Leptin is a hormone that regulates the energy intake and expenditure which is encoded by leptin gene. Leptin gene variants were studied comprehensively in relation with body weight status, but the evidences were indecisive. This study was to determine the association between leptin gene variants, G2548A, H1328080 and A19G with obesity and its attributes in Terengganu, Malaysian population. This study involved a total of 249 Malay subjects (101 healthy adults with normal BMI as the control group and 148 overweight and obese subjects). The anthropometrics data were obtained, blood samples were collected for genetic markers and lipid profile analyses. PCR-RFLP technique was performed to determine the genotype and allele distribution of leptin gene variants. The genotypic and allelic frequencies of leptin gene variants presented no significant difference between groups, G2548A (P = 0.93 and 0.74); H1328080 (P = 0.58 and 0.56); and A19G (P = 0.72 and 0.38) correspondingly. However, there was statistical significant difference between triglyceride level and genotypes of G2548A variant (P = 0.016); between total cholesterol level and H1328080 genotypes (P = 0.027). In addition, multivariate logistic regression projected the male gender (adjusted OR= 26.27; CI= 1.06-1.25; P = 0.009), waist circumference (adjusted OR = 1.15; CI = 1.06-1.25; P = 0.001) and body fat percentage (adjusted OR = 1.43; CI = 1.20-1.70; P
MeSH terms: Adult; Alleles; Body Weight; Energy Intake; Health Expenditures; Genetic Markers; Genotype; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Obesity; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; Body Mass Index; Logistic Models; Leptin; Control Groups; Overweight; Waist Circumference
Ebola virus disease (EVD), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV), rabies and Nipah infections were examples of diseases that were related to bats and shook the world with a series of outbreak and epidemic. Through the understanding of bats as potential public health risk, awareness had become vital to prevent another outbreak. This pilot study was done to evaluate the appropriateness of the questionnaires and to determine preliminary data on knowledge, attitude and practices of bats-related infections. Residents of a village were recruited by randomly choosing houses from a list obtained from the local head village. Knowledge, attitude and practice were assessed using a 56-items questionnaire. The study recruited 100 respondents. The questionnaire’s Cronbach Alpha score was 0.817. Majority of the respondents were found to have good knowledge (71%), attitude (99%) and practice (64%) relating to bat-related infection. There was a weak positive correlation between knowledge and practice towards bat-related infections among residents of the study population. Majority (80%) of respondents did not aware that bats can cause rabies, and 84% did not know about rabies vaccination. The result of this pilot study provides a limited but valuable insight into bat-related infection. Overall, respondents had good knowledge, attitude and practice scores towards bats-related infection. However, more awareness is needed to key areas lacking such as in educating awareness about rabies in bats.
MeSH terms: Animals; Chiroptera; Disease Outbreaks; Humans; Pilot Projects; Public Health; Surveys and Questionnaires; Rabies; Vaccination; Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola; Knowledge; Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome; SARS Virus; Epidemics
Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) affects 2-5% of the middle-aged population and is a potentially life-threatening condition. Previous studies on OSA and glaucoma have reported mixed findings. This was a cross-sectional comparative study with a study duration of one year to compare the incidence of high intraocular pressure among OSA subjects and non-OSA subjects. This study took place in a tertiary hospital where a total of 50 subjects with OSA and 50 non-OSA subjects were recruited. The average age was 37 years (19,65) in a multiethnic study population (76% (Malay), 18% (Chinese) and 6% (Indian)). All patients underwent a full night computer-assisted polysomnogram (SOMNOCheck Effort Weinmann, Hamburg, Germany), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Mullers manouevre (MM) to assess the level of obstruction and tonometry. The incidence of high Intra Ocular Pressure (IOP) among OSA subject was 52% with a significant difference between non-OSA and OSA subjects. Correlation between ESS and IOP were significant (p
Population explosion is one of the global issues of concern. The increasing number of individuals could result in negative impact on social and economy. To overcome this problem, convenient and safe modern contraception was introduced. However, recently many researchers have conducted studies on the effectiveness of medicinal plants as contraceptive agents on human and animal models. Therefore, the studies of herbal and modern contraceptives were summarized in this review article. A total of 66 relevant articles were documented having information regarding the modern and herbal contraceptives. All contraceptives are highly effective provided they are used consistently and in the proper way. Contraception is important as it could prevent diseases and infections caused by sexual intercourse and prevent unintended pregnancy. Therefore, this review is an attempt to summarize the potential of medicinal plants as contraceptive agents and the modern contraceptive methods used as birth control in males and females.
