Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 27 in total

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  1. Nik Nur Syafika Pahri, Nur Huda Syazwani Jafri, Husna Ahmad Tajuddin, Yusilawati Ahmad Nor
    MyJurnal
    Effective treatment of wastewater is crucial in order to achieve a sustainable development. For instance, highly efficient treatment processes with low capital requirements are the major prerequisite for implementation of the advanced wastewater treatment operations. Among various available treatment methods, the application of coagulation-flocculation process by using natural coagulant; chitosan has vast advantages such as low operating cost, environmental friendly and highly effective in the wastewater treatment operations. The application of nanotechnology in numerous treatment techniques are considered as the most significant advances in water and wastewater treatment practices. The utilization of magnesium oxide (MgO) as nano-adsorbent has recently gained attention as a potential treatment method in water remediation particularly for treating effluents with high amount of organic dyes and heavy metals due to its high treatment efficiency, low cost, versatility and environment compatibility. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of coagulation-flocculation process when using novel coagulant in which MgO coated with chitosan by investigating the percentage removal of several significant parameters which were turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and suspended solid. The removal efficiencies were determined throughout a series of experiments carried out using a standard jar test procedure in which three different coagulants; chitosan, MgO coated with chitosan and MgO were tested on water samples taken from Sg. Pusu. In addition, a set of experiments was designed using response surface methodology (RSM) in order to optimize adsorption of chitosan into MgO. The experiments were conducted at various concentrations of chitosan (10-30 mg/ml) and selected MgO dosage ranges (10-30 mg). From the obtained results, it was found that chitosan-MgO coagulant has good removal efficiencies of turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and suspended solids at 92%, 91%, and 98% respectively from the optimization of adsorption of chitosan-MgO. The MgO coated with chitosan is the best coagulant in this study compared to chitosan and MgO alone because of the ability of treating the river water with up to 90 % removal for all the main parameters. The results showed that coagulation-flocculation is effective as a treatment for treating river water.
  2. Fathin Nadhirah Binti Kamal Ariffin, Yusilawati Ahmad Nor, Sarina Sulaiman, Nur Ayuni Jamal
    MyJurnal
    This paper addresses the treatment of waste engine oils (WEO) by acid/clay refining method using glacial acetic acid. An optimization of the process parameters in terms of settling time, stirring speed and mixing temperature for treating the WEO was performed using Response Surface Methodology to improve the quality of treated lubricating oil. The quality of the treated WEO (Castrol brand) was evaluated in terms of viscosity index and flash point value. The treated fuel quality is found to have about 95% similarity to the fresh oil used as a standard at the settling time of 24 hours, temperature of 50 °C and mixing speed of 150 rpm. Analysis of variances (ANOVA) showed that settling time plays the most significant parameters of the process followed by the mixing temperature. Solid contaminants which were collected after the treatment were analyzed using SEM-EDS. They contained rough heteregenous shaped particles with elements such as carbon (97%), calcium (1.12%), zinc (0.74%), sulphur (0.73%) and phosphorus (0.29%). Then, four different brands of WEO (Liqui Moly, Castrol, Shell and Pennzoil) were treated at the optimized conditions to determine the feasibility of the method to treat any brands of WEO. It can be concluded that the optimized treatement method is suitable to treat most of WEO. The findings of this study provide the information on the best process condition for treating WEO as well as the solid contaminants present in it.
