Clerodendrum serratum (L.) Moon. (Verbenaceae) is an important medicinal plant growing in the tropical and warm temperate regions like Africa, Southern Asia; Malaysia and distributed throughout in forests of India and Sri Lanka. It is traditionally valued and reported for treating pain, inflammation, rheumatism, respiratory disorders, fever and malarial fever in India with a long history. To provide a comprehensive overview of the traditional and ethno medicinal uses, phytochemistry and biological activities of C. serratum with clinical and toxicity data and possibly make recommendations for further research.
BACKGROUND:
Low back pain (LBP) is the most costly ailment in the work force. Risky work behaviour and psychological stress are established risk factors.
AIMS:
To explore the associations between workplace risk factors, psychological stress and LBP among Malaysian railway workers.
METHODS:
A cross-sectional study was carried out on railway workers in Malaysia. Socio-demographics, workplace risk factors for LBP, perceived psychological stress and history of LBP over the previous month were obtained by direct interviews using a structured closed-ended questionnaire. Descriptive, bivariate and logistic regression analyses were conducted.
RESULTS:
There were 513 study participants (70% response rate). The prevalence of LBP in the previous month was 69%. Multivariate analysis yielded four significant predictors of LBP: employment of ≥ 10 years, lifting and lowering heavy loads, prolonged standing posture and psychological stress.
CONCLUSIONS:
The high prevalence of LBP and its significant associations with physical and psychological stress factors in railway workers points to an urgent need for preventive measures, particularly among workers in high-risk occupations.
MeSH terms: Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Employment; Female; Humans; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Motor Activity; Occupational Diseases/etiology*; Occupational Diseases/epidemiology; Occupational Diseases/psychology; Occupations; Posture; Surveys and Questionnaires; Railroads*; Risk Factors; Stress, Mechanical*; Stress, Psychological/complications*; Work*; Prevalence; Occupational Exposure/adverse effects*; Low Back Pain/etiology*; Low Back Pain/epidemiology; Low Back Pain/psychology; Lifting; Young Adult
Dengue represents one of the most serious life-threatening vector-borne infectious diseases that afflicts approximately 50 million people across the globe annually. Whilst symptomatic infections are frequently reported, asymptomatic dengue remains largely unnoticed. Therefore, we sought to investigate the immune correlates conferring protection to individuals that remain clinically asymptomatic.
Cosmopolitan scuttle fly, Megaselia scalaris (Loew) (Diptera: Phoridae) is one of the commonest forensic species recorded colonizing human corpse indoors and in concealed environment. The occurrence of this species in such environments provides a higher evidential value to assist estimation of postmortem interval (PMI) compared to other forensically important dipterans. However, developmental and size data of M. scalaris are still lacking and they are derived from a limited range of thermal values. The objective of this study is to develop the growth model of M. scalaris by emphasizing the size range of larvae and puparia at different constant temperatures. This species was reared in six replicates at eight varying constant temperatures ranging from 23 to 36 °C and cow's liver was provided as food source. Larvae and puparia were sampled at set time intervals and measured by their length and weight. Because interpretation of forensic entomological evidence is subject to application of different techniques, development of M. scalaris is expressed herein by using developmental table, length/morphological stage diagrams and linear/nonlinear estimation methods. From the findings, it is very important to highlight that sexual dimorphism of M. scalaris during post feeding larva and pupa stage could be observed based on size and developmental periods. Mean length and weight ratios of male to female puparia are approximately 0.8 and 0.3-0.5, respectively, indicating sexual dimorphism of this species. Developmental period in female are 4.0-11.4 h (post feeding larval stage), 3.7-24.0 h (pupal stage), and 3.0-20.1 h (total developmental period) longer in male. Due to this dimorphism, PMI estimation using M. scalaris post feeding larva or puparium specimens must be carried out carefully by to avoid inaccuracy and misinterpretation.
Pseudotumours are rare, occurring in 1-2% of severe haemophiliacs. Osseous locations are far less frequent than soft tissue location. We report a case of a 43-year-old man with haemophilia A, who presented with a gradually enlarging left thigh mass for 8 months. There were no constitutional symptoms. Plain radiograph showed an expansile lytic lesion with 'soap-bubble' appearance arising from the left femur diaphysis. On MRI, it appeared as a non-enhancing, multilobulated lesion expanding the medullary and subperiosteal spaces. The mass exhibited concentric ring sign with heterogeneous intermediate signal intensity in the core lesion, reflective of chronic haematoma with blood degradation products of different stages. A diagnosis of haemophilic pseudotumour was made. Hypercalcaemia, however, raised a diagnostic dilemma as bone malignancy needed to be considered. An open excisional biopsy and subsequent amputation confirmed the diagnosis of osseous haemophilic pseudotumour. Nuclear medicine study later revealed a concurrent parathyroid adenoma.
