AIM: The aim of the present study was to determine sex of human mandible from morphology, morphometric measurements as well as discriminant function analysis from the CT scan.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present retrospective study comprised 79 subjects (48 males, 31 females), with age group between 18 and 74 years, and were obtained from the post mortem computed tomography data in the Hospital Kuala Lumpur. The parameters were divided into three morphologic and nine morphometric parameters, which were measured by using Osirix MD Software 3D Volume Rendering.
RESULTS: The Chi-square test showed that men were significantly association with square-shaped chin (92%), prominent muscle marking (85%) and everted gonial glare, whereas women had pointed chin (84%), less prominent muscle marking (90%) and inverted gonial glare (80%). All parameter measurements showed significantly greater values in males than in females by independent t-test (p< 0.01). By discriminant analysis, the classification accuracy was 78.5%, the sensitivity was 79.2% and the specificity was 77.4%. The discriminant function equation was formulated based on bigonial breath and condylar height, which were the best predictors.
CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the mandible could be distinguished according to the sex. The results of the study can be used for identification of damaged and/or unknown mandible in the Malaysian population.
METHODS: A prospective analysis of ninety nine H. pylori-positive patients who underwent endoscopy in our Endoscopy suite were included in this study. DNA was isolated from antral biopsy samples and the presence of cagA, iceA, and iceA2 genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction and a reverse hybridization technique. Screening for H. pylori infection was performed in all patients using the rapid urease test (CLO-Test).
RESULTS: From a total of 326 patients who underwent endoscopy for upper gastrointestinal symptoms, 99 patients were determined to be H. pylori-positive. Peptic ulceration was seen in 33 patients (33%). The main virulence strain observed in this cohort was the cagA gene isolated in 43 patients. cagA was associated with peptic ulcer pathology in 39.5% (17/43) and in 28% (16/56) of non-ulcer patients. IceA1 was present in 29 patients (29%) and iceA2 in 15 patients (15%). Ulcer pathology was seen in 39% (11/29) of patients with iceA1, while 31% (22/70) had normal findings. The corresponding values for iceA2 were 33% (5/15) and 33% (28/84), respectively.
CONCLUSION: Virulence factors were not common in our cohort. The incidence of factors cagA, iceA1 and iceA2 were very low although variations were noted in different ethnic groups.
METHODS AND RESULTS: The lactobacilli putative probiotic (SynForU-HerCare; two capsules/day of 9·5 log CFU per capsule) or placebo was administered for 8-weeks in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Subjects were assessed for vaginal and gut health conditions at baseline, week-4 and week-8 via questionnaires. The vulvovaginal symptom questionnaire not only covered aspects pertaining to vulvovaginal symptoms but also the quality of life impacts such as emotional, social and sexual. The administration of lactobacilli reduced symptoms of irritation (P = 0·023) and discharge (P = 0·011) starting week-4 and continued after week-8 (P
METHODS AND RESULTS: The tropomyosin gene was cloned and expressed in the Escherichia coli system, followed by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting test to identify the allergenic potential of the recombinant protein. The 855-base pair of tropomyosin gene produced was found to be 99.18% homologous to Scylla serrata. Its 284 amino acids matched the tropomyosin of crustaceans, arachnids, insects, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, ranging from 79.03 to 95.77%. The tropomyosin contained 89.44% alpha-helix folding with a tertiary structure of two-chain alpha-helical coiled-coil structures comprising a homodimer heptad chain. IPTG-induced histidine tagged-recombinant tropomyosin was purified at the size of 42 kDa and confirmed as tropomyosin using anti-tropomyosin monoclonal antibodies. The IgE binding of recombinant tropomyosin protein was reactive in 90.9% (20/22) of the sera from crab-allergic patients.
CONCLUSIONS: This study has successfully produced an allergenic recombinant tropomyosin from S. olivacea. This recombinant tropomyosin may be used as a specific allergen for the diagnosis of allergy.