Browse publications by year: 2014

  1. Sectional analysis of the pollutant wash-off process based on runoff hydrograph
    Alias N, Liu A, Egodawatta P, Goonetilleke A
    J Environ Manage, 2014 Feb 15;134:63-9.
    PMID: 24463850 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.12.034
    The validity of using rainfall characteristics as lumped parameters for investigating the pollutant wash-off process such as first flush occurrence is questionable. This research study introduces an innovative concept of using sector parameters to investigate the relationship between the pollutant wash-off process and different sectors of the runoff hydrograph and rainfall hyetograph. The research outcomes indicated that rainfall depth and rainfall intensity are two key rainfall characteristics which influence the wash-off process compared to the antecedent dry period. Additionally, the rainfall pattern also plays a critical role in the wash-off process and is independent of the catchment characteristics. The knowledge created through this research study provides the ability to select appropriate rainfall events for stormwater quality treatment design based on the required treatment outcomes such as the need to target different sectors of the runoff hydrograph or pollutant species. The study outcomes can also contribute to enhancing stormwater quality modelling and prediction in view of the fact that conventional approaches to stormwater quality estimation is primarily based on rainfall intensity rather than considering other rainfall parameters or solely based on stochastic approaches irrespective of the characteristics of the rainfall event.
    MeSH terms: Environmental Monitoring; Rain; Water Movements*; Water Pollutants/analysis*
  2. Crosstalk between insulin and Toll-like receptor signaling pathways in the central nervous system
    Hemmati F, Ghasemi R, Mohamed Ibrahim N, Dargahi L, Mohamed Z, Raymond AA, et al.
    Mol Neurobiol, 2014 Dec;50(3):797-810.
    PMID: 24464263 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-013-8631-3
    Neuroinflammation is known as a key player in a variety of neurodegenerative and/or neurological diseases. Brain Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are leading elements in the initiation and progression of neuroinflammation and the development of different neuronal diseases. Furthermore, TLR activation is one of the most important elements in the induction of insulin resistance in different organs such as the central nervous system. Involvement of insulin signaling dysregulation and insulin resistance are also shown to contribute to the pathology of neurological diseases. Considering the important roles of TLRs in neuroinflammation and central insulin resistance and the effects of these processes in the initiation and progression of neurodegenerative and neurological diseases, here we are going to review current knowledge about the potential crosstalk between TLRs and insulin signaling pathways in neuroinflammatory disorders of the central nervous system.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Central Nervous System/metabolism*; Humans; Receptor, Insulin/metabolism*; Signal Transduction/physiology*; Receptor Cross-Talk/physiology*; Toll-Like Receptors/metabolism*
  3. Thermokinetic comparison of trypan blue decolorization by free laccase and fungal biomass
    Razak NN, Annuar MS
    Appl Biochem Biotechnol, 2014 Mar;172(6):2932-44.
    PMID: 24464534 DOI: 10.1007/s12010-014-0731-7
    Free laccase and fungal biomass from white-rot fungi were compared in the thermokinetics study of the laccase-catalyzed decolorization of an azo dye, i.e., Trypan Blue. The decolorization in both systems followed a first-order kinetics. The apparent first-order rate constant, k1', value increases with temperature. Apparent activation energy of decolorization was similar for both systems at ∼ 22 kJ mol(-1), while energy for laccase inactivation was 18 kJ mol(-1). Although both systems were endothermic, fungal biomass showed higher enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy changes for the decolorization compared to free laccase. On the other hand, free laccase showed reaction spontaneity over a wider range of temperature (ΔT = 40 K) as opposed to fungal biomass (ΔT = 15 K). Comparison of entropy change (ΔS) values indicated metabolism of the dye by the biomass.
    MeSH terms: Biodegradation, Environmental; Color; Coloring Agents/chemistry*; Environmental Pollutants/chemistry*; Fungal Proteins/chemistry*; Hydrazones/chemistry; Kinetics; Temperature; Thermodynamics; Trypan Blue/chemistry*; Biomass; Laccase/chemistry*; Trametes/enzymology*
  4. Fulltext Anxiolytic-like effects of mitragynine in the open-field and elevated plus-maze tests in rats
    Hazim AI, Ramanathan S, Parthasarathy S, Muzaimi M, Mansor SM
    J Physiol Sci, 2014 May;64(3):161-9.
