The Temiars are a tribe of negroid pygmies of basically Proto-Malaysian affinities. Field-work in the Malaysian jungle provided some observations on the sleep-wakefulness cycle of two young Temiar adults. This cycle was monophasic circumstances permitting. Their rest-activity cycle at night was similar in the jungle and in the laboratory. Polygraphic total night-sleep recordings were made with both of them in the EEG laboratory in the Hospital Besar in Kuala Lumpur. The eye-movement frequencies of PS were compared with those from young adults of the West. Although the differences were not statistically significant, the Rem-densities of the Temiars were constantly at the low side. The significance of the results are being discussed.
Smoking cessation programmes have been available for almost 2 decades in Malaysia. However the programmes have mainly focussed on outpatient primary care settings. More attention is needed to address and treat smokers presenting to hospitals with acute and chronic medical illness as hospitals provide good settings to implement smoking cessation intervention. For instance, a tobacco related medical illness may boosts a smoker\'s motivation to stop, especially when the smoker perceives smoking as the cause of his illness and understands the gains achieved by smoking cessation. Besides bringing a smoker in contact with health personnel who may offer assistance to a smoker to help him stop smoking, a hospital stay also provide an opportunity for the health carer to initiate and practice the government policy of no smoking in the hospitals. This article addresses the importance of having a hospital-based smoking cessation programme for the Malaysian hospitals.
Substance misuse, in particular heroin addiction contributes to health and social problems. Although effective medical treatment was available, earlier efforts confined the treatment of heroin addicts to in-house rehabilitation which required them to be estranged from the community and their families for 2 years. The in-house rehabilitative programme, implemented for at least three decades has produced low abstinence rates. On the other hand, being ‘away’ meant that many heroin addicts faced employment problems and family relationship difficulties upon completing the in-house rehabilitation. However, recently, the concerted efforts by various government and non-government organisations, and the acknowledgement that heroin addiction is a medical illness has resulted in a revamp to approaching treatment of heroin addiction. At present, methadone substitution programmes have been offered as part of treatment programme for heroin addicts in Malaysia. This new programme has been shown to be effective in treating heroin addiction and would need support and cooperation from all groups involved.
White rot fungi are good lignin degraders and have the potential to be used in industry. In the present work, Phellinus sp., Daedalea sp., Trametes versicolor and Pycnoporus coccineus were selected due to their relatively high ligninolytic enzyme activity, and grown on Acacia mangium wood chips under solid state fermentation. Results obtained showed that manganese peroxidase produced is far more compared to lignin peroxidase, suggesting that MnP might be the predominating enzymes causing lignin degradation in Acacia mangium wood chips. Cellulase enzyme assays showed that no significant cellulase activity was detected in the enzyme preparation of T. versicolor and Phellinus sp. This low cellulolytic activity further suggests that these two white rot strains are of more interest in lignin degradation. The results on lignin losses showed 20-30% of lignin breakdown at 60 days of biodegradation. The highest lignin loss was found in Acacia mangium biotreated with T. versicolor after 60 days and recorded 26.9%, corresponding to the percentage of their wood weight loss recorded followed by P. coccineus. In general, lignin degradation was only significant from 20 days onwards. The overall percentage of lignin weight loss was within the range of 1.02-26.90% over the biodegradation periods. Microscopic observations conducted using scanning electron microscope showed that T. versicolor, P. coccineus, Daedalea sp. and Phellinus sp. had caused lignin degradation in Acacia mangium wood chips.
Assessment of amino acid decarboxylase activity can be conducted using tubed broth or plated agar. In this study, the test was carried out in microtitre plates containing lysine, ornithine, arginine, tyrosine, tryptophan, phenylalanine or histidine as biogenic amine precursors. Møller decarboxylase base broth (MDB) with or without 1% of a known amino acid were added to wells of a 96 well-microtitre plate. The wells were inoculated with Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter anitratus or Staphylococcus aureus to the final concentration of 6.0 x 10(7) cfu/ml and incubated at 35ºC. The absorbance of the culture broth was read at 570 nm at 0, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.5, 6.5 and 7.5 hour. Comparison of means of A'(570) between 0 hour and a specified incubation time was determined statistically. Positive decarboxylase activities were detected in the media inoculated with E. coli and K. pneumoniae in less than 6 hours. The current method is suitable for immediate producers of amino acid decarboxylase enzymes. It costs less as it uses less amino acid and it has the potential to be used for screening aliquots of food materials for amino acid decarboxylase activities.
