Browse publications by year: 2011

  1. Study and fabrication of europium picrate triethylene glycol complex
    Saleh MI, Kusrini E, Mohd Sarjidan MA, Abd Majid WH
    Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc, 2011 Jan;78(1):52-8.
    PMID: 21030294 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2010.08.029
    A mononuclear of [Eu(NO3)(Pic)(H2O)2(EO3)](Pic)·(0.73)H2O complex, where EO3=trietraethylene glycol and Pic=picrate anion, shows a red emission when used as an active layer in a single layer of ITO/EO3-Eu-Pic/Al configuration. The crystal structure of the complex consists of [Eu(NO3)(Pic)(H2O)2(EO3)]+ cation and [Pic]- anion. The Eu(III) ion is coordinated to the 10 oxygen atoms from one EO3 ligand, one Pic anion, one nitrate anion, and two water molecules. The complex is crystallized in triclinic with space group P-1. The hybrids in thin films I and II were prepared in the respective order solution concentrations of 15 and 20 mg/mL the emissive center. Comparing the photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) spectra, we can find that all emissions come from the characteristic transitions of the Eu(III) ion. The EL spectra of both thin films showed the occurrence of the most intense red-light emission around at 612 nm. Comparison of organic light-emitting device (OLED) current intensity characteristics as a function of voltage (I-V) show that the thin film I is better than those found for the thin film II. The thickness of the emitting layer is an important factor to control the current-voltage curve. The sharp and intense emission of the complex at low voltage indicates that the complex is a suitable and promising candidate for red-emitting materials.
    MeSH terms: Europium/chemistry*; Hydrogen Bonding; Molecular Conformation; Polyethylene Glycols/chemical synthesis*; Polyethylene Glycols/chemistry*; Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet; Temperature; Crystallography, X-Ray
  2. Physico-chemical and structural changes of red-fleshed dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus) during fruit development
    Jamaludin NA, Ding P, Hamid AA
    J Sci Food Agric, 2011 Jan 30;91(2):278-85.
    PMID: 21031359 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.4182
    Determination of physico-chemical (weight, length, diameter, stomatal density, respiration rate, colour, soluble solids concentration, titratable acidity, chlorophyll and betacyanin content) and structural changes of red-fleshed dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus (Weber) Britton & Rose) was carried out from 5 to 35 days after pollination (DAP) in order to explain their growth, development, maturations and ripening stages.
    MeSH terms: Carbocyanines/analysis*; Color; Fruit/anatomy & histology; Fruit/growth & development; Fruit/chemistry*; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Cactaceae/growth & development; Cactaceae/chemistry*; Pollination
  3. The environmental applications of activated carbon/zeolite composite materials
    Foo KY, Hameed BH
    Adv Colloid Interface Sci, 2011 Feb 17;162(1-2):22-8.
    PMID: 21035101 DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2010.09.003
    Over the past couple of years, the resurgence of placing an effective and sustainable amendment to combat against the auxiliary industrial entities, remains a highly contested agenda from a global point. With the renaissance of activated carbon, there has been a steadily growing interest in the research field. Recently, the adoption of zeolite composite, a prestigious advanced catalyst which formulates the enhancement of adsorption rate and hydrogen storage capability, has fore fronted to be a new growing branch in the scientific community. Confirming the assertion, this paper presents a state of art review of activated carbon/zeolite composite technology, its fundamental background studies, and environmental implications. Moreover, its major challenges together with the future expectation are summarized and discussed. Conclusively, the expanding of activated carbon/zeolite composite represents a potentially viable and powerful tool, leading to the plausible improvement of environmental preservation.
  4. Effects of 3-(2-Hydroxyphenyl)-1-(5-methyl-furan-2-y-l) propenone (HMP) upon signalling pathways of lipopolysaccharide-induced iNOS synthesis in RAW 264.7 cells
    Liew CY, Lam KW, Kim MK, Harith HH, Tham CL, Cheah YK, et al.
