Browse publications by year: 2024

Fulltext Impulse buying behavior during livestreaming: Moderating effects of scarcity persuasion and price perception

Feng Z, Al Mamun A, Masukujjaman M, Wu M, Yang Q

Heliyon, 2024 Apr 15;10(7):e28347.
PMID: 38560201 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28347

This research aimed to identify the factors that influence impulse buying behavior during livestreaming and advance the existing literature based on a proposed conceptual framework grounded in the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model. We also tested the moderating effects of price perception and scarcity persuasion. An online self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 837 Chinese participants aged over 18 years. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling using Smart-PLS version 4.0. The findings showed that susceptibility to social influence, impulse buying tendency, cognitive reactions, affective reactions, and the urge to buy impulsively are statistically significant predictors of impulse buying during livestreaming, with price perception and scarcity persuasion as moderators. The study expands the S-O-R model for livestreaming impulse buying in e-commerce context, highlighting its multifaceted nature and revealing the mediating role of Urge to Buy Impulsively in translating cognitive and emotional factors into impulse buying behavior. These insights offer practical guidance for marketers to design tailored strategies that leverage psychological triggers and external cues to enhance consumer engagement and encourage desired behaviors, ultimately leading to more effective marketing campaigns and improved consumer experiences.
Fulltext Comparative analysis of growth and health of juvenile African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) fed with different starch diets

Seong Wei L, Rahim MSAA, Yeu Hooi K, Khoo MI, Mohamad Nor A, Wee W

Heliyon, 2024 Apr 15;10(7):e28224.
PMID: 38560210 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28224

This study evaluated the effects of potato, wheat, rice, and corn starch on growth performance, blood parameters, digestive enzyme activity, antioxidative response, and gut microbiota of African catfish, Clarias gariepinus. A control diet (a commercial fish diet) and four different starch (potato, PO; wheat, WH; corn, CO; rice, RC) formulations were fed to African catfish with average weight of 10.5g (n = 30) for eight weeks. The experiment was conducted in triplicates. At the end of the feeding trial, the growth performance of African catfish fed with potato starch (PO) was significantly higher than other treatment groups. Furthermore, this group recorded significant and lowest feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared to other groups. Meanwhile, there were no significant differences in all tested hematological parameters and antioxidative response between the groups. Digestive enzyme activities in the fish intestines, including amylase, lipase, and protease, were significantly higher in African catfish fed with the PO diet. In addition, this group demonstrated substantially lower viscerosomatic index (VSI) and hepatosomatic index (HSI) than other groups, indicating that the fish has more meat on its body. The PO diet group also recorded significantly higher Akkermansia muciniphila, a good gut microbiota. Therefore, the PO diet potentially improves African catfish's growth performance and health status.
Fulltext Real-time driver identification in IoV: A deep learning and cloud integration approach

Gheni HM, AbdulRahaim LA, Abdellatif A

Heliyon, 2024 Apr 15;10(7):e28109.
PMID: 38560228 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e28109

The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) emerges as a pivotal extension of the Internet of Things (IoT), specifically geared towards transforming the automotive landscape. In this evolving ecosystem, the demand for a seamless end-to-end system becomes paramount for enhancing operational efficiency and safety. Hence, this study introduces an innovative method for real-time driver identification by integrating cloud computing with deep learning. Utilizing the integrated capabilities of Google Cloud, Thingsboard, and Apache Kafka, the developed solution tailored for IoV technology is adept at managing real-time data collection, processing, prediction, and visualization, with resilience against sensor data anomalies. Also, this research suggests an appropriate method for driver identification by utilizing a combination of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and multi-head self-attention in the proposed approach. The proposed model is validated on two datasets: Security and collected. Moreover, the results show that the proposed model surpassed the previous works by achieving an accuracy and F1 score of 99.95%. Even when challenged with data anomalies, this model maintains a high accuracy of 96.2%. By achieving accurate driver identification results, the proposed end-to-end IoV system can aid in optimizing fleet management, vehicle security, personalized driving experiences, insurance, and risk assessment. This emphasizes its potential for road safety and managing transportation more effectively.
Fulltext Tetraalkylammonium salts (TAS) in solar energy applications - A review on in vitro and in vivo toxicity

Mustafa NM, Jumaah FN, Ludin NA, Akhtaruzzaman M, Hassan NH, Ahmad A, et al.

