Mass spectrometry analysis of C-dots produced by femtosecond laser irradiation of L-lysine film.

The production of carbon dots (C-dots) by femtosecond lasers within living cells and tissues is a novel approach, which has a great potency for intracellular bioimaging. An exact mechanism of fluorescent particles production as well as their composition still remains unknown. In this work we use L-lysine film as a model system to study the mechanism and the composition of C-dots produced by femtosecond laser irradiation investigated by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS).

Hexosomal Dispersion: A Nano-Based Approach to Boost the Antifungal Potential of Citrus Essential Oils against Plant Fungal Pathogens

The demand for natural fungicides to replace synthetic ones has surged since toxic residues persist in soils, causing environmental contamination and posing a serious threat to worldwide public health. In the context of crop protection and enhancing the efficiency and safety of fungicides, nanotechnology is an eco-friendly strategy in managing fungal pathogens. In the present study, essential oils were isolated from the peels of four citrus fruits (Citrus lemon, Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus maxima, and Citrus sinensis) and were investigated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis. Monoterpene hydrocarbon was the most predominant group and limonene was the most abundant in the four oils. The antifungal potential of the oils was investigated, and the most active oil (Citrus lemon) was loaded into hexosomal dispersion, and its antifungal potential was retested against the same fungi. The structurally unique nano-based formulation showed great potency for fungal control. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time the oil of Citrus lemon in nano-hexosomes has been formulated and its fungicidal activity examined. The data collected suggest that citrus essential oils (CEOs), especially when nano-formulated, could be successfully used in integrated fungus management programs.

METHODS FOR IMPROVING ALPHA-MANGOSTIN SOLUBILITY: A REVIEW

Solubility is an important parameter to achieve for the bioavailability of a drug to reach the therapeutic windows. Garcinia mangostana Linn is a plant with great potency for the development of natural medicine. Alpha-mangostin is one of the secondary metabolites of G. mangostana and has been reported to have several pharmacological activities. The Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) is a system that classifies drugs based on their solubility and permeability. Due to its low solubility but high permeation, alpha-mangostin is categorized into class II of the Biopharmaceutics Classification System. Therefore, the determination of dosage forms and modification of solubility enhancers is limited due to its physical properties, as mentioned above. This disadvantage requires new methods to improve its solubility to administer alpha-mangostin, especially for oral administration. Here, we discuss the development of the methods to increase alpha-mangostin solubility to be applied to formulate a dosage form to reach a useful plasma level for medication.

Investigation of Anticancer Agents from the Bark of Gyrinops Versteegii (Gilg.) Domke from Lombok Island

This study is part of a research collaboration between Kyoto University and The University of Mataram, aiming to identify and to utilize the agarwood plants, i.e., Gyrinops versteegii from Indonesia. The study, specifically, aims to discover anticancer agents from the bark of G. versteegii from Lombok Island of Indonesia. There were three provenances of G. versteegii observed, namely Soyun, Pantai, and Buaya. Based on the Brine Shrimp Lethality Test (BSLT), G. versteegii Buaya showed the highest cytotoxicity with LC50 45,94 µg/ml. Meanwhile, G. versteegii Soyun and Pantai have LC50 75.86 µg/mL and 56.36 µg/mL respectively. A phytochemical study showed that the methanol extract of G. versteegii Buaya containing compounds from the group of alkaloid, flavonoid, steroid, triterpenoid, and saponin. The methanol extracts fractionated using Vacuum Liquid Chromatography into 10 fractions (F1-F10) and then retested BSLT. Among the fractions, F2 showed the best potency as an anticancer with LC50 64,12 µg/mL. Based on the GC-MS analysis, the cytotoxicity from both methanol extract and F2 is predicted to be influenced by the same compounds, namely, 1,4-Benzenediol,2-methyl, Pyridoxylamine, 2,3-Dimethylhydroquionone, Tetramethyl-p-benzoquinone, and Benzofuran. Overall, the bark of G. versteegii from Lombok Island has great potency as an anticancer.