    Int Immunopharmacol, 2011 Jan;11(1):85-95.
    PMID: 21035434 DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2010.10.011
    We previously showed that 3-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-1-(5-methyl-furan-2-y-l)propenone (HMP), suppressed the synthesis of various proinflammatory mediators. In this study, HMP showed a dose-dependent inhibition of NO synthesis in the RAW 264.7 murine macrophage line. The inhibition of NO synthesis was related to inhibition of p38 phosphorylation and kinase activity that led to significant inhibition of phosphorylation of ATF-2. This effect in turn caused inhibition of AP-1-DNA binding which partially explains the inhibitory effect upon the synthesis of iNOS. HMP had no effect upon phosphorylation of JNK, ERK1/2 and STAT-1. Kinase activity of JNK and ERK1/2 was also not affected by HMP as determined by levels of phosphorylated c-jun and phosphorylated elk-1. Furthermore HMP failed to block phosphorylation of IκBα, and subsequent nuclear translocation and DNA-binding activity of p65 NF-κB in IFN-γ/LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells. Molecular docking experiments confirmed that HMP fits well in the highly conserved hydrophobic pocket of p38 MAP kinase. We conclude that the synthetic HMP is a chalcone analogue that selectively inhibits the p38/ATF-2 and AP-1 signaling pathways in the NO synthesis by the macrophage RAW 264.7.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/pharmacology*; Cell Line; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Enzyme Induction; Furans/pharmacology*; Lipopolysaccharides/toxicity*; Macrophages/drug effects*; Macrophages/enzymology; Macrophages/immunology; Nitric Oxide/biosynthesis; Propiophenones/pharmacology*; Blotting, Western; Molecular Structure; Signal Transduction/drug effects*; Cell Culture Techniques; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay; Mice; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/antagonists & inhibitors*; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II/biosynthesis
  5. Applying a statistical PTB detection procedure to complement the gold standard
    Noor NM, Yunus A, Bakar SA, Hussin A, Rijal OM
    Comput Med Imaging Graph, 2011 Apr;35(3):186-94.
    PMID: 21036539 DOI: 10.1016/j.compmedimag.2010.10.002
    This paper investigates a novel statistical discrimination procedure to detect PTB when the gold standard requirement is taken into consideration. Archived data were used to establish two groups of patients which are the control and test group. The control group was used to develop the statistical discrimination procedure using four vectors of wavelet coefficients as feature vectors for the detection of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), lung cancer (LC), and normal lung (NL). This discrimination procedure was investigated using the test group where the number of sputum positive and sputum negative cases that were correctly classified as PTB cases were noted. The proposed statistical discrimination method is able to detect PTB patients and LC with high true positive fraction. The method is also able to detect PTB patients that are sputum negative and therefore may be used as a complement to the gold standard.
    MeSH terms: Algorithms*; Data Interpretation, Statistical*; Humans; Malaysia; Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted/methods*; Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted/standards*; Sensitivity and Specificity; Radiography, Thoracic/methods*; Radiography, Thoracic/standards*; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary/radiography*; Reproducibility of Results; Practice Guidelines as Topic
  6. Fluorescent quantitation method for differentiating the nativity of green fluorescent protein
    Chew FN, Tan WS, Tey BT
    J Biosci Bioeng, 2011 Feb;111(2):246-8.
    PMID: 21036662 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiosc.2010.10.004
    A gel imaging method was employed to quantitate the GFP that had been subjected to denaturation and degradation treatments. This method is able to differentiate the nativity of GFP by relating the observed changes in the position of fluorescent bands which is unable to be detected using the spectrofluorometric method.
    MeSH terms: Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Protein Denaturation*; Spectrometry, Fluorescence/methods*; Green Fluorescent Proteins/analysis*
  7. Survival and prognostic factors of motor neuron disease in a multi-ethnic Asian population
    Goh KJ, Tian S, Shahrizaila N, Ng CW, Tan CT
    Amyotroph Lateral Scler, 2011 Mar;12(2):124-9.
