Transplantation of stem cell-derived beta cells has been a target of diabetes research for many years but has yet to mature into a therapeutic option. Dispersed islet-derived mesenchymal-like cells, induced by serum deprivation to undergo mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition, aggregate into epithelial cell clusters (ECCs). ECCs implanted under kidney capsules of SKID mice tend to differentiate into β-cell colony. Albeit, in a large proportion of mice the implanted cells de-differentiate back to stem-like phenotype. As ECCs disperse and undergo epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition by re-addition of sera, we postulated that the differentiation failure in vivo may have been due to an agent in the host serum. We found that PDGF-BB alone mimics serum-induced ECCs’ dispersal accompanied by accumulation of cytoplasmic b-catenin and a decrease in the levels of insulin and glucagon mRNAs. Hence, PDGF-BB mediated serum-induced DIDs dispersal correlated with the activation of the PI3K-Akt pathway. In conclusion, we did fail like many others. In the second part of my talk, I will attempt to analyze the causes of the manifest failure to provide effective and reliable β-cell replacement for the last sixty years. Obviously, we may manipulate cells to change their physiology; the ultimate result, however, depends on many uncontrolled and/or unknown factors. Our understandings of the complexity of inter- and an intracellular interaction in vitro and in vivo is still too sketchy to allow prediction of therapeutic outcomes. Another detrimental factor may be our present system of publishing and funding of basic research.

Introduction and Aims: Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the destruction of pancreatic beta-cells occurs by immune system cells. Aminopeptidase N (APN) or CD13 is a metalloprotease which acts on diabetes pathogenesis by various mechanisms. CD13/APN, is a molecule with multiple functions and have membrane bound and soluble forms. Membrane CD13 binds to its ligand and increases T cell activity and strengthens the immune responses. But soluble form destructs the inflammatory molecules and reduces the immune responses. To investigate the role of CD13 in the pathogenesis of diabetes, the expression frequency of this marker was measured on peripheral blood cells and its enzymatic activity was measured in serum of patients with diabetes.

Methods:  In a case control study, 35 patients with type one diabetes were enrolled based on clinical findings. The control group included 35 healthy subjects who were age-sex matched with the patient group. CD13 serum activity was measured by spectrophotometry. The frequency of CD13 molecules expression was measured by flow cytometry.

Results: The results of this study showed that CD13 expression was significantly (P=0.001) increased in patients compared to control group. The activity of serum CD13 (sCD13) in the patient group was increased compared to the control group, (P=0.047).

Conclusion: According to the result of this study, CD13 has an important role in pathogenesis of Type 1 diabetes. Therefore, inhibition of cell surface CD13 through blocking activation and migration of self-reactive lymphocytes might be effective in preventing complete destruction of the pancreatic cells in pre-diabetes individuals and reduction of the severity of the disease.

Diabetes mellitus is the most common metabolic disorder. The diabetic patients are likely to be affected by mental distress, especially depression. Psychologist should pay attention to the psychological needs of depressive patients by participating in an application of non-pharmacological treatment such as psycho-educational intervention. We aimed to assess the effect of Psycho-educational intervention on depression in patients with diabetes. This randomized controlled trial was performed in the diabetes clinics affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Sixty eligible patients suffering from depression were randomly divided into two groups by convenience sampling method, using random block allocation. The experimental group was randomly subdivided into three groups of 10 each and received eight sessions of psycho-education. The level of depression was checked before as well as 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 2 months after the intervention in both groups. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level was also checked before and 2 months after the intervention.  Both groups were demographically homogeneous with no statistically significant difference. The trend in depression scores before as well as 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 2 months after the intervention was statistically significant in the experimental group (P ≤ 0.001), but not in the control group (P = 0.087). The results showed that HbA1c variation was statistically significant before and after the intervention in both groups (P ≤ 0.001). However, the mean variation of HbA1c was not statistically significant between the groups (P = 0.473). Psycho-educational intervention was feasible and produces positive mental health in patients with diabetes. 

A 10 F mnemonic is a tool to help healthcare provider to remember a large amount of information about healthy diet what is a healthy diet?” Many clinicians find themselves at a loss to answer this common question from patients. The difficulty of offering a simple answer is understandable; for that, it is important to weave simple and compelling recommendation about healthy diet. Just remember 10 F( 5F yes and 5F NO ) all clients visiting our clinics should be advised to increase their intake of Fluids , Fibers , Fruits & vegetables , Fish , healthy Fat (5F yes) and to avoid Fried food , Fast food , Factory food , unhealthy Fat , Fad added sugar (5F No) details for each will be conducted in the lecture.

Diabetes is one of the most challenging health problems. The global prevalence of diabetes in the adult population is 8.5, and it caused 1.6 million deaths worldwide in 2015. In human serum, for example, albumin and immunoglobulin comprise over 50% of total serum protein mass. The current proteomic technique is limited by the high dynamic range of protein concentration. In most of the biological sample, the dynamic range of protein concentration spans more than 10 orders of magnitude. This large range of concentration exceeds the analytical capabilities of most proteomic technique, hindering the detection of those low abundant, but important, proteins. To tackle this challenge, our research group is focusing on the technique of detecting the low abundant proteins in the complex biological sample. For example, in a serum biomarker discovery study for early diagnosis of diabetic complication, we have reduced the sample complexity by two pretreatment methods separately: 1) ligands competition and 2) depleting the high abundant proteins by immunodepletion. Interestingly, these two pretreatment methods result in two very different proteome profiles, whereas only < 6% of proteins were identified by both methods. Besides, we have found that a more comprehensive proteome profile could be generated by combining the data from both matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and electrospray ionization (ESI) based mass spectrometry, which could enhance the detection of low abundant proteins. By comparing the proteome profile between the sera from patients with and without diabetic complications, we have identified several potential biomarkers, including the high-abundant proteins (e.g. haptoglobin and transferrin); as well as the low-abundant proteins (e.g. R3HCC1L and zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein).

