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  1. Fulltext Morphological and mechanical properties of flexible resilin joints on damselfly wings (Rhinocypha spp.)
    Mamat-Noorhidayah, Yazawa K, Numata K, Norma-Rashid Y
    PLoS One, 2018;13(3):e0193147.
    PMID: 29513694 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193147
    Resilin functions as an elastic spring that demonstrates extraordinary extensibility and elasticity. Here we use combined techniques, laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to illuminate the structure and study the function of wing flexibility in damselflies, focusing on the genus Rhinocypha. Morphological studies using LSCM and SEM revealed that resilin patches and cuticular spikes were widespread along the longitudinal veins on both dorsal and ventral wing surfaces. Nanoindentation was performed by using atomic force microscopy (AFM), where the wing samples were divided into three sections (membrane of the wing, mobile and immobile joints). The resulting topographic images revealed the presence of various sizes of nanostructures for all sample sections. The elasticity range values were: membrane (0.04 to 0.16 GPa), mobile joint (1.1 to 2.0 GPa) and immobile joint (1.8 to 6.0 GPa). The elastomeric and glycine-rich biopolymer, resilin was shown to be an important protein responsible for the elasticity and wing flexibility.
    Matched MeSH terms: Flight, Animal/physiology; Forelimb/physiology*; Veins/physiology; Wings, Animal/physiology*; Odonata/physiology*
  2. Mechanism of vasorelaxation induced by 3'-hydroxy-5,6,7,4'-tetramethoxyflavone in the rats aortic ring assay
    Tan CS, Yam MF
    Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol, 2018 06;391(6):561-569.
    PMID: 29552696 DOI: 10.1007/s00210-018-1481-9
    Previous studies have demonstrated that 3'-hydroxy-5,6,7,4'-tetramethoxyflavone (TMF) content in Orthosiphon stamineus fractions correlate with its vasorelaxation activity. Even with the availability of previous studies, there is still very little information on the vasorelaxation effect of TMF, and few scientific studies have been carried out. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the vasorelaxation activity and mechanism of action of the TMF. The vasorelaxation activity and the underlying