Methyl eugenol (ME), is converted into two major phenylpropanoids, 2-allyl-4,5-dimethoxyphenol and trans-coniferyl alcohol, following consumption by the male fruit fly Bactrocera papayae. Chemical analysis of wild male B. papayae rectal glands, where the compounds are sequestered, revealed the presence of ME metabolites in varying quantities. These phenylpropanoids are shown to be involved in the fruit fly defense both in no-choice and choice feeding tests against the Malayan spiny gecko, Gekko monarchus. After being acclimatized to feeding on fruit flies, geckos consumed significantly fewer ME-fed male flies than controls that consumed all the ME-deprived male flies offered throughout a two-week period. Diagnosis of dissected livers from geckos that consumed ME-fed male flies revealed various abnormalities. These included discoloration and hardening of liver tissue, whitening of the gallbladder, or presence of tumor-like growths in all geckos that consumed ME-fed male flies. Control geckos fed on ME-deprived male flies had healthy livers. When given an alternative prey, geckos preferred to eat untreated house flies, Musca domestica to avoid preying on ME-fed fruit flies.
The diagnosis of disseminated tuberculosis should be entertained in all patients with unexplained fever associated with hepatomegaly and/or splenomegaly with or without anomalies in liver function tests and haemogram. It should be considered as a possible cause of septic shock especially in patients with typical risk factors such as advanced age, diabetes, alcoholism or immunosuppression. Prompt therapy could be life saving in an otherwise potentially fatal condition. It is therefore appropriate to initiate anti-tuberculosis treatment as soon as such a diagnosis is suspected and not await final confirmation.
The proximate composition including mineral and vitamin contents of 16 fruits and 46 vegetables (leaves, fruits, palm hearts and shoots) of indigenous origin in Sarawak are provided. Fruits like dabai (Canarium odontophyllum), kembayau (Dacryodes rostrata f. cuspidata), durian nyekak (Durio kutejensis) and durian kuning (Durio graveolens) are very nutritious with high values for energy, protein and potassium. Among the vegetables, the protein content of letup (Passiflora foetida), kepayang (Pangium edule) and tubu (Pycnarrhena tumetacta) is high, ranging from 6 to 7%. The range of nutrients among foods of indigenous origin are generally comparable with those of many cultivated species except for vitamin C, which is lower. Teh Kampung (Leucosyke capitellata) leaves are particularly high in magnesium (626 mg/100 g). Some of the indigenous vegetables contain antinutritional factors. Kepayang has very high levels of hydrogen cyanide (1834 µg/g on dry basis) but this poison can be completely evaporated by boiling. Indigenous fruits and vegetables which are pesticide residue free are important food sources for rural populations. Nutritious indigenous fruits and vegetables have the potential to be promoted for wider use, domestication and commercialization.
The lining epithelium of 15 cases of odontogenic keratocyst (OKC) was evaluated immunohistochemically. The peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique was applied to study the distribution of polyclonal keratin and S-100 protein while the indirect method was used to examine monoclonal vimentin and desmin reactivity. Consistent positive keratin staining was revealed in the lining epithelium of all 15 OKCs with additional intense staining in the stratum corneum. None of the cases showed vimentin or desmin reactivity within the lining epithelium elements. One of the 15 cysts studied showed positive S-100 protein staining in the nuclei of the lining epithelial cells. The pertinent literature on the immunophenotyping of the lining epithelium of OKC is reviewed.
