Noninvasive imaging of coronary artery disease is rapidly replacing angiography as the first line of investigation. Multislice CT is the non-invasive modality of choice for imaging coronary artery disease and provides high speed with good spatial resolution. CT coronary angiography in addition to detecting and characterising atherosclerotic coronary artery disease is also a good imaging tool for evaluating anomalies of coronary arteries. Superdominant right coronary artery with absent left circumflex artery is one such rare coronary artery anomaly which is well evaluated with multislice CT angiography. The authors report one such case of superdominant right coronary artery with absent left circumflex artery imaged with 64-slice MDCT.

Interleukin-27 (IL-27) has a pleiotropic role either as a pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory cytokine in inflammatory related diseases. The role and involvement of IL-27 during malaria was investigated and the effects of modulating its release on the production of major inflammatory cytokines and the histopathological consequences in major affected organs during the infection were evaluated. Results showed that IL-27 concentration was significantly elevated throughout the infection but no positive correlation with the parasitaemia development observed. Augmentation of IL-27 significantly elevated the release of anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-10 whereas antagonising and neutralising IL-27 produced the opposite. A significant elevation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ and IL-6) was also observed, both during augmentation and inhibition of IL-27. Thus, it is suggested that IL-27 exerts an anti-inflammatory activity in the Th1 type response by signalling the production of IL-10 during malaria. Histopathological examination showed sequestration of PRBC in the microvasculature of major organs in malarial mice. Other significant histopathological changes include hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the Kupffer cells in the liver, hyaline membrane formation in lung tissue, enlargement of the white and red pulp followed by the disappearance of germinal centre of the spleen, and tubular vacuolation of the kidney tissues. In conclusion, it is suggested that IL-27 may possibly acts as an anti-inflammatory cytokine during the infection. Modulation of its release produced a positive impact on inflammatory cytokine production during the infection, suggesting its potential in malaria immunotherapy, in which the host may benefit from its inhibition.

This study was carried out to determine from bacterial profiling to the bacterial profiles of head lice among the Orang Asli communities. The head lice were collected from Orang Asli community volunteers. The surface sterilized head lice pools were subjected to genomic DNA extraction while next generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was performed using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Six female and three male head lice identified as Pediculus humanus capitis were collected. A total of 111 368 number of NGS sequencing reads were recorded while another 223 bacterial taxa sequences were obtained. Symbiotic bacteria showed the highest number of reads, with Arsenophonus and Rhodococcus sequences being the most abundant genera in the female and male samples, respectively. The female head lice contained a more distinct microbial diversity. Amongst the pathogenic bacterial species sequences noted were the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Streptobacillus moniliformis, Haemophilus influenzae, Bordetella pertussis and Acinetobacter baumannii. The 16S rRNA genome sequencing revealed a number of rare and pathogenic bacterial species within the head lice of the Orang Asli. The socio-economic practices of the community which involved forest foraging and hunting, and their poor living conditions potentially facilitated the transmission of zoonotic bacterial pathogens, including those found within the head lice. Hence, there is the possibility that the head lice could serve as vectors for the transmission of pathogenic bacteria. This study highlighted the diverse microbial community found within the head lice’s gut of the Orang Asli, with the detection of multiple rare and pathogenic bacteria capable of causing severe infections.