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Prediction is a means of forecasting a future value by using and analyzing historical or current data. A popular neural network architecture used as a prediction model is the Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) because of its wide application and very high generalization performance. This study aims to improve the RNN prediction model’s accuracy using k-means grouping and PCA dimension reduction methods by comparing the five distance functions. Data were processed using Python software and the results obtained from the PCA calculation yielded three new variables or principal components out of the five examined. This study used an optimized RNN prediction model with k-means clustering by comparing the Euclidean, Manhattan, Canberra, Average, and Chebyshev distance functions as a measure of data grouping similarity to avoid being trapped in the local optimal solution. In addition, PCA dimension reduction was also used in facilitating multivariate data analysis. The k-means grouping showed that the most optimal distance is the average function producing a DBI value of 0.60855 and converging at the 9th iteration. The RNN prediction model results evaluated based on the number of RMSE errors which was 0.83, while that of MAPE was 8.62%. Therefore, it was concluded that the K-means and PCA methods generated a more optimal prediction model for the RNN method.

This paper aims to model the volatility of returns for selected stock indices and examine the causal relationships between the markets using the historical daily prices of the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE), Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI), the Indonesia Stock Exchange Index (LQ45), and the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) from January 2008 to November 2019. The study employs univariate GARCH models that are prominent in capturing the volatility clustering of financial instruments in association with the Box–Jenkins methodology for better estimation. Generally, the ARMA-GARCH model is used to capture the volatility series, while the Granger causality test examines the causal directions between the markets. The findings revealed leverage effects on the markets, with the outperformance of the EGARCH in analyzing the empirical properties of stock returns. An initial test that yielded positive correlations suggests the existence of co-movement between the derived volatility series. The study concluded bidirectional causal relationships between the selected markets, and based on the resulting relationships, it is proposed that supervision of markets among the ASEAN members could be advantageous in predicting the corresponding market performance.

Million tonnes of agricultural waste are generated annually worldwide. Agricultural wastes possess similar profiles to the main products but are lower in quality. Managing these agricultural wastes is costly and requires strict regulation to minimise environmental stress. Thus, these by-products could be repurposed for industrial use, such as alternative resources for aquafeed to reduce reliance on fish meal and soybean meal, fertilisers to enrich medium for growing live feed, antimicrobial agents, and immunostimulatory enhancers. Furthermore, utilising agricultural wastes and other products can help mitigate the existing environmental and economic dilemmas. Therefore, transforming these agricultural wastes into valuable products helps sustain the agricultural industry, minimises environmental impacts, and benefits industry players. Aquaculture is an important sector to supply affordable protein sources for billions worldwide. Thus, it is essential to explore inexpensive and sustainable resources to enhance aquaculture production and minimise environmental and public health impacts. Additionally, researchers and farmers need to understand the elements involved in new product development, particularly the production of novel innovations, to provide the highest quality products for consumers. In summary, agriculture waste is a valuable resource for the aquafeed industry that depends on several factors: formulation, costing, supply, feed treatment and nutritional value.

A 26-year-old Malaysian woman (childbearing age) attended a private primary care clinic with a known case of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and complained of persistent nausea and a few episodes of vomiting. She had no known drug allergy, no surgical history, no hospitalization in the last two years, was a non-smoker, and no history of drug or alcohol abuse. The patient was prescribed Tab metoclopramide 10 mg TDS and Tab ranitidine 150 mg BD for five days. About 30 min after oral administration of both medicines, her eyes rolled involuntary upward, leading to lateral deviation of the eyes, and mouth jaws clenched as if “dislocated jaws.” The patient was immediately brought into an emergency department (ED) of a public tertiary care hospital. A drug challenge test was done which resulted in the withdrawal of metoclopramide. The accompanied sister later disclosed that the patient had taken metoclopramide and ranitidine from a private clinic earlier in the day. The patient self-assumed to have a sudden seizure, due to excessive hot weather and dehydration. A slow intravenous infusion of 50 mg/mL diphenhydramine hydrochloride in 0.9% w/v NaCl 100 mL was administered stat. Consequently, the symptoms vanished after approximately 30 min of the therapy, devoid of relapse. The patient was discharged from ED post 8 hours of monitoring with complete recovery. Physicians frequently prescribe metoclopramide to treat nausea and vomiting, which may cause adverse drug reaction of acute dystonic oculogyric crisis (OGC). Due to its unwanted and unpredictable extrapyramidal symptoms, metoclopramide should be prescribed and dispensed with caution. Thorough history taking at ED is imperative for correct early diagnosis and treatment, as metoclopramide-induced dystonic OGC has a high probability of confusion with other causes of dystonia such as conversion and seizures, encephalitis, tetanus, and hypercalcemic tetany.

