Although previously large-scale social restrictions were implemented by the Indonesian government, the total number of coronavirus cases is overcome China in the global ranking per July 18th, 2020, implying a higher infection rate among Indonesian residents. The surge of new coronavirus cases started since the loosening of large-scale social restrictions, thereby implicating that public gathering (including religious gathering) evidently increases transmission
[1]
. It has been reported that Indonesia's coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) mortality rate is the second-highest among Southeast Asian Nations, which may be associated with several health determinants, including biochemical factors and health comorbidity
[2]
,
[3]
,
[4]
,
[5]
,
[6]
,
[7]
. Because people's adherence to control measures is affected by their attitudes, religious perspectives, and practices (ARP) towards COVID-19. Hence, the information regarding Indonesian's ARP towards COVID-19 post-large-scale social restrictions is required. The data were collected via an online questionnaire, including demographic information (7 items), attitude and practice (5 items), and religious perspective and practice (5 items), from July 11 – 18, 2020, collecting a total of 1,345 respondents. Although our data collection did not provide other precautionary measures (e.g., adequate ventilation). It is notable that most of the religious venues are having a close ventilation system. Hence, this may contribute to the propagation of SARS-CoV-2 transmission
[8]
. Altogether, these data will help in determining non-health-related factors to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Purpose: To identify a Shigella flexneri hemagglutinin outer membrane protein (OMP) as an adhesion factor and examine its ability to cross-react with the OMPs of other Shigella species.
Methods: OMP was isolated from the bacterium S. flexneri after shaving the pili using a pili bacterial cutter in a solution of 0.5 % n-octyl-β-D-glucopyranoside. Hemagglutination was evaluated using mice erythrocytes. The molecular weight (MW) of the OMPs was profiled by SDS-PAGE. Adhesion molecules
The role of soluble soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) as a biological marker for TB treatment efficacy on active pulmonary TB-AFB(+) patients was investigated. Twenty pulmonary TB-AFB(+) patients participated in a cohort study for six months. The plasma suPAR level was measured using ELISA method before treatment, two months, four months and six months after treatment. At the same time clinical parameters were also measured. Results indicated that all patients (n = 20) showed highest plasma suPAR levels before treatment (median 12.775 ng/mL) and significantly decreased (
P = .0001<.05, R
2 = .890) after 2 months (median 8.019 ng/mL) and 4 months (median 5.771 ng/mL) of treatment, respectively. However, only slightly declined after 6 months therapy (median 5.009 ng/mL), near control group level (median 4.772 ng/mL). Interestingly, the significant reduced of suPAR level was parallel to treatment efficacy and correlated with other clinical and laboratory parameters, that is, decreasing of patients' complaints, increasing of BMI (r = −0.281), thoracic imaging improvement, sputum conversion, decreasing of ESR (r = 0.577) and monocytes count (r = 0.536) with exception the width of lesion in thoracic imaging.
In conclusion, the suPAR level in could reflect the progress of TB therapy.
Bacterial biofilms gained attention in the medical field with the emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains. The potency of lactic acid bacteria (LAB), isolated from kefir, against the development of a biofilm populated by the multidrug-resistant (MDR) Klebsiella pneumoniae was accessed in this study. The ability of LAB to inhibit biofilm formation was screened using the crystal violet method, and the morphology of the biofilms was analyzed using electron microscopy. Cell viability of K. pneumoniae after administration of LAB cell free supernatant was determined by MTT assay. Lactobacillus isolates were characterized using partial sequencing against 16S rRNA. Quorum sensing inhibition of K. pneumoniae by LAB was conducted with the help of the AHL reporter strain. Result showed that addition of cell free supernatant (CFS) as well as pellet of 40 isolates LAB on to K. pneumoniae culture could decrease their culture absorbance. Among those isolates, LAB G24 and G25 from grain kefir and LAB K10 and K15 from milk kefir demonstrated the strongest effect by reducing the absorbance by eight to nine-fold. Analysis of biofilm morphology showed that the CFS of Lactobacillus could prevent the attachment between K. pneumoniae cells. In addition, cell viability of K. pneumoniae was significantly reduced after the addition of the LABs CFS. Partial sequencing of 16S rRNA identified the LAB isolate as Lactobacillus helveticus. In conclusion the L. helveticus isolated from kefir demonstrated anti-biofilm activity against MDR K. pneumoniae. L. helveticus are potential probiotic strains for therapeutic application in the clearance of MDR K. pneumoniae.
Background: Bleomycin-induced pneumonitis (BIP) is a common consequence of bleomycin (BLE) use during chemotherapy. Kefir is a probiotic with many health benefits. Many cancer patients in Indonesia consume kefir as a complementary traditional medicine alongside standard chemotherapy. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effects of high-dose kefir consumption on BIP in a rat model. Methods: Wistar male rats were given 0.3 mg of BLE via intranasal inhalation for 6 days with a daily intragastric administration of either phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or kefir at dosages of 2.5 mL, 3.5 mL, and 4.5 mL per day for 30 days. On day 30, lung sections were obtained and stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histological examinations. Immunohistochemistry tests were carried out to determine the activity levels of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, signal transducer, and activator of transcription (STAT)-3. TNF-α and IL-6 concentrations in plasma were also evaluated. Results: Histological results showed damage to the lung structure by inflammation with diffuse infiltrate, with some areas exhibiting slight fibrosis. The number of alveolar epithelial cells expressing MMP-1 significantly increased with the kefir dosage. Interestingly, only the highest dose of kefir raised IL-6 levels, while TNF-α levels increased at all kefir doses. STAT-3 showed a slight increase in activity level. As MMP-1 works to degrade fibrosis while both TNF-α and Il-6 are correlated with inflammation, these findings might explain the observed histological changes in lung structure in the BLE and kefir groups. Conclusions: The administration of high doses of kefir in rats increased the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which worsened BIP.
The soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) has been shown to be a strong prognostic biomarker for tuberculosis (TB). In the present study, the profiles of plasma suPAR levels in pulmonary TB patients at high risk for multidrug resistance were analyzed and compared with those in multidrug resistant (MDR)-TB patients. Forty patients were prospectively included, consisting of 10 MDR-TB patients and 30 TB patients at high risk for MDR, underwent clinical assesment. Plasma suPAR levels were measured using ELISA (SUPARnostic, Denmark) and bacterial cultures were performed in addition to drug susceptibility tests. All patients of suspected MDR-TB group demonstrated significantly higher suPAR levels compared with the healthy TB-negative group (1.79 ng/mL). Among the three groups at high risk for MDR-TB, only the relapse group (7.87 ng/mL) demonstrated suPAR levels comparable with those of MDR-TB patients (7.67 ng/mL). suPAR levels in the two-month negative acid-fast bacilli conversion group (9.29 ng/mL) were higher than positive control, whereas levels in the group consisting of therapy failure patients (5.32 ng/mL) were lower. Our results strongly suggest that suPAR levels enable rapid screening of suspected MDR-TB patients, but cannot differentiate between groups.
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