    PMID: 24464759 DOI: 10.1007/s12576-014-0304-0
    The effects of mitragynine on anxiety-related behaviours in the open-field and elevated plus-maze tests were evaluated. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were orally treated with mitragynine (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg) or diazepam (10 mg/kg) 60 min before behavioural testing. Mitragynine doses used in this study were selected on the basis of approximately human equivalent doses with reference to our previous literature reports. Acute administration of mitragynine (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg) or diazepam (10 mg/kg) increased central zone and open arms exploration in the open-field and elevated plus-maze tests respectively. These anxiolytic-like effects of mitragynine were effectively antagonized by intraperitoneal administration of naloxone (2 mg/kg), flumazenil (10 mg/kg), sulpiride (0.5 mg/kg) or SCH 23390 (0.02 mg/kg) 15 min before mitragynine treatments. These findings reveal that the acute administration of mitragynine produces anxiolytic-like effects and this could be possibly attributed to the interactions among opioidergic, GABAergic and dopaminergic systems in brain regions involved in anxiety.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Anxiety/metabolism; Anxiety/prevention & control*; Anxiety/psychology; Behavior, Animal/drug effects*; Brain/drug effects; Brain/metabolism; Diazepam/pharmacology; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Male; Motor Activity/drug effects*; Narcotic Antagonists/pharmacology; Time Factors; Anti-Anxiety Agents/pharmacology*; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Dopamine Antagonists/pharmacology; GABA Modulators/pharmacology; Secologanin Tryptamine Alkaloids/pharmacology*
  5. Trend and impact of international collaboration in clinical medicine papers published in Malaysia
    Low WY, Ng KH, Kabir MA, Koh AP, Sinnasamy J
    Scientometrics, 2014;98:1521-1533.
    PMID: 24465065
    Research collaboration is the way forward in order to improve quality and impact of its research findings. International research collaboration has resulted in international co-authorship in scientific communications and publications. This study highlights the collaborating research and authorship trend in clinical medicine in Malaysia from 2001 to 2010. Malaysian-based author affiliation in the Web of Science (Science Citation Index Expanded) and clinical medicine journals (n = 999) and articles (n = 3951) as of 30th Oct 2011 were downloaded. Types of document analyzed were articles and reviews, and impact factors (IF) in the 2010 Journal Citation Report Science Edition were taken to access the quality of the articles. The number of publications in clinical medicine increased from 4.5 % (n = 178) in 2001 to 23.9 % (n = 944) in 2010. The top three contributors in the subject categories are Pharmacology and Pharmacy (13.9 %), General and Internal Medicine (13.6 %) and Tropical Medicine (7.3 %). By journal tier system: Tier 1 (18.7 %, n = 738), Tier 2 (22.5 %, n = 888), Tier 3 (29.6 %, n = 1170), Tier 4 (27.2 %, n = 1074), and journals without IF (2.1 %, n = 81). University of Malaya was the most productive. Local collaborators accounted for 60.3 % and international collaborations 39.7 %. Articles with international collaborations appeared in journals with higher journal IFs than those without international collaboration. They were also cited more significantly than articles without international collaborations. Citations, impact factor and journal tiers were significantly associated with international collaboration in Malaysia's clinical medicine publications. Malaysia has achieved a significant number of ISI publications in clinical medicine participation in international collaboration.
  6. Fulltext Serum osteocalcin is significantly related to indices of obesity and lipid profile in Malaysian men
    Chin KY, Ima-Nirwana S, Mohamed IN, Ahmad F, Ramli ES, Aminuddin A, et al.
    Int J Med Sci, 2014;11(2):151-7.
    PMID: 24465160 DOI: 10.7150/ijms.7152
    Recent studies revealed a possible reciprocal relationship between the skeletal system and obesity and lipid metabolism, mediated by osteocalcin, an osteoblast-specific protein. This study aimed to validate the relationship between serum osteocalcin and indices of obesity and lipid parameters in a group of Malaysian men.
    MeSH terms: Adipose Tissue/metabolism*; Adipose Tissue/pathology; Adult; Body Composition; Body Weight; Humans; Cholesterol, HDL/blood*; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Obesity/blood*; Obesity/etiology; Obesity/pathology; Osteocalcin/blood; Body Mass Index; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Lipid Metabolism*; Waist Circumference
  7. Fulltext Sex-steroid regulation of relaxin receptor isoforms (RXFP1 & RXFP2) expression in the patellar tendon and lateral collateral ligament of female WKY rats
    Dehghan F, Muniandy S, Yusof A, Salleh N
    Int J Med Sci, 2014;11(2):180-91.
    PMID: 24465164 DOI: 10.7150/ijms.6283
    The incidence of non-contact knee injury was found higher in female than in male and is related to the phases of the menstrual cycle. This raised the possibility that female sex-steroids are involved in the mechanism underlying this injury via affecting the expression of the receptors for relaxin, a peptide hormone known to modulate ligament laxity. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of sex-steroids on relaxin receptor isoforms (RXFP1 & RXFP2) expression in the ligaments and tendons of the knee.