In the title compound, C(29)H(40)O(3), the enone moiety adopts an s-cis conformation. The dihedral angle between the benzene rings is 4.33 (5)° The least-squares mean line through the tetra-decyl side chain forms a dihedral angle of 83.99 (7)° with the normal to the attached benzene ring. In the crystal, O-H⋯O and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving the keto and the hy-droxy O atoms form ribbons along [-41-1]. The crystal structure also features C-H⋯π inter-actions.
In the title compound, C(21)H(24)O(3), the enone moiety adopts an s-cis conformation and the dihedral angle between the benzene rings is 12.89 (6)°. The hex-yloxy tail adopts an extended conformation. In the crystal, inversion dimers are linked by pairs of O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds and pairs of C-H⋯O inter-actions, forming two R(2) (2)(7) and one R(2) (2)(10) loops. The dimers are then arranged into sheets lying parallel to (201) and weak C-H⋯π inter-actions consolidate the packing.
In the title compound, C(25)H(32)O(3), the enone group adopts an s-cis conformation. The alk-oxy chain is in an all-trans conformation. The dihedral angle between the benzene rings is 7.86 (5)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are connected by pairs of O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming inversion dimers and giving R(2) (2)(10) rings. Within these dimers, weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds form two R(2) (2)(7) rings. In the crystal, the approximately planar mol-ecules [largest deviation for an atom being 0.4737 (12) Å for the terminal C atom of the alk-oxy chain] are arranged in sheets parallel to (20-1). Weak C-H⋯π inter-actions are also observed.
Recent techniques in the management of surface river water have been expanding the demand on the method that can provide more representative of multivariate data set. A proper technique of the architecture of artificial neural network (ANN) model and multiple linear regression (MLR) provides an advance tool for surface water modeling and forecasting. The development of receptor model was applied in order to determine the major sources of pollutants at Kuantan River Basin, Malaysia. Thirteen water quality parameters were used in principal component analysis (PCA) and new variables of fertilizer waste, surface runoff, anthropogenic input, chemical and mineral changes and erosion are successfully developed for modeling purposes. Two models were compared in terms of efficiency and goodness-of-fit for water quality index (WQI) prediction. The results show that APCS-ANN model gives better performance with high R2 value (0.9680) and small root mean square error (RMSE) value (2.6409) compared to APCS-MLR model. Meanwhile from the sensitivity analysis, fertilizer waste acts as the dominant pollutant contributor (59.82%) to the basin studied followed by anthropogenic input (22.48%), surface runoff (13.42%), erosion (2.33%) and lastly chemical and mineral changes (1.95%). Thus, this study concluded that receptor modeling of APCS-ANN can be used to solve various constraints in environmental problem that exist between water distribution variables toward appropriate water quality management.
A series of (E)-1-(4-alkyloxyphenyl)-3-(hydroxyphenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one have been successfully synthesised via Claisen-Schmidt condensation. The synthesised chalcone derivatives consisted of hydroxyl groups at either ortho, meta or para position and differed in the length of the alkyl groups, C (n) H(2) (n) (+1,) where n = 6, 10, 12 and 14. The structures of all compounds were defined by elemental analysis, IR, (1)H- and (13)C-NMR. The antimicrobial studies were carried out against wild-type Escherichia coli American Type Culture Collection 8739 to evaluate the effect of the hydroxyl and the alkyl groups of the synthesised chalcones. All the synthesised compounds have shown significant antimicrobial activities. The optimum inhibition was dependent on the position of the hydroxyl group as well as the length of the alkyl chains.
Trauma is an ever increasing problem and it is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the under 40s age group. The main purpose of this study is to determine the pattern of death related to trauma cases presenting to the emergency department (ED) of a university hospital. This was a retrospective analysis of 75 consecutive trauma case records at a university hospital for a one year period. The most common cause of deaths is motor vehicle crashes. The mean score for the injury severity score (ISS) and revised trauma score (RTS) on arrival to the ED among the succumbed patients were 27.8 (s.d 8.6) and 5.7 (s.d 1.1) respectively. 58.7% of deaths occurred within 48 hours after the admission. Less than 50% of studied patients were still alive beyond 45 hours post admission and less than 10% still alive beyond 11 days. Our analysis also showed that 28% (n=21) and 56% (n=41) of the studied sample had a probability of survival between 50% to 75% and more than 75% respectively upon arrival based on the initial vital signs in the ED and the trauma and injury severity score (TRISS) methodology. Overall, we observed similar injury mechanisms, demographics and causes of death compare to other studies. The figures from this study, mandate further exploration of preventive issues and management improvements that should be applied not only to the current trauma system, but also to the health care system in general.
