Transtibial prosthetic sockets can be fabricated either by the conventional way, which involve using plaster of Paris bandages for casting. This will include modifications through hand, scanning and digital imaging of software. The aim of this study is to determine the circumferential profiles and conduct a volumetric analysis of a conventional socket that has fabrication using biosculptor technology. In doing this, a male transtibial amputee, age 28 years old with stable health condition was studied, where circumferential measurements were taken at intervals of 1 cm from the distal end of the residual limb to the medial tibial plateau level. Furthermore, the interior volume of both sockets and residuum were determined directly using water displacement method. A comparative value for the calculation of volume was also carried out using engineering mathematical equations. From these measurements, a total surface bearing transtibial sockets was fabricated to compare the changes of circumferential values of both sockets. The finding shows a percentage of the difference between the volume of the residual limb and conventional sockets to be 6.09%, whereas the biosculptor fabrication socket was 7.84% using the water displacement method. A comparison of circumferential profiles and volumetric analysis findings on the contrary showed that socket fabricated using the biosculptor technology is interchangeable with the conventional socket with more advantages, where biosculptor technology produces cheaper sockets and faster process with digital function in the procedure, unlike the conventional manual technique.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent noncommunicable diseases worldwide. 5-Fluorouracil is the mainstay of chemotherapy for colorectal cancer. Previously, we have demonstrated that high glucose diminishes the cytotoxicity of 5-fluorouracil by promoting cell cycle progression. The synergistic impact of rosiglitazone on 5-fluorouracil-induced apoptosis was further investigated in this study. Besides control cell lines (CCD-18Co), two human colonic carcinoma cell lines (HCT 116 and HT 29) were exposed to different treatments containing 5-fluorouracil, rosiglitazone or 5-fluorouracil/rosiglitazone combination under normal glucose (5.5 mM) and high-glucose (25 mM) conditions. The cellular oxidative stress level was evaluated with biomarkers of nitric oxide, advanced oxidation protein products, and reduced glutathione. The cell apoptosis was assessed using flow cytometry technique. High glucose caused the production of reduced glutathione in HCT 116 and HT 29 cells. Correspondingly, high glucose suppressed the apoptotic effect of 5-fluorouracil and rosiglitazone. As compared to 5-fluorouracil alone (2 µg/mL), addition of rosiglitazone significantly enhanced the apoptosis (increment rate of 5–20%) in a dose-dependent manner at normal glucose and high glucose levels. This study indicates that high-glucose-induced reduced glutathione confers resistance to apoptosis, but it can be overcome upon treatment of 5-fluorouracil and 5-fluorouracil/rosiglitazone combination. Rosiglitazone may be a promising antidiabetic drug to reduce the chemotherapeutic dose of 5-fluorouracil for colorectal cancer complicated with hyperglycemia.

Ganoderma neo‐japonicum is a well‐known medicinal mushroom in Asian countries. However, scientific validations on its curative activities are confined to cirrhosis and diabetes. In this study, the anticancer properties of G. neo‐japonicum were evaluated using cellular and computational models. The ethanolic extract (EtOH) with a promising inhibitory effect was fractionated into four different fractions: hexane (Hex), chloroform (Chl), butanol (Btn), and aqueous (Aq). The active fractions were then subjected to cell apoptosis assessment and phytochemical profiling. Molecular docking was conducted to elucidate the affinity of selected constituents towards antiapoptotic Bcl‐2 protein. The butanol fraction showed the highest antioxidant activities as well as total phenolic content. Both hexane and chloroform fractions exerted a potent cytotoxic effect on colonic carcinoma cells through the induction of apoptosis. Phytochemical analysis revealed that the chloroform fraction is terpenoid enriched whereas the hexane fraction comprises predominantly sterol constituents. Stellasterol and 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 3‐glycoside were demonstrated to have a high affinity towards Bcl‐2 protein. Overall, G. neo‐japonicum can be considered as a compelling therapeutic candidate for cancer treatment.

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