  3. Nur Shazweena Samsudin, Jami, Mohammed Saedi, Kabbashi, Nassereldeen Ahmed
    MyJurnal
    sugar industry is one of the industries that produce a high amount of
    pollutant since its wastewater contains high amount of organic material, biochemical
    oxygen demand (bod) and chemical oxygen demand (cod). if this waste is
    discharged without a proper treatment into the watercourse, it can cause problem to aquatic
    life and environment. for the primary treatment process, sugar wastewater can be treated
    by using chemical precipitation method which involves coagulation process. currently,
    ferric chloride has been used as the coagulant but it consumes more alkalinity and
    corrosive. in this study, the suitable coagulant to be used to treat the wastewater from sugar
    industry and the optimum conditions to achieve high percentage removal of cod was
    determined. the characteristic of the wastewater was firstly determined. then, the most
    suitable coagulant to be used for the treatment was studied by determining their efficiency
    to reduce cod and tss in the wastewater at different dosages. aluminium sulphate
    (alum), ferric chloride and polyaluminium chloride (pac) were chosen to be studied for
    suitable coagulant. The optimum condition of the coagulant (ph, coagulant dosage, fast
    mixing speed) was determined by using design expert software. results showed that alum
    can be used to effectively remove 42.9% of cod and 100% of tss at high dosage (50
    mg/l). the optimum condition of alum was at ph 5.2, 10 mg/l of alum and 250 rpm of
    mixing speed. this shows that at optimum condition, alum can be used to treat wastewater
    from sugar industry.
  4. Norhidayah Salleh, Jami, Mohammed Saedi, Dzun Noraini Jimat
    MyJurnal
    The utilization of agroindustry wastes such as sugarcane bagasse (SCB) for
    cellulase production could help to reduce the problem of lignocellulosic wastes. Thus, this
    study aimed to use the sugarcane bagasse as a substrate in the production of fungal
    cellulases via solid-state fermentation of Aspergillus niger. The variables of solid-state
    fermentation condition of A. niger such as sugarcane bagasse particle size (400 and 600
    µm), inoculum size (2% (v/v) and 5% (v/v), medium pH (5 and 7), and fermentation time (5
    and 15 days) were screened using two-level factorial design (Design expert software, StatEase Inc., Version 8.0). Filter paper activity (FPA) was determined to quantify the
    produced enzymes activity. The observation on the structure and physicochemical changes
    of SCB before and after SSF using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical
    microscope was also conducted. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows that the significant
    parameters of SSF that affected the cellulose production were particle size of SCB and
    inoculum size–pH interaction.
  5. M. Hafiz Fazren Abd Rahman, Wan Wardatul Amani Wan Salim, M. Firdaus Abd-Wahab
    MyJurnal
    The steep rise of cases pertaining to Diabetes Mellitus (DM) condition among global population has encouraged extensive researches on DM, which led to exhaustive accumulation of data related to DM. In this case, data mining and machine learning applications prove to be a powerful tool in transforming data into meaningful deductions. Several machine learning tools have shown great promise in diabetes classification. However, challenges remain in obtaining an accurate model suitable for real world application. Most disease risk-prediction modelling are found to be specific to a local population. Moreover, real-world data are likely to be complex, incomplete and unorganized, thus, convoluting efforts to develop models around it. This research aims to develop a robust prediction model for classification of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), with the interest of a Malaysian population, using three different machine learning algorithms; Decision Tree, Support Vector Machine and Naïve Bayes. Data pre-processing methods are utilised to the raw data to improve model performance. This study uses datasets obtained from the IIUM Medical Centre for classification and modelling. Ultimately, the performance of each model is validated, evaluated and compared based on several statistical metrics that measures accuracy, precision, sensitivity and efficiency. This study shows that the random forest model provides the best overall prediction performance in terms of accuracy (0.87), sensitivity (0.9), specificity (0.8), precision (0.9), F1-score (0.9) and AUC value (0.93) (Normal).
  6. Nuriah Mohamad, Azlin Suhaida Azmi, Fathilah Ali, Mohamad Firdaus Omar
    MyJurnal
    Sulfur has been highly sought by many industries everywhere around the world for various applications. This exceptionally useful element has been largely manufactured especially in powder form each year reflecting its increase in demand in line with technological advancement and uses for various product applications. The manufacturing processes include mining as well as chemical reactions in Claus Process. Rubber industries normally use abundance of sulfur in their latex compound to introduce vulcanization. The geneal concern of sulfur for rubber vulcanization is dispersibility in the rubber matrix due to improper optimization of its preparation process prior to latex compounding. Another crucial issue is crystallization of soluble sulfur from its insoluble origin, either during or post-rubber vulcanization that constitutes to formation of sulfur bloom that grows on the surface of the rubber articles. It is known that both issues are related to the process conditions and compounding recipe that could not be fully solved. Various studies have been conducted to minimize such occurences – from process optimization to sulfur chemistry itself – and of continuous improvement and innovation to solve various threats in sulfur applications. This paper reviews on detailed description on elemental sulfur, of respective industrial applications, and most importantly highlights on sulfur trends and issues normally encountered.
