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Studies on Ramulus ussurianus (Bey-Bienko, 1960) (Phasmida: Phasmatidae)

Storozhenko SY, Kim T

Zootaxa, 2021 Mar 10;4941(4):zootaxa.4941.4.8.
PMID: 33756926 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4941.4.8

The phasmid genus Ramulus Saussure, 1862 belongs to the nominotypical tribe of subfamily Clitumninae of the Phasmatidae. This genus consists of 159 species distributed in India (21 species), Sri Lanka (6 species), Bhutan (1 species), Myanmar (6 species), Thailand (1 species), Vietnam (12 species), Malaysia (4 species from Peninsular part and Borneo), Indonesia (18 species from Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, and Key islands), the Philippines (3 species), China including Taiwan (74 species), Japan (1 species), Korea (1 species), and Russia (1 species) (Brock et al., 2021). Three phasmid species have been described in the genus Baculum Saussure, 1861 from the Russian Far East, Korea and North-East China respectively (Bey-Bienko, 1960; Kwon et al., 1992; Chen He, 1994) and later transferred to the genus Ramulus (Otte Brock, 2005). As a result of detailed examination of the type specimens of Ramulus ussurianus (Bey-Bienko, 1960), additional material and descriptions of these species, it became clear that specimens from Russia, Korea and North-East China are conspecific.

Matched MeSH terms: Canes*
Fulltext Inertial Sensor-Based Instrumented Cane for Real-Time Walking Cane Kinematics Estimation

Fernandez IG, Ahmad SA, Wada C

Sensors (Basel), 2020 Aug 19;20(17).
PMID: 32825029 DOI: 10.3390/s20174675

Falls are among the main causes of injuries in elderly individuals. Balance and mobility impairment are major indicators of fall risk in this group. The objective of this research was to develop a fall risk feedback system that operates in real time using an inertial sensor-based instrumented cane. Based on inertial sensor data, the proposed system estimates the kinematics (contact phase and orientation) of the cane. First, the contact phase of the cane was estimated by a convolutional neural network. Next, various algorithms for the cane orientation estimation were compared and validated using an optical motion capture system. The proposed cane contact phase prediction model achieved higher accuracy than the previous models. In the cane orientation estimation, the Madgwick filter yielded the best results overall. Finally, the proposed system was able to estimate both the contact phase and orientation in real time in a single-board computer.

Matched MeSH terms: Canes
Fulltext Ornamental potted plant as air bio-filters for indoor environments

Mohd Mahathir Suhaimi Shamsuri, Leman, A.M., Azian Hariri, Azizi Afandi

Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 2016;13(2):1-8.
MyJurnal

The cultivation of indoor plants in indoor environment has become a topic of interest among researchers worldwide for its
potential to improve indoor air quality (IAQ). However, the adaptations of environmental factor of each plant need to be investigated
to correspond with the native environment. The study investigate the capability of plants selected to live indoor. Before experiment was
conducted, all plants selected were assimilated with indoor environment for two months. Photosynthesis proses in this experiment will
be a guidance to determine the comparative for every plant. The portable photosynthesis system equipment (LI-COR 6400) was used to
determine the level of photosynthesis rate for each of plants. Accordingly, among of all plants tested, Spider Plant showed less effective
to be grown with indoor environment by the rate of photosynthesis value up to -0.15. Moreover, light compensation point (LCP) of
Spider Plant also indicated the light intensity consumption was 2960 lux which is extremely higher than 300 lux. As a conclusion, only
six plants in this study which are Anthurium, Dumb Cane, Golden Pothos, Kadaka Fern, Prayer Plant, and Syngonium are able to
survive with indoor environment. In the next stage of study, this six plants may give good results to enhance the IAQ.

Matched MeSH terms: Canes
Physicochemical, antioxidant and microbial properties of fresh black stem sugarcane juice with addition of calamansi juice

Noor Afiqah Md Noor, Maizura Murad, Effarizah Mohd Esah

Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:2047-2054.

This study was designed to determine the physicochemical, antioxidant and microbial properties of fresh sugarcane juice
with calamansi juice addition. The sugarcane that was used in the experiments was the black cane variety (Saccharum
officinarum). Sugarcane pressed with and without their peel was juiced and added with calamansi juice before analysis
was carried out. Standard method was used to analyse physicochemical properties such as pH, total soluble solids,
acidity and colour of sugarcane juice. Total phenolic content (TPC), DPPH and FRAP assay were conducted for antioxidant
properties. Total plate count and yeast and mould count were carried out for the microbiological analyses. Two way
analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows significant (p<0.05) difference on colour of sugarcane juiced after extraction with and
without peel. There were no significant (p>0.05) difference shown for pH, acidity and total soluble solids of sugarcane
juice pressed with and without peel. Sugarcane juice pressed with peel produced higher antioxidant value compared
to sugarcane pressed without peel. However, sugarcane juice pressed without peeled showed a lower microbial count
compared to sugarcane juice pressed with peel. The addition of calamansi juice proved to have significant (p<0.05)
effect on colour, antioxidant and microbial count of the sugarcane juices.

