Hypertension is a silent killer worldwide, caused by both genetic and environmental factors. Until now, genetic and genomic association studies of hypertension are reporting different degree of association on hypertension. Hence, it is essential to gather all the available information on the reported genetic loci and to determine if any biomarker(s) is/are significantly associated with hypertension. Current review concluded the potential biomarkers for hypertension, with regards to electrolyte and fluid transports, as well as sodium/potassium ions homeostasis, which are supported by the results of case-controls and meta-analyses.
Aging, which affects most of the multi-cellular organisms, is due to a potentially complex set of mechanisms that collectively cause a time-dependent decline of physiological functions. Aging restrains longevity and leads to neurodegenerative diseases including dementia, Alzheimer's disease and lacunar stroke. Human microbiota is now considered to have a strong impact on the progression of aging. The impact of aging and the risk of neurodegenerative diseases can be reduced by using probiotics, or preferably by combining probiotics and prebiotics, also known as synbiotics, that can drastically modify the composition of gut microbiome.
Sonication is recognized as a potential food processing method to improve the functional properties of fruit juice. This study evaluated the effects of different sonication durations (20, 40, and 60 min) and thermal pasteurization on the nutritional, antioxidant, and microbial properties of noni juice. Fresh noni juice served as the control. The main organic acids detected were malic (57.54–89.31 mg/100 mL) and ascorbic (17.15–31.55 mg/100 mL) acids. Compared with the fresh sample, the concentrations of these compounds were significantly improved (p < 0.05) in the 60 min sonicated sample but reduced (p < 0.05) in the pasteurized sample. Moreover, sonication for 60 min resulted in increments of scopoletin, rutin, and vanillic acid compared to the fresh sample. The antioxidant activity of the juice sample was improved in the sample sonicated for 60 min. Irrespective of juice processing method, the level of microbial counts in noni juice was within the satisfactory level over the 8 weeks of refrigerated (4 °C) storage. This study highlights the feasibility of using ultrasound processing to enhance the quality of noni juice on the industrial scale.
Introduction: Alpha thalassaemia is one of the haemoglobin disorders in which the carriers of alpha thalassaemia may have normal haemoglobin level and are eligible to donate blood which may bring complications. This study is to investigate the interaction of haematological parameter with α-globin genotypes among eligible blood donors. Materials & Methods: A cohort study with 270 eligible blood donors were analysed for red cell indices. Alpha-globin (α-globin) genotyping was performed for seven deletions, six point mutations and two triplications. Statistical analyses were performed to compare the α-globin genotypes with haematological data. Results: High prevalence of α-thalassaemia carriers (7.7%, 21/270) was found among blood donors. All of them did not show anaemic pictures with a normal Hb level (>12 gm/dl). Five genotypes were identified consisting of 249 αα/αα (92.2%), nine -α 3.7/αα (3.3%), nine-- SEA/αα (3.3%), two -α 4.2/αα (0.7%) and one ααCS/αα (0.4%). Different α-globin genotypes showed a significant difference in RBC, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW, and Hct/Hb ratio (p<0.05) due to the different extent of α-globin chain reduction. Conclusion: Our study concluded that by using Hb level alone is not sufficient to screen for the eligibility of blood donors. Full blood count (FBC) screening with borderline MCV and MCH levels might be able to rule out silent α-thalassemia carriers. FBC and molecular characterisation should be incorporated together to properly rule out α-thalassaemia carriers.><0.05) due to the different extent of α-globin chain reduction. Conclusion: Our study concluded that by using Hb level alone is not sufficient to screen for the eligibility of blood donors. Full blood count (FBC) screening with borderline MCV and MCH levels might be able to rule out silent α-thalassemia carriers. FBC and molecular characterisation should be incorporated together to properly rule out α-thalassaemia carriers.
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