The Corona pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) calls on the Saudi government to take action to control the infection. The government closed borders, prohibited travel, limited outdoor movements, and told primary and secondary care facilities to reduce all regular non-urgent health services. It is not known whether these measures have impacted the prevalence of parasitic intestinal infections. This study has therefore been carried out to investigate this issue. Dataset of 217 stool samples submitted to the King Faisal Medical Complex (KFMC) Microbiology Laboratory in Taif, Saudi Arabia for parasitological examination during the pandemic (January-June 2020) and 649 samples submitted during the corresponding months of the previous year (January-June 2019) were extracted and analyzed. Overall, 24.1% (209/866) of samples were parasitespositives; 26.6% (173/649) before and 16.5% (36/217) during the pandemic, with 79% reduction. There was a significant difference in gender-parasitism between the two periods where the majority of parasitism were for males (p<0.001). Infections were frequent in patients aged 5- 14 years both before (84/649; 12.9%) and during (12/217; 5.5%) the pandemic, with significant difference observed between the two cohorts (p<0.002). Moreover, the majority of infected patients were non-Saudi (67.9%; 142/209), with a significant difference in nationality reported, (p=0.024). Protozoa were identified in 21.8% (189) of all samples investigated, of which, Blastocystis hominis, Entamoeba coli, Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica/dispar and Cryptosporidium species were identified in 6.1% (53), 5.4% (47), 5.0% (44), 2.8% (25), and 2.3% (20), respectively. Helminths were diagnosed in 2.3% (20/866) of samples. Eggs of hookworm, Ascaris, Taenia spp, and Hymenolepis nana were detected in 0.9% (8), 0.5% (5), 0.3% (3) and 0.4% (4), respectively. In parallel with our research hypothesis, a substantial decrease in the burden of intestinal parasitic infections was recorded with the lock-down measures taken during the Corona pandemic.
Hemagglutinin (HA) protein plays an important role in binding the influenza virus to infected cells and therefore mediates infection. Deposited HA sequences of 86 Asian strains of influenza A (H1N1) viruses during the first outbreak were obtained from the NCBI database and compared. Interaction of the HA protein of influenza A (H1N1) virus with the human sialic acid receptor was also studied using bioinformatics. Overall, not more than three single-point amino acid variants/changes were observed in the HA protein region of influenza A (H1N1) virus from Asian countries when a selected group sequence comparison was made. The bioinformatics study showed that the HA protein of influenza A (H1N1) binds to the sialic acid receptor in human airway receptors, possibly key to air-borne infection in humans.
The purpose of the results section is to present the main data collected and the observations made during the research. It provides interpretation of the analysed data and does not contain details on the methods, materials or discussion. The first step in writing the results section is to review the analysed data and determine which results to present. This can be done by deciding which results are relevant to the question(s) presented in the introduction, and may be supplemented by illustrative tables and figures. The results section guides the reader through the questions investigated in the study and sets the stage for the discussion in the next section.
In part two of "Preparing effective illustrations", the other three categories, viz. photographs, radiological images and diagrams, are discussed. Illustrations provide visual information to supplement the results in a scientific paper, and create a visual impact that can improve the readability of a paper. This article provides some basic guidelines to assist authors in preparing effective photographs, radiological images and diagrams.
The discussion section comprises the last component in the IMRAD system. The purpose of this section is to provide the interpretation of the results obtained, explain the implications of the findings, state study limitations and make suggestions for future research. This is a critical part of the scientific paper, as it places the particular study within the broader context of how the research contributes to improving diagnosis, treatment or patient care.
When writing scientific papers to share their research findings with their peers, it is not enough for researchers to just communicate the results of their study; it is equally important to explain the process by which they arrived at their results, so that the study can be replicated to validate the observations. The materials and methods section is used to describe the experimental design and provide sufficient details so that a competent colleague can repeat the experiment. A good materials and methods section will enable readers to evaluate the research performed and replicate the study, if necessary.
Statistical methods are reported in a scientific paper to summarise the data that has been collected for a study and to enable its analysis. These methods should be described with enough detail to allow a knowledgeable reader who has access to the original data to verify the reported results. This article provides basic guidelines to aid authors in reporting the statistical aspects of the results of their studies clearly and accurately.
Illustrations (also known as figures) are visual representations of the results obtained from a scientific study. Graphs are a common type of illustration that are often used in scientific papers to present information clearly and effectively, as well as to demonstrate relationships between variables in the data. Graphs also serve to reveal trends or patterns in the data. This article provides some basic guidelines to assist authors in preparing effective graphs for their papers.
