In this study, activated carbon (AC) was prepared from agro-waste betel nut husks (BNH) through the chemical activation method. Different characterization techniques described the physicochemical nature of betel nut husks activated carbon (BNH-AC) through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and pH point of zero charge. Later, the produced AC was used for methylene blue (MB) adsorption via numerous batch experimental parameters: initial concentrations of MB dye (25-250 mg/L), contact time (0.5-24 hours) and initial pH (2-12). Dye adsorption isotherms were also assessed at three temperatures where the maximum adsorption capacity (381.6 mg/g) was found at 30 °C. The adsorption equilibrium data were best suited to the non-linear form of the Freundlich isotherm model. Additionally, non-linear pseudo-second-order kinetic model was better fitted with the experimental value as well. Steady motion of solute particles from the boundary layer to the BNH-AC's surface was the possible reaction dynamics concerning MB adsorption. Thermodynamic study revealed that the adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic in nature. Saline water emerged as an efficient eluent for the desorption of adsorbed dye on AC. Therefore, the BNH-AC is a very promising and cost-effective adsorbent for MB dye treatment and has high adsorption capacity.
Nine soil samples from nine buildings infested with Coptotermes gestroi in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, were tested for the type of soil texture. The soil texture analysis procedures used the hydrometer method. Four of nine buildings (44%) yielded loamy sand-type soil, whereas five of nine buildings (56%) contained sandy loam-type soil.
A total of 33 isolates of Fusarium sp. were isolated from soil samples collected from a mangrove forest in an area in Kampung Pantai Acheh, Balik Pulau, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. The isolates were isolated using soil dilution, direct isolation and debris isolation techniques. The debris isolation technique yielded the most isolates, with a total of 22 Fusarium isolates. Based on identification using morphological characteristics, three Fusarium species were identified: F. solani, F. oxysporum and F. verticillioides. F. solani (91%) was the most common species recovered from the mangrove soil samples, followed by F. oxysporum (6%) and F. verticillioides (3%).
Chironomus javanus (Kieffer) and Chironomus kiiensis Tokunaga were redescribed from materials collected from a rice field in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. The larvae can only be distinguished after careful preparation and examination using a compound microscope, but the pupae were not useful to differentiate C. javanus from C. kiiensis. The adult specimens showed clear body and wing characteristics for rapid and accurate identification.
The Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) and Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) are the only sea turtles with recorded landings in the Pulau Pinang coastal area. The Green Turtle has been the most abundant and widely distributed sea turtle in this area since it was first surveyed in 1995. Statistical analysis by the Pulau Pinang Department of Fisheries on the distribution of sea turtles from 2001 through 2009 has identified Pantai Kerachut and Telok Kampi as the most strongly preferred beaches for Green Turtle landings, with records for almost every month in every year. Green Turtle tracks and nests have also been found along the coast of Pulau Pinang at Batu Ferringhi, Tanjong Bungah, Pantai Medan, Pantai Belanda, Telok Kumbar, Gertak Sanggul, Moonlight Beach, Telok Duyung, Telok Aling, Telok Bahang and Telok Katapang. The Olive Ridley Turtle is present in smaller numbers; landing and nesting have only been recorded on a few beaches. There are no previous records of Olive Ridley landings at Pantai Kerachut and Telok Kampi, but tracks and nests have been found at Telok Kumbar, Tanjong Bungah, Pantai Medan, Telok Duyung and Gertak Sanggul. A Turtle Conservation Centre has been established at Pantai Kerachut to protect these species from extinction in Pulau Pinang. This paper presents details of the records and distribution of sea turtles in Pulau Pinang from 1995 through 2009.
Five new records of terrestrial and lithophytic orchid species were gathered from Penang Hill, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia namely Bulbophyllum depressum, Goodyera pusilla, Peristylus monticola, Podochilus microphyllus, and Zeuxine gracilis. Checklist of each species is provided and their distribution in Penang Hill is discussed.