Neurodegenerative diseases commonly affect elderly population and are characterised by progressive neuronal loss. Oxidative stress is highly associated with neurodegeneration. The targeted herbal plant in this review, Ocimum basilicum (O. basilicum), is typically used in Indochina and Italian cuisine. Pharmacological studies on O. basilicum have demonstrated potent antioxidant activities with some reports of neuroprotective actions. This brief review highlights the potential neuroprotective roles of O. basilicum by discussing previously documented antioxidative actions of the plant extract, essential oils and its phytochemical compounds on the nervous system based on in vitro and in vivo studies. Accumulating evidence on the neuroprotective action of O. basilicum points to a notion that neuroprotection is made possible by way of its antioxidant properties and largely due to the presence of polyphenol compounds such as rosmarinic acid which has been identified as the major constituent. Although the mechanisms of O. basilicum antioxidant action have been proposed, further studies are required for better understanding of its antioxidant action leading to neuroprotective roles. It is also possible that the antioxidant actions of O. basilicum are mediated through synergism of a mixture of various naturally-occurring bioactive compounds in the plant, as is with many other plant-based food supplements, to produce the putative effects instead of a single bioactive compound from the plant. Therefore, specific targeting of neuroprotection by means of antioxidant actions warrants further preclinical and clinical studies investigating the therapeutic potentials of O. basilicum particularly in view of the prevention of neurodegenerative processes.
In this study, a two-stage domesticated shear-loop anaerobic contact stabilization (SLACS) system is introduced as a new reactor design to enhance methane productivity with significant reduction in hydrogen sulphide (H2S) synthesis. Due to the rich sulfate content in industrial wastewaters, the initial fermentation phase of anaerobic digestion is highly acidifying and often leads to severe performance losses, digester's instability, and even culture crash. The SLACS system functions as a dissimilatory sulfate reduction - methanogenic reactor consisting of two compartments, a shear-loop anaerobic bed (SLAB) unit and an anaerobic plug flow (APF) unit. The functional role of the SLAB unit is not limited to acidogenesis but also sulfidogenic processes, which curtails H2S generation in the APF unit (methanogenic stage). Experimental observations indicated that pH serves a critical role in the cohabitation of acidogenic and sulfidogenic microbes in the SLAB unit. Although acidogenesis was not influenced by pH within the range of 4.5-6.0, it is vital to stabilize the pH of this unit at 5.4 to establish a steady sulfate reduction of above 75%. The highest desulfurization achieved in this compartment was 88% under a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 4 h. With an average methane productivity of 256 mL g-1 VS, the methanogenic performance of the two-stage domesticated SLACS system shows a 32% methanogenic proficiency higher than that of the one-stage digestion system. Microbial community structure within the system carried out via Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) provided qualitative data on the sludge's sulfidogenic and methanogenic performance.
In this study, solid coconut waste and CaO/PVA was used as raw material and catalyst respectively to produce biodiesel through in situ transesterification. Both, raw material and catalyst were packed in a packed bed reactor. The reaction was fixed for 3 h and the mixing was kept constant at 350 rpm. The highest biodiesel yield of 95% was obtained at reaction temperature of 61 °C with catalyst loading (CaO/PVA) of 2.29 wt% and methanol to solid ratio of 12:1. CaO-waste derived catalyst has been successfully proven to be utilized as heterogeneous base catalyst for the production of biodiesel from solid coconut waste.
