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Management of the irradiated oral cancer patient

Wilson JW, Warren CZ

Dent J Malaysia Singapore, 1970 Oct;10(2):26-31.
PMID: 5278501
DNA barcoding implicates 23 species and four orders as potential pollinators of Chinese knotweed (Persicaria chinensis) in Peninsular Malaysia

Wong MM, Lim CL, Wilson JJ

Bull. Entomol. Res., 2015 Aug;105(4):515-20.
PMID: 25913190 DOI: 10.1017/S0007485315000358

Chinese knotweed (Persicaria chinensis) is of ecological and economic importance as a high-risk invasive species and a traditional medicinal herb. However, the insects associated with P. chinensis pollination have received scant attention. As a widespread invasive plant we would expect P. chinensis to be associated with a diverse group of insect pollinators, but lack of taxonomic identification capacity is an impediment to confirm this expectation. In the present study we aimed to elucidate the insect pollinators of P. chinensis in peninsular Malaysia using DNA barcoding. Forty flower visitors, representing the range of morphological diversity observed, were captured at flowers at Ulu Kali, Pahang, Malaysia. Using Automated Barcode Gap Discovery, 17 morphospecies were assigned to 23 species representing at least ten families and four orders. Using the DNA barcode library (BOLD) 30% of the species could be assigned a species name, and 70% could be assigned a genus name. The insects visiting P. chinensis were broadly similar to those previously reported as visiting Persicaria japonica, including honey bees (Apis), droneflies (Eristalis), blowflies (Lucilia) and potter wasps (Eumedes), but also included thrips and ants.
Embarking to Caregiving Role: A Thematic Analysis of Malay Caregivers of Older Adults with Mental Health Problems Perspectives

Ahmad Ramli FZ, Tilse C, Wilson J

J Gerontol Soc Work, 2021 04 12;64(5):499-517.
PMID: 33843484 DOI: 10.1080/01634372.2021.1912240

Religion and culture affect the meaning and practicalities of caring for families with mental illness in Malaysia. Such care also differs according to social background, family values and support, commitment, availability, practicality and the needs of the care recipient. This qualitative study explores 14 Malay caregivers of the older adults with mental health problems in Kelantan, Malaysia. A semi-structured interview was translated and transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis using NVivo software. The findings show that cultural values and religion shaped the meaning of care as provided by the caregivers. The nature of the relationship is also important in determining the best person in the family to take over the caregiving role.
Managing social support needs in older age for childless Malaysians living in poverty

Ng YM, Tilse C, Wilson J

Australas J Ageing, 2021 Dec;40(4):e301-e307.
PMID: 33783946 DOI: 10.1111/ajag.12943

OBJECTIVE: To explore how older people manage social support needs when they are childless and living in poverty in the Malaysian context where social policy emphasises family as the primary provider of social support.
METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were completed with a purposive sample of 34 childless and older Malaysians living in poverty in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A thematic content analysis focused on their reports of managing social support needs.
RESULTS: Key strategies were using existing resources, developing new networks and adjusting expectations. Agency played a vital role in avoiding institutional care.
CONCLUSIONS: This paper adds to research on childlessness in older age in varied policy and cultural contexts. It challenges assumptions about families providing social support and argues for policies to recognise older people as an individual unit rather than as part of a family to prolong independent living in the community.
Critical care nurses' knowledge in preventing nosocomial pneumonia

Soh KL, Koziol-Mclain J, Wilson J, Soh KG

Aust J Adv Nurs, 2007 Mar-May;24(3):19-25.
PMID: 17518161

The purpose of this study was to identify knowledge deficits concerning nosocomial pneumonia (NP) prevention among critical care nurses. The study also determined whether NP knowledge was associated with nurse characteristics.
Fulltext Utility of DNA barcoding for rapid and accurate assessment of bat diversity in Malaysia in the absence of formally described species

Wilson JJ, Sing KW, Halim MR, Ramli R, Hashim R, Sofian-Azirun M

Genet. Mol. Res., 2014;13(1):920-5.
PMID: 24634112 DOI: 10.4238/2014.February.19.2