NEMPD: a network embedding-based method for predicting miRNA-disease associations by preserving behavior and attribute information

Background As an important non-coding RNA, microRNA (miRNA) plays a significant role in a series of life processes and is closely associated with a variety of Human diseases. Hence, identification of potential miRNA-disease associations can make great contributions to the research and treatment of Human diseases. However, to our knowledge, many existing computational methods only utilize the single type of known association information between miRNAs and diseases to predict their potential associations, without focusing on their interactions or associations with other types of molecules. Results In this paper, we propose a network embedding-based method for predicting miRNA-disease associations by preserving behavior and attribute information. Firstly, a heterogeneous network is constructed by integrating known associations among miRNA, protein and disease, and the network representation method Learning Graph Representations with Global Structural Information (GraRep) is implemented to learn the behavior information of miRNAs and diseases in the network. Then, the behavior information of miRNAs and diseases is combined with the attribute information of them to represent miRNA-disease association pairs. Finally, the prediction model is established based on the Random Forest algorithm. Under the five-fold cross validation, the proposed NEMPD model obtained average 85.41% prediction accuracy with 80.96% sensitivity at the AUC of 91.58%. Furthermore, the performance of NEMPD is also validated by the case studies. Among the top 50 predicted disease-related miRNAs, 48 (breast neoplasms), 47 (colon neoplasms), 47 (lung neoplasms) were confirmed by two other databases. Conclusions The proposed NEMPD model has a good performance in predicting the potential associations between miRNAs and diseases, and has great potency in the field of miRNA-disease association prediction in the future.

NEMPD: A network embedding-based method for predicting miRNA-disease associations by preserving behavior and attribute information

Background: As an important non-coding RNA, microRNA (miRNA) plays a significant role in a series of life processes and is closely associated with a variety of Human diseases. Hence, identification of potential miRNA-disease associations can make great contributions to the research and treatment of Human diseases. However, to our knowledge, many existing computational methods only utilize the single type of known association information between miRNAs and diseases to predict their potential associations, without focusing on their interactions or associations with other types of molecules. Results: In this paper, we propose a network embedding-based method for predicting miRNA-disease associations by preserving behavior and attribute information. Firstly, a heterogeneous network is constructed by integrating known associations among miRNA, protein and disease, and the network representation method Learning Graph Representations with Global Structural Information (GraRep) is implemented to learn the behavior information of miRNAs and diseases in the network. Then, the behavior information of miRNAs and diseases is combined with the attribute information of them to represent miRNA-disease association pairs. Finally, the prediction model is established based on the Random Forest algorithm. Under the five-fold cross validation, the proposed NEMPD model obtained average 85.41% prediction accuracy with 80.96% sensitivity at the AUC of 91.58%. Furthermore, the performance of NEMPD is also validated by the case studies. Among the top 50 predicted disease-related miRNAs, 48 (breast neoplasms), 47 (colon neoplasms), 47 (lung neoplasms) were confirmed by two other databases.Conclusions: The proposed NEMPD model has a good performance in predicting the potential associations between miRNAs and diseases, and has great potency in the field of miRNA-disease association prediction in the future.

The numinous experience in the context of psychopathology and traumatic stress studies

The psychological phenomenon of a suddenly appearing, extremely enigmatic, and at the same time fascinating state in which one feels influenced by higher powers was described as a “numinous experience” by R. Otto and C. G. Jung. This condition is one of those subjectively non-rational experiences that have so far received little attention in cultural clinical psychology and yet have great potency to explain psychopathological phenomena. In the first section of this paper, we work towards a contemporary psychological definition both by focusing on the roles of paradoxical cognitions and dissociation and by presenting various differentiations and possible explanatory mechanisms. In the second part of this paper, we describe the numinous state as it occurs in selected clinical phenomena such as the subjective experience of potentially traumatic events including near-death experiences, sexual abuse of children, post-traumatic stress disorder, severe states of mourning (diagnosed today as prolonged grief disorder), and sleep paralysis. This paper is intended as a theoretical proposal aimed at better understanding subjectively non-rational states in patients.