BACKGROUND: The urinary iodine micromethod (UIMM) is a modification of the conventional method and its performance needs evaluation.
METHODS: UIMM performance was evaluated using the method validation and 2008 Iodine Deficiency Disorders survey data obtained from four urinary iodine (UI) laboratories. Method acceptability tests and Sigma quality metrics were determined using total allowable errors (TEas) set by two external quality assurance (EQA) providers.
RESULTS: UIMM obeyed various method acceptability test criteria with some discrepancies at low concentrations. Method validation data calculated against the UI Quality Program (TUIQP) TEas showed that the Sigma metrics were at 2.75, 1.80, and 3.80 for 51±15.50 µg/L, 108±32.40 µg/L, and 149±38.60 µg/L UI, respectively. External quality control (EQC) data showed that the performance of the laboratories was within Sigma metrics of 0.85-1.12, 1.57-4.36, and 1.46-4.98 at 46.91±7.05 µg/L, 135.14±13.53 µg/L, and 238.58±17.90 µg/L, respectively. No laboratory showed a calculated total error (TEcalc)
Nitrate-nitrogen leaching from agricultural areas is a major cause for groundwater pollution. Polluted groundwater with high levels of nitrate is hazardous and cause adverse health effects. Human consumption of water with elevated levels of NO3-N has been linked to the infant disorder methemoglobinemia and also to non-Hodgkin's disease lymphoma in adults. This research aims to study the temporal patterns and source apportionment of nitrate-nitrogen leaching in a paddy soil at Ladang Merdeka Ismail Mulong in Kelantan, Malaysia. The complex data matrix (128 x 16) of nitrate-nitrogen parameters was subjected to multivariate analysis mainly Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Discriminant Analysis (DA). PCA extracted four principal components from this data set which explained 86.4% of the total variance. The most important contributors were soil physical properties confirmed using Alyuda Forecaster software (R2 = 0.98). Discriminant analysis was used to evaluate the temporal variation in soil nitrate-nitrogen on leaching process. Discriminant analysis gave four parameters (hydraulic head, evapotranspiration, rainfall and temperature) contributing more than 98% correct assignments in temporal analysis. DA allowed reduction in dimensionality of the large data set which defines the four operating parameters most efficient and economical to be monitored for temporal variations. This knowledge is important so as to protect the precious groundwater from contamination with nitrate.
The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C22H18N4O2S2, contains two mol-ecules. In one of them, the dihedral angles between the central benzene ring and the phenyl rings are 16.97 (8) and 20.97 (8)°, while the phenyl rings make a dihedral angle of 37.87 (8)°. In the other mol-ecule, the corresponding values are 34.92 (7), 53.90 (7) and 60.68 (8)°, respectively. In each mol-ecule, two intra-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds generate S(6) rings and a short C-H⋯S contact also occurs. In the crystal, N-H⋯S, N-H⋯O, C-H⋯O and C-H⋯S inter-actions link the mol-ecules into a three-dimensional network.
In the moving layer of particles with variable concentration, the shear estimation is not directly predictable and there is no existing clear mathematical or empirical formula to achieve this objective. This paper presents a developed approach to estimate the shear forces in a flow having suspended and moving layers of solid particles in liquid flow. The two-layer approach was taken whereby the flow consisting of one upper suspended layer of particles in the liquid, and the bottom layer was the moving bed of particles. In the present work, the method of finding the force acting on the pipe wall by the particles in the layer, termed as the ‘dry force’, was presented using a “pseudo hydrostatic pressure” method. To attain the equation for the dry force, a mathematical approach is taken with the assumptions that the flow is horizontal, two-phase pipe flow (solid in Newtonian liquid), incompressible and it is at steady-state. The analysis was conducted considering various particles densities, various concentrations in the suspended layer and different thicknesses of the moving bed. Changing the concentration in the suspended layer from 0.00001 up to 0.001 didn’t showed significant changes in the dry force evaluation. The dry friction force is increasing with increasing moving bed thickness. The developed mathematical model can be
applicable in solving for the shear force in horizontal solid liquid two-phase flows.
