One new genus of the tribe Ledrini, Yelahanka gen. nov. is described with Petalocephala granulosa Distant as its type species. The genus is characterised by the flexing of the forewing laterad of a strongly carinate or keeled outer claval vein and the claval veins fused in the distal two thirds. Seven new species, Yelahanka canaraica sp. nov. (India: Karnataka), Y. kodaiensis sp. nov. (India: Tamil Nadu), Y. montana sp. nov. (India: Tamil Nadu), Y. nepalica sp. nov. (Nepal), Y. sikkimensis sp. nov. (India: Sikkim), Y. shillongensis sp. nov. (India: Meghalaya) and Y. trifida sp. nov. (India: Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh) are described and illustrated. The following new combinations are proposed: Yelahanka bainbriggei (Distant) comb. nov., Y. granulosa (Distant) comb. nov., Y. punctata (Walker) comb. nov. and Y. tabulata (Distant) comb. nov.; originally punctata was placed in the genus Ledra Fabricius and remaining species were placed in Petalocephala Stål. Petalocephala bainbriggei Distant 1916 is treated as a junior synonym of Y. granulosa (Distant 1910) syn. nov. and P. tabulata Distant 1908 is treated as a junior synonym of Yelahanka punctata (Walker 1851) syn. nov. Y. granulosa is newly recorded from Africa (Tanzania and Kenya) and Malaya. Relationships of the new genus with other genera of Ledrini are discussed and a key to species of the genus is also provided.
In settings with limited resources, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SNB) is only offered to breast cancer patients with small tumors and a low a priori risk of axillary metastases.
The process involved in the local scour below pipelines is so complex that it makes it difficult to establish a general empirical model to provide accurate estimation for scour. This paper describes the use of artificial neural networks (ANN) to estimate the pipeline scour depth. The data sets of laboratory measurements were collected from published works and used to train the network or evolve the program. The developed networks were validated by using the observations that were not involved in training. The performance of ANN was found to be more effective when compared with the results of regression equations in predicting the scour depth around pipelines.
This paper discusses the comparative assessment of eight candidate distributions in providing accurate and reliable maximum rainfall estimates for Malaysia. The models considered were the Gamma, Generalised Normal, Generalised Pareto, Generalised Extreme Value, Gumbel, Log Pearson Type III, Pearson Type III and Wakeby. Annual maximum rainfall series for one-hour resolution from a network of seventeen automatic gauging stations located throughout Peninsular Malaysia were selected for this study. The length of rainfall records varies from twenty-three to twenty-eight years. Model parameters were estimated using the L-moment method. The quantitative assessment of the descriptive ability of each model was based on the Probability Plot Correlation Coefficient test combined with root mean squared error, relative root mean squared error and maximum absolute deviation. Bootstrap resampling was employed to investigate the extrapolative ability of each distribution. On the basis of these comparisons, it can be concluded that the GEV distribution is the most appropriate distribution for describing the annual maximum rainfall series in Malaysia.
Currently, research trends on aerobic granular sludge (AGS) have integrated the operating conditions of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) towards the stability of AGS systems in various types of wastewater with different physical and biochemical characteristics. More attention is given to the stability of the AGS system for real site applications. Although recent studies have reported comprehensively the mechanism of AGS formation and stability in relation to other intermolecular interactions such as microbial distribution, shock loading and toxicity, standard operating condition control strategies for different types of wastewater have not yet been discussed. Thus, the dimensional multi-layer structural model of AGS is discussed comprehensively in the first part of this review paper, focusing on diameter size, thickness variability of each layer and diffusion factor. This can assist in facilitating the interrelation between disposition and stability of AGS structure to correspond to the changes in wastewater types, which is the main objective and novelty of this review.
Mass mortalities of the larval stage of the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, have been occurring in Bangladesh since 2011. Mortalities can reach 100% and have resulted in an 80% decline in the number of hatcheries actively producing M. rosenbergii. To investigate a causative agent for the mortalities, a disease challenge was carried out using infected material from a hatchery experiencing mortalities. Moribund larvae from the challenge were prepared for metatranscriptomic sequencing. De novo virus assembly revealed a 29 kb single‑stranded positive-sense RNA virus with similarities in key protein motif sequences to yellow head virus (YHV), an RNA virus that causes mass mortalities in marine shrimp aquaculture, and other viruses in the Nidovirales order. Primers were designed against the novel virus and used to screen cDNA from larvae sampled from hatcheries in the South of Bangladesh from two consecutive years. Larvae from all hatcheries screened from both years were positive by PCR for the novel virus, including larvae from a hatchery that at the point of sampling appeared healthy, but later experienced mortalities. These screens suggest that the virus is widespread in M. rosenbergii hatchery culture in southern Bangladesh, and that early detection of the virus can be achieved by PCR. The hypothesised protein motifs of Macrobrachium rosenbergii golda virus (MrGV) suggest that it is likely to be a new species within the Nidovirales order. Biosecurity measures should be taken in order to mitigate global spread through the movement of post-larvae within and between countries, which has previously been linked to other virus outbreaks in crustacean aquaculture.