Matched MeSH terms: Canes
Fulltext Evaluation of a Malaysian soy sauce koji strain Aspergillus oryzae NSK for γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) production using different native sugars

Hajar-Azhari S, Wan-Mohtar WAAQI, Ab Kadir S, Rahim MHA, Saari N

Food Sci Biotechnol, 2018 Apr;27(2):479-488.
PMID: 30263772 DOI: 10.1007/s10068-017-0289-6

In this study, a selected γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-rich Malaysian strain Aspergillus oryzae NSK was collected from soy sauce koji. The strain was used to explore the effect of using renewable native sugar syrup, sugarcane, nipa, and molasses as fermentable substrates for developing a novel functional GABA soy sauce. We evaluated the strain using the chosen native sugars for 7 days using shake flask fermentation at 30 °C. The results showed optimum GABA concentration was achieved using cane molasses as the fermentable substrate (354.08 mg/L), followed by sugarcane syrup (320.7 mg/L) and nipa syrup (232.07 mg/L). Cane molasses was subsequently utilized as a substrate to determine the most suitable concentration for A. oryzae NSK to enhance GABA production and was determined as 50% g/L of glucose standard cane molasses. Our findings indicate that cane molasses can be used as a GABA-rich ingredient to develop a new starter culture for A. oryzae NSK soy sauce production.

Matched MeSH terms: Canes
InWalker: smart white cane for the blind

Husin MH, Lim YK

Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol, 2020 08;15(6):701-707.
PMID: 31729282 DOI: 10.1080/17483107.2019.1615999

Background/Purpose: Visual impairment is a disability more commonly caused by diseases that lead to several disadvantages to the daily activities amongst those blind. For almost a century since the white cane was first introduced, the cane has remained as the most reliable tool for those affected by blindness.Methods: By using a combination of the capabilities of Internet of Things (IoT) and existing devices, such as mobile phones, an InWalker system is proposed to expand the functionality of the typical white cane, so as to introduce several new features that enhance the safety and confidence amongst people who are blind. As such, this paper explores the existing works and projects to comprehend the motivation and the standard practices for each proposed feature. Each of the strength and drawback has been assessed thoroughly to refine the scope of this project.Results: The proposed project, InWalker, is an intelligent system that has an embedded board system with various sensors to enhance the usability of white cane. The inputs from the sensor are processed on a microcontroller, which then pass the data to a smartphone via Bluetooth for additional features, such as global positioning system (GPS) tracking and SMS services.Conclusions: Based on the initial user testing, the proposed system has successfully fulfilled most of the users' need.Implication for RehabilitationVisual impairment is a disability more commonly caused by diseases that lead to several disadvantages amongst those blind.The white cane has been seen as the most reliable tool for the visual impaired.This tool could be further improved with the integration of additional sensors that works with today's mobile devices.The proposed system, InWalker, is able to improve the overall quality of life among people who are blind through several features: obstacle detection, GPS tracking and a light illumination in dark environments for increased safety.

Matched MeSH terms: Canes*
Fulltext Effects of acute and chronic gamma irradiation on in vitro growth of stevia rebaudiana bertoni

Norazlina Noordin, Rusli Ibrahim, Nur Hidayah Mohd Sajahan, Salmah Moosa, Sobri Hussein

Jurnal Sains Nuklear Malaysia, 2014;26(2):17-25.
MyJurnal

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is a perennial herb that belongs to the family of Asteraceae. It is a
natural sweetener plant known as sweet leaf, which is estimated to be 300 times sweeter than cane
sugar. In this study, micropropagation and in vitro mutagenesis of this natural herb was
successfully conducted. It was found that shoot tips on MS medium supplemented with 1 mg/l
Kinetin showed the highest shoot induction and multiplication after 3 weeks of culture
(5.50±1.95a). Radiosensitivity test was conducted to identify the dose that killed 50% of the
irradiated explants (LD50) for in vitro stevia shoots and to select effective doses to be used for the in
vitro mutagenesis. Shoot tips were irradiated with acute and chronic gamma radiation at 0, 10, 20,
30, 40, 60, and 80Gy. At 60 Gy and 80 Gy, all treated shoot tips were not survived. In this study,
LD50 for the stevia was estimated at 29 Gy for acute irradiation and 45 Gy for chronic irradiation.
The effective doses were selected at 10, 20, 30 and 40 Gy. These selected doses were applied for the
in vitro mutagenesis of the stevia shoots