Glycemic control among patients with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) in Malaysia is suboptimal, especially after the continuous worsening over the past decade. Improved glycemic control may be achieved through a comprehensive management strategy that includes medical nutrition therapy (MNT). Evidence-based recommendations for diabetes-specific therapeutic diets are available internationally. However, Asian patients with T2D, including Malaysians, have unique disease characteristics and risk factors, as well as cultural and lifestyle dissimilarities, which may render international guidelines and recommendations less applicable and/or difficult to implement. With these thoughts in mind, a transcultural Diabetes Nutrition Algorithm (tDNA) was developed by an international task force of diabetes and nutrition experts through the restructuring of international guidelines for the nutritional management of prediabetes and T2D to account for cultural differences in lifestyle, diet, and genetic factors. The initial evidence-based global tDNA template was designed for simplicity, flexibility, and cultural modification. This paper reports the Malaysian adaptation of the tDNA, which takes into account the epidemiologic, physiologic, cultural, and lifestyle factors unique to Malaysia, as well as the local guidelines recommendations.
Introduction: Specific health warning placed on the tobacco product packages is considered as an effective and low-cost method for increasing the knowledge and awareness among the community. Thus, a study was conducted to assess the perception of pictorial health warnings (PHWs) against smoking among the adult rural population of Sarawak.
Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 10 villages in Kota Samarahan and Kuching Division by face to face interview using modified Global Adult Tobacco Survey questionnaire. Nonprobability sampling method was adopted to select the villages. All the households of the selected villages were visited and an adult member was selected randomly from each house irrespective of the sex. After missing value imputation, 1000 data were analysed using statistical software IBM SPSS 20.0 version.
Results: Analysis showed that 28.8% of the respondents were current smokers, 7.8% were past smokers and the rest were non-smokers. Six items of pictorial health warnings were evaluated with five point Likert’s scales for attractiveness, fearfulness and adequacy of the information. Analysis revealed that the majority of the respondents had perceived awareness on PHWs, but the smokers believed that this was not adequate to make them quit smoking. Only one-fifth (19.7%) of them reported that current pictorial health warnings were sufficient to motivate people to quit smoking.
Conclusion: Though the PHWs on cigarette packages are appealing, it is not sufficient as a reason to stop smoking. Thus, an approach using an integrated anti-tobacco public health programme should be focused into the specific targeted community
The combined overlap extension PCR (COE-PCR) method developed in this work combines the strengths of the overlap extension PCR (OE-PCR) method with the speed and ease of the asymmetrical overlap extension (AOE-PCR) method. This combined method allows up to 6 base pairs to be mutated at a time and requires a total of 40-45 PCR cycles. A total of eight mutagenesis experiments were successfully carried out, with each experiment mutating between two to six base pairs. Up to four adjacent codons were changed in a single experiment. This method is especially useful for codon optimization, where doublet or triplet rare codons can be changed using a single mutagenic primer set, in a single experiment.
Enterobacteriaceae is a large family within the Gram-negative bacteria that primarily inhabits in the gastrointestinal tract of human and animals. The bacteria within this group are readily survived in the environment with some species found living free in the water where energy sources are scarce, making them ideal indicators for faecal contamination of the river water. Some species within the family have been used as indicator for the presence of pathogenic bacteria whilst on the other hand some species have been directly associated with various diseases in human and animals. The main aim of this research study was to determine the distribution and characteristics of the Enterobacteriaceae in water samples collected from river and waterfalls within a community resort. The health risk associated with the bacteria was analysed with regard to their susceptibility to antibiotics. Samples were collected from surface water and water falling down directly from waterfalls of river within the community resort. The samples collected were plated onto Eosine Methylene Blue agar (EMBA) for the isolation of the Enterobacteriaceae. Bacterial colonies growing on the agar were randomly picked, purified, stocked and then identified using API 20E identification kit. DNA fingerprinting using (GTG)5-PCR was utilised to determine their genetic profiles before the isolates were grouped into a dendrogram using RAPDistance software package. The level of antibiotic susceptibility of the bacteria isolates was analysed using disc diffusion technique. This study confirmed the presence of Enterobacter, Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Pantoea and Serratia in the water samples with their single and multiple antibiotic resistance and susceptible characteristics. The dendrogram presented in this study shows genetic similarities and differences among the strains, suggesting while there is a potential for single distribution of a clone, there is also possibility of the distribution of different strains within species in the water environment. Therefore, awareness on the potential risk associated with genetically diverse intermediate and resistant enteric bacteria in the recreational water should be communicated to the public especially communities within the study area.
The data presented in this article were the basis for the study reported in the research articles entitled "Statistical assessment of experimental observation on the slug body length and slug translational velocity in a horizontal pipe" (Al-Kayiem et al., 2017) [1] which presents an experimental investigation of the slug velocity and slug body length for air-water tow phase flow in horizontal pipe. Here, in this article, the experimental set-up and the major instruments used for obtaining the computed data were explained in details. This data will be presented in the form of tables and videos.