Chironomus javanus (Kieffer) and Chironomus kiiensis Tokunaga were redescribed from materials collected from a rice field in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. The larvae can only be distinguished after careful preparation and examination using a compound microscope, but the pupae were not useful to differentiate C. javanus from C. kiiensis. The adult specimens showed clear body and wing characteristics for rapid and accurate identification.
Paederus fuscipes Curtis is a nocturnal insect. The attractiveness of artificial
light sources from residential premises eventually causes the risk of severe dermatitis
effect, once Paederus is in contact with human skin. The objective of this study is to
investigate whether the light and height factors of residential buildings and its’ association
to rice cultivation phases are primary reasons for P. fuscipes’s mass dispersal into human
residential areas. The study site was located in residential premises that were built
adjacent to rice field areas (≈ 32–60 m and 164 m) north of the rice field located in Teluk
Air Tawar, mainland of Pulau Pinang. Overall, both light sources and rice cultivation
phases caused a significant effect for P. fuscipes beetles dispersal flight to invade human
settlements. More P. fuscipes were captured near the bright light source with the highest
number of beetles found during harvesting stage. Whereas, significantly higher number of
P. fuscipes were captured at level 2 and 3 compared to ground and level 1 of the
apartment building and P. fuscipes was also found significantly affected by the rice
cultivation phases at different elevation levels. This indicates that bright light sources and
higher elevation levels are the main factors in attracting P. fuscipes beetles to disperse
and causes infestations in residential areas. This finding could create awareness among
the public on P. fuscipes dispersal pattern.
Activated carbons are regularly used the treatment of dye wastewater. They can be produced from various organics materials having high level of carbon content. In this study, a novel Pinang frond activated carbon (PFAC) was produced at various CO₂ flow rates in the range of 150-600 mL/min at activation temperature of 800°C for 3 hours. The optimum PFAC sample is found on CO₂ flow rate of 300 mL/min which gives the highest BET surface area and pore volume of 958 m²/g and 0.5469 mL/g, respectively. This sample shows well-developed pore structure with high fixed carbon content of 79.74%. The removal of methylene blue (MB) by 95.8% for initial MB concentration of 50 mg/L and 72.6% for 500 mg/L is achieved via this sample. The PFAC is thus identified to be a suitable adsorbent for removing MB from aqueous solution.
Betel quid and areca nut are known risk factors for many oral and oesophageal cancers, and their use is highly prevalent in the Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, betel quid and areca nut are associated with health effects on the cardiovascular, nervous, gastrointestinal, metabolic, respiratory, and reproductive systems. Unlike tobacco, for which the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control provides evidence-based policies for reducing tobacco use, no global policy exists for the control of betel quid and areca nut use. Multidisciplinary research is needed to address this neglected global public health emergency and to mobilise efforts to control betel quid and areca nut use. In addition, future research is needed to advance our understanding of the basic biology, mechanisms, and epidemiology of betel quid and areca nut use, to advance possible prevention and cessation programmes for betel quid and areca nut users, and to design evidence-based screening and early diagnosis programmes to address the growing burden of cancers that are associated with use.
Data from 100 Chinese, 50 Malay, and 50 Indian adults resident in 1980 in the greater urban area of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, indicate a heavy use of cigarettes among males of all ethnic groups, light use among female Chinese, and none among female Malay and Indian. Consumption of other tobacco products was important only among Indian males; chewing betal quid among Indian males and also among Malay and Indian females. Alcohol use is increasing among both sexes and all ethnic groups, but Chinese and Indian groups use alcoholic drinks more frequently and in larger quantity than Malay. Beer and liquor are the most common drinks.