Mentha longifolia is a valuable medicinal and aromatic plant that belongs to Lamiaceae family. This study looked at the antibacterial effects of M. longifolia essential oil and pulegone in edible coatings made of chitosan and alginate on the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, Listeriamonocytogenes, and Escherichia coli in cheese. For this purpose, first fresh mint plant was collected from the cold region of Jiroft in Kerman province. Plant samples were dried in the shade at ambient temperature, and essential oil was prepared using Clevenger. The essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography using mass spectrometric (GC/MS) detection. The major composition of M. longifolia oil was pulegone (26.07%), piperitone oxide (19.72%), and piperitone (11.88%). The results showed that adding M. longifolia essential oils and pulegone to edible coatings significantly reduced the growth of bacteria during storage. The bacterial population decreased by increasing the concentration of chitosan, M. longifolia, and pulegone in edible coatings. When the effects of pulegone and M. longifolia essential oils on bacteria were compared, it was found that pulegone had a stronger effect on bacterial population reduction. Coating treatments showed more antibacterial activity on E. coli than other bacteria. In general, the results of this research showed that alginate and chitosan coatings along with M. longifolia essential oil and its active ingredient pulegone had antibacterial effects against S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, and E. coli in cheese.

Carp farming is a popular aquaculture activity that provides affordable protein sources and job opportunities to many people worldwide. As carp farming intensifies, farmers face major issues such as rising feed costs and excessive antibiotic usage. Thus, there is an urgent need to explore alternative resources to ensure the sustainability of the carp farming industry. One of the most promising resources is phytobiotics that possess various properties beneficial for carp production. Furthermore, most phytobiotics are derived from agricultural waste that is abundant and cheap, but some phytobiotics are produced commercially and available in the market. The main topics of this review are highlighted sources, characteristics of phytobiotics, and the usefulness of phytobiotics in improving growth performance, feed utilization efficiency, antioxidant activity, and health of carps against diseases. Furthermore, in this review, recent methods of administration of phytobiotics such as through feeding, bathing, and intraperitoneal injection in carp farming are also discussed and summarised.

Cheminformatics utilizing machine learning (ML) techniques have opened up a new horizon in drug discovery. This is owing to vast chemical space expansion with rocketing numbers of expected hits and lead compounds that match druggable macromolecular targets, in particular from natural compounds. Due to the natural products' (NP) structural complexity, uniqueness, and diversity, they could occupy a bigger space in pharmaceuticals, allowing the industry to pursue more selective leads in the nanomolar range of binding affinity. ML is an essential part of each step of the drug design pipeline, such as target prediction, compound library preparation, and lead optimization. Notably, molecular mechanic and dynamic simulations, induced docking, and free energy perturbations are essential in predicting best binding poses, binding free energy values, and molecular mechanics force fields. Those applications have leveraged from artificial intelligence (AI), which decreases the computational costs required for such costly simulations. This review aimed to describe chemical space and compound libraries related to NPs. High-throughput screening utilized for fractionating NPs and high-throughput virtual screening and their strategies, and significance, are reviewed. Particular emphasis was given to AI approaches, ML tools, algorithms, and techniques, especially in drug discovery of macrocyclic compounds and approaches in computer-aided and ML-based drug discovery. Anthraquinone derivatives were discussed as a source of new lead compounds that can be developed using ML tools for diverse medicinal uses such as cancer, infectious diseases, and metabolic disorders. Furthermore, the power of principal component analysis in understanding relevant protein conformations, and molecular modeling of protein-ligand interaction were also presented. Apart from being a concise reference for cheminformatics, this review is a useful text to understand the application of ML-based algorithms to molecular dynamics simulation and in silico absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity prediction.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) play an important role in many fields, including medical education, practice, and research. Many medical educators started using ChatGPT at the end of 2022 for many purposes. The aim of this article was to explore the potential uses, benefits and risks of using ChatGPT in integrated pharmacotherapy of infectious disease module education. This study was an experimental study with content analysis of the potential applications of the ChatGPT model for integrated pharmacotherapy of infectious diseases module education was performed. The findings of this study shows that there are many potential uses, benefits and risks associated with the use ChatGPT. In conclusion, medical and health sciences educators can use ChatGPT as a guide in many aspects related to the integrated pharmacotherapy of infectious disease curriculum development, syllabus design, lecture notes preparation and exam preparation with caution.

