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  1. Fulltext Biology of Incidental Catch Sea Star Stellaster childreni Gray, 1840 (Echinodermata: Asteroidea), from Malaysian Borneo Exclusive Economic Zone
    Hassan R, Lee SY, Morni WZW
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2017;2017:1489360.
    PMID: 28695188 DOI: 10.1155/2017/1489360
    Sea star (class Asteroidea, phylum Echinodermata) is one of the most successful marine organisms inhabiting a wide range of habitats. As one of the key stone species, sea stars are responsible for maintaining much of the local diversity of species within certain communities. Malaysian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Resource Survey had been carried out from 16th Aug to 6th Nov 2015 and one of the invertebrate by-catch organisms is sea star Stellaster childreni Gray, 1840. This study documents morphological characters and diet of the sea star, besides providing brief descriptions of the habitats based on particle size analysis and vessel log data sheet. A total of 217 individuals had been examined throughout this study. Fragments of flora and fauna were found in the gut including Mollusca (gastropod, bivalves, and scaphopods), sponge seagrass, and seaweed as well as benthic Foraminifera. Stellaster childreni were found at depth of 45 m to 185 m in the South China Sea off Sarawak Malaysia, with various sea bottom substrata. Approximately 41% of S. childreni were found at a mixture of sandy and muddy substratum, followed by mixture of sandy and coral (19.3%), muddy substratum (17.5%), coral substratum (11.5%), and sandy areas (10.6%). The widely distributed sea star on different types of sea beds suggested healthy deep sea ecosystem; thus Malaysia should explore further potential fisheries resources in the EEZ off Sarawak coast.
  2. Fulltext The Cytokine and Bone Protein Expression by Ellagic Acid-Hydroxyapatite in Bone Remodelling Model
    Primasari DN, Nirwana I, Budi HS, Wardhana AS, Sari AF, Novita N, et al.
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2022;2022:6740853.
    PMID: 36561943 DOI: 10.1155/2022/6740853
    OBJECTIVE: Ellagic acid, a phenolic compound with anti-inflammatory potential, can be used to accelerate the bone healing process and affect human health, while hydroxyapatite is the most commonly used bone graft material. Using a combination of the two materials results in reduced inflammation and increased osteogenesis. This study aimed to determine the effects of combining ellagic acid and hydroxyapatite in bone marker remodelling by analysing the expression of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin 10 (IL-10), bone morphogenetic 4 protein (BMP-4), and osteopontin (OPN).

    METHODS: Thirty Wistar rats were used in the study. A defect was created in each animal's femur using a low-speed diamond bur. In the control group, the bone was then treated with polyethylene glycol (PEG). In one of the other groups, the bone was treated with hydroxyapatite, and in the other, with ellagic acid-hydroxyapatite. The femur was biopsied 7 days after the procedure and again 14 days after the procedure, and an indirect immunohistochemical (IHC) examination was performed for TNF-α, IL-10, BMP-4, and OPN expression.

    RESULTS: The ellagic acid-hydroxyapatite decreased TNF-α expression in the bone tissue after 7 days and again after 14 days (p 

  3. Fulltext Short-Term Effects of Strengthening Exercises of the Lower Limb Rehabilitation Protocol on Pain, Stiffness, Physical Function, and Body Mass Index among Knee Osteoarthritis Participants Who Were Overweight or Obese: A Clinical Trial
    Rafiq MT, Hamid MSA, Hafiz E
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2021;2021:6672274.
    PMID: 34975349 DOI: 10.1155/2021/6672274
    BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is defined as a progressive disease of the synovial joints and is characterized by wear and tear of the cartilage and underlying bone. This study aimed to determine the short-term effects of the lower limb rehabilitation protocol (LLRP) on pain, stiffness, physical function, and body mass index (BMI) among knee OA participants who were overweight or obese. Methodology. A single-blinded randomized controlled trial of one-month duration was conducted at Rehmatul-Lil-Alameen Postgraduate Institute, Lahore, Pakistan. Fifty overweight or obese participants with knee OA were randomly divided into two groups by a computer-generated number. Participants in the rehabilitation protocol group (RPG) were provided with leaflets explaining the strengthening exercises of the LLRP and instruction of daily care (IDC), while the participants in the control group (CG) were provided with leaflets explaining the IDC only for a duration of four weeks. The primary outcome measures were the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) scores for pain, stiffness, and physical function. The secondary outcome measures were BMI, exercise adherence, and patients' satisfaction assessed by using the numeric rating scale ranging from 0 to 10. The paired-sample t-test was used to analyze the differences within groups from baseline to posttest evaluations. The analysis of variance 2 × 2 factor was used to analyze the differences in BMI, knee pain, stiffness, and physical function between the groups.

