This paper presents the comparison of extraction methods between maceration extraction (ME) and ultrasonic assisted extarction (UAE) to the bioactive compounds yield (gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, epigallocatechin and rutin) of Labisia pumila. A grinded dried plant material with size ranging 246.58μm to 257.72μm was performed throughout this work. The gallic acid, protoctechuic acid, epigallocatechin and rutin qualification and quantification were performed using an ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled photodiode array (UPLC-PDA). Exact match between the residence time from the plant extract and external standard was found indicating a presence of these four targeted bioactive compounds. It was found that UAE method has the highest extraction yield; gallic acid (0.0293 mg GA/g DW), protocatechuic acid (0.0081 mg PCA/g DW), epigallocatechin (0.0057 mg EGC/g DW) and rutin (0.0038 mg Rutin/g DW) compared to ME. The findings in this work may serve as a useful guide to obtain a highest extraction yield of these four targeted bioactive compounds from L. pumila.
Oil spill introduces hydrocarbons into the marine environment and forms oil slicks, which aggregate with other debris to form tarballs. Tarballs are composed of toxic hydrocarbons, which persist in the environment, causing economic and ecological damages. This work studied the isolation and optimization of diesel-oil biodegradation by an indigenous bacterium, identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, in tarball. An experimental methodology using a Taguchi orthogonal array was applied to optimize the effects of diesel concentration, salinity, nitrate concentration, pH, temperature, agitation speed and time. An isolated bacterium identified as Cellulosimicrobium cellulans removed 88.4% of diesel oil under optimized conditions, where initial diesel-oil concentration was 5% (v/v), NaCl concentration was 20 gL-1 and NH4NO3 concentration was 2 gL-1 in Minimal Salt Media at pH 7, 40oC and 100 revolutions per minute for 5 days. Tarballs harbor hydrocarbon-degrading C. cellulans that can be used under optimized conditions to design an effective oil spill bioremediation technique for mitigating oil pollution.
Tripoli coastal aquifer, Libya, which is located in a densely urbanised area, is the primary source of water supply in Tripoli city. In the last few decades and due to population growth, more than 100 wells have been drilled in Tripoli aquifer for the purpose of increasing pumping to meet demand on groundwater. The urbanisation at the Tripoli upper aquifer system has reduced the recharge rates and affected the groundwater storage. In this study, changes in groundwater dynamics in Tripoli’s unconfined aquifers were simulated using MODFLOW-2005 code. The model was calibrated and validated using measured and simulated values. Statistical tests such as coefficient of determination, R2 mean error, mean absolute error, and the root mean square error were computed and found to be 0.97, 0.31, 1.70 and 2.32 respectively. The simulation will assist in the assessment of the long term saline water intrusion. Calibrated transient groundwater flow models for the years 2020 – 2100 indicated that this case is likely to occur along pumping profiles with high pumping rates. Simulation results show that the groundwater levels will decline and exceed 12 m in the Southern area while in the Northern area near the coastal line, depletion is continuous and more than 70 wells will face saline water intrusion by the year 2100. Doubling the pumping rate from the wells will accelerate the drop in the groundwater levels and about 98% of the wells will be subjected to high salinity level by 2100. The salinity levels in these wells will make the groundwater unfit for human consumption.
The difference of lower tear meniscus height (TMH) value between invasive and non-invasive techniques is under explained. This study aims to compare the value of lower TMH between Oculus keratograph 5M (OK5M) and anterior segment digital imaging (ASDI) using slit lamp with iPhone6 video recorder attached. The totals of twenty participants with 40 eyes were involved in this cross-sectional study. Right and left eyes from an individual were considered separately. Instillation of fluorescein sodium was applied on the ASDI technique only. Three measurements of TMH were taken from each methods and average were calculated and recorded. Independent sample t-test was used to analyze the data and it was found that the mean of the TMH measurement from the ASDI (0.42 ± 0.11 mm) was higher than the mean from the OK5M (0.25 ± 0.06 mm). The comparison between two methods was significant (p < 0.05). In conclusion, this study suggested that the higher TMH in ASDI was resulted by the effect of fluorescein and together with local climate.