Muhammad Anwar Bashir,1 Amjad Khan,2 Sayyed Ibrahim Shah,3 Majeed Ullah,2 Fazli Khuda,4 Muhammad Abbas,3 Khang Wen Goh,5 Long Chiau Ming6 1Department of Pharmacy, Abasyn University, Peshawar, Pakistan; 2Department of Pharmacy, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat, Pakistan; 3Department of Pharmacy, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan; 4Department of Pharmacy, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan; 5Faculty of Data Science and Information Technology, INTI International University, Nilai, Malaysia; 6PAP Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Gadong, Brunei DarussalamCorrespondence: Khang Wen Goh; Long Chiau Ming, Email khangwen.goh@newinti.edu.my; long.ming@ubd.edu.bnBackground: Self-emulsifying drug-delivery systems (SEDDSs) are designed to improve the oral bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. This study aimed at formulating and characterization of SEDDS-based tablets for simvastatin using castor and olive oils as solvents and Tween 60 as surfactant.Methods: The liquids were adsorbed on microcrystalline cellulose, and all developed formulations were compressed using 10.5 mm shallow concave round punches.Results: The resulting tablets were evaluated for different quality-control parameters at pre- and postcompression levels. Simvastatin showed better solubility in a mixture of oils and Tween 60 (10:1). All the developed formulations showed lower self-emulsification time (˂200 seconds) and higher cloud point (˃60°C). They were free of physical defects and had drug content within the acceptable range (98.5%– 101%). The crushing strength of all formulations was in the range of 58– 96 N, and the results of the friability test were within the range of USP (≤ 1). Disintegration time was within the official limits (NMT 15 min), and complete drug release was achieved within 30 min.Conclusion: Using commonly available excipients and machinery, SEDDS-based tablets with better dissolution profile and bioavailability can be prepared by direct compression. These S-SEDDSs could be a better alternative to conventional tablets of simvastatin.Keywords: simvastatin, self-emulsified drug-delivery system, castor oil, olive oil, Tween 60

Chemotherapeutics and biotherapeutics agents have been explored as a potential treatment for COVID-19. This study was aimed to elucidate latest update related to biotherapeutics and chemotherapeutics against COVID-19 and its variants as well as the product specifications and marketing dynamics of its pharmacotherapies. There are several chemotherapeutics that have been studied for the treatment of COVID-19, including Paxlovid (Nirmatrelvir & Ritonavir) fixed dose combination, nirmatrelvir and ritonavir fixed dose combination, Remdesivir (Vekulary/Covifor) fixed dose combination, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, molnupiravir, favipiravir, Infliximab (Remsima®) fixed dose combination tocilizumab (Actimera), casirivimab+imdevimab (Ronapreve) fixed dose combination, ivermectin, methylprednisole. These drugs have been repurposed for use in COVID-19 due to their antiviral properties and ability to reduce inflammation. The COVID-19 death cases have significantly reduced because of tested efficacy of advanced biotherapeutics and chemotherapeutics. As for marketing dynamics, the demand for chemotherapeutics for the treatment of COVID-19 has increased significantly since the outbreak of the pandemic. Hence, the prices of anti-viral and monoclonal antibodies in top COVID-19 affected countries is also presented here. Considering the molecular interactions, therapeutic activity, efficacy, and adverse effects, the USFDA and the WHO recommended the aforementioned drugs. The chances of approval seems favouring biotherapeutics as these have the best characteristics among the chemotherapeutics. Overall, this review contributes to the scientific understanding of the COVID-19. This can help to inform future research and development efforts and contribute to the overall advancement of knowledge in the field of medicine.

