Austempering is one of the trendiest heat treatment processes to promote the strength and toughness of ductile iron. However, such practice is complex because it involves using aqueous solutions as quenchant (salt bath solution). This study was conducted to analyse the heat treatment of the combination processes of annealing-austenitising and evaluate the correlation between microstructure constituent and hardness of the ductile iron. Ductile iron samples in form of double cylinder was produced by conventional CO2 sand casting method. The new heat treatment process was started by annealed at 873 K for 1.8 ks before being oil quenched. Subsequently, the samples were austenitised at austenitising temperatures 1123 K, 1173 K and 1223 K for 3.6 ks respectively before being immediately oil quenched to room temperature. A series of microstructure analysis tests, including optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) was applied. Vickers microhardness tester was used to measure the hardness for each microstructure constituent. The results showed that ductile iron matrix transforms to martensitic during heat treatment of annealing-austenitising combination processes, which in turn contributes to increasing microhardness of martensite and the bulk hardness of ductile iron.
Powder carburising compound used for pack carburizing has limited potential in producing thicker case depth. Paste carburizing has proved to be an option to replace powder in conventional pack carburizing as it requires less time and temperature to diffuse carbon atoms, and thereby produce greater case depth. The correlation between case depth and mechanical properties using paste carburising is the objective of this paper where the relationship between case depth with mechanical and tribological properties using powder, paste 1:1 and paste 3:1 compounds at 1000°C for 9 hours are studied. Samples were subjected to microhardness tests, tensile tests and wear tests. Results showed paste 1:1 compound produced the highest case depth (>0.5 mm), allowing us to greater tensile strength, 6.61% and high wear resistance, 49%.
The aim of this study is to examine the effect of surface treatments involving shot blasting and paste boronizing on the microstructure, microhardness and density of 316L stainless steel. Shot blasting using glass beads was carried out prior to paste boronizing at fix boronizing temperature and soaking time of 850°C and 8 hours respectively. The results show paste boronizing produces boride layers that consist of FeB and Fe2B on the surface of 316L stainless steel with high hardness. Shot blasting on the other hand creates grain refinement on the metal’s surface which increases boron diffusion into the surface and improves the case depth of boride layers formed and also its hardness. Higher shot diameter used in shot blasting also influence in improving the case depth of boride layers produced and hardness of 316L stainless steel. The effect of shot blasting using a higher shot diameter and paste boronizing reduces the density of 316L stainless steel very slightly.
This paper examines the chemical elements used as colour additives in cosmetic coloured contact lenses (Cos-CCL) using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope equipped with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (FESEM-EDX) analysis. The samples comprised two different Cos-CCL brands and colours (sample A1-black iris colour & B1-gray iris colour) with their respective clear contact lens counterparts as controls (sample A2 & B2). The parameters of Cos-CCL were observed carefully so that they resembled their respective controls. All the samples were analysed for chemical element characterisation by using EDX spectroscopy surface mapping analysis on both front and back surfaces. EDX spectroscopy point analysis was done on cross-section surface of Cos-CCL when colour additive pattern could not be detected by FESEM on either surface. FESEM-EDX spectroscopy analysis has revealed iron element in the colour additives of the A1 sample and aluminium elements in the B2 sample. These two elements were not present in the respective control samples. It can be concluded that iron and aluminium elements are exclusively attributed to the colour additive in Cos-CCL samples. It is important for manufacturers of Cos-CCL to disclose information of their products and create greater awareness on the risks facing users.
This aim of this study is to study the effects of various contents of Automotive Windscreen Glass Waste Powder (WGWP) as a cement replacement. Mortar incorporating several compositions of WGWP (0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%) by weight of cement was prepared. Three batching systems of cement to sand (C:S) ratios of 1:2.5 superplasticizers (SP), 1:3.0 SP and 1:3.5 SP was also employed. Fixed water to cement (w/c) ratio of 0.5 was used. The samples were water cured and the assessment of the strength performance of mortar cubes carried out at 7 and 28 days. Studies conducted have shown that WGWP has good pozzolanic properties. In term of compressive strength, it was observed that employing C:S ratio of 1:3.5 SP is better than 1:2.5 SP and 1:3.0 SP.
