Maqāṣid al-Sharī‘ah on Islamic banking performance in Indonesia: a knowledge discovery via text mining

Purpose In Indonesia, subjective issues towards the fundamental of Islamic banks (IBs) have been arising. For example, they are claimed to be not in line with the Shari‘ah (Islamic law). Furthermore, the existing scholarly works have not much gained knowledge from the local IBs explaining their efforts in promoting maqasid al-Shariah (objectives of Islamic law). Hence, because religiosity drives the fundamental establishment of IBs, this paper aims to explore the knowledge of how IBs in Indonesia promote maqasid al-Shariah via their published reports. Design/methodology/approach This paper performs text mining from 24 official reports of 5 IBs in Indonesia published from 2015 to 2017. The sample contains 7,162 digital pages and approximately 3,021,618 words. Traditional text mining via human intelligence is first performed to analyse for the numerical data required in the maqasid al-Shariah index (MSI) analysis. Furthermore, a computer-driven text mining using the ‘Text Search’ feature of NVivo 12 Plus is conducted to perform qualitative analysis. These approaches are made to gain relevant knowledge of how the sampled IBs promote maqasid al-Shariah from their published reports. Findings The analysis using the MSI explains a quantified maqasid al-Shariah on the sample’s performance, which indictes the lowest and the highest performing banks. Furthermore, a qualitative analysis supports the evidence from the quantitative analysis. It explains the authors’ coding process that results in 2 parent nodes and 20 child nodes, which contain 435 references coded from the sampled unstructured and bilingual texts. These nodes explain the information that associates with maqasid al-Shariah from the IBs’ reports. These findings explain how maqasid al-Shariah is measured mathematically and represent relevant knowledge of how maqasid al-Shariah is informed practically via digital texts. Research limitations/implications A positivist generalisation is neither intended nor established in this study. Practical implications This paper gains relevant knowledge of how the sampled IBs in Indonesia control and maintain the implementation of maqasid al-Shariah from large textual data. Such knowledge is practically important for IBs stakeholders in Indonesia; moreover to help navigate the Shari‘ah identity of Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI), the new IB established from the merger of 3 state-owned IBs, which are among the sample of this study. Social implications This paper provides evidence that might best challenge the subjective issue of IBs claiming that they are not in line with the Shari‘ah, particularly in Indonesia. Originality/value This paper is among the pioneers that discover knowledge of how IBs promote maqasid al-Shariah in Indonesia’s banking sector via a text mining approach.

373 A Review of Microsatellite Instability (MSI) Testing: Real World Clinical Data

Introduction Colorectal cancers (CRC) are the second most common cause of death by cancer, in the UK. Microsatellite instability (MSI) analysis is novel yet important part of managing CRC and used as a tool for predicting prognosis, treatment and identifying lynch syndrome. Where lynch syndrome is identified, preventative screening can be utilised. Previous studies only focused tumour testing on high-risk cases. Method A retrospective study at Northumbria Health Care NHS Trust was performed on all new CRC patients between 2017-2020. Results A total of 965 patients with CRC were identified. After exclusion criteria was applied to the cohort, a total of 483 patients were identified as having undergone MSI analysis. The mean age was 73.5 years old, with the female to male ratio being 1:1.4. Patients were further grouped into MSI stable, low, and high. MSI High patients accounted for 10% of patients analysed. Further genetic testing was performed on these patients which highlighted 28 patients with BRAF positive genes who went on to screening for Lynch syndrome associated cancers. Conclusions MSI testing provides essential diagnostic, prognostic information and also guides treatment options. 2.9% of patients identified as high risk for familial cancers and went on to have genetic screening and surveillance.

Neuropeptidomics: Improvements in Mass Spectrometry Imaging Analysis and Recent Advancements

: Neuropeptides are an important class of endogenous peptides in the nervous system that regulate physiological functions such as feeding, glucose homeostasis, pain, memory, reproduction, and many others. In order to understand the functional role of neuropeptides in diseases or disorders, studies investigating their dysregulation in terms of changes in abundance and localization must be carried out. Because multiple neuropeptides are believed to play a functional role in each physiological process, techniques capable of globally profiling multiple neuropeptides simultaneously are desired. Mass spectrometry is well-suited for this goal due to its ability to perform untargeted measurements without prior comprehensive knowledge of the analytes of interest. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is particularly useful because it has the capability to image a large variety of peptides in a single experiment without labeling. Like all analytical techniques, careful sample preparation is critical to successful MSI analysis. The first half of this review focuses on recent developments in MSI sample preparation and instrumentation for analyzing neuropeptides and other biomolecules in which the sample preparation technique may be directly applicable for neuropeptide analysis. The benefit offered by incorporating these techniques is shown as improvement in number of observable neuropeptides, enhanced signal to noise, increased spatial resolution, or a combination of these aspects. The second half of this review focuses on recent biological discoveries about neuropeptides resulting from these improvements in MSI analysis. The recent progress in neuropeptide detection and analysis methods, including incorporation of various tissue washes, matrices, instruments, ionization sources, and computation approaches combined with the advancements in understanding neuropeptide function in a variety of model organisms indicates potential for the utilization of MSI analysis of neuropeptides in clinical settings.

Quantificational evaluation of the resolving power of qualitative biomarkers with different cardinal numbers based on a magnitude-standardized index

Biomarkers are used for clinical diagnostic purposes, but existing indexes exhibit limitations in terms of the resolving power of biomarkers. This paper proposes a new index, the magnitude-standardized index (MSI), to describe the quantitative variations and resolving powers of different biomarkers. In MSI analysis models, variation scales for ratios and differences are considered simultaneously, and a higher MSI value implies a stronger risk or effect for a biological factor. We explain the rationale for the MSI via hybrid and geometric methods and verify its efficacy through simulation experiments. Our results indicate that the MSI is superior to the Youden index and odds ratio for describing resolving power. When two biomarkers with similar Youden index values, odds ratios, or MSI values but different positive test rates (or cardinal numbers) were combined, all three index values increased; however, only the MSI value remained relatively stable. For a very small cardinal number, such as that of a single nucleotide polymorphism, the MSI value is at most half of the maximum value (0.5), allowing comparisons between MSI values for biomarkers with different cardinal numbers. The MSI can thus provide a better quantifiable evaluation of the resolving power of biomarkers with different cardinal numbers.

Evaluation of 3 molecular-based assays for microsatellite instability detection in formalin-fixed tissues of patients with endometrial and colorectal cancers

Microsatellite instability (MSI) status is routinely assessed in patients with colorectal and endometrial cancers as it contributes to Lynch syndrome initial screening, tumour prognosis and selecting patients for immunotherapy. Currently, standard reference methods recommended for MSI/dMMR (deficient MisMatch Repair) testing consist of immunohistochemistry and pentaplex PCR-based assays, however, novel molecular-based techniques are emerging. Here, we aimed to evaluate the performance of a custom capture-based NGS method and the Bio-Rad ddPCR and Idylla approaches for the determination of MSI status for theranostic purposes in 30 formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue samples from patients with endometrial (n = 15) and colorectal (n = 15) cancers. All samples were previously characterised using IHC and Promega MSI Analysis System and these assays set as golden standard. Overall agreement, sensitivity and specificity of our custom-built NGS panel were 93.30%, 93.75% and 92.86% respectively. Overall agreement, sensitivity and specificity were 100% with the Idylla MSI system. The Bio-Rad ddPCR MSI assay showed a 100% concordance, sensitivity and specificity. The custom capture-based NGS, Bio-Rad ddPCR and Idylla approaches represent viable and complementary options to IHC and Promega MSI Analysis System for the detection of MSI. Bio-Rad ddPCR and Idylla MSI assays accounts for easy and fast screening assays while the NGS approach offers the advantages to simultaneously detect MSI and clinically relevant genomic alterations.

Visualization of the distribution of nanoparticle-formulated AZD2811 in mouse tumor model using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry imaging

Penetration of nanoparticles into viable tumor regions is essential for an effective response. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a novel method for evaluating the intratumoral pharmacokinetics (PK) of a drug in terms of spatial distribution. The application of MSI for analysis of nanomedicine PK remains in its infancy. In this study, we evaluated the applicability of MALDI-MSI for nanoparticle-formulated drug visualization in tumors and biopsies, with an aim toward future application in clinical nanomedicine research. We established an analytic method for the free drug (AZD2811) and then applied it to visualize nanoparticle-formulated AZD2811. MSI analysis demonstrated heterogeneous intratumoral drug distribution in three xenograft tumors. The intensity of MSI signals correlated well with total drug concentration in tumors, indicating that drug distribution can be monitored quantitatively. Analysis of tumor biopsies indicated that MSI is applicable for analyzing the distribution of nanoparticle-formulated drugs in tumor biopsies, suggesting clinical applicability.

Should immunohistochemical expression of mismatch repair (MMR) proteins and microsatellite instability (MSI) analysis be routinely performed for poorly differentiated colorectal neuroendocrine carcinomas?

Summary Colorectal poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) are typically associated with poor outcomes. The mechanisms of their aggressiveness are still being investigated. Microsatellite instability (MSI) has recently been found in colorectal NECs showing aberrant methylation of the MLH1 gene and is associated with improved prognosis. We present a 76-year-old lady with an ascending colon tumour showing features of a pT3 N0 R0, large cell NEC (LCNEC) following right hemicolectomy. The adjacent mucosa showed a sessile serrated lesion (SSL) with low-grade dysplasia. Immunohistochemistry showed loss of expression for MLH1 and PMS2 in both the LCNEC and dysplastic SSL. Molecular analysis indicated the sporadic nature of the MLH1 mismatch repair (MMR) protein-deficient status. Our patient did not receive adjuvant therapy and she is alive and disease-free after 34 months follow-up. This finding, similar to early-stage MMR-deficient colorectal adenocarcinoma, is likely practice-changing and will be critical in guiding the appropriate treatment pathway for these patients. We propose that testing of MMR status become routine for early-stage colorectal NECs. Learning points: Colorectal poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) are known to be aggressive and typically associated with poor outcomes. A subset of colorectal NECs can display microsatellite instability (MSI) with mismatch repair (MMR) protein-deficient status. MMR-deficient colorectal NECs have been found to have a better prognosis compared with MMR-proficient NECs. MMR status can be detected using immunohistochemistry. Immunohistochemistry for MMR status is routinely performed for colorectal adenocarcinomas. Immunohistochemical expression of MMR protein and MSI analysis should be performed routinely for early-stage colorectal NECs in order to identify a subgroup of MMR-deficient NECs which are associated with a significantly more favourable prognosis.