    RESULTS: Participants in the RPG and CG reported a statistically significant reduction in knee pain and stiffness (p ≤ 0.05) within the group. The reduction in the scores of knee pain was higher in participants in the RPG than that in participants in the CG (p=0.001). Additionally, participants in the RPG reported greater satisfaction (p=0.001) and higher self-reported exercise adherence (p=0.010) and coordinator-reported exercise adherence (p=0.046) than the participants in the CG.

    CONCLUSION: Short-term effects of the LLRP appear to reduce knee pain and stiffness only, but not physical function and BMI.

  4. Fulltext Corrigendum to "Risk Assessment of Fishing Trawl Activities to Subsea Pipelines of Sabah and Labuan Waters"
    Fuad AFA, Said MH, Samo K, Rahman MAA, Mohd MH, Zainol I
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2020;2020:7014928.
    PMID: 33522519 DOI: 10.1155/2020/7014928
    [This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2020/6957171.].
  5. Fulltext Hepatoprotective Effects of a Novel Trihoney against Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Comparative Study with Atorvastatin
    Alfarisi HAH, Ibrahim MB, Mohamed ZBH, Azahari N, Hamdan AHB, Che Mohamad CA
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2020;2020:4503253.
    PMID: 33132768 DOI: 10.1155/2020/4503253
    Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent chronic liver disorder worldwide with no curative therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate the hepatoprotective effects of a novel Trihoney against biochemical and histological manifestations of NAFLD in hypercholesterolemic rabbits. Methodology. Forty-eight male New Zealand white (NZW) rabbits were grouped into normal diet (C), normal diet with 0.6 g/kg/day of Trihoney (C + H), 1% cholesterol diet (HCD), 1% cholesterol diet with 0.3 g/kg/day of Trihoney (HCD + H1), 1% cholesterol diet with 0.6 g/kg/day of Trihoney (HCD + H2), and 1% cholesterol diet with 2 mg/kg/day of atorvastatin (HCD + At.). Animals were sacrificed after 12 weeks of treatment. Serum lipids and liver function test (LFT) were measured prior to and at the endpoint of the experiment for total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL-c), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and total bilirubin (T. Bil.). Liver was processed for histopathology study. Liver homogenate was analysed for oxidative stress parameters: superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and malondialdehyde (MDA). Results. Lipid analysis approved the induction of hypercholesterolemia. A significant elevation (p < 0.01) of serum AST and ALT levels showed by the HCD group was compared to C and C + H groups. Trihoney exhibited a significant reduction (p < 0.001) of AST and ALT compared to the HCD group. Likewise, AST and ALT reduced significantly in the HCD + At. group (p < 0.001). Trihoney supplementation induced significant (p < 0.05) enhancement of SOD and GPx activities. Atorvastatin treatment was associated with significant (p < 0.05) reduction of SOD and GPx activities in the liver. Trihoney and atorvastatin showed marked (p < 0.001) reduction of hepatic lipid peroxidation. Trihoney showed histological protection against progression of NAFLD to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Atorvastatin exhibited no beneficial impact on hepatic architecture. Conclusion. Trihoney was able to maintain normal liver function and showed hepatoprotection against progression of NAFLD to NASH probably through hypocholesterolaemic and antioxidant functions.
  6. Fulltext Assessment of antioxidant and cytotoxicity activities of saponin and crude extracts of Chlorophytum borivilianum
    Ashraf MF, Abd Aziz M, Stanslas J, Ismail I, Abdul Kadir M
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2013;2013:216894.
