Browse publications by year: 2013

  1. Seasonal variability of chlorophyll-a and oceanographic conditions in Sabah waters in relation to Asian monsoon--a remote sensing study
    Abdul-Hadi A, Mansor S, Pradhan B, Tan CK
    Environ Monit Assess, 2013 May;185(5):3977-91.
    PMID: 22930185 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-012-2843-2
    A study was conducted to investigate the influence of Asian monsoon on chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) content in Sabah waters and to identify the related oceanographic conditions that caused phytoplankton blooms at the eastern and western coasts of Sabah, Malaysia. A series of remote sensing measurements including surface Chl-a, sea surface temperature, sea surface height anomaly, wind speed, wind stress curl, and Ekman pumping were analyzed to study the oceanographic conditions that lead to large-scale nutrients enrichment in the surface layer. The results showed that the Chl-a content increased at the northwest coast from December to April due to strong northeasterly wind and coastal upwelling in Kota Kinabalu water. The southwest coast (Labuan water) maintained high concentrations throughout the year due to the effect of Padas River discharge during the rainy season and the changing direction of Baram River plume during the northeast monsoon (NEM). However, with the continuous supply of nutrients from the upwelling area, the high Chl-a batches were maintained at the offshore water off Labuan for a longer time during NEM. On the other side, the northeast coast illustrated a high Chl-a in Sandakan water during NEM, whereas the northern tip off Kudat did not show a pronounced change throughout the year. The southeast coast (Tawau water) was highly influenced by the direction of the surface water transport between the Sulu and Sulawesi Seas and the prevailing surface currents. The study demonstrates the presence of seasonal phytoplankton blooms in Sabah waters which will aid in forecasting the possible biological response and could further assist in marine resource managements.
    MeSH terms: Chlorophyll/analysis*; Environmental Monitoring; Indonesia; Malaysia; Phytoplankton/growth & development; Seasons; Seawater/chemistry*; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Weather*; Rivers/chemistry; Remote Sensing Technology*
  2. Fulltext Dietary health behaviors of women living in high rise dwellings: a case study of an urban community in Malaysia
    Karupaiah T, Swee WC, Liew SY, Ng BK, Chinna K
    J Community Health, 2013 Feb;38(1):163-71.
    PMID: 22930284 DOI: 10.1007/s10900-012-9597-1
    Diet-related non-communicable disease (DR-NCD) occurrence is a serious problem amongst Malaysian women and urbanization is probably a challenge to their achieving the nutritional environment conducive to healthy eating. This case study aimed to determine diet quality of an urban community using women respondents from high rise dwellings in Kuala Lumpur. The sample consisted of 135 households and a healthy eating index (HEI) scale was used to evaluate the women's diet quality. A total of 128 women (Malays = 45, Chinese = 56, Indian = 27) participated. Total HEI score was significantly different (P < 0.05) within ethnicity (Indians = 75.7 ± 8.1 0.05) regardless of ethnicity. Income strata (ρ = 0.159, P = 0.048) and eating out frequency (ρ = -0.149, P = 0.046) also independently affected HEI scores. Income negatively correlated with sodium restriction score (ρ = -0.294, P = 0.001) but positively with cereals (ρ = 0.181; P = 0.025), fruits (ρ = 0.178; P = 0.022), dairy products (ρ = 0.198; P = 0.013) and food variety (ρ = 0.219, P = 0.007). Decreased vegetable intake (ρ = -0.320; P < 0.001) and sodium excess (ρ = -0.135, P = 0.065) were associated with eating out frequency and poor HEI scores. This case study suggests health promotion for DR-NCD prevention is needed at the community level to improve diet quality of urban women.
    MeSH terms: Adult; Diet/statistics & numerical data*; Feeding Behavior; Female; Humans; Malaysia/epidemiology; Middle Aged; Residence Characteristics; Urban Population/statistics & numerical data*; Health Behavior*; Nutrition Assessment; Body Mass Index; Young Adult
  3. Docosahexaenoic acid-concentrated fish oil supplementation in subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI): a 12-month randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
    Lee LK, Shahar S, Chin AV, Yusoff NA
    Psychopharmacology (Berl), 2013 Feb;225(3):605-12.
    PMID: 22932777 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-012-2848-0
    RATIONALE: Epidemiological studies have suggested a beneficial effect of fish oil supplementation in halting the initial progression of Alzheimer's disease. However, it remains unclear whether fish oil affects cognitive function in older people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

    OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the effects of fish oil supplementation on cognitive function in elderly person with MCI.