The study's objective was to assess the features and content of the COVID-19 mobile applications accessible in the Apple AppStore. A content analysis, comparison, and functionality evaluation of a few COVID-19 related mobile applications was performed. The search for COVID -19 related apps in the iOS AppStore took place between February 1 and March 31, 2022. The mobile applications received a maximum of 7 points (basic feature assessment) and 8 points overall (functionality assessment). The requirements were fully met by receiving one point. Frequencies from descriptive statistics were used to allude to the applications' features according to the app's basic purpose. A total of 234 applications were recognized using the keywords to exploreCOVID-19 related mobile applications in Apple AppStore. However, 58 mobile applications (24.8%) relevant to COVID-19 were evaluated. According to the findings of an evaluation of basic aspects of mobile applications, 89.7% require an internet connection, 70.7% have a size of less than 50 MB, 96.6% require no funding, 58.6% include educational content, and 60.3% offer advice from the applications. In terms of score, 41.4% scored three or below, whereas 58.6% scored four or above. Functionality assessment wise, 79.3% included information regarding COVID-19, 12.1% included COVID-19 contact tracing, 17.2% had vaccination status, a health authority maintained 50%, 31.0% included COVID-19 statistics, and 25.8% were able to report ART/PCR test. In terms of score, 91.4% scored three points or less, and 8.6% scored four points or more. This study has discovered several applications that could effectively prevent COVID-19 pandemic spread. Based on the findings, mobile applications that would be recommended are the ones supported by the government health administration of the respective country. App development companies’ applications show that competent healthcare personnel was not involved in developing the applications. Online consultation with healthcare professionals might help the public who do not have access to the nearest hospital.

Finding alternative strategies to confront bacterial resistance is an urgent need. Biofilm-forming bacteria have become a serious problem in medicine and industry. Bacteria can use biofilm as a mechanism of resistance against antibacterial drugs and avoid the immune system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of Thymus syriacus (T. syriacus) essential oil in a solid and liquid medium and to study its antibiofilm formation activity. The T. syriacus essential oil was extracted from the aerial parts of the plants. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) measurements were used to identify the antibacterial activity of the essential oil against multidrug-resistant strains Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Klebsiella pneumonia (K. pneumonia), Streptococcus pneumonia (S. pneumonia) isolated clinically from blood infections. The microtiter plate was used in order to quantify biofilm formation by bacteria. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against the three clinically isolated strains (P. aeruginosa, K. pneumonia, S. pneumonia) were (3.12, 1.56, 3.12 µL/mL) respectively. The formation of biofilm by (P. aeruginosa, K. pneumonia, S. pneumonia) was reduced up to (43%, 50%, 60%) respectively, when the essential oil was applied at MIC concentrations for each strain. The observed antibacterial activity of T. syriacus essential oil was significant against antibacterial-resistant strains and antibiofilm formation activity was identified. The novelty of this study is we confirmed that the essential oil of T. syriacus exhibited not just antibacterial properties but also antibiofilm formation effect. More studies are needed in order to continue studying this oil and evaluate its other medicinal properties and toxicity.

The spreading of infectious diseases caused by the emergence of Multidrug-Resistant (MDR) pathogens is a global threat that has led to numerous deaths annually. In view of this, there is an overwhelming need to discover new bioactive compounds with effective antimicrobial properties. Concurrently, the genus Streptomyces has a growing reputation as a potential biological source of various antibiotics and other bioactive metabolites. Streptomyces sp. has been isolated from different sources, including terrestrial and marine habitats with a myriad of promising compounds that could be used to treat MDR pathogens. Therefore, this study presents a systematic review of the antibacterial activities of Streptomyces-derived secondary metabolites. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and checklist were employed in this studyto collect relevant articles from two research databases, namely PubMed and Science Direct. The selection process includes identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion of articles. Several keywords and criteria were established for the screening and selection process. Based on the results, a total of 26 articles were selected from 70 potential articles. The articles were published between 2015 and 2020 with most studies being published in 2020, indicating an increased interest in Streptomyces and its derived compounds. Approximately 51 different PMMB 2022, 5, 1; a0000281 2 of 25 Streptomyces-derived compounds have been identified, ranging from crude extracts, pure compounds, and partially purified compounds. Various parameters were also used to assess their antibacterial activities, particularly the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) (69%) and the zone of inhibition (11%). Moreover, the antibacterial activities of these compounds were effective on numerous gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, 46% and 54% of the selected studies were focused on inhibiting MDR and nonMDR pathogens, respectively. In conclusion, both crude and purified compounds from Streptomyces sp. exhibited strong antibacterial effects. It is expected that extensive future research would develop a standard method to compare the antibacterial strength of eachextracted compound from Streptomyces sp. and determine the most effective bioactive compounds to treat diseases caused by MDR pathogens.