Bats are important flagship species for biodiversity research; however, diversity in Southeast Asia is considerably underestimated in the current checklists and field guides. Incorporation of DNA barcoding into surveys has revealed numerous species-level taxa overlooked by conventional methods. Inclusion of these taxa in inventories provides a more informative record of diversity, but is problematic as these species lack formal description. We investigated how frequently documented, but undescribed, bat taxa are encountered in Peninsular Malaysia. We discuss whether a barcode library provides a means of recognizing and recording these taxa across biodiversity inventories. Tissue was sampled from bats trapped at Pasir Raja, Dungun Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia. The DNA was extracted and the COI barcode region amplified and sequenced. We identified 9 species-level taxa within our samples, based on analysis of the DNA barcodes. Six specimens matched to four previously documented taxa considered candidate species but currently lacking formal taxonomic status. This study confirms the high diversity of bats within Peninsular Malaysia (9 species in 13 samples) and demonstrates how DNA barcoding allows for inventory and documentation of known taxa lacking formal taxonomic status.
DNA metabarcoding of insects and allies: an evaluation of primers and pipelines

Brandon-Mong GJ, Gan HM, Sing KW, Lee PS, Lim PE, Wilson JJ

Bull. Entomol. Res., 2015 Dec;105(6):717-27.
PMID: 26344799 DOI: 10.1017/S0007485315000681

Metabarcoding, the coupling of DNA-based species identification and high-throughput sequencing, offers enormous promise for arthropod biodiversity studies but factors such as cost, speed and ease-of-use of bioinformatic pipelines, crucial for making the leapt from demonstration studies to a real-world application, have not yet been adequately addressed. Here, four published and one newly designed primer sets were tested across a diverse set of 80 arthropod species, representing 11 orders, to establish optimal protocols for Illumina-based metabarcoding of tropical Malaise trap samples. Two primer sets which showed the highest amplification success with individual specimen polymerase chain reaction (PCR, 98%) were used for bulk PCR and Illumina MiSeq sequencing. The sequencing outputs were subjected to both manual and simple metagenomics quality control and filtering pipelines. We obtained acceptable detection rates after bulk PCR and high-throughput sequencing (80-90% of input species) but analyses were complicated by putative heteroplasmic sequences and contamination. The manual pipeline produced similar or better outputs to the simple metagenomics pipeline (1.4 compared with 0.5 expected:unexpected Operational Taxonomic Units). Our study suggests that metabarcoding is slowly becoming as cheap, fast and easy as conventional DNA barcoding, and that Malaise trap metabarcoding may soon fulfill its potential, providing a thermometer for biodiversity.
Synthesis and characterization of potential tumor scintigraphic agents

Awaluddin AB, Jacobs JJ, Bourne DW, Maddalena DJ, Wilson JG, Boyd RE

Int J Rad Appl Instrum A, 1987;38(8):671-4.
PMID: 2822626

Potential tumor imaging radiopharmaceutical agents have been prepared by attaching a cisplatin derivative to a ligand capable of forming a stable complex with 99mTc. Three new organometallic compounds, with iminodiacetic acid as the 99mTc chelating group and 2,3-diaminopropionamide as the platinum complexing group, have been prepared and characterized. Preliminary biodistribution studies in tumor bearing mice support the utility of this approach.
Molecular characterization of beta-globin gene mutations in Malay patients with Hb E-beta-thalassaemia and thalassaemia major

Yang KG, Kutlar F, George E, Wilson JB, Kutlar A, Stoming TA, et al.