This study introduces two new families, one new genus, 22 new species, 10 new combinations, four epitypes, and 16 interesting new host and / or geographical records. Cylindriaceae (based on Cylindrium elongatum) is introduced as new family, with three new combinations. Xyladictyochaetaceae (based on Xyladictyochaeta lusitanica) is introduced to accommodate Xyladictyochaeta. Pseudoanungitea gen. nov. (based on P. syzygii) is described on stems of Vaccinium myrtillus (Germany). New species include: Exophiala eucalypticola on Eucalyptus obliqua leaf litter, Phyllosticta hakeicola on leaves of Hakea sp., Setophaeosphaeria citricola on leaves of Citrus australasica, and Sirastachys cyperacearum on leaves of Cyperaceae (Australia); Polyscytalum chilense on leaves of Eucalyptus urophylla (Chile); Pseudoanungitea vaccinii on Vaccinium myrtillus (Germany); Teichospora quercus on branch tissue of Quercus sp. (France); Fusiconidium lycopodiellae on stems of Lycopodiella inundata, Monochaetia junipericola on twig of Juniperus communis, Myrmecridium sorbicola on branch tissues of Sorbus aucuparia, Parathyridaria philadelphi on twigs of Philadelphus coronarius, and Wettsteinina philadelphi on twigs of Philadelphus coronarius (Germany); Zygosporium pseudogibbum on leaves of Eucalyptus pellita (Malaysia); Pseudoanungitea variabilis on dead wood (Spain); Alfaria acaciae on leaves of Acacia propinqua, Dictyochaeta mimusopis on leaves of Mimusops caffra, and Pseudocercospora breonadiae on leaves of Breonadia microcephala (South Africa); Colletotrichum kniphofiae on leaves of Kniphofia uvaria, Subplenodomus iridicola on Iris sp., and Trochila viburnicola on twig cankers on Viburnum sp. (UK); Polyscytalum neofecundissimum on Quercus robur leaf litter, and Roussoella euonymi on fallen branches of Euonymus europaeus (Ukraine). New combinations include: Cylindrium algarvense on leaves of Eucalyptus sp. (Portugal), Cylindrium purgamentum on leaf litter (USA), Cylindrium syzygii on leaves of Syzygium sp. (Australia), Microdochium musae on leaves of Musa sp. (Malaysia), Polyscytalum eucalyptigenum on Eucalyptus grandis × pellita (Malaysia), P. eucalyptorum on leaves of Eucalyptus (Australia), P. grevilleae on leaves of Grevillea (Australia), P. nullicananum on leaves of Eucalyptus (Australia), Pseudoanungitea syzygii on Syzygium cordatum leaf litter (South Africa), and Setophaeosphaeria sidae on leaves of Sida sp. (Brazil). New records include: Sphaerellopsis paraphysata on leaves of Phragmites sp., Vermiculariopsiella dichapetali on leaves of Melaleuca sp. and Eucalyptus regnans, and Xyladictyochaeta lusitanica on leaf litter of Eucalyptus sp. (Australia); Camarosporidiella mackenziei on twigs of Caragana sp. (Finland); Cyclothyriella rubronotata on twigs of Ailanthus altissima, Rhinocladiella quercus on Sorbus aucuparia branches (Germany); Cytospora viticola on stems of Vitis vinifera (Hungary); Echinocatena arthrinioides on leaves of Acacia crassicarpa (Malaysia); Varicosporellopsis aquatilis from garden soil (Netherlands); Pestalotiopsis hollandica on needles of Cupressus sempervirens (Spain), Pseudocamarosporium africanum on twigs of Erica sp. (South Africa), Pseudocamarosporium brabeji on branch of Platanus sp. (Switzerland); Neocucurbitaria cava on leaves of Quercus ilex (UK); Chaetosphaeria myriocarpa on decaying wood of Carpinus betulus, Haplograhium delicatum on decaying Carpinus betulus wood (Ukraine). Epitypes are designated for: Elsinoë mimosae on leaves of Mimosa diplotricha (Brazil), Neohendersonia kickxii on Fagus sylvatica twig bark (Italy), Caliciopsis maxima on fronds of Niphidium crassifolium (Brazil), Dictyochaeta septata on leaves of Eucalyptus grandis × urophylla (Chile), and Microdochium musae on leaves of Musa sp. (Malaysia).
Bullying is not included in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM) criteria (Criteria A, APA, 2013) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), however, several studies have demonstrated the association between bullying (including those being the bully, victim) and PTSD. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between bullying and PTSD and suicide attempts among adolescents across nine countries. A total of 4051 adolescents with a mean age of 14.9 years found that 36.6% of the adolescents reported exposure to bullying. There were some gender differences across countries. Bullying was significantly associated with PTSD symptoms and suicide attempts among the adolescents. National prevention plans and interventions are needed to prevent bullying.
Adolescents in the juvenile justice system are known to suffer from various psychological disorders. Less is known about how childhood psychological trauma is related to psychological disorders among delinquent adolescents in Malaysia. This study investigated the relationship between childhood maltreatment and depressive and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Of 327 adolescents 96% were exposed to at least one childhood victimization. Significant differences were found for all types of victimization (i.e. maltreatment, sexual abuse, severe assault, neglect, and family victimization) between delinquent and non-delinquent adolescents. Females were more likely to be involved in family victimization, while males were more likely to experience severe assault and crime victimization. Delinquent adolescents reported depressive and PTSD symptoms significantly more than non-delinquent adolescents. The prevalence of PTSD and depressive symptoms among delinquents was 20.8 and 52.7% respectively. Highly victimized delinquent adolescents and/or those victimized in family-related events were at significantly higher risk to develop psychiatric symptoms.