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a highly conserved serine/threonine-protein kinase, which regulates many biological processes related to metabolism, cancer, immune function, and aging. It is an essential protein kinase that belongs to the phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) family and has two known signaling complexes, mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2). Even though mTOR signaling plays a critical role in promoting mitochondria-related protein synthesis, suppressing the catabolic process of autophagy, contributing to lipid metabolism, engaging in ribosome formation, and acting as a critical regulator of mRNA translation, it remains one of the significant signaling systems involved in the tumor process, particularly in apoptosis, cell cycle, and cancer cell proliferation. Therefore, the mTOR signaling system could be suggested as a cancer biomarker, and its targeting is important in anti-tumor therapy research. Indeed, its dysregulation is involved in different types of cancers such as colon, neck, cervical, head, lung, breast, reproductive, and bone cancers, as well as nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Moreover, recent investigations showed that targeting mTOR could be considered as cancer therapy. Accordingly, this review presents an overview of recent developments associated with the mTOR signaling pathway and its molecular involvement in various human cancer types. It also summarizes the research progress of different mTOR inhibitors, including natural and synthetised compounds and their main mechanisms, as well as the rational combinations with immunotherapies.

Background: The elevated plus maze (EPM) and the marble burying (MB) tests are common behavioral tests used for behavioral phenotyping in mouse models for neurodevelopmental disorders. However, the behavioral effects of maternal separation (MS), a standard paradigm for early life stress in animals, in both the EPM and MB tests remain incompletely known. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the behavioral effects of prolonged MS in the offspring of mice using the EPM and MB tests. Methods: Male BALB/c mice were isolated from their mothers for 4 h each day during the first 30 days after birth. On day 50 postnatal, groups of separated and non-separated mice (n = 18/each group) were subjected to the EPM and MB tests for comparative behavioral evaluations. In addition, the locomotor activity of mice was evaluated using the actophotometer test. Results: The findings of the EPM test revealed that separated mice exhibited anxiolytic-like behaviors, as evidenced by a significant increase in the latency to closed arms and the time spent in the open arms compared with non-separated mice. Separated mice also showed compulsive burying activity in the MB test, as determined by a significant increase in the number of buried marbles. The results of the actophotometer test did not show any significant change in locomotor activity. Conclusions: Prolonged MS caused the adult offspring of mice to exhibit a decrease in anxiety state and increased compulsive burying activity, which were not associated with a change in locomotor activity. Further investigations with validated tests are needed to support these findings.

One of the primary causes of disability and mortality in the adult population worldwide is stroke. A person’s general health is significantly impacted by their oral and dental health. People who have poor oral health are more susceptible to conditions such as stroke. Stroke risk has long been linked to oral and dental conditions. The risk of stroke and its cost impact on the healthcare systems appear to be significantly reduced as a result of the decline in the incidence and prevalence of oral and dental illnesses. Hypothetically, better management of oral hygiene and dental health lead to reduced stroke risk. To the authors’ best knowledge, for the first time, the potential link between dental health and stroke were cross-examined. The most typical stroke symptoms, oral and dental illnesses linked to stroke, and the role of oral healthcare professionals in stroke prevention are revealed. The potential mediating processes and subsequent long-term cognitive and functional neurological outcomes are based on the available literature. It must be noted that periodontal diseases and tooth loss are two common oral health measures. Lack of knowledge on the effects of poor oral health on systemic health together with limited access to primary medical or dental care are considered to be partially responsible for the elevated risk of stroke. Concrete evidence confirming the associations between oral inflammatory conditions and stroke in large cohort prospective studies, stratifying association between oral disease severity and stroke risk and disease effects on stroke survival will be desirable. In terms of clinical pathology, a predictive model of stroke as a function of oral health status, and biomarkers of systemic inflammation could be useful for both cardiologists and dentists.

Global environmental change is mainly due to human behaviours and is a major threat to sustainability. Despite all the health and economic consequences, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on environmental health warrants the scientific community’s attention. Thus, this article examined and narratively reviewed the impact of several drastic measures taken on the macro environment and holistic planetary health. We note that the amount of pollution in the air, water, soil, and noise showed a significant decline during the pandemic. Global air quality improved due to lower anthropogenic emissions of air pollutants and atmospheric particles. Water ecosystems also demonstrated signs of recuperation in many countries. Less commercial fishing internationally resulted in the restoration of some aquatic life. Additionally, significant reduction of solid and water waste led to less soil pollution. Some places experienced cleaner beaches and ocean water while wildlife sightings in urban areas across the world occurred more often. Lastly, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown also led to a worldwide decline in noise pollution. However, the beneficial environmental effects will not be permanent as the world gradually returns to its pre-pandemic status quo. Therefore, behavioural changes such as adopting a lifestyle that reduces carbon footprint are needed to make a positive impact on the environment. In addition, world leaders should consider the national policy changes necessary to ensure continuity of as many of the positive environmental impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown as possible. Those changes would also serve to lessen the likelihood of another zoonotic calamity.

