Widespread applications of phenol in manufacturing industries and oil refineries had resulted in unprecedented leakage of phenol into the environment, which can cause serious health effects such as tissue necrosis and cardiac arrhythmia upon contact or ingestion. Plants exposed to phenol had reduced seed germination index, inhibited growth or even fatality. There are many technologies currently practised to remediate phenol pollution such as physiochemical methods (adsorption to activated carbon and chemical oxidation), biological methods (biodegradation by bacteria or fungus, and soil bioaugmentation), and phytoremediation method (using hairy roots of plants). As physiochemical and microbial phenol degradation are destructive and costly, phytoremediation is widely studied as an alternative phenol remediator which is environmental friendly and cost effective. Microorganisms can detoxify the aromatic xenobiotic through the aerobic or anaerobic pathway. Aerobic degradation of phenol is through either the meta- or ortho-pathway of catechol cleavage while anaerobic degradation occurs through the benzoate pathway. In plants, degradation of phenol is also through catechol cleavage as in microorganisms. However, different enzyme systems were utilised in the different pathways involved.
Naturally, plant habitats are exposed to several potential effects of biotic and different abiotic environmental challenges. Several types of micro-organisms namely; bacteria, viruses, fungi, nematodes, mites, insects, mammals and other herbivorous animals are found in large amounts in all ecosystems, which lead to considerable reduction in crop productivity. These organisms are agents carrying different diseases that can damage the plants through the secretion of toxic-microbial poisons that can penetrate in the plant tissues. Toxins are injurious substances that act on plant protoplast to influence disease development. In response to the stress effect, plants defend themselves by bearing some substances such as phytoalexins. Production of phytoalexins is one of the complex mechanisms through which plants exhibit disease resistance. Several findings specifically on phytoalexins have widen the understanding in the fields of plant biochemistry and molecular biology. However, this review reports the interaction of toxins and phytoalexins in plant-pathogen cycle, research progress on the association of phytoalexins with plant disease resistance as well as the role of the phytoalexins in plant disease control.
Snakehead murrel, Channa striatus is an economically important aquatic species in Asia and are widely cultured and captured because of its nutritious and medicinal values. Their growth is predominantly affected by epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS) which is primarily caused by an oomycete fungus, Aphanomyces invadans. However, the molecular mechanism of immune response in murrel against this infection is still not clear. In this study, transcriptome technique was used to understand the molecular changes involved in C. striatus during A. invadans infection. RNA from the control (CF) and infected fish (IF) groups were sequenced using Illumina Hi-seq sequencing technology. For control group, 28,952,608 clean reads were generated and de novo assembly was performed to produce 60,753 contigs. For fungus infected group, 25,470,920 clean reads were obtained and assembled to produce 58,654 contigs. Differential gene expression analysis revealed that a total of 146 genes were up-regulated and 486 genes were down regulated. Most of the differentially expressed genes were involved in innate immune mechanism such as pathogen recognition, signalling and antimicrobial mechanisms. Interestingly, few adaptive immune genes, especially immunoglobulins were also significantly up regulated during fungal infection. Also, the results were validated by qRT-PCR analysis. These results indicated the involvement of various immune genes involved in both innate and adaptive immune mechanism during fungal infection in C. striatus which provide new insights into murrel immune mechanisms against A. invadans.