  7. Almakki, Asma, Mirghani, Mohamed E.S., Kabbashi, Nassereldeen A.
    MyJurnal
    Citric acid (CA) has a high demand due to its various uses in the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, the natural supply of CA is minimal compared to its growing industrial demand. The increasing demand for CA can be fulfilled by using biotechnological processes. This study utilized liquid state bioconversion by Aspergillus niger for CA production using sugarcane molasses as the primary substrate. Sugarcane molasses which is agricultural waste consists of significant proportion of organic matters such as lipids and carbohydrates. This makes sugarcane molasses as a potential and alternative source of producing CA at a lower cost. In this study, statistical optimization was applied to improve CA production using submerged fermentation in shake flasks. Aspergillus niger was cultured in potato dextrose agar. Then, inoculum spores were introduced into the fermentation media for a specific duration according to the experimental design from Central Composite Design (CCD) tool under Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in Design Expert 6.0 software. Three parameters were chosen to be optimized at 32⁰C i.e.agitation rate (160, 80, 200 rpm), substrate concentration (47, 60, 73%) and fermentation time (24, 72, 120 h). High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) analyses were conducted to measure CA yield. The optimization study showed that the media incubated for 72 hours with a substrate concentration of 60% and an agitation speed of 180 rpm produced the highest CA yield(21.2 g/L).The analysis of variance (ANOVA) also showed that CCD quadratic model was significant with P-value< 0.0104 and R2is0.8964.
  8. Dzun Noraini Jimat, Istisyhad Mohamad, Azura Amid, Azlin Suhaida Azmi, Mohd Firdaus Abd. Wahab
    MyJurnal
    Cellulose facial masks have gained a huge interest in the cosmetic industry. Cellulose can be extracted from plant biomass, bacteria and algae. In this study, several formulated PVA-based facial masks (F1, F2, F3, F4) incorporated with microfibrillated cellulose extracted from sugarcane bagasse (MFC-SCB) were prepared. The concentration of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was varied (5%–20% (w/w)) while the concentration of microfibrillated cellulose of sugarcane bagasse (MFC-SCB) was fixed at 5% (w/w) to get the appropriate composition of the facial masks. The MFC-SCB was
    extracted through chemical treatment assisted with ultrasonication. Sensory tests in terms of adhesion to the skin, spreadability, color, odor, and drying time were performed. These tests were carried out by requesting the volunteers to rate the performance of the masks. The results showed that the formulated facial mask F3 (15% [w/w] of PVA and 5% [w/w] of MFC-SCB) has the highest average score (13.9) which is 82% from the total score compared to other formulated masks. However, the standard formulation mask F5 (15% [w/w] of PVA and 5% [w/w] of sodium carboxylmethyl cellulose, CMC) achieved the highest score (13.5) compared to F3 (12.5). The findings of this study proved that the presence of MFC-SCB with PVA has a competitive performance with the standard facial mask formulation.
  9. Barkat, Anumsima Ahmad, Jamal, Parveen, Azlin Suhaida Azmi, Noorbacha, Ibrahim Ali, Zulkarnain Mohamed Idris, Arbain, Dachyar
    MyJurnal
    A therapeutic approach for treating diabetes is to decrease thepost-prandial hyperglycaemia. This is done by retarding the absorption of glucose through the inhibition of carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes, α-amylaseand α-glucosidase, in the digestive tract. Inhibition of both enzymes helpsto reduce the glucose level in the blood of a diabetic patient. This study was aimed to investigate the production of α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitors from local fruit wastes (honeydew skin, banana peel, and pineapple skin) using solid state fermentation. Each of the fruit wastes was fermented with three different types of white rot fungus Phenarochaete chrysosporium(PC), Panus tigrinusM609RQY(M6) andRO209RQY(RO2)for 7 days. Sampling was carried out starting from day 4 to day 7 to determine the enzyme inhibition activity. The samples were extracted using water prior to enzyme analysis. Most of the fruit samples showed varying degree of percentage inhibition activity depending on the sampling time. Extract of fermented banana peels with RO2 on day 4 showed the higherα-glucosidase inhibition (56.57±0.32%), followed byhoneydew extract fermented with the same fungus on the same day (39.68±0.05%). Extracts of each fruit wastesample fermented with PCshowed the least α-glucosidase inhibition (below 15%). Meanwhile for α-amylase inhibition activity, the extract from fermented honeydew skins with PCon day7 showed the highest inhibition activity i.e.98.29±0.63%. The least inhibition activity (43.37±0.54%) was observed in the extract from honeydew skins fermented withM6 on day 5. All positive resultsshowed that fruit wastes could be the alternative sourcesfor antidiabetic agent especially for α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitors.
