Dengue virus is one of the emerging agents that can be transmitted via blood transfusion from infected blood donors to recipients. In Malaysia, the increase in dengue infection may contribute to the existence of asymptomatic blood donors and increase the risk of blood supply contaminated with this virus. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of NS1 dengue antigen among blood donors and to ascertain the demographic data of blood donors in Penang and and Perak. Methods: A total of 374 voluntary blood donors were recruited from two blood donation campaigns organised by Hospital Pulau Pinang, Penang and Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Ipoh, Perak from April to May 2016. From each centre, 187 voluntary blood donors were enrolled, blood was collected and Dengue NS1 Ag was screened on all the samples using Platelia dengue antigen test kit from Bio-Rad Laboratories, France. Results: All 374 samples were found to be negative for the Dengue NS1 antigen. Demographic data of these blood donors showed that the most common blood group was O Rh positive, men donated more than women and Chinese blood donors were the biggest group of donors. Conclusion: Even though dengue is endemic in Malaysia, none of the blood donors was screened positive for dengue NS1 antigen in the areas studied. This indicates that none of the blood donor at the time of donation was in viraemia stage. The established donor screening program ensures that the dengue transmission through transfusion is minimal in the areas studied.
Kidd blood group system is distributed differently within populations. In Malaysia, the prevalence of Kidd phenotypes have been reported but not in Hospital Umum Sarawak (HUS).We characterised Kidd phenotypes among regular blood donors in HUS. Methods: A cross-sectional study was done from 1st September 2015 to 10th September 2015. Blood samples were collected from 250 regular blood donors of different ethnicities in HUS. Samples were then investigated for Kidd blood group phenotypes by utilising Seraclon anti-Jka and anti-Jkb reagents employing the Diamed-ID gel card system. Results: Phenotype Jk(a+b+) was found in 110 out of 250 (44.0%) and phenotype Jk (a-b-) phenotype in seven out of 250 (2.8%) blood donors. Jk(a+b-) was detected in 60 out of 250 (24.0%) and Jk(a-b+) in 73 out of 250 (29.2%) donors. Kidd phenotype was detected in four ethnics; Chinese 50.8%, Malays 38.4%, Bidayuh 10.0% and Iban 0.8%. Jk(a-b-) phenotype was present only in the Malays; seven out of 250 (2.8%) but not found in other ethnicities. Conclusion: Jk(a+b+) is the most common Kidd phenotype found in regular blood donors in HUS in the four ethnicities studied. Only Malays exhibit the Jk(a-b-) phenotype which is a rare phenotype. The results of this study may serve as a preliminary database for Kidd blood group profile of regular blood donors in HUS.
Citrate is commonly used as an anti¬coagulant during plateletpheresis procedure. The calcium chelating property of citrate may cause hypocalcaemia when the anticoagulated blood are returned to the donor’s circulation after selective removal of platelet. This study aims at investigating how regular plateletpheresis affects calcium level and bone density in the donors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among healthy donors at National Blood Centre, Kuala Lumpur, from 15th January till 31st March 2016. Donors were divided into two groups based on the frequency of plateletpheresis donation: low frequency group - donors who had donated less than 20 times, high frequency group - donors who had donated more than 50 times. Dual emission X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan was performed to assess bone density. Pre-donation blood sampling was taken for albumin level. Calcium and magnesium levels were measured before and after donation. Results: Fifty donors participated in this study where the median age of participants was 35.0 years for low frequency and 45.2 years for high frequency group. There was no significant difference in the corrected calcium for both groups before and after plateletpheresis. However, the magnesium levels were significantly reduced in both arms (P
Sampels of Mnx-zMgzZn1-xFe2O4 ferrites, with x = 0.5, 0 < z < 0.5; x = 0.6, 0 < z 0.6 and x = 0.7, 0 < z < 0.7, were prepared by solid state reaction. For all samples, magnetization as a function of applied magnetic field was measured at room temperature (TR) and several temperatures above TR but below the Neel temperature (TN); while magnetic hysteresis was obtained at TR and 373 K using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Electrical resistivity at TR was measured by a two terminal method. The three series of Mn-Mg-Zn ferrite indicate a maximum ,agnetization at certain substitution of Mg. TN increased with the increase of Mg content while resistivity varied in the opposite manner. The variation of magnetization is interpreted as due to Mg started to replace the Mn at the tetrahedral sites (A) so that the resultant magnetic moment increased. However further substitution occurred at the octahedral sites (B), thus lowering the magnetic moment. A small coercivity indicates that the samples are soft ferrites with a small energy loss. A reduction in the electrical resistivity with Mg content probably due to an increase in the mobility of charge hopping between the Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions and also between Mn2+ and Mn3+ ions.