    METHODS: Ovariectomized adult female WKY rats were treated with different doses of estrogen (0.2, 2, 20 μg/kg), progesterone (4mg) and testosterone (125 & 250μg/kg) for three consecutive days. At the end of the treatment, the animals were sacrificed and the patellar tendon and lateral collateral ligament were harvested for mRNA and protein expression analyses by Real Time PCR and Western blotting respectively.

    RESULTS: RXFP1, the main isoform expressed in these knee structures and RXFP2 showed a dose-dependent increase in expression with estrogen. Progesterone treatment resulted in an increase while testosterone caused a dose-dependent decrease in the mRNA and protein expression of both relaxin receptor isoforms.

    DISCUSSION: Progesterone and high dose estrogen up-regulate while testosterone down-regulates RXFP1 and RXFP2 expression in the patellar tendon and lateral collateral ligament of rat's knee.

    CONCLUSION: Relaxin receptor isoforms up-regulation by progesterone and high dose estrogen could provide the basis for the reported increase in knee laxity while down-regulation of these receptor isoforms by testosterone could explain low incidence of non-contact knee injury in male.

    MeSH terms: Animals; Estrogens/administration & dosage; Female; Gene Expression Regulation/drug effects; Humans; Knee Injuries/drug therapy*; Knee Injuries/genetics; Knee Injuries/pathology; Male; Progesterone/administration & dosage; Gonadal Steroid Hormones/administration & dosage*; Testosterone/administration & dosage; Lateral Ligament, Ankle/metabolism; Patellar Ligament/metabolism; Receptors, Peptide/biosynthesis*; Receptors, Peptide/genetics; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled/biosynthesis*; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled/genetics; Rats
  8. Fulltext A newly emerging HIV-1 recombinant lineage (CRF58_01B) disseminating among people who inject drugs in Malaysia
    Chow WZ, Takebe Y, Syafina NE, Prakasa MS, Chan KG, Al-Darraji HA, et al.
    PLoS One, 2014;9(1):e85250.
    PMID: 24465513 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0085250
    The HIV epidemic is primarily characterised by the circulation of HIV-1 group M (main) comprising of 11 subtypes and sub-subtypes (A1, A2, B-D, F1, F2, G, H, J, and K) and to date 55 circulating recombinant forms (CRFs). In Southeast Asia, active inter-subtype recombination involving three main circulating genotypes--subtype B (including subtype B', the Thai variant of subtype B), CRF01_AE, and CRF33_01B--have contributed to the emergence of novel unique recombinant forms. In the present study, we conducted the molecular epidemiological surveillance of HIV-1 gag-RT genes among 258 people who inject drugs (PWIDs) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, between 2009 and 2011 whereby a novel CRF candidate was recently identified. The near full-length genome sequences obtained from six epidemiologically unlinked individuals showed identical mosaic structures consisting of subtype B' and CRF01_AE, with six unique recombination breakpoints in the gag-RT, pol, and env regions. Among the high-risk population of PWIDs in Malaysia, which was predominantly infected by CRF33_01B (>70%), CRF58_01B circulated at a low but significant prevalence (2.3%, 6/258). Interestingly, the CRF58_01B shared two unique recombination breakpoints with other established CRFs in the region: CRF33_01B, CRF48_01B, and CRF53_01B in the gag gene, and CRF15_01B (from Thailand) in the env gene. Extended Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling analysis showed that CRF58_01B and other recently discovered CRFs were most likely to have originated in Malaysia, and that the recent spread of recombinant lineages in the country had little influence from neighbouring countries. The isolation, genetic characterization, and evolutionary features of CRF58_01B among PWIDs in Malaysia signify the increasingly complex HIV-1 diversity in Southeast Asia that may hold an implication on disease treatment, control, and prevention.
    MeSH terms: Adult; Genotype; Geography; Humans; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny; Recombination, Genetic; Retroviridae Proteins/genetics; Thailand/epidemiology; Genetic Variation*; HIV-1/classification; HIV-1/genetics*; HIV Infections/epidemiology; HIV Infections/virology*; Substance Abuse, Intravenous/virology*; Prevalence; Genome, Viral/genetics; Molecular Epidemiology; Evolution, Molecular
  9. Fulltext Design and characterization of a 52K SNP chip for goats
    Tosser-Klopp G, Bardou P, Bouchez O, Cabau C, Crooijmans R, Dong Y, et al.
