This is an epidemiological study on injuries and illnesses among Sabah SUKMA athletes in 2018. This study was done retrospectively using a standardized data registry. Incidence of injuries and illnesses were 16.27 and 16.74 per 100 athletes, respectively. Combat sports showed the highest incidence of injuries (45%), mainly involving the head and neck region. Common injuries included muscle strains and ligament sprains. The concussion rate was 1.85 per 100 full contact athletes. Time loss percentage was 1.4%. There were no reports on any severe head injuries or severe concussions. This could be due to the strict implementation of protective gear during competitions. The concussion rate was lower compared to many other international studies. Muscle strains was seen more in high speed sprinting and kicking athletes. The most significant illness affecting Sabahan athletes was an isolated case of mumps. However, contact tracing was activated immediately and there were no reported Mumps outbreaks among Sabahan athletes.
HIV-1 transmission via sexual exposure is an inefficient process. When transmission does occur, newly infected individuals are colonized by the descendants of either a single virion or a very small number of establishing virions. These transmitted founder (TF) viruses are more interferon (IFN)-resistant than chronic control (CC) viruses present 6 months after transmission. To identify the specific molecular defences that make CC viruses more susceptible to the IFN-induced 'antiviral state', we established a single pair of fluorescent TF and CC viruses and used arrayed interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) expression screening to identify candidate antiviral effectors. However, we observed a relatively uniform ISG resistance of transmitted HIV-1, and this directed us to investigate possible underlying mechanisms. Simple simulations, where we varied a single parameter, illustrated that reduced growth rate could possibly underly apparent interferon sensitivity. To examine this possibility, we closely monitored in vitro propagation of a model TF/CC pair (closely matched in replicative fitness) over a targeted range of IFN concentrations. Fitting standard four-parameter logistic growth models, in which experimental variables were regressed against growth rate and carrying capacity, to our in vitro growth curves, further highlighted that small differences in replicative growth rates could recapitulate our in vitro observations. We reasoned that if growth rate underlies apparent interferon resistance, transmitted HIV-1 would be similarly resistant to any growth rate inhibitor. Accordingly, we show that two transmitted founder HIV-1 viruses are relatively resistant to antiretroviral drugs, while their matched chronic control viruses were more sensitive. We propose that, when present, the apparent IFN resistance of transmitted HIV-1 could possibly be explained by enhanced replicative fitness, as opposed to specific resistance to individual IFN-induced defences. However, further work is required to establish how generalisable this mechanism of relative IFN resistance might be.
Dehydration-responsive element binding (DREB) transcription factor plays an important role in controlling the expression of abiotic stress responsive genes. An intronless oil palm EgDREB1 was isolated and confirmed to be a nuclear localized protein. Electrophoretic mobility shift and yeast one-hybrid assays validated its ability to interact with DRE/CRT motif. Its close evolutionary relation to the dicot NtDREB2 suggests a universal regulatory role. In order to determine its involvement in abiotic stress response, functional characterization was performed in oil palm seedlings subjected to different levels of drought severity and in EgDREB1 transgenic tomato seedlings treated by abiotic stresses. Its expression in roots and leaves was compared with several antioxidant genes using quantitative real-time PCR. Early accumulation of EgDREB1 in oil palm roots under mild drought suggests possible involvement in the initiation of signaling communication from root to shoot. Ectopic expression of EgDREB1 in T1 transgenic tomato seedlings enhanced expression of DRE/CRT and non-DRE/CRT containing genes, including tomato peroxidase (LePOD), ascorbate peroxidase (LeAPX), catalase (LeCAT), superoxide dismutase (LeSOD), glutathione reductase (LeGR), glutathione peroxidase (LeGP), heat shock protein 70 (LeHSP70), late embryogenesis abundant (LeLEA), metallothionine type 2 (LeMET2), delta 1-pyrroline-5- carboxylate synthetase (LePCS), ABA-aldehyde oxidase (LeAAO) and 9-cis- Epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase (LeECD) under PEG treatment and cold stress (4 °C). Altogether, these findings suggest that EgDREB1 is a functional regulator in enhancing tolerance to drought and cold stress.