  10. Nor Fadhillah Mohmaed Azmin, N Shofia A’yun Syafie, Azlin Suhaida Azmi, Mimi Fina Hamidon, Ani Liza Asnawi
    MyJurnal
    Sg. Papar is one of the rivers in Kota Kinabalu which is mainly used for water supply especially in Papar district. For the past years, many pollution cases concerning Sg. Papar have been reported which originated from various sources including pig farm, agricultural run-off and deforestation. These resulted in a frequent shutdown of the water treatment plants in Papar district leading to water supply disturbance and water supply deficiency in the affected area. The data utilized in this study were obtained from water quality tests performed on river water samples taken from Limbahau water treatment plant recorded from September 2013 to September 2016. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used in this study to analyze and correlate the physicochemical parameters with the water treatment plant shutdown. The results revealed that eight parameters (pH, alum, nitrate, TDS, DO, conductivity, colour and chloride) analysed in this study correlate with each other and the parameter that mostly caused the drastic change in the river water and as pollution index is turbidity. This study is critical for understanding the relationship between the water quality paramters and environmental issues.
  11. Ahmed, Moussa Mohamed, Nik Rashida Nik Abdul Ghani, Jami, Mohammed Saedi, Mirghani, Mohamed Elwathig Saeed, Md. Noor Salleh
    MyJurnal
    Boron has been classified as a drinking water pollutant in many countries. It is harmful to many plants, exceptionally sensible plants, and human health. Therefore, boron level needs to be decreased to 0.3 mg/L for drinking water and within 0.5 mg/L to 1 mg/L for irrigation water. In this study, various operational parameters namely pH, contact time and liquid/solid ratio were investigated to determine the potential of using date seed (or date pit or date stone) to remove boron from seawater. This study's main objective was to determine boron adsorption capacities of date seeds prepared by various methods (i.e., powdered, activated, acid-treated and defatted seed) by batch adsorption process using boron contaminated synthetic seawater. The process parameters of the selected biosorbent among the four date seed preparations methods were optimized. The surface characteristics were analyzed by using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The results showed that acid-treated date seed was the best biosorbent in terms of removing 89.18% boron from aqueous solution at neutral pH, liquid to solid ratio of 5 within 2 hours of reaction time at room temperature (25°C±2°C).
  12. Hosen, Md Sabuj, Mariatul Fadzillah Mansor, Ainoor Mariana Mohd Ali, Alam, Md. Zahangir
    MyJurnal
    Increasing population, urbanization and industrial activities have increased the amount of solid waste worldwide. Food waste (FW) and sewage sludge (SS) are some of the solid wastes. Co-digesting of both substrates may improve process stabilization to increase biogas production and overcome the nutrients imbalance. Thus, anaerobic co-digestion has been recognized as a technology that could provide a clean renewable energy source and help reducing the landfill problem. In this study, the interaction between FW and SS as co-substrates in anaerobic digestion was studied under mesophilic temperature 36C (± 0.5). The experiments were conducted using five batch reactors with different ratios of substrates. There are four different analyses used to identify the characteristics of FW and SS, which are pH, reducing sugar (RS), total solid (TS), and total carbohydrate (TC). Water displacement method was used to record biogas yield. The experimental results showed that the highest biogas yield was from the composition of 50:50 (FW: SS) with a biogas volume of 1150.14 mL, while the least was the composition of 0:100 (FW: SS) with 170.47 mL biogas produced. The results for substrate degradation showed that the composition of 100:0 (FW: SS) has the highest percentage degradation for reducing sugar with the percentage of 56%, while the minimum was 0:100 (FW: SS) with a percentage of 35%. Besides, for TC, the highest percentage of degradation was the composition 50:50 (FW: SS) with 84%, and the least was 0:100 (FW: SS) with 44%. This study proves that using FW and SS enhanced biogas production as well as reducing the current issues of waste disposal.
