Introduction: Gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) is relatively rare. The clinical behaviour of GIST ranges
from benign to frank sarcoma. The diagnosis is established through histopathological examination and
immunohistochemistry profile. In Malaysia, the number of publications related to GIST is relatively rare. This
study was therefore conducted to examine the demographic, histopathological and immunohistochemical
features of GIST cases diagnosed in the Department of Pathology, Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, Kuantan,
Pahang from 2009 until 2014. Methods: Past histopathological records were reviewed. Demographic and
histopathological and immunohistochemical data of patients diagnosed were collected. Results: There were
28 cases (14 males and 14 females) diagnosed as GIST. Mean age was 56.4 years, and the majority were
above 40 years of age (85.7%). Stomach was the most common location (42.9%), followed by small intestine
(28.6%). In 23 cases (82%), the tumours exhibited spindle cell morphology, while epithelioid cell and mixed
cell types were seen in 3 cases (11%) and 2 cases (7%), respectively. Five cases were categorised as very low
risk to low risk behaviour, while 18 cases were intermediate to high. None of the histological parameters
analysed which include tumour morphology, necrosis, haemorrhage, nuclear atypia and mean number of
mitoses showed significance difference between the different risk behaviour groups. Positivity with KIT
(CD117), considered to be the defining immunohistochemistry feature, was negative in 2 cases. Conclusion:
Although this study is a retrospective study, the findings contribute to the knowledge on GISTS in Malaysia.
Future research related to GISTs in Malaysia should focus on molecular analyses for KIT and PDGFRA
mutations for diagnostic confirmation especially in KIT-negative cases and also for the purpose of
therapeutic response correlations.
The Malaysian’s PUSPATI TRIGA Reactor (RTP) achieved its initial criticality on June 28, 1982. The reactor is designed to effectively implement various fields of basic nuclear research, manpower training, and production of radioisotopes. Several past activities on neutronics modelling development and validation of the RTP were carried out using Monte Carlo Code MCNP. In this work, the developed model was used to characterise in-core and beam-ports irradiation facilities of the reactor. The thermal and fast neutron flux distributions in these facilities were determined using MCNP mesh tally method. It was found that the flux as well as its spectral characteristics depended very much on the position of the irradiation facility in the reactor core or in the beam-ports. The maximum neutron flux was found to be in the Central Thimble facility with 1.98E13 nv of thermal neutron. The thermal-to-total flux ratio varies significantly from 0.41 for the in-core facility, 0.58 in the reflector and up to 0.88 in the beam-ports.
Melissopalynology (pollen analysis) allows the identification of floral sources, botanical and geographical origin of selected Kelulut honey samples. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the origin of selected Kelulut honey by Geniotrigona thoracica and Heterotrigona itama farmed and harvested at Lenggong (Perak). Briefly, the honey was diluted in ddH2O and filtered to obtain the pollens. Subsequently, the morphology of the pollens was observed under scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the frequency classes of species were determined. Based on qualitative and quantitative analysis, G. thoracica honey was demonstrated to be a uni-floral honey and H. Itama honey as a multi-floral honey. A total of 7 types of pollens were observed in G. thoracica honey while 9 types in H. Itama honey. Some of the pollen were identified with the aid of pollen atlas while some were unidentified. Furthermore, the results obtained in this study suggested that the pollens present in Kelulut honey are crucial in identifying botanical resource of stingless bee honey, which assist in preserving the ecosystem.
As air travelling now becomes cheaper and available to almost all people of any walk of life, travelling across international borders is fast becoming a lifestyle of many. Having travel health service as part of health care services is important to address the issues of travel related illnesses among travellers. However, lacks of published guidelines pertaining to travel health service rendering many countries to overlook its importance. The aim of this paper is to review published literatures and authoritative websites on the components needed to develop guideline to establish travel health services. A systematic literature search was done using pre-specified keywords for literatures published between years 2000 – 2016. Literatures written in English and fully accessible were all included. No exclusion criteria was set before the search. Online authoritative websites pertaining to travel health were also referred. A total of six literatures ranging from expert opinion, review paper and original study, together with three authoritative websites related to travel health were reviewed. Among the important components needed to be considered for developing the guideline for establishing travel health services are to prioritise pre-travel health service, to set up specialised travel health clinic, to produce travel health/medicine specialist, to emphasize on continuous education and training of the practitioners and to apply multiagency and multidisciplinary approach with adequate fund for research in travel health. As a conclusion, policy makers should prioritise and select the most important components in developing guideline for travel health service.
The effect of mixed strain culture of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Yeast, and yeast or L.
brevis, L. plantarum, or L. sanfranciscencis on the physicochemical properties (pH, TTA,
organic acid, ethanol, and sugar content) of rice bran sourdough was investigated. Starter
culture with optimum physicochemical properties was used to ferment rice and wheat bran
for sourdough production. Rice and wheat bran sourdough and non-fermented rice and
wheat bran were mixed with wheat flour at 10% substitution level for bread production.
Results showed that rice bran fermented with L. plantarum had the best physicochemical
properties compared to rice bran sourdough produced by other LAB or mixed culture. The
specific volume of bread sample made with rice bran sourdough (4.65 cm3
/g) was higher
than that of the bread samples made from wheat bran sourdough (4.32 cm3
/g) and nonfermented
bran (3.74 – 4.24 cm3
/g), but not significantly different from the control (100%
wheat) bread (4.85 cm3
/g). The crumb colour of the rice bran and rice bran sourdough
substituted bread was lighter than that of the other bread samples. Crust colour of all the
bread samples was not significantly different (p > 0.05). At the end of 6 days storage
period, bread samples from control and wheat bran sourdough were firmer than that from
rice bran sourdough, however, crumb firmness values were highest in non-fermented bran
substituted bread. Sensory analysis result revealed that rice bran sourdough bread was
more acceptable than wheat bran sourdough bread, and non-fermented rice and wheat bran
substituted bread.
Anthropometric study is one of the oldest branches of study in ergonomics where it serves a purpose in study of
proportion and size for human body. One of the common methods used in anthropometric measurement is traditional
measurement or direct measurement. However, Malaysia is still left behind other countries in development of national
anthropometric database. Researchers in Malaysia are still relying on the traditional anthropometric (TA)
measurement. There are several important factors that contribute to problems in TA such as accuracy, time, posture,
identification of landmarks, instrument positions and orientations, and pressure exerted due to measuring equipment. In
view of the fact that the difficulties of obtaining human anthropometry, it becomes necessary to propose a method which
has less contact executed to respondent. This study aims to propose a new anthropometric measurement method using
motion capture camera (MCC) method, later to develop the database for youth male population. A pilot test was done
in order to confirm the measuring procedure as well as the flow of the study. Next, the Minitab statistical software used
to check the validity and reliability of data using the tests of a) Accuracy-Pearson/Spearman Correlation b) BiasPaired
T-Test c) Test-Retest Reliability-Pearson/Spearman Correlation d) Precision-Mean Absolute Difference and
Relative Error Measurement. Results showed that the validity and reliability of this motion camera has successfully
obtained and the anthropometric data for youth male respondents has successfully constructed. These findings can be
used and expended to the national anthropometric database to be utilised in ergonomics design.
The best commonly applied approach in seating ergonomics is the concept that the seat must fit the sitter.
Understanding of population anthropometry is necessary because, in the mass vehicle market, a single seat should fit
a huge portion of the population. This research work proposes some automotive seat fit parameters based on a
representative Nigerian anthropometric data, to ensure an optimum fit between the vehicle seats and the occupants,
as well as providing adequate accommodation. Anthropometric data of 863 Nigerians captured with special emphasis
on the dimensions that are applicable in automotive seat design. A comparison made between the data obtained and
that of five other countries. The proposed dimensions includes: seat cushion width (475mm); seat cushion length
(394mm); seat height (340mm); seat lateral location (583mm); seat back height (480mm); seat back width (427mm);
armrest height (246mm); headrest height (703mm); armrest surface length (345mm); backrest width (thoracic level)
(524mm); seat adjustment (186mm); backrest width (lumbar level) (475mm) and distance between armrests
(475mm). A comparison made between the proposed dimensions and those recommended by four other scholars for
other populations. Finally, an ergonomic automotive seat suitable for the Nigerian population was designed using
AutoCAD 2016 software based on the proposed established dimensions.
As a way to enhance performance in sports, apart from in-field or in court training, athletes are recommended to adopt resistance training into their training routine. As an exercise that needs the performer to split their legs, lunge is suggested to be included as an exercise in a training session. Various researches had been conducted on lunge and several findings showed different methods or protocols of lunge affect the kinematics, kinetics muscle activation and fascicle behaviour response during the exercise. Although not much study conducted on the chronic adaptations, the existing studies suggested that performers should well plan the training protocols as this will cause different training adaptations.
PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates) have emerged as biodegradable plastics more strongly in the 20th century. A wide range of bacterial species along with fungi, plants, oilseed crops and carbon sources have been used extensively to synthesize PHA on large scales. Alteration of PHA monomers in their structures and composition has led to the development of biodegradable and biocompatible polymers with highly specific mechanical properties. This leads to the incorporation of PHA in numerous biomedical applications within the previous decade. PHAs have been fabricated in various forms to perform tissue engineering to repair liver, bone, cartilage, heart tissues, cardiovascular tissues, bone marrow, and to act as drug delivery system and nerve conduits. A large number of animal trials have been carried out to assess the biomedical properties of PHA monomers, which also confirms the high compatibility of PHA family for this field. This review summarizes the synthesis of PHA from different sources, and biosynthetic pathways and biomedical applications of biosynthesized polyhydroxyalkanoates.
Monthly data about oil production at several drilling wells is an example of
spatio-temporal data. The aim of this research is to propose nonlinear spatio-temporal
model, i.e. Feedforward Neural Network - VectorAutoregressive (FFNN-VAR) and FFNN
- Generalized Space-Time Autoregressive (FFNN-GSTAR), and compare their forecast
accuracy to linearspatio-temporal model, i.e. VAR and GSTAR. These spatio-temporal
models are proposed and applied for forecasting monthly oil production data at three
drilling wells in East Java, Indonesia. There are 60 observations that be divided to two
parts, i.e. the first 50 observations for training data and the last 10 observations for
testing data. The results show that FFNN-GSTAR(11) and FFNN-VAR(1) as nonlinear
spatio-temporal models tend to give more accurate forecast than VAR(1) and GSTAR(11)
as linear spatio-temporal models. Moreover, further research about nonlinear spatiotemporal
models based on neural networks and GSTAR is needed for developing new
hybrid models that could improve the forecast accuracy.
Banana fruit which belongs to the family Musaceae is one of the most widely distributed and
consumed fruit in the world especially in tropical and subtropical countries. People only consume the
banana’s pulp and dump its peel as solid waste. This gives a very serious agricultural waste disposal
and eventually cause environmental problems that keep worsen each day. Thus, this study concern
on the phytochemical content and the antioxidant in peel extracts of unripe Cavendish and Dream
banana. The dried peels of banana fruit were grinded and extracted by using ethanol as the extraction
solvent. The percentage yield of the ethanol extract of unripe Cavendish and Dream banana fruit
peels were 17.765 % and 17.081 % respectively. The banana peel extracts were screened for the
presence of bioactive compounds which showed the presence of phenols, flavonoids and tannins.
Antioxidant activity of the banana peel extracts was evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl
(DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. The concentration of the peel extracts required for 50 %
inhibition of DPPH radical scavenging activity ( ) were recorded at 90.28 μg/ml for Cavendish
and 113.09 μg/ml for Dream banana. The extracts of both banana peels definitely showed potential
as a sources of natural antioxidant.
Ficus carica L. or fig is the oldest fruit tree that being cultivated by man. Grouped under genus Ficus, this species is grown widely in Mediterranean region and now being cultivated in an area with temperate or sub-temperate climate. Fig planting in Malaysia is still new, which was brought by a man as a hobby at first. Fig is a unique fruit tree as some variety can produce fruits without pollination. Contain lots of carbohydrates, essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals such potassium, fibre, calcium, iron compared to other fruits, fig have become an important source of diet to people especially in Mediterranean region since ancient time.
The objective of this study is to identify whether emotional intelligence among employees between grades N17 to N27 substantially affects their work motivation in the organisation of Mardi. This study used the instruments of Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) and Employee Performance Measure. Data were collected by using questionnaires that were distributed to 50 staffs in Human Resources Management Division, Headquarters of MARDI, Serdang, Selangor. The results of correlation analysis showed that the relationship between emotional intelligence and motivation among employees in Grade 17 to 27 that are working in MARDI is not significant. In addition, the different levels of emotional intelligence according to their positions were not significant, however, for different levels of self-motivation by grade showed a significant and positive relationship. The research findings can give a good benefit to MARDI Division Human Resources Management in the effort of improving the quality of work and services among support staffs.
This research explores the possibility of using fluorescence technique to detect the presence of volatile organic compounds based on a single sensing material. The material used was TiO2 nanoparticles coated with porphyrin dye. The TiO2 nanoparticles colloid is in a sol-gel form synthesized from titanium (IV) ethoxide in ethanol with addition of kalium chloride (KCl) as stabilizer. TiO2 nanoparticles were then coated with porphyrin dye, Manganase (III) 5,10,15,20 tetra (4-pyridyl)-21H, 23H porphine chloride tetrakis (metachloride). The coated nanoparticles were deposited on quartz substrate using self-assembly through dip coating technique. The sensing properties of the thin film toward volatile organic compounds; ethanol, acetone, cyclohexane and 2-propanol were studied using luminescence spectrometer. It was found that the thin film produced different emission spectra peaks for different volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Hence, it eases chemical identification process and potentially be use as fluorescence gas sensor.
This paper reports on the detection of several organic vapors using the unique characteristic of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) gold nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles on quartz substrate were prepared using seed mediated growth method. In a typical process, gold nanoparticles with average size ca. 36 nm were obtained to densely grown on the substrate. Detection of gas was based on the change in the LSPR of the gold nanoparticles film upon the exposure to the gas sample. It was found that gold nanoparticles were sensitive to the presence of volatile organic compound (VOC) gas from the change in the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) intensity. The mechanism for the detection of VOC’s gas will be discussed.
Coklat adalah salah satu daripada makanan pembekal tenaga segera dan mempunyai kandungan antioksida yang tinggi. Dalam kajian ini, fungsi coklat telah ditingkatkan dengan menjadikannya sebagai pembawa bahan prebiotik melalui penukaran keseluruhan kandungan gula dengan inulin. Ujian awal telah dilakukan untuk memilih kepekatan atau dos inulin yang paling sesuai sebagai sumber karbon untuk merangsang pertumbuhan bifidobakteria dalam fermentasi kultur kelompok selama 24 jam dengan menilai kesannya terhadap perubahan kepekatan sel. Ujian dilakukan terhadap 4 strain bifidobakteria iaitu Bifidobacterium longum BB536, B. breve ATCC 15700, B. infantis ATCC 15697 dan B. pseudocatenulatum G4. Keputusan menunjukkan kesemua strain bifidobakteria mampu menggunakan inulin sebagai sumber karbon pada kepekatan 2, 5, 10 hinggalah 15 g/L inulin. Manakala kepekatan 5 g/L inulin dilihat mampu digunakan secara optimum (tiada perbezaan signifikan pada p>0.05) oleh keempat-empat spesies bifidobakteria tersebut. Inulin pada kepekatan 5 g/L telah digunakan untuk menghasilkan produk coklat susu (MC-1) dan coklat gelap (DC-2) berinulin, yang seterusnya dinilai kemampuan produk merangsang pertumbuhan spesis bifidobakteria berkenaan secara in vitro. Didapati wujud korelasi negatif yang signifikan (p<0.01) antara pertambahan bilangan bifidobakteria dan pH untuk setiap kultur tulen B. pseudocatenulatum G4, B. Infantis, B. Breve (masing-masing r= -0.97) dan B. longum BB536 (r= -0.95). Inulin dengan kepekatan 5 g/L telah digunakan sebagai ramuan produk coklat berinulin atau prebiotik. Ia didapati dapat meningkatkan pertumbuhan keempat-empat spesis bifidobakteria berkenaan dengan lebih berkesan berbanding penggunaan inulin sahaja sebagai sumber karbon.
Seaweed industry is important in several countries including Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The seaweed, Kappaphycus is widely used in a variety of food products as an excellent nutritional supplement. There are several stages in producing raw Kappaphycus for industry such as cultivation and harvest. Most of these steps follow a traditional way which has been practiced from one generation to another. As seaweed is part of the main ingredients in many final produce, its processing must incorporate cleanliness and quality aspect. Therefore, a focus on Halal is of utmost importance. Halal is a concept that stresses on shariah law and ensuring the utmost quality which benefits most producers especially in food and supplement products. However, the knowledge of Halal is still limited in marine production including seaweed. The seaweed process has gone through numerous stages yet none of them has been checked on its
Halalness aspect. This study is to deliberate on the aspect of Halalness for each stage involved, including cultivation and harvesting. To achieve this, observations and literature search were performed and findings showed that there is lack of hygienic practices in handling seaweed production. Therefore, conjoint initiatives among university-industry-government are needed to enhance the value proposition of the seaweed production as it complies with the concept of Halalness. This will contribute towards the development of Halal ecosystem from seed to harvest of quality seaweed production.
Adulterated premixed coffees have turned into an issue in Malaysia lately and have caught the eye of the authorities due to death reports linked to these products. The major cause of this issue is reported that these premixed coffees have passed food inspection test and eventually released to the market for public consumption. These coffees were claimed to be spiked with several sexual enhancers like sildenafil, tadalafil, and vardenafill, which are common drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction. Methods: Chemometrics approach using UV-Vis spectroscopy was developed to detect the selected sexual enhancer drugs found in commercial coffees by employing SIMCA-P software for the multivariate statistical analysis. Seven brands of coffee samples were purchased from local stores, and 30 sachets each were tested, hence totalling to 210 samples. Each sample was named H, J, G, W, N, T, and K, respectively. Results: Three multivariate models were generated, namely principal component analysis (PCA), orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). OPLS-DA was selected as the best model for the overall results as it displayed minimal discriminate. Sildenafil, tadalafil, and vardenafil were detected in sample H, while vardenafil in brand J, and none in samples G, W, N, T, and K. Conclusion: OPLS-DA analysis showed discrimination for the sexual enhancer drugs in two brands of premixed coffee. The UV-Vis spectroscopy-based chemometrics method proved to be reliable and efficient in determining the selected drugs, as well as in saving time and cost.
The effect of ZrO2 addition on the microstructure, morphology and pressure sensing behaviour of Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3 ceramics was studied in five different compositions of ZrO2, namely x = 0.48, 0.50, 0.52, 0.54 and 0.56. The samples were prepared through the solid-state reaction method using high purity metal oxides powders. In order to control the PbO losses due to high temperature sintering, a novel approach were explored whereby the samples were sintered in Al2O3 environment. Structural investigation using X-ray diffraction (XRD) method revealed that all samples exhibited a tetragonal crystal structure. However the c/a lattice parameters ratios exhibited a decreasing trend as the ZrO2 content was increased, indicating that PZT crystals gradually evolved towards pseudocubic structure. SEM micrographs showed different morphology of each composition with the grain size varies in the range of 1.5 μm to 3.15 μm. The performance of pressure sensing behaviour showed that sample with composition x = 0.52 exhibited the best piezoelectric properties with high sensitivity. However, all samples failed to show good stability and repeatability due to slow recovery after severe lattice strain.