It has been suggested that the coagulation defect in haemophilia A protects these patients from coronary artery disease. We report two patients with severe haemophilia, who each had severe atheroma localised to the coronary arteries. Both patients had received only small amounts of factor VIII concentrates in their lifetime because of various social reasons. In one case death resulted from myocardial infarction secondary to an occlusive thrombus in a coronary artery. The implications of these findings to the pathogenesis of vascular disease are discussed.

One of the most destructive fungal diseases in rice crop in Malaysia is the Rice blast disease or Penyakit Karah, which is caused by Pyricularia oryzae Cav. (previously known as Magnoporthe grisea). The disease can cause a loss of yield of more than 50 percent. In this study a sensitive indirect ELISA method was developed for the detection of Pyricularia oryzae through an indirect ELISA method using rabbit polyclonal antibody against different concentrations of Pyricularia oryzae conidia to give seven calibration standard points ranging from 1×101 to 1×109 conidia/mL. The calibration curve shows a typical sigmoidal curve and the fitting of the curve was based on the four-parameter logistic equation. The calculated LOD value was 21.60 conidia/mL (95% confidence interval, 11.63 to 31.57 conidia/mL) with a good correlation coefficient value of 0.999 indicating the model fit the experimental data in an excellent manner. The sensitivity was comparable to another published work which claimed to be the most sensitive to date. This indicate that the current developed method can be utilized in the future as a sensitive method for the rapid and simple detection of this pathogen.

A constantly elevated level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is mainly associated with the development of atherosclerosis. The use of statins as a treatment for reducing plasma LDL-C levels has led, in some cases, to adverse side effects, including a decrease in hepatic LDL receptor (LDLR), the receptor responsible for the uptake of circulating LDL-C. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is an enzyme responsible for directing the LDLR–LDL-C complex to lysosomal degradation upon transport into cells, preventing the recycling of LDLR to the cell surface. Therefore, PCSK9 may offer a new target for reducing the levels of plasma LDL-C. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms of action of a selected fraction of A. planci on PCSK9 gene expression, as well as the effect of the fraction on the level of LDLR protein and the uptake of LDL-C. Using real-time PCR, it was shown that the selected A. planci fraction reduced the gene expression of PCSK9 in human liver HepG2 cells. Immunocytochemistry analysis demonstrated that the selected A. planci fraction increased the LDLR protein level and LDL-C uptake in HepG2 cells. Promoter mutational and gene expression analyses revealed that PPRE, a binding site for peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor (PPAR), was responsible for mediating the inhibitory effect of the selected fraction on PCSK9 mRNA. In addition, MAP kinase and PKC components of the signal transduction pathway were activated, inducing the action of the selected A. planci fraction in decreasing PCSK9 gene expression. These findings suggest that the selected fraction shows good potential for reducing circulating LDL-C and, thus, may be a good therapeutic intervention to prevent the progression of atherosclerosis.

The research was conducted at MARDI Seberang Perai research plot during main-season 2011/2012 and off-season 2012. Varieties such as MR 272, MR 278, MR 283 and MR 284 showed high yield potential as compared to the control varieties namely MR 211, MR 219, MR 253 and MR 263. According to correlation analysis, traits such as flag leaf width (r = 0.36, p = 0.01), percentage filled grain (r = 0.43, p = 0.002) and spikelets number/panicle (r = -0.43, p = 0.002) showed association toward yield potential. As a result, high rate of photosynthesis is depend to high leaf surface area. In addition, low number of spikelets /panicle can enhance the grain filling.