Many kinds of substrates have been used to investigate bioelectricity production with Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC). Dry algae biomass has the highest maximum power density compared to other substrates due to high carbon sources from its lipid. However, the bacterial digestion of algae biomass is not simple because of the complexity and strength of the algal cell wall structure. An algae biomass extraction is needed to break the cell wall structure and facilitate digestion. Spray drying method is commonly used in highvalue products but may degrade some algal components which are crucial for microbial degradation in MFC, while the freeze-drying method is able to preserve algal cell constituents. The MFC was fed with freeze dried and spray dried algae biomass to produce energy and determine the degradation efficiency. Results showed the average voltage generated was 739 mV and 740 mV from freeze dried and spray dried algae biomass, respectively. The maximum power density of freeze dried algae biomass is 159.9 mW/m2 and spray dried algae biomass is 152.3 mW/m2. Freeze dried algae biomass has 54.2% of COD removal and 28.4% of Coulombic Efficiency while spray dried algae biomass has 50.1% of COD removal and 24.9% of Coulombic Efficiency.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of Ficus deltoidea (F. deltoidea) as an antioral ulcer on animal models. Adult male Sprague Dawley rats were sedated with Nembutal through intraperitoneal route; oral ulcer models were made by applying 99.5% of glacial acetic acid moistened paper disc on rat buccal mucosa. Four groups of these rats were treated respectively with: no treatment (group 1: negative control); Triamcinolone acetonide (group 2: positive control); 250 mg kg-1 F. deltoidea extract (group 3: experimental); 500 mg kg-1 F. deltoidea extract (group 4: experimental) for 10 consecutive days, respectively. On days 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10, the ulcers size was assessed. Data was analysed statistically by using SPSS. The negative control rats exhibited buccal mucosa injury whereas treatment with F. deltoidea and Triamcinolone acetonide resulted in significantly reduced size of oral ulcer. The percentage of inhibitory area of oral ulcer was more prominent in 500 mg kg-1 F. deltoidea extract than 250 mg kg-1. Meanwhile, in vivo study showed that F. deltoidea extract not toxic up to 1000 mg kg-1. The present findings suggest that F. deltoidea extract effectively accelerates oral ulcer healing process, and could therefore be developed as a therapeutic agent for healing oral ulcer.
The objective of this research is to investigate the regulation of apoptotic associated-genes and proteins expression of aloe emodin on oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive (MCF-7). Oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive (MCF-7) cells were cultured in complete RPMI media. Cells were treated with aloe emodin at its IC50 of 80uM. Maximum treatment time was set for 72 hours in all assays. Both genes and proteins involved in the regulation of apoptosis (Fas, FADD, Caspase-3, Caspase-8, Caspase-9, Bax, Bcl-2, and Cytochrome c) in aloe emodin-treated MCF-7 were determined using Quantigene 2.0 Plex and protein ELISA assays respectively. Aloe emodin, previously reported as anti-cancer agent, was found to act as an apoptotic inducer on MCF-7 cells. In intrinsic apoptosis signalling, Bax, Cytochrome c and Caspase-9 proteins were upregulated (54.11% ± 4.51, 25.17% ± 4.13 and 36.05% ±11.75); while no change was observed in Bcl-2 protein. Except for Caspase-9, these results are in accordance with gene expression. In extrinsic apoptosis, Fas and Caspase-8 were upregulated (133.82% ± 2.85 and 26.44% ± 2.48), contrary to gene expression. These findings indicate that aloe emodin activates both extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways. The data suggests (i) aloe emodin has the potential to be a selective apoptotic inducer in ER+-breast cancer management; and (ii) the present study could be used as a basis for in vivo experiment.