The filamentous spoilage fungi in vegetables can lead to significant impact in food and economic loss. In order to overcome this problem, chemical fungicide has been implemented in vegetable farming and processing but it causes problems towards environment and food safety. Thus, the utilization of natural products such as plants extracts, which exhibit antimicrobial and antifungal activity, is more acceptable to solve this problem. The aim of this study is to investigate the antifungal activity of Boesenbergia rotunda extract against ten filamentous spoilage fungi isolated from five vegetables. The extract was used to treat fungal isolates from vegetables; CRb 002 (Penicillium sp.), CHa 009 (Aspergillus sp.), TMa 001 (Geotrichum sp.), TMa 002 (Aspergillus sp), ONb 001 (Aspergillus sp.), WBb 003 and WBb 004 (Fusarium sp.) WBb 007 (unidentified), WBb 008 (Aureobasidium sp.) and WBb 010 (Penicillium sp.). The results showed that the yield of the extract of B. rotunda using ethanol (95%) was 11.42% (w/v). The 10% of B. rotunda extract exhibited antifungal activities against ten filamentous fungi after 5 days treatment with growth reduction of 41.56%, 30.68%, 86.20%, 50.62%, 26.67%, 47.44%, 50.74%, 36.39%, 42.86%, and 39.39% for WBb 008, WBb 004, WBb 007, WBb 003, CRb 002, WBb 010, CHa 009, TMa 001, ONb 001, and TMa 002, respectively. B. rotunda extract showed highest antifungal activity against fungi isolated from winged bean (WBb 007) with percentage reduction in growth was 86.20%, while the lowest activity was against fungi isolated from the carrot (CRb 002) with 26.67% reduction in growth. Generally, the TPC of fungi in the vegetable samples were reduced after treatment with 5% of B. rotunda extract at 5 min and 10 min of exposure time. The results suggested that B. rotunda extract has high potential to become natural food preservative which can reduce the fungi spoilage of vegetables.
In 2011, a severe gray leaf spot was observed on eggplant (Solanum melongena) in major eggplant growing areas in Malaysia, including the Pahang, Johor, and Selangor states. Disease incidence was >70% in severely infected areas of about 150 ha of eggplant greenhouses and fields examined. Symptoms initially appeared as small (1 to 5 mm diameter), brownish-black specks with concentric circles on the lower leaves. The specks then coalesced and developed into greyish-brown, necrotic lesions, which also appeared on the upper leaves. Eventually, the leaves senesced and were shed. Tissue cut from the edges of leaf spots were surface-sterilized in 1% NaOCl for 2 min, rinsed in sterilized water, dried, and incubated on potato dextrose agar (PDA). Fungal colonies were greyish green to light brown, and produced a yellow pigment. Single, muriform, brown, oblong conidia formed at the terminal end of each conidiophore, were each 21.6 to 45.6 μm long and 11.5 to 21.6 μm wide, and contained 2 to 7 transverse and 1 to 4 longitudinal septa. The conidiophores were tan to light brown and ≤220 μm long. Based on these morphological criteria, 25 isolates of the fungus were identified as Stemphylium solani (1). To produce conidia in culture, 7-day-old single-conidial cultures were established on potato carrot agar (PCA) and V8 juice agar media under an 8-h/16-h light/dark photoperiod at 25°C (4). Further confirmation of the identification was obtained by molecular characterization in which fungal DNA was extracted and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of ribosomal DNA amplified using primers ITS5 and ITS4 (2), followed by direct sequencing. A BLAST search in the NCBI database revealed that the sequence was 99% identical with published ITS sequences for two isolates of S. solani (Accession Nos. AF203451 and HQ840713). The amplified ITS region was deposited in GenBank (JQ736023). Pathogenicity testing of a representative isolate was performed on detached, 45-day-old eggplant leaves of the cv. 125066-X under laboratory conditions. Four fully expanded leaves (one wounded and two non-wounded leaflets/leaf) were placed on moist filter paper in petri dishes, and each leaflet inoculated with a 20-μl drop of a conidial suspension containing 1 × 105 conidia/ml in sterilized, distilled water (3). The leaves were wounded by applying pressure to leaf blades with the serrated edge of forceps. Four control leaves were inoculated similarly with sterilized, distilled water. Inoculated leaves were incubated in humid chambers at 25°C with 95% RH and a 12-h photoperiod. After 7 days, symptoms similar to those observed in the original fields developed on both wounded and non-wounded inoculated leaves, but not on control leaves, and S. solani was reisolated consistently from the symptoms using the same method as the original isolations. Control leaves remained asymptomatic and the fungus was not isolated from these leaves. The pathogenicity testing was repeated with similar results. To our knowledge, this is the first report of S. solani on eggplant in Malaysia. References: (1) B. S. Kim et al. Plant Pathol. J. 20:85, 2004. (2) Y. R. Mehta et al. Curr. Microbiol. 44:323, 2002. (3) B. M. Pryor and T. J. Michailides. Phytopathology 92:406, 2002. (4) E. G. Simmons. CBS Biodiv. Series 6:775, 2007.
