The subgenotype B5 of EV-A71 is a widely circulating subgenotype that frequently spreads across the globe. Several outbreaks have occurred in nations, such as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan. Appearing first in Taiwan, China, the subgenotype has been frequently reported in mainland of China even though no outbreaks have been reported so far. The current study reconstructed the migration of the B5 subgenotype of EV-A71 in China via phylogeographical analysis. Furthermore, we investigated its population dynamics in order to draw more credible inferences. Following a dataset cleanup of B5 subgenotype of EV-A71, we detected earlier B5 subgenotypes of EV-A71 sequences that had been circulating in Malaysia and Singapore since the year 2000, which was before the 2003 outbreak that occurred in Sarawak. The Bayesian inference indicated that the most recent common ancestor of B5 subgenotype EV-A71 appeared in September, 1994 (1994.75). With respect to the overall prevalence, geographical reconstruction revealed that the B5 subgenotype EV-A71 originated singly from single-source cluster and subsequently developed several active lineages. Based on a large amount of data that was accumulated, we conclude that the appearance of the B5 subgenotype of EV-A71 in mainland of China was mainly due to multiple migrations from different origins.
MeSH terms: Bayes Theorem; China; Disease Outbreaks; Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease; Japan; Malaysia; Population Dynamics; Singapore; Taiwan; Thailand; Vietnam; Prevalence; Enterovirus A, Human; Phylogeography
Recently coronavirus outbreak which started in Wuhan, China, has caused international concern that has affected more than 29 lakh people worldwide and with no vaccine or specific antiviral drugs present as well as oblivious testing of carriers who are generally asymptomatic, the use of general health intervention techniques are failing to comply. As compared to other epidemics like severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the Middle-East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV), coronavirus (also named as COVID-19) exhibit mild symptoms in the majority of cases. But in the case of a vulnerable population, it can prove to be life-threatening. Relying on proper barrier technique, use of chest computed tomography scans, managing co-morbid conditions of susceptible patients, identifying the pattern of disease spread as well as the use of polymerase chain reaction to assess the specificity of cases will eventually prove to be efficacious since most of the positive cases are asymptomatic at the beginning which poses a challenge to the primary health care physicians. The development of vaccines will also take some time so it is better to know about COVID-19 better and also follow quarantine restrictions properly till then. In this review, we try to put forward all the relevant studies which have been published by the end of March 2020 so as to summarize the natural history, diagnosis as well as treatment strategies for eradicating COVID-19, which will help in managing this pandemic.
The data presented were used to examine the level of technopreneurial intention and differences in intention between male and female university students. A total of 361 final-year students from a public university in Malaysia have participated in the data collection process through answering online questionnaire. The respondents were selected by using proportionate stratified sampling. Quantitative method was employed in data analysis process. Specifically, the software of IBM SPSS was used to perform descriptive analysis and independent sample t-test. Data have also been tested for internal consistency to ensure their reliability. Mean and standard deviation values for male and female student's technopreneurial intention were presented. In comparison, the data demonstrated that no difference existed between male and female student's technopreneurial intention. The data provided new information on university student's level of technopreneurial intention. It was useful for higher learning institutions and governmental agencies in designing technopreneurship development programs, particularly in the era of post-COVID19 pandemic which requires extensive use of technology in entrepreneurship.
MeSH terms: Employment; Female; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Surveys and Questionnaires; Software; Universities; Reproducibility of Results; Entrepreneurship; Intention; Pandemics
Enterococcus gallinarum is a gram positive facultatively anaerobic bacteria that is typically found in mammalian intestinal tracts. It is generally not considered pathogenic to humans and is rarely reported. Here, we present the draft genome sequence data of Enterococcus gallinarum strain EGR748 isolated from a human clinical sample, and sequenced using the Illumina HiSeq 4000 system. The estimated whole genome size of the strain was 3,730,000 bp with a G + C content of 40.43%. The de novo assembly of the genome generated 55 contigs with an N50 of 208,509 bp. In addition, the Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA sequence data accurately clustered EGR748 with other E. gallinarum strains. The data may be useful to demonstrate the capacity of this enterococcal species becoming the causal agents of nosocomial blood-stream infections. The genome dataset has been deposited at DDBJ/ENA/GenBank under the accession number JAABOR000000000.