Background: Thrombotic conditions triggered by SARS-CoV-2 virus can result in high mortality, especially in pregnant women as they are already in a hypercoagulability state. This thereby leads to excessive inflammation that will increase the risk of thromboembolic (TE) complications. Objective: The aim of this study is to review the prevalence of thromboembolic complications such as deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and intervillous thrombosis, and their preventive strategies among pregnant women infected with COVID-19. Method: The articles were retrieved from online databases PubMed and ScienceDirect published from February 2020 to April 2022. Findings: A total of 5249 participants including 5128 pregnant women and 121 placentas from 19 studies were identified for having TE complications after being infected with COVID-19. The types of TE complications that developed within pregnant women were disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) (n = 44, 0.86%), unmentioned thromboembolic complications (TE) (n = 14, 0.27%), intervillous thrombosis (IVT) (n = 9, 0.18%), pulmonary embolism (PE) (n = 6, 0.12%), COVID-19 associated coagulopathy (CAC) (n = 5, 0.10%), and deep venous thrombosis (DVT) (n = 2, 0.04%). Whereas the prevalence of TE complications reported from studies focusing on placenta were IVT (n = 27, 22.3%), subchorionic thrombus (SCT) (n = 9, 7.44%), and placental thrombosis (n = 5, 4.13%). Thromboprophylaxis agent used among pregnant women include low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) at prophylactic dose (n = 9). Conclusions: The prevalence of thromboembolic complications among pregnant women infected by COVID-19 is low with DIC being the most common form and placental thrombosis being the least common form of TE complications that occurred within pregnant women infected with COVID-19. Anticoagulation, in particular LMWH (variable dose), is frequently used to prevent TE complications.

Tremendous progress has been made in cancer research over the years, and, as a result, immunotherapy has emerged as an important therapy for the treatment of cancer, either as a stand-alone treatment or in conjunction with other cancer therapies. Immunotherapy has demonstrated encouraging outcomes and offers a viable strategy for not only enhancing the quality of life but also dramatically boosting the overall survival rate of cancer patients. The objective of this systematic review was to assess the efficacy of immunotherapy in the treatment of cancer. Databases such as PubMed and Science Direct were searched from their inception until September 2021, using the following keywords: cancer immunotherapy, cancer recurrence, cancer treatment options, and cancer therapies. The systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA protocol. There were a total of 599 articles; however, after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, the final review ended up with 34 publications. In conclusion, the studies have demonstrated that immunotherapy is a viable alternative treatment option for patients with recurrent or metastatic cancer, since the overall survival rate and progression-free survival rate were shown to be successful.

Objectives: The study aimed to measure the level of attitudes and the current practices of the female community in Brunei Darussalam regarding the usage of cosmetics. Methods: An online survey was conducted using a non-probabilistic snowball sampling approach via the social media channels WhatsApp and Instagram. The inclusion criteria were female Bruneian citizens or permanent residents, aged between 18 and 65 years old, who can understand English or Malay, and use cosmetic products at least once a day. Results: A total of 445 participants responded to the online survey. Most of the participants agreed that the use of cosmetic products improves one’s physical appearance to the public (391, 87.8%) and also improves self-confidence (405, 91.1%). There were significant differences in monthly cosmetic product expenses and participants’ attitudes about safe cosmetic use (p = 0.001). No significant changes in the individuals’ attitudes based on their age or educational level were observed. Overall, the participants had a good level of cosmetic safety practice. Almost half of the participants use social media to obtain information regarding what cosmetics to use or purchase. Conclusion: There is a medium to high level of attitude and a high level of practice regarding the safe use of cosmetics among Bruneian female adults. Social media was the main source of information for the respondents, followed by friend circle and family members.