Tables are used in scientific papers to present information in a concise and efficient manner. Tables are able to provide information at any desired level of detail and precision. Presenting data in a table rather than as part of the text is also an effective way to reduce the length of the text. This article provides some basic guidelines to assist authors in preparing clear and effective tables for their papers.
A technical note is a short article giving a brief description of a specific development, technique or procedure, or it may describe a modification of an existing technique, procedure or device applicable to medicine. The technique, procedure or device described should have practical value and should contribute to clinical diagnosis or management. It could also present a software tool, or an experimental or computational method. Technical notes are variously referred to as technical innovations or technical developments. The main criteria for publication will be the novelty of concepts involved, the validity of the technique and its potential for clinical applications.
The rising epidemic of established modifiable cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF), such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia, diabetes and cigarette smoking, to a large part, are responsible for the clinical events such as acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and cerebrovascular events (strokes, CVE). In our National ACS and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) Registries, it has been documented that over 90% of patients have at least one identifiable CVRF.
A bibliographic database is an organised digital collection of references to published literature. A bibliographic database may be general in scope or may cover a specific academic discipline. There are many types of medical and general bibliographic databases. They cover biomedical and scientific literature, morbidity and mortality statistics, therapeutic regimens, medical records, images and reviews of evidence-based medicine. Getting to know these databases will help researchers and authors to enhance their writing and publishing endeavours.
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) aims to combine the best available scientific evidence with clinical experience and individual judgment of patient needs. In the hierarchy of scientific evidence, systematic reviews (along with meta-analyses) occupy the highest levels in terms of the quality of evidence. A systematic review is the process of searching, selecting, appraising, synthesising and reporting clinical evidence on a particular question or topic. It is currently considered the best, least biased and most rational way to organise, gather, evaluate and integrate scientific evidence from the rapidly-changing medical and healthcare literature. Systematic reviews could be used to present current concepts or serve as review articles and replace the traditional expert opinion or narrative review. This article explains the structure and content of a systematic review.
A case report is a description of a single case with unique features. This includes a previously-unreported clinical condition, previously-unreported observation of a recognised disease, unique use of imaging or diagnostic test to reveal a disease, previously-unreported treatment in a recognised disease, or previously-unreported complication of a procedure. Case reports should be short and focused, with a limited number of figures and references. The structure of a case report usually comprises a short unstructured (or no) abstract, brief (or no) introduction, succinct but comprehensive report of the case, and to-the-point discussion.
Sex pheromonal components of the tephritid fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), 2-allyl-4,5-dimethoxyphenol and (E)-coniferyl alcohol, are biosynthesized from a highly potent male attractant, methyl eugenol, then sequestered and stored in the rectal gland prior to their release during courtship at dusk. These sex pheromonal components have been detected in the haemolymph and crop organ. Hence, attempts were made to separate and identify the haemolymph fractions which contained the sex pheromonal components. Identification of these bioactive fractions in methyl eugenol-fed male flies using gel filtration column chromatography and biodetection using live male flies showed two fractions as highly attractive to conspecific males. These fractions show a significant increase in protein absorbance in the elution profile of haemolymph from methyl eugenol-fed males compared with that from methyl eugenol-deprived males. The molecular mass of these bioactive fractions as determined by using gel filtration was in the peptide range of 3.3 to 5.5 kDa. Subsequent gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses further confirmed the presence of the pheromonal components in the bioactive fractions. The presence of these methyl eugenol-derived sex pheromonal components in specific haemolymph fractions suggests the involvement of a sex pheromone binding complex.
After submission and acceptance of a scientific paper by a journal, the final stages in the publishing process are copy-editing and proofreading. The primary purpose of this step is to ensure accurate and quality production of scientific papers. Authors are responsible for checking their proofs properly and in detail, ensuring that everything is correct as this is their last chance to make any changes before their work is set in print forever.