The dataset contains tree height data collected in 200 mangrove and non-mangrove trees sampled in various sites in Malaysia. Different height measurement methods were performed, including visual measurements (stick, thumb rule) and precision field instruments (clinometer, laser rangefinder and altimeter), which were compared against benchmark values obtained using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a Leica distometer. The core data have been analysed and interpreted in the paper by Saliu et al. ''An accuracy analysis of mangrove tree height mensuration using forestry techniques, hypsometers and UAVs '' [1], in which the accuracy of each method for tree height measurement was discussed.
In 2019, 10 million new cases of tuberculosis have been reported worldwide. Our data reports genetic analyses of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain SBH321 isolated from a 31-year-old female with pulmonary tuberculosis. The genomic DNA of the strain was extracted from pure culture and subjected to sequencing using Illumina platform. M. tuberculosis strain SBH321 consists of 4,374,895 bp with G+C content of 65.59%. The comparative analysis by SNP-based phylogenetic analysis using maximum-likelihood method showed that our strain belonging to sublineage of the Ural family of Europe-America-Africa lineage (Lineage 4) and clustered with M. tuberculosis strain OFXR-4 from Taiwan. The whole genome sequence is deposited at DDBJ/ENA/GenBank under the accession WCJH00000000 (SRR10230353).
This paper presents the dataset of undergraduates learning habits during and before the occurrence of pandemic COVID-19 under the scope of sociodemographic and psychological aspects. This dataset consists of four (4) main sections which are students' demographic, psychological disruption, students' learning habits and integration of online sessions with sustainability topics. A total of 37 variables were distributed via an online survey platform. The link of the online survey was circulated to the students using few social media platforms such as WhatsApp groups, Telegram, and faculties' Facebook starting from June 1 until June 31, 2020. There was a total of 668 respondents accompanied by consent were agreed to join the survey. This dataset can have an important role for research and education in identifying the impact on learning performance among the undergraduate students during COVID-19 pandemic based on different sociodemographic and psychological aspects.
MeSH terms: Demography; Faculty; Habits; Humans; Informed Consent; Learning; Surveys and Questionnaires; Students; Pandemics; Social Media
Heavy metal pollution has become a major concern globally as it contaminates eco-system, water networks and as finely suspended particles in air. In this study, the effects of elevated silver nanoparticle (AgNPs) levels as a model system of heavy metals, in the presence of microalgal crude extracts (MCEs) at different ratios, were evaluated against the non-cancerous Vero cells, and the cancerous MCF-7 and 4T1 cells. The MCEs were developed from water (W) and ethanol (ETH) as green solvents. The AgNPs-MCEs-W at the 4:1 and 5:1 ratios (v/v) after 48 and 72 h treatment, respectively, showed the IC50 values of 83.17-95.49 and 70.79-91.20 μg/ml on Vero cells, 13.18-28.18 and 12.58-25.7 μg/ml on MCF-7; and 16.21-33.88 and 14.79-26.91 μg/ml on 4T1 cells. In comparison, the AgNPs-MCEs-ETH formulation achieved the IC50 values of 56.23-89.12 and 63.09-91.2 μg/ml on Vero cells, 10.47-19.95 and 13.48-26.61 μg/ml on MCF-7; 14.12-50.11 and 15.13-58.88 μg/ml on 4T1 cells, respectively. After 48 and 72 h treatment, the AgNPs-MCE-CHL at the 4:1 and 5:1 ratios exhibited the IC50 of 51.28-75.85 and 48.97-69.18 μg/ml on Vero cells, and higher cytotoxicity at 10.47-16.98 and 6.19-14.45 μg/ml against MCF-7 cells, and 15.84-31.62 and 12.58-24.54 μg/ml on 4T1 cells, respectively. The AgNPs-MCEs-W and ETH resulted in low apoptotic events in the Vero cells after 24 h, but very high early and late apoptotic events in the cancerous cells. The Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry-Electrospray Ionization (LC-MS-ESI) metabolite profiling of the MCEs exhibited 64 metabolites in negative ion and 56 metabolites in positive ion mode, belonging to different classes. The microalgal metabolites, principally the anti-oxidative components, could have reduced the toxicity of the AgNPs against Vero cells, whilst retaining the cytotoxicity against the cancerous cells.