Oil palm is grown in tropical soils with low bioavailability of Pi. A cDNA clone specifically expressed under phosphate-starvation condition in oil palm roots was identified as a high-affinity phosphate transporter (EgPHT1). The deduced amino acid sequence has 6 transmembrane domains each at the N- and C-termini separated by a hydrophilic linker. Comparison of promoter motifs within 1500 bp upstream of ATG of 10 promoters from high- and low-affinity phosphate transporter from both dicots and monocots including EgPHT1 was performed. The EgPHT1 promoter was fused to β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene and its activity was analysed by histochemical and fluorometric GUS assays in transiently transformed oil palm tissues and T3 homozygous transgenic Arabidopsis plants. In response to Pi-starvation, no GUS activity was detected in oil palm leaves, but a strong inducible activity was observed in the roots (1.4 times higher than the CaMV35S promoter). GUS was specifically expressed in transgenic Arabidopsis roots under Pi deficiency and starvation of the other macronutrients (N and K) did not induce GUS activity. Eight motifs including ABRERATCAL (abscisic-acid responsive), RHERPATEXPA7 (root hair-specific), SURECOREATSULTR11 (sulfur-deficiency response), LTRECOREATCOR15 (temperature-stress response), MYB2CONSENSUSAT and ACGTATERD1 (water-stress response) as well as two novel motifs, 3 (TAAAAAAA) and 26 (TTTTATGT) identified through pattern discovery, occur at significantly higher frequency (p
Levels of leptin and marinobufagenin (MBG), a cardiotonic steroid, are elevated in the serum of women with pre-eclampsia. Besides this, leptin administration to pregnant rats increases systolic blood pressure (SBP), urinary protein excretion and serum markers of endothelial activation. The link between leptin and MBG is unknown and it is also unclear if leptin-induced increases in blood pressure and proteinuria in the pregnant rat could be prevented by an MBG antagonist. To ascertain this link, this study investigated the effect of resibufogenin (RBG), a marinobufagenin antagonist, on leptin-induced increases in blood pressure and proteinuria during pregnancy in rats. Four groups of Sprague-Dawley rats, aged 12 weeks, were given either normal saline (CONTROL) or 120 μg/kg/day of leptin (LEP), or 120 μg/kg/day of leptin+30 μg/kg/day of resibufogenin (L + RBG) or 30 μg/kg/day of resibufogenin (RBG) from Day 1-20 of pregnancy. Systolic blood pressure and urinary protein excretion (UPE) were measured during the study period. Animals were euthanized on day 21 of pregnancy and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, (VCAM-1), soluble intracellular cell adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1), E-selectin and endothelin-1 (ET-1) were estimated in the serum. SBP, UPE, VCAM-1, sICAM-1 and ET-1 were significantly higher only in the LEP group when compared with those in CONT and in L + RBG and RBG groups. The prevention by RBG of leptin-induced increases in SBP, proteinuria, and endothelial activation during pregnancy seem to suggest a potential role for MBG in leptin-induced adverse effects on blood pressure, urinary protein excretion and endothelial activity during pregnancy in the rat.
Hb Tak is one of more than 200 high affinity haemoglobin variants reported worldwide. It results from the insertion of two nucleotides (AC) at the termination codon, between codon 146 and codon 147 of the beta-globin gene [Beta 147 (+AC)]. Polycythaemia is the main clinical feature although affected carriers are usually asymptomatic and do not require intervention. Several case studies in this region have reported the co-inheritance of Hb Tak with Hb E, delta beta and beta thalassaemia with one case of homozygous Hb Tak in a Thai boy. In this case report, a cluster of haemoglobin Tak was found in a family of Malay ethnic origin. Cascade family screening was conducted while investigating a 4-year old girl who presented with symptomatic polycythaemia. She had 2 previous Hb analysis done, at 7-month and 2-year-old with the diagnosis of possible Hb Q Thailand and Homozygous Hb D, respectively. Both diagnosis did not fit her clinical presentations. She was plethoric, had reduced exercise tolerance as well as cardiomyopathy. Her parents were consanguineously married and later diagnosed as asymptomatic carriers of Hb Tak. Consequently, re-analysis of the girl's blood sample revealed a homozygous state of Hb Tak. In conclusion, high oxygen affinity haemoglobin like Hb Tak should be considered in the investigation of polycythaemic patients with abnormal Hb analyses. In this case, DNA analysis was crucial in determining the correct diagnosis.
The use of in vitro culture has been accepted as an efficient technique for clonal propagation of many woody plants. In the present research, we report the results of a number of experiments aimed at optimizing micropropagation protocol for tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) (clone Iran 100) using nodal segments as the explant. The effect of different combinations and concentrations of plant growth regulators (PGR) (BAP, TDZ, GA₃) on shoot multiplication and elongation was assessed. The influence of exposure to IBA in liquid form prior to transfer to solid media on rooting of tea microshoots was investigated. The results of this study showed that the best treatment for nodal segment multiplication in terms of the number of shoot per explant and shoot elongation was obtained using 3 mg/L BAP in combination with 0.5 mg/L GA₃. TDZ was found to be inappropriate for multiplication of tea clone Iran 100 as it resulted in hyperhydricity especially at concentrations higher than 0.05 mg/L. Healthy shoots treated with 300 mg/L IBA for 30 min followed by transfer to 1/2 strength MS medium devoid of PGR resulted in 72.3% of shoots producing roots and upon transferring them to acclimatization chamber 65% survival was obtained prior to field transfer.
Differential effect of plant growth regulators and additives in proliferation of 18-month-old calli of Ananas comosus L. cv. Moris were assessed in vitro. The proliferation of callus relied on the growth regulators and additives. Of the different auxins supplemented in the Murashige and Skoog (MS) media, 32.22 microM alpha-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) gave the highest mean fresh weight of callus (46.817 g). Medium supplemented with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) was inferior to NAA, while b-naphthoxy acetic acid (BNOA) and p-chlorophenoxy acetic acid (4-CPA) were not effective in proliferating 18-months old callus. Addition of casein hydrolysate and coconut water to NAA supplemented medium showed better proliferation and production of callus. However, in terms of callus production, NAA at 32.22 microM was economically better.
This article aims to provide insights into the factors that contribute to the separation efficiency of solid particles. In this study, a pneumatic jigging technique was used to assess the separation of solid waste materials that consisted of copper, glass and rubber insulator. Several initial experiments were carried out to evaluate the strengths and limitations of the technique. It is found that despite some limitations of the technique, all the samples prepared for the experiments were successfully separated. The follow-up experiments were then carried out to further assess the separation of copper wire and rubber insulator. The effects of air flow and pulse rates on the separation process were examined. The data for these follow-up experiments were analysed using a sink float analysis technique. The analysis shows that the air flow rate was very important in determining the separation efficiency. However, the separation efficiency may be influenced by the type of materials used.