Heliyon, 2024 Apr 15;10(7):e27381.
PMID: 38560257 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27381

Tetraalkylammonium salt (TAS) is an organic salt widely employed as a precursor, additive or electrolyte in solar cell applications, such as perovskite or dye-sensitized solar cells. Notably, Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have garnered acclaim for their exceptional efficiency. However, PSCs have been associated with environmental and health concerns due to the presence of lead (Pb) content, the use of hazardous solvents, and the incorporation of TAS in their fabrication processes, which significantly contributes to environmental and human health toxicity. As a response, there is a growing trend towards transitioning to safer and biobased materials in PSC fabrication to address these concerns. However, the potential health hazards associated with TAS necessitate a thorough evaluation, considering the widespread use of this substance. Nevertheless, the overexploitation of TAS could potentially increase the disposal of TAS in the ecosystem, thus, posing a major health risk and severe pollution. Therefore, this review article presents a comprehensive discussion on the in vitro and in vivo toxicity assays of TAS as a potential material in solar energy applications, including cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, in vivo dermal, and systemic toxicity. In addition, this review emphasizes the toxicity of TAS compounds, particularly the linear tetraalkyl chain structures, and summarizes essential findings from past studies as a point of reference for the development of non-toxic and environmentally friendly TAS derivatives in future studies. The effects of the TAS alkyl chain length, polar head and hydrophobicity, cation and anion, and other properties are also included in this review.
Distal Junctional Failure due to Spondylodiscitis in a Patient with Long Posterior Fixation for Ossified Longitudinal Ligament and Ossified Ligamentum Flavum

Subramaniam KAL, Liang TS, Hao PZ, Senan NAF, Amin MZBHM, Jain M

J Orthop Case Rep, 2024 Mar;14(3):141-145.
PMID: 38560322 DOI: 10.13107/jocr.2024.v14.i03.4320

INTRODUCTION: Distal junctional failure (DJF) is underreported when compared to proximal junctional failure. DJF arising due to spondylodiscitis has never been reported in the literature.
CASE REPORT: A 45-year-old lady with a body mass index of 33 presented with a long-standing inability to walk due to myelopathy secondary to continuous ossified posterior longitudinal ligament and ossified ligamentum flavum. Posterior fusion and laminectomy were done from D2 to L2. She had an initial wound breakdown with a surgical site infection, but after 6 weeks, she developed spondylodiscitis at the distal instrumented vertebra, leading to DJF. She was started on appropriate antibiotics and an extension of fusion.
CONCLUSION: This report demonstrates and discusses the management of a rare case of DJF arising due to spondylodiscitis of the last instrumented vertebra.
Complexity of avian evolution revealed by family-level genomes

Stiller J, Feng S, Chowdhury AA, Rivas-González I, Duchêne DA, Fang Q, et al.

Nature, 2024 Apr 01.
PMID: 38560995 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07323-1

Despite tremendous efforts in the past decades, relationships among main avian lineages remain heavily debated without a clear resolution. Discrepancies have been attributed to diversity of species sampled, phylogenetic method and the choice of genomic regions1-3. Here we address these issues by analysing the genomes of 363 bird species4 (218 taxonomic families, 92% of total). Using intergenic regions and coalescent methods, we present a well-supported tree but also a marked degree of discordance. The tree confirms that Neoaves experienced rapid radiation at or near the Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary. Sufficient loci rather than extensive taxon sampling were more effective in resolving difficult nodes. Remaining recalcitrant nodes involve species that are a challenge to model due to either extreme DNA composition, variable substitution rates, incomplete lineage sorting or complex evolutionary events such as ancient hybridization. Assessment of the effects of different genomic partitions showed high heterogeneity across the genome. We discovered sharp increases in effective population size, substitution rates and relative brain size following the Cretaceous-Palaeogene extinction event, supporting the hypothesis that emerging ecological opportunities catalysed the diversification of modern birds. The resulting phylogenetic estimate offers fresh insights into the rapid radiation of modern birds and provides a taxon-rich backbone tree for future comparative studies.
Fulltext Hybridization and reticulate evolution in Diphasiastrum (flat-branched clubmosses, Lycopodiaceae) - New data from the island of Taiwan and Vietnam