MeSH terms: Ethanol; Animals; Chromatography, Liquid; Humans; Models, Biological; Silver; Solvents; Vero Cells; Water; Metals, Heavy; Inhibitory Concentration 50; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; Complex Mixtures; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Metal Nanoparticles; Microalgae; MCF-7 Cells
Coffee is rich in antioxidant and has been shown to confer various health benefits. Here, we investigated the effect of single-dose coffee consumption in healthy human subjects. About 30 healthy volunteers were recruited and given a serving of sugar free black coffee. Urine and fecal samples were collected and analyzed. Significant changes in urinary metabolites relating to coffee, gut microbial and host energy metabolisms were observed post-coffee consumption. Clear sex differences were also observed in the urinary metabolic profiles pre- and post-coffee consumption. Sex differences in richness and composition of gut microbiota were observed, however, the effect of single-dose coffee consumption on host gut microbiota were unremarkable. These findings indicated that single-dose coffee consumption affects sex-specific host metabolic responses that relates to gut-microbe and energy metabolism. This study demonstrated the utility of systems biology tools to unravel complexity of host-diet biology and gut microbial responses. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This study demonstrated that integrated systems biology approach enabled efficient extractions of host biochemical and microbial information that allows food industry to ascertain the impact of diet and longitudinal assessment of potential functional food in humans.
The rapid growth of industrial and agricultural activities in Malaysia are leading to the impairment of most of the rivers in recent years through realising various trace metals. This leads to toxicity, particularly when the toxic has entered the food chain. Perak River is one of the most dynamic rivers for the Malaysian population. Therefore, in consideration of the safety issue, this study was conducted to assess the concentration of such metals (Cd, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Pb) in the muscles of most widely consumed fish species (Barbonymus schwanenfeldii, Puntius bulum, Puntius daruphani, Hexanematichthys sagor, Channa striatus, Mystacoleucus marginatus, and Devario regina) from different locations of Perak River, Malaysia by employing inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Among the trace metals, Fe and Cd were found to be the highest (29.33-148.01 μg/g) and lowest (0.16-0.49 μg/g) concentration in all of the studied species, respectively. Although the estimated daily intakes (μg/kg/day) of Cd (0.65-0.85), Fe (79.27-352.00) and Pb (0.95-12.17) were higher than their reference, the total target hazard quotients values suggested that the local residents would not experience any adverse health effects from its consumption. In contrast, the target cancer risk value suggested that all fish species posed a potential cancer risk due to Cd and cumulative cancer risk values, strongly implying that continuous consumption of studied fish species would cause cancer development to its consumers.
One of the world's leading causes of death among teenagers aged 15-29 is suicide. Students of higher institutions also involved in the specific group that was reported to have a high level of suicidal ideation. Thus, in order to overcome this issue, all factors that influence suicidal ideation should be identified. This article is intended to identify the factor that influences suicidal ideation among higher learning education students based on their perceptions. This study was conducted using a qualitative method using semi-structured interview questions to explore participants’ perceptions towards suicidal ideation among students of higher learning institutions. As for data collection method, two focus group discussions were identified as main instrument. The findings show that factors identified to influence the existence of suicidal ideation among students of higher learning institutions can be categorized into two categories, external factors, and internal factors. These factors are peer pressure, pressure from society, social media influences, family factors, financial factors, intrapersonal and individual interpersonal factors, and low self-esteem factor. This study also found that counsellors and other professional bodies such as psychologists were not the choices of participants to express a problem that led to their suicidal ideation.