    PMID: 21039118 DOI: 10.3109/17482968.2010.527986
    Our objective was to determine the survival and prognostic factors of motor neuron disease (MND) in a multi-ethnic cohort of Malaysian patients. All patients seen at a university medical centre between January 2000 and December 2009 had their case records reviewed for demographic, clinical and follow-up data. Mortality data, if unavailable from records, were obtained by telephone interview of relatives or from the national mortality registry. Of the 73 patients, 64.4% were Chinese, 19.2% Malays and 16.4% Indians. Male: female ratio was 1.43: 1. Mean age at onset was 51.5 + 11.3 years. Onset was spinal in 75.3% and bulbar in 24.7% of the patients; 94.5% were ALS and 5.5% were progressive muscular atrophy (PMA). Overall median survival was 44.9 + 5.8 months. Ethnic Indians had shorter interval from symptom onset to diagnosis and shorter median survival compared to non-Indians. On Cox proportional hazards analysis, poor prognostic factors were bulbar onset, shorter interval from symptom onset to diagnosis and worse functional score at presentation. In conclusion, age of onset and median survival duration are similar to previous reports in Asians. Clinical features and prognostic factors are similar to other populations. In our cohort, ethnic Indians had more rapid disease course accounting for their shorter survival.
    MeSH terms: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Ethnic Groups*; Female; Humans; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Prognosis; Registries; Retrospective Studies; Survival Rate; Proportional Hazards Models; Motor Neuron Disease/diagnosis*; Motor Neuron Disease/ethnology*; Motor Neuron Disease/mortality*; Motor Neuron Disease/epidemiology; Age of Onset; Disease Progression; Asian Continental Ancestry Group*; Kaplan-Meier Estimate; Young Adult
  8. Kinetic modeling and half life study on bioremediation of crude oil dispersed by Corexit 9500
    Zahed MA, Aziz HA, Isa MH, Mohajeri L, Mohajeri S, Kutty SR
    J Hazard Mater, 2011 Jan 30;185(2-3):1027-31.
    PMID: 21041026 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.10.009
    Hydrocarbon pollution in marine ecosystems occurs mainly by accidental oil spills, deliberate discharge of ballast waters from oil tankers and bilge waste discharges; causing site pollution and serious adverse effects on aquatic environments as well as human health. A large number of petroleum hydrocarbons are biodegradable, thus bioremediation has become an important method for the restoration of oil polluted areas. In this research, a series of natural attenuation, crude oil (CO) and dispersed crude oil (DCO) bioremediation experiments of artificially crude oil contaminated seawater was carried out. Bacterial consortiums were identified as Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Bacillus, Pseudomonas and Vibrio. First order kinetics described the biodegradation of crude oil. Under abiotic conditions, oil removal was 19.9% while a maximum of 31.8% total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) removal was obtained in natural attenuation experiment. All DCO bioreactors demonstrated higher and faster removal than CO bioreactors. Half life times were 28, 32, 38 and 58 days for DCO and 31, 40, 50 and 75 days for CO with oil concentrations of 100, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/L, respectively. The effectiveness of Corexit 9500 dispersant was monitored in the 45 day study; the results indicated that it improved the crude oil biodegradation rate.
    MeSH terms: Biodegradation, Environmental*; Half-Life; Kinetics; Models, Theoretical; Petroleum/metabolism*; Water Microbiology; Bioreactors; Environmental Restoration and Remediation/methods*
  9. Metal inducible activity of the oil palm metallothionein-like gene promoter (MT3-A) in prokaryotes
    Kamaladini H, Abdullah SN, Aziz MA
    J Biosci Bioeng, 2011 Feb;111(2):217-25.