    PMID: 24223502 DOI: 10.1155/2013/216894
    The present paper focused on antioxidant and cytotoxicity assessment of crude and total saponin fraction of Chlorophytum borivilianum as an important medicinal plant. In this study, three different antioxidant activities (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging (DPPH), ferrous ion chelating (FIC), and β -carotene bleaching (BCB) activity) of crude extract and total saponin fraction of C. borivilianum tubers were performed. Crude extract was found to possess higher free radical scavenging activity (ascorbic acid equivalents 2578 ± 111 mg AA/100 g) and bleaching activity (IC50 = 0.7 mg mL(-1)), while total saponin fraction displayed higher ferrous ion chelating (EC50 = 1 mg mL(-1)). Cytotoxicity evaluation of crude extract and total saponin fraction against MCF-7, PC3, and HCT-116 cancer cell lines using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) cell viability assay indicated a higher cytotoxicity activity of the crude extract than the total saponin fraction on all cell lines, being most effective and selective on MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line.
  7. Fulltext Induction and analysis of the alkaloid mitragynine content of a Mitragyna speciosa suspension culture system upon elicitation and precursor feeding
    Mohamad Zuldin NN, Said IM, Mohd Noor N, Zainal Z, Jin Kiat C, Ismail I
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2013;2013:209434.
    PMID: 24065873 DOI: 10.1155/2013/209434
    This study aimed to determine the effects of different concentrations and combinations of the phytohormones 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D), kinetin, 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), and 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) on callus induction and to demonstrate the role of elicitors and exogenous precursors on the production of mitragynine in a Mitragyna speciosa suspension culture. The best callus induction was achieved from petiole explants cultured on WPM that was supplemented with 4 mg L⁻¹ 2,4-D (70.83%). Calli were transferred to liquid media and agitated on rotary shakers to establish Mitragyna speciosa cell suspension cultures. The optimum settled cell volume was achieved in the presence of WPM that contained 3 mg L⁻¹ 2,4-D and 3% sucrose (9.47 ± 0.4667 mL). The treatment of cultures with different concentrations of yeast extract and salicylic acid for different inoculation periods revealed that the highest mitragynine content as determined by HPLC was achieved from the culture treated with 250 mg L⁻¹ yeast extract (9.275 ± 0.082 mg L⁻¹) that was harvested on day 6 of culturing; salicylic acid showed low mitragynine content in all concentrations used. Tryptophan and loganin were used as exogenous precursors; the highest level of mitragynine production was achieved in cultures treated with 3  μM tryptophan and harvested at 6 days (13.226 ± 1.98 mg L⁻¹).
  8. Fulltext Deriving freshwater quality criteria for iron, lead, nickel, and zinc for protection of aquatic life in Malaysia
    Shuhaimi-Othman M, Nadzifah Y, Nur-Amalina R, Umirah NS
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2012;2012:861576.
    PMID: 22919358 DOI: 10.1100/2012/861576
    Freshwater quality criteria for iron (Fe), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) were developed with particular reference to aquatic biota in Malaysia, and based on USEPA's guidelines. Acute toxicity tests were performed on eight different freshwater domestic species in Malaysia which were Macrobrachium lanchesteri (prawn), two fish: Poecilia reticulata and Rasbora sumatrana, Melanoides tuberculata (snail), Stenocypris major (ostracod), Chironomus javanus (midge larvae), Nais elinguis (annelid), and Duttaphrynus melanostictus (tadpole) to determine 96 h LC(50) values for Fe, Pb, Ni, and Zn. The final acute value (FAV) for Fe, Pb, Ni, and Zn were 74.5, 17.0, 165, and 304.9 μg L(-1), respectively. Using an estimated acute-to-chronic ratio (ACR) of 8.3, the value for final chronic value (FCV) was derived. Based on FAV and FCV, a criterion maximum concentration (CMC) and a criterion continuous concentration (CCC) for Fe, Pb, Ni, and Zn that are 37.2, 8.5, 82.5, and 152.4 μg L(-1) and 9.0, 2.0, 19.9, and 36.7 μg L(-1), respectively, were derived. The results of this study provide useful data for deriving national or local water quality criteria for Fe, Pb, Ni, and Zn based on aquatic biota in Malaysia. Based on LC(50) values, this study indicated that N. elinguis, M. lanchesteri, N. elinguis, and R. sumatrana were the most sensitive to Fe, Pb, Ni, and Zn, respectively.
  9. Fulltext Effects of 1-methylcyclopropene and modified atmosphere packaging on the antioxidant capacity in pepper "Kulai" during low-temperature storage
    Tan CK, Ali ZM, Ismail I, Zainal Z
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2012;2012:474801.
    PMID: 22919322 DOI: 10.1100/2012/474801
    The objective of the present study was to simultaneously evaluate the effect of a postharvest treatment on the pepper's antioxidant content and its ability to retain its economical value during the postharvest period. The fruits were pretreated by modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) with or without treatment with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) before cold storage at 10°C. Changes in the levels of non-enzymatic antioxidants, including the total phenolic, ascorbic acid levels and the total glutathione level, as well as enzymatic antioxidants, including ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), and catalase (CAT), were determined. Both treatments successfully extended the shelf life of the fruit for up to 25 days, and a high level of antioxidant capacity was maintained throughout the storage period. However, 1-MCP treatment maintained the high antioxidant capacity for a longer period of time. The 1-MCP-treated peppers maintained high levels of phenolic content, a high reduced glutathione (GSH)/oxidised glutathione (GSSG) ratio, decreased levels of ascorbic acid and CAT activity, and increased levels of APX and GR compared with the peppers that were not treated with 1-MCP. The overall results suggested that a combination of 1-MCP and MAP was the most effective treatment for extending shelf life while retaining the nutritional benefits.
  10. Fulltext Postharvest analysis of lowland transgenic tomato fruits harboring hpRNAi-ACO1 construct
    Behboodian B, Mohd Ali Z, Ismail I, Zainal Z
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2012;2012:439870.
    PMID: 22919320 DOI: 10.1100/2012/439870
    The plant hormone, ethylene, is an important regulator which involved in regulating fruit ripening and flower senescence. In this study, RNA interference (RNAi) technology was employed to silence the genes involved in ethylene biosynthetic pathway. This was achieved by blocking the expression of specific gene encoding the ACC oxidase. Initially, cDNA corresponding to ACO1 of lowland tomato cultivar (MT1), which has high identity with ACO1 of Solanum lycopersicum in GenBank, was cloned through RT-PCR. Using a partial coding region of ACO1, one hpRNAi transformation vector was constructed and expressed ectopically under the 35S promoter. Results showed that transgenic lines harboring the hpRNA-ACO1 construct had lower ethylene production and a longer shelf life of 32 days as compared to 10 days for wild-type fruits. Changes in cell wall degrading enzyme activities were also investigated in cases where the transgenic fruits exhibited reduced rates of firmness loss, which can be associated with a decrease in pectin methylesterase (PME) and polygalacturonase (PG) activities. However, no significant change was detected in both transgenic and wild-type fruits in terms of β-galactosidase (β-Gal) activity and levels of total soluble solid, titratable acid and ascorbic acid.
  11. Fulltext Plants' metabolites as potential antiobesity agents
    Gooda Sahib N, Saari N, Ismail A, Khatib A, Mahomoodally F, Abdul Hamid A
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2012;2012:436039.
    PMID: 22666121 DOI: 10.1100/2012/436039
    Obesity and obesity-related complications are on the increase both in the developed and developing world. Since existing pharmaceuticals fail to come up with long-term solutions to address this issue, there is an ever-pressing need to find and develop new drugs and alternatives. Natural products, particularly medicinal plants, are believed to harbor potential antiobesity agents that can act through various mechanisms either by preventing weight gain or promoting weight loss amongst others. The inhibition of key lipid and carbohydrate hydrolyzing and metabolizing enzymes, disruption of adipogenesis, and modulation of its factors or appetite suppression are some of the plethora of targeted approaches to probe the antiobesity potential of medicinal plants. A new technology such as metabolomics, which deals with the study of the whole metabolome, has been identified to be a promising technique to probe the progression of diseases, elucidate their pathologies, and assess the effects of natural health products on certain pathological conditions. This has been applied to drug research, bone health, and to a limited extent to obesity research. This paper thus endeavors to give an overview of those plants, which have been reported to have antiobesity effects and highlight the potential and relevance of metabolomics in obesity research.
  12. Fulltext Toxicity of metals to a freshwater snail, Melanoides tuberculata
    Shuhaimi-Othman M, Nur-Amalina R, Nadzifah Y
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2012;2012:125785.
    PMID: 22666089 DOI: 10.1100/2012/125785
    Adult freshwater snails Melanoides tuberculata (Gastropod, Thiaridae) were exposed for a four-day period in laboratory conditions to a range of copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), aluminium (Al), and manganese (Mn) concentrations. Mortality was assessed and median lethal times (LT₅₀) and concentrations (LC₅₀) were calculated. LT₅₀ and LC₅₀ increased with the decrease in mean exposure concentrations and times, respectively, for all metals. The LC(50) values for the 96-hour exposures to Cu, Cd, Zn, Pb, Ni, Fe, Al, and Mn were 0.14, 1.49, 3.90, 6.82, 8.46, 8.49, 68.23, and 45.59 mg L⁻¹, respectively. Cu was the most toxic metal to M. tuberculata, followed by Cd, Zn, Pb, Ni, Fe, Mn, and Al (Cu > Cd > Zn > Pb > Ni > Fe > Mn > Al). Metals bioconcentration in M. tuberculata increases with exposure to increasing concentrations and Cu has the highest accumulation (concentration factor) in the soft tissues. A comparison of LC₅₀ values for metals for this species with those for other freshwater gastropods reveals that M. tuberculata is equally sensitive to metals.
  13. Fulltext Embryonic, larval, and early juvenile development of the tropical sea urchin, Salmacis sphaeroides (Echinodermata: Echinoidea)
    Rahman MA, Yusoff FM, Arshad A, Shamsudin MN, Amin SM
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2012;2012:938482.
    PMID: 23055824 DOI: 10.1100/2012/938482
    Salmacis sphaeroides (Linnaeus, 1758) is one of the regular echinoids, occuring in the warm Indo-West Pacific, including Johor Straits, between Malaysia and Singapore. In order to investigate the developmental basis of morphological changes in embryos and larvae, we documented the ontogeny of S. sphaeroides in laboratory condition. Gametes were obtained from adult individuals by 0.5 M KCl injection into the coelomic cavity. Fertilization rate at limited sperm concentration (10(-5) dilution) was 96.6 ± 1.4% and the resulting embryos were reared at 24°C. First cleavage (2-cell), 4-cell, 8-cell, 16-cell, 32-cell, and multicell (Morulla) stages were achieved 01.12, 02.03, 02.28, 02.51, 03.12, and 03.32 h postfertilization. Ciliated blastulae with a mean length of 174.72 ± 4.43 μm hatched 08.45 h after sperm entry. The gastrulae formed 16.15 h postfertilization and the archenteron elongated constantly while ectodermal red-pigmented cells migrated synchronously to the apical plate. Pluteus larva started to feed unicellular algae in 2 d, grew continuously, and finally attained metamorphic competence in 35 d after fertilization. Metamorphosis took approximately 1 h 30 min from attachment to the complete resorption of larval tissues and the development of complete juvenile structure with adult spines, extended tubefeet and well-developed pedicellaria, the whole event of which usually took place within 1 d postsettlement. This study represents the first successful investigation on embryonic, larval, and early juvenile development of S. sphaeroides. The findings would greatly be helpful towards the understanding of ontogeny and life-history strategies, which will facilitate us to develop the breeding, seed production, and culture techniques of sea urchins in captive condition.
  14. Fulltext Protein profiling and histone deacetylation activities in somaclonal variants of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)
    Yaacob JS, Loh HS, Mat Taha R
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2013;2013:613635.
    PMID: 23844406 DOI: 10.1155/2013/613635
    Mantled fruits as a result of somaclonal variation are often observed from the oil palm plantlets regenerated via tissue culture. The mantling of fruits with finger-like and thick outer coating phenotypes significantly reduces the seed size and oil content, posing a threat to oil palm planters, and may jeopardize the economic growth of countries that depend particularly on oil palm plantation. The molecular aspects of the occurrence of somaclonal variations are yet to be known, possibly due to gene repression such as DNA methylation, histone methylation and histone deacetylation. Histone deacetylases (HDACs), involved in eukaryotic gene regulation by catalyzing the acetyl groups are removal from lysine residues on histone, hence transcriptionally repress gene expression. This paper described the total protein polymorphism profiles of somaclonal variants of oil palm and the effects of histone deacetylation on this phenomenon. Parallel to the different phenotypes, the protein polymorphism profiles of the mantled samples (leaves, fruits, and florets) and the phenotypically normal samples were proven to be different. Higher HDAC activity was found in mantled leaf samples than in the phenotypically normal leaf samples, leading to a preliminary conclusion that histone deacetylation suppressed gene expression and contributed to the development of somaclonal variants.
  15. Fulltext Production of gymnemic acid depends on medium, explants, PGRs, color lights, temperature, photoperiod, and sucrose sources in batch culture of Gymnema sylvestre
    Ahmed AB, Rao AS, Rao MV, Taha RM
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2012;2012:897867.
    PMID: 22629221 DOI: 10.1100/2012/897867
    Gymnema sylvestre (R.Br.) is an important diabetic medicinal plant which yields pharmaceutically active compounds called gymnemic acid (GA). The present study describes callus induction and the subsequent batch culture optimization and GA quantification determined by linearity, precision, accuracy, and recovery. Best callus induction of GA was noticed in MS medium combined with 2,4-D (1.5 mg/L) and KN (0.5 mg/L). Evaluation and isolation of GA from the calluses derived from different plant parts, namely, leaf, stem and petioles have been done in the present case for the first time. Factors such as light, temperature, sucrose, and photoperiod were studied to observe their effect on GA production. Temperature conditions completely inhibited GA production. Out of the different sucrose concentrations tested, the highest yield (35.4 mg/g d.w) was found at 5% sucrose followed by 12 h photoperiod (26.86 mg/g d.w). Maximum GA production (58.28 mg/g d.w) was observed in blue light. The results showed that physical and chemical factors greatly influence the production of GA in callus cultures of G. sylvestre. The factors optimized for in vitro production of GA during the present study can successfully be employed for their large-scale production in bioreactors.
  16. Fulltext Microvascular guidance: a challenge to support the development of vascularised tissue engineering construct
    Sukmana I
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2012;2012:201352.
    PMID: 22623881 DOI: 10.1100/2012/201352
    The guidance of endothelial cell organization into a capillary network has been a long-standing challenge in tissue engineering. Some research efforts have been made to develop methods to promote capillary networks inside engineered tissue constructs. Capillary and vascular networks that would mimic blood microvessel function can be used to subsequently facilitate oxygen and nutrient transfer as well as waste removal. Vascularization of engineering tissue construct is one of the most favorable strategies to overpass nutrient and oxygen supply limitation, which is often the major hurdle in developing thick and complex tissue and artificial organ. This paper addresses recent advances and future challenges in developing three-dimensional culture systems to promote tissue construct vascularization allowing mimicking blood microvessel development and function encountered in vivo. Bioreactors systems that have been used to create fully vascularized functional tissue constructs will also be outlined.
  17. Process Optimisation of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Oligosaccharides from Coconut Husk
    Tang SL, Hii SL, Koh CC
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2023;2023:9427831.
    PMID: 37096240 DOI: 10.1155/2023/9427831
    A fractional factorial design was used to investigate the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of oligosaccharides from coconut husk, an agroindustry by-product. The effects of five key influencing parameters (X 1, incubation temperature; X 2, extraction duration; X 3, ultrasonicator power; X 4, NaOH concentration; X 5, solid-to-liquid ratio) were studied. Total carbohydrate content (TC), total reducing sugar (TRS), and degree of polymerisation (DP) were the dependent variables. The optimal extraction condition was attained when oligosaccharides with a desired DP of 3.72 were extracted when the coconut husk in a liquid-to-solid ratio of 127 mL/g was treated with 1.05 percent (w/v) of NaOH solution at an incubation temperature of 30.4°C for 5 min using an ultrasonicator power of 248 W. The optimised parameters for oligosaccharide extraction from coconut husk reported in this study could be useful for the effective isolation of these compounds for prebiotic research.