Water monitoring technologies are widely used for contaminants detection in wide variety of water ecology applications such as water treatment plant and water distribution system. A tremendous amount of research has been conducted over the past decades to develop robust and efficient techniques of contaminants detection with minimum operating cost and energy. Recent developments in spectroscopic techniques and biosensor approach have improved the detection sensitivities, quantitatively and qualitatively. The availability of in-situ measurements and multiple detection analyses has expanded the water monitoring applications in various advanced techniques including successful establishment in hand-held sensing devices which improves portability in real-time basis for the detection of contaminant, such as microorganisms, pesticides, heavy metal ions, inorganic and organic components. This paper intends to review the developments in water quality monitoring technologies for the detection of biological and chemical contaminants in accordance with instrumental limitations. Particularly, this review focuses on the most recently developed techniques for water contaminant detection applications. Several recommendations and prospective views on the developments in water quality assessments will also be included.
Highly sensitive and selective immunosensors that can detect disease biomarkers at ultra-low levels in early stages are urgently needed to reduce mortality risks. A facile and efficient approach using sonochemical-assisted solvent graphene exfoliation and a hydrothermal synthesis method has been used to prepare graphene/titanium dioxide (G/TiO2) nanocomposites. Nanocomposites containing different ratios of graphene and TiO2 precursors were prepared to determine the optimum composition of G/TiO2 that has the highest conductivity and electrocatalytic properties. Characterisation methods such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high resolution TEM (HRTEM) were used to study the crystallinity, surface characteristics, elemental composition, and morphology of the synthesised nanocomposites. The synthesised materials were also confirmed via Raman spectroscopy. Using ferricyanide as the redox active probe, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analyses indicated that 1 : 8 ratio of G/TiO2 exhibited the best current response and the lowest charge transfer resistance (Rct) of 1525 Ω. The potential of G/TiO2 for electrochemical sensing application was investigated using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), a by-product of most enzymatic processes, as the analyte of interest. The sensitivity of the sensor towards H2O2 was 0.557 μA mM-1, with a limit of detection (LOD) at 56.89 μM. An in vitro cell proliferation assay was carried out to investigate the biocompatibility of the nanocomposites. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values obtained were >500 μg ml-1 for human lung fibroblasts (MRC5) and 5-25 μg ml-1 for human skin cells (HaCat).
Discovering the distinctive photophysical properties of semiconductor nanoparticles (NPs) has made these a popular subject in recent advances in nanotechnology-related analytical methods. Semiconductor NPs are well-known materials that have been widely used in photovoltaic devices such as optical sensors and bioimaging, and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), as well as for light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The use of a narrow-bandgap semiconductor such as CdS NPs in the photoelectrochemical (PEC) detection of chemicals and biological molecules plays a key role as a photosensitizer and promotes some specific advantages in light-harvesting media. Their size-controlled optical and electrical properties make NPs fascinating and promising materials for a variety of nanoscale photovoltaic devices. Moreover, charge injection from the narrow bandgap to the adjacent material leads to efficient charge separation and prolongs the electron lifetime by the elimination of the charge carrier recombination probability. In this regard, a single photon enables the production of multiple photogenerated charge carriers in CdS NPs, which subsequently boosts the effectiveness of the photovoltaic devices. In particular, the present review article highlights the recent emerging PEC detection methods based on CdS NPs, specifically related to the direct and indirect interactions of NPs with target analytes. The current opportunities and challenges in achieving real-world applications of CdS-based PEC sensing are also presented.
Epoxidized fatty hydrazides (EFHs) which have amine, amide and epoxide functional groups in their molecules are a versatile starting material for synthesizing of many industrially important compounds. In this report we describe the results of our preliminary study of synthesizing these compounds using a chemical reaction of epoxidized palm olein (EPO) and hydrazine monohydrate. The products were characterized by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique and CHN elemental analyser. The optimum reaction conditions for the hydrazide preparation were investigated by studying effect of each important reaction parameters on the product yields. The study shows that the optimum conditions to produce EFHs were using EPO to hydrazine monohydrate (mol ratio of 1 to 12), n-hexane as the solvent and at the temperature of 69 ̊C.
