Leptin and psychiatry

Leptin, a protein, is secreted mainly by adipocytes. It is important in the regulation of food intake and energy balance. It also has metabolic and neuroendocrine functions. Numerous studies have exploited the relationship between leptin levels and various psychatric conditions and treatments. To date, no conclusive relationship has been established although there may be a greater role for leptin than is currently understood.S Afr Psychiatry Rev 2003;6:6-

Spindle Cell Pseudotumor Mimicking Malignancy in an Immunocompetent Patient with a Left Ventricular Assist Device

Cytomegalovirus (CMV)-induced pseudotumors, or mass-like lesions in the colon, are a rare entity. We report a case of CMV-related spindle cell pseudotumor in an immunocompetent patient with a left ventricular assist device. This case highlights the importance of considering CMV-induced inflammatory pseudotumor when evaluating tumorous lesions in the colon, as well as the importance of appropriate diagnostic work-up, including proper biopsy technique and meticulous review of the pathology

Hubungan Kelalaian Medis Dengan Malpraktik Yang Dilakukan Oleh Tenaga Medis

Kesehatan adalah keadaan sehat, baik secara fisik, mental, spiritual maupun sosial yang memungkinkan setiap orang untuk hidup produktif secara sosial dan ekonomis. Hukum kesehatan adalah semua ketentuan hukum yang berhubungan langsung dengan pemeliharaan kesehatan dan penerapanya pada hukum perdata, hukum administrasi, dan hukum pidana. Negara Indonesia dalam hal kasus hukum malpraktik memiliki grafik yang meningkat dari tahun ke tahun. Kejadian tersebut ditandai dengan adanya kesadaran masyarakat umum untuk memperoleh keadilan khususnya bidang kesehatan. Dewasa ini sering muncul kasus - kasus dalam pelayanan kesehatan yang mengakibatkan kinerja dokter diragukan serta mengancam keberlangsungan karir seorang dokter. Literature review ini menggunakan metode yang bersifat yuridis normatif dan review artikel, yaitu dengan mengkaji dan menganalisis dari beberapa referensi. Referensi tersebut didapatkan melalui google scholar. Dengan kata kunci malpraktik, kode etik, dan informed consent. Resiko medis dapat terjadi karena resiko dari tindakan medis muncul secara tiba-tiba diluar perkiraan dokter serta tidak dapat dihindari oleh dokter dan adapula yang timbul karena tindakan medis tersebut dilarang atau dibatasi oleh undang – undang karena tindakan medis tersebut mengandung resiko yang besar. Untuk mencegah dan menyelesaikannya, Undang-undang Nomor 29 Tahun 2004 tentang praktek kedokteran dan Undang-undang Nomor 36 Tahun 2009 tentang kesehatan sudah jelas mengatur tentang perlindungan hukum terhadap tenaga medis dan sanksi hukum terhadap tenaga medis

The role of complementary and alternative medicines in general health and immunity

The immune system is a host protection system that includes numerous biological structures and processes in an organism which protects from diseases. It has been showed that there is significant relationship between immune system function and infectious diseases both in animal models and in humans. The aim of this research is to investigate whether Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAMs) can be useful in boosting immune system to prevent and/or treat the infectious diseases in the early stage of infection. Accordingly, the previous research on this issue is investigated and the results re provided. This study also performs an analysis on the consumers’ reviews on turmeric to find the effectiveness of turmeric intake in improving general health status of patient through WebMD data. The results of this study demonstrated that the majority of consumers are highly satisfied with the use of turmeric in improving their health conditions. It is also found that the majority of patients have used turmeric as the alternative therapies and got positive results in their treatments. In general, the results of this research provided several recommendations on the use of CAMs for infectious diseases and revealed that immune system may be boosted by CAMs and accordingly help in prevention and/or treatment of infectious diseases. However, further evaluations for the use of CAMs through consumers’ experience analysis are needed to come to robust conclusions regarding the benefits of CAM as an alternative medicine for infectious disease such as COVID-19

RT-qPCR profiling of pathogenesis related genes in Musa acuminata cv. 'Berangan' seedlings challenged with Fusarium oxysporum F. SP. Cubense tropical race 4