Br J Haematol, 1989 May;72(1):73-80.
PMID: 2736244

This study concerned the identification of the beta-thalassaemia mutations that were present in 27 Malay patients with Hb E-beta-thalassaemia and seven Malay patients with thalassaemia major who were from West Malaysia. Nearly 50% of all beta-thalassaemia chromosomes carried the G----C substitution at nucleotide 5 of IVS-I; the commonly occurring Chinese anomalies such as the frameshift at codons 41 and 42, the nonsense mutation A----T at codon 17, the A----G substitution at position -28 of the promoter region, and the C----T substitution at position 654 of the second intron, were rare or absent. Two new thalassaemia mutations were discovered. The first involves a frameshift at codon 35 (-C) that was found in two patients with Hb E-beta zero-thalassaemia and causes a beta zero-thalassaemia because a stop codon is present at codon 60. The second is an AAC----AGC mutation in codon 19 that was present on six chromosomes. This substitution results in the production of an abnormal beta chain (beta-Malay) that has an Asn----Ser substitution at position beta 19. Hb Malay is a 'Hb Knossos-like' beta +-thalassaemia abnormality; the A----G mutation at codon 19 likely creates an alternate splicing site between codons 17 and 18, reducing the efficiency of the normal donor splice site at IVS-I to about 60%.
Feeding behavior of Mimomyia (Etorleptiomyia) luzonensis (Ludlow, 1905) (Diptera, Culicidae) in Peninsular Malaysia

Braima KA, Muslimin M, M Ghazali AR, Wan-Nor F, Wilson JJ, Jeffery J, et al.

Acta Trop, 2017 Jul;171:138-140.
PMID: 28359829 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2017.03.025

Mosquitoes are vectors of various human diseases in the tropics including yellow fever, dengue, malaria and West Nile virus. Mosquitoes can act as vectors between wildlife and humans, which is particularly important for diseases where wild animals serve as reservoirs of parasites in the absence of human infections. Research has mainly focused on the medical impacts of Anopheles, Aedes, Mansonia and Culex, however, very little attention has been directed towards other mosquito genera, especially those which act as vectors of diseases of wildlife. We have observed adults of Mimomyia (Etorleptiomyia) luzonensis (Ludlow, 1905) feeding on a toad, Ingerophrynus parvus, near an oil palm plantation settlement in Setia Alam, Selangor state, Peninsular Malaysia. Mimomyia is known to feed on reptiles and amphibians, and is a documented vector of several arboviruses, including West Nile virus. The observation of Mimomyia feeding on a common toad near a human settlement highlights a need to understand the relationships between mosquitoes, toads and humans from an ecological perspective. We report on-site observations of the feeding habit of Mimomyia; the first records from Malaysia.
Fulltext Chinese in west Malaysia: the geography of beta thalassaemia mutations

George-Kodiseri E, Yang KG, Kutlar F, Wilson JB, Kutlar A, Stoming TA, et al.

Singapore Med J, 1990 Aug;31(4):374-7.
PMID: 2255937

The overseas Chinese in West Malaysia are almost exclusively from the south-eastern provinces of China-Kwangtung, Fukien, and Kwangsi. To institute a comprehensive thalassaemia control programme for this region we have characterised the beta thalassaemia mutations in 16 Chinese patients from West Malaysia: 4 beta thalassaemia mutations were seen: a) an A----G substitution in the TATA box [-28 base pairs (bp)], an A----T substitution in codon 17 [17 A----T], c) a 4 base pairs - TCTT deletion in codon 41-42 [frameshift mutation (FSC 41-42)], and d) a C----T substitution at the second intervening sequence (IVS 11) position 654. Similar mutations have been described in patients from the south-eastern provinces of China. The delineation of the specific mutations present will enable effective prenatal diagnosis for beta thalassaemia of ethnic Chinese in West Malaysia to be instituted.
Types of thalassemia among patients attending a large university clinic in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

George E, Li HJ, Fei YJ, Reese AL, Baysal E, Cepreganova B, et al.