MeSH terms: Peer Influence; Adolescent; Adult; Cause of Death; Communications Media; Humans; Personality Disorders; Students; Suicide; Focus Groups; Young Adult; Suicidal Ideation; Social Media; Counselors
Older adults residing in community, as well as those who are residing in institutional or care home may experience various cognitive, health and physical impairments that may affect their independence. Continuous supports are needed to manage most of their personal care activities which are usually managed by their family members, often without proper training or guidance. To date, there is no personal care module that can be used as a guideline by family members and paid caretakers. Therefore, this study aims to develop and validate a personal care module as a guideline in assisting older adults with more significant disabilities. This study was a three-phase study, involving (1) development of the personal care module, (2) focus group discussion with healthcare experts and (3) face and content validity by the expert reviewers. A total of 10 older adults participated in semi structured interview in phase one and 13 occupational therapists were involved as experts in evaluating the module in phase two and three, having between 5 to 25 years of working experiences. The finding reported a high content validity in the developed module ranging from 0.88 to 1.00 on six domains of personal hygiene, bathing, dressing, feeding, bed mobility and stairs climbing. This study provides a preliminary support for the developed personal care module as a valid instrument to be used as a guideline in managing personal care activities of older adults with more significant disabilities.
The present study examines the factors affecting fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption in Malaysia. A nationally representative data that consists of a large sample size is used. Hence, the findings can provide inferential information. The present study uses secondary data from the Malaysian Household Expenditure Survey 2009/2010. The survey was carried out using a two-stage stratified sampling. The first stage was based on Enumeration Blocks, while the second stage was based on Living Quarters. A lognormal hurdle model is used to estimate the consumption decision and amount decision of FV across ethnic groups. The results suggest that household size, income, gender, marital status, age and education play significant roles in FV consumption. The probability of consuming FV and amount spent increase with household size (p
MeSH terms: Ethnic Groups; Health Expenditures; Fruit; Humans; Income; Malaysia; Probability; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vegetables; Marital Status; Sample Size
The incidence of falls among older adults can be caused by nutritional, health status, physical and environmental factors. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate the contents in a booklet on nutrition and falls prevention among older adults as a nutritional education material for falls prevention. In Phase I, market survey in bookstore, website search and need assessment among 30 respondents using a questionnaire was conducted. Results from Phase I were used to form a 32-page A5 size booklet that includes information on nutrients related to bone health, recommendations of high protein and calcium menus, ideal exercise and tips to avoid falls in older adults. The content validity of the booklet was conducted among six health professionals to assess the suitability and understanding in Phase II. The content of the booklet (Phase III) was then evaluated among 24 respondents aged 60 years and above. From the need assessment in Phase I, majority of respondents chose 7 to 9 for the score of each questions which indicates the need for all information to be included in the booklet. For Phase II, criteria with highest average score were composition and typography with a score of 60%. For Phase III, most respondents chose “good” for all the criteria stated except for pictures (satisfactory), while 62.5% of respondents stated that they were satisfied with the information contents in the booklet. In conclusion, this booklet can be used as one of the strategies for nutrition education in the prevention of falls among older adults.
MeSH terms: Accidental Falls; Aged; Calcium, Dietary; Health Status; Humans; Middle Aged; Pamphlets; Surveys and Questionnaires; Exercise; Bone Density; Incidence
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the image quality and diagnostic accuracy of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) using 640-slice scanner. Advancement of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) technology with higher spatial, temporal resolution, and increasing detector array have improved the image quality and diagnostic accuracy of CCTA. A total of 25 patients (12 men and 13 women) underwent CCTA examination was chosen and data was acquired by 640-slice scanner. All 16 segments of coronary arteries were evaluated by two reviewers using a 4-likert scale for qualitative assessment. In quantitative assessment, the evaluation of 4 main coronary arteries were analysed in terms of signal intensity (SI), image noise, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). All 25 patients with a mean age of 52.88 ± 14.75 years old and body mass index (BMI) of 24.24 ± 3.28 kg/m2 were analysed. In qualitative assessment, from the total of 400 segments, 379 segments (95%) had diagnostic value while 21 segments did not have diagnostic value, which means 5% artefact was detected. In quantitative assessment, there was no statistical differences in gender, race, and BMI (p>0.05). Overall evaluation showed that higher SI at the left main artery (LM) at 393.7 ± 47.19. Image noise was higher at right coronary artery (RCA) at 39.01 ± 13.97. SNR and CNR showed higher at left anterior descending (LAD) with 12.73 ± 5.17 and LM 9.14 ± 4.2, respectively. In conclusion, this study indicates that 640-slice MDCT has higher diagnostic value in CCTA examination with 95% vessel visibility with 5% artefact detection.
