Blood plasma was collected during 2016-2018 from healthy incubating eiders (Somateria molissima, n = 183) in three Danish colonies, and healthy migrating pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus, n = 427) at their spring roost in Central Norway (Svalbard breeding population) and their novel flyway through the Finnish Baltic Sea (Russian breeding population). These species and flyways altogether represent terrestrial, brackish and marine ecosystems spanning from the Western to the Eastern and Northern part of the Baltic Sea. Plasma of these species was analysed for seroprevalence of specific avian influenza A (AI) antibodies to obtain information on circulating AI serotypes and exposure. Overall, antibody prevalence was 55% for the eiders and 47% for the pink-footed geese. Of AI-antibody seropositive birds, 12% (22/183) of the eiders and 3% (12/427) of the pink-footed geese had been exposed to AI of the potentially zoonotic serotypes H5 and/or H7 virus. AI seropositive samples selected at random (n = 33) showed a low frequency of serotypes H1, H6 and H9. Future projects should aim at sampling and isolating AI virus to characterize dominant serotypes and virus strains (PCR). This will increase our understanding of how AI exposure may affect health, breeding and population viability of Baltic common eiders and pink-footed geese as well as the potential spill-over to humans (zoonotic potential).
Cooperation in food acquisition is a hallmark of the human species. Given that costs and benefits of cooperation vary among production regimes and work activities, the transition from hunting-and-gathering to agriculture is likely to have reshaped the structure of cooperative subsistence networks. Hunter-gatherers often forage in groups and are generally more interdependent and experience higher short-term food acquisition risk than horticulturalists, suggesting that cooperative labour should be more widespread and frequent for hunter-gatherers. Here we compare female cooperative labour networks of Batek hunter-gatherers of Peninsular Malaysia and Tsimane forager-horticulturalists of Bolivia. We find that Batek foraging results in high daily variation in labour partnerships, facilitating frequent cooperation in diffuse networks comprised of kin and non-kin. By contrast, Tsimane horticulture involves more restricted giving and receiving of labour, confined mostly to spouses and primary or distant kin. Tsimane women also interact with few individuals in the context of hunting/fishing activities and forage mainly with spouses and primary kin. These differences give rise to camp- or village-level networks that are more modular (have more substructure when partitioned) among Tsimane horticulturalists. Our findings suggest that subsistence activities shape the formation and extent of female social networks, particularly with respect to connections with other women and non-kin. We discuss the implications of restricted female labour networks in the context of gender relations, power dynamics and the adoption of farming in humans. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cooperation among women: evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives'.
Fruits and vegetables are important components of a healthy diet. They are rich sources of vitamins and minerals, dietary fibre and a host of beneficial non-nutrient substances including plant sterols, flavonoids and other antioxidants. It has been reported that reduced intake of fruits and vegetables may increase the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Chili pepper, is a common and important spice used to enhance taste and nutrition. Over the years, reports have shown its potential as antioxidant and an anti-obesity agent. Obesity is a serious health concern as it may initiate other common chronic diseases. Due to the side effects of synthetic antioxidants and anti-obesity drugs, scientists are now focusing on natural products which produce similar effects to synthetic chemicals. This up-to-date review addresses this research gap and presents, in an accessible format, the nutritional, antioxidant and anti-obesity properties of different chili peppers. This review article serves as a reference guide for use of chili peppers as anti-obesity agents.
It has been shown that lipid peroxidation product levels in the soleus muscles of rats fed palm olein were lower than in the soleus muscles of rats fed soya bean oil. A study was carried out to test our hypothesis that the lower level of lipid peroxidation products in the soleus muscle of palm olein-fed rats is due, at least partly, to the higher amount of vitamin E in their soleus muscles. Experimentally induced hyperthyroid rats were fed either ground rat chow or ground rat chow mixed with palm olein oil or soya bean oil for a period of 8 weeks. Euthyroid rats fed ground rat chow for a similar period served as controls. At the end of the 8-week period, the rats were sacrificed and the α-tocopherol and tocotrienol levels in their soleus muscles were measured using high pressure liquid chromatography. It was found that the levels of α-tocopherol (23.682 ± 0.363), α-tocotrienol (1.974 ± 0.040) and γ-tocotrienol (1.418 ± 0.054) in μg/g tissue wet weight in the soleus muscles of hyperthyroid rats fed palm olein oil were statistically significantly higher than those found in the soleus muscles of hyperthyroid rats fed soya bean oil, which were 14.299 ± 0.378, 0.053 ± 0.053 and 0.184 ± 0.120μg/g tissue wet weight, respectively. The result shows that the increased level of a-tocopherol and tocotrienols found in the soleus muscles of hyperthyroid rats fed palm olein oil is responsible, at least partly, for the lower amount of lipid peroxidation products in these muscles compared with the soleus muscles of hyperthyroid rats fed soya bean oil in our earlier study.