Hemoglobin, 1992;16(1-2):51-66.
PMID: 1634362

We have identified the beta-thalassemia mutations in 59 patients with thalassemia major and 47 patients with Hb E-beta-thalassemia, and the deletional and nondeletional alpha-thalassemia determinants in 23 out of 24 patients with Hb H disease. All persons were attending the Haematology Clinic at the National University of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Most patients (76) were of Malay descent, while 52 patients were Chinese, and two came from elsewhere. The most frequently occurring beta-thalassemia alleles among the Malay patients were IVS-I-5 (G----C) and G----A at codon 26 (Hb E), while a few others were present at lower frequencies. The Chinese patients carried the mutation characteristic for Chinese [mainly codons 41/42 (-TTCT) and IVS-II-654 (C----T)]; Malay mutations were not observed among Chinese and Chinese mutations were virtually absent in the Malay patients. The large group of patients with Hb E-beta-thalassemia and different beta-thalassemia alleles offered the opportunity of comparing hematological data; information obtained for patients with Hb E-beta-thalassemia living in other countries was included in this comparison. Twenty-three patients with Hb H disease carried the Southeast Asian (SEA) alpha-thalassemia-1 deletion; 13 had the alpha CS alpha (Constant Spring) nondeletional alpha-thalassemia-2 determinant, while the deletional alpha-thalassemia-2 (-3.7 or -4.2 kb) was present in 10 subjects. The --/alpha CS alpha condition appeared to be the most severe with higher Hb H values. Both deletional and nondeletional types of alpha-thalassemia-2 were seen among Malay and Chinese patients.
Fulltext First observation of haemoglobin Malay alpha 2B2 26 (B1) Asn----Ser--a case report

George E, Huisman TH, Yang KG, Kutlari F, Wilson JB, Kutlar A, et al.

Med J Malaysia, 1989 Sep;44(3):259-62.
PMID: 2626142

A new haemoglobin, Haemoglobin Malay is described in a 22 year old Malay. Structural analysis showed a AAC----AGC mutation in codon 17, with the production of an abnormal beta chain (beta Malay) that has an Asn----Ser substitution at position beta 19. This haemoglobin variant could not be detected by conventional procedures.
Temporal changes in arthropod activity in tropical anthropogenic forests

Brandon-Mong GJ, Littlefair JE, Sing KW, Lee YP, Gan HM, Clare EL, et al.

Bull. Entomol. Res., 2018 Dec;108(6):792-799.
PMID: 29441836 DOI: 10.1017/S000748531800010X

Arthropod communities in the tropics are increasingly impacted by rapid changes in land use. Because species showing distinct seasonal patterns of activity are thought to be at higher risk of climate-related extirpation, global warming is generally considered a lower threat to arthropod biodiversity in the tropics than in temperate regions. To examine changes associated with land use and weather variables in tropical arthropod communities, we deployed Malaise traps at three major anthropogenic forests (secondary reserve forest, oil palm forest, and urban ornamental forest (UOF)) in Peninsular Malaysia and collected arthropods continuously for 12 months. We used metabarcoding protocols to characterize the diversity within weekly samples. We found that changes in the composition of arthropod communities were significantly associated with maximum temperature in all the three forests, but shifts were reversed in the UOF compared with the other forests. This suggests arthropods in forests in Peninsular Malaysia face a double threat: community shifts and biodiversity loss due to exploitation and disturbance of forests which consequently put species at further risk related to global warming. We highlight the positive feedback mechanism of land use and temperature, which pose threats to the arthropod communities and further implicates ecosystem functioning and human well-being. Consequently, conservation and mitigation plans are urgently needed.
Fulltext Muscle protein synthesis and muscle/metabolic responses to resistance exercise training in South Asian and White European men

Alkhayl FFA, Ismail AD, Celis-Morales C, Wilson J, Radjenovic A, Johnston L, et al.