Symptoms of gray leaf spot were first observed in June 2011 on pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants cultivated in the Cameron Highlands and Johor State, the two main regions of pepper production in Malaysia (about 1,000 ha). Disease incidence exceeded 70% in severely infected fields and greenhouses. Symptoms initially appeared as tiny (average 1.3 mm in diameter), round, orange-brown spots on the leaves, with the center of each spot turning gray to white as the disease developed, and the margin of each spot remaining dark brown. A fungus was isolated consistently from the lesions using sections of symptomatic leaf tissue surface-sterilized in 1% NaOCl for 2 min, rinsed in sterile water, dried, and plated onto PDA and V8 agar media (3). After 7 days, the fungal colonies were gray, dematiaceous conidia had formed at the end of long conidiophores (19.2 to 33.6 × 12.0 to 21.6 μm), and the conidia typically had two to six transverse and one to four longitudinal septa. Fifteen isolates were identified as Stemphylium solani on the basis of morphological criteria described by Kim et al. (3). The universal primers ITS5 and ITS4 were used to amplify the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS1, 5.8, and ITS2) of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of a representative isolate (2). A 570 bp fragment was amplified, purified, sequenced, and identified as S. solani using a BLAST search with 100% identity to the published ITS sequence of an S. solani isolate in GenBank (1). The sequence was deposited in GenBank (Accession No. JQ736024). Pathogenicity of the fungal isolate was tested by inoculating healthy pepper leaves of cv. 152177-A. A 20-μl drop of conidial suspension (105 spores/ml) was used to inoculate each of four detached, 45-day-old pepper leaves placed on moist filter papers in petri dishes (4). Four control leaves were inoculated similarly with sterilized, distilled water. The leaves were incubated at 25°C at 95% relative humidity for 7 days. Gray leaf spot symptoms similar to those observed on the original pepper plants began to develop on leaves inoculated with the fungus after 3 days, and S. solani was consistently reisolated from the leaves. Control leaves did not develop symptoms and the fungus was not reisolated from these leaves. Pathogenicity testing was repeated with the same results. To our knowledge, this is the first report of S. solani causing gray leaf spot on pepper in Malaysia. References: (1) S. F. Altschul et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 25:3389, 1997. (2) M. P. S. Camara et al. Mycologia 94:660, 2002. (3) B. S. Kim et al. Plant Pathol. J. 15:348, 1999. (4) B. M. Pryor and T. J. Michailides. Phytopathology 92:406, 2002.
Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is grown on approximately 20,000 ha in Taiwan. It is an economically important crop and the income of many fruit farmers comes primarily from mango production. During 2006 and 2007, a stem-end rot disease was observed 1 week after harvest on 28 to 36% of stored mangoes picked from six orchards in the Pingtung, Tainan, and Kaoshiung regions. Two popular mango cultivars, Keitt and Irwin, showed greater susceptibility to this disease, while 'Haden' was found to be moderately susceptible. In storage, symptoms initially appeared as light-to-dark brown lesions surrounding peduncles. Rot symptoms advanced slowly but eventually penetrated the mesocarp, which consequently reduced the commercial value of fruits. The fungus formed abundant pycnidia (0.1 to 0.6 mm in diameter) on infected fruits in advanced stages of symptom development. Pieces of symptomatic fruits plated on acidified potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated at 25 ± 1°C consistently yielded the same fungus. A single conidial isolate was cultured. Pycnidia developed on PDA after continuous exposure to light for 9 to 14 days. On the basis of morphological characteristics, the fungus was identified as Phomopsis mangiferae L. (2,3). Pycnidia released two types of conidia: α-conidia (5 to 10 × 2.3 to 4.0 μm) were hyaline and oval to fusoid; and β-conidia (15.0 to 37.5 × 1.3 to 2.5 μm) were hyaline and filiform with characteristic curves. Conidiophores were hyaline, filiform, simple or branched, septate, and 15 to 75 μm long. Cultures incubated under continuous fluorescent light (185 ± 35 μE·m-2·s-1) at 25°C for 3 days were used as inoculum for pathogenicity tests. Five fruits from 'Keitt' were wounded with a sterilized scalpel and each wound (2 × 2 × 2 mm) was inoculated with either a 5-mm mycelium agar plug or a 0.5-ml spore suspension (105 conidia per ml) of the fungus. Five wounded fruits inoculated with 5-mm PDA plugs or sterile water alone served as controls. Inoculated areas were covered with moist, sterile cotton. Fruits were enclosed in plastic bags and incubated at 24°C for 3 days. The test was performed three times. The same symptoms were observed on all inoculated fruits, whereas no decay was observed on control fruits. Reisolations from the inoculated fruits consistently yielded P. mangiferae, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. This disease has previously been reported in Australia, Brazil, China, Cuba, India, Malaysia, and the United States (1). To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. mangiferae causing stem-end rot disease on mangoes in Taiwan. Our report necessitates taking preventive strategies in the field, prior to or after harvest, to contain postharvest losses in mangoes. References: (1) G. I. Johnson. Page 39 in: Compendium of Tropical Fruit Diseases. R. C. Ploetz et al., eds. The American Phytopathological Society. St. Paul, MN, 1994. (2) R. C. Ploetz, ed. Page 354 in: Diseases of Tropical Fruit Crops. CABI Publishing. Wallingford, UK, 2003. (3) E. Punithalingam. No. 1168 in: Descriptions of Pathogenic Fungi and Bacteria. CMI, Kew, Surrey, UK, 1993.
Red-fleshed dragon fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus [Weber] Britton & Rose) is a newly introduced and potential crop in the Malaysian fruit industry. Besides its nutritious value, the fruit is being promoted as a health crop throughout Southeast Asia. In April of 2007, a new disease was observed in major plantations of H. polyrhizus throughout five states (Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, and Perak) in Malaysia with 41 and 25% disease incidence and severity, respectively. Stems of H. polyrhizus showed spots or small, circular, faint pink-to-beige necrotic lesions that generally coalesced as symptoms progressed. Symptom margins of diseased stem samples were surface sterilized with a 70% alcohol swab, cut into small blocks (1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 cm), soaked in 1% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCI) for 3 min, and rinsed in several changes of sterile distilled water (each 1 min). The surface-sterilized tissues were placed onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) and incubated under alternating 12-h daylight and black light for 7 days. A fungus was consistently isolated from the stems of symptomatic H. polyrhizus and identified as Curvularia lunata (Wakker) Beodijn (1-3) that showed pale brown multicelled conidia (phragmoconidia; three to five celled) that formed apically through a pore (poroconidia) in sympodially, elongating, geniculated conidiophores. Conidia are relatively fusiform, cylindrical, or slightly curved, with one of the central cells being larger and darker (26.15 ± 0.05 μm). All 25 isolates of C. lunata obtained from diseased H. polyrhizus are deposited at the Culture Collection Unit, Universiti Sains Malaysia and available on request. Isolates were tested for pathogenicity by injecting conidial suspensions (1 × 106 conidia/ml) and pricking colonized toothpicks on 25 healthy H. polyrhizus stems. Controls were treated with sterile distilled water and noncolonized toothpicks. All inoculated plants and controls were placed in a greenhouse with day and night temperatures of 30 to 35°C and 23 to 30°C, respectively. Development of external symptoms on inoculated plants was observed continuously every 2 days for 2 weeks. Two weeks after inoculation, all plants inoculated with all isolates of C. lunata developed stem lesions similar to those observed in the field. No symptoms were observed on the control plants and all remained healthy. C. lunata was reisolated from 88% of the inoculated stems, completing Koch's postulates. The pathogenicity test was repeated with the same results. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. lunata causing a disease on H. polyrhizus. References: (1) M. B. Ellis. Dematiaceous Hyphomycetes. Commonwealth Mycological Institute, Kew, Surrey, England, 1971. (2) R. R. Nelson and F. A. Hassis. Mycologia 56:316, 1964. (3) C. V. Subramanian. Fungi Imperfecti from Madras V. Curvularia. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 38:27, 1955.