The global depression burden has remained a challenge throughout the pre- and post-pandemic era. The pandemic effect has led to the spiraling of mental disorders among young people who will be the next generation of leaders. This study aims to identify university students’ sociodemographic, psychosocial and academic backgrounds and performance associated with depression symptoms for the development of primary and secondary preventive strategies for mental health. A cross-sectional study was conducted using an online questionnaire distributed to 19 institutions in Malaysia offering a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree program. The self-rated Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-42) was used to assess depression symptoms. Pearson’s chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test were used to assess the investigated variables with depression symptoms. Independent T-test and one-way ANOVA were used to compare means of depression score across variables. Binary logistic regression was employed to examine the relationship between the investigated variables and depression symptoms. A total of 610 pharmacy students participated, of which 47% (n = 289/610) were having depression symptoms. Students who smoke nicotine and those who have separated parents, family history of mental illness, and poor academic performance were associated with depression symptoms (p < 0.05). Differences in geographical areas, race and religion also showed significant associations with depression symptoms. Parental marital status, poor academic performance, history of mental illness and comorbidities were statistically predicting depression symptoms (p < 0.05). Primary preventive strategies allowing students to harness healthy coping skills for stress, nicotine-free campaigns and a holistic curriculum are warranted. Secondary measures on mindfulness and compassion skills activities to benefit students who experienced early life crises are highly recommended. Enforcing these targeted strategies in collaboration with health and social sectors should be the primary agenda of universities to ensure their uptake.

Herbal and dietary supplements (HDSs) are frequently obtained from community pharmacies, but community pharmacists (CPs) have been underutilized for information regarding them. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of, factors behind, and reasons for consultation with CPs among HDS consumers in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study using an online survey was conducted among conveniently sampled individuals in Malaysia. Reasons for consultation or non-consultation with CPs about HDSs were sought from the respondents. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the predictors of consultation with CPs. Overall, 40.3% (239/593) of participants consulted CPs about the HDSs that they purchased. The participants were predominantly unmarried (362/588, 61.6%) and belonged to the 18–29 age group (332/593, 56%). The multivariate analysis showed that a suburban residential setting was the only significant predictor for consultation with CPs (adjusted odds ratio = 0.390, 95% CI = 0.260–0.583). Respondents who consulted CPs generally agreed that the CPs were the right people to consult on HDSs (mean = 4.37, SD = 0.73). However, their discussion with CPs regarding HDSs mostly revolved around the benefits and directions for use, but little on the potential risks. Meanwhile, most respondents who did not consult CPs agreed that they had never thought of consulting CPs about their HDS use (mean = 3.45, SD = 1.02). The majority of them referred to the Internet (61.3%, 217/354) and social media (59.9%, 212/354) for information about HDSs. The findings from this study show that more efforts are warranted in encouraging consumers to consult CPs about their HDS use and to enhance their awareness of the roles of CPs in ensuring the safe use of HDSs.

Tongkat Ali (TA) orA cross-sectional study to evaluate the quality and risks of websites discussing TA supplements was conducted. Online marketing websites, research articles, news articles, personal opinions, and those restricted by password were excluded. The quality and risks of websites were assessed using a modified DISCERN tool and a set of risk assessment criteria, respectively. The health claims for TA were identified and analyzed using content analysis.Overall, 321 websites met the inclusion criteria and were further evaluated. The overall rating of the quality of the websites was low, with a mean score ± standard deviation of 1.07 ± 0.51. Most websites lacked information that there may be more than one possible treatment choice and did not discuss areas of uncertainty. However, 67.9% (218/321) of the websites received a risk score of zero. A minority of websites (5/321, 1.6%) discouraged the use of conventional medicines. The most common health claims for TA included in the websites related to the enhancement of testosterone level (121/321, 37.7%), treatment of malaria (112/321, 34.9%), and improvement in libido (108/321, 33.6%).Websites containing information about TA supplements generally have a low-quality rating based on a modified DISCERN tool despite having a low-risk score. Government agencies and healthcare professionals (HCPs) must be more proactive in the critique and dissemination of information relating to HM, and in ensuring the safe use of HM among the public and patients.