Schnittler M, Inoue M, Shchepin ON, Fuchs J, Chang H, Lamkowski P, et al.

Mol Phylogenet Evol, 2024 Mar 30;196:108067.
PMID: 38561082 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2024.108067

In the species groups related to Diphasiastrum multispicatum and D. veitchii, hybridization was investigated in samples from northern and southern Vietnam and the island of Taiwan, including available herbarium specimens from southeast Asia. The accessions were analyzed using flow cytometry (living material only), Sanger sequencing and multiplexed inter-simple sequence repeat genotyping by sequencing. We detected two cases of ancient hybridization involving different combinations of parental species; both led via subsequent duplication to tetraploid taxa. A cross D. multispicatum × D. veitchii from Malaysia represents D. wightianum, a tetraploid taxon according to reported DNA content measurements of dried material (genome formulas MM, VV and MMVV, respectively). The second case involves D. veitchii and an unknown diploid parent (genome formula XX). Three hybridogenous taxa (genome formulas VVX, VVXX, VVVX) were discernable by a combination of flow cytometry and molecular data. Taxon I (VVX, three clones found on Taiwan island) is apparently triploid. Taxon II represents another genetically diverse and sexual tetraploid species (VVXX) and can be assigned to D. yueshanense, described from Taiwan island but occurring as well in mainland China and Vietnam. Taxon III is as well most likely tetraploid (VVVX) and represented by at least one, more likely two, clones from Taiwan island. Taxa I and III are presumably asexual and new to science. Two independently inherited nuclear markers recombine only within, not between these hybrids, pointing towards reproductive isolation. We present an evolutionary scheme which explains the origin of the hybrids and the evolution of new and fully sexual species by hybridization and subsequent allopolyploidization in flat-branched clubmosses.
Influence of bioaugmented fungi on tolerance, growth and phytoremediation ability of Prosopis juliflora Sw. DC in heavy metal-polluted landfill soil

Hassan A, Hamid FS, Pariatamby A, Ossai IC, Ahmed A, Barasarathi J, et al.

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2024 Apr;31(19):28671-28694.
PMID: 38561536 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-33018-1

The research aimed to determine the influence of endophytic fungi on tolerance, growth and phytoremediation ability of Prosopis juliflora in heavy metal-polluted landfill soil. A consortium of 13 fungal isolates as well as Prosopis juliflora Sw. DC was used to decontaminate heavy metal-polluted landfill soil. Enhanced plant growth (biomass and root and shoot lengths) and production of carotenoids, chlorophyll and amino acids L-phenylalanine and L-leucine that are known to enhance growth were found in the treated P. juliflora. Better accumulations of heavy metals were observed in fungi-treated P. juliflora over the untreated one. An upregulated activity of peroxidase, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase was recorded in fungi-treated P. juliflora. Additionally, other metabolites, such as glutathione, 3,5,7,2',5'-pentahydroxyflavone, 5,2'-dihydroxyflavone and 5,7,2',3'-tetrahydroxyflavone, and small peptides, which include Lys Gln Ile, Ser Arg Ala, Asp Arg Gly, Arg Ser Ser, His His Arg, Arg Thr Glu, Thr Arg Asp and Ser Pro Arg, were also detected. These provide defence supports to P. juliflora against toxic metals. Inoculating the plant with the fungi improved its growth, metal accumulation as well as tolerance against heavy metal toxicity. Such a combination can be used as an effective strategy for the bioremediation of metal-polluted soil.