Many studies have shown that fruits and vegetables containing antioxidant compounds are beneficial to health. Many studies started to highlight the potential of beetroot; which is rich with betalain pigments, as the new alternative antioxidant supplementation due to its high capacity of free radical scavenging activity. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation emitted from sunlight can penetrate more than just skin tissues, thereby disturbing the balance of erythrocytes antioxidant enzymes level, particularly glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in erythrocytes. The aim of this study was to investigate the erythrocyte antioxidant enzymes in Sprague Dawley rats (SD) supplemented with beetroot juice at different concentrations upon UV-induced oxidative stress. The total betalain content that was measured spectrophotometrically showed that 500 mg/kg of beet root juice contained approximately ten fold-higher levels of betalain pigment, compared to 250 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg. DPPH test performed on different concentrations of beet root juices showed that the antioxidant activity of beetroot juice increases in concentration-dependent manner, only 500 mg/kg non-diluted beetroot juice exhibited 100% free radical scavenging activity. The erythrocytes suspension of SD rats treated with different concentrations of beetroot juices were assayed for GPx and SOD activity which showed an increase of the activity of these enzymes in concentration-dependent manner, especially in non-diluted preparation. We found that non- diluted (500 mg/kg concentration) beetroot juices exhibited highest antioxidant activity which offer significant protection against oxidative stress by elevating the activity of GPx and SOD enzymes in scavenging free radicals.
Technical benefit of incorporation of Palm Oil Clinker (POC) in cement-based applications has been proven in recent
studies. The aim of this work was to assess the heavy metal leaching behavior to ensure environmental safety of using
POC in cement-based applications. The chemical composition, morphology, total organic carbon (TOC) and mineralogy
were determined using XRF, FESEM, TOC analyzers and XRD to select appropriate chemical reagents for complete digestion.
HNO3
, HF and HClO4
were used for digestion of POC to measure heavy metal content using ICP-MS. The chemical reagents
CH3
COOH, NH2
OH-HCl, H2
O2
+CH3
COONH4
and HF+HNO3
+HCl were used for extraction of acid soluble, reducible,
oxidizable and residual fractions of heavy metals in POC, respectively. The leaching toxicity of the POC was investigated
by the USEPA 1311 TCLP method. The result showed the presence of Be, V, Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Ag, Cd, Ba and Pb with
levels of 5.13, 11.02, 2.65, 1.93, 45.43, 11.84, 15.07, 0, 0, 81.97 and 1.76 mg/kg, respectively, in POC. The leaching value
in mg/L of As (4.56), Cu(1.05), Be (0.89), Zn(0.51), Ba(0.26), Ni (0.17), V(0.15), Cr(0.001) and Se (0.001) is found well
below the standard limit of risk. Risk assessment code (RAC) analysis confirms the safe incorporation of POC in cementbased
applications.
Pengoptimuman parameter kajian menggunakan rangsangan permukaan (RSM) merupakan kaedah yang dijangka dapat membantu penjimatan masa dan kos tindak balas keseluruhan jika dibandingkan dengan kaedah pengoptimuman secara tradisi. Dalam kajian ini, kaedah RSM digunakan untuk mengoptimumkan parameter tindak balas penghidrogenan LNR menggunakan sumber diimida daripada termolisis p-toluenasulfonil hidrazida (TSH) dalam pelarut o-xilena. Reka bentuk komposit putaran tengah (CCRD) menggunakan RSM digunakan dengan 3 parameter iaitu nisbah berat TSH: LNR, suhu dan masa tindak balas. Melalui reka bentuk ini, model kuadratik untuk peratusan penghidrogenan berjaya diperoleh. Model kuadratik ini adalah signifikan dengan pekali kolerasi iaitu 0.9177. Berdasarkan data ANOVA yang diperoleh, masa dan suhu tindak balas memberi kesan yang signifikan terhadap peratus penghidrogenan getah asli cecair berbanding faktor nisbah berat TSH: LNR. Keadaan optimum bagi tindak balas penghidrogenan ini adalah pada nisbah berat TSH: LNR, 1.41, masa tindak balas 2.22 jam dan suhu tindak balas 114.05°C dengan peratus penghidrogenan 81.83%. Penggunaan RSM dalam penghasilan HLNR memudahkan kajian dalam memberikan keputusan dengan peratusan penghidrogenan yang dikehendaki menggunakan persamaan polinomial kuadratik yang diperoleh.