Sci Rep, 2022 Feb 15;12(1):2469.
PMID: 35169204 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-06446-7

The aims of the current study, therefore, were to compare (1) free-living MPS and (2) muscle and metabolic adaptations to resistance exercise in South Asian and white European adults. Eighteen South Asian and 16 White European men were enrolled in the study. Free-living muscle protein synthesis was measured at baseline. Muscle strength, body composition, resting metabolic rate, VO2max and metabolic responses (insulin sensitivity) to a mixed meal were measured at baseline and following 12 weeks of resistance exercise training. Free-living muscle protein synthesis was not different between South Asians (1.48 ± 0.09%/day) and White Europeans (1.59 ± 0.15%/day) (p = 0.522). In response to resistance exercise training there were no differences, between South Asians and White Europeans, muscle mass, lower body strength or insulin sensitivity. However, there were differences between the ethnicities in response to resistance exercise training in body fat, resting carbohydrate and fat metabolism, blood pressure, VO2max and upper body strength with responses less favourable in South Asians. In this exploratory study there were no differences in muscle protein synthesis or anabolic and metabolic responses to resistance exercise, yet there were less favourable responses in several outcomes. These findings require further investigation.
Large haploblocks underlie rapid adaptation in the invasive weed Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Battlay P, Wilson J, Bieker VC, Lee C, Prapas D, Petersen B, et al.

Nat Commun, 2023 Mar 27;14(1):1717.
PMID: 36973251 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37303-4

Adaptation is the central feature and leading explanation for the evolutionary diversification of life. Adaptation is also notoriously difficult to study in nature, owing to its complexity and logistically prohibitive timescale. Here, we leverage extensive contemporary and historical collections of Ambrosia artemisiifolia-an aggressively invasive weed and primary cause of pollen-induced hayfever-to track the phenotypic and genetic causes of recent local adaptation across its native and invasive ranges in North America and Europe, respectively. Large haploblocks-indicative of chromosomal inversions-contain a disproportionate share (26%) of genomic regions conferring parallel adaptation to local climates between ranges, are associated with rapidly adapting traits, and exhibit dramatic frequency shifts over space and time. These results highlight the importance of large-effect standing variants in rapid adaptation, which have been critical to A. artemisiifolia's global spread across vast climatic gradients.
Fulltext Management of mild degenerative cervical myelopathy and asymptomatic spinal cord compression: an international survey

Brannigan JFM, Davies BM, Mowforth OD, Yurac R, Kumar V, Dejaegher J, et al.

Spinal Cord, 2024 Feb;62(2):51-58.
PMID: 38129661 DOI: 10.1038/s41393-023-00945-8

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey.
OBJECTIVE: Currently there is limited evidence and guidance on the management of mild degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) and asymptomatic spinal cord compression (ASCC). Anecdotal evidence suggest variance in clinical practice. The objectives of this study were to assess current practice and to quantify the variability in clinical practice.
METHODS: Spinal surgeons and some additional health professionals completed a web-based survey distributed by email to members of AO Spine and the Cervical Spine Research Society (CSRS) North American Society. Questions captured experience with DCM, frequency of DCM patient encounters, and standard of practice in the assessment of DCM. Further questions assessed the definition and management of mild DCM, and the management of ASCC.
RESULTS: A total of 699 respondents, mostly surgeons, completed the survey. Every world region was represented in the responses. Half (50.1%, n = 359) had greater than 10 years of professional experience with DCM. For mild DCM, standardised follow-up for non-operative patients was reported by 488 respondents (69.5%). Follow-up included a heterogeneous mix of investigations, most often at 6-month intervals (32.9%, n = 158). There was some inconsistency regarding which clinical features would cause a surgeon to counsel a patient towards surgery. Practice for ASCC aligned closely with mild DCM. Finally, there were some contradictory definitions of mild DCM provided in the form of free text.
CONCLUSIONS: Professionals typically offer outpatient follow up for patients with mild DCM and/or asymptomatic ASCC. However, what this constitutes varies widely. Further research is needed to define best practice and support patient care.
First Evidence for cos2β>0 and Resolution of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa Quark-Mixing Unitarity Triangle Ambiguity

Adachi I, Adye T, Ahmed H, Ahn JK, Aihara H, Akar S, et al.