MeSH terms: Biodegradation, Environmental*; Fungi/metabolism; Soil/chemistry
Prevalence of Preterm Birth and Perinatal Outcomes in a Tertiary Hospital in Malaysia

Mohamed Rasheed ZB, Hong J, Yaacob H, Omar SZ

Cureus, 2024 Feb;16(2):e55284.
PMID: 38562268 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.55284

Background Preterm birth (PTB) is defined as neonates that are born alive >22 weeks of gestation and <37 weeks of gestation. Because of the immaturity of different organ systems, 14.84 million newborns worldwide are born prematurely, which is the largest contributing factor to mortality and morbidity. Although studies have been conducted in this field, the magnitude of PTB is a major issue in most developing countries including Malaysia. Objective To assess the prevalence of PTB and the perinatal outcome among women delivered in a tertiary university hospital in Malaysia. Methods This was a cross-sectional study evaluating all singleton live births weighing>500g and delivered at >22+1 weeks of gestation between January 2015 and December 2019 in Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Data were collected from the hospital's recorded birth registry. The primary outcome was the PTB rate. Data were entered and analysed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) (version 28.0; IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY). Results A total of 26,022 singleton live births were reported for the period 2015-2019. PTB rates showed a sharp 6% decrease from 2015 to 2016, after which the trend was inconsistent until 2019. The risk of preterm babies being admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or the ward compared to the risk of neonatal mortality increases for babies of identified sex, delivered via caesarean, and with a birth weight between 2 and 3 kgs. Babies born at a gestational age between 22+1 and 33+6 have a higher risk of neonatal mortality compared to late preterm babies. Conclusions The PTB incidence trend was inconsistent from 2015 to 2019 in a tertiary university hospital in Malaysia, with a far higher prevalence compared to national data. The high NICU admission and mortality rates among preterm infants mean urgent strategies and policies are needed to improve perinatal outcomes.
Editorial: Genetics, genomics, and breeding of edible mushrooms in Asia

Huang C, Sabaratnam V, Aimi T

Front Microbiol, 2024;15:1390845.
PMID: 38562469 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1390845
Fulltext Optimizing echo state networks for continuous gesture recognition in mobile devices: A comparative study

Yadav A, Pasupa K, Loo CK, Liu X

Heliyon, 2024 Mar 15;10(5):e27108.
PMID: 38562498 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27108

Continuous gesture recognition can be used to enhance human-computer interaction. This can be accomplished by capturing human movement with the use of the Inertial Measurement Units in smartphones and using machine learning algorithms to predict the intended gestures. Echo State Networks (ESNs) consist of a fixed internal reservoir that is able to generate rich and diverse nonlinear dynamics in response to input signals that capture temporal dependencies within the signal. This makes ESNs well-suited for time series prediction tasks, such as continuous gesture recognition. However, their application has not been rigorously explored, with regard to gesture recognition. In this study, we sought to enhance the efficacy of ESN models in continuous gesture recognition by exploring diverse model structures, fine-tuning hyperparameters, and experimenting with various training approaches. We used three different training schemes that used the Leave-one-out Cross-validation (LOOCV) protocol to investigate the performance in real-world scenarios with different levels of data availability: Leaving out data from one user to use for testing (F1-score: 0.89), leaving out a fraction of data from all users to use in testing (F1-score: 0.96), and training and testing using LOOCV on a single user (F1-score: 0.99). The obtained results outperformed the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) performance from past research (F1-score: 0.87) while maintaining a low training time of approximately 13 seconds compared to 63 seconds for the LSTM model. Additionally, we further explored the performance of the ESN models through behaviour space analysis using memory capacity, Kernel Rank, and Generalization Rank. Our results demonstrate that ESNs can be optimized to achieve high performance on gesture recognition in mobile devices on multiple levels of data availability. These findings highlight the practical ability of ESNs to enhance human-computer interaction.
Fulltext Purchase intentions for cultural heritage products in E-commerce live streaming: An ABC attitude theory analysis