Zinc oxide (ZnO) utilization in advanced oxidation process (AOP) via solar-photocatalytic process was a promising method for alternative treating wastewater containing phenol. The ZnO photocatalyst semiconductor was synthesized by sol-gel method. The morphology of the ZnO nanostructures was observed by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the crystallite phase of the ZnO was confirmed by x-ray diffraction (XRD). The objective of this study was to synthesis ZnO nanoparticles through a sol-gel method for application as a photocatalyst in the photodegradation of phenol under solar light irradiation. The photodegradation rate of phenol increased with the increasing of ZnO loading from 0.2 until 1.0 g. Only 2 h were required for synthesized ZnO to fully degrade the phenol. The synthesized ZnO are capable to totally degrade high initial concentration up until 45 mg L-1 within 6 h of reaction time. The photodegradation of phenol by ZnO are most favoured under the acidic condition (pH3) where the 100% removal achieved after 2 h of reaction. The mineralization of phenol was monitored through chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction and 92.6% or removal was achieved. This study distinctly utilized natural sunlight as the sole sources of irradiation which safe, inexpensive; to initiate the photocatalyst for degradation of phenol.
The Green Zone of Emergency Department Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (EDHUSM) which provides treatment for
non-critical cases contributes partly to the hustle and bustle in the emergency department. The imbalance of doctors
and nurses with the patient ratio which forms the resources’ bottleneck further results to the long patients’ waiting time
especially after the office hours and during weekends and public holidays. Collectively, this disproportion and bottlenecks
roots up the current problem faced by Green Zone EDHUSM which constantly fails to achieve the KPIs set by the hospital.
Henceforth, this study focuses on the best resource allocation of doctors and nurses for shifts during the weekdays and
for shifts during weekends and public holidays. The hybrid method of Discrete Event Simulation, and Data Envelopment
Analysis models such as BCC-input oriented and Super-Efficiency, were deployed to obtain the best resource allocation
for the two groups of shift. The method produced a series of resources allocation alternatives for doctors and nurses
with a total of 64 alternatives for weekdays and 729 alternatives for weekends and public holidays. The results show that
the best allocation for doctors and nurses during weekdays are three doctors and three nurses serving for every shift,
while during weekends and public holidays, a combination of four doctors and four nurses for every shift are the best.
The proposed combinations have reduced the average waiting time, optimized the utilization of doctors and nurses, and
managed to increase the number of patients served during weekdays, weekends and public holidays.
Selenocompounds have been widely synthesized for their potential in pharmacology. Ebselen, a selenazole oxide, is a
glutathione peroxidase mimic which is known to possess high antioxidant activity. Four derivatives of 3-(2-amino-1,3-
selenazol-4-yl)-2H-chromen-2-ones were synthesized by reacting 3-(2-bromoacetyl)-chromen-2-one derivatives with
selenourea through Hantzsch reaction using NaF as a catalyst in methanol-water (1:1) at room temperature. These
reactions were completed in 30 min and purified using column chromatography eluted with n-hexane-ethyl acetate (7:3)
to give 50-83% yields. All the compounds were successfully characterized using IR, 1H and 13C NMR as well as mass
spectrometry. The synthesized compounds were tested with DPPH assay to determine the free radical scavenging activity
and were compared to gallic and ascorbic acids as standard. Nonetheless, all compounds exhibited weak free radical
scavenging activity with IC50 value ranging from 672.13 to 984.03 µM signifying that the derivatives may possess weak
antioxidant activities.