    PLoS One, 2014;9(1):e86227.
    PMID: 24465974 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086227
    The success of Genome Wide Association Studies in the discovery of sequence variation linked to complex traits in humans has increased interest in high throughput SNP genotyping assays in livestock species. Primary goals are QTL detection and genomic selection. The purpose here was design of a 50-60,000 SNP chip for goats. The success of a moderate density SNP assay depends on reliable bioinformatic SNP detection procedures, the technological success rate of the SNP design, even spacing of SNPs on the genome and selection of Minor Allele Frequencies (MAF) suitable to use in diverse breeds. Through the federation of three SNP discovery projects consolidated as the International Goat Genome Consortium, we have identified approximately twelve million high quality SNP variants in the goat genome stored in a database together with their biological and technical characteristics. These SNPs were identified within and between six breeds (meat, milk and mixed): Alpine, Boer, Creole, Katjang, Saanen and Savanna, comprising a total of 97 animals. Whole genome and Reduced Representation Library sequences were aligned on >10 kb scaffolds of the de novo goat genome assembly. The 60,000 selected SNPs, evenly spaced on the goat genome, were submitted for oligo manufacturing (Illumina, Inc) and published in dbSNP along with flanking sequences and map position on goat assemblies (i.e. scaffolds and pseudo-chromosomes), sheep genome V2 and cattle UMD3.1 assembly. Ten breeds were then used to validate the SNP content and 52,295 loci could be successfully genotyped and used to generate a final cluster file. The combined strategy of using mainly whole genome Next Generation Sequencing and mapping on a contig genome assembly, complemented with Illumina design tools proved to be efficient in producing this GoatSNP50 chip. Advances in use of molecular markers are expected to accelerate goat genomic studies in coming years.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Breeding; Goats/classification; Goats/genetics*; Reproducibility of Results; Genome; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide*; Genomics
  10. Fulltext Severity-based adaptation with limited data for ASR to aid dysarthric speakers
    Mustafa MB, Salim SS, Mohamed N, Al-Qatab B, Siong CE
    PLoS One, 2014;9(1):e86285.
    PMID: 24466004 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086285
    Automatic speech recognition (ASR) is currently used in many assistive technologies, such as helping individuals with speech impairment in their communication ability. One challenge in ASR for speech-impaired individuals is the difficulty in obtaining a good speech database of impaired speakers for building an effective speech acoustic model. Because there are very few existing databases of impaired speech, which are also limited in size, the obvious solution to build a speech acoustic model of impaired speech is by employing adaptation techniques. However, issues that have not been addressed in existing studies in the area of adaptation for speech impairment are as follows: (1) identifying the most effective adaptation technique for impaired speech; and (2) the use of suitable source models to build an effective impaired-speech acoustic model. This research investigates the above-mentioned two issues on dysarthria, a type of speech impairment affecting millions of people. We applied both unimpaired and impaired speech as the source model with well-known adaptation techniques like the maximum likelihood linear regression (MLLR) and the constrained-MLLR(C-MLLR). The recognition accuracy of each impaired speech acoustic model is measured in terms of word error rate (WER), with further assessments, including phoneme insertion, substitution and deletion rates. Unimpaired speech when combined with limited high-quality speech-impaired data improves performance of ASR systems in recognising severely impaired dysarthric speech. The C-MLLR adaptation technique was also found to be better than MLLR in recognising mildly and moderately impaired speech based on the statistical analysis of the WER. It was found that phoneme substitution was the biggest contributing factor in WER in dysarthric speech for all levels of severity. The results show that the speech acoustic models derived from suitable adaptation techniques improve the performance of ASR systems in recognising impaired speech with limited adaptation data.
    MeSH terms: Computer Simulation; Dysarthria/pathology; Dysarthria/therapy*; Humans; Phonetics; Severity of Illness Index; Speech Acoustics; Likelihood Functions; Databases, Factual; Speech Recognition Software*
  11. Fulltext Judging the difference between attractiveness and health: does exposure to model images influence the judgments made by men and women?
    Stephen ID, Perera AT
    PLoS One, 2014;9(1):e86302.
