocystis sp. with higher prevalence among healthy individuals. Specifically, Blastocystis sp. ST3 were most frequently discovered among immunocompromised patients (IBS, cancer, transplant, HIV/AIDS, dengue) followed by ST1 and ST2. Despite most studies suggesting that Blastocystis sp. promote a healthy gut, a few studies had suggested otherwise. Blastocystis sp. colonisation may modify the gut microbiota with the reduction of beneficial bacteria phyla such as Firmicutes and Bacteroides. Although there was a positive association between Blastocystis sp. subtypes and clinical diseases, more studies are needed. To understand the pathogenicity of Blastocystis sp., their interactions with the gut microbiota communities in humans are properly discussed.

Abstract The COVID-19 is difficult to contain due to its high transmissibility rate and a long incubation period of 5 to 14 days. Moreover, more than half of the infected patients were young and asymptomatic. Virus transmission through asymptomatic patients is a major challenge to disease containment. Due to limited treatment options, preventive measures play major role in controlling the disease spread. Gargling with antiseptic formulation may have potential role in eliminating the virus in the throat. Four commercially available mouthwash/gargle formulations were tested for virucidal activity against SARS-CoV-2 in both clean (0.3 g/l BSA) and dirty (0.3 g/l BSA + 3 mL/L human erythrocytes) conditions at time points 30 and 60 s. The virus was isolated and propagated in Vero E6 cells. The cytotoxicity of the products to the Vero E6 was evaluated by kill time assay based on the European Standard EN14476:2013/FprA1:2015 protocol. Virus titres were calculated as 50% tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50/mL) using the Spearman-Karber method. A reduction in virus titer of 4 log10 corresponds to an inactivation of ≥ 99.99%. Formulations with cetylperidinium chloride, chlorhexidine and hexitidine achieved > 4 log10 reduction in viral titres when exposed within 30 s under both clean and dirty conditions. Thymol formulations achieved only 0.5 log10 reduction in viral titres. In addition, salt water was not proven effective. Gargle formulations with cetylperidinium chloride, chlorhexidine and hexetidine have great potential in reducing SAR-CoV-2 at the source of entry into the body, thus minimizing risk of transmission of COVID-19.

Background: Gargling had been reported to have significant roles in the prevention and treatment of respiratory tract infections. The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of regular gargling to eliminate SARS-CoV-2 in the oropharynx and nasopharynx. Methodology: This pilot, open labeled, randomized, parallel study compared the effect of 30 seconds, 3 times/day gargling using 1% povidone-iodine (PVP-I), essential oils and tap water on SARS-CoV-2 viral clearance among COVID-19 patients in a tertiary hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Progress was monitored by day 4,6 and 12 PCR (Ct value), gargling and symptoms diary as well as clinical observations. Results: Five confirmed Stage 1 COVID-19 patients were recruited for each arm. The age range was from 22 to 56 years old. The majority were males. Two respondents had co-morbidities, which were asthma and obesity. Viral clearance was achieved at day 6 in 100%, 80%, 20% and 0% for 1% PVP-I, essential oils, tap water and control group respectively. Analysis of 1% PVP-I group versus control group showed significant p-value for comparison of PCR results on Day 4, Day 6 and Day 12. Conclusions: This preliminary study showed that gargling with 1% PVP-I and essential oils show great potential to be part of the treatment and management of Stage 1 COVID-19. Larger studies are required to ascertain the benefit of gargling for different stages of COVID-19 patients. This study was registered in clinicaltrial.gov (NCT04410159). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In line with Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia's (USIM) tagline 'Exploring Islamic Science, Spearheading Knowledge', we embarked on a new paradigm of teaching by integrating naqli components into the microbiology and immunology curriculum. The main objective of this integration was to enhance students' appreciation towards Islam and Science, so that they would become good Muslim doctors. The naqli components were delivered through various teaching and learning techniques such as lectures, seminars, and online assignments. Methods: A total of eighty year 3 students from Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, USIM were involved in this study. They were exposed to the new method of teaching for the whole academic year, session 2014/ 2015. The effectiveness of this program was evaluated through questionnaires, given at the end of academic session. Outcome: More than 90% students agreed that the integration were clearly delivered, relevant to the topics at hand and enhanced their knowledge. Most students (>90%) preferred interactive lectures rather than students' initiated method such as seminar and speaker's corner. About two third of the students did not prefer online method. Moreover, 15.9% of them said the allotted time was insufficient and 46% agreed that there was inadequate resources in the library. Conclusions: The integration of naqli components into microbiology subject was favoured by students. However, it should be improved with allocation of more slots, upgrading of online system and increment of relevant library resources. Looking forward, we are convinced this is the way to go in producing holistic doctors equipped with necessary knowledge, both in aqli and naqli to further advance Medicine and Islam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ASEAN is enriched with renewable energy sources (RES) and this is the major advantage as compare to other countries. However, the endowed RES are not being fully utilized because they are mainly relied on non-renewable energy sources (NRES) such as fossil and coal. Even though the cost of acquiring NRES is low nowadays, but the cost will be hiked sooner or later when the currently available NRES are running out. The awareness towards the implementation of the RES has been taken into consideration by the ASEAN due to the conveniences. The principal aim of this paper is to provide an insight to the ASEAN countries in preparing themselves towards the adapting of renewable energy and guidelines for the policies for RES. The developed Green-Y model is used to advise the ASEAN governments to evaluate and predict the economic concept included a feed-in tariff. Forecasted photovoltaic cost analysis results in Malaysia show the increasing of feed-in tariff for every year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]