As a natural anti-oxidant source, Tualang honey, produced by wild bees nesting on the Tualang tree (Koompassia excelsa) is expected to have positive influence on health, including memory. This study investigated the effect of Tualang honey on the cell count of memory formation related hippocampal pyramidal neuron and on spatial memory performance (SMP) of rats using the radial arm maze (RAM). Sprague Dawley male rats (n=24), 7-8 weeks old were divided into two groups; experimental group group force-fed 1 mL/100 g body weight with 70% honey (HG); and the control group with 0.9% saline (CG) for 12 weeks. Nissl staining technique (with cresyl violet) was employed for neurohistological analysis of the hippocampal tissue. Six randomly selected rats from each group were used for the neuronal soma counting of pyramidal cell layer CA1, CA3a and CA3c regions. Two-way ANOVA analysis showed positively significant differences between treatment and control groups for SMP comparison of working memory and reference memory components, as well as the number of pyramidal neurons. Hence, this positive effects of Tualang honey, as demonstrated behaviorally and neurohistologically, supported report that Tualang honey could improve memory and deter hippocampal morphological impairments; possibly due to its high anti-oxidant properties.
Getah asli cecair (LNR) dihasilkan daripada proses penyahpolimeran getah asli yang menghasilkan rantaian polimer
lebih pendek dan berat molekular kurang daripada 105
. Namun, LNR masih mempamerkan tahap degradasi dan ketahanan
termal yang rendah seperti getah asli, disebabkan oleh kehadiran ikatan karbon ganda dua pada rantaian polimer.
Dalam kajian ini, penurunan diimida menggunakan pengoksidaan hidrazin hidrat dengan hidrogen peroksida dijalankan
untuk menghidrogenkan unit tidak tepu LNR. LNR terhidrogen (HLNR) dicirikan menggunakan spektrometer infra-merah
(FTIR) dan spektrometer resonans magnetik nuklear (NMR). Pengoptimuman parameter tindak balas dilakukan dengan
memanipulasi parameter masa dan suhu tindak balas berdasarkan kaedah rangsangan permukaan (RSM) dengan
5-aras-2-faktor reka bentuk komposit putaran tengah (CCRD). Satu model kuadratik yang signifikan telah dihasilkan
untuk menghubungkan dua parameter tersebut dengan nilai R2 adalah 0.9986, menunjukkan bahawa model yang terhasil
adalah sangat sepadan dengan data uji kaji. Keputusan kajian menunjukkan bahawa peratus penghidrogenan boleh
ditingkatkan sehingga 91.2%. Seterusnya, berdasarkan RSM, parameter yang optimum bagi penurunan diimida LNR ini
didapati pada suhu 55.9o
C selama 6.7 jam, menghasilkan 80.2% HLNR. Kajian ini telah menunjukkan reka bentuk uji kaji
secara statistik yang novel bagi menghidrogenkan LNR. Pelbagai variasi peratus penghidrogenan produk HLNR dalam
kajian ini menyumbang kepada lebih banyak aplikasi produk yang memerlukan peratusan ketepuan unit yang tertentu.
Kaedah rangsangan permukaan (RSM) dengan reka bentuk komposit putaran tengah (CCRD) telah digunakan untuk
mengoptimumkan parameter bagi penghidrogenan getah asli cecair (LNR) dalam sistem hidrazin hidrat (HH) dan hidrogen
peroksida (H2
O2
) dengan kehadiran selenium sebagai mangkin. Parameter yang dikaji bagi tindak balas ini adalah
nisbah mol HH:LNR (1.25-2.25), nisbah mol H2
O2
:LNR (1.25-2.25), suhu (40-80°C) dan masa tindak balas (4-8 jam).