The effect of phenobarbitone against signal grass (Brachiaria decumbens) toxicity was studied in 26 male crossbred sheep. Grazing on signal grass significantly decreased the concentration of cytochrome P-450 and the activity of drug metabolizing enzymes, viz. aminopyrine-N-demethylase, aniline-4-hydroxylase, UDP- glucuronyltransferase and glutathione-S-transferase in liver and kidneys of affected sheep.Oral administration of phenobarbitone (30 mg/kg body weight) for five consecutive days before grazing on B. decumbens pasture, and thereafter, for three consecutive days every two weeks, resulted in significant increases in hepatic and renal activities of drug-metabolizing enzymes. The induction of drug metabolizing activity in sheep grazing on signal grass group was found to be lower than in animals given phenobarbitone alone. Induction by phenobarbitone provided a degree of protection against the toxic effects of B. decumbens as indicated by the delay in the appearance of signs of toxicity. Furthermore, these were much milder compared to those in the sheep not treated with phenobarbitone. The present study suggests that phenobarbitone-type cytochrome P-450 isoenzyme-induction may increase resistance against signal grass (B. decumbens) toxicity in sheep.
The effect of griseofulvin treatment on signal grass (Brachlaria decumbens) toxicity was studied in 27 male Wiltshire Indigenous Malaysian crossbred sheep. Grazing on signal grass generally decreased the activity of the drug metabolizing enzymes in livers and kidneys. Griseofulvin oral administration of 5 mg/kg body weight for 5 consecutive days every other week for 10 w increased the hepatic concentration of cytochrome P-450 and the activity of phase II drug metabolizing enzymes (UDP-glucuronyltransferase and glutathione-S-transferase) while it decreased the hepatic and increased the renal activity of phase I enzymes aminopyrine-N-demethylase and aniline-4-hydroxylase. Griseofulvin did not protect sheep against B decumbens toxicity as 5/7 animals treated with griseofulvin and grazed on B decumbens showed signs of the plant toxicity.
The effect of Brachiaria decumbens (signal grass) on drug-metabolizing enzymes was studied in sheep. After 14 d of grazing a pure signal grass pasture, significant declines were observed in hepatic aminopyrine N-demethylase and aniline 4-hydroxylase (phase I biotransformation) and in conjugative enzymes UDP-glucuronyltransferase and glutathione S-transferase. Kidney enzymes were significantly decreased except for UDP-glucuronyltransferase. Enzyme activities were also compared for normal sheep and cattle livers and kidneys. Lower activities were found in cattle, indicating that factors other than biotransformation are responsible for the clincial tolerance of cattle to B. decumbens toxicity.
OBJECTIVES:
To evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of oral sildenafil in Asian men with erectile dysfunction of various causes (organic, psychogenic, or mixed) and of more than 6 months' duration.
METHODS:
In this double-blind, parallel-group trial conducted at eight centers in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore, 254 men, 26 to 78 years old, were randomized to 12 weeks of sildenafil or placebo taken as needed 1 hour before anticipated sexual activity. Initially, the sildenafil (n = 127) or matching placebo (n = 127) dose was 50 mg but could be increased to 100 mg or decreased to 25 mg because of a lack of efficacy or intolerance, respectively. Efficacy was assessed by the 15-question International Index of Erectile Function, patients' event logs of sexual activity, and a global efficacy question about erections.
RESULTS:
The two primary efficacy variables relating to achievement and maintenance of an erection sufficient for sexual intercourse, as assessed by the mean scores for International Index of Erectile Function question 3 (4.22 versus 2.59) and question 4 (4.15 versus 2.41), were both significantly higher with sildenafil than with placebo (P <0.0001). In addition, the five separate International Index of Erectile Function domains of sexual function, the percentage of successful intercourse attempts, and the global efficacy assessment of erections revealed significantly greater treatment effects in favor of sildenafil (P <0.0001 versus placebo for all variables). Treatment-related adverse events occurred in 22.8% of patients who received sildenafil and in 10.2% of those who received placebo.
CONCLUSIONS:
Sildenafil is an effective and well-tolerated treatment for Asian men with erectile dysfunction of broad-spectrum etiology.
Degradation of xanthan polymer in aqueous solution by ultrasonic irradiation was investigated. The effects of selected variables i.e. sonication intensity, irradiation time, concentration of xanthan gum and molar concentration of NaCl in solution were studied. Combined approach of full factorial design and conventional one-factor-at-a-time was applied to obtain optimum degradation at sonication power intensity of 11.5Wcm-2, irradiation time 120min and 0.1gL-1xanthan in a salt-free solution. Molecular weight reduction of xanthan gum under sonication was described by an exponential decay function with higher rate constant for polymer degradation in the salt free solution. The limiting molecular weight where fragments no longer undergo scission was determined from the function. The incorporation of NaCl in xanthan solution resulted in a lower limiting molecular weight. The ultrasound-mediated degradation of aqueous xanthan polymer chain agreed with a random scission model. Side chain of xanthan polymer is proposed to be the primary site of scission action.