    METHODS: This was a 12-month, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study using fish oil supplementation with concentrated docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Thirty six low-socioeconomic-status elderly subjects with MCI were randomly assigned to receive either concentrated DHA fish oil (n = 18) or placebo (n = 18) capsules. The changes of memory, psychomotor speed, executive function and attention, and visual-constructive skills were assessed using cognitive tests. Secondary outcomes were safety and tolerability of the DHA concentrate.

    RESULTS: The fish oil group showed significant improvement in short-term and working memory (F = 9.890; ηp (2) = 0.254; p 

    MeSH terms: Aged; Analysis of Variance; Cognition/drug effects; Cognition Disorders/drug therapy*; Cognition Disorders/psychology; Docosahexaenoic Acids/therapeutic use*; Docosahexaenoic Acids/chemistry; Double-Blind Method; Female; Fish Oils/therapeutic use*; Fish Oils/chemistry; Humans; Male; Memory, Short-Term/drug effects; Middle Aged; Psychomotor Performance/drug effects*; Severity of Illness Index; Socioeconomic Factors; Treatment Outcome; Dietary Supplements
  4. Fulltext Interdisciplinary approaches to understanding disease emergence: the past, present, and future drivers of Nipah virus emergence
    Daszak P, Zambrana-Torrelio C, Bogich TL, Fernandez M, Epstein JH, Murray KA, et al.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2013 Feb 26;110 Suppl 1:3681-8.
    PMID: 22936052 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1201243109
    Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) pose a significant threat to human health, economic stability, and biodiversity. Despite this, the mechanisms underlying disease emergence are still not fully understood, and control measures rely heavily on mitigating the impact of EIDs after they have emerged. Here, we highlight the emergence of a zoonotic Henipavirus, Nipah virus, to demonstrate the interdisciplinary and macroecological approaches necessary to understand EID emergence. Previous work suggests that Nipah virus emerged due to the interaction of the wildlife reservoir (Pteropus spp. fruit bats) with intensively managed livestock. The emergence of this and other henipaviruses involves interactions among a suite of anthropogenic environmental changes, socioeconomic factors, and changes in demography that overlay and interact with the distribution of these pathogens in their wildlife reservoirs. Here, we demonstrate how ecological niche modeling may be used to investigate the potential role of a changing climate on the future risk for Henipavirus emergence. We show that the distribution of Henipavirus reservoirs, and therefore henipaviruses, will likely change under climate change scenarios, a fundamental precondition for disease emergence in humans. We assess the variation among climate models to estimate where Henipavirus host distribution is most likely to expand, contract, or remain stable, presenting new risks for human health. We conclude that there is substantial potential to use this modeling framework to explore the distribution of wildlife hosts under a changing climate. These approaches may directly inform current and future management and surveillance strategies aiming to improve pathogen detection and, ultimately, reduce emergence risk.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Chiroptera/virology; Disease Reservoirs; Ecology; Humans; Malaysia; Models, Biological; Public Health; Henipavirus/pathogenicity; Nipah Virus/pathogenicity*; Henipavirus Infections/transmission*; Henipavirus Infections/virology; Climate Change
  5. Isolation and characterization of pepsin-solubilized collagen from the integument of sea cucumber (Stichopus vastus)
    Abedin MZ, Karim AA, Ahmed F, Latiff AA, Gan CY, Che Ghazali F, et al.
    J Sci Food Agric, 2013 Mar 30;93(5):1083-8.
    PMID: 22936269 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.5854
    Sea cucumber (Stichopus vastus) is considered an underutilized resource, since only its stomach and intestines are eaten raw as salad in a few countries and the remaining parts, especially the integument rich in collagen, is discarded. Hence a valuable by-product having potential nutraceutical and pharmaceutical applications is wasted. In the present investigation, pepsin-solubilized collagen (PSC) from the integument of S. vastus was isolated, purified and characterized.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Collagen/economics; Collagen/isolation & purification; Collagen/metabolism; Collagen/chemistry*; Dietary Proteins/analysis*; Dietary Proteins/economics; Dietary Proteins/isolation & purification; Dietary Proteins/metabolism; Food-Processing Industry/economics; Gels; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Industrial Waste/analysis; Industrial Waste/economics; Malaysia; Molecular Weight; Osmolar Concentration; Pepsin A/metabolism; Peptide Fragments/economics; Peptide Fragments/isolation & purification; Peptide Fragments/metabolism; Peptide Fragments/chemistry; Protein Denaturation; Solubility; Temperature; Protein Structure, Tertiary; Collagen Type I/economics; Collagen Type I/isolation & purification; Collagen Type I/metabolism; Collagen Type I/chemistry; Integumentary System*; Stichopus*; Proteolysis
  6. Volatile constituents of roasted tigernut oil (Cyperus esculentus L.)
    Lasekan O
    J Sci Food Agric, 2013 Mar 30;93(5):1055-61.