    PMID: 21044862 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiosc.2010.09.010
    Reporter gene activity under the regulation of the oil palm metallothionein-like gene, MT3-A promoter was assessed in prokaryotes. Vector constructs containing MT3-A promoter with (W1MT3-A) and without (W2MT3-A) five prime untranslated region (5'-UTR) fused to ß-glucuronidase (GUS) gene in pCAMBIA 1304 vector were produced. 5'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) using mRNA isolated from Escherichia coli and Agrobacterium tumefaciens harboring W1MT3-A confirmed that fusion transcripts of MT3-A 5'-UTR-GUS were successfully produced in both bacteria. Competitive PCR and GUS fluorometric assay showed changes in the level of GUS gene transcripts and enzyme activity in response to increasing concentrations of Cu²+ and Zn²+. The application of Cu²+ increased GUS activity and GUS mRNA level in both bacteria. In E. coli, a high level of GUS activity driven by W1MT3-A and W2MT3-A was observed in treatment with 25 μM Cu²+ resulting in an increase in the GUS mRNA level to 7.2 and 7.5 x 10⁻⁴ pmol/μl respectively, compared to the control (5.1 x 10⁻⁴ pmol/μl). The lowest GUS activity and GUS mRNA level were obtained for W1MT3-A and W2MT3-A in the presence of 100 μM Cu²+ in both bacteria compared to the control (without Cu²+). The application of different Zn²+ concentrations resulted in a strong decrease in the GUS activity and GUS mRNA level in E. coli and A. tumefaciens. These findings showed that the oil palm MT3-A promoter is functional in prokaryotes and produced detectable GUS transcripts and enzyme activities. This promoter may potentially be used in prokaryotic systems which require metal inducible gene expression.
    MeSH terms: Escherichia coli/genetics; Escherichia coli/metabolism*; Genetic Vectors; Glucuronidase/genetics; Metallothionein/genetics*; Promoter Regions, Genetic*; Transformation, Bacterial; Agrobacterium tumefaciens/genetics; Agrobacterium tumefaciens/metabolism*; Genes, Reporter; Arecaceae/genetics*
  10. Evaluation of the genotoxicity of Orthosiphon stamineus aqueous extract
    Muhammad H, Gomes-Carneiro MR, Poça KS, De-Oliveira AC, Afzan A, Sulaiman SA, et al.
    J Ethnopharmacol, 2011 Jan 27;133(2):647-53.
    PMID: 21044879 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2010.10.055
    Orthosiphon stamineus, Benth, also known as Misai Kucing in Malaysia and Java tea in Indonesia, is traditionally used in Southeastern Asia to treat kidney dysfunctions, diabetes, gout and several other illnesses. Recent studies of Orthosiphon stamineus pharmacological profile have revealed antioxidant properties and other potentially useful biological activities thereby lending some scientific support to its use in folk medicine. So far the genotoxicity of Orthosiphon stamineus extracts has not been evaluated. In this study the genotoxic potential of Orthosiphon stamineus aqueous extract was investigated by the Salmonella/microsome mutation assay and the mouse bone marrow micronucleus test.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Cinnamates/toxicity; Cinnamates/chemistry; Female; Flavonoids/toxicity; Flavonoids/chemistry; Malaysia; Male; Medicine, Traditional; Microsomes, Liver/drug effects; Microsomes, Liver/enzymology; Mutagenicity Tests; Mutagens/toxicity*; Mutagens/chemistry; Plant Extracts/toxicity; Plant Extracts/chemistry; Plants, Medicinal/toxicity*; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry; Salmonella typhimurium/drug effects; Salmonella typhimurium/genetics; Micronucleus Tests; Molecular Structure; Ethnopharmacology; Orthosiphon/toxicity*; Orthosiphon/chemistry; Mice; Rats; Depsides/toxicity; Depsides/chemistry
  11. Factors affecting waste generation: a study in a waste management program in Dhaka City, Bangladesh
    Afroz R, Hanaki K, Tudin R
    Environ Monit Assess, 2011 Aug;179(1-4):509-19.