This paper presents the outcome of a laboratory investigation on mix design, resilient modulus, moisture susceptibility and rutting resistance of Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) and Dense Graded Asphalt (AC) that is incorporated with Nanosilica (NS) modified binder. Penetration Grade 60-70 (PEN60-70) types of binder were mixed with nanoparticles (NS) using concentration of 0wt%, 2wt%, 4wt% and 6wt% by weight of asphalt binder. The mixtures were tested for resilient modulus, indirect tensile strength and rutting, in order to evaluate the performance of NS-SMA and NS-AC. The results show that the existence of NS is capable of enhancing the performance of both asphalt mixtures, and the addition of NS decreases the susceptibility of moisture damage and provides better resistance against permanent deformation. Furthermore, the addition of 4wt% NS appears to be the most effective amount for the performance enhancement in AC and SMA mixtures.
MeSH terms: Body Weights and Measures; Disease Susceptibility; Hydrocarbons; Tensile Strength; Nanoparticles
The blended wing body (BWB) aircraft has a unique design. The main body and wing of BWB are
merged to increase the lift force on the aircraft. However, BWB has poor stability arising from the absence of the tail. Hence, a small horizontal stabilizer called as canard has been incorporated in front of the main wing to improve BWB’s stability. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations conductedm to obtain the aerodynamics parameters of the BWB i.e. lift, drag and moment coefficients, showed that overall, the canard is beneficial to the BWB aerodynamics performance.
Oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) were subjected to microbial pre-treatment of lignocellulosic biomass bioconversion to fermentable sugar. Microbial pre-treatment was carried out by inoculating Ganoderma boninense spores through solid state fermentation. The samples were initially treated with Sulphuric acid method prior to reading with UV-Visible Spectrometer. The readings were taken before and after inoculation of EFB with G. boninense. Bioconversion of 20 g EFB via solid state fermentation was done in five different amounts of G. boninense spore namely 0.0 g (control), 0.5 g (T2), 0.7 g (T3), 0.9 g (T4) and 1.1 g (T5) in 7 days. The result shows the highest delignification in sample inoculated with 1.1g of G. boninense spores, in which the spores are successfully reduced by 61.97% of lignin from total EFB biomass in 7 days compared to 60.08% (T4), 58.65% (T3) and 54.85% (T2). Meanwhile, for control the lignin content was reduced by 5.07% in 7 days. The study shows that G. boninense has the ability to remove lignin from EFB whereby longer incubation period and higher number of spores contribute to higher delignification percentage.
Background & Objective: Association between HLA-B*1502 and carbamazepine-induced StevenJohnson
syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (CBZ-SJS/TEN) was reported in many Southeast Asian
populations but not in Indonesian. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between
HLA-B*1502 andCBZ-SJS/TEN in an Indonesian population.
Methods: Patients with history of
CBZ-SJS/TEN are recruited as cases and those who tolerated CBZ as controls. HLA-B typing was
performed.
Results: We recruited 14 cases with CBZ-SJS/TEN and 53 controls. Positive HLA-B*1502
was found in 8 (57.1%) cases and 14 (26.4%) controls (OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.09-12.61, p=0.035).
Conclusion: HLA-B*1502 is associated with CBZ-SJS/TEN patients in Indonesian.
Background & Objective: SCN1A gene which encodes for sodium channel alpha 1 subunit has been
found to be the most common mutated gene in patients with epilepsy. This study aims to characterize the
SCN1A mutations as well as to describe genotype and phenotype association in children with SCN1Arelated
infantile-onset epileptic encephalopathies in Malaysia.
Methods: Children with infantile-onset
epileptic encephalopathy mostly suspected to have Dravet syndrome who had mutational analysis for
SCN1A gene from hospitals all over Malaysia were included in the study. Their epilepsy syndrome
diagnosis was classified into severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy and its variants. Polymerase chain
reaction and bidirectional sequencing were used to identify SCN1A mutations.
Results: A total of 38
children with heterozygous mutations were analysed, 22 (57.9%) of which were novel mutations.
Truncated mutations were the most common mutation type (19, 50%). Other mutation types were
missense mutations (14, 36.8%), splice site mutations (4, 10.5%) and in-frame deletion (1, 2.6%). The
mean age of seizure onset was 4.7 months. Seizure following vaccination was observed in 26.3% of
the children. All of them had drug resistant epilepsy. There was no significant association between
the type of mutation with the syndromic diagnosis, age of seizure onset, tendency of the seizures to
cluster or having status epilepticus, mean age when developmental delay was observed and response
to various antiepileptic drugs.