    PMID: 22936608 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.5846
    Volatile compounds play a key role in determining the sensory appreciation of vegetable oils. In this study a systematic evaluation of odorants responsible for the characteristic flavour of roasted tigernut oil was carried out.
    MeSH terms: Food Handling; Hot Temperature; Humans; Malaysia; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Nigeria; Odors; Osmolar Concentration; Plant Oils/chemistry*; Sensation; Sensory Thresholds; Cyperus/chemistry*; Plant Tubers/chemistry*; Solid Phase Microextraction; Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis*
  7. Algal biomass dehydration
    Show KY, Lee DJ, Chang JS
    Bioresour Technol, 2013 May;135:720-9.
    PMID: 22939595 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2012.08.021
    Biofuels are viewed as promising alternatives to conventional fossil fuels because they have the potential to eliminate major environmental problems created by fossil fuels. Among the still developing biofuel technologies, biodiesel production from algae offers a greater prospect for large-scale practical use, as algae are capable of producing much more yield than other biofuels. While research on algae-based biofuel is still in its developing stage, extensive work on laboratory- and pilot-scale algae harvesting systems with promising prospects has been reported. This paper presented a discussion of the literature review on recent advances in algae separation, harvesting and drying for biofuel production. The review and discussion focus on destabilization of algae, algae harvesting technologies and algae drying processes. Challenges and prospects of algae harvesting are also outlined.
    MeSH terms: Desiccation*; Biomass*; Biofuels; Microalgae/growth & development; Microalgae/metabolism*
  8. Molecular genetic diversity of the Saccharomyces yeasts in Taiwan: Saccharomyces arboricola, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces kudriavzevii
    Naumov GI, Lee CF, Naumova ES
    Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek, 2013 Jan;103(1):217-28.
    PMID: 22941248 DOI: 10.1007/s10482-012-9803-2
    Genetic hybridization, sequence and karyotypic analyses of natural Saccharomyces yeasts isolated in different regions of Taiwan revealed three biological species: Saccharomyces arboricola, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces kudriavzevii. Intraspecies variability of the D1/D2 and ITS1 rDNA sequences was detected among S. cerevisiae and S. kudriavzevii isolates. According to molecular and genetic analyses, the cosmopolitan species S. cerevisiae and S. kudriavzevii contain local divergent populations in Taiwan, Malaysia and Japan. Six of the seven known Saccharomyces species are documented in East Asia: S. arboricola, S. bayanus, S. cerevisiae, S. kudriavzevii, S. mikatae, and S. paradoxus.
    MeSH terms: DNA, Fungal/genetics; DNA, Fungal/chemistry; DNA, Ribosomal/genetics; DNA, Ribosomal/chemistry; Karyotyping; Molecular Sequence Data; Nucleic Acid Hybridization; Phylogeny; Saccharomyces/classification*; Saccharomyces/genetics*; Saccharomyces/isolation & purification; Taiwan; Genetic Variation*; Cluster Analysis; Sequence Analysis, DNA; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/genetics; DNA, Ribosomal Spacer/chemistry
  9. Neonatal infections in China, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand
    Al-Taiar A, Hammoud MS, Cuiqing L, Lee JK, Lui KM, Nakwan N, et al.
    Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed., 2013 May;98(3):F249-55.
    PMID: 22942104 DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2012-301767
    Neonatal sepsis is a major cause of neonatal deaths in Asia but data remain scarce. We aimed to investigate the causative organisms and antibiotic resistance in neonatal care units in China, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Thailand.
    MeSH terms: China/epidemiology; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Female; Hong Kong/epidemiology; Humans; Infant Mortality; Infant, Newborn; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Prospective Studies; Thailand/epidemiology; Cohort Studies; Incidence; Sepsis/microbiology; Sepsis/mortality; Sepsis/epidemiology*
  10. Visualizing disaster attitudes resulting from terrorist activities
    Khalid HM, Helander MG, Hood NA
    Appl Ergon, 2013 Sep;44(5):671-9.