    PMID: 21046234 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-010-1753-4
    Information on waste generation, socioeconomic characteristics, and willingness of the households to separate waste was obtained from interviews with 402 respondents in Dhaka city. Ordinary least square regression was used to determine the dominant factors that might influence the waste generation of the households. The results showed that the waste generation of the households in Dhaka city was significantly affected by household size, income, concern about the environment, and willingness to separate the waste. These factors are necessary to effectively improve waste management, growth and performance, as well as to reduce the environmental degradation of the household waste.
    MeSH terms: Bangladesh; Cities/statistics & numerical data; Conservation of Natural Resources; Family Characteristics; Housing/statistics & numerical data; Social Class; Socioeconomic Factors; Waste Products/statistics & numerical data*; Waste Management/methods*
  12. A cross-sectional validation study of EQ-5D among the Malaysian adult population
    Shafie AA, Hassali MA, Liau SY
    Qual Life Res, 2011 May;20(4):593-600.
    PMID: 21046257 DOI: 10.1007/s11136-010-9774-6
    PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to assess the construct validity of the EQ-5D instrument among the Malaysian population.

    METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among Malaysian adults in three northern states of Malaysia. A pre-developed questionnaire consisting of both the EQ-5D and SF-12 items was used for data collection. Concurrent, convergent, and known group validity of EQ-5D were assessed against SF-12 and several known relationships with participants' demographic and illness characteristics.

    RESULTS: A total of 596 Malaysians participated in the study. The mean EQ-5D score was 0.93 (SD = 0.13), while the mean physical component score (PCS-12) and mental component score (MCS-12) scores were 48.9 (SD = 7.4) and 49.1 (SD = 8.0), respectively. Participants with a current medical problem had lower PCS-12 and MCS-12 scores and reported more problems with all of the EQ-5D dimensions; they also had lower EQ-5D and EQ-VAS scores (P < 0.05). Convergent validity was supported by a moderately positive correlation between EQ-5D and EQ-VAS with MCS-12 and PCS-12 scores; moreover, the stronger effect sizes between PCS-12 and the physical dimensions of EQ-5D as well as between MCS-12 with anxiety/depression scores further supported the convergent validity of EQ-5D. Responses to the EQ-5D dimensions only supported two of the four known group validity hypotheses of higher quality of life among individuals who are better educated and no medical problem. No association was found between income and gender with EQ-5D score.

    CONCLUSION: This study has demonstrated acceptable construct validity of the EQ-5D among the Malaysian population.

    MeSH terms: Adolescent; Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Quality of Life*; Surveys and Questionnaires/standards*; Young Adult
  13. Fulltext Effect of renal sympathetic nerve on adrenergically and angiotensin II-induced renal vasoconstriction in normal Wistar-Kyoto rats
    Abdulla MH, Sattar MA, Abdullah NA, Khan AH, Anand Swarup KR, Rathore HA, et al.
    Ups. J. Med. Sci., 2011 Mar;116(1):18-25.
    PMID: 21047287 DOI: 10.3109/03009734.2010.526723
    This study examined the effect of renal sympathetic innervation on adrenergically and angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced renal vasoconstriction in Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats.
    MeSH terms: Angiotensin II/pharmacology*; Animals; Blood Pressure/drug effects; Kidney/innervation*; Male; Methoxamine/pharmacology; Norepinephrine/pharmacology; Rats, Inbred WKY; Renal Circulation/drug effects; Sympathetic Nervous System/physiology*; Vasoconstriction/drug effects*; Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-1/physiology; Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1/physiology; Rats; Adrenergic alpha-1 Receptor Agonists/pharmacology*
  14. High yield lipase-catalyzed synthesis of Engkabang fat esters for the cosmetic industry
    Abd Rahman NF, Basri M, Rahman MB, Rahman RN, Salleh AB
    Bioresour Technol, 2011 Feb;102(3):2168-76.
