Role of the limbus in femoral-head deformation in developmental dislocation of the hip: findings of two-directional hip arthrography.

Two-directional arthrographic findings made during conservative treatment of developmental dislocation of the hip were compared with the femoral-head configurations and radiological results obtained from long-term follow-up examinations in this retrospective study. Sixty hips were followed until at least age 14. Arthrography was carried out according to Terazawa's method. The shape of the superior, anterior, and posterior limbus was evaluated based on a modified Fujii's classification. The femoral-head configuration was classified into 4 groups, and the radiological results were evaluated using Severin's classification at the final observation. There was a statistically significant relationship between the shape of the anterior limbus, the number of portions of deformed limbus (superior, anterior, posterior), and the femoral-head configuration. Also, a statistically significant relationship between the shape of the limbus and Severin's classification was observed. These results suggest that the deformed limbus seems to play an important role in triggering femoral-head deformities, possibly via mechanical compression, and negatively affects development of the hip joint.</p

Identification and Assessment of Fluroquinolone Multidrug Efflux Pump in Multidrug Resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from Hospital Wastewater in Kuala Lumpur

Apart from alterations of target proteins of fluroquinolones, multidrug resistant (MDR) S. aureus can also mediated their resistance via overexpression of efflux pump. However, this mechanism is not well characterized. Absence of known antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the MDR S. aureus isolates have led us to find other mechanism of resistance which could be responsible for their resistance. Therefore, this study was performed to identify the MDR efflux pump genes and evaluate the activity through Ethidium Bromide Cartwheel (EtBrCW) method. The MDR S. aureus were isolated from local hospital wastewater in Kuala Lumpur. 9 of the MDR S. aureus isolates were subjected to PCR for the detection of MDR efflux pump genes. The EtBrCW was used to demonstrate efflux activity as a mechanism of resistance in S. aureus. The result showed only 2 isolates possessed efflux pump genes with low efflux activity. It was observed that many of the isolates did not have conserved MDR efflux pump genes, suggesting there may be other mechanisms of resistance that need further exploration. The fast spreading of these resistance genes could pose serious risk to public health and emergence of superbug which is difficult to treat with available antibioti

Production of value added substances by tropical microalgae

Microalgae recently appeared to be a new source of renewable biofuel that is capable of meeting the global demand for transport fuel due to its ability to accumulate high amount of lipid in their intracellular body. In addition, massive accumulation of ketocarotenoid astaxanthin, which is one of the secondary metabolites produced by microalgae have also gained much attention for its potential applications in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals as well as cosmetics products. Four green microalgae morphologically identified as Staurastrum sp., Scenedesmus sp., Desmodesmus sp., and Ankistrodesmus sp. were isolated from Kuala Selangor Nature Park and Hulu Langat River, Selangor. The intracellular lipid bodies of the microalgae were stained with BODIPY 493/503 for the screening of the potential microalgae for biodiesel production. From the staining, more lipid bodies can be seen from Scenedesmus sp. compared to the other three isolated microalgae species. In astaxanthin complex quantification analysis, Ankistrodesmus sp. showed the highest accumulation of astaxanthin complex and therefore has the potential to be utilized for natural supplement applications

Utilization of lignin in empty fruit bunch for production of fine chemicals: development of subcritical water technology and ΔpcaHG-ΔcatA Rhodococcus jostii RHA1

Lignin is an alternative source of chemicals particularly phenolic compounds if it could broken down into smaller molecular units. Subcritical water (SCW) is a known technology that has the ability to break down lignin by hydrolysis. In this study, the SCW depolymerizes empty fruit bunch derived lignin into a mixture of aromatic compounds. The mixture, however, is impractical to be utilized and the cost to separate each of the components is relatively high. Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 is a bacterium that can degrade a wide range of aromatic compounds. Specific gene deletion of RHA1 has shown that the RHA1 loses its ability to catabolize specific chemicals. This research project aims to utilize empty fruit bunch derived lignin via SCW technology and subsequently biological process using mutant Rhodococcus jostii RHA1, ΔpcaHG-ΔcatA mutant RHA1

Bulk chemical and optical spectroscopy characterisations of dissolved organic matter extracted from the tropical coastal sediment

The study of organic matter characterisation in coastal sediment is useful for understanding how dissolved organic matter (DOM) reactivity influences the fate of pollutants in the aquatic environment. However, there is little information available on the structural properties of DOM in coastal sediment. Chemical analysis, UV-Visible (UV-Vis) absorbance, fluorescence, and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used in this work to characterise and compare the components of water-extractable organic matter (WEOM) fractions from sediment from an estuary, a coastal area, and a port in Peninsular Malaysia, Malaysia. The elemental analysis (H/C and C/N ratios) of the three samples differed, which coincided with the findings of optical indices estimated from UV-Visible and fluorescent spectroscopy analyses. WEOM had an average output of 7.05 to 8.47 mg/L and was very dominating with heavy fraction organic carbon (HFOC). In DOM-KS and DOM-K sediments, the allochthonous component with a high degree of condensation and the aromatic compound was the dominating composition. Meanwhile, the DOM-KT possessed a high autochthonous composition as well as carboxylic and phenolic content. Correlation analysis indicates that the aromaticity indexSUVA254 and humification index (HIX) have positive correlations. The combined results of the chemical and spectroscopic analyses indicate that different coastal ecosystems, with the integration of various human and land activities, produce variations in DOM in the coastal area

Salivary Mucocele in a Laboratory Beagle

The histologic characteristics of a salivary mucocele in a beagle used in a toxicity study are described in this report. A pale yellowish cyst under the mandibular skin containing frothy mucus was observed at necropsy. Microscopically, numerous villous projections arose from the internal surface of the cyst and were lined by stratified epithelial-like macrophages, which were immunopositive for macrophage scavenger receptor A. A ruptured sublingual interlobar duct connected to the lumen was observed near the cyst. Luminal amorphous material showed a positive reaction with Alcian blue and periodic acid-Schiff staining as did mucin in the sublingual gland. Ultrastructurally, the epithelial-like macrophages had numerous vacuoles containing electron-lucent material, which was presumed to be lysosomal in origin, and had pseudopods on their cell surfaces interdigitating with those on the adjacent cells. This case report helps to understand the diversity of the background findings in beagles used in toxicity studies

Mizoribine, tacrolimus, and corticosteroid combination therapy successfully induces remission in patients with lupus nephritis

Conventional cyclophosphamide-based treatment regimens for lupus nephritis (LN) are still not considered to be optimal. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of mizoribine, tacrolimus, and corticosteroid combination therapy for LN. We retrospectively evaluated a combination treatment of mizoribine and tacrolimus with corticosteroids as induction therapy in eight newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with biopsy-proven LN. All patients were women, and their mean [standard deviation (SD)] age was 48.5 (20) years. All patients (100 %) had positive anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibody titers, and four (50.0 %) were nephrotic. Mean (SD) serum creatinine and daily proteinuria levels were 0.72 (0.4) mg/dl (range 0.33-1.55 mg/dl) and 4.56 (2.8) g (range 0.77-8.2 g), respectively. By month 2, significant improvements in the anti-dsDNA antibody titers, levels of proteinuria, serum albumin, and C3, and SLE disease activity index score were observed. By month 6, seven patients (87.5 %) were in complete remission, with normalized levels of both proteinuria and serum creatinine. This pilot study suggests that mizoribine and tacrolimus treatment with corticosteroids is well tolerated and may prove to be an optimal alternative remission-inducing regimen for LN