  18. Fulltext Temporal aspects of surface water quality variation using robust statistical tools
    Mustapha A, Aris AZ, Ramli MF, Juahir H
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2012;2012:294540.
    PMID: 22919302 DOI: 10.1100/2012/294540
    Robust statistical tools were applied on the water quality datasets with the aim of determining the most significance parameters and their contribution towards temporal water quality variation. Surface water samples were collected from four different sampling points during dry and wet seasons and analyzed for their physicochemical constituents. Discriminant analysis (DA) provided better results with great discriminatory ability by using five parameters with (P < 0.05) for dry season affording more than 96% correct assignation and used five and six parameters for forward and backward stepwise in wet season data with P-value (P < 0.05) affording 68.20% and 82%, respectively. Partial correlation results revealed that there are strong (r(p) = 0.829) and moderate (r(p) = 0.614) relationships between five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD(5)) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), total solids (TS) and dissolved solids (DS) controlling for the linear effect of nitrogen in the form of ammonia (NH(3)) and conductivity for dry and wet seasons, respectively. Multiple linear regression identified the contribution of each variable with significant values r = 0.988, R(2) = 0.976 and r = 0.970, R(2) = 0.942 (P < 0.05) for dry and wet seasons, respectively. Repeated measure t-test confirmed that the surface water quality varies significantly between the seasons with significant value P < 0.05.
  19. Fulltext Enhancing business intelligence by means of suggestive reviews
    Qazi A, Raj RG, Tahir M, Cambria E, Syed KB
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:879323.
    PMID: 25054188 DOI: 10.1155/2014/879323
    Appropriate identification and classification of online reviews to satisfy the needs of current and potential users pose a critical challenge for the business environment. This paper focuses on a specific kind of reviews: the suggestive type. Suggestions have a significant influence on both consumers' choices and designers' understanding and, hence, they are key for tasks such as brand positioning and social media marketing. The proposed approach consists of three main steps: (1) classify comparative and suggestive sentences; (2) categorize suggestive sentences into different types, either explicit or implicit locutions; (3) perform sentiment analysis on the classified reviews. A range of supervised machine learning approaches and feature sets are evaluated to tackle the problem of suggestive opinion mining. Experimental results for all three tasks are obtained on a dataset of mobile phone reviews and demonstrate that extending a bag-of-words representation with suggestive and comparative patterns is ideal for distinguishing suggestive sentences. In particular, it is observed that classifying suggestive sentences into implicit and explicit locutions works best when using a mixed sequential rule feature representation. Sentiment analysis achieves maximum performance when employing additional preprocessing in the form of negation handling and target masking, combined with sentiment lexicons.
  20. Fulltext Fluoroscopy assisted minimally invasive transplantation of allogenic mesenchymal stromal cells embedded in HyStem reduces the progression of nucleus pulposus degeneration in the damaged ntervertebral [corrected] disc: a preliminary study in rabbits
    Subhan RA, Puvanan K, Murali MR, Raghavendran HR, Shani S, Abdullah BJ, et al.
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:818502.
    PMID: 24983002 DOI: 10.1155/2014/818502
    This study was conducted to develop a technique for minimally invasive and accurate delivery of stem cells to augment nucleus pulposus (NP) in damaged intervertebral discs (IVD). IVD damage was created in noncontiguous discs at L4-L5 level; rabbits (N = 12) were randomly divided into three groups: group I treated with MSCs in HyStem hydrogel, group II treated with HyStem alone, and group III received no intervention. MSCs and hydrogel were administered to the damaged disc under guidance of fluoroscopy. Augmentation of NP was assessed through histological and MRI T2 mapping of the NP after eight weeks of transplantation. T2 weighted signal intensity was higher in group I than in groups II and III (P < 0.05). Disc height index showed maximum disc height in group I compared to groups II and III. Histological score of the degenerative index was significantly (P < 0.05) lower in group I (8.6 ± 1.8) than that in groups II (11.6 ± 2.3) and III (18.0 ± 5.7). Immunohistochemistry staining for collagen type II and aggrecan staining were higher in group I as compared to other groups. Our results demonstrate that the minimally invasive administration of MSCs in hyaluronan hydrogel (HyStem) augments the repair of NP in damaged IVD.
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