Phys Rev Lett, 2018 Dec 28;121(26):261801.
PMID: 30636113 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.121.261801

We present first evidence that the cosine of the CP-violating weak phase 2β is positive, and hence exclude trigonometric multifold solutions of the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) Unitarity Triangle using a time-dependent Dalitz plot analysis of B^{0}→D^{(*)}h^{0} with D→K_{S}^{0}π^{+}π^{-} decays, where h^{0}∈{π^{0},η,ω} denotes a light unflavored and neutral hadron. The measurement is performed combining the final data sets of the BABAR and Belle experiments collected at the ϒ(4S) resonance at the asymmetric-energy B factories PEP-II at SLAC and KEKB at KEK, respectively. The data samples contain (471±3)×10^{6}BB[over ¯] pairs recorded by the BABAR detector and (772±11)×10^{6}BB[over ¯] pairs recorded by the Belle detector. The results of the measurement are sin2β=0.80±0.14(stat)±0.06(syst)±0.03(model) and cos2β=0.91±0.22(stat)±0.09(syst)±0.07(model). The result for the direct measurement of the angle β of the CKM Unitarity Triangle is β=[22.5±4.4(stat)±1.2(syst)±0.6(model)]°. The measurement assumes no direct CP violation in B^{0}→D^{(*)}h^{0} decays. The quoted model uncertainties are due to the composition of the D^{0}→K_{S}^{0}π^{+}π^{-} decay amplitude model, which is newly established by performing a Dalitz plot amplitude analysis using a high-statistics e^{+}e^{-}→cc[over ¯] data sample. CP violation is observed in B^{0}→D^{(*)}h^{0} decays at the level of 5.1 standard deviations. The significance for cos2β>0 is 3.7 standard deviations. The trigonometric multifold solution π/2-β=(68.1±0.7)° is excluded at the level of 7.3 standard deviations. The measurement resolves an ambiguity in the determination of the apex of the CKM Unitarity Triangle.
Observation of a New Excited Beauty Strange Baryon Decaying to Ξ_{b}^{-}π^{+}π^{-}

Sirunyan AM, Tumasyan A, Adam W, Andrejkovic JW, Bergauer T, Chatterjee S, et al.

Phys Rev Lett, 2021 Jun 25;126(25):252003.
PMID: 34241504 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.252003

The Ξ_{b}^{-}π^{+}π^{-} invariant mass spectrum is investigated with an event sample of proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2016-2018 and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 140 fb^{-1}. The ground state Ξ_{b}^{-} is reconstructed via its decays to J/ψΞ^{-} and J/ψΛK^{-}. A narrow resonance, labeled Ξ_{b}(6100)^{-}, is observed at a Ξ_{b}^{-}π^{+}π^{-} invariant mass of 6100.3±0.2(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.6(Ξ_{b}^{-}) MeV, where the last uncertainty reflects the precision of the Ξ_{b}^{-} baryon mass. The upper limit on the Ξ_{b}(6100)^{-} natural width is determined to be 1.9 MeV at 95% confidence level. The low Ξ_{b}(6100)^{-} signal yield observed in data does not allow a measurement of the quantum numbers of the new state. However, following analogies with the established excited Ξ_{c} baryon states, the new Ξ_{b}(6100)^{-} resonance and its decay sequence are consistent with the orbitally excited Ξ_{b}^{-} baryon, with spin and parity quantum numbers J^{P}=3/2^{-}.
Measurement of the Wγ Production Cross Section in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV and Constraints on Effective Field Theory Coefficients

Sirunyan AM, Tumasyan A, Adam W, Andrejkovic JW, Bergauer T, Chatterjee S, et al.

Phys Rev Lett, 2021 Jun 25;126(25):252002.
PMID: 34241533 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.252002

A fiducial cross section for Wγ production in proton-proton collisions is measured at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV in 137 fb^{-1} of data collected using the CMS detector at the LHC. The W→eν and μν decay modes are used in a maximum-likelihood fit to the lepton-photon invariant mass distribution to extract the combined cross section. The measured cross section is compared with theoretical expectations at next-to-leading order in quantum chromodynamics. In addition, 95% confidence level intervals are reported for anomalous triple-gauge couplings within the framework of effective field theory.

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