Sampel ferit Mnx-zMgzZn1-xFe2O4 dengan x = 0.5, 0 < z < 0.5; x = 0.6, 0 < z 0.6 dan x = 0.7, 0 < z < 0.7, disediakan dengan tindak balas keadaan pepejal. Pengukuran pemagnetan sebagai fungsi medan magnet dilakukan pada suhu bilik (TR) dan suhu-suhu yang lebih tinggi tetapi di bawah suhu Neel bilik (TR) dan suhu-suhu yang lebih tinggi tetapi di bawah suhu Neel (TN) serta histerisis magnet pada suhu bilik dan 373 K diperolehi untuk semua sampel menggunakan magnetometer sampel bergetar (VSM). Kerintangan elektrik pada suhu bilik diperolehi dengan kaedah dua terminal. Ketiga-tiga siri ferit Mn-Mg-Zn itu masing-masing menunjukkan suatu pemagnetan maksimum pada suatu kadar penggantian Mn oleh Mg. TN meningkat dengan kandungan Mg tetapi kerintangan elektrik berubah sebaliknya. Perubahan pemagnetan seperti yang tersebut disebabkan Mg mula menggantikan Mn pada tapak tetrahedron (A) menyebabkan momen magnet paduan meningkat. Penambahan Mg seterusnya menyebabkan Mn pada tapak oktahedron pula diganti, sehingga momen magnet paduan mengurang. Koersiviti yang kecil menunjukkan sampel bersifat magnet lembut dengan kehilangan tenaga yang sangat kecil. Pengurangan kerintangan dengan penambahan Mg mungkin disebabkan oleh peningkatan kelincahan pembawa cas yang melompat di antara ion-ion Fe2+ dan Fe3+ dan juga di antara Mn2+ dan Mn3+.
In order to cope with the ever-increasing traffic loading and to minimise the cost of road construction and maintenance, several road trials of High Modulus Base (HMB) materials containing a 15 penetration bitumen (known as HMB15) have been carried out in the UK since 1990s. It has been showed that, although HMB15 behaved in a similar way to conventional Dense Bitumen Macadam with a cost saving of approximately 25%, its long-term durability (aging and moisture damage) is still a major concern of researchers as considerable deteriorations have been commonly observed during the ongoing investigations on cored samples from the sites (either with or without traffic loading). The aim of this paper was to quantitatively show the relationship between aging properties of HMB15 and its binder film thickness (binder content), so that an optimum binder content could be determined. In order to achieve this, 5 groups of cylindrical HMB15 specimens with different binder contents (3.5%, 4%, 4.5%, 5% and 5.5%) were fabricated and subjected to SHRP long-term oven aging test (at 85oC for 5 days), their mechanical properties both before and after aging simulation were tested using Indirect Tensile Stiffness Modulus (ITSM) tests. In addition, binders were recovered at different aging stages and their rheological characteristics were investigated with Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) tests. Based on these, aging indices of different groups were calculated and their mathematical relationship with binder film thicknesses was regressed. The results show that the aging properties of HMB15 mixtures are significantly affected by their binder film thicknesses. However, regression analysis between aging indices and binder film thicknesses indicates that, as the binder film becomes thicker than 9.5 μm, the change of aging indices with film thicknesses becomes minor and therefore, a film thickness of approximately 9.5 μm was recommended for HMB15 mixtures.
The dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) is one of the most complex and powerful instruments currently used to characterise the linear viscoelastic (LVE) rheological properties of bituminous binders. However, the DSR also has its limitations in that the measured complex modulus data are exposed to errors, known as compliance (testing) errors, particularly at low temperatures and/or high frequencies. This study was conducted to investigate the validity of equations developed by Schröter and associates on complex modulus data collected using the DSR. The equations used were originally developed based on the calibration of the advanced rheometric expanse system (ARES) rheometer. It was found that those equations are able to satisfactorily correct the data on unmodified bitumens and unaged bitumen-filler mastics, including unaged and aged samples. Similar results were also observed for storage and loss moduli master curves. Finally, the 2S2P1D Model was used to calibrate the corrected complex moduli data and it was found that the model satisfactorily simulates the rheological properties of tested samples.
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) is crucial to prevent a wide range of chronic diseases from a global view point. However, no suitable dietary assessment tool is available for usage among Malaysian population. The present study aimed to evaluate the validity of interviewer-administered semi-quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) for assessing the omega-3 PUFAs intake among the Malays and Chinese elderly individuals in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Thirty-seven elderly people (54.1% women and 45.9% men), aged 60 years and above, were recruited from a community setting. Omega-3 PUFAs intake for the past one month was assessed using a 45-food item FFQ and validated against 3 days Food Record (FR). Wilcoxon signed rank test indicated no significant mean intake difference between two assessment methods. Significant correlation was found for total omega-3 PUFAs (r=0.926), α-linolenic acid (ALA) (r=0.745), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) (r=0.579) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (r=0.912). Bland-Altman analysis exhibited no apparent systematic bias between the two methods for total omega-3 PUFAs intake, while quartile analysis classified 73% subjects assigned into the same quartile. Conclusively, the newly-developed FFQ yielded a reasonable validity in the tested population and provided a convenient means to estimate omega-3 PUFAs intake within healthy Malays and Chinese elderly individuals. Further study to evaluate its validity and reproducibility for different age groups is required.
This paper presents the study of mechanical properties of short random oil palm fibre reinforced epoxy (OPF/epoxy) composites. Empty fruit bunch (EFB) was selected as the fibre and epoxy as the matrix. Composite plate with four different volume fractions of oil palm fibre was fabricated, (5 vol%, 10 vol%, 15 vol% and 20 vol%). The fabrication was made by hand-lay up techniques. The tensile and flexural properties showed a decreasing trend as the fibre loading was increased. The highest tensile properties was obtained for the composite with fibre loading of 5 vol% and there were no significant effect for addition of more than 5 vol% to the flexural properties. Interaction between fibre and matrix was observed from the scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrograph.
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Attitudes toward Statistics (USM-AS) is a newly developed, selfadministered inventory for measuring attitudes toward statistics among postgraduate students. The
USM-AS consists of three factors (affect, cognition, and behavior) and 58 items. This study was
aimed to validate the USM-AS and provide evidence of its construct validity by investigating its
internal structure. This study consists of four validation studies, which were conducted consecutively
among postgraduate students (master’s degree and PhD students) in the medical and health sciences.
The revised USM-AS, consisting of three factors and 12 items, was found to have good construct
validity, which was demonstrated by good model fit, high factor loadings (0.62 to 0.92), high
construct reliability (0.84 to 0.89), good discrimination between factors and good test-retest reliability
(intraclass correlation coefficients = 0.63 to 0.82). However, validity was limited to postgraduate
students in the medical and health sciences in Malaysia. Further validation studies among
postgraduate students in other scientific fields are recommended to provide additional construct
validity evidence of the USM-AS.
The process of drug rehabilitation is an important agenda for the National Anti-Drug Agency (NADA). Various efforts have been taken to aid NADA in treating drug addicts. This study focuses on identifying the mental health status and psychological factors to design appropriate treatment strategies. Therefore, this research aims to determine the level of family functioning, cognitive distortion and resilience among clients of CCRC and C&C. A total of 495 clients from these institutions took part in this study. The instruments used were FACES III to measure family functioning, CDS to measure cognitive distortion and Resilience Scale to measure resilience. Results indicate that clients’ family functioning is at a moderate level, clients’ cognitive distortion is at a low level, whilst their resilence is at a high level. This indicates that the rehabilitation programs conducted at the institution had an impact on clients’ resiliency and cognitive distortion.The implications of the study can be attributed to the counseling intervention at NADA.