Background: Areca nut (AN) and betel quid (BQ) chewing are ancient practices followed by an extensive proportion of the world's population. These practices are endemic in larger parts of South and Southeast Asia and selected Western Pacific countries. The prevalence of these habits varies across regions, age, gender, cultural practice, and socioeconomic status groups. Considerable variations exist between countries with respect to prevention/intervention programs, and policy guidelines of BQ usage. Objectives: (1) To provide an overview of the BQ chewing prevalence, practices, preventive interventions and policies in selected Asian and Western Pacific countries. (2) To explore the different terminologies associated with BQ use. Method: A narrative review of the current literature related to BQ, AN, and oral cancer was conducted by searching PUBMED, CINAHL, and GOOGLE databases. Results: The literature review revealed that the prevalence of BQ was found to be highest in Papua New Guinea, followed by Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. While, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan had comparatively lower prevalence. Smokeless tobacco, BQ with tobacco, BQ without tobacco, AN were some of the terminologies used for BQ in various studies. Conclusions: The prevalence, and the interventional policies related to BQ and AN chewing habits varies widely among the selected countries. With the increasing awareness and association of BQ with oral cancer, there is a need to have better awareness, prevention and interventional strategies in place. We also found considerable variation in the use of terminologies associated with BQ.
The whole mitochondrial genome of the pest fruit fly Bactrocera arecae was obtained from next-generation sequencing of genomic DNA. It had a total length of 15,900 bp, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes and a non-coding region (A + T-rich control region). The control region (952 bp) was flanked by rrnS and trnI genes. The start codons included 6 ATG, 3 ATT and 1 each of ATA, ATC, GTG and TCG. Eight TAA, two TAG, one incomplete TA and two incomplete T stop codons were represented in the protein-coding genes. The cloverleaf structure for trnS1 lacked the D-loop, and that of trnN and trnF lacked the TΨC-loop. Molecular phylogeny based on 13 protein-coding genes was concordant with 37 mitochondrial genes, with B. arecae having closest genetic affinity to B. tryoni. The subgenus Bactrocera of Dacini tribe and the Dacinae subfamily (Dacini and Ceratitidini tribes) were monophyletic. The whole mitogenome of B. arecae will serve as a useful dataset for studying the genetics, systematics and phylogenetic relationships of the many species of Bactrocera genus in particular, and tephritid fruit flies in general.
Salted fish is a locally processed raw food which is used in everyday cooking among Malaysians. Previous studies suggested that salted fish intake was a risk of nasopharyngeal cancer. Hence, this study was carried out to evaluate gene mutation effects through the induction of mutagenic effect of aqueous and methanol extracts of salted fish from Balik Pulau, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. Balik Pulau was chosen for sampling purpose due to its popularity as a commercial centre for local raw fisheries in Malaysia. Evaluation of mutagenic effect was carried out by hprt Gene Mutation Assay towards V79 lung fibroblast cells. It was found that the aqueous and methanol extracts of salted fish were not cytotoxic towards V79 lung fibroblast cells. It was also found that the extracts of salted fish from Balik Pulau were not mutagenic towards hprt gene of V79 lung fibroblast cells as the mutation frequency of the extracts did not exceed 3 times of the value for negative control mutation frequency. In conclusion, both aqueous and methanol extracts of salted fish from Balik Pulau did not have gene mutation effect towards hprt gene in vitro. However, other toxicological profile could be assessed to determine the mechanism of toxicity of salted fish.
The current work is an attempt to reduce friction coefficient of the treated betelnut fibre reinforced polyester (T-BFRP) composites by aging them in twelve different solutions with different kinematic viscosities. The test will be performed on a pin on disc (POD) wear test rig using different applied loads (5⁻30 N), different sliding distances (0⁻6.72 km) at sliding speed of 2.8 m/s subjected to a smooth stainless steel counterface (AISI-304). Different orientations of the fibre mats such as anti-parallel (AP) and parallel (P) orientations subjected to the rotating counterface will be considered. The worn surfaces were examined through optical microscopy imaging and it was found that the aged specimens had significantly lower damages as compared to neat polyester (NP) and the unaged samples. Besides, P-O samples revealed lower friction coefficients as compared to AP-O, i.e., reduction was about 24.71%. Interestingly, aging solutions with lower kinematic viscosities revealed lower friction coefficients of the aged T-BFRP composites when compared to the ones aged in higher kinematic viscosities.