Yingqing X, Mohd Hasan NA, Mohd Jalis FM

Heliyon, 2024 Mar 15;10(5):e26470.
PMID: 38562503 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26470

With the increasing popularity of e-commerce live streaming, understanding purchase intentions for cultural heritage products in this context is crucial, prompting the analysis based on the ABC attitude theory. This study investigates how creative products of intangible cultural heritage influence consumers' purchase intentions within the framework of e-commerce live streaming. It further explores the mediating influence of consumer satisfaction in this association, utilizing the ABC attitude theory. The research design encompasses dimensions related to creative products of intangible cultural heritage, e-customer satisfaction, and purchase intention. Confirmatory factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) are utilized to examine the research hypotheses. The study reveals that perceived product quality, perceived interactivity, and professionalism among streamer factors, as well as perceived entertainment among scene factors, positively influence consumer satisfaction. Additionally, intangible cultural heritage has a positive effect on consumers' purchase intention toward creative products of intangible cultural heritage. Furthermore, consumer satisfaction serves as a mediating factor in the relationship between perceived product quality, perceived professionalism and interactivity, perceived entertainment, and consumers' purchase intention. This study is limited to creative products of intangible cultural heritage and involved a relatively small sample size. Moreover, certain perceptual dimensions of e-commerce live streaming were excluded from the analysis. Originality/value - This study contributes to the existing literature on the ABC theory by developing a model that examines consumer satisfaction and purchase intention. The model employed in this study integrates perceptual dimensions pertaining to creative products of intangible cultural heritage within the framework of e-commerce live streaming, utilizing the ABC theory. Additionally, this research contributes to addressing a gap in the existing literature by specifically focusing on the category of creative products of intangible cultural heritage within the broader discourse on dimensions in e-commerce live streaming. Thus, this study presents numerous diverse perspectives that can serve as a basis for further research into the integration of e-commerce live streaming and cultural and creative products associated with intangible cultural heritage.
Fulltext A homozygous SP7/OSX mutation causes osteogenesis and dentinogenesis imperfecta with craniofacial anomalies

Al-Mutairi DA, Jarragh AA, Alsabah BH, Wein MN, Mohammed W, Alkharafi L

JBMR Plus, 2024 May;8(5):ziae026.
PMID: 38562913 DOI: 10.1093/jbmrpl/ziae026

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a heterogeneous spectrum of hereditary genetic disorders that cause bone fragility, through various quantitative and qualitative defects of type 1 collagen, a triple helix composed of two α1 and one α2 chains encoded by COL1A1 and COL1A2, respectively. The main extra-skeletal manifestations of OI include blue sclerae, opalescent teeth, and hearing impairment. Moreover, multiple genes involved in osteoblast maturation and type 1 collagen biosynthesis are now known to cause recessive forms of OI. In this study a multiplex consanguineous family of two affected males with OI was recruited for genetic screening. To determine the causative, pathogenic variant(s), genomic DNA from two affected family members were analyzed using whole exome sequencing, autozygosity mapping, and then validated with Sanger sequencing. The analysis led to the mapping of a homozygous variant previously reported in SP7/OSX, a gene encoding for Osterix, a transcription factor that activates a repertoire of genes involved in osteoblast and osteocyte differentiation and function. The identified variant (c.946C > T; p.Arg316Cys) in exon 2 of SP7/OSX results in a pathogenic amino acid change in two affected male siblings and develops OI, dentinogenesis imperfecta, and craniofacial anomaly. On the basis of the findings of the present study, SP7/OSX:c. 946C > T is a rare homozygous variant causing OI with extra-skeletal features in inbred Arab populations.
Fulltext An adaptive data-driven architecture for mental health care applications

Sundaram A, Subramaniam H, Ab Hamid SH, Mohamad Nor A

PeerJ, 2024;12:e17133.
PMID: 38563009 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17133

