The research on radiation induced mutation has been conducted as one of the promising method of plant breeding in Malaysia since 1980s. Nuclear Malaysia is leading research institute inMalaysia conducting plant mutationbreeding research. Gamma Greenhousefacility located in Nuclear Malaysiais one of the irradiation facilitiesto serve as a chronic irradiation facility for inducing mutation in various organisms including plants, fungi and microbes.Chronic irradiation refers to the exposure of materials at a lower dose rate over a long period of time. Previous studies have shown that this type of irradiation can minimize radiation damages to living materials and produces a wider mutation spectrum, therefore is very useful for trait improvements in irradiated organisms. Experiments on induce mutation using Gamma Greenhouse facility for crop improvement program have been conducted since its first operation in 2009. Various plant species including ornamental and herbal plants, food crops and industrial crops have been irradiated to improve their traits such as higher yield and biomass, pest and disease tolerance, higher bioactive compounds, longer bloom time and many others. Most of these crop improvement programs were done through collaborations with other agencies in Malaysia such as universities, research institutes and government departments. A number of publications on crop improvement using Gamma Greenhouse have been published inlocal and international journals as well as seminar presentations at national and international levels. The outputs from induced mutation via chronic radiation using Gamma Greenhouse could be of great interest for plant breeders dealing with improvement and development of new cultivars. This paper discusses the activities and achievement in plant breeding and improvement using Gamma Greenhouse Facility in Malaysia.
This review aims to present an overview of current research findings on the possible relationship between phonological awareness and visual-spatial skills among individuals with dyslexia. Narrative review of the relevant articles were obtained through computerized searches of databases such as PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC) and Google Scholar which included articles from SAGE, Taylor & Francis and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Press from the year 2000 to 2014. The key words were explored, both exclusively and in combination with each other, so as to provide a better understanding of the relationship between them among individuals with dyslexia. Although it is evident that there is a phonological deficit in individuals with dyslexia, however, it is inconclusive with regards to the visual-spatial deficit and strength. There is a consensus on the nature of phonological awareness skill deficits but not on the visual spatial abilities in dyslexia. In fact, the relationship between phonological awareness and visual spatial abilities in dyslexia is dependent on the area of visual ability measured.
Local exhaust ventilation (LEV) is used in industries to capture contaminants such as gases, dusts, mists, vapours or fumes out of workstations to protect occupants’ exposure to contaminants. LEV is allocated and installed by employers, however it doesn’t work accordingly. LEV design is often overlooked and underappreciated. Effectiveness of LEV system can be achieved if more attention is focused to proper design of LEV system. To solve this issue, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can be performed. CFD is a software tool to predict and simulate fluid dynamic phenomena. CFD is used to forecast or reconstruct the behaviour of an engineering product under assumed or measure boundary conditions. However, CFD is just a prediction tool, which can lead to inaccuracy of predicting airflow due to problems with pre-processing, solver and post-processing with parameter from actual experimental results. Therefore, validation is needed to help minimizing percentage error of CFD methods. In this research, measurements of airflow parameter of LEV system at National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Bangi, Selangor were conducted. Control Speed panel found at NIOSH Bangi, which is used to increase or decrease speed of fan, was performed using Control Speed of 20%, 40% 60% and 80%. Upon validation, average absolute error obtained from four different control speeds ranges from 3.372% to 4.862%. Validity of CFD modelling is acceptable, which is less than 5% and good agreement is achieved between actual experimental results and CFD simulation results. Therefore, it can be concluded that CFD software tool can be performed to simulate air velocity in LEV system. CFD methods can save labour costs and time consumption when it is used during earliest stage of LEV design, before actual construction is implemented. The outcome of this paper can be used as a baseline for factories equipped with LEV system to protect occupants’ exposure to contaminants.
12 months ago the first Neuroscience special issue of the Malaysia Journal of Medical Sciences was born with the intention to increase the number of local publication dedicated to neurosciences. Since then many events happened in the neuroscience world of Malaysia, those considered major were the establishment of a Neurotechnology Foresight 2050 task force by the Academy of Medicine Malaysia as well as the launching of Malaysia as the 18th member to join the International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility on the 9th October 2015 which was officiated by the Deputy Ministers of Higher Education, Datuk Mary Yap.
Melioidosis is endemic in the South Asian regions, like Thailand, Singapore Malaysia and Australia. The disease is more pronounced in the southern part of the country. It is caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei which causes systemic involvement, morbidity and mortality associated with the disease is high. Due to highly varied clinical presentation, and low general awareness this infection is largely underdiagnosed and under reported in our country. Most laboratories in the country still rely on conventional culturing methods with their low sensitivity, adding to the under reporting. To enhance physician awareness we describe here two cases who presented to our institute after months of misdiagnosis.