Conclusion: This study expands the spectrum of SCN1A mutations and proves the importance of
SCN1A gene testing in diagnosing infantile-onset epileptic encephalopathies patients. Although, our
study does not support any clinically meaningful genotype-phenotype association for SCN1A-related
infantile-onset epileptic encephalopathies, the clinical characteristics of our cohort are similar to those
that have been described in previous studies.
MeSH terms: Drug Resistant Epilepsy; Anticonvulsants; Child; Epilepsy; Epilepsy, Generalized; Epilepsies, Myoclonic; Genotype; Humans; Malaysia; Phenotype; Seizures; Status Epilepticus; Vaccination; Sodium Channels; Cohort Studies; Mutation, Missense; Genetic Association Studies
Introduction: Half of facial paralysis in children is idiopathic at origin. However, dismissing facial
paralysis as being idiopathic without a thorough history and meticulous examination could be
disastrous as illustrated by this case.
Case report: We report a case of sphenoid wing meningioma in a 4-year-old girl. She first
presented with only facial asymmetry that was noticed by her mother. Examination suggested a
left upper motor neuron facial nerve palsy. A sphenoid wing meningioma was found on magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) of her brain. She underwent craniotomy and total tumour excision.
Histopathological examination of the tumour showed a grade 1 transitional type meningioma.
Meningiomas in children are rare compared to the adult population. Presentations in children
may be delayed due to their inability to recognise or communicate abnormalities. Distinguishing
between upper and lower motor neuron facial palsy is crucial in decision making for facial paralysis
in children.
Cathepsin L (CPL) cysteine protease is a proteolytic enzyme that involves in many
biological processes in a wide range of organisms. In free-living nematode Caenorhabditis
elegans, CPL plays important roles in embryogenesis and development processes. The CPL
protein is also believed to have a role in degradation of blood meal in the gut of parasitic
nematodes. Considering this enzyme might play the same functions in parasitic nematodes,
CPL became a potential candidate for vaccination against Haemonchus contortus, a
gastrointestinal nematode of small ruminants. H. contortus has been shown to have variations
in term of morphology and genetic materials that correlated with different hosts and
geographical areas. These variations could hinder the development of effective vaccines.
Thus, the present study was conducted to clone and characterize recombinant Hc-CPL-1
from H. contortus isolated from a goat population in Penang, Malaysia. Reverse transcription
polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to amplify target complimentary DNA (cDNA)
from total RNA and protein expression using Escherichia coli expression system was performed
from constructed cDNA clone library. The identity of each protein band was confirmed by
liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis followed by De novo sequencing
and database matching. The protein structure and its evolutionary relationship were also
studied using several bioinformatics approaches. Basic local alignment search tool (BLAST)
analysis of the strain retrieved from clone library showed 99% sequence similarity to the
Haemonchus cathepsin L cysteine protease and a 47 kDA protein was successfully expressed.
Bioinformatic analysis indicated that this protease has a close relationship with Dv-CPL-1,
Sv-CPL-1 and Ce-CPL-1. These data might provide an insight on manipulating this enzyme for
future novel vaccine development.
We present a case of Brucella endocarditis in a 13 year old patient with known
aortic stenosis. She was admitted to the National Heart Institute/Institut Jantung Negara,
Malaysia with complains of fever, pain and swelling of left knee. Transthoracic
echocardiography and transesophageal echocardiography showed no evidence of
vegetations on the aortic valve. Differential diagnosis was made based on clinical
manifestations, positive serology tests and isolation of Brucella melitensis from blood
culture. The patient has a history of consumption of unpasteurised goat’s milk prior to clinical
symptoms. Although rare, the case emphasize that Brucella could be a potential complication
of infective endocarditis (IE) involving patient who consumed unpasteurised goat’s milk.
The diagnosis of bacterial endocarditis based on clinical findings and supported by laboratory
results has led to the appropriate treatment of this patient. To the best of our knowledge,
this is the first case reported for Brucella endocarditis in Malaysia.