Chromatographic fingerprints of gingers from five different ginger-producing countries (China, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam) were newly established to discriminate the origin of ginger. The pungent bioactive principles of ginger, gingerols and six other gingerol-related compounds were determined and identified. Their variations in HPLC profiles create the characteristic pattern of each origin by employing similarity analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA). As results, the ginger profiles tended to be grouped and separated on the basis of the geographical closeness of the countries of origin. An effective mathematical model with high predictive ability was obtained and chemical markers for each origin were also identified as the characteristic active compounds to differentiate the ginger origin. The proposed method is useful for quality control of ginger in case of origin labelling and to assess food authenticity issues.
The adulteration of edible fats is a kind of fraud that impairs the physical and chemical features of the original lipid materials. It has been detected in various food, pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical products. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is the robust thermo-analytical machine that permits to fingerprint the primary crystallisation of triacylglycerols (TAGs) molecules and their transition behaviours. The aims of this study was to assess the cross-contamination caused by lard concentration of 0.5-5% in the mixture systems containing beef tallow (BT) and chicken fat (CF) separately. TAGs species of pure and adulterated lipids in relation to their crystallisation and melting parameters were studied using principal components analysis (PCA). The results showed that by using the heating profiles the discrimination of LD from BT and CF was very clear even at low dose of less than 1%. Same observation was depicted from the crystallisation profiles of BT adulterated by LD doses ranging from 0.1% to 1% and from 2% to 5%, respectively. Furthermore, CF adulterated with LD did not exhibit clear changes on its crystallisation profiles. Consequently, DSC coupled with PCA is one of the techniques that might use to monitor and differentiate the minimum adulteration levels caused by LD in different animal fats.
This study aimed at analyzing the concentrations of 23 minor and trace elements in aromatic spices by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), after wet digestion by microwave system. The analytical method was validated by linearity, detection limits, precision, accuracy and recovery experiments, obtaining satisfactory values in all cases. Results indicated the presence of variable amounts of both minor and trace elements in the selected aromatic spices. Manganese was high in cinnamon (879.8 μg/g) followed by cardamom (758.1 μg/g) and clove (649.9 μg/g), strontium and zinc were high in ajwain (489.9 μg/g and 84.95 μg/g, respectively), while copper was high in mango powder (77.68 μg/g). On the whole some of the minor and essential trace elements were found to have good nutritional contribution in accordance to RDA. The levels of toxic trace elements, including As, Cd, and Pb were very low and did not found to pose any threat to consumers.
A sol-gel hybrid sorbent, methyltrimethoxysilane-tetraethoxysilane (MTMOS-TEOS) was successfully used as new dispersive solid phase extraction (dSPE) sorbent material in the determination of acrylamide in several Sudanese foods and analysis using GC-MS. Several important dSPE parameters were optimised. Under the optimised conditions, excellent linearity (r(2)>0.9998) was achieved using matrix matched standard calibration in the concentration range 50-1000 μg kg(-1). The limits of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification ranged from 9.1 to 12.8 μg/kg and 27.8-38.9 μg/kg, respectively. The precision (RSD%) of the method was ⩽6.6% and recoveries of acrylamide obtained were in the range of 88-103%, (n=3). The LOD obtained is comparable with the LODs of primary secondary amine dSPE. The proposed MTMOS-TEOS dSPE method is direct and safe for acrylamide analysis, showed reliable method validation performances and good cleanup effects. It was successfully applied to the analysis of acrylamide in real food samples.
Glyphosate is globally a widely used herbicide, yet there is little information on their toxicity to marine fishes. Java medaka, a small tropical fish native to coastal areas in several Southeast Asian countries, is viewed as a suitable candidate for toxicity test and thus was used for this study. Java medaka adults were cultured in the laboratory and the fertilized eggs of the F2 generation were exposed to different concentrations of glyphosate-based herbicide (100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 ppm) until they hatched. The survival and hatching rates of the embryos, changes in the heart rate and morphological impairments were recorded. Generally, survival and hatching percentage decreased as glyphosate concentration increased. Absence of pectoral fin(s) and cornea, permanently bent tail, irregular shaped abdomen, and cell disruption in the fin, head and abdomen are among the common teratogenic effects observed. Furthermore, risk factor also increased with the increased in glyphosate concentrations.
The genus Hydnocarpus (Flacourtiaceae) includes forty species that are spread across the globe. In the Indian System of Medicine, Hydnocarpus pentandrus (Buch.-Ham.) Oken. is primarily used for treating leprosy and other skin disorders. It is known as "Chaulmoogra" and is also used to treat other indications including constipation, inflammation, blood disorders, and worm infestations. Various species of Hydnocarpus are also used in traditional medicine in China, Thailand, Malaysia, and Myanmar for several skin disorders. To assess the therapeutic potential of species from the Hydnocarpus genus and to determine future avenues for research.
Dyspepsia is a common gastroenterological problem with an estimated global prevalence between 7 and 40%. Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a major economic burden to patients and healthcare systems and significantly affects patient quality of life. The ROME III definition of FD divides it into two subgroups, epigastric pain syndrome and postprandial distress syndrome, the former being more associated with reflux disease and the latter with gastric dysmotility. The global incidence and prevalence of FD continues to rise, but the reason for this is not clear. Rising global obesity and gastroesophageal reflux disease rates may be contributing to the rise in FD. Socioeconomic and cultural demographic changes such as changing dietary habits and rapid urbanization, particularly in the developing countries, are likely to be influencing the course of FD and the way it presents.
This study describes our investigation on the prevalence and molecular identification of bartonellae from Rattus diardii and R. norvegicus in the urban areas of Malaysia. Of 95 rats investigated, Bartonella tribocorum, B. rattimassiliensis, B. coopersplainsensis, B. elizabethae, and B. queenslandensis were isolated from kidney and spleen homogenates of four rats. Bartonellae DNA was amplified from the rat organ tissues by using primers specific for the bartonellae RNA polymerase beta subunit (rpoB) gene in nine other rats. Sequence analysis of the rpoB gene fragments shows the identification of B. queenslandensis in five rats, B. elizabethae in three rats, and B. tribocorum in one rat. Combining the results of isolation and molecular detection of bartonellae, we found that the prevalence of Bartonella infection in the Rattus spp. investigated in this study was 13.7%. Implementation of effective rat control program in the urban areas is necessary to prevent the spillover of bartonellosis from rats to humans.
BACKGROUND: Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN), caused by allopurinol therapy, are strongly associated with the human leukocyte antigen (HLA), HLA-B*5801. Identification of HLA-B*5801 genotype before prescribing allopurinol offers the possibility of avoiding allopurinol-induced SJS/TEN. As there is a paucity of evidence about economic value of such testing, this study aims to determine the cost-effectiveness of HLA-B*5801 testing compared with usual care (no genetic testing) before allopurinol administration in Thailand.
METHODS AND FINDING: A decision analytical and Markov model was used to estimate life time costs and outcomes represented as quality adjusted life years (QALYs) gained. The model was populated with relevant information of the association between gene and allopurinol-induced SJS/TEN, test characteristics, costs, and epidemiologic data for Thailand from a societal perspective. Input data were obtained from the literature and a retrospective database analysis. The results were expressed as incremental cost per QALY gained. A base-case analysis was performed for patients at age 30. A series of sensitivity analyses including scenario, one-way, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were constructed to explore the robustness of the findings. Based on a hypothetical cohort of 1,000 patients, the incremental total cost was 923,919 THB (USD 29,804) and incremental QALY was 5.89 with an ICER of 156,937.04 THB (USD 5,062) per QALY gained. The cost of gout management, incidence of SJS/TEN, case fatality rate of SJS/TEN, and cost of genetic testing are considered very influential parameters on the cost-effectiveness value of HLA-B*5801 testing.
CONCLUSIONS: The genetic testing for HLA-B*5801 before allopurinol administration is considered a highly potential cost-effective intervention in Thailand. The findings are sensitive to a number of factors. In addition to cost-effectiveness findings, consideration of other factors including ethical, legal, and social implications is needed for an informed policy decision making.
Adult intussusception is rare, representing only 1% to 5% of bowel obstructions. This is a case series of 8 patients who presented with intestinal obstruction secondary to intussusception managed laparoscopically at our institution.
A phytochemical investigation on the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of Lonicera quinquelocularis (whole plant) led to the first time isolation of one new phthalate; bis(7-acetoxy-2-ethyl-5-methylheptyl) phthalate (3) and two new benzoates; neopentyl-4-ethoxy-3, 5-bis (3-methyl-2-butenyl benzoate (4) and neopentyl-4-hydroxy-3, 5-bis (3-methyl-2-butenyl benzoate (5) along with two known compounds bis (2-ethylhexyl phthalate (1) and dioctyl phthalate (2). Their structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and by comparison with available data in the literature. All the compounds (1-5) were tested for their acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory activities in dose dependent manner. The IC50 (50% inhibitory effect) values of compounds 3 and 5 against AChE were 1.65 and 3.43 µM while the values obtained against BChE were 5.98 and 9.84 µM respectively. Compounds 2 and 4 showed weak inhibition profile.
In Malaysia, futsal is a popular sport played by individuals across all ages and genders. Despite its popularity, information on futsal related injury in Malaysia is not available. The purpose of this study is to examine the injury incidence and injury patterns among amateur men and women futsal players in Malaysia.
Polypyrrole multi-walled carbon nanotube composite layers were used to modify the gold layer to measure heavy metal ions using the surface plasmon resonance technique. The new sensor was fabricated to detect trace amounts of mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and iron (Fe) ions. In the present research, the sensitivity of a polypyrrole multi-walled carbon nanotube composite layer and a polypyrrole layer were compared. The application of polypyrrole multi-walled carbon nanotubes enhanced the sensitivity and accuracy of the sensor for detecting ions in an aqueous solution due to the binding of mercury, lead, and iron ions to the sensing layer. The Hg ion bonded to the sensing layer more strongly than did the Pb and Fe ions. The limitation of the sensor was calculated to be about 0.1 ppm, which produced an angle shift in the region of 0.3° to 0.6°.
A truncated haemoglobin (tHb) has been identified in an acidophilic and thermophilic methanotroph Methylacidiphilium infernorum. Hell's Gate Globin IV (HGbIV) and its related tHbs differ from all other bacterial tHbs due to their distinctively large sequence and polar distal haem pocket residues. Here we report the crystal structure of HGbIV determined at 1.96 Å resolution. The HGbIV structure has the distinctive 2/2 α-helical structure with extensions at both termini. It has a large distal site cavity in the haem pocket surrounded by four polar residues: His70(B9), His71(B10), Ser97(E11) and Trp137(G8). This cavity can bind bulky ligands such as a phosphate ion. Conformational shifts of His71(B10), Leu90(E4) and Leu93(E7) can also provide more space to accommodate larger ligands than the phosphate ion. The entrance/exit of such bulky ligands might be facilitated by positional flexibility in the CD1 loop, E helix and haem-propionate A. Therefore, the large cavity in HGbIV with polar His70(B9) and His71(B10), in contrast to the distal sites of other bacterial tHbs surrounded by non-polar residues, suggests its distinct physiological functions.
MeSH terms: Amino Acid Sequence; Bacterial Proteins/chemistry*; Binding Sites; Heme/chemistry; Hemoglobins/chemistry*; Hydrogen Bonding; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Models, Molecular; Molecular Sequence Data; Protein Structure, Secondary; Protein Structure, Tertiary; Crystallography, X-Ray; Protein Structure, Quaternary; Protein Stability; Coordination Complexes/chemistry; Verrucomicrobia*
This paper elucidates the role of processed foods and beverages in the 'nutrition transition' underway in Asia. Processed foods tend to be high in nutrients associated with obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases: refined sugar, salt, saturated and trans-fats. This paper identifies the most significant 'product vectors' for these nutrients and describes changes in their consumption in a selection of Asian countries. Sugar, salt and fat consumption from processed foods has plateaued in high-income countries, but has rapidly increased in the lower-middle and upper-middle-income countries. Relative to sugar and salt, fat consumption in the upper-middle- and lower-middle-income countries is converging most rapidly with that of high-income countries. Carbonated soft drinks, baked goods, and oils and fats are the most significant vectors for sugar, salt and fat respectively. At the regional level there appears to be convergence in consumption patterns of processed foods, but country-level divergences including high levels of consumption of oils and fats in Malaysia, and soft drinks in the Philippines and Thailand. This analysis suggests that more action is needed by policy-makers to prevent or mitigate processed food consumption. Comprehensive policy and regulatory approaches are most likely to be effective in achieving these goals.