Cheiloscopy is recognized as a tool for personal identification due to its strength in criminalistics. In this study, the lip print of Malaysian Chinese population in Klang Valley was used for gender determination using lipstick-cellophane technique. 412 subjects (203 males and 209 females) were selected conveniently. Lipstick was first applied on the lips and the lip print was lifted using cellophane tape prior to pasting them onto a plain A4 paper and analysis using magnifying glass. Six topography areas of lip prints were classified using Suzuki and Tsuchihashi’s classification, including upper left, upper middle, upper right, lower right, lower middle and lower left. Chi-square test showed that all lip sections were significantly different from each other (p < 0.05). Type II was the dominant pattern in four lip sections for both genders: upper left (male 81.3%, female 57.4%), upper right (male 71.9%, female 42.9%), lower left (male 98.0%, female 90.0%) and lower right (male 96.1%, female 86.1%). Type IV was the dominant pattern for both middle part of the lips; upper middle (male 56.2%, female 50.7%) and lower middle (male 62.6%, female 50.2%). The results showed that gender can be differentiated based on lip print patterns. This finding suggested that cheiloscopy could be used in aiding personal identification for forensic investigation.
MeSH terms: Cellophane; Environment; Female; Histological Techniques; Humans; Lip; Male; Prostate; Chi-Square Distribution; Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Studies on the potential effect of EMF exposure on permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in humans are virtually absent. This study was conducted to study the effect of EMF exposure on pericytes in brain tissues and its effect on oxidative stress level in the blood through total protein and malondialdehyde (MDA). About 16 male rats (Wistar) were used and divided into two groups which were negative control and treatment group. In negative control group, the animals were placed in a solenoid without any EMF exposure for 3 hours daily for 5 days. In the treatment group, the animals were placed in a solenoid with 0.3 mT EMF exposure for the same time duration. On day 3 and day 5, animals were sacrificed and the brain was removed for histological examination while on day 1, day 3 and day 5, the blood was collected for biochemistry analysis. Histological observation showed the presence of morphological changes in the brain tissues of rats that exposed to EMF. Statistical analysis showed that there is no significant decrease in total protein (p>0.05) between negative control group and treatment group. Meanwhile, MDA level in blood showed a significant increase in treatment group (p
In the search for universal vaccine candidates for the prevention of avian influenza, the non-structural (NS)-1 protein of avian influenza virus (AIV) H5N1 has shown promising potential for its ability to effectively stimulate the host immunity. This study was aimed to produce a bacterial expression plasmid using pRSET B vector to harbour the NS1 gene of AIV H5N1 (A/Chicken/Malaysia/5858/2004 (H5N1)) for protein expression in Escherichia coli (E. coli). The NS1 gene (687 bp) was initially amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and then cloned into a pGEM-T Easy TA vector. The NS1 gene was released from pGEM-T-NS1 using EcoRI and XhoI restriction enzymes (RE). The pRSET B vector was also linearized using the same RE. The digested NS1 gene and linearized pRSET B were ligated using T4 DNA ligase to form the expression plasmid, pRSET B-NS1. The NS1 gene sequence in pRSET B-NS1 was confirmed by DNA sequencing. To prepare recombinant bacterial cells for protein expression in the future, pRSET B-NS1 was transformed into E. coli strain BL21 (DE3) by heat-shock. Colonies bearing the recombinant plasmid were screened using PCR. The DNA sequencing analysis revealed that the NS1 gene sequence was 97% homologous to that of AIV H5N1 A/Chicken/Malaysia/5858/2004 (H5N1). These results indicated that the NS1 gene of influenza A/Chicken/Malaysia/5858/2004 (H5N1) was successfully amplified and cloned into a pRSET B vector. Bacterial colonies carrying pRSET B-NS1 can be used for the synthesis of NS1-based influenza vaccine in the future and thereby aid in the prevention of avian influenza.
MeSH terms: Animals; Base Sequence; Chickens; DNA Restriction Enzymes; Escherichia coli; Influenza in Birds; Hot Temperature; Influenza, Human; Influenza Vaccines; Malaysia; Plasmids; DNA Ligases; Deoxyribonuclease EcoRI; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Heat-Shock Response; Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype