The anatomical structures of the first, second and third instars of Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart) were examined by light microscopy. Observations were documented on the three main characteristics; the cephalopharyngeal skeleton, anterior spiracle and posterior spiracle. The first instar larva bore cornuae of fairly pigmented delineation with slim hypostomal sclerite and distinct dental sclerite. First instar did not have obscured anterior spiracle but posterior spiracles were obscured with thin lining of opened peritreme. Intersegmental spines were evident. The second instar larva displayed a prominent anterodorsal process approaching closer to hypostomal sclerite while upper margin of the dorsal cornua was slightly pigmented. Each anterior spiracle consisted of nine to ten papillae, arranged in a single row. Peritreme of the posterior spiracle thick, opening at the end of peritreme was not wide and confined to two spiracular slits. The third instar larva showed a prominent arch of the ventral cornua with broad and bold appearance. It approached the dorsal cornua and became narrow at the incision median. The anterior spiracle consisted of a single row of nine to ten papillae while intersegmental spine could be identified with one to three dark pigmented tips. A dark pigmented and wide periterime was observed confining three short and thick spiracular slits while button was poorly pigmented. The most distinctive feature of this second and third instar larva was the slender, thorn-like tubercle with numerous spined tips on the middle line segment of the body. These findings provide identification features of C. rufifacies larvae instars.
This study was conducted to determine the health status of aboriginal ("Orang Asli') children aged 0-12 years in Post Brooke, Gua Musang, Kelantan. This is done by appraising the environmental status, patterns of illnesses including communicable diseases and usage of health resources. Six villages were selected randomly from 12 villages in the area; 179 families were interviewed, 200 under-12-year-olds were examined and their blood samples taken for haemoglobin (HB) estimation as well as malarial screening. Water supply through Gravity Feed System (GFS) was used by 134 families (70.2%) whilst the rest obtained water direct from the river for the purpose. Only 63.6% of families boiled their drinking water 56.4% families threw rubbish indiscriminately, while 82.1% used the river as their toilets. Eighty-seven percent of the families saw the village medicine man first when ill. Forty (22.2%) children had had serious illnesses including malaria and 24 were admitted to hospitals. 15% of the children had never been immunized. A total of 102 (51%) children were pale and 90 (45%) had brown hair. Eighty nine (44.5%) of the children were anaemic (Hb < 10 gm/di). Sixty-nine children (34%) had dental caries. Forty-two (21%) had distended abdomen and 37 (18.5%) had hepatomegaly. Out of 84 stool samples examined, 67 (79.8%) had helminthic ova. Of all families, 47.1% gave a past history of at least one baby among their children who had died due to one reason or another. The health status of this community (especially children) was low that it warrants special attention.
In this paper, the wear properties of nano-filled Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) composite are
studied based on the effects of the architecture of the glass fibre and test environment. Wear tests were
done under two different conditions; dry environment test and wet environment test. The dry and wet
environment tests were conducted using the abrasion resistance tester (TR600) and slurry erosion tester,
respectively; the slurry mixture of sand and water were used in the wet environment test. Two types of
glass fibres architecture were understudied; unidirectional and woven. It was found that 3 wt.% filler
content is the optimum amount to be used for the GFRP composite. Unidirectional nano-filled GFRP
composites exhibited the lowest wear rates due to their closely aligned glass fibre arrangement. The
unidirectional fibre alignment provided less empty spots for the interlocking process to take place, thus
reducing the ploughing action of wearing. However, when tested in the wet environment, effects of
other testing parameters such as the architecture of fibre and filler contents became less significant. The
composites, which were tested in wet environment, showed the lowest wear rates compared to the ones
tested in the dry environment. This is due to the presence of water that helps to wash away the pulverised
glass fibre, thus reducing the friction and the three-body wear effect
Purpose of this study was to evaluate the inter-device agreement of ocular
and corneal higher-order aberration measurements using various aberrometers. (Copied from article).
A preliminary field study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of a mosquito trap; Mosquito Killing System (MKS) in
capturing mosquitoes and other insects. MKS has an automatic activation by the use of a photocell. It is also supplemented
with carbon dioxide and heat as attractants for mosquitoes and other insects. Three units of MKS were employed at three
different locations within two study sites for ten days. The mosquitoes and other insects that were trapped in MKS were
collected and morphologically identified daily in the laboratory. A total of 1,928 mosquitoes and other insects were
trapped in all units of MKS. High numbers of mosquitoes (93.05%), particularly Aedes sp. and Culex sp. were captured
from MKS. Among these, Culex quinquefasciatus (91.81%) was most abundant species collected. Only 0.84% of Aedes
aegypti and Aedes albopictus trapped in MKS. Female mosquitoes (83.44%) were found to be more attracted to MKS
compared to male mosquitoes of various species. These findings illustrated the potency of MKS utilization in surveillance
and control activities of Cx. quinquefasciatus; a nuisance mosquito and also potential vector of urban brancroftian
filariasis in Malaysia.
Medium penyampaian maklumat merupakan media pengajaran utama yang digunakan dalam menyampaikan
maklumat kepada pekerja tempatan dan juga asing dalam Kursus Induksi Keselamatan dan Kesihatan (KIKK).
Justeru, kertas kerja ini menumpukan kepada perbincangan mengenai permasalahan serta hasil kajian lepas berkaitan
penggunaan media penyampaian maklumat sedia ada oleh pekerja asing dalam KIKK. Kesimpulan hasil kajian
perpustakaan mendapati terdapat beberapa masalah penggunaan media penyampaian maklumat sedia ada ini daripada
aspek penggunaan bahasa, cara penyampaian dan medium penyampaian. Bahasa Melayu lazimnya digunakan sebagai
bahasa pengantar semasa penyampaian maklumat dalam KIKK sama ada dalam bentuk teks mahupun penyampaian
lisan. Namun, penggunaan Bahasa Melayu ini didapati tidak difahami oleh kebanyakan pekerja asing terutamanya
pekerja asing bukan warga Indonesia. Cara penyampaian maklumat juga dilihat bersifat satu hala dan kurang difahami
serta medium penyampaian yang digunakan kurang interaktif dan berbentuk presentasi. Malah, medium penyampaian
maklumat seperti PowerPoint yang digunakan masih belum cukup kemas untuk memenuhi keperluan kerja pekerja
asing di tapak bina yang mana teks bahasa Melayu terlalu panjang digunakan, susunan teks dan grafik tidak kemas,
saiz teks tidak konsisten serta penggunaan grafik yang kurang jelas.
Water contamination by herbicides and chelating agents is increasing mainly due to the
increasing agricultural activities. Water contamination by these compounds has become a
concern due to their adverse effects to the environment and humans. Seven sampling sites of
water sources in Selangor and Johor were chosen for the study. Contamination level of
Mecoprop (MCCP), Nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) and Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) in
these water body areas was determined by using Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture
Detector (GC-ECD). Our results indicated that water samples of Sungai Melot in Selangor
showed the highest presence of EDTA. MCCP was detected at a high level at Sungai Sarang
Buaya, Johor while NTA showed similar level of concentration at three different sites, Ladang
10, Ladang Sayur and Mardi, Selangor.
Breast cancer is the leading factor of mortality among women globally. According to the World Health Organization (2015), breast cancer is the second most common cancer after lung cancer; and contributes to nearly 15% of all cancer death among women in 2015. Moringa oleifera (M. oleifera) is a highly nutritious vegetable with various therapeutic benefits including anticancer. The therapeutic benefits are attributed to its bioactive compounds. Thus, study on the bioactive compounds of M. oleifera using various extraction methods with different extracting solvents have been the main focus of many researchers. Methods: The current study was carried out using Ultrasound Assisted Sequential Extraction (UASE) method and three extracting solvents (99.7% ethanol, 50% ethanol and deionised water) with ascending polarity. The yielded extracts were tested for possible anticancer effects against human breast adenocarcinoma cell line, MCF-7 and non-tumorigenic cell line, MCF-10A using microtitrate tetrazolium (MTT) assay. Results: The IC50 values of the 99.7% ethanol, 50% ethanol and deionised water extracts were 25, 200 and 180 μg/mL, respectively. Conclusion: M. oleifera could be a potential preventative and/or therapeutic agent for breast cancer, either used alone or as an adjunct to the standard chemotherapeutic drugs.
Jujukan batuan sedimen Kapur Awal Kumpulan Gagau di kawasan sekitar hulu Sungai Chichir dibentuk oleh batu pasir
berpebel masif, batu lumpur masif dan lapisan tebal batu pasir dengan pelbagai struktur sedimen serta fosil. Jujukan ini
boleh dibahagikan kepada tujuh fasies dengan mekanisme pengenapan berbeza. Berdasarkan asosiasi antara pelbagai
fasies sedimen dapat ditafsirkan bahawa jujukan ini telah terenap dalam pelbagai sekitaran dataran aluvium termasuk
alur sungai utama, sungai berliku, sungai berburai dan dataran banjir. Fosil yang ditemui memberikan usia Kapur
Awal kepada jujukan ini. Bukti kehadiran tanah atas di kawasan ini mencerahkan harapan untuk penemuan pelbagai
fosil hidupan daratan, khususnya fauna vertebrat serta dinosaur yang lebih baik dan lengkap.
In the present research, microalgae protein hydrolysate of Nannochloropsis gaditana (MPH) was extracted via enzymatic hydrolysis using alcalase enzyme. Hydrolysis conditions like (pH, temperature, enzyme concentration and substrate concentration) were optimized by Response Surface Methodology (RSM) using Central Composite Design (CCD). Four range of independent variables namely; pH (7-9), temperature (45-55°C), substrate concentration (2-6 g/L) and enzyme concentration (0.2-0.4 g/L) were used to study the influence of these parameters on the degree of hydrolysis. The CCD consisted of twenty-four experimental points and six replicates of central points with the optimum conditions obtained from this experiment were at pH 8.14, a temperature 51.4°C, a substrate concentration 5.48 g/L and an enzyme concentration 0.26 g/L with maximum degree hydrolysis of 55.76%. All experiments were fixed at 24 hours reaction time. The degree of hydrolysis of MPH was analysed using O-phthaldehyde (OPA) method to quantify the cleavage of peptide bond. The optimized sample was evaluated for its antioxidant activity using 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay with 52.19% and 2, 2'- azino-bis (ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) assay with 14.13%. The bioactive peptides contained in Nannochloropsis gaditana have the ability to scavenge free radicals and act as good antioxidants.
More studies are now focusing on vitamin E as an anticancer agent for its good effects in many in-vitro studies. Current studies proposed that vitamin E might be a suitable candidate as an alternative treatment for cancer due to its antioxidant properties. Vitamin E act as an antioxidant by their long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, and thus the integrity of membranes in the cells is maintained and consequently retain the bioactivity of the cells. This mini review will focus on the activity of vitamin E as an antioxidant to protect against cancer in in-vitro, in-vivo, and clin- ical studies. Although most studies reported great outcomes for the anticancer activity of vitamin E, there were some conflicting data. To date, studies on effects of vitamin E are still undergoing where researchers are still debating on the positive and negative effects of vitamin E as an anticancer therapeutic action.
Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea), also known as pigweed, fatweed, pusle, and little hogweed, is an annual succulent herb in the family Portulacaceae that is found in most corners of the globe. From the ancient ages purslane has been treated as a major weed of vegetables as well as other crops. However, worldwide researchers and nutritionists have studied this plant as a potential vegetable crop for humans as well as animals. Purslane is a nutritious vegetable with high antioxidant properties and recently has been recognized as the richest source of α-linolenic acid, essential omega-3 and 6 fatty acids, ascorbic acid, glutathione, α-tocopherol and β-carotene. The lack of vegetable sources of ω-3 fatty acids has resulted in a growing level of attention to introduce purslane as a new cultivated vegetable. In the rapid-revolutionizing worldwide atmosphere, the ability to produce improved planting material appropriate to diverse and varying rising conditions is a supreme precedence. Though various published reports on morphological, physiological, nutritional and medicinal aspects of purslane are available, research on the genetic improvement of this promising vegetable crop are scant. Now it is necessary to conduct research for the genetic improvement of this plant. Genetic improvement of purslane is also a real scientific challenge. Scientific modernization of conventional breeding with the advent of advance biotechnological and molecular approaches such as tissue culture, protoplast fusion, genetic transformation, somatic hybridization, marker-assisted selection, qualitative trait locus mapping, genomics, informatics and various statistical representation have opened up new opportunities of revising the relationship between genetic diversity, agronomic performance and response to breeding for varietal improvement. This review is an attempt to amalgamate the assorted scientific information on purslane propagation, cultivation, varietal improvement, nutrient analyses, medicinal uses and to describe prospective research especially for genetic improvement of this crop.
Garcinia hombroniana (seashore mangosteen) in Malaysia is used to treat itching and as a protective medicine after child birth. This study was aimed to investigate the bioactive chemical constituents of the bark of G. hombroniana. Ethyl acetate and dichloromethane extracts of G. hombroniana yielded two new (1, 9) and thirteen known compounds which were characterized by the spectral techniques of NMR, UV, IR and EI/ESI-MS, and identified as; 2,3',4,5'-tetrahydroxy-6-methoxybenzophenone(1), 2,3',4,4'-tetrahydroxy-6-methoxybenzophenone (2), 2,3',4,6-tetrahydroxybenzophenone (3), 1,3,6,7-tetrahydroxyxanthone (4), 3,3',4',5,7-pentahydroxyflavone (5),3,3',5,5',7-pentahydroxyflavanone (6), 3,3',4',5,5',7-hexahydroxyflavone (7), 4',5,7-trihydroxyflavanone-7-rutinoside (8), 18(13→17)-abeo-3β-acetoxy-9α,13β-lanost-24E-en-26-oic acid (9), garcihombronane B (10), garcihombronane D (11), friedelan-3-one (12), lupeol (13), stigmasterol (14) and stigmasterol glucoside (15). In the in vitro cytotoxicity against MCF-7, DBTRG, U2OS and PC-3 cell lines, compounds 1 and 9 displayed good cytotoxic effects against DBTRG cancer cell lines. Compounds 1-8 were also found to possess significant antioxidant activities. Owing to these properties, this study can be further extended to explore more significant bioactive components of this plant.
Ischemic preconditioning has been shown to improve the outcomes of hypoxic tolerance of the heart, brain, lung, liver, jejunum, skin, and muscle tissues. However, to date, no report of ischemic preconditioning on vascularized bone grafts has been published.
Concentrations of natural and fall-out radionuclides in the offshore seawater and sediment from some parts of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, were determined using a coaxial germanium detector. The average activities of (238)U, (232)Th, (40)K and (137)Cs were recorded as 31.2±5.8, 51.9±9.4, 686.4±170.5 and 0.5±0.6 Bq kg(-1) dry weight, respectively, for sediment, and 4.8±1.2, 5.4±1.2 and 39.1±8.6 Bq L(-1) for (238)U, (232)Th and (40)K, respectively, in seawater. The concentration of (137)Cs in seawater was below the detection limit. The concentration of sediment (238)U was found to be positively correlated with (232)Th ([Formula: see text], p<0.05) and (40)K (r=0.96, p<0.01), while (232)Th was positively correlated with (40)K (r=0.91, p<0.05). In sediment, the concentration of (238)U was negatively correlated (r=-0.86, p<0.05) with sea depth. In the seawater sample, the only significant relationship found was between concentration of (232)Th and water depth (r=-0.86, p<0.05). One-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the level of radioisotope concentrations of seawater and sediment was highly significant for (238)U (F=122, df=11, p=0.01), (232)Th (F=143, df=11, p=0.01) and (40)K (F=86, df=11, p=0.01). The results showed that the level of radioactivity decreased from coast to open sea. Imminent threat due to radioactivity was not observed in these parts of the Bay of Bengal.
Vincristine-induced vocal cord paralysis is a rare but serious complication. We report 2 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who developed progressive stridor during induction chemotherapy. There were no clinical features of peripheral or autonomic neuropathy. Flexible laryngoscopy confirmed the diagnosis of bilateral vocal cord palsy; interestingly, the nerve conduction test revealed axonal motor neuropathy involving the median and common peroneal nerves in both patients. The first patient required prolonged ventilatory support necessitating unilateral cordectomy before extubation, whereas the second only required supplemental oxygen therapy. There was resolution of stridor in the first patient after cordectomy and gradual clinical improvement in the second. These cases illustrate that a high index of suspicion of vincristine-induced vocal cord palsy with prompt otolaryngology consultation for laryngoscopy is required in the diagnostic evaluation of a patient who has received vincristine.
Rubber leaf powder (an agricultural waste) was treated with potassium permanganate followed by sodium carbonate and its performance in the removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution was evaluated. The interactions between Pb(II) ions and functional groups on the adsorbent surface were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX). The effects of several important parameters which can affect adsorption capacity such as pH, adsorbent dosage, initial lead concentration and contact time were studied. The optimum pH range for lead adsorption was 4-5. Even at very low adsorbent dosage of 0.02 g, almost 100% of Pb(II) ions (23 mg/L) could be removed. The adsorption capacity was also dependent on lead concentration and contact time, and relatively a short period of time (60-90 min) was required to reach equilibrium. The equilibrium data were analyzed with Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherms. Based on Langmuir model, the maximum adsorption capacity of lead was 95.3 mg/g. Three kinetic models including pseudo first-order, pseudo second-order and Boyd were used to analyze the lead adsorption process, and the results showed that the pseudo second-order fitted well with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising cancer treatment which involves activation of a photosensitizing drug with light to produce reactive oxygen species that kill tumors without causing damage to unirradiated normal tissues. To date, only Photofrin, Foscan and Levulan have been approved for clinical treatment of cancer. Tropical habitats such as those found in Malaysia are attractive sources of new therapeutic compounds as tremendous chemical diversity is found in a large number of plants, animals, marine- and micro-organisms. In our screening program for novel photosensitizers from nature, colorful strains of fungi (from Aspergillus and Penicillium genus) and bacteria (including actinomycetes and photosynthetic bacteria) were collected from various habitats in Peninsular Malaysia, such as coastal soil, peat soil, marine sponges and wastewater ponds. Methanolic extracts from a total of 85 different species were evaluated with a short-term cell viability assay for photo-cytotoxicity, where a promyelocytic leukemia cell-line, HL60 incubated with 20 microg/ml of extracts was irradiated with 9.6 J/cm(2) of a broad spectrum light. Two of these extracts, one from Rhodobacter sphaeroides (PBUM003) and one from Rhodopseudomonas palustris (PBUM001) showed moderate to strong photo-cytotoxicity. Subsequent bioassay guided isolation of the PBUM001 extract yielded known photosensitisers that are based on bacteriochlorophyll-a by comparing their molecular weight data, HPLC profiles and UV-vis absorption spectra with literature values, thereby demonstrating the validity of our screening approach.
Adolescent sexual abuse is not an uncommon phenomenon in Malaysia. It is a traumatic experience that complicates the psychosocial development of young people on the threshold of adulthood. This case report highlights the psychosocial sequelae of adolescent sexual abuse by a traditional healer and discusses management issues in the context of unique cultural and belief systems.