    PMID: 24466014 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086302
    Recent research has shown facial adiposity (apparent weight in the face) to be a significant predictor of both attractiveness and health, thus making it an important determinant of mate selection. Studies looking at the relationship between attractiveness and health have shown that individuals differentiate between the two by preferring a lower weight for attractiveness than for health in female faces. However, these studies have either been correlational studies, or have investigated weight perceived from only the face. These differences have been discussed with regard to sociocultural factors such as pressure from parents, peers and also media, which has been seen to have the highest influence. While exposure to media images has been shown to influence women's own-body image, no study has yet directly tested the influence of these factors on people's preferred weight in other women's bodies. Here we examine how a short exposure to images of models influences men's and women's judgments of the most healthy looking and attractive BMI in Malaysian Chinese women's bodies by comparing differences in preferences (for attractiveness and health) between groups exposed to images of models of varying attractiveness and body weight. Results indicated that participants preferred a lower weight for attractiveness than for health. Further, women's but not men's preferred BMI for attractiveness, but not health, was influenced by the type of media images to which they were exposed, suggesting that short term exposure to model images affect women's perceptions of attractiveness but not health.
    MeSH terms: Adolescent; Adult; Body Image*; Body Weight; Face/physiology; Female; Health; Humans; Judgment*; Male; Body Mass Index; Adiposity; Young Adult
  12. Fulltext CoryneBase: Corynebacterium genomic resources and analysis tools at your fingertips
    Heydari H, Siow CC, Tan MF, Jakubovics NS, Wee WY, Mutha NV, et al.
    PLoS One, 2014;9(1):e86318.
    PMID: 24466021 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086318
    Corynebacteria are used for a wide variety of industrial purposes but some species are associated with human diseases. With increasing number of corynebacterial genomes having been sequenced, comparative analysis of these strains may provide better understanding of their biology, phylogeny, virulence and taxonomy that may lead to the discoveries of beneficial industrial strains or contribute to better management of diseases. To facilitate the ongoing research of corynebacteria, a specialized central repository and analysis platform for the corynebacterial research community is needed to host the fast-growing amount of genomic data and facilitate the analysis of these data. Here we present CoryneBase, a genomic database for Corynebacterium with diverse functionality for the analysis of genomes aimed to provide: (1) annotated genome sequences of Corynebacterium where 165,918 coding sequences and 4,180 RNAs can be found in 27 species; (2) access to comprehensive Corynebacterium data through the use of advanced web technologies for interactive web interfaces; and (3) advanced bioinformatic analysis tools consisting of standard BLAST for homology search, VFDB BLAST for sequence homology search against the Virulence Factor Database (VFDB), Pairwise Genome Comparison (PGC) tool for comparative genomic analysis, and a newly designed Pathogenomics Profiling Tool (PathoProT) for comparative pathogenomic analysis. CoryneBase offers the access of a range of Corynebacterium genomic resources as well as analysis tools for comparative genomics and pathogenomics. It is publicly available at http://corynebacterium.um.edu.my/.
    MeSH terms: Corynebacterium/genetics*; Humans; User-Computer Interface; Genome, Bacterial/genetics*; Internet; Genomics/methods*; Databases, Genetic*; Search Engine
  13. Fulltext RNA-Seq analysis provides insights for understanding photoautotrophic polyhydroxyalkanoate production in recombinant Synechocystis Sp
    Lau NS, Foong CP, Kurihara Y, Sudesh K, Matsui M
    PLoS One, 2014;9(1):e86368.
    PMID: 24466058 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086368
    The photosynthetic cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. strain 6803, is a potential platform for the production of various chemicals and biofuels. In this study, direct photosynthetic production of a biopolymer, polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), in genetically engineered Synechocystis sp. achieved as high as 14 wt%. This is the highest production reported in Synechocystis sp. under photoautotrophic cultivation conditions without the addition of a carbon source. The addition of acetate increased PHA accumulation to 41 wt%, and this value is comparable to the highest production obtained with cyanobacteria. Transcriptome analysis by RNA-seq coupled with real-time PCR was performed to understand the global changes in transcript levels of cells subjected to conditions suitable for photoautotrophic PHA biosynthesis. There was lower expression of most PHA synthesis-related genes in recombinant Synechocystis sp. with higher PHA accumulation suggesting that the concentration of these enzymes is not the limiting factor to achieving high PHA accumulation. In order to cope with the higher PHA production, cells may utilize enhanced photosynthesis to drive the product formation. Results from this study suggest that the total flux of carbon is the possible driving force for the biosynthesis of PHA and the polymerizing enzyme, PHA synthase, is not the only critical factor affecting PHA-synthesis. Knowledge of the regulation or control points of the biopolymer production pathways will facilitate the further use of cyanobacteria for biotechnological applications.
    MeSH terms: Photosynthesis*; Transcription, Genetic; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Sequence Analysis, RNA; Gene Expression Profiling*; Synechocystis/genetics*; Synechocystis/metabolism*; Polyhydroxyalkanoates/biosynthesis*
  14. Fulltext Ohmic-rectifying conversion of Ni contacts on ZnO and the possible determination of ZnO thin film surface polarity
    Saw KG, Tneh SS, Tan GL, Yam FK, Ng SS, Hassan Z
    PLoS One, 2014;9(1):e86544.