Berdasarkan data yang diperoleh, penghasilan getah asli cecair terhidrogen (HLNR) sesuai dijelaskan dengan model
kuadratik. Model kuadratik ini mempunyai nilai pekali penentuan (R2
) sebanyak 0.9596 yang menunjukkan korelasi yang
tinggi antara peratus penghidrogenan sebenar dengan peratus yang telah diramalkan. Berdasarkan plot permukaan
tindak balas 3D, suhu tindak balas memainkan peranan penting dalam penghidrogenan LNR. Keadaan optimum yang
diperoleh melalui RSM bagi kajian ini adalah nisbah mol HH:LNR pada 1.50, nisbah mol H2
O2
:LNR pada 2.00, suhu tindak
balas pada 53.34°C dengan masa tindak balas selama 5.21 jam yang memberikan peratusan penghidrogenan HLNR
sebanyak 68.98%. Persamaan polinomial kuadratik yang diperoleh daripada RSM ini berguna untuk menghasilkan HLNR
dengan peratusan penghidrogenan yang dikehendaki.
Proses penuaan seringkali dikaitkan dengan kemerosotan pada sistem kognitif. Kemerosotan kognitif bermula seawal
usia dua puluhan dan berterusan secara linear. Selain itu, kemerosotan kognitif juga menjadi lebih nyata dengan
kehadiran hingar latar. Walau bagaimanapun, kesan penuaan ke atas mekanisme pemprosesan persepsi pertuturan
menggunakan tugasan mengulang secara terus (FRT) dalam senyap dan hingar belum difahami dengan jelas. Dalam
kajian ini, pengimejan resonans magnet kefungsian (fMRI) digunakan untuk membandingkan kesan penuaan ke atas
kehubungan efektif otak yang terhasil daripada tugasan FRT ke atas subjek normal dengan empat kumpulan umur yang
berlainan iaitu 20 - 29 tahun (n = 15), 30 - 39 tahun (n = 15), 40 - 49 tahun (n = 10) dan 50 - 65 tahun (n = 14). Satu siri
lima perkataan yang diselang-seli dalam keadaan hingar dengan senyap diberikan secara auditori. Pemetaan statistik
berparameter (SPM8) dan pemodelan dinamik penyebab (DCM10) digunakan untuk menentukan kehubungan efektif otak.
Kawasan yang terlibat dalam pembinaan model kehubungan efektif otak adalah STG, HG dan PCG. Model optimum yang
dipilih dalam kajian ini adalah model yang menunjukkan keseimbangan antara ketepatan dan kesukaran. Keputusan
fMRI kehubungan efektif menunjukkan bahawa komunikasi antara intrahemisfera tidak berubah dengan menggunakan
tugasan FRT ini apabila seseorang semakin berusia, tetapi komunikasi antara interhemisfera menjadi semakin kompleks.
The flipped classroom (FC), an innovative teaching and learning pedagogy has grown in medical education since last decade. In FC modality, students learn by means of print, audio or video-based material self-reliantly, before built-in teaching sessions in the classroom to overcome passive learning. In this review, the key concepts, benefits and best practices of the FC in health professions education have been described. The review was carried out using Medline, Scopus, Ovid, and Cochrane. The keywords were “Flipped method, Teaching strategy, Role of the teacher, and Medical students”. Flipped is an effective teaching modality which enables learners to be independent. Students do take ownership of what they learn. Tutors are also satisfied with what their learners acquire. The benefits of FC are robust and likely to augment the learning abilities of the students as well as supplementing the learning course content; group events can deliver added benefits too.
Poor mental health can affect a person’s quality of life and well-being, impacting cognitive, emotional, social, and physical functioning. Mental health difficulties have been found commonly in parents of children with autism spec- trum disorder (ASD), who often struggle to cope with a range of challenges. These parents tend to have reduced over- all wellbeing. This review study targeted an under-researched area, aiming to review mental health studies on the coping strategies used by Muslim parents of children with ASD in Malaysia, focusing on psychospiritual strategies. Journal articles were searched via Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Mendeley software online databases using relevant keywords. This narrative review identified 5 studies that examined parental coping, but only 4 reported the inclusion of Muslims. This review identified a gap in published knowledge regarding coping from a spiritual per- spective in Muslim families of children with ASD in Malaysia and recommended future research from a biopsycho- social-spiritual perspective.