    PMID: 21050749 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2010.10.034
    Engkabang fat esters were produced via alcoholysis reaction between Engkabang fat and oleyl alcohol, catalyzed by Lipozyme RM IM. The reaction was carried out in a 500 ml Stirred tank reactor using heptane and hexane as solvents. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on a four-factor-five-level Central composite design (CCD) was applied to evaluate the effects of synthesis parameters, namely temperature, substrate molar ratio (oleyl alcohol: Engkabang fat), enzyme amount and impeller speed. The optimum yields of 96.2% and 91.4% were obtained for heptane and hexane at the optimum temperature of 53.9°C, impeller speeds of 309.5 and 309.0 rpm, enzyme amounts of 4.82 and 5.65 g and substrate molar ratios of 2.94 and 3.39:1, respectively. The actual yields obtained compared well with the predicted values of 100.0% and 91.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, the properties of the esters show that they are suitable to be used as ingredient for cosmetic applications.
    MeSH terms: Catalysis; Cosmetics/chemical synthesis*; Emulsions/chemistry*; Fats/chemistry*; Fatty Alcohols/chemistry*; Lipase/chemistry*; Plant Extracts/chemistry*; Dipterocarpaceae/chemistry*
  15. Prevalence of and management factors contributing to Cryptosporidium sp. infection in pre-weaned and post-weaned calves in Johor, Malaysia
    Muhid A, Robertson I, Ng J, Ryan U
    Exp Parasitol, 2011 Feb;127(2):534-8.
    PMID: 21050848 DOI: 10.1016/j.exppara.2010.10.015
    A cross-sectional study was carried out to identify species and determine the prevalence of Cryptosporidium sp. shedding in pre-weaned and post-weaned dairy calves and to identify management factors that may be contributing to disease. A total of 240 calf faecal samples were collected from 16 farms in two districts in Johor, Malaysia, and screened by PCR. The overall Cryptosporidium prevalence was 27.1%. The prevalence of Cryptosporidium species in pre-weaned calves was 32.4% for C. parvum, 26.5% for C. bovis, followed by C. andersoni (20.6%), C. ryanae (11.8%) and mixed sp. (8.8%). The prevalence of Cryptosporidium species in post-weaned calves was 35% for C. bovis followed by C. andersoni and C. ryanae (30% each) and mixed sp. (5%). Subtyping analysis of 8 of the 11 C. parvum isolates at the gp60 locus identified five isolates as IIdA15G1, one as IIa18A3R1 and two isolates as IIa17G2R1. Management factors that increased the risk of Cryptosporidium infection included having other cattle farms close by, feeding calves with saleable milk, keeping pre-weaned calves in pens with slatted floors and keeping post-weaned calves in pens with a sand floor.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Animal Husbandry/methods; Cattle; Cattle Diseases/epidemiology*; Cattle Diseases/parasitology; Cattle Diseases/prevention & control; Cryptosporidiosis/epidemiology; Cryptosporidiosis/prevention & control; Cryptosporidium/genetics; Cryptosporidium/isolation & purification; DNA, Ribosomal/analysis; Feces/parasitology; Malaysia/epidemiology; Risk Factors; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/genetics; Weaning; Prevalence; DNA, Protozoan/analysis; Polymerase Chain Reaction
  16. Fold prediction problem: the application of new physical and physicochemical-based features
    Dehzangi A, Phon-Amnuaisuk S
    Protein Pept Lett, 2011 Feb;18(2):174-85.