    PMID: 24466144 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086544
    The current-voltage characteristics of Ni contacts with the surfaces of ZnO thin films as well as single crystal (0001) ZnO substrate are investigated. The ZnO thin film shows a conversion from Ohmic to rectifying behavior when annealed at 800°C. Similar findings are also found on the Zn-polar surface of (0001) ZnO. The O-polar surface, however, only shows Ohmic behavior before and after annealing. The rectifying behavior observed on the Zn-polar and ZnO thin film surfaces is associated with the formation of nickel zinc oxide (Ni1-xZnxO, where x = 0.1, 0.2). The current-voltage characteristics suggest that a p-n junction is formed by Ni1-xZnxO (which is believed to be p-type) and ZnO (which is intrinsically n-type). The rectifying behavior for the ZnO thin film as a result of annealing suggests that its surface is Zn-terminated. Current-voltage measurements could possibly be used to determine the surface polarity of ZnO thin films.
    MeSH terms: Crystallization; Electric Conductivity*; Materials Testing; Nickel/chemistry*; Surface Properties; X-Ray Diffraction; Zinc Oxide/chemistry*
  15. Fulltext Shifting baselines on a tropical forest frontier: extirpations drive declines in local ecological knowledge
    Kai Z, Woan TS, Jie L, Goodale E, Kitajima K, Bagchi R, et al.
    PLoS One, 2014;9(1):e86598.
    PMID: 24466163 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086598
    The value of local ecological knowledge (LEK) to conservation is increasingly recognised, but LEK is being rapidly lost as indigenous livelihoods change. Biodiversity loss is also a driver of the loss of LEK, but quantitative study is lacking. In our study landscape in SW China, a large proportion of species have been extirpated. Hence, we were interested to understand whether species extirpation might have led to an erosion of LEK and the implications this might have for conservation. So we investigated peoples' ability to name a selection of birds and mammals in their local language from pictures. Age was correlated to frequency of forest visits as a teenager and is likely to be closely correlated to other known drivers of the loss of LEK, such as declining forest dependence. We found men were better at identifying birds overall and that older people were better able to identify birds to the species as compared to group levels (approximately equivalent to genus). The effect of age was also stronger among women. However, after controlling for these factors, species abundance was by far the most important parameter in determining peoples' ability to name birds. People were unable to name any locally extirpated birds at the species level. However, contrary to expectations, people were better able to identify extirpated mammals at the species level than extant ones. However, extirpated mammals tend to be more charismatic species and several respondents indicated they were only familiar with them through TV documentaries. Younger people today cannot experience the sights and sounds of forest animals that their parents grew up with and, consequently, knowledge of these species is passing from cultural memory. We suggest that engaging older members of the community and linking the preservation of LEK to biodiversity conservation may help generate support for conservation.
    MeSH terms: Adult; Animals; Birds; China; Conservation of Natural Resources*; Ecology; Female; Humans; Male; Mammals; Middle Aged; Trees*; Tropical Climate; Ecosystem*; Knowledge*; Biodiversity*; Young Adult
  16. Phytochemistry and biology of Loranthus parasiticus Merr, a commonly used herbal medicine
    Moghadamtousi SZ, Kamarudin MN, Chan CK, Goh BH, Kadir HA
    Am J Chin Med, 2014;42(1):23-35.