  13. Noor Illi Mohamad Puad, Muhammad Alif Sarji, Nur Alia M. Fathil, Muhammad Yusuf Abduh
    MyJurnal
    Citrus is one of the major commodities in many countries including Malaysia.
    However, production of citrus including Citrus suhuiensis (C. suhuiensis) is declining due to
    diseases and inability to withstand low temperatures. Plant cultures such as cell suspension have the
    potential in propagating disease-free and healthy Citrus fruits with value-added characteristics.
    However, studies related to C. suhuiensis is still scarce. Therefore, the growth kinetics of C.
    suhuiensis cell suspension culture was studied. Friable callus of C. suhuiensis which was induced
    from seeds was inoculated into MS medium with 30 g/L sucrose, 0.5 g/L malt extract and 2.0 mg/L
    2, 4-D for the cell suspension initiation. Several batch experiments using a few types of sugars
    (sucrose, glucose and fructose) were carried out. The cell dry weight (CDW) of C. suhuiensis was
    recorded for 30 days of culture period and residual sugars in the medium were analyzed using
    HPLC. Cells grown in 30 g/L sucrose achieved the highest CDW (9.559 g/L) with µmax equals to
    0.00512/h, compared to glucose and fructose. In addition, sucrose is the preferred carbon source
    with the highest uptake rate (0.213 g/L·h). Cells completely hydrolyzed sucrose into glucose and
    fructose after 5 days of inoculation. All sugars were completely utilized by C. suhuiensis cells after
    25 days. The kinetic growth parameters determined from batch experiments were then used for
    model simulation and verification in MATHCAD 15. After adjustments and refinement to the
    selected kinetic parameters, the model has fairly described and predicted the growth and sugars
    profile of C. suhuiensis cells. The proposed model can be used to predict sucrose hydrolysis, glucose
    and fructose formation from sucrose and their consumption by plant cells and also for larger scale
    of growth.
  14. Benbelgacem, Farah Fadwa, Bellag, Oualid Abdelkader, Soroodi, Fatemeh, Abdul Aziz Ahmad, Hamzah Mohd Salleh, Noorbatcha, Ibrahim Ali
    MyJurnal
    Biocatalyst should have sufficient and efficient activity for the intended
    biotechnological application. In the quest for novel biocatalyst, there is a need to have a
    genetic diversity either by finding it within the astronomically large number of possible
    candidates or to obtain it by bioengineering an existing gene supported by various
    bioinformatic and molecular engineering tools. Nowadays, it is well-known that a huge
    number of microorganisms is unculturable and poses great challenges to access biocatalysts
    from these microbes. Metagenomics is one of the methods widely applied to reach out
    maximum possible variants to “bioprospect” biocatalysts. On the other hand, other approaches
    are available to bioengineer enzymes by modifying the DNA sequence precisely based on the
    structure and the function information of the protein in the case of rational design, or by a
    brave creation of anarchic mutations of the DNA sequence with directed evolution method. In
    this regard, both approaches, whether to bioprospect or to bioengineer biocatalysts have
    advantages and disadvantages which will be discussed in this paper.KEY WORDS: Sugar
    industry wastewater; aluminium sulphate; primary treatment, ferric chloride; polyaluminium
    chloride
  15. Ahmad, Mani Malam, Abd. Aziz Mohd Azoddein, Jami, Mohammed Saed
    MyJurnal
    : Studies on bacterial growth pattern from the conventional approach are defective due
    to their failure to explain the interactions or simply the complementary effects of the factors
    influencing the bacterial growth. In this study, the individual and collaborative effects of
    Pseudomonas putida growth variables were evaluated using a 2-level fractional factorial design of
    experiment (FFDOE). The growth of the organism was found to respond remarkably to different
    concentrations of nutrient media (carbon source) and the other independent variables. Factorial
    models were developed from the experimental design to study the individual and interactive effects
    of the studied parameters on the response. The studied parameters and their levels were as follows:
    nutrient concentration (4-16 g/L), acclimatization time (24-72 hrs), agitation (140-200 rpm), and
    temperature (30-40oC). These parameters were statistically validated using analysis of variance
    (ANOVA) and the results revealed that the model terms were statistically significant with an Fvalue of 415.17 at P temperature > nutrient concentration versus temperature >
    agitation > nutrient concentration versus agitation. Based on the R
    2
    and the adjusted R
    2
    values of
    >95%, the estimated variables showed a high degree of relationship between the observed and the
    predicted values; thus, the predictive ability of the models was suggested. It could, therefore, be
    concluded that nutrient concentration, temperature, and agitation can greatly influence the growth
    of P. putida within a specific range.