    PMID: 21054271
    One of the most important goals in bioinformatics is the ability to predict tertiary structure of a protein from its amino acid sequence. In this paper, new feature groups based on the physical and physicochemical properties of amino acids (size of the amino acids' side chains, predicted secondary structure based on normalized frequency of β-Strands, Turns, and Reverse Turns) are proposed to tackle this task. The proposed features are extracted using a modified feature extraction method adapted from Dubchak et al. To study the effectiveness of the proposed features and the modified feature extraction method, AdaBoost.M1, Multi Layer Perceptron (MLP), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) that have been commonly and successfully applied to the protein folding problem are employed. Our experimental results show that the new feature groups altogether with the modified feature extraction method are capable of enhancing the protein fold prediction accuracy better than the previous works found in the literature.
    MeSH terms: Algorithms; Amino Acid Sequence; Artificial Intelligence; Computer Simulation; Models, Molecular; Molecular Sequence Data; Proteins/chemistry*; Protein Structure, Secondary; Protein Structure, Tertiary*; Protein Folding*
  17. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Bangladeshi vegetables and fruits
    Hossain MA, Hoque MZ
    Food Chem Toxicol, 2011 Jan;49(1):244-7.
    PMID: 21056073 DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2010.10.023
    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) occur as contaminants in different types of food predominantly from environmental pollution, food packaging and food processing and the levels found depend on the source of the contamination. PAHs emissions from automobile traffic and industry activities were shown to influence the PAHs levels and profiles in vegetables and fruits grown nearby. The present study was carried out to determine the levels of PAHs in samples of tomato, cabbage and apple, collected from six different places of urban and rural areas of plantation in Dhaka city. Eight PAHs listed in the priority pollutant of US Environment Protection Agency and regarded as carcinogens were analyzed in this study. The analytical method involved saponification with methanolic KOH, liquid-liquid extraction with cyclohexane, clean-up on silica gel column and determination by Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The mean levels of total PAHs were 9.50 μg/kg in tomato, 8.86 μg/kg in cabbage and 4.05 μg/kg in apple. Of the carcinogenic PAHs, benzo(a)anthracene was the most representative, being found in 89% of all samples analysed. Chrysene was not detected in any sample.
    MeSH terms: Bangladesh; Environmental Pollutants/analysis*; Fruit/chemistry*; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Polycyclic Compounds/analysis*; Vegetables/chemistry*; Reproducibility of Results
  18. Immunogenicity and in vitro protective efficacy of recombinant Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette Guerin (rBCG) expressing the 19 kDa merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1(19)) antigen of Plasmodium falciparum
    Nurul AA, Norazmi MN
    Parasitol Res, 2011 Apr;108(4):887-97.
    PMID: 21057812 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-010-2130-5
    Vaccine development against the blood-stage malaria parasite is aimed at reducing the pathology of the disease. We constructed a recombinant Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette Guerin (rBCG) expressing the 19 kDa C-terminus of Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein-1 (MSP-1(19)) to evaluate its protective ability against merozoite invasion of red blood cells in vitro. A mutated version of MSP-1(19), previously shown to induce the production of inhibitory but not blocking antibodies, was cloned into a suitable shuttle plasmid and transformed into BCG Japan (designated rBCG016). A native version of the molecule was also cloned into BCG (rBCG026). Recombinant BCG expressing the mutated version of MSP-1(19) (rBCG016) elicited enhanced specific immune response against the epitope in BALB/c mice as compared to rBCG expressing the native version of the epitope (rBCG026). Sera from rBCG016-immunized mice contained significant levels of specific IgG, especially of the IgG2a subclass, against MSP-1(19) as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The sera was reactive with fixed P. falciparum merozoites as demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and inhibited merozoite invasion of erythrocytes in vitro. Furthermore, lymphocytes from rBCG016-immunized mice demonstrated higher proliferative response against the MSP-1(19) antigen as compared to those of rBCG026- and BCG-immunized animals. rBCG expressing the mutated version of MSP-1(19) of P. falciparum induced enhanced humoral and cellular responses against the parasites paving the way for the rational use of rBCG as a blood-stage malaria vaccine candidate.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Antibodies, Protozoan/blood; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Carriers*; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Erythrocytes/parasitology; Immunoglobulin G/blood; Lymphocytes/immunology; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mycobacterium bovis/genetics*; Plasmodium falciparum/genetics; Plasmodium falciparum/immunology*; Recombinant Proteins/genetics; Recombinant Proteins/immunology; Malaria, Falciparum/prevention & control*; Malaria Vaccines/genetics; Malaria Vaccines/immunology*; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; Merozoite Surface Protein 1/genetics; Merozoite Surface Protein 1/immunology*; Cell Proliferation; Mutant Proteins/genetics; Mutant Proteins/immunology; Mice
  19. Antibacterial action of a heat-stable form of L-amino acid oxidase isolated from king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) venom
    Lee ML, Tan NH, Fung SY, Sekaran SD
    Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol, 2011 Mar;153(2):237-42.
