Cervical intumescence (CI) and lumbosacral intumescence (LI) are bird spinal enlargements having large spinal grey areas in correlation to forelimbs (wings) and hindlimbs (legs). This study compared CI and LI ventral horn motor neurons responsible for limbs innervations for flying and flightless birds. Abstracted spinal cords of six birds from each species (Corvus splendens and Acridotheres javanicus representing flying birds vs. Gallus domesticus and Coturnix japonica representing flightless birds) were processed for neurohistological Nissl’s staining procedure following cardiac perfusion and fixation with 10% formalin solution, and further immersion fixation. Observation and analysis of slides used Olympus BX50 light microscope with the aid of AnalySIS Soft Imaging System software. Large motor neurons with varied shapes located at lamina IX of ventrolateral spinal grey were observed. They were counted at selected levels and ANOVA test was done on the data. The average counts of CI and LI motor neurons in each group were not significantly different, indicating similar importance of motor neurons at CI and LI levels for both bird types. However, analysis of CI:LI motor neuron counts ratio hinted different types of control over the limbs; hence, quantity alone did not fully reflect the function of motor control innervation.
As a natural anti-oxidant source, Tualang honey, produced by wild bees nesting on the Tualang tree (Koompassia excelsa) is expected to have positive influence on health, including memory. This study investigated the effect of Tualang honey on the cell count of memory formation related hippocampal pyramidal neuron and on spatial memory performance (SMP) of rats using the radial arm maze (RAM). Sprague Dawley male rats (n=24), 7-8 weeks old were divided into two groups; experimental group group force-fed 1 mL/100 g body weight with 70% honey (HG); and the control group with 0.9% saline (CG) for 12 weeks. Nissl staining technique (with cresyl violet) was employed for neurohistological analysis of the hippocampal tissue. Six randomly selected rats from each group were used for the neuronal soma counting of pyramidal cell layer CA1, CA3a and CA3c regions. Two-way ANOVA analysis showed positively significant differences between treatment and control groups for SMP comparison of working memory and reference memory components, as well as the number of pyramidal neurons. Hence, this positive effects of Tualang honey, as demonstrated behaviorally and neurohistologically, supported report that Tualang honey could improve memory and deter hippocampal morphological impairments; possibly due to its high anti-oxidant properties.
Poor mental health can affect a person’s quality of life and well-being, impacting cognitive, emotional, social, and physical functioning. Mental health difficulties have been found commonly in parents of children with autism spec- trum disorder (ASD), who often struggle to cope with a range of challenges. These parents tend to have reduced over- all wellbeing. This review study targeted an under-researched area, aiming to review mental health studies on the coping strategies used by Muslim parents of children with ASD in Malaysia, focusing on psychospiritual strategies. Journal articles were searched via Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Mendeley software online databases using relevant keywords. This narrative review identified 5 studies that examined parental coping, but only 4 reported the inclusion of Muslims. This review identified a gap in published knowledge regarding coping from a spiritual per- spective in Muslim families of children with ASD in Malaysia and recommended future research from a biopsycho- social-spiritual perspective.