    PMID: 24467533 DOI: 10.1142/S0192415X14500025
    Loranthus parasiticus Merr (L. parasiticus) is a member of Loranthaceae family and is an important medicinal plant with a long history of Chinese traditional use. L. parasiticus, also known as Sang Ji Sheng (in Chinese), benalu teh (in Malay) and baso-kisei (in Japanese), is a semiparasitic plant, which is mostly distributed in the southern and southwestern regions of China. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the ethnomedicinal use, phytochemistry and pharmacological activity of L. parasiticus and to highlight the needs for further investigation and greater global development of the plant's medicinal properties. To date, pharmacological studies have demonstrated significant biological activities, which support the traditional use of the plant as a neuroprotective, tranquilizing, anticancer, immunomodulatory, antiviral, diuretic and hypotensive agent. In addition, studies have identified antioxidative, antimutagenic, antiviral, antihepatotoxic and antinephrotoxic activity. The key bioactive constituents in L. parasiticus include coriaria lactone comprised of sesquiterpene lactones: coriamyrtin, tutin, corianin, and coriatin. In addition, two proanthocyanidins, namely, AC trimer and (+)-catechin, have been recently discovered as novel to L. parasiticus. L. parasiticus usefulness as a medicinal plant with current widespread traditional use warrants further research, clinical trials and product development to fully exploit its medicinal value.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Antihypertensive Agents; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; Antioxidants*; Antiviral Agents; Catechin/isolation & purification; Catechin/chemistry; Diuretics; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Humans; Immunologic Factors; Lactones/isolation & purification; Lactones/chemistry; Phytotherapy; Molecular Conformation; Picrotoxin/analogs & derivatives; Picrotoxin/isolation & purification; Picrotoxin/chemistry; Plant Extracts/pharmacology*; Plant Extracts/chemistry*; Sesquiterpenes/isolation & purification; Sesquiterpenes/chemistry; Tranquilizing Agents; Antimutagenic Agents; Plant Leaves; Neuroprotective Agents*; Loranthaceae/chemistry*
  17. Fulltext Talcum powder or aqueous gel to aid external cephalic version: a randomised controlled trial
    Vallikkannu N, Nadzratulaiman WN, Omar SZ, Si Lay K, Tan PC
    BMC Pregnancy Childbirth, 2014 Jan 28;14:49.
    PMID: 24468078 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2393-14-49
    BACKGROUND: External cephalic version (ECV) is offered to reduce the number of Caesarean delivery indicated by breech presentation which occurs in 3-4% of term pregnancies. ECV is commonly performed aided by the application of aqueous gel or talcum powder to the maternal abdomen. We sought to compare gel with powder during ECV on achieving successful version and increasing tolerability.

    METHOD: We enrolled 95 women (≥ 36 weeks gestation) on their attendance for planned ECV. All participants received terbutaline tocolysis. Regional anaesthesia was not used. ECV was performed in the standard fashion after the application of the allocated aid. If the first round (maximum of 2 attempts) of ECV failed, crossover to the opposing aid was permitted.

    RESULTS: 48 women were randomised to powder and 47 to gel. Self-reported procedure related median [interquartile range] pain scores (using a 10-point visual numerical rating scale VNRS; low score more pain) were 6 [5-9] vs. 8 [7-9] P = 0.03 in favor of gel. ECV was successful in 21/48 (43.8%) vs. 26/47 (55.3%) RR 0.6 95% CI 0.3-1.4 P = 0.3 for powder and gel arms respectively. Crossover to the opposing aid and a second round of ECV was performed in 13/27 (48.1%) following initial failure with powder and 4/21 (19%) after failure with gel (RR 3.9 95% CI 1.0-15 P = 0.07). ECV success rate was 5/13 (38.5%) vs. 1/4 (25%) P = 0.99 after crossover use of gel or powder respectively. Operators reported higher satisfaction score with the use of gel (high score, greater satisfaction) VNRS scores 6 [4.25-8] vs 8 [7-9] P = 0.01.

    CONCLUSION: Women find gel use to be associated with less pain. The ECV success rate is not significantly different.

    TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial is registered with ISRCTN (identifier ISRCTN87231556).

    MeSH terms: Abdomen; Administration, Topical; Breech Presentation/therapy*; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Gels/administration & dosage; Humans; Injections; Powders/administration & dosage; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Outcome; Pregnancy Trimester, Third*; Retrospective Studies; Talc/administration & dosage*; Terbutaline/administration & dosage; Version, Fetal/methods*; Tocolysis/methods*; Tocolytic Agents/administration & dosage
  18. Vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with high performance liquid chromatography for the determination of furfurals and patulin in fruit juices
    Abu-Bakar NB, Makahleh A, Saad B
    Talanta, 2014 Mar;120:47-54.
    PMID: 24468341 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2013.11.081
    A fast and simple solvent microextraction technique using salting out-vortex-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (salting out-VALLME) was developed for the extraction of furfurals (2-furfural (2-F), 3-furfural (3-F), 5-methylfurfural (5-MF) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF)) and patulin (PAT) in fruit juice samples. The optimum extraction conditions for 5 mL sample were: extraction solvent, 1-hexanol; volume of extractant, 200 µL; vortex time, 45 s; salt addition, 20%. The simultaneous determination of the furfurals and PAT were investigated using high performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD). The separation was performed using ODS Hypersil C18 column (4.6 mm i.d × 250 mm, 5 μm) under gradient elution. The detection wavelengths used for all compounds were 280 nm except for 3-F (210 nm). The furfurals and PAT were successfully separated in less than 9 min. Good linearities (r(2)>0.99) were obtained within the range 1-5000 μg L(-1) for all compounds except for 3-F (10-5000 µg L(-1)) and PAT (0.5-100 μg L(-1)). The limits of detection (0.28-3.2 µg L(-1)) were estimated at S/N ratio of 3. The validated salting out-VALLME-HPLC method was applied for the analysis of furfurals and PAT in fruit juice samples (apple, mango and grape).