BACKGROUND: In the current era of rapid technological innovation, our lives are becoming more closely intertwined with digital systems. Consequently, every human action generates a valuable repository of digital data. In this context, data-driven architectures are pivotal for organizing, manipulating, and presenting data to facilitate positive computing through ensemble machine learning models. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic underscored a substantial need for a flexible mental health care architecture. This architecture, inclusive of machine learning predictive models, has the potential to benefit a larger population by identifying individuals at a heightened risk of developing various mental disorders.
OBJECTIVE: Therefore, this research aims to create a flexible mental health care architecture that leverages data-driven methodologies and ensemble machine learning models. The objective is to proficiently structure, process, and present data for positive computing. The adaptive data-driven architecture facilitates customized interventions for diverse mental disorders, fostering positive computing. Consequently, improved mental health care outcomes and enhanced accessibility for individuals with varied mental health conditions are anticipated.
METHOD: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, the researchers conducted a systematic literature review in databases indexed in Web of Science to identify the existing strengths and limitations of software architecture relevant to our adaptive design. The systematic review was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023444661). Additionally, a mapping process was employed to derive essential paradigms serving as the foundation for the research architectural design. To validate the architecture based on its features, professional experts utilized a Likert scale.
RESULTS: Through the review, the authors identified six fundamental paradigms crucial for designing architecture. Leveraging these paradigms, the authors crafted an adaptive data-driven architecture, subsequently validated by professional experts. The validation resulted in a mean score exceeding four for each evaluated feature, confirming the architecture's effectiveness. To further assess the architecture's practical application, a prototype architecture for predicting pandemic anxiety was developed.
Fulltext Adaptation and potential culture of wild Amphipods and Mysids as potential live feed in aquaculture: a review

Suhaimi H, Abdul Rahman MI, Ashaari A, Ikhwanuddin M, Wan Rasdi N

PeerJ, 2024;12:e17092.
PMID: 38563012 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17092

Live foods such as phytoplankton and zooplankton are essential food sources in aquaculture. Due to their small size, they are suitable for newly hatched larvae. Artemia and rotifer are commonly used live feeds in aquaculture; each feed has a limited dietary value, which is unsuitable for all cultured species. Whereas, copepod and cladocerans species exhibit favorable characteristics that make them viable candidates as sources of essential nutrients for hatchery operations. Due to their jerking movements, it stimulates the feeding response of fish larvae, and their various sizes make them suitable for any fish and crustacean. Even though Artemia is the best live feed due to its proficient nutritional quality, the cost is very expensive, which is about half of the production cost. A recent study suggests the use of amphipods and mysids as alternative live feeds in aquaculture. High nutritional value is present in amphipods and mysids, especially proteins, lipids, and essential fatty acids that are required by fish larvae during early development. Amphipods and mysids are considered abundant in the aquatic ecosystem and have been used by researchers in water toxicity studies. However, the culture of amphipods and mysids has been poorly studied. There is only a small-scale culture under laboratory conditions for scientific research that has been performed. Thus, further research is required to find a way to improve the mass culture of amphipods and mysids that can benefit the aquaculture industry. This review article is intended to provide the available information on amphipods and mysids, including reproductive biology, culture method, nutritional value, feed enhancement, and the importance of them as potential live feed in aquaculture. This article is useful as a guideline for researchers, hatchery operators, and farmers.

MeSH terms: Animals; Artemia; Fishes; Larva; Rotifera*; Ecosystem; Aquaculture/methods; Amphipoda*
The use of the internal transcribed spacer region for phylogenetic analysis of the microsporidian parasite Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei infecting whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) and for the development of a nested PCR as its diagnostic tool

Lee JH, Jeon HJ, Seo S, Lee C, Kim B, Kwak DM, et al.