The soleus muscles of hyperthyroid rats were used to investigate the effect of palm olein oil and soya bean oil on the production of lipid peroxidation products. It was found that palm olein oil but not soya bean oil significantly decreased malonaldehyde and conjugated diene levels of the soleus muscles of hyperthyroid rats. These findings suggest that palm olein per se produces less lipid peroxidation products than soya bean oil. Such an assay method gives a composite net picture of the propensity of an oil to produce lipid peroxidation products.
Mite foci were fenced above and below ground to prevent the entry of host animals and to prevent the migration of mites within the soil. Weekly counts were made over a period of thirty weeks with larvae being collected at the beginning and end of the study, but not during the intervening period of hot, dry weather. Post-larval forms can survive for long periods and mite foci can remain productive without being visited by the host animals. Mite foci may be missed by normal survey methods during hot, dry weather.
Malaria is a disease that causes enormous human morbidity and mortality. One feature of mature Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes leading to the development of severe malaria is thought to be cytoadherence and blockage of the microvasculature. Therefore, an understanding of mechanisms that mediate parasite adhesion leading to malaria pathology is needed to yield new treatments for malaria. However, to date, cytoadherence-associated pathology is still under debate. Is cytoadherence needed to develop severe malaria? This review will discuss the available information on associations of cytoadherence with the development of severe malaria.
Pain is modulated by various factors, the most notable of which is emotions. Since love is an emotion, it can also modulate pain. The answer to the question of whether it enhances or reduces pain needs to be determined. A review was conducted of animal and human studies in which this enigmatic emotion and its interaction with pain was explored. Recent advances in neuroimaging have revealed similarities in brain activation relating to love and pain. At the simplest level, this interaction can be explained by the overlapping network structure in brain functional connectivity, although the explanation is considerably more complex. The effect of love can either result in increased or decreased pain perception. An explanation of the interaction between pain and love relates to the functional connectivity of the brain and to the psychological construct of the individual, as well as to his or her ability to engage resources relating to emotion regulation. In turn, this determines how a person relates to love and reacts to pain.
Microplastic pollution is an emerging environmental and public health threat worldwide including Malaysia. Microplastics are widespread in drinking water, but also food products especially seafood, an important dietary source for the Malaysians. Potential health hazards may be a result of chemicals, physical properties and microbial disturbance associated with microplastic exposure. However, most studies were performed in animals rather than in human. Nevertheless, in recognition of rising threat from microplastics, in 2018, the Malaysia's Roadmap to Zero Single-use Plastics 2018-2030 has been released. In this editorial, we firstly discussed the potential impact of microplastics on human health, followed by the strategies or limitations highlighted in the Malaysia's Roadmap.
When the first report of COVID-19 appeared in December 2019 from Wuhan, China, the world unknowingly perceived this as another flu-like illness. Many were surprised at the extreme steps that China had subsequently taken to seal Wuhan from the rest of the world. However, by February 2020, the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, had spread so quickly across the globe that the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic. COVID-19 is not the first pandemic the world has seen, so what makes it so unique in Malaysia, is discussed to avoid a future coronacoma.
Genetic Absence Epilepsy Rats from Strasbourg (GAERS) are a prognostic genetic model of absence epilepsy. This model displays the electro-clinical, behavioural, and pharmacological features of absence seizures. Although GAERS share typical characteristics, including spike-and-wave discharges (SWDs) in the electroencephalography (EEG), age-dependent studies with these animals have not yet been reported. The aim of the present study is to perform a systematic comparison contrasting the SWDs of young and older GAERS, in terms of the number, duration, frequency, and waveform morphology of the discharges, as well as the pre-SWD EEG characteristics, using identical measurement and analysis techniques. The number, cumulative total duration and mean duration of SWDs were significantly higher in young GAERS (4 to 6 months) compared to older GAERS (12 to 14 months). Furthermore, the SWD spectra and average SWD waveforms indicated that a single cycle of the SWD contains more energy in faster components, such as increased spikes and higher power, in the SWDs of the young GAERS. Additionally, older GAERS showed weak amplitude spikes in SWDs and higher power pre-SWDs. These clear morphological differences in the EEGs of young and older GAERS rats should be further examined in future studies that explore new dimensions of genetic absence epilepsy.
An unidentified animal species named the Jenglot and claimed to be a rare living animal species was recently found in the deep jungle of Irian Jaya, Indonesia; brought to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by a businessman; and exhibited in a local museum. The owner of the Jenglot carcasses had made a request to perform DNA analysis on the Jenglot to ascertain its species.