    PMID: 21059402 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpc.2010.11.001
    The major l-amino acid oxidase (LAAO, EC 1.4.3.2) of king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) venom is known to be an unusual form of snake venom LAAO as it possesses unique structural features and unusual thermal stability. The antibacterial effects of king cobra venom LAAO were tested against several strains of clinical isolates including Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli using broth microdilution assay. For comparison, the antibacterial effects of several antibiotics (cefotaxime, kanamycin, tetracycline, vancomycin and penicillin) were also examined using the same conditions. King cobra venom LAAO was very effective in inhibiting the two Gram-positive bacteria (S. aureus and S. epidermidis) tested, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.78μg/mL (0.006μM) and 1.56μg/mL (0.012μM) against S. aureus and S. epidermidis, respectively. The MICs are comparable to the MICs of the antibiotics tested, on a weight basis. However, the LAAO was only moderately effective against three Gram-negative bacteria tested (P. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae and E. coli), with MIC ranges from 25 to 50μg/mL (0.2-0.4μM). Catalase at the concentration of 1mg/mL abolished the antibacterial effect of LAAO, indicating that the antibacterial effect of the enzyme involves generation of hydrogen peroxide. Binding studies indicated that king cobra venom LAAO binds strongly to the Gram-positive S. aureus and S. epidermidis, but less strongly to the Gram-negative E. coli and P. aeruginosa, indicating that specific binding to bacteria is important for the potent antibacterial activity of the enzyme.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology*; Cefotaxime/pharmacology; Cobra Venoms/enzymology*; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Escherichia coli/drug effects; Gram-Negative Bacteria/drug effects; Gram-Positive Bacteria/drug effects; Hot Temperature; Humans; Kanamycin/pharmacology; Klebsiella pneumoniae/drug effects; Microbial Sensitivity Tests/methods; Penicillins/pharmacology; Pseudomonas aeruginosa/drug effects; Staphylococcus aureus/drug effects; Staphylococcus epidermidis/drug effects; Tetracycline/pharmacology; Vancomycin/pharmacology; L-Amino Acid Oxidase/isolation & purification*; L-Amino Acid Oxidase/pharmacology*; L-Amino Acid Oxidase/chemistry
  20. Duplication of lower lip and mandible--a rare diprosopus
    Suhaili DN, Somasundaram S, Lau SH, Ajura AJ, Roslan AR, Ramli R
    Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol, 2011 Jan;75(1):131-3.
    PMID: 21067822 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2010.10.004
    Diprosopus or duplication of the lower lip and mandible is a very rare congenital anomaly. We report this unusual case occurring in a girl who presented to our hospital at the age of 4 months. Surgery and problems related to this anomaly are discussed.
    MeSH terms: Abnormalities, Multiple/diagnosis; Abnormalities, Multiple/surgery; Esthetics; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Infant; Lip/abnormalities*; Lip/surgery; Mandible/abnormalities*; Mandible/surgery; Reoperation; Treatment Outcome; Risk Assessment; Craniofacial Abnormalities/diagnosis; Craniofacial Abnormalities/surgery*; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures/methods*
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