  16. Nur Lisa Farhana Mohamad, Fathilah Binti Ali, Azlin Suhaida Azmi, Barre, Mohamed Soleiman, Hazleen Anuar
    MyJurnal
    The concern about our dependency on non-renewable resources and overwhelming environmental issues such as pollution caused by non-degradable packaging materials has prompted researchers to come up with alternatives to solve this problem. Thermoplastic polylactic acid (PLA) has been gaining interest due to its versatility and easy processability, thus this study was carried out to find out the properties of PLA reinforced with pineapple fibers. However, surface of the natural fibers need to be treated for better properties enhancement in the polymer matrices. Considering this, fibers were treated with 10% (w/v) concentration of potassium hydroxide (KOH) and then continued for mixing with PLA at a fixed ratio of plasticizer by using internal mixer, and then the composites were prepared into sheet via hot press. Characterization for the mechanical and morphological was conducted by using tensile testing and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. After the analysis, it is found that the surface treated pineapple fiber composite showed better elongation at break compared to untreated fiber composite. The enhance properties of PLA nanocomposites has potential to be used in various packaging materials.
  17. Nur Atikah Asman, Suriyea Tanbin, Fazia Adyani Ahmad Fuad
    MyJurnal
    Dengue disease, which is caused by dengue virus (DENV) has been a major worldwide concern, with increased number of cases each year. Currently, there are no specific medications to treat the disease. Hence, there is a dire need to develop novel drugs for disease treatment. Glycolysis is a metabolic pathway that serves as the main source of energy for DENV replication and targeting the pathway is one of the ideal approach to discover new anti-DENV drugs. This paper focuses on the inhibition of human hexokinase isoform 2 (HK2) enzyme, which is one of the important enzymes in glycolysis, in the quest to disrupt DENV replication. In order to search for potential inhibitors, two methods were conducted, which are ligand-based screening and structure-based screening approaches. Docking of Daidzin , which was derived from Kudzu, a Japanese plant, into the active site of HK2 has shown the nearest binding affinity score (-7.94 kcal/mol) to glucose‘s (GLC), which is -8.15 kcal/mol. Meanwhile, Ethyl (2R)-2-[[3-[2-[(4-methylbenzoyl) amino]ethyl]-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-b]pyridazin-6-yl]sulfanyl]butanoate (Ethyl 2(R)), a compound which is the analogue of ((22E, 24R)-6β-methoxyergosta-7, 9(11), 22-triene-3β,5α-diol) or compound 2 from Ganoderma sinense obtained from ligand-based screening was also docked into the binding site of HK2, showing a binding affinity score of -8.43 kcal/mol. Both docking was conducted by using AutoDock4 software at virtual screening phase. These compounds were further analysed in an inhibition assay to determine the effects of these potential naturally-derived inhibitors on the activity of HK2. The outcome from the inhibition studies showed that both compounds exhibited substantial inhibition on the activity of HK2 enzyme, where Daidzin, at 0.5 mM, resulted in HK2 remaining activity of 87.28%, while Ethyl (2R) resulted in 70.09% of HK2 remaining activity at 0.5 mM concentration. The results also indicate that as the concentration of these compounds increased, the percentage of remaining enzyme activity decreased. In conclusion, this study has served as a platform for the development of anti-dengue drugs based on naturally-derived compounds, which is anticipated to be a safer option for dengue treatment.