Introduction: Heavy metals and other contaminants in food have been a concern to food industries, consumers and governing authorities. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of heavy metals and other elements in edible bird nests (EBNs). Methods: Raw and processed (commercial) EBNs were used in the study. Raw EBNs were collected directly from five house farms in Peninsular Malaysia - Kuala Sanglang (Kedah), Pantai Remis (Perak), Kluang Gohor), Kota Bharu (Kelantan) and Kajang (Selangor). Processed EBNs were pmchased from five Chinese traditional medicinal shops located in Peninsular Malaysia. The levels of 32 elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and findings of the study were compared to the maximum regulatory limits set by the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM) for EBNs. Results: Of the seven elements with maximum regulatory limits (As, Cd, Pb, Hg, Sn, Cu, Fe), one raw EBN was detected with mercury level of 70.180 ppb which was above the SIRIM permissible limit of 50 ppb. All the EBNs had iron levels above the SIRIM permissible limit of 30 ppb. The levels of the other 25 elements with no maximum regulatory limits (Ca, Mg, Na, K, P, Co, Cr, Mn, Mo, Se, Zn, Ag, Ba, Be, Bi, B, Li, Ni, Sb, Sr, Ti, U, V, Al, Zr) were also determined. Conclusion: The data obtained for the 25 elements with no permissible limits can serve as baseline data for further studies to establish their maximum regulatory limits.
Microsatellite markers associated with blast resistance genes were used to study the polymorphism and genetic relationship among 20 Malaysian upland rice and four varieties from the
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Collection. Among the 11 microsatellite markers used, 10 were polymorphic (90.91%). Only RM313 showed monomorphic pattern. The genetic distances
ranged from 0 to 0.833. The lowest genetic distance was found between Ambas and Babayau. The highest genetic distance was found between Kedinga and Gulfmont. The average genetic
distance is 0.478. A dendrogram generated using genetic distance classified all 24 rice samples into 15 clusters. However, there were no well defined groupings. Further research is needed to verify the existence of the blast resistance genes among these Malaysian upland rice samples.
This study was conducted for the development of the green protection garments. For this purpose, laminate composite material was developed from Kevlar 29-ramie-unsaturated polyester resin. The aim of this study was to develop a solid body armour that meets the specific requirements of ballistic resistance. This composite is subjected to high impact loading. The target was shot using gas gun machine that is supported by camera hardware to capture the projectile speed. In order to achieve the goal of the research, several experiments were conducted with the aim to estimate the ballistic limit, maximum energy absorption, composite failure mode, life time rupture, target geometry, and environmental effect. The results of these experiments indicated that the maximum ballistic limit validated at impact speed is in the range of 250 m/s to 656.8 m/s for the second protection level. The targets are improved in term of the impact response with the increase in the relative humidity, i.e. the range of 50% ± 20%, whereas, reduction of resistance results in the increase of temperature. The range of temperatures was between 20oC and 70oC. A limited delamination was generated under multiple shots. Targets geometry plays a major role in increasing the impact response. Hence, the results present a high resistant impact for pairs from the panels with total thickness arrived to 15
mm ± 3 mm. This body armour is one of the most economical armour products, in which common materials are used in its production, particularly to reduce the amount of Kevlar, and this could further lead to a decrease in its production cost. On the other hand, this armour meets the ballistic threats under 623 m/s of 15 mm ± 3 mm target thickness and 837.5 m/s of 25 mm ± 2.mm. Thus, the armour is equivalent to the third level of protective ballistic limits in the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) standards.
The ability to objectify ballistic evidence is a challenge faced by firearms examiners around the world. A number of researchers are trying to improve bullet-identification systems to address deficiencies detailed within the National Academy of Science report (2009). More recently focus has turned to making use of more sophisticated imaging modalities to view entire regions of the projectile and the development of automated systems for the comparison of the topographical surfaces recorded. Projectiles from a newly bought air pistol with 0.177 calibre pellets (unjacketed), fired series of 609 pellets were examined using an optical microscope. A mathematical methodology was developed to pre-process the resultant topographical maps generating point data for comparison, analysed using the principal component analysis (PCA). In most cases limited to reasonable success was achieved. The objective method still requires an operator to identify the Land Engraved Areas to be scanned, however the mathematical alignments were objectively achieved. The PCA results illustrated that the striation marks were neither exclusive nor specific to the LEA regions but rather crossed over regions. This study also proves that a single weapon does not necessarily leave identical marks of projectiles on its surface.
Over the years, the emphasis on research practices in healthcare has received more recognition than the emphasis on teaching practices. Also, in contrast to the strong focus on aligning care-giving practices with evidence of effectiveness; aligning educational practices with evidences of effectiveness has continued to be neglected. This creates a chasm that hinders the delivery of effective health practices. Many challenges in the current healthcare delivery system warrant a call for a revamp of health professionals' education, and for a greater focus in effective teaching, assessment and supervision. This paper highlights the current challenges in health professional education (as revealed by the Institute of Medicine, IOM, 2003). It focusses on five key issues for promoting teaching excellence, and supports the move for new lecturers to be educationally trained so that 'teaching for learning' becomes current, effective and enjoyable. More importantly, the vision for health professional education that "all health professionals are educated to deliver patient-centred-care as members of an interdisciplinary team, emphasising evidence-based practice, quality improvement approaches, and informatics" can be attained. This vision has important implication for medical lecturers as it means they have to be better educated to teach in order to be prepared to meet the demands of a reformed healthcare system.
Erwinia mallotivora was isolated from papaya trees infected with dieback disease, which were planted at the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI), Malaysia. Here, we report a draft genome sequence of E. mallotivora BT-MARDI, which offers an important source of information for understanding pathogen and host interaction during papaya dieback development.
Termites encompass a various range of destruction of crops and capable of decomposing woods. The widely being used of hazardous chemical pesticides has develop many health problems to the users. Hence, the aim of this study was to substitute the use of hazardous chemical pesticides to herbs based pesticides as repellent agent against rubber termites (Coptotermes curvignathus), which is safer and easier to use. The selected herbs species for this study are lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), garlic (Allium sativum) and wild mint (Mentha arvensis). As for C.curvignathus, they were obtained from Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Kepong, Selangor, Malaysia. Khaya wood (Khaya senegalensis) (3cm x 2cm x 2cm) is the woods sample that being used. All woods samples were treated with all the selected herbs extract. The repellent testing was conducted for 21 days. The result obtained showed that the three herbs were effective to be used as repellent when compared to percentage weight loss of control, which is 23.58%. The percentages of weight loss of treated groups using aqueous extraction of herbs were 0.61% (lemongrass), 1.56% (mint), and 1.72% (garlic), whereas for methanol extraction of herbs were 0.52% (lemongrass), 1.13% (mint) and 1.55% (garlic). From Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), there is significant different in mean among group with F=275.49, p- value=0.000
The roles of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and functionalised multiwalled carbon nanotubes (fMWNTs) in enhancing the efficacy of urea fertilizer (UF) as plant nutrition for local MR219 paddy variety was investigated. The MWNTs and fMWNTs were grafted onto UF to produce UF-MWNTs fertilizer with three different conditions, coded as FMU1 (0.6 wt. % fMWNTs), FMU2 (0.1 wt. % fMWNTs) and MU (0.6 wt. % MWNTs. The batches of MR219 paddy were systematically grown in accordance to the general practice performed by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI). The procedure was conducted using a pot under exposure to natural light at three different fertilization times; after a certain number of days of sowing (DAS) at 14, 35 and 55 days. Interestingly, it was found that the crop growth of plants treated with FMU1 and FMU2 significantly increased by 22.6% and 38.5% compared to plants with MU addition. Also, paddy treated with FMU1 produced 21.4% higher number of panicles and 35% more grain yield than MU while paddy treated with FMU2 gave 28.6% more number of panicles and 36% higher grain yield than MU, which implies the advantage of fMWNTs over MWNTs to be combined with UF as plant nutrition. The chemical composition and morphology of UF-MWNTs fertilizers which is further characterised by FTiR and FESEM confirmed the successful and homogeneous grafting of UF onto the fMWNTs.
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.
This paper reports the infestation of psocid, Liposcelis bostrychophila Badonnel (Psocoptera: Liposcelidae) in the insect museum at Medical Entomology Unit, Institute for Medical Research, Kuala Lumpur. These tiny organisms were recognised as museum insect pest and found frequently in the insect boxes containing mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches and butterflies. They feed on dead insect specimens and cause severe physical damages to the valuable reference specimens collected in the early 20th century. Hence, it is important to control their population immediately to prevent them from causing further deterioration to the museum collection.
Malaysia is currently poised to introduce its Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy and Act to bolster the nation's efforts at economic and social transformation. In championing this initiative, the Academy of Sciences Malaysia, while continuing to advise the Government on STI issues of the day, has made major strides in taking stock of the country's STI strengths in the various sectors of the economy as well as weaknesses that need to be addressed in terms of human capital development. In this article, the author examines the level of research expertise presently in the country in the field of chemistry, and elaborates on the four key areas of energy, catalysis and chemical synthesis, materials science and biological chemistry which will be researched globally in the next few decades that we would also need to be engaged upon to remain competitive. Intended for a wider audience than chemists alone, the descriptive sections in the article by and large belie an interdisciplinary flavour. The article also advocates the need for a more thorough road mapping exercise of the STI efforts in chemistry across the spectrum of academia and industry and makes some recommendations towards forging strong collaborations in research between the universities, public research institutes and the industry which are seen as vital in providing cross-cutting chemical solutions throughout the value chains and to the success of technologies identified as critical to the nation.
People can work wonders without a room. Rooms make people think within a box, and people who are not confined within a room can wonder while thinking and solve problems as they see them in the environment. The dearth in the growth of professionals trained in the neurosciences who will use neurotechnology in the future is a dire situation facing Malaysia, according to the Academy of Sciences Malaysia's 2017 Emerging Science, Engineering and Technology (ESET) study. Further, this human resource needs to be fundamentally cultivated at schools from a very young age. The author describes the activities that have taken place in the country via a bottom-up approach over the last two years and hopes that eventually these endeavours will end with the creation of an ASEAN Brain, Mind, Behaviour and Neuroscience Institute for Creativity and Innovation being established with the full support of the Government of Malaysia or other local and international financial donors.