    PMID: 22944486 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2012.06.005
    The purpose of this study was to analyze people's attitudes to disasters by investigating how people feel, behave and think during disasters. We focused on disasters induced by humans, such as terrorist attacks. Two types of textual information were collected - from Internet blogs and from research papers. The analysis enabled forecasting of attitudes for the design of proactive disaster advisory scheme. Text was analyzed using a text mining tool, Leximancer. The outcome of this analysis revealed core themes and concepts in the text concerning people's attitudes. The themes and concepts were sorted into three broad categories: Affect, Behaviour, and Cognition (ABC), and the data was visualized in semantic maps. The maps reveal several knowledge pathways of ABC for developing attitudinal ontologies, which describe the relations between affect, behaviour and cognition, and the sequence in which they develop. Clearly, terrorist attacks induced trauma and people became highly vulnerable.
    MeSH terms: Affect; Attitude*; Behavior; Decision Making; Disasters*; Emotions; Environment; Equipment and Supplies; Fear; Humans; Instinct; Models, Psychological; Research; Social Adjustment; Stress, Psychological/psychology; Thinking; Wounds and Injuries/psychology; Rescue Work; Internet; Terrorism/psychology*; Blogging; Data Mining
  11. Chemical constituents of the leaf of Alpinia mutica Roxb
    Sirat HM, Jani NA
    Nat Prod Res, 2013;27(16):1468-70.
    PMID: 22946537 DOI: 10.1080/14786419.2012.718772
    Hydrodistillation of the fresh leaves of Alpinia mutica afforded 0.005% colourless essential oil. GC and GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of 33 components accounting for 92.9% of the total oil, dominated by 20 sesquiterpenes (76.7%) and 10 monoterpenes (8.3%). The major constituent was found to be β-sesquiphellandrene which was 29.2% of the total oil. Soxhlet extraction, followed by repeated column chromatography of the dried leaves yielded two phenolic compounds, identified as 5,6-dehydrokawain and aniba dimer A, together with one amide assigned as auranamide. The structures of these compounds were determined by using spectroscopic analysis. Antibacterial screening of the essential oil, the crude and isolated compounds showed weak to moderate inhibitory activity.
    MeSH terms: Plant Oils/chemistry; Pyrones/chemistry; Plant Leaves/chemistry*; Alpinia/chemistry*
  12. Ultra-short laser pulse generated by a microring resonator system for cancer cell treatment
    Jalil MA, Ong CT, Saktioto T, Daud S, Aziz MS, Yupapin PP
    Artif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol, 2013 Jun;41(3):152-8.
    PMID: 22947143 DOI: 10.3109/10731199.2012.700520
    A microring resonator (MRRs) system incorporated with a add/drop filter is proposed in which ultra-short single, multi-temporal, and spatial optical soliton pulses are simulated and used to kill abnormal cells, tumors, and cancer. Chaotic signals are generated by a bright soliton pulse within a nonlinear MRRs system. Gold nanoparticles and ultra-short femtosecond/picosecond laser pulses' interaction holds great interest in laser nanomedicine. By using appropriate soliton input power and MRRs parameters, desired spatial and temporal signals can be generated over the spectrum. Results show that short temporal and spatial solitons pulse with FWHM = 712 fs and FWHM = 17.5 pm could be generated. The add/drop filter system is used to generate the high-capacity, ultra-short soliton pulses in the range of nanometer/second and picometer/second.
    MeSH terms: Gold/chemistry*; Humans; Lasers*; Neoplasms/radiotherapy*; Low-Level Light Therapy/instrumentation*; Low-Level Light Therapy/methods; Nanomedicine/methods; Metal Nanoparticles/chemistry*
  13. Fulltext An overview of health forecasting
    Soyiri IN, Reidpath DD
    Environ Health Prev Med, 2013 Jan;18(1):1-9.