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavour enhancer commonly used in processed food to increase palatability. Several studies have reported that chronic exposure of MSG causes renal fibrosis via oxidative stress mechanism. However, till date, the effects of low dose of MSG on the oxidative stress status and its histopathological observation of renal are still unclear. A total of 18 male Sprague Dawley rats (170 – 200 g) were divided randomly into three groups consisted of the control (received distilled water = 1 ml/kg), MSG 60 (received 60 mg/kg MSG) and MSG 120 (received 120 mg/kg MSG) groups. All of the substances were given via force-feed oral for 28 consecutive days. At the end of the study, all rats were sacrificed and the renal were isolated for biochemical and histological evaluation. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and protein carbonyl (PC) level showed significantly increased (p < 0.05) in MSG 60 and MSG 120 group compared to the control group. However, no significant difference was found in glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) level in all treated groups. The histology observation showed glomerulus shrinkage in MSG 60 and MSG 120 groups. In conclusion, these findings confirmed low dose of MSG-induced oxidative stress and histopathological changes on the renal of male Sprague-dawley rats. Accordingly, care must be taken on the intake of MSG in our daily basis.
Pre-hypertension, a classification of blood pressure ranging from 120–139 mm Hg systolic and/or 80–89 mm Hg diastolic, has been introduced to identify those high-risk group of developing hypertension to implement early intervention to halt disease progression. This study determines the prevalence of pre-hypertension and its determinants among undergraduate preclinical medical students in Malaysia.
Materials & Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 158 registered second year medical students at one research university in central Malaysia from January to April 2018.
Results: The prevalence of pre-hypertension was 20.6% among undergraduate preclinical medical students. The most respondent was female (69.9%), Malay ethnic (50.6%) who had normal body mass index (67.3%), no depression (79.5%), no anxiety (60.3%), no stress (68.6%), low physical activity level (44.9%), never smoked (95.5%), and never consumed alcohol (87.8%). Some respondents had positive family history of hypertension (43.6%) and diabetes mellitus (31.4%). After adjusted for all variables, gender (AOR=14.45, 95% CI 5.58-37.43) and depression status (AOR=6.37, 95% CI 1.29-31.49) were significantly associated with pre-hypertension.
Conclusion: The prevalence of pre-hypertension among preclinical medical students was lower compared to other country, predicted by gender and depression status. However, further comprehensive multicentered studies in Malaysia with larger sample size is recommended to get more precise results in identifying determinants for pre-hypertension so that early intervention could be implemented nationwide.
Air pollution has been widely known to have an influence on health of the general population.
Air pollution can result from natural causes, human activities and transboundary air pollution.
Weather and climate play crucial role in determining the pattern of air quality. In recent years,
air pollution and recurrent episodes of haze has become a major concern in Malaysia.
Surveillance data on concentrations of main air pollutants such as carbon dioxide, (CO2),
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Ozone (O3), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM10)
were found to be higher during the haze days and this may have an impact on health of the
community as reflected by an increase in hospital admissions particularly the respiratory and
cardiovascular diseases.
Manual Material Handling (MMH) involves lifting, bending, and twisting motions of the torso. Poor
lifting technique is often considered a major risk factor in low back injury associated with manual lifting
tasks. Currently, there is little work on the effects of lifting on the Malaysian population. The MMH
activities that was designed with the different lifting heights, frequency, weight of loads and the effect
on of biceps and triceps muscle contraction of the subjects during the lifting tasks were studied. The
parameters involved are weight of the loads lifted, height of the loads lifted and lifting frequency as the
independent variables. Whereas the dependent variable is Electromyography (EMG) signal. The weight
loads are varying from 10kg up to 24kg and the heights of the loads travels from the floor to 70cm
and 130cm heights. The frequency of lifting is set to 1 lift and 6 lifts per minute. 14 healthy male and
female subjects were recruited in this study. The questionnaires and consent form were used to identify
the health condition of the subjects before performing the lifting tasks. The EMG activity was recorded
and collected from biceps and triceps muscles using the Shimmer EMG system. This method is used
in determining the maximum acceptable weight limit (MAWL) that can be lifted by the subjects in the
lifting tasks. This research aims to design a lifting equation that suits for Malaysian people. Therefore,
the effects of different manual lifting tasks on Malaysian physiological limits need to be identified.