The end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients requires hemodialysis to survive. Efficacy of the treatment is determined by evaluation of minimal dialysis dose (Kt/V) which is 1.2. A cross sectional study was conducted among patients that undergo hemodialysis in a dialysis centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The objectives of the study were to determine the association between dialysis dose and demographic factors and assessed the association between biochemical blood parameter and the demographic factors. The biochemical blood parameters were serum albumin, creatinine, cholesterol and hemoglobin. Result showed that all Indians and 54% of Chinese patients achieved the required dialysis dose. However only 29% of Malay patients attained the effective dialysis dose. More women patients accomplished the dialysis dose of at least 1.2 compared to men patients with odd ratio of 11.24. All the biochemical blood parameters were independent of the demographic factors. However, the cholesterol level was associated significantly with gender (p<0.05). In conclusion, the study found the biochemical blood parameter and dialysis dose were not influenced by the demographic factors.
Ciri inokulum bagi pengkulturan kulat oleaginus pencilan tempatan, Cunninghamella bainieri 2A1 dibangunkan dengan mengenal pasti kesan jenis, umur dan saiz inokulum terhadap pertumbuhan, penghasilan lipid dan GLA. Pengkulturan dijalankan pada suhu 30ºC dengan kadar goncangan 250 rpm dalam kelalang goncangan 500 mL yang mengandungi 200 mL medium terhad nitrogen. Inokulum spora didapati lebih sesuai berdasarkan produktiviti penghasilan lipid yang tinggi iaitu 0.71 (g/L/hari) berbanding penggunaan inokulum sel vegetatif vegetatif 24 jam dan 48 jam yang masingmasing memberikan produktiviti hanya 0.51 dan 0.45 (g/L/hari). Selain itu, penghasilan GLA (5.3 × 10-2 g/g biojisim tanpa lipid) dalam kultur yang dimulakan dengan inokulum spora (1 × 105 spora/mL) didapati lebih tinggi sebanyak 23% berbanding inokulum sel vegetatif. Kepekatan spora sebanyak 1 × 103 spora/mL menghasilkan morfologi pellet bersaiz 1.04 mm dan berkadaran dengan kandungan lipid dan GLA masing-masing sebanyak 40% (g/g biojisim) dan 8.34 × 10-2 (g/g biojisim tanpa lipid).
Job satisfaction is significantly related to overall attitudes towards life or life satisfaction. For most people, work is a central life activity. Full time employees spent substantial amount of time at work. Middle-aged women are working longer hours and spending less time with their families, which has led to family crisis, burn out, and depression. Thus, this study helps to determine the relationship between social support and family attachment on life satisfaction among middle-aged career women in Kelantan. It will also analyse the mediating role of job satisfaction. This study is a quantitative study, which was conducted in Kelantan. It involves 438 middle-aged career women in Kelantan. Social support, family attachment and job satisfaction were found to positively relate to life satisfaction. Moreover, job satisfaction was proven as the mediator in the relationship between social support and life satisfaction. This result indicates that life satisfaction of middle-aged career women rely significantly on job satisfaction. Job satisfaction can intervene the direction and the level of life satisfaction of middle-aged career women. This finding could be used as an input for any intervention programs and policies to uplift the well- being and quality of life of middle-aged women.
Palm oil mill effluent (POME) can be utilised directly as the sole substrate in the anaerobic fermentation of acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) and hydrogen by Clostridium acetobutylicum NClMB13357 in a submerged batch system. Effects of sedimented POME concentration and the initial culture pH on the production of ABE/H were studied. Sedimented POME with 90% v/v (POME90) at pH 5.8 is capable of producing 4.01 g/L ABE with acetone concentration at 1.97 g/L; butanol 1.74 g/L and ethanol 0.3 g/L. The highest concentration of butanol (1.86 g/L) was produced from a culture with initial pH 6.0. The production of hydrogen gas was proportioned to the concentration of POME. The highest hydrogen gas production was at pH 5.5 (31 mL). More than 50% (v/v) of hydrogen gas was produced at different pH except pH 4.5, when only 16% (v/v) or 5 mL of hydrogen was produced.
The complex scattering parameters (S11* and S21*), relative dielectric permittivity (er* = er' - jer"), relative magnetic permeability (mr* = mr' - jmr") and absorption characteristics of some thermoplastic natural rubber (TPNR) – Fe3O4/YIG composites were investigated by means of a microwave vector network analyser and specular absorber method. The measurements were performed in the frequency range of 1 – 13 GHz with and without the presence of a transverse external magnetic field with magnitude of 1 T. The specular absorber method is used in determining the reflection loss (RL) of the composites and its dependence on material properties, thickness and the external magnetic field. In toroidal form, the composites under study seem to transmit more (Pt > 60%) but absorb and reflect less (Pa + Pr < 30%) microwave power in the frequency range used in this study and in both unmagnetised and magnetised states. The external magnetic field is seen to have the effects of reducing S11*, S21*, er', er", mr' and mr". The suppression of the relaxation and resonance behaviours on the mr' and mr" plots for all samples are observed for measurements performed in the presence of the external field. The composites, as revealed by the specular absorber method, show conditions of minimal reflection on RL versus frequency plot for all sample thickness where more than 95% of the microwave power is not reflected back. The location of the dips of minimal reflection on the frequency domain depend on the thickness, the dielectric and magnetic properties of the materials. The conditions of minimal reflection was found to occur when the thickness (t) of the sample equals the odd number multiple of a quarter wavelength in the material (lm), t = nlm/4 (n = 1, 3, 5, 7 …), where a geometrical cancellation took place at the surface of the absorber between the reflected waves, resembling a thin filem inteference phenomenon. The dips are suppressed and shifted to a higher frequency in the presence of the external magnetic field. With the knowledge of the dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability of a material, the specular absorber method may provides a simple theoretical graphic aids in determining the absorption characteristics and location of the matching condition in the frequency domain.
Pertumbuhan sel secara selanjar pada keadaan mantap telah diperolehi dalam pengkulturan dengan bioreaktor padat. Produktiviti (0.02 g/L/j) bioetanol yang paling tinggi diperolehi adalah pada pengudaraan 0.003 vvm. Produktiviti bioetanol didapati meningkat dengan peningkatan kadar pencairan. Produktiviti tertinggi sebanyak 0.037 g/L/j direkod semasa kadar pencairan (D) 0.05 per jam. Penghasilan bioetanol secara selanjar telah berjaya diselenggarakan pada keadaan tidak 100% anaerobik. Pengudaraan yang terbaik untuk produktiviti bioetanol dalam keadaan seimbang pertumbuhan sel dan penghasilan bioetanol ialah pada 0.003 vvm.
A total of eight strains of Lactobacillus and two strains of Salmonella were isolated from free-range Malaysian chickens intestine. Evaluation based on in vitro studies included aggregation, co-aggregation, growth with bile salts, tolerance to acidic pH, and inhibitory activity were carried out. The isolated Lactobacillus were Lactobacillus fermentum IA, Lactobacillus fermentum IB, Lactobacillus fermentum IC, Lactobacillus fermentum ID, Lactobacillus salivarius subsp. salicinus IE, Lactobacillus salivarius subsp. salicinus IF, Lactobacillus salivarius subsp. salivarius IG, and Lactobacillus spp. IH. The corresponding isolated Salmonella were Salmonella spp. 3B21 and Salmonella spp. 1A12. The ability of aggregation and also tolerance to pH 2.5 are found in Lactobacillus fermentum ID, Lactobacillus salivarius subsp. salicinus IF, Lactobacillus salivarius subsp. salivarius IG, and Lactobacillus spp. IH. The isolate most resistance to 1% bile salts is Lactobacillus fermentum ID but observed to be weak in inhibitory activity against Salmonella spp. The best co-aggregation and strongest inhibitory activity against Salmonella spp. was observed in Lactobacillus salivarius subsp. salivarius IG. Despite being not so resistant in the presence of bile salts 0.5 and 1% (w/v), the lag time in the presence of bile salts 0.3% (w/v) of Lactobacillus salivarius subsp. salivarius IG and also for Lactobacillus spp. IH are the shortest. Based on good aggregation properties, the best co-aggregation, tolerance to acidic pH 2.5 and bile salts 0.3% (w/v) and strongest inhibitory activity against Salmonella spp., Lactobacillus salivarius subsp. salivarius IG comes out as the best candidate as probiotic for chicken.
A combined similarity-numerical solution of the magnetohydrodynamic boundary layer slip flow of an electrically conducting non-Newtonian power-law nanofluid along a heated radiating moving vertical plate is explored. Our nanofluid model incorporates the influences of the thermophoresis and the Brownian motion. The basic transport equations are made dimensionless first and then suitable similarity transformations are applied to reduce them into a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations with the associated boundary conditions. The reduced equations are then solved numerically. Graphical results for the non-dimensional flow velocity, the temperature and the nanoparticles volume fraction profiles as well as for the friction factor, the local Nusselt and the Sherwood numbers are exhibited and examined for various values of the controlling parameters to display the interesting aspects of the solutions. It was found that the friction factor increases with the increase of the magnetic field (M), whilst it is decreased with the linear momentum slip parameter (a). The linear momentum slip parameter (a) reduces the heat transfer rates and the nanoparticles volume fraction rates. Our results are compatible with the existing results for a special case.
Inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) are two important brain regions for the default mode
network (DMN). IPL has been known to be involved in the control of attention and responding to given information while
ITG is involved in the processing and perception awakened by visual stimuli. These two key DMN regions are highly
interconnected as determined from white matter and fiber tracking studies. However, little is known about their nature
of connectivity while the brain is at rest, whether it is linear, bilinear or nonlinear and whether it is of mono- or bidirection. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) data were obtained from 7 healthy male and
female participants (average age = 20.7 ± 4.5 years) and were concatenated. Data were analyzed using statistical
parametric mapping (SPM12). Endogenous brain signals were modelled by Fourier series at 0.01 – 0.08 Hz. IPL-ITG
connected linear, bilinear and non-linear causal models in both hemispheres were constructed and estimated by means of
stochastic dynamic causal modelling (sDCM) and were compared using Bayesian Model Selection (BMS) for group studies.
Group fixed-effects results indicated that bilateral IPL and ITG exhibited high neural activity at a corrected significant
level (pFWE < 0.05). Neural activity was centered in ITG (-32/2/-38) in the left hemisphere but shifted to IPL (32/-38/50) in
the right hemisphere indicating different control center for both hemispheres. BMS selected bilinear model as the optimal
model for both hemispheres (model posterior probability ~ 1.0; log evidence > 1000) which has the best balance between
model accuracy and difficulty. The minimum free energy (F) = -4.41 × 104
and -4.09 × 104
for left and right hemisphere
bilinear models respectively. From BMS and DCM results, it was found that IPL and ITG do have a dynamic collaboration
between each other, a connectivity that belongs to a greater network when the brain is at rest. The intrinsic connections
between them are negative in both directions i.e. IPL and ITG mutually inhibited each other. The effective connectivity
was modulated by the endogenous fluctuation of the brain signal.
‘Solat Alert Software’(SAS) innovation is a software developed to give users an early prayers reminder and subsequently prevents any further usage of computer systems when prayer calls. This allows the computer users to pray at the beginning of praying time. This software works by displaying a reminder in the form of text message as well as a remembrance audio on the computer before the time comes. Later, it will be followed by azan audio, indicating the prayers time, which automatically will cause the windows system to be in ‘log off’ mode. The reminder will continue for 10 to 15 minutes depending on the settings customised by the system administrator (Admin). This time-off duration is set to prevent users to ‘log in’ during the praying time span so it will give room for users to pray early at any time of prayer. The system administrators can also set different prayers time according to areas by referring to the Malaysia’s official prayers time database developed by JAKIM. The advantage of thissoftware isthatsystem will be automatically logged off, causing the users to stop their virtual activities and perform the prayers on time.