Matched MeSH terms: Canes
A simple approach for rapid detection and quantification of adulterants in stingless bees (Heterotrigona itama) honey

Se KW, Ghoshal SK, Wahab RA, Ibrahim RKR, Lani MN

Food Res Int, 2018 03;105:453-460.
PMID: 29433236 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2017.11.012

In this study, we propose an easy approach by combining the Fourier transform infrared and attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy together with chemometrics analysis for rapid detection and accurate quantification of five adulterants such as fructose, glucose, sucrose, corn syrup and cane sugar in stingless bees (Heterotrigona itama) honey harvested in Malaysia. Adulterants were classified using principal component analysis and soft independent modeling class analogy, where the first derivative of the spectra in the wavenumber range of 1180-750cm-1 was utilized. The protocol could satisfactorily discriminate the stingless bees honey samples that were adulterated with the concentrations of corn syrup above 8% (w/w) and cane sugar over 2% (w/w). Feasibility of integrating FTIR-ATR with chemometrics for precise quantification of the five adulterants was affirmed using partial least square regression (PLSR) analysis. The study found that optimal PLSR analysis achieved standard error of calibrations and standard error of predictions within an acceptable range of 0.686-1.087% and 0.581-1.489%, respectively, indicating good predictive capability. Hence, the method developed here for detecting and quantifying adulteration in H. itama honey samples is accurate and rapid, requiring only 7-8min to complete as compared to 3h for the standard method, AOAC method 998.12.

Matched MeSH terms: Canes
Evaluating the Potential of Oleaginous Yeasts as Feedstock for Biodiesel Production

Mukhtar H, Suliman SM, Shabbir A, Mumtaz MW, Rashid U, Rahimuddin SA

Protein Pept Lett, 2018;25(2):195-201.
PMID: 29359654 DOI: 10.2174/0929866525666180122112805

BACKGROUND: Lipid-producing microorganisms, said to be oleaginous have been recognized since several years. We had investigated the effects of medium components and culturing situations on cell growth and lipid accumulation of oleaginous yeasts which were analytically examined so as to enhance lipid yield for biodiesel production.
OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study was to explore oleaginous yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica isolated from soil and optimization of culture conditions and medium components to obtained better quality microbial oil for biodiesel production.
METHODS: Fifty yeast strains were isolated from soil from different regions of Lahore and eleven of them were selected for oil production. The isolated yeast colonies were screened to further check their lipid producing capabilities by the qualitative analysis. Five yeast strains were designated as oleaginous because they produced more than 16% of oil based on their biomass. To estimate the total lipid content of yeast cells, the extraction of lipids was done by performing the procedure proposed by Bligh and Dyer. The transesterification of yeast oils was performed by using different methods. There were three different strategies customized to transesterifying microbial oil using base catalyzed transesterification, acid catalyzed transesterification and enzyme-based transesterification. After completion of transesterification, sample was used for fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) were analyzed by gas-chromatograph with ionization detector type MS.
RESULTS: The isolate IIB-10 identified as Yarrowia lipolytica produced maximum amount of lipids i.e. 22.8%. More amount of biomass was obtained when cane molasses was utilized as carbon source where it produced 29.4 g/L of biomass while sucrose and lactose were not utilized by IIB-10 and no biomass was obtained. Similarly, meat extracts showed best results when it was used as nitrogen source because it resulted in 35.8 g/L biomass of Yarrowia lipolytica IIB-10. The culturing conditions like size of inoculum, effect of pH and time of incubation were also studied. The 10% of inoculum size produced 25.4 g/L biomass at 120 h incubation time, while the pH 7 was the optimum pH at which 24.8 g/L biomass was produced by Yarrowia lipolytica IIB-10. GC-MS analysis showed that biodiesel produced by transesterification contained similar fatty acids as found in vegetable oil for this reason it is widely accepted feedstock for biodiesel production.
CONCLUSION: The analysis of fatty acids methyl esters showed the similar composition of microbial oil as in vegetable oils and high amount of methyl esters were obtained after transesterification. Therefore, potentially oleaginous yeast could be used to generate a large amount of lipids for biodiesel production that will be the better substitute of petroleum-based diesel and will also control the environmental pollution.

Matched MeSH terms: Canes