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignancies in the West, but in Asia the incidence is low. However in Malaysia, colorectal cancer is increasing with a reported figure of 15% of all cancer cases. Adjuvant chemo and radiotherapy are now more frequently used in such patients. The present retrospective analysis was performed to document the effect of such therapy among patients with colorectal cancer in Malaysia.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different cooking methods on the allergenicity of cockle and to identify proteins most frequently bound by IgE antibodies using a proteomics approach. Raw, boiled, fried and roasted extracts of the cockle were prepared. The protein profiles of the extracts were obtained by separation using sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). IgE-immunoblotting was then performed with the use of individual sera from patients with cockle allergy and the major IgE-binding proteins were analyzed by mass-spectrometry. SDS-PAGE of raw extract showed 13 protein bands. Smaller numbers of protein bands were detected in the boiled, fried and roasted extracts. The 2-DE gel profile of the raw extract further separated the protein bands to ~50 protein spots with molecular masses between 13 to 180 kDa and isoelectric point (pI) values ranging from 3 to 10. Immunoblotting of raw extract exhibited 11 IgE-binding proteins with two proteins of 36 and 40 kDa as the major IgE-binding proteins, while the boiled extract revealed 3 IgE-binding proteins. Fried and roasted extracts only showed a single IgE-binding protein at 36 kDa. 2-DE immunoblotting of raw extract demonstrated 5 to 20 IgE reactive spots. Mass spectrometry analysis led to identification of 2 important allergens, tropomyosin (36 kDa) and arginine kinase (40 kDa). Heated extracts showed a reduction in the number of IgE-reactive bands compared with raw extract, which suggest that thermal treatment can be used as a tool in attempting to reduce cockle allergenicity. The degree of allergenicity of cockle was demonstrated in the order raw > boiled > fried ≈ roasted. Two important allergens reacting with more than 50% of patients' sera identified using mass spectrometric approaches were tropomyosin and arginine kinase. Thus, allergens found in this study would help in component based diagnosis, management of cockle allergic patients and to the standardisation of allergenic test products as tools in molecular allergology.
The resistance status of riceland Culex vishnui against four major groups of insecticides (i.e., organochlorines, carbamates, organophosphates and pyrethroids) was investigated. Biochemical assays (ESTα, ESTβ, MFO and GST) were also conducted to detect the resistance levels. Throughout a 12-month study period, multiple insecticide resistance was observed in both larvae and adult Cx vishnui. Culex vishnui larvae exhibited low resistance against malathion, temephos and permethrin with resistance ratio (RR) values < 5. In adult bioassay, Cx. vishnui were highly resistant against all tested adulticides with 24h post-treatment mortality < 70%. Correlations between permethrin and malathion resistance, as well as between deltamethrin and cyfluthrin resistance were found in Cx. vishnui. The results indicated that mixed function oxidases activity of Cx. vishnui was the highest compared to ESTα, ESTβ and GST. Spearman rank-order analysis showed that ESTα, ESTβ and GST were involved in multiple resistances in Cx. vishnui. The findings of this study established a baseline of insecticide susceptibility and revealed the effects of agricultural insecticide pressure on the vectors of Japanese encephalitis in Malaysia.
A study was carried out to isolate Brucella melitensis using established bacteriological and PCR techniques in Brucella seropositive goats in farms in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Pulau Pinang. Brucella melitensis was isolated from 7 of 134 reactors with the highest isolation from the vaginal swabs (57.14%) followed by the spleen (28.57%), uterine fluid (14.29%). No Brucella was isolated from the lymph nodes. PCR confirmed all the seven isolates as B. melitensis and isolates were phylogenetically related to other isolates from India, Iran, and Israel but most closely related to isolates from Singapore.
Crab is an important source of food allergen. Tropomyosin represents the main crab allergen and is responsible for IgE cross-reactivity between various species of crustaceans. Recently, other new crab allergens including arginine kinase have been identified. However, information on allergens of the local Portunidcrab is not available. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify the major allergens of Portunus pelagicus (blue swimming crab) using the allergenomics approach. Raw and cooked extracts of the crab were prepared from the crab meat. Protein profile and IgE binding pattern were demonstrated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting using sera from 30 patients with crab allergy. The major allergens of the crab were then identified by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), followed by mass spectrometry analysis of the peptide digests. The SDS-PAGE of raw extract revealed approximately 20 protein fractions over a wide molecular weight range, while cooked extract demonstrated fewer protein bands. The raw extract also demonstrated a higher number of IgE reactive bands than the cooked extract. A heat-resistant protein of 36 kDa has been identified as the major allergen in both raw and cooked extracts. In addition, a heat-sensitive protein of 41 kDa was also recognized as a major allergen in raw crab. The 2-DE gel profile of the raw extract demonstrated about >100 distinct proteins spots and immunoblotting of the 2-DE profile demonstrated at least 12 different major IgE reactive spots with molecular masses between 13 to 250 kDa and isoelectric point (pI) values ranging from 4.0 to 7.0. The 36 and 41 kDa proteins were identified as the crab tropomyosin and arginine kinase, respectively by mass spectrometry. Therefore, this study confirmed that tropomyosin and arginine kinase are the major allergens of the local Portunid crab, P. pelagicus.