  18. Muhammad Nur Amir Azman, Yusilawati Ahmad Nor, Nur Husna Samsudin, Ma’an Fahmi Rashid Alkhatib, Yeow, Tshai Kim
    MyJurnal
    Carbon nanoparticles have been widely used in various applications. However, they are commonly known to have low dispersibility and chemical inertness which limit their practical ability in medical or biological area. Some studies have been performed to modify carbon nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes using ultraviolet (UV)-Ozone system. However, little is known on the effects of such system towards other types of carbon nanoparticles such as mesoporous hollow carbon nanoparticles (MHCNs). Thus, in this study, improvement of MHCNs physiochemical properties have been studied using UV-Ozone treatment for the first time. The treatment was conducted in water as dispersant agent at ozone flowrate of 1.0 L/min and exposure time of 45 min. SEM images observed that MHCNs morphology and surface structure remain intact after the treatment. Observations on the dispersibility of MHCNs in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution shows that the dispersibility was improved compared to the untreated ones. This was supported by the low Z-average and PDI values of treated MHCNs obtained at ~400 nm and 0.2, respectively when compared to the untreated MHCNs which was obtained at 970 nm and 0.417, respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed an increased in weight loss of treated MHCNs at the lower temperature compared to untreated MHCNs. Results from Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) showed an increase number of new functional groups that includes carboxylic acid group presence at the surface of treated MHCNs which contributes to the improvement of their dispersibility, thermal properties and chemical functionality. These findings opened a new possibility of using UV-Ozone treatment to improve physicochemical properties of MHCNs for medical area such as in drug delivery application in addition to their excellent storage and carrier system.
  19. Aburigal, Yasmin A. A., Elmogtaba, Elfadl Y., Sirible, Awatif M., Hamza, Nada B., Hussein, Ismail H., Mirghani, Mohamed E. S.
    MyJurnal
    Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is a very important food additive as well as for its therapeutic and cosmetic potential. The composition of essential oils in plants is affected by genetics and environmental conditions, which is determined by growth region and harvesting time in terms of ontogenetical variability. This study was carried out to assess the effect of plant ontogeny (pre-flowering, at flowering, fruiting) on essential oil content and chemical constituents for four sweet basil cultivated under irrigation conditions in the experimental farm of the National Oilseed Processing Research Institute (NOPRI), University of Gezira, Sudan. The essential oils were hydro-distilled from the leaves using Clevenger apparatus and the chemical constituents were determined by GC-MS. The results reveal that the essential oil yield content ranged from 0.1% to 0.2% at pre-flowering stage, whereas the oil content obtained at post-flowering stage was 0.1% for the investigated accessions. The highest essential oil content was recorded at flowering stage (0.2-0.5%), where the two Sudanese accessions had the maximum content (0.5%). The major chemical constituents, linalool, citral, methyleugenol, and eucalyptol reported at different developmental stages, punctuated between 5.73% and 32.93% in the four investigated accessions.
  20. Mohammed, Mohammed Omar Abdalqadir, Arabi, Sami Ahmed Mohammed, Mirghani, Mohamed E. S.
    MyJurnal
    This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary cottonseed oil (CSO) at
    different levels on broiler chickens. Dietary CSO was tested for energy supplementation values in
    poultry at levels 0, 3, 6 and 9% utilizing isonitrogenous (22.5% CP), semi-isocaloric (3100 Kcal/kg)
    rations and run in the experiment. Ninety-six seven-day old unsexed Ross-308 broiler chicks with
    an initial weight of 72.9 g were used for each experiment in a completely randomized design
    (4x4x6). Chicks were fed for 42 days. Supplementation with the oils improved performance
    (p>0.05) but CSO gave significant (p
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