Marine mammal searches were opportunistically conducted during the East Coast Johor Scientific Expedition (ECJSE) on 21-30 May 2012, on a live-on-board (LOB) diving vessel, MV BLACK PEARL. The expedition was designed mainly to survey coral reef ecosystems and water quality. Daylight visual observations of the sea were undertaken during sailing and stopping/anchored from the most upper open-deck of the vessel. The survey resulted in two sightings of long-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus capensis), each at Pulau Aur and Pulau Tinggi. Both observations were brief (< 5 minutes) and were made when the vessel was anchored. Based on anecdotal evidences, skeletal remains and previous surveys, the vulnerable dugong, Indo-Pacific bottlenose, Indo-Pacific humpback, Irrawaddy and long-beaked common dolphins, the false killer and pygmy killer whales, and the baleen whales are known to occur in the East Coast Johor waters, at least occasionally. The low sighting rate with marine mammals during this survey is highly likely caused by the survey design and also may be due to the environmental conditions and ecological factors. Dedicated and periodical boat and aerial surveys for marine mammals need to be conducted to determine species diversity and to understand the seasonality, habitat use, and social interactions of the marine mammal populations in the area. The findings will be most useful for marine park and fisheries authorities to plan conservation management strategies for marine mammals and promote their conservation through eco-tourism activities.
Malnutrition is associated with childhood diseases such as diarrhea or other severe illness. Children who suffer from
repeated episodes of diarrhea are more likely to suffer from malnutrition. In addition, the source of drinking water is
a very important factor affecting the nutritional status. The objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of
malnutrition condition among children aged 3 to 5 years old and the factors associated with it. A cross sectional study
using simple random sampling was conducted among 220 children aged 3 to 5 years old from four kindergartens in
Baghdad city, Iraq. Nutritional assessment was carried out using the indicator weight-for-age z-score based on World
Health Organization cut off points. Acute malnutrition was found in 18.2 % of the respondents. In this study 65 % of
the respondents used tap water to drink as compared to 35 % who used sterilized bottles as source of drinking water.
The environmental factors mainly the source of drinking water was significantly associated with child nutritional
status (p=0.034). The prevalence of diarrhea and admissions to the hospital due to diarrhea were also significantly
associated with malnutrition (p < 0.01, p
Six groups of adult Sprague-Dawley rats were orally administered with a variety of treatments to elucidate their cytoprotective effects. Absolute ethanol combined with HCl was used to induce gastric lesions in rats. Aqueous and ethanol extracts of Chromolaena odorata, a famous folk herb for treating skin wounds were evaluated to determine their protective effect on gastric mucosa. In this study, aqueous extract and ethanol extract of C. odorata were combined with honey. In addition, honey alone and honey combined with cimetidine were also evaluated. Rat stomachs were examined grossly and histologically. Results were expressed as inhibition percentage. The honey and aqueous extract combination showed the highest inhibition percentage (72.67%) followed by honey and ethanol extract (58.92%), honey and cimetidine (56.55%) and the lowest was honey alone (46.74%). However, there were no significant differences between the effects of aqueous and ethanol extracts of C. odorata and honey in promoting cytoprotective effects and this may be due to the small sample size. Nevertheless, these results suggest that C. odorata and honey may be beneficial in treating induced gastric mucosal injury.
Since the world’s first nuclear reactor major breakthrough in December 02, 1942, the nuclear power industry has undergone tremendous development and evolution for more than half a century. After surpassing moratorium of nuclear power plant construction caused by catastrophic accidents at Three-Mile Island (1979) and Chernobyl (1986), today, nuclear energy is back on the policy agendas of many states, both developed and developing nations, signaling nuclear revival or nuclear renaissance. Selection of suitable nuclear power technology has thus been subjected to primary attention. This short paper attempts to draw preliminary technology assessment for the first nuclear power reactor technology for Malaysia. Methodology employed is qualitative analysis collating recent finding of TNB-KEPCO Preliminary Feasibility Study for Nuclear Power Program in Peninsular Malaysia and other published presentations and/or papers by multiple experts.
The results suggested that the pressurized water reactor (PWR) is the prevailing technology in terms of numbers and plant performances, and while the commercialization of Gen IV reactors is remote (e.g. not until 2030), Generation III/III+ NPP models are commercially available on the market today. Five (5) major steps involved in reactor technology selection were introduced with a focus on introducing important aspects of selection criteria. Three (3) categories for the of reactor technology selection were used for the cursory evaluation. The outcome of these analyses shall constitute deeper and full review analyses of the recommended reactor technologies for the intended full feasibility study in the near future. Recommendations for reactor technology option were also provided for both strategic and technical recommendations. The paper shall also postulate or rather implore what could be the best way for Malaysian and also other aspiring new entrant nations to select systematically their first civilian nuclear power reactor.
Many studies were carried out throughout the world on radon measurement in water especially drinking water for it can cause problem to human health. This study is an attempt to measure the level of radon present in water collect from rivers and lakes. Data gathered from this study provides important information about radiation levels in water at selected sites, because radon gas is the largest contributor to natural radioactive radiation exposure to humans. Exposure to radon gas can cause lung cancer. Liquid scintillation counting (LSC) has been applied to determine the activity concentration of radon ( 222 Rn) in water. Water samples were collected from, ex-mining lake in Perak, Sok River in Kelantan, Tembeling River in Pahang. Water samples were prepared in polyethylene bottles mixed with liquid scintillator and stored for 3 weeks to allow 222 Rn and its progeny to reach the equilibrium, and the activity concentrations ranged from 0.24-1.27 Bq/L, and 0.029 – 0.155 Bq/L for radon and radium respectively.
137 Cs is well known man-made radionuclide produced from nuclear industry. Nuclear weapon tests and nuclear accidents had contributed to presence of 137 Cs into the worldwide environment including Malaysia. It has spread out to the entire world through the air and water current. Since Cameron Highlands is located at high altitude, there is a better chance of the 137 Cs to settle down on the trees and later the soil underneath. In this study, the soil samples were taken at the slopes of two different tea plantation areas namely A and B. The soil samples were oven dried, ground, sieved and packed and sealed properly in plastic containers before measurement. Each plastic container contains around 450 g of sample. The measurement of 137 Cs activity concentration was done using HPGe detector gamma spectrometer. The spectrum was analyzed using Gamma Vision software to calculate the activity concentration of 137 Cs with energy peak of 661.66 keV. The activity concentration of 137 Cs found in the samples ranged from 0.23 to 1.90 and 0.11 to 3.01 Bq/kg for tea plantation A and tea plantation B, respectively. From the activity concentration of 137 Cs result, it was comparable to the others research regarding to 137 Cs in the soil around Asian.
Effects of different types of solvent on the antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Quercus infectoria extract have not been well documented. Therefore, extraction process was conducted using conventional Soxhlet extraction with six different types of solvent (100% methanol, ethanol, acetone, water and 70% methanol, and ethanol). High performance liquid chromatography was implemented to identify gallic acid and tannic acid in the extracts. Water extracts contained the highest concentration of both gallic acid and tannic acid compared to other types of solvent; 51.14 mg/g sample and 1332.88 mg/g sample of gallic acid and tannic acid. Meanwhile, antioxidant and antibacterial activity were tested using DPPH free radicals scavenging and disc diffusion assay. Results demonstrated that water extracts gave the highest antioxidant activity (approximately 94.55%), while acetone extract gave the largest inhibition zone for disc diffusion assay (19.00mm respectively). The results also revealed rich sources of gallic acid and tannic acid in Q. infectoria which might provide a novel source of these natural antioxidant and antibacterial activity.
Silver catfish (Pangasius sutchi) skin gelatin was extracted to determine the effects of extraction time on the functional properties of the gelatin in terms of solubility, protein solubility as a function of pH and sodium chloride concentration, emulsifying capacity and stability, water holding capacity, fat binding capacities and foaming properties. Silver catfish skins were washed in sodium chloride (NaCl) solution prior to pre-treatment in sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and acetic acid solution. Gelatin was extracted at 50ºC for 6, 8, 10 and 12 hours extraction time followed by freeze drying. The extraction of silver catfish skin gelatin at 50 ºC for 12 hours was more effective than extraction at 6, 8 and 10 hours where the gelatin was characterized by higher emulsifying capacity (52.63%), emulsifying stability (47.83%), water holding capacity (31.78 mL/g), fat binding capacities (54.76%), foaming capacity (41.47 mL) and foaming stability (56.42%) than gelatins extracted at other extraction time. The longer the extraction time, the better the functional properties of the gelatin. Based on its good functional properties, silver catfish skin gelatin may be useful in various food applications such as soups, sauces and gravies.
Recently, research and development in the field of drug delivery systems (DDS) facilitating site-specific therapy has reached significant progression. DDS based on polymer micelles, coated micro- and nanoparticles, and various prodrug systems including water-soluble polymer have been prepared and extensively studied as novel drugs designed for cancer chemotherapy and brain delivery. Since polymers are going to be used in human, this study has the interest of testing two types of polymer, polyimides (PI) and polyphenylenevinylene (PPV) on neuronal cells. The objective of this study was to determine the possible neurotoxicity and potential neuroprotective effects of PI and PPV towards SH-SY5Y neuronal cells challenged by hydrogen peroxide (1120) as an oxidant. Cells were pretreated with either PI or PPV for 1 hour followed by incubation for 24 hour with 100 ,uM of 11201. MTS • assay was used to assess cell viability. Results show that PI and PPV are not harmful within the concentration up to 10 pM and 100 pM, respectively. However, PI and PPV do not protect neuronal cells against toxicity induced by H2O, or further up the cell death.
The Malaysian fish production is about 1.5 million metric tonnes and 86.9% of this comes from the marine sector and 13.1% from the inland sector. This included fish production by capture and culture. (DOF, 2002). Fisheries genetic resources need to have a value in terms of economic, ecological and social uses and they need to characterized. This is the mandate to FAO and it is also necessary for fisheries management and aquaculture development. The vast aquatic diversity that exists in Malaysia consist of numerous taxa of marine and freshwater fishes, crustaceans, mollusks, plants and animals. These figures could be an underestimate to the actual figure. The levels of genetic diversity includes ecosystems, communities, population, genotypes and individual genes. A knowledge of the genetic background of a species and its population structure is essential for its management, breeding and conservation programmes in fisheries. Problems like how to choose the right candidates for breeding, identifiying and monitoring lines, families and individuals, monitoring and control of inbreeding, inheritance of simple traits and genetic improvement through selection for favourable gene and gene combinations can potentially be answered through the use of molecular markers in the management of fisheries genetic resources.
The need to detect genetic variation has fueled the development of novel marker systems in fisheries biology. In this study, a simple, fast and cost effective method was used to differentiate between species of freshwater fishes focusing on Malaysian freshwater fishes by employing
Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms (RFLPs) analysis of a 470-bp cytochrome b mtDNA segment. RFLP analysis using six restriction enzymes (AluI, BamHI, BsuRI, Csp61, HpaII and SalI) found variations in the digestion profile among most of the fish samples analyzed. Diagnostic digestion profiles were observed among the Hampala fishes, especially between H. macrolepidota and the other Hampala species/forms (using BsuRI and Csp61). Diagnostic digestion profiles were also detected between H.
bimaculata Type A and Type B (using AluI, BamHI, BsuRI and SalI), supporting their status as distinct species. Additionally, unique digestion profiles were observed in other species such as Leptobarbus hosii (Csp61), Osteocheilus hasseltii (Csp61), Osteocheilus sp. (Csp61), Puntioplites bulu (Csp61), Puntius bramoides (AluI), P. sealei (AluI) and Helostoma temmincki (AluI and Csp61), which can be used as genetic markers for discriminating these species. Overall, the RFLP analysis of the cytochrome
b mtDNA segment has proven to be a considerably effective, fast and non-expensive technique to discriminate among several freshwater fish species in Malaysia.
This study was carried out to observe thermotolerance ability of Acanthamoeba spp. A total of 32 Acanthamoeba spp. isolates obtained from water taps, sinks, swimming pools and sea water were used. Trophozoites of Acanthamoeba spp. were inoculated onto non-nutrient agar (NNA) seeded with heat-killed Escherichia coli using aseptic technique and incubated for 14 days at 30°C to obtain the cyst. The cysts were subcultured onto new agar plates for thermotolerance test at 37°C and 42°C. The plates were observed until 96 hours after incubation for excystation of Acanthamoeba before being declared negative. Overall, 81.25% of samples were able to excyst at 37°C while 37.5% were able to excyst at 42°C. Thermotolerant Acanthamoeba is associated with high pathogenicity potential.
Microalgae are important biological resources that have a wide range of biotechnological
applications. Due to their high nutritional value, microalgae such as Spirulina and Chlorella are being mass cultured for health food. A variety of high-value products including polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), pigments such as carotenoids and phycobiliproteins, and bioactive compounds are useful as nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, as well as for industrial applications. In terms of environmental biotechnology, microalgae are useful for bioremediation of agro-industrial wastewater, and as a biological tool for assessment and monitoring of environmental toxicants such as heavy metals, pesticides and pharmaceuticals. In recent years, microalgae have attracted much interest due to their potential use as feedstock for biodiesel production. In Malaysia, there has been active research on microalgal biotechnology for the past 30 years, tapping into the potential of our
rich microalgal resources for high-value products and applications in wastewater treatment and assessment of environmental toxicants. A culture collection of microalgae has been established, and this serves as an important resource for microalgal biotechnology
research. Microalgal biotechnology should continue to be regarded as a priority area of research in this country.
One of the compounds present in Pluchea indica extracts is antioxidant which plays an important role in inhibiting free radicals and thus protects humans against infections and degenerative diseases, such as cancer, arthritis, and ageing process. The main objective of this study was to investigate and determine the total phenolic compounds of Pluchea indica in different concentrations of ethanolic extracts. This species was chosen because of its high phytonutrient compounds with potential medicinal properties. There was a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) in the total phenolic among the different parts of the tested plant. 50% of the ethanolic extract produced the highest total phenolic compounds (1775.00±86.00 to 658.95±5.00 µmol/g), followed by water extract (759.79±1.53 µmol/g) and 100% ethanol extract (352.72±22.30 to 249.29±5.37 µmol/g), respectively. In terms of the plant parts, the leaves contained the highest phenolic compounds (1775.00±86.00 µmol/g in 50% ethanol extract, 759.79±1.53 µmol/g in 100% aqueous extract and 352.72±22.30 µmol/g in 100% ethanol extract), followed by the stems (990.22±24.00 µmol/g in 50% ethanol extract, 990.22±24.59 µmol/g in 100% aqueous extract and 293.48±0.00 µmol/g in 100% ethanol extract). Meanwhile, lower total phenolic compounds were detected in the flowers (727.71±11.00 µmol/g in 50% ethanol extract, 603.81±8.46 µmol/g in 100% aqueous extract and 249.29±5.37 µmol/g in 100% ethanol extract) and roots (658.95±5.00 µmol/g in 50% ethanol extract, 450.00±10.76 µmol/g in 100% aqueous extract and 272.28±0.53 µmol/g in 100% ethanol extract). Based on these findings, Pluchea indica has potential medicinal properties that can be further developed to produce neutraceutical products, diet supplements or cosmetic products. However, further research should first be conducted on the effects of these compounds on laboratory animals.
Lansium domesticum Corr. is a fruit tree of the Meliaceae family, which is commonly found in SouthEast Asia with a wide range of varieties. This study investigated three varieties of L. domesticum; Duku, Langsat and Dokong for the phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activity. Seeds from the matured fruits were extracted using hexane, methanol and water. The crude extracts were screened for antimicrobial activities toward three bacteria, namely, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, and Staphylococcus aureus. The findings showed that Langsat seed extracts contained more groups of compounds compared with the other two varieties, and its methanol extract demonstrated the highest inhibition zones against the three bacteria. The crude methanol extract of Duku seeds showed inhibition zones only towards Bacillus subtilis at a high concentration (1.0 mgL-1), whilst the seed extracts of Dokong showed no inhibition zones towards any of the tested bacteria.
One of the factors on which the incidence of leptospirosis is dependent is the survival time of shed leptospires in surface water or soil water, and this time is in turn affected by the acidity or alkalinity of the water. The authors have therefore studied the survival of four leptospiral serotypes in buffered distilled water at pH's ranging from 5.3 to 8.0. All survived longer in alkaline than in acid water, and significant differences between the serotypes were found in response to pH. Survival at pH's under 7.0 ranged from 10 to 117 days and at pH's over 7.0 from 21 to 152 days. Survival was also studied in aqueous extracts of soil samples from different areas in Malaya; no correlation was found between pH and survival time.It was also noted that in a group of Malayan ricefields a low incidence of leptospirosis in man was accompanied by a high infection rate among rodents, and when it was found that this phenomenon could not be explained by pH or salinity, attention was turned to the soil. Bentonite clay, similar to the montmorrillonite clay of the ricefields, was found to adsorb about half the leptospires in suspension. The authors recommend that field study of this laboratory observation be undertaken.
Effects of food irradiation on allergen and nutritional composition of giant freshwater prawn are not well documented. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects of gamma irradiation on tropomyosin allergen, proximate composition, and mineral elements in Macrobrachium rosenbergii. In this study, prawn was peeled, cut into small pieces, vacuum packaged and gamma irradiated at 0, 5, 7, 10 and 15 kGy with a dose rate of 0.5 kGy/h using cobalt-60 as the source, subsequently determined the level of tropomyosin, proximate composition and mineral elements respectively. The results showed that band density of tropomyosin irradiated at 10 and 15 kGy is markedly decreased. Proximate analysis revealed that moisture, protein, and carbohydrate content were significantly different as compared with non-irradiated prawn. Meanwhile, gamma irradiated M. rosenbergii at 15 kGy was observed to be significantly higher in nickel and zinc than the non-irradiated prawn. The findings provide a new information that food irradiation may affect the tropomyosin allergen, proximate composition and mineral elements of the prawn.
The skin of a fast swimming shark reveals riblet structures that help reduce the shark's skin friction drag, enhancing its efficiency and speed while moving in the water. Inspired by the structure of the shark skin denticles, our team has carried out a study as an effort in improving the hydrodynamic design of marine vessels through hull design modification which was inspired by this riblet structure of shark skin denticle. Our study covers on macroscaled design modification. This is an attempt to propose an alternative for a better economical and practical modification to obtain a more optimum cruising characteristics for marine vessels. The models used for this study are constructed using computer-aided design (CAD) software, and computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations are then carried out to predict the effectiveness of the hydrodynamic effects of the biomimetic shark skins on those models. Interestingly, the numerical calculated results obtained show that the presence of biomimetic shark skin implemented on the vessels give about 3.75% reduction of drag coefficient as well as reducing up to 3.89% in drag force experienced by the vessels. Theoretically, as force drag can be reduced, it can lead to a more efficient vessel with a better cruising speed. This will give better impact to shipping or marine industries around the world. However, it can be suggested that an experimental procedure is best to be conducted to verify the numerical result that has been obtained for further improvement on this research.