A Laplacian scoring algorithm for gene selection and the Gini coefficient to identify the genes whose expression varied least across a large set of samples were the state-of-the-art methods used here. These methods have not been trialed for their feasibility in cheminformatics. This was a maiden attempt to investigate a complete comparative analysis of an anthraquinone and chalcone derivatives-based virtual combinatorial library. This computational "proof-of-concept" study illustrated the combinatorial approach used to explain how the structure of the selected natural products (NPs) undergoes molecular diversity analysis. A virtual combinatorial library (1.6 M) based on 20 anthraquinones and 24 chalcones was enumerated. The resulting compounds were optimized to the near drug-likeness properties, and the physicochemical descriptors were calculated for all datasets including FDA, Non-FDA, and NPs from ZINC 15. UMAP and PCA were applied to compare and represent the chemical space coverage of each dataset. Subsequently, the Laplacian score and Gini coefficient were applied to delineate feature selection and selectivity among properties, respectively. Finally, we demonstrated the diversity between the datasets by employing Murcko's and the central scaffolds systems, calculating three fingerprint descriptors and analyzing their diversity by PCA and SOM. The optimized enumeration resulted in 1,610,268 compounds with NP-Likeness, and synthetic feasibility mean scores close to FDA, Non-FDA, and NPs datasets. The overlap between the chemical space of the 1.6 M database was more prominent than with the NPs dataset. A Laplacian score prioritized NP-likeness and hydrogen bond acceptor properties (1.0 and 0.923), respectively, while the Gini coefficient showed that all properties have selective effects on datasets (0.81-0.93). Scaffold and fingerprint diversity indicated that the descending order for the tested datasets was FDA, Non-FDA, NPs and 1.6 M. Virtual combinatorial libraries based on NPs can be considered as a source of the combinatorial compound with NP-likeness properties. Furthermore, measuring molecular diversity is supposed to be performed by different methods to allow for comparison and better judgment.

Medication wasting has been adding to the cost burden on the healthcare system. Sustainable interventions such as using patients’ own medications have been implemented to upgrade the medicine management system. This review aimed to describe the studies related to patients’ own medication in hospital settings to explore its positive impacts. Current literature has studied the impact of using patients’ own medicines from cost-effectiveness, clinical, and patient safety perspectives. The economic impact was represented by determining the cost saved after implementing the patient’s own medications intervention. On the other hand, the efficacy of patient care was proven by reducing the frequency of medication error and prevalence of drug-drug interactions as the intervention was implemented. Patients’ knowledge of their medications was also proven to be improved with their own medicines during hospitalization, improving their adherence to their medication treatment. Improving patients' adherence to and knowledge of their prescriptions during hospitalization may also aid in the reduction of hospital readmissions, which could result in a net economic return.

The importance of cosmetics in our lives is immeasurable. Covering items from daily personal hygienic products to skincare, it has become essential to consumers that the items that they use are safe and effective. Since natural products are from natural sources, and therefore considered "natural" and "green" in the public's eyes, the rise in demand for such products is not surprising. Even so, factoring in the need to remain on trend and innovative, cosmetic companies are on a constant search for new ingredients and inventive new formulations. Based on numerous literature, the seed of

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most deadly cancer. Global incidence and mortality are likely to be increased in the coming decades. Although the deaths associated with CRC are very high in high-income countries, the incidence and fatalities related to CRC are growing in developing countries too. CRC detected early is entirely curable by surgery and subsequent medications. However, the recurrence rate is high, and cancer drug resistance increases the treatment failure rate. Access to early diagnosis and treatment of CRC for survival is somewhat possible in developed countries. However, these facilities are rarely available in developing countries. Highlighting the current status of CRC, its development, risk factors, and management is crucial in creating public awareness. Therefore, in this review, we have comprehensively discussed the current global epidemiology, drug resistance, challenges, risk factors, and preventive and treatment strategies of CRC. Additionally, there is a brief discussion on the CRC development pathways and recommendations for preventing and treating CRC.

This study aimed to examine the association between physical activity (PA), body composition, and metabolic disorders in a population of Moroccan women classified by menopausal status. This cross-sectional study comprised 373 peri- and postmenopausal women aged 45–64 years old. PA levels were assessed using the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF). Body composition and metabolic disorders were assessed by measurements of anthropometric and biological parameters: weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), WC/HC ratio, percent body fat, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, and serum lipids (total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), HDL-C, and LDL-C). Metabolic syndrome (MetS) was diagnosed according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-ATP III) criteria. Pearson correlations were used to test for associations. The mean total PA score of perimenopausal women was 1683.51 ± 805.36 MET-min/week, and of postmenopausal women was 1450.81 ± 780.67 MET-min/week. In all participants, peri- and postmenopausal women, PA was significantly and inversely associated with BMI, weight, percent body fat, HC, WC, and number of MetS components (p < 0.01), and with fasting blood glucose, TC, TG, and LDL-C (p < 0.05). The frequencies of metabolic disorders, obesity, abdominal obesity, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and MetS were significantly lower at moderate and intense levels of PA (p < 0.05), in also all participants. In middle-aged women, particularly those who are peri-menopausal, PA at moderate and intense levels is associated with more favorable body composition and less frequent metabolic disorders. However, in this particular study, PA does not appear to be associated with blood pressure and HDL-C concentrations. Future studies may be needed to further clarify these findings.