The expression profile of pathogenesis related genes are signatures of an infection response in plant cells. Pathogenic infections can increase or reduce gene expression in a plant system in a relatively specific pattern. These expression patterns can be used as standards in pathogenicity studies and, where phenotypic expression is normally used to gauge a plants response to infection, it could additionally present a more rapid and early screening reference tool. Three genes: catalase (CAT), pathogen related protein (PR10), and phenylalanine ammonia (PAL) all implicitly implicated in the plant disease response pathway were targeted for analysis during the infection of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (FOCR4) in banana Musa acuminata cv. Berangan seedlings after a standard challenge under growth room conditions. Distinct patterns of gene expression were observed at three infection time points by real time expression analysis. There was a sequential 10-fold reduction in expression for the PR gene while, the PAL and CAT genes were both upregulated. These results present a set of reference genes that could be used for screening of a plant’s response to Fusarium before the onset of symptoms

Elucidation of Musa acuminata cv. Berangan root infection by FOC (Tropical Race 4) by RNA sequencing and analysis

Musa acuminata cv. Berangan (AAA) is a type of banana locally grown in Malaysia. These bananas as well as Musa acuminata cv. Cavendish (AAA) are also facing a major threat from a typical soil borne fungus identified as Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense race 4 (FocR4). Its characteristics as a complex pathogen manifesting as subtypes or races are the main reasons its infections are difficult to control. Genome sequence availability of the double haploid Musa acuminata originating from Pahang has become very useful to analyse RNA-seq reads and to identify the transcriptome profile of the host response between different groups was accomplished using RNA-Seq technology based on the Illumina HiSeqTm 2000 platform. Three sets of libraries derived from infected and mock infected plants (experimental groups) between different time points (0, 48, 96 h) shows over forty million reads were generated, each corresponding to coverage of >4,000,000,000 to <8,000,000,000 bases. About 0.10-66% reads were mapped to Musa acuminata DH Pahang genome sequence. This study provides the statistical analysis of the sequence reads. Based on this information, further analysis on gene expression patterns influenced by Foc race infection within the tested groups and time points will help in the understanding of the host pathogenic responses. In future discovery on many new genes for diagnosis of plant infection could be achieved through excessive transcriptomic data

The effect of pathogenesis-related 10 (Pr-10) gene on the progression of fusarium wilt in Musa acuminata cv. Berangan

PR-10 is a member of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes elicited by the plant’s defense mechanism during pathogen attack. Elevated expression of PR-10 upon different pathogen invasions has been observed in many plant species suggesting its role as an anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal gene. However, the effect of PR-10 in mitigating the infection of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), the causal agent of Fusarium wilt in banana has not been reported. In this study, the coding sequences of PR-10 gene isolated from Foc resistant Musa acuminata ssp. malaccensis (MaPR-10) were integrated into a local Foc susceptible commercial banana cultivar, Berangan via co-cultivation of embryogenic cell suspension and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Out of 17 putative transgenic lines established, 11 of them positively harbored MaPR-10. Among these, Line-19 plantlets showed the most rapid in-vitro propagation and successfully over-expressed the transgene. Following a nursery challenge experiment with a virulent Foc race 4 (CI HIR) isolate, about 30% of Line-19 plants showed a one-week delay in disease progression when compared to the untransformed controls. From the final evaluation performed in the 5th week-post-inoculation, the leaf symptoms index (LSI) and rhizome discoloration index (RDI) of Line-19 was 3.4 and 6.1, respectively, indicating the disease had progressed. The findings of this study enrich the current existing knowledge on the roles of PR-10 in combating fungal disease in plants

Evaluation of factors to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic using DEMATEL and fuzzy rule-based techniques

Since social and environmental conditions have changed dramatically in recent years, the spectrum of diseases caused by infections is also evolving rapidly. The outspread of COVID-19 has resulted in an emergency situation across the globe with significant effects on the population’s lives, families, and societies, leading to concerns the World Health Organization. Accordingly, the virus has substantially threatened the Malaysians’ public health and contributed considerably to increased healthcare expenses. Since the novel coronavirus was found in China, Malaysia’s government has started its actions according to the World Health Organization procedures and concentrated on addressing and preventing the spread of the infection. The present paper aims to find and evaluate the factors to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak in Malaysia, limiting the outspread of the disease in this country. This study used the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Fuzzy Rule-Based techniques to evaluate the factors through a set of questionnaires completed by the health care professionals. According to the data analysis results, movement control order, international travel restrictions, and the mass gathering cancellations were of most importance in the prevention of COVID-19 infections transmission