Advanced technology in petrochemical-based polymer has brought many benefits to mankind. However, the use of nonbiodegradable plastics materials for disposable application such as food packaging and house whole appliances are significantly disturbing and damaging the earth ecosystem. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable plastic that is brittle. Because of this nature, PLA has a limitation in its usage. The common way to improve the toughness of PLA is via adding plasticizer. This review will provide brief account on recent developments in the synthesis of lactic acid (monomer of PLA) through biological route, PLA synthesis, unique material properties of PLA and modification of those by making copolymers and composites PLA absorption and degradation
Room temperature carbon nanotubes (CNT)-based gas sensor was utilised in detection of methane, CH4 gas. The CNT was functionalized with amide group via Fischer esterification process and labelled as CNT-Amide. Silicon dioxide, SiO2 substrate with interdigitated prepatterned gold electrodes were employed as transducers and drop casting technique was used to deposit the multi walled-CNT samples. The electrical properties of the functionalized CNT samples in the exposure of CH4 gas are studied by recorded the changes of resistance using digital multimeter. Concentration of CH4 gas was varied from 1250 ppm to 10 000 ppm. The changes of electrical resistance of CNT-Amide increases with the concentration of tested gas. Sensor response of functionalized CNT are improved more than 10% as compared to pristine CNT. The sensitivity of CNT-Amide also better than CNT-Carboxyl due to the presence of nitrogen element in amide functional group which chemically active to react with CH4 gas. Additionally, fast response of CNT-Amide towards CH4 gas suggested that the functional group enhanced the rate of gas adsorption on sensing layer.
Multi walled-carbon nanotubes (CNT) functionalized with ester was used for detecting methane, CH4 gas at room temperature. Quartz substrate with interdigitated prepatterned gold electrodes was employed as transducers and drop casting method was used to deposit the CNT samples. The electrical properties of the functionalized CNT samples in the presence of CH4 gas were studied and the changes of resistance were recorded using digital multimeter. Concentration of CH4 gas was varied from 0.125 % to 1.0 %. The resistance variation of functionalized CNT increased with the concentration of tested gas. Sensor response of functionalized CNT was improved more than 10 % as compared to pristine CNT. CNT-Ester gives the higher sensitivity due to the presence of ester functional group which act as active site to react with CH4 gas. The fast response of functionalized CNT towards CH4 gas suggested that the functional group enhanced the rate of gas adsorption on sensing layer
Background: Dadih (fermented buffalo milk) is a traditional Indonesian food originating from West Sumatra province. The fermentation process is carried out by lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which are naturally present in buffalo milk. Lactic acid bacteria have been reported as one of potential producers of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). GABA acts as a neurotransmitter inhibitor of the central nervous system. Methods: In this study, molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis of GABA producing LAB isolated from indigenous dadih of West Sumatera were determined. Identification of the GABA-producing LAB DS15 was based on conventional polymerase chain reaction. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis was used to identify LAB DS15. Results: PCR of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of LAB DS15 gave an approximately 1400 bp amplicon. Phylogenetic analysis showed that LAB DS15 was Pediococcusacidilactici, with high similarity of 99% at 100% query coverage to Pediococcusacidilactici strain DSM 20284. Conclusions: It can be concluded that GABA producing LAB isolated from indigenous dadih was Pediococcus acidilactici.
The purpose of this study was to determine the mean score difference between Proton and Toyota in term of strategic leadership, operational strategy, strategic orientation and organizational performance. Applying a comparative quantitative case study research methodology, the major objective of the study is to investigate in depth the different aspects, processes and practices employed by these well-known listed performing organizations (in Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) for the impact of strategic leadership practices on the operational strategy and performance or their company. The research findings revealed common as well as similarities practices between the companies under the study. The output of this project is a set of best practices for strategic leadership that are followed by UMW Toyota as well as Proton. In the findings of this research and also referring to the literature, several recommendations are made for the best results in the future study
The immense growth and enhancement of technology had expanded the development and implementation of numerous teaching methods. An interactive digital environment triggers the student’s imagination and understanding of the course as well as provides traditional learning by enriching various classroom activities via touch of the finger. This final year project focuses on the development of virtual simulation based laboratory for mechanical engineering field accessed via mobile applications. The project utilizes the System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) as the core approach of development. The interface system outlined in the design phase is based on the objectives, scope and background research on prior phases as well as act on the model for the source coding and simulation of the system prototype. The virtual laboratory application consists of five types of simulation test which are Tensile Test, Hardness Test, Charpy Test, Plate Rolling Test and Basic Oxygen Steelmaking Test. The application requires the user to register themselves and upon a successful login, the user is taken to the menu that contain of all the tests. The user is able to obtain a basic idea of the experiment through the introduction and media section while the laboratory section leads to the step by step procedure of the experiment that leads to the simulation and result of the experiment. This particular software learning based virtual laboratory encourages learning experience for the student via virtual laboratory and simulation of the actual experiments. Alternately, the virtual laboratory helps students to obtain some idea on how the actual experiment is conducted and at the same time become familiar with the equipment used.