    MeSH terms: Hexanols/chemistry; Beverages/analysis*; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods; Fruit/chemistry*; Furaldehyde/analogs & derivatives*; Furaldehyde/isolation & purification; Patulin/isolation & purification*; Salts/chemistry; Vitis/chemistry; Malus/chemistry; Mangifera/chemistry; Limit of Detection; Liquid Phase Microextraction/methods*
  19. Determination of polar aromatic amines using newly synthesized sol-gel titanium (IV) butoxide cyanopropyltriethoxysilane as solid phase extraction sorbent
    Miskam M, Abu Bakar NK, Mohamad S
    Talanta, 2014 Mar;120:450-5.
    PMID: 24468395 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2013.12.037
    A solid phase extraction (SPE) method has been developed using a newly synthesized titanium (IV) butoxide-cyanopropyltriethoxysilane (Ti-CNPrTEOS) sorbent for polar selective extraction of aromatic amines in river water sample. The effect of different parameters on the extraction recovery was studied using the SPE method. The applicability of the sorbents for the extraction of polar aromatic amines by the SPE was extensively studied and evaluated as a function of pH, conditioning solvent, sample loading volume, elution solvent and elution solvent volume. The optimum experimental conditions were sample at pH 7, dichloromethane as conditioning solvent, 10 mL sample loading volume and 5 mL of acetonitrile as the eluting solvent. Under the optimum conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) for solid phase extraction using Ti-CNPrTEOS SPE sorbent (0.01-0.2; 0.03-0.61 µg L(-1)) were lower compared with those achieved using Si-CN SPE sorbent (0.25-1.50; 1.96-3.59 µg L(-1)) and C18 SPE sorbent (0.37-0.98; 1.87-2.87 µg L(-1)) with higher selectivity towards the extraction of polar aromatic amines. The optimized procedure was successfully applied for the solid phase extraction method of selected aromatic amines in river water, waste water and tap water samples prior to the gas chromatography-flame ionization detector separation.
    MeSH terms: Adsorption; Amines/analysis*; Chromatography, Gas/methods; Flame Ionization; Hydrocarbons, Aromatic/analysis*; Silanes/chemistry*; Titanium/chemistry*; Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis*; Rivers/chemistry; Solid Phase Extraction/methods*; Limit of Detection; Drinking Water/analysis; Waste Water/analysis
  20. Phylogeography and molecular diversity analysis of Jatropha curcas L. and the dispersal route revealed by RAPD, AFLP and nrDNA-ITS analysis
    Sudheer Pamidimarri DV, Reddy MP
    Mol Biol Rep, 2014 May;41(5):3225-34.
    PMID: 24469734 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-014-3185-7
    Jatropha curcas L. (Euphorbiaceae) has acquired a great importance as a renewable source of energy with a number of environmental benefits. Very few attempts were made to understand the extent of genetic diversity and its distribution. This study was aimed to study the diversity and deduce the phylogeography of Jatropha curcas L. which is said to be the most primitive species of the genus Jatropha. Here we studied the intraspecific genetic diversity of the species distributed in different parts of the globe. The study also focused to understand the molecular diversity at reported probable center of origin (Mexico), and to reveal the dispersal route to other regions based on random amplified polymorphic DNA, amplified fragment length polymorphism and nrDNA-ITS sequences data. The overall genetic diversity of J. curcas found in the present study was narrow. The highest genetic diversity was observed in the germplasm collected from Mexico and supports the earlier hypothesis based on morphological data and natural distribution, it is the center for origin of the species. Least genetic diversity found in the Indian germplasm and clustering results revealed that the species was introduced simultaneously by two distinct germplasm and subsequently distributed in different parts of India. The present molecular data further revealed that J. curcas might have spread from the center of the origin to Cape Verde, than to Spain, Portuguese to other neighboring countries and simultaneously to Africa. The molecular evidence supports the Burkill et al. (A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula, Governments of Malaysia and Singapore by the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1966) view of Portuguese might have introduced the species to India. The clustering pattern suggests that the distribution was interfered by human activity.
    MeSH terms: Geography; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny*; Genetic Variation*; DNA, Plant; Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique; DNA, Intergenic; Jatropha/classification; Jatropha/genetics*; Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Analysis; Phylogeography*
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