    PMID: 22949173 DOI: 10.1007/s12199-012-0294-6
    Health forecasting is a novel area of forecasting, and a valuable tool for predicting future health events or situations such as demands for health services and healthcare needs. It facilitates preventive medicine and health care intervention strategies, by pre-informing health service providers to take appropriate mitigating actions to minimize risks and manage demand. Health forecasting requires reliable data, information and appropriate analytical tools for the prediction of specific health conditions or situations. There is no single approach to health forecasting, and so various methods have often been adopted to forecast aggregate or specific health conditions. Meanwhile, there are no defined health forecasting horizons (time frames) to match the choices of health forecasting methods/approaches that are often applied. The key principles of health forecasting have not also been adequately described to guide the process. This paper provides a brief introduction and theoretical analysis of health forecasting. It describes the key issues that are important for health forecasting, including: definitions, principles of health forecasting, and the properties of health data, which influence the choices of health forecasting methods. Other matters related to the value of health forecasting, and the general challenges associated with developing and using health forecasting services are discussed. This overview is a stimulus for further discussions on standardizing health forecasting approaches and methods that will facilitate health care and health services delivery.
    MeSH terms: Communication*; Environmental Health/methods*; Forecasting*; Health Services Needs and Demand*; Humans; Terminology as Topic; Models, Statistical
  14. Fulltext Effectiveness of antismoking media messages and education among adolescents in Malaysia and Thailand: findings from the international tobacco control southeast Asia project
    Zawahir S, Omar M, Awang R, Yong HH, Borland R, Sirirassamee B, et al.
    Nicotine Tob Res, 2013 Feb;15(2):482-91.
    PMID: 22949569 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/nts161
    Finding ways to discourage adolescents from taking up smoking is important because those who begin smoking at an earlier age are more likely to become addicted and have greater difficulty in quitting. This article examined whether anti smoking messages and education could help to reduce smoking susceptibility among adolescents in two Southeast Asian countries and to explore the possible moderating effect of country and gender.
    MeSH terms: Adolescent; Female; Health Education/methods; Health Education/organization & administration*; Health Education/standards; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Persuasive Communication*; Smoking/legislation & jurisprudence*; Thailand
  15. Quality and accuracy assessment of nutrition information on the Web for cancer prevention
    Shahar S, Shirley N, Noah SA
    Inform Health Soc Care, 2013 Jan;38(1):15-26.
    PMID: 22957981 DOI: 10.3109/17538157.2012.710684
    This study aimed to assess the quality and accuracy of nutrition information about cancer prevention available on the Web. The keywords 'nutrition  +  diet  +  cancer  +  prevention' were submitted to the Google search engine. Out of 400 websites evaluated, 100 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and were selected as the sample for the assessment of quality and accuracy. Overall, 54% of the studied websites had low quality, 48 and 57% had no author's name or information, respectively, 100% were not updated within 1 month during the study period and 86% did not have the Health on the Net seal. When the websites were assessed for readability using the Flesch Reading Ease test, nearly 44% of the websites were categorised as 'quite difficult'. With regard to accuracy, 91% of the websites did not precisely follow the latest WCRF/AICR 2007 recommendation. The quality scores correlated significantly with the accuracy scores (r  =  0.250, p  
    MeSH terms: Humans; Neoplasms/prevention & control*; Nutritional Requirements*; Internet*; Consumer Health Information/standards*
  16. Permeability studies of artificial and natural cancellous bone structures
    Syahrom A, Abdul Kadir MR, Abdullah J, Öchsner A
    Med Eng Phys, 2013 Jun;35(6):792-9.
    PMID: 22959618 DOI: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2012.08.011
    In the development of artificial cancellous bones, two major factors need to be considered: the integrity of the overall structure and its permeability. Whilst there have been many studies analysing the mechanical properties of artificial and natural cancellous bones, permeability studies, especially those using numerical simulation, are scarce. In this study, idealised cancellous bones were simulated from the morphological indices of natural cancellous bone. Three different orientations were also simulated to compare the anisotropic nature of the structure. Computational fluid dynamics methods were used to analyse fluid flow through the cancellous structures. A constant mass flow rate was used to determine the intrinsic permeability of the virtual specimens. The results showed similar permeability of the prismatic plate-and-rod model to the natural cancellous bone. The tetrakaidecahedral rod model had the highest permeability under simulated blood flow conditions, but the plate counterpart had the lowest. Analyses on the anisotropy of the virtual specimens showed the highest permeability for the horizontal orientation. Linear relationships were found between permeability and the two physical properties, porosity and bone surface area.
    MeSH terms: Artificial Organs*; Computer Simulation; Permeability; Spine/metabolism*; Porosity; Hydrodynamics
  17. Genetic diversity of caprine Blastocystis from Peninsular Malaysia
    Tan TC, Tan PC, Sharma R, Sugnaseelan S, Suresh KG
    Parasitol Res, 2013 Jan;112(1):85-9.