The aim of the present study was to determine the gastro-intestinal (GI) parasitic
infections among small ruminants (i.e., goats, sheep, deer) in Malaysia through formalin-ether
concentration technique. Overall, 70.9% or 302 out of 426 small ruminants (79.4% or 251/316
goats; 87.5% or 35/40 sheep; 22.9% or 16/70 deer) were infected with at least one species of
GI parasites. Overall, ten types of GI parasites [Helminth: strongyle (57.7%), Moniezia spp.
(5.4%), Paramphistomum spp. (4.5%), Strongyloides spp. (4.2%), Dicrocoelium spp. (2.3%),
Trichuris spp. (2.3%); Protozoa: Eimeria spp. (23.7%), Entamoeba spp. (18.8%), Giardia
spp. (1.9%), Cryptosporidium spp. (0.2%)] were detected in this study. Among the studied
animals, goats harboured the highest diversity of GI parasites (ten types), followed by sheep
(six types) and deer (two types). Polyparasitism was observed in goats (43.7% or 138 of
316) and sheep (15.0% or 6 of 40). Cumulatively, a total of 32 combinations of coinfections
(Helminth+Helminth: 8 combinations; Helminth+Protozoa: 20 combinations;
Protozoa+Protozoa: 4 combinations) between detected parasites with up to quintuple
infections were reported. Among these parasites, “strongyle + Eimeria spp.” and “Moniezia
spp. + strongyle” were the commonest infections in goats (13.5% or 34 of 251) and sheep
(5.7% or 2 of 6), respectively. This study is a comprehensive documentation on multiple GI
parasitisms among small ruminant in Malaysia, and the findings are crucial for effective farm
management, especially for the formulation of parasitic control and elimination strategies.
In Part 1, we took us through the path of the early implementation of the traditional medical curriculum. Although it worked in the early stages of medical education in Malaysia, it was deemed necessary to continually evaluate the curriculum to ensure that it meets the needs of national development and to keep pace with global trends. What were the triggers that initiated the global trend of curricular change in the 1970’s? (Copied from article).
Human gnathostomiasis is a food-borne zoonosis caused by a tissue nematode of the genus Gnathostoma. The disease is highly endemic in Asia, including Thailand. The freshwater swamp eel (Monopterus albus), the second intermediate host of the gnathostome nematode, has an important role in transmitting the infection in Thailand. Surveys on the infective larvae of Gnathostoma spinigerum based on morphological features in freshwater swamp eels have been performed continuously and reported in Thailand. However, there is still limited molecular data on intra-species variations of the parasite. In this study, a total of 19 third-stage larvae of morphologically identified G. spinigerum were collected from 437 liver samples of freshwater swamp eels purchased from a large wholesale market in Bangkok, Thailand. Molecular characterization based on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences was performed to elucidate their genetic variations and phylogenetic relationship. Among the 19 infective larvae recovered from these eels, 16 were sequenced successfully. Phylogenetic analyses inferred from the partial COI gene showed the presence of three distinct COI haplotypes. Our findings confirm the presence of G. spinigerum as the main species in Thailand.
In recent years, vegetable oil such as Palm Oil (PO) has been identified as a potential alternative dielectric insulating fluid for transformers. It is biodegradable, non-toxic and has high flash and fire points. In this paper, a study on the positive lightning impulse breakdown voltages of PO under non-uniform field is carried out. The testing was carried out using needle-plane electrodes configuration at gap distances of 25 mm and 50 mm. Rising voltage, 1 and 3 shots per step testing methods were used and 3 types of Refined Bleach and Deodorized Palm Oil (RBDPO) and Mineral Oil (MO) were examined. It was found there is no significant effect on the breakdown voltages of all samples. The breakdown voltages of all RBDPO at 50% probability are comparable with MO. At 1% probability and gap distance of 50 mm, the breakdown voltages of all RBDPO are lower than MO.
MeSH terms: Electrodes; Fires; Household Articles; Lightning; Mineral Oil; Paper; Plant Oils; Probability