Peran Tikus Sebagai Reservoir Leptospira di Tiga Ekosistem di Kabupaten Bantul, Yogyakarta

Bantul is one of leptospirosis endemic areas which has been reported the cases every year and the presence of rats is an important risk factor relating to leptospirosis incidence in Bantul. Therefore, the role of rats as reservoir was examined in three types of ecosystems: forest, non-forest, and coastal ecosystems. Rat trapping was carried out using 100 single livetraps which were distributed in 9 locations: 2 points in the forest, 5 points in the non-forest, and 2 points in the coastal ecosystem. The rats were identified and their kidneys were collected and preserved in 70% alcohol medium. Leptospira were detected in the kidney by using PCR method. A number of 196 rats were obtained during the study. Most of them were commensal rats obtained from settlements ecosystems. Rattus tanezumi was the dominant species in the three ecosystems, but the highest infection rate of leptospira pathogen was in R.norvegicus. Coastal ecosystems were contained more infected rats, where the main habitat were mangrove forests. Based on these results, rats have great potency in leptospirosis transmission in Bantul, especially in settlements and coastal areas although leptospirosis cases were reported rarely in study area. Nonetheless, awareness of transmission should be disseminated since the presence of pathogenic leptospira in rats is very high. Keywords: leptospirosis, rat, reservoir, ecosystem, Bantul Abstrak Kabupaten Bantul merupakan salah satu daerah endemis leptospirosis yang sejak lama melaporkan kasus ini setiap tahunnya dan keberadaan tikus merupakan faktor risiko penting yang mempengaruhi kejadian leptospirosis di Kabupaten Bantul. Oleh karena itu peranan tikus sebagai hewan reservoir diteliti di tiga jenis ekosistem yaitu ekosistem hutan, non-hutan, dan pesisir. Penangkapan tikus dilakukan menggunakan perangkap tunggal sebanyak 100 buah yang disebar di 9 titik lokasi, meliputi dua titik di ekosistem hutan, lima titik di ekosistem non-hutan, dan dua titik di ekosistem pesisir. Tikus tertangkap diidentifikasi kemudian organ ginjalnya dikoleksi dan diawetkan dalam medium alkohol 70%. Bakteri leptospira dideteksi pada specimen ginjal dengan metode PCR dari total 196 tikus diperoleh selama penelitian. Sebagian besar tikus diperoleh dari ekosistem dekat pemukiman dan semuanya merupakan tikus komensal. Rattus tanezumi merupakan spesies dominan di ketiga ekosistem, namun persentase infeksi leptospira patogen paling tinggi terdapat pada R. norvegicus. Ekosistem pesisir mengandung tikus terinfeksi leptospira patogenik paling tinggi, dengan habitat utama hutan mangrove. Berdasarkan hasil ini maka tikus berpotensi besar menularkan leptospirosis di Kabupaten Bantul, terutama di daerah pemukiman dan pesisir. Meskipun kasus leptospirosis di daerah penelitian sedikit sekali dilaporkan, namun kewaspadaan terhadap penularan perlu dilakukan sedini mungkin karena leptospira patogenik yang terkandung dalam tikus tergolong tinggi. Kata kunci: leptospirosis, tikus, reservoir, ekosistem, Bantul