Common in the food industry are phrases like: “Our food safety management system is HACCP-based” or “we are audited by such and such audit scheme and inspected under this or that set of regulations”. These phrases often describe external-party impositions of Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA) management requirements. Although some deliberations take place in the implementation of the imposed requirements or programs, they are not the same things as deliberately designed FSQA management models. From the perspective of SSQA (Safety, Security & Quality Assurance), an FSQA management model needs to be deliberately designed & implemented by an operation. The model also needs to cover more than a specific food safety concept, certification audit scheme or regulatory setup. In designing a suitable model, every operation needs to be aware of the external and internal instruments and influences involved in the management and monitoring of its food safety and quality assurance programs. The goal of the deliberately designed and implemented model should rightly be to deliver food that is safe and of acceptable quality to the consumers. A suitable & effective “model” for an operation needs to take into consideration the roles and processes of regulations, industry self-monitoring requirements, academic research, scientific and technological developments, industry knowledge and best practices, as well as consumer needs and other motivating factors that drive what operations do to ensure the safety and quality of food.

Malathion is a non-systemic broad spectrum organophosphate insecticide which is used for controlling sucking and chewing insects on fruits and vegetables. It has been analyzed that effects of different concentrations of malathion on yield and AMF colonization in Coriandrum sativum. It was found that, at recommended and low dosages, coriander does not show any significant reduction in yield and AMF infection percentage, but higher concentrations reduced yield and AMF infection percentage of coriander. After I sampling, the maximum AMF infection percentage was observed in Control and M ½ ND (62% and 52% respectively) and least was observed in M2ND (i.e., 38%). After II sampling, the AMF infection percentage decreased in MND (i.e., from 50% to 48%) and M2ND (i.e., from 38% to 36%) plants. In Control plants the AMF percentage increased from 62% to 68%, although M ½ ND also recorded a slight increase in AMF infection percentage from 52% to 54%. After III sampling, the maximum AMF percentage colonization was observed in Control (74%), M2ND (42%) treatment showed least AMF percentage colonization. Similar trend was also observed   after 95 days (IV sampling) i.e., maximum in Control (76%) and least in M2ND (48%).

Purchasing and consuming foods sold by the food truck vendors is becoming a popular trend due to the hectic lifestyle of Malaysian people nowadays. Street-vended foods were usually produced in small mobile units (e.g., vans, trailers or carts) from which food was sold, mostly with inadequate layout and equipment, frequently associated with poor environmental sanitation, improper food handling and storage practices, as well as low quality of raw materials. The purpose of this study was to investigate the implementation of halalan toyyiban practices among food truck vendors in Kuala Lumpur. Ten food trucks were selected from location at Dungun Street and Tengah Street in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. The method used was fast observation questionnaire from the element in Malaysia Standard 1500:2009, Malaysia Standard 2400 and Food Act 1983 which covers the hygienic practices, halal logistics and transportation, halal practices and halalan- toyyiban control point analysis. The results show that the food truck vendors need to undergo practices in handling food using food truck as the part of storage and preparation of food were still low.

Statement of the Problem: Luvhele and Mabonde banana varieties are bananas grown in Limpopo province of South Africa. They are rich in nutriments and antioxidants. Color is a main quality characteristic of food products that are affected by the drying conditions while texture changes in solid foods during processing by drying are an important cause of quality deterioration. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: Optimization of oven drying conditions of Luvhele and Mabonde banana varieties were studied using response surface methodology. The drying was performed according to a central composite rotatable design to explore two sets of variables: oven temperatures (40, 50 and, 60^oC) and drying time (1260, 1080, and 900 min) for Luvhele; (40, 50 and, 60^oC) and (1260, 900, and 600 min) for Mabonde. The color and texture (hardness) data were analyzed using ANOVA and regression analysis. Findings: Results indicated that L*, a*, b*, hue angle and hardness varied with drying conditions for the two banana varieties. Values to the hue angle ranged between 63.38 – 74.70 and 60.14 - 72.80 to dried slices of the banana varieties Luvhele and Mabonde. The hardness of dried slices of the banana varieties, Luvhele and Mabonde ranged between 1.15 - 14.62 N and 1.28 - 14.29 N, respectively. Oven temperature and drying time had significant (p < 0.05) effects on the overall color (hue) and hardness of Luvhele and Mabonde banana varieties. Models obtained for the prediction of overall color (hue) and hardness of dried slices of both banana varieties as a function of the process variables drying temperature and time had no significant (p > 0.05) lack of fit test, adequate and acceptable regression values: adjusted R² between 078 and 0.80 coefficient of variance (CV) < 10%; hence the models obtained for the responses were adequate and acceptable. The drying conditions of 47.56^oC drying temperature and 944.87 min of drying time were found optimum to obtain a quality at desirability of 0.97 to the Luvhele variety; whereas 40^oC drying temperature and 646.17 min of drying duration with a desirability of 0.83 was predicted as optimum drying for Mabonde. Conclusion: The result of this study could be used as a standard for oven drying of Luvhele and Mabonde banana varieties.