    PMID: 22961236 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-012-3107-3
    Blastocystis sp. is a common intestinal parasite found in humans and animals. The possibility of zoonotic transmission to humans from livestock especially goats led us to investigate the genetic diversity of caprine Blastocystis sp. obtained from five different farms in Peninsular Malaysia. Moreover, there is a lack of information on the prevalence as well as genetic diversity of Blastocystis sp. in goat worldwide. Results showed that 73/236 (30.9 %) of the goats were found to be positive for Blastocystis infection. The most predominant Blastocystis sp. subtype was ST1 (60.3 %) followed by ST7 (41.1 %), ST6 (41.1 %), and ST3 (11.0 %) when amplified by PCR using sequenced-tagged site (STS) primers. Four farms had goats infected only with ST1 whereas the fifth showed mixed infections with multiple STs. The proximity of the fifth farm to human dwellings, nearby domesticated animals and grass land as opposed to a sterile captive environment in the first four farms may account for the multiple STs seen in the fifth farm. Since ST1, ST3, ST6 and ST 7 were previously reported in human infection worldwide in particular Malaysia, the potential of the zoonotic transmission of blastocystosis should not be disregarded. The implications of different farm management systems on the distribution of Blastocystis sp. STs are discussed.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Female; Genotype; Goats; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Genetic Variation*; Goat Diseases/epidemiology*; Goat Diseases/parasitology*; Prevalence; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Blastocystis Infections/epidemiology; Blastocystis Infections/parasitology; Blastocystis Infections/veterinary*; Blastocystis/classification*; Blastocystis/genetics*; Blastocystis/isolation & purification; Molecular Epidemiology
  18. Sensitivity of two in vitro assays for evaluating plant activity against the infective stage of Haemonchus contortus strains
    Al-Rofaai A, Rahman WA, Abdulghani M
    Parasitol Res, 2013 Feb;112(2):893-8.
    PMID: 22961237 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-012-3113-5
    The sensitivity of larval paralysis assay (LPA) and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide-formazan (MTT-formazan) assay was compared to evaluate the anthelmintic activity of plant extracts. In this study, the methanolic extract of Azadirachta indica (neem) was evaluated for its activity against the infective-stage larvae (L(3)) of susceptible and resistant Haemonchus contortus strains using the two aforementioned assays. In both in vitro assays, the same serial concentrations of the extract were used, and the median lethal concentrations were determined to compare the sensitivity of both assays. The results revealed a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the sensitivity of the LPA and the MTT-formazan assay. The MTT-formazan assay is more feasible for practical applications because it measured the L(3) mortality more accurately than LPA. This study may help find a suitable assay for investigating the anthelmintic activity of plant extracts against trichostrongylid nematodes.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Anthelmintics/isolation & purification; Anthelmintics/pharmacology*; Biological Assay/methods; Formazans/metabolism; Haemonchus/drug effects*; Larva/drug effects; Plant Extracts/isolation & purification; Plant Extracts/pharmacology*; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tetrazolium Salts/metabolism; Survival Analysis; Parasitic Sensitivity Tests/methods; Azadirachta/chemistry*
  19. Noise variance estimation using image noise cross-correlation model on SEM images
    Sim KS, Nia ME, Tso CP
    Scanning, 2013 May-Jun;35(3):205-12.
    PMID: 22961698 DOI: 10.1002/sca.21055
    A number of techniques have been proposed during the last three decades for noise variance and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimation in digital images. While some methods have shown reliability and accuracy in SNR and noise variance estimations, other methods are dependent on the nature of the images and perform well on a limited number of image types. In this article, we prove the accuracy and the efficiency of the image noise cross-correlation estimation model, vs. other existing estimators, when applied to different types of scanning electron microscope images.
    MeSH terms: Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Noise; Reproducibility of Results; Signal-To-Noise Ratio
  20. The efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction on mental health of breast cancer patients: a meta-analysis
    Zainal NZ, Booth S, Huppert FA
    Psychooncology, 2013 Jul;22(7):1457-65.
    PMID: 22961994 DOI: 10.1002/pon.3171
    This study aims to investigate the evidence of the efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in improving stress, depression and anxiety in breast cancer patients.
    MeSH terms: Anxiety/psychology; Anxiety/therapy*; Breast Neoplasms/psychology*; Depression/psychology; Depression/therapy*; Female; Humans; Stress, Psychological/therapy*; Mind-Body Therapies/methods*; Mindfulness*
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