Marine fungus Fusarium proliferatum derived from marine sponge collected along Pulau Tinggi, Malaysia was cultivated on Potato Dextrose Broth and incubated for 7 days at 30oC. The liquid cultures were then extracted using ethyl acetate. The crude extract was investigated for its anti-microbial activity and was passed through Sephadex column and the fractions were collected. Reverse phase HPLC was used to monitor the component of crude extract. HPLC guided purification of crude extract resulted in the isolation of linoleic acid, 4-hydroxy phenethyl alcohol, 2,5-furandimethanol and adenosine. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods.
In this article, the utilization of fungi for the degradation of xenobiotic organic compounds (XOCs) from different wastewater and aqueous solutions has been reviewed. The myco-remediation (myco-enzymes, myco-degradation, and myco-sorption) process is widely used to remove XOCs, which are not easily biodegradable. The removal of XOCs from textile wastewaters through chemical and physical processes has been addressed by many researchers. Currently, the application of oxidative enzymes [manganese peroxidase (MnP), lignin peroxidase (LiP), and laccase] and myco-adsorption is becoming more common for the removal of XOCs from wastewater. Although the advanced oxidation process (AOPs) is a preferred technology for removing XOCs, its use is restricted due to its relatively high cost, which led to research studies on non-traditional and low-cost technology. The current review aimed to organize the scattered available information on the potential of myco-remediation for XOC removal. Moreover, the utilization of agricultural wastes as a production substrate for oxidative enzymes has been reported by many authors. Agricultural waste materials are highly inducible for oxidative enzyme production by fungi and are cost-effective in comparison to commercial substances. It is evident from the literature survey of 80 recently published papers that myco-enzymes have demonstrated outstanding XOC removal capabilities. Fungal laccase enzyme is the first step to degrade the lignin and then to get the carbon source form the cellulose by cellulose enzyme.
Phaeohyphomycosis consists of a heterogeneous group of fungal infections caused by more than 80 genera and species. Subcutaneous infection usually follows traumatic implantation of a fungus by a wooden splinter that the fungus inh abits as a saprophyte. The growth of the fungus forms verrucous plaques or a painless subcutaneous abscess. We report a subcutaneous cyst (phaeomycotic cyst) in the leg of a 60-year-old woman that developed after a thorn prick at that site. With the provisional diagnosis of an epidermoid cyst, she was treated with a simple excision of the cyst. However, histopathological examination of the cyst revealed the typical features of fungus, and a definitive diagnosis of a phaeomycotic cyst was made. As the infective aetiology was not considered clinically, the specimen was not sent for microbiological culture, and hence the exact species was not identified. As the lesion was localised, simple excision was sufficient treatment, and no recurrence was observed during 12 months of follow-up.
Soft corals are often the research interest organism due to their structural diverse secondary metabolites with wide
spectrum of biological activities range from antibacterial to anticancer potentials. The Borneo Island is rich in diversity
of marine organisms including soft coral. Therefore, a population of Bornean soft coral belongs to genus Nephthea
was collected from Mantanani Island (Sabah, Malaysia) which led to the isolation of a novel norditerpene, chabrolene
(1) together with three known compounds (2-4). The chemical structure of 1 was determined by NMR and HREIMS data.
Compound 1 exhibited repellent activity against the maize weevil Sitophilus zeamais.
Pyrimidine nucleus is a significant pharmacophore that exhibited excellent pharmacological activities. A series of pyrimidine scaffolds was synthesized and its chemical structures were confirmed by physicochemical and spectral analysis. The synthesized compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial potential towards Gram positive and negative bacteria as well as fungal species. They were also assessed for their anticancer activity toward a human colorectal carcinoma cell line (HCT116). Whilst results of antimicrobial potential revealed that compounds Ax2, Ax3, Ax8 and Ax14 exhibited better activity against tested microorganisms, the results of antiproliferative activity indicated that compounds Ax7 and Ax10 showed excellent activity against HCT116. Further, the molecular docking of pyrimidine derivatives Ax1, Ax9 and Ax10 with CDK8 (PDB id: 5FGK) protein indicated that moderate to better docking results within the binding pocket. Compounds Ax8 and Ax10 having significant antimicrobial and anticancer activities may be selected as lead compounds for the development of novel antimicrobial and anticancer agent, respectively.
PURPOSE: Decompressive craniectomy is a life-saving procedure in the setting of malignant brain swelling. Patients who survive require cranioplasty for anatomical reconstruction and cerebral protection. Autologous cranioplasty remains the commonest practice nowadays, but partial bone flap defects are frequently encountered. The authors, therefore, seek to develop a new technique of reconstruction for cranioplasty candidate with partial bone flap defect utilizing computer-assisted 3D modeling and printing.
METHODS: A prospective study was conducted to evaluate the outcome of a new reconstruction technique that produces patient-specific hybrid polymethyl methacrylate-autologous cranial implant. Computer-assisted 3D modeling and printing was utilized to produce patient-specific molds, which allowed real-time reconstruction of bone flap with partial defect intra-operatively.
RESULTS: Outcome assessment for 11 patients at 6 weeks and 3 months post-operatively revealed satisfactory implant alignment with favorable cosmesis. The mean visual analog scale for cosmesis was 91. Mean implant size was 50cm, and the mean duration of intra-operative reconstruction was 30 minutes. All of them revealed improvement in quality of life following surgery as measured by the SF-36 score. Cost analysis revealed that this technique is more cost-effective compared to customized cranial prosthesis.
CONCLUSION: This new technique and approach produce hybrid autologous-alloplastic bone flap that resulted in satisfactory implant alignment and favorable cosmetic outcome with relatively low costs.
This report documents a case of 5-month old intact male German Shepherd dog diagnosed with pythiosis on its left forelimb. This is the first ever reported case of pythiosis presented at the University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (UVH), Universiti Putra Malaysia and may be the first ever reported incidence in Malaysia with a complaint of a chronic non-healing wound. The case became complicated as the dog was concurrently infected with a mixed bacterial infection and the identified bacteria were resistant towards a number of antibiotics tested. The antibiotic that was determined to be sensitive was only able to act on certain bacteria and not to the others. The journey of getting to the final diagnosis was almost impossible if we had not tried different media preparation: with and without Dermasel supplement; and through molecular approach using amplification at ITS region followed by DNA sequence analysis. The unwarranted lack during the diagnosis process of this incidence has made us more aware of the presence of Pythium insidiosum in Malaysia and plan for a more strategize ways of diagnosing the suspected fungus at laboratory setting in future. The objective of this paper is to share our experience and reflection on the diagnosis of the rare incidence of pythiosis present in Malaysia.
Fish diseases are often caused either by bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, or a combination of these pathogens. Of these, bacterial fish diseases are considered to be a major problem in the aquaculture industry. Hence, the prevention of such diseases by proper vaccination is one of the integral strategies in fish health management, aimed at reducing the fish mortality rate in the aquaculture farms. Vaccination offers an effective yet low-cost solution to combat the risk of disease in fish farming. An appropriate vaccination regime to prevent bacterial diseases offers a solution against the harmful effects of antibiotic applications. This review discusses the role of live-attenuated vaccine in controlling bacterial diseases and the development of such vaccines and their vaccination strategy. The current achievements and potential applications of live-attenuated and combined vaccines are also highlighted. Vaccine development is concluded to be a demanding process, as it must satisfy the requirements of the aquaculture industry.
Recently, many scientists and polymer engineers have been working on eco-friendly materials for starch-based food packaging purposes, which are based on biopolymers, due to the health and environmental issues caused by the non-biodegradable food packaging. However, to maintain food freshness and quality, it is necessary to choose the correct materials and packaging technologies. On the other hand, the starch-based film's biggest flaws are high permeability to water vapor transfer and the ease of spoilage by bacteria and fungi. One of the several possibilities that are being extensively studied is the incorporation of essential oils (EOs) into the packaging material. The EOs used in food packaging films actively prevent inhibition of bacteria and fungi and have a positive effect on food storage. This work intended to present their mechanical and barrier properties, as well as the antimicrobial activity of anti-microbacterial agent reinforced starch composites for extending product shelf life. A better inhibition of zone of antimicrobial activity was observed with higher content of essential oil. Besides that, the mechanical properties of starch-based polymer was slightly decreased for tensile strength as the increasing of essential oil while elongation at break was increased. The increasing of essential oil would cause the reduction of the cohesion forces of polymer chain, creating heterogeneous matrix and subsequently lowering the tensile strength and increasing the elongation (E%) of the films. The present review demonstrated that the use of essential oil represents an interesting alternative for the production of active packaging and for the development of eco-friendly technologies.
It is important to provide a baseline of fungal composition in the captive wildlife environment to better understand their role in overall wildlife health. The objectives were to identify species of fungi existing within wildlife animal enclosures and their environment at the National Wildlife Rescue Centre (NWRC) and the National Zoo, Malaysia and to describe their medical and veterinary importance. Samples of air, wall or floor swab, enrichment swab and soil were taken from the animal enclosures, exercise yard and enrichments at NWRC and National Zoo respectively. All samples including those pre-treated samples were plated onto Sabouraud's Dextrose Agar (SDA). Numerous fungi were grown on all sampling SDA plates regardless by either single or multiple growth. Samples of air in both NWRC and National Zoo had the highest growth of Penicillium spp. with a prevalence of 31.2% and 83.7% respectively. Samples of swab from the wall, floor and enrichments were predominantly by Candida spp. (42.6%) in NWRC and Penicillium spp. (41.6%) in the National Zoo. Prevalence of multiple fungi isolated from the soil samples in NWRC were 57.9% and yeast species was the most common in National Zoo with a prevalence of 88.9%. Overall, 29 and 8 isolates were found in both samples from the NWRC and National Zoo with a predominant species of potential zoonotic fungi have been identified in both premises. The expected fungus Aspergillus spp. was not isolated in all samples in NWRC. Prevalent fungal species found in this study are known to cause disease in animals and humans as primary pathogen and also as opportunistic pathogens that may also cause infection. Thus, health safety precautions should be considered particularly in dealing with conservation of endangered wildlife species, along with personnel and public involvements.
Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a collection of nonspecific syndromes linked with the built environment. The occurrence of SBS is associated with humidity, ventilation, moulds and microbial compounds exposure. However, no study has reported the association between indoor microbiome and SBS. In this study, 308 students were surveyed for SBS symptoms from 21 classrooms of 7 junior high schools from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, and vacuum dust from floor, desks and chairs was collected. High throughput amplicon sequencing (16S rRNA gene and ITS region) and quantitative PCR were conducted to characterize the absolute concentration of bacteria and fungi taxa. In total, 326 bacterial and 255 fungal genera were detected in dust with large compositional variation among classrooms. Also, half of these samples showed low compositional similarity to microbiome data deposited in the public database. The number of observed OTUs in Gammaproteobacteria was positively associated with SBS (p = 0.004). Eight microbial genera were associated with SBS (p
The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the effect of times elapsed on the application of a single-step adhesive system and activation of light cured subsequently placed composite to the bond strength between composites and adhesives. This was an experimental study using fifteen teeth extracted human premolars, which were caries and pathology free. Sample of teeth were embedded up to cemento-enamel junction on box of acrylic resin. All teeth were cut to obtain flat occlusal dentin surfaces. The specimens were randomly selected and divided into three groups with five teeth each. All the teeth were assigned to single-step bonding system AQ Bond (Sun Medical Co. Ltd., Shiga, Japan) according to manufacturer’s direction. Group 1 was left for 45 seconds, group 2 for 2 minutes, while group 3 was 5 minutes before putting subsequently restorative material. Composite resin was applied in 3 mm diameter and 6 mm height of cylinder mold and cured according to manufacturer’s direction on the dentin surface. Shear bond strength were measured using a testing system (Instron 8874, Instron Corp., Canton, MA, USA) at a crosshead speed of 2 mm/min with cell load capacity of 25 KN. The bond-strengths between single step adhesive system (AQ Bond) and light cured composites were tested. Mann-Whitney test showed no significant differences in bond-strength between Group 1 and Group 2. However, there were significantly differences (p