J Microbiol Biotechnol, 2024 Feb 27;34(5):1-10.
PMID: 38563108 DOI: 10.4014/jmb.2401.01010

The increasing economic losses associated with growth retardation caused by Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP), a microsporidian parasite infecting penaeid shrimp, require effective monitoring. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-1 region, the non-coding region of ribosomal clusters between 18S and 5.8S rRNA genes, is widely used in phylogenetic studies due to its high variability. In this study, the ITS-1 region sequence (~600-bp) of EHP was first identified, and primers for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting that sequence were designed. A newly developed nested-PCR method successfully detected the EHP in various shrimp (Penaeus vannamei and P. monodon) and related samples, including water and feces collected from Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, India, and Malaysia. The primers did not cross-react with other hosts and pathogens, and this PCR assay is more sensitive than existing PCR detection methods targeting the small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) and spore wall protein (SWP) genes. Phylogenetic analysis based on the ITS-1 sequences indicated that the Indonesian strain was distinct (86.2%) from other strains collected from Thailand and South Korea, and also showed the internal diversity among Thailand (N = 7, divided into four branches) and South Korean (N = 5, divided into two branches) samples. The results revealed the ability of the ITS-1 region to determine the genetic diversity of EHP from different geographical origins.
Exploring the Antarctic aminopeptidase P from Pseudomonas sp. strain AMS3 through structural analysis and molecular dynamics simulation

Omar MN, Rahman RNZRA, Noor NDM, Latip W, Knight VF, Ali MSM

J Biomol Struct Dyn, 2024 Mar 31.
PMID: 38555730 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2024.2331093

Aminopeptidase P (APPro) is a crucial metalloaminopeptidase involved in amino acid cleavage from peptide N-termini, playing essential roles as versatile biocatalysts with applications ranging from pharmaceuticals to industrial processes. Despite acknowledging its potential for catalysis in lower temperatures, detailed molecular basis and biotechnological implications in cold environments are yet to be explored. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the cold-adapted characteristics of APPro from Pseudomonas sp. strain AMS3 (AMS3-APPro) through a detailed analysis of its structure and dynamics. In this study, structure analysis and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of a predicted model of AMS3-APPro has been performed at different temperatures to assess structural flexibility and thermostability across a temperature range of 0-60 °C over 100 ns. The MD simulation results revealed that the structure were able to remain stable at low temperatures. Increased temperatures present a potential threat to the overall stability of AMS3-APPro by disrupting the intricate hydrogen bond networks crucial for maintaining structural integrity, thereby increasing the likelihood of protein unfolding. While the metal binding site at the catalytic core exhibits resilience at higher temperatures, highlighting its local structural integrity, the overall enzyme structure undergoes fluctuations and potential denaturation. This extensive structural instability surpasses the localized stability observed at the metal binding site. Consequently, these assessments offer in-depth understanding of the cold-adapted characteristics of AMS3-APPro, highlighting its capability to uphold its native conformation and stability in low-temperature environments. In summary, this research provides valuable insights into the cold-adapted features of AMS3-APPro, suggesting its efficient operation in low thermal conditions, particularly relevant for potential biotechnological applications in cold environments.
The association of fatigue severity with pain level, obesity indices and functional performances in women with knee osteoarthritis

Che Mood A, Justine M, Bukry SA, Mohan V

Med J Malaysia, 2024 Mar;79(Suppl 1):1-7.
PMID: 38555878

INTRODUCTION: Knee osteoarthritis is most common among women with obesity. It may lead to physical inactivity that, in turn, causes fatigue or lack of physical enthusiasm to perform meaningful daily activities. Hence, this study aimed to examine whether pain level, obesity indices and functional performances are associated with fatigue severity in women with knee osteoarthritis (KOA).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited women referred to physiotherapy to manage OA. The measurements included fatigue severity (fatigue severity scale); pain level (numerical rating scale); obesity indices (body mass index, fat %, waist circumference); functional performances (upper limb strength, lower limb strength, mobility, exercise capacity and quality of life). A simple linear regression analysis was used to determine which independent variable may be associated with fatigue severity.
RESULTS: Ninety-six women with unilateral KOA participated in this study (Mean age, 55.70, Standard Deviation, SD 6.90) years; Mean fatigue severity, 34.51, SD 14.03). The simple linear regression analysis showed that pain level (β=4.089, p<0.001), fat % (β=0.825, p<0.001) and QoL (β=0.304, p<0.001) were significantly associated with fatigue. After controlling for pain level, only fat % was significantly associated with fatigue (β=0.581, p=0.005).
CONCLUSION: Pain level, fat %, and QoL appear to be associated with fatigue severity in women with KOA. In addition, pain symptoms may interact with factors associated with fatigue severity.

MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies; Fatigue/complications; Fatigue/diagnosis; Female; Humans; Middle Aged; Obesity/complications; Pain/complications; Pain/diagnosis; Quality of Life
The cytotoxicity effect of bismuth oxide particles synthesized hydrothermally using different reaction temperatures in vitro

Md Saad WM, Mohd Noor NA, Mohamad Salin NS, Mohd Z, Eshak Z, Abdul Razak HR

Med J Malaysia, 2024 Mar;79(Suppl 1):8-13.
PMID: 38555879

INTRODUCTION: Bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) particles gained attention in preclinical research especially in medical imaging. Bismuth oxide with its long circulation time is an alternative to the current iodine contrast media which directly possesses high X-ray attenuation coefficient. Exploration of bismuth compound is hampered owing to challenges in synthesizing control for in vivo stability.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study aimed are to characterize Bi2O3 particles synthesized at 60, 90 and 120 °C via hydrothermal method and investigated cytotoxicity of cell viability assay, cell morphology analysis, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay and expression of ER stress genes by real-time PCR.
RESULTS: Results indicated that the size of rod-shaped Bi2O3 particles increased with rising synthesizing temperatures. The cytotoxicity of Bi2O3 particles in Chang liver cells was size-dependent. Bigger-sized Bi2O3 particles resulted in lesser toxicity effects. mRNA expressions of GRP78 and C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) were down-regulated in all treated Chang liver cells due to the increasing size of Bi2O3 particles. Bi2O3 particles synthesized at 120 °C was found to be less toxic than iodine.
CONCLUSION: Data suggested that the response of Chang liver cells to Bi2O3 particle cytotoxicity has a significant relationship with its reaction temperatures. This outcome is important in hazard assessment of Bi2O3 particles as a new contrast media and provides better understanding in synthesizing control to enhance its biocompatibility.

MeSH terms: Contrast Media/toxicity; Humans; Iodine*; Temperature
From tap to table: An assessment of drinking water quality in Perak, Malaysia

Ibrahim TNBT, Feisal NAS, Azmi NM, Nazli SN, Salehuddin ASM, Nasir NICM, et al.

Med J Malaysia, 2024 Mar;79(Suppl 1):14-22.
PMID: 38555880

INTRODUCTION: A study on the quality of drinking water was conducted at Air Kuning Treatment Plant In Perak, Malaysia, based on a sanitary survey in 14 sampling points stations from the intake area to the auxiliary points. This was to ensure the continuous supply of clean and safe drinking water to the consumers for public health protection. The objective was to examine the physical, microbiological, and chemical parameters of the water, classification at each site based on National Drinking Water Standards (NDWQS) and to understand the spatial variation using environmetric technique; principal component analysis (PCA).
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Water samples were subjected to in situ and laboratory water quality analyses and focused on pH, turbidity, chlorine, Escherichia coli, total coliform, total hardness, iron (Fe), aluminium (Al), zinc (Zn), magnesium (Mg) and sodium (Na). All procedures followed the American Public Health Association (APHA) testing procedures.
RESULTS: Based on the results obtained, the values of each parameter were found to be within the safe limits set by the NDWQS except for total coliform and iron (Fe). PCA has indicated that turbidity, total coliform, E. coli, Na, and Al were the major factors that contributed to the drinking water contamination in river water intake.
CONCLUSION: Overall, the water from all sampling point stations after undergoing water treatment process was found to be safe as drinking water. It is important to evaluate the drinking water quality of the treatment plant to ensure that consumers have access to safe and clean drinking water as well as community awareness on drinking water quality is essential to promote public health and environmental protection.

MeSH terms: Escherichia coli; Humans; Iron; Malaysia; Water Microbiology; Water Quality*; Drinking Water*

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