Immunotoxins: Targeted Toxin Delivery for Cancer Therapy

Immunotoxins are proteins that consist of a protein toxin conjugated to a specific targeting moiety. The targeting moiety is usually an antibody or ligand, such as monoclonal antibody, antibody fragment, a cytokine, or a growth factor. The toxins usually come from plant toxins, bacterial toxins, or human-origin cytotoxic elements. Nearly all toxins work by enzymatically inhibiting protein synthesis. After binding to antigens or receptors on target cell surfaces, immunotoxins are internalized and translocated to the cytosol where they can kill the cells. Immunotoxins have demonstrated high cytotoxicity to cancer cells and to date two immunotoxins have been approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the markets for the treatment of hematological tumors: Lumoxiti and Ontak. Many other molecules are under development or clinical trials for different forms of cancer. Although immunotoxins exhibit great potency in xenograft model systems and early clinical trials, there are obstacles that limit successful treatments, including immunogenicity, nonspecific toxicity, and poor penetration. However, efforts are underway to address these problems. In this review, we summarize immunotoxins currently in clinical trials for either hematological tumors or solid tumors, outline the design of immunotoxins utilizing variety of components, and discuss the prominent examples of redesigned immunotoxins with reduced immunogenicity and nonspecific toxicity, as well as the strategies in manufacturing immunotoxins. With further improvements, it is anticipated that immunotoxins will play an increasing role in cancer therapy.

WAKAF UANG DALAM TINJAUAN HUKUM, POTENSI, DAN TATA KELOLA

In the Islamic economy system, waqf has not been explored maximally, but very potential as one of the instruments for social and economic empowerment of muslim societies. One kind of waqf is cash waqf.Even though there are some others who debate the legitimacy, cash waqf is lawful, by considering the opinion of hadith scholars such as voiced by some Hanafi and Shafi’i scholars that cash waqf does not refer to manifestation form of the money but share the value, so the eternality of waqf assets can be hold out. Indonesian Ulama Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia/MUI) released fatwa that legitimated cash waqf on May 11th 2002. And later reinforced by the presence of Law No. 41/2004 that concerning on waqf stating that waqf objects are not only immovable assets but also can be movable assets such as money. The potency of cash waqf in Indonesia is so great, even can be collected at least IDR 3 trillions/year. With concept that waqf assets is eternal and not be lost, so the using of cash waqf for investment purposes can be diversified. Economically, cash waqf has a great potency for increasing the value of micro economy of societies and the nation’s macro economic activity. Even if cash waqf was managed profesionally, managerially and transparant, its impact is very fantastic and could be alternative solution for poverty alleviation. Abstrak Dalam sistem ekonomi Islam, wakaf belum banyak dieksplorasi secara maksimal, padahal sangat potensial sebagai salah satu instrumen untuk pemberdayaan sosial dan ekonomi umat Islam.Salah satu bentuk wakaf adalah berupa uang tunai. Meskipun legitimasi dari wakaf uang masih diperdebatkan, namun dengan merujuk pendapat dari ulama hadits madzhab Hanafi, dan sebagian ulama Syafi’iyah, maka wakaf uang adalah sah, karena bukan wujud uangnya yang diwakafkan tetapi yang dimanfaatkan adalah nilainya sehingga kelanggengan harta wakaf tetap utuh. MUI mengeluarkan fatwa tanggal 11 Mei 2002 tentang bolehnya wakaf uang. Hal ini kemudian diakomodir dalam UU No. 41 Tahun 2004 tentang Wakaf, yang salah satunya mengatur tentang wakaf bahwa objek wakaf bukan hanya harta tetap tapi juga benda bergerak berupa uang. Potensi dari wakaf uang di Indonesia sangat besar, bahkan bisa mencapai setidaknya Rp 3 trilyun dalam setahun. Dengan konsep bahwa harta wakaf bersifat kekal dan tidak bisa hilang, maka pemanfaatan wakaf uang untuk tujuan investasi dapat terus berkembang. Secara ekonomi, wakaf uang memiliki potensi yang sangat besar dalam meningkatkan kegiatan ekonomi umat secara mikro dan makro. Bahkan, bila dikelola dengan profesional, manajerial dan transparan, nilainya amat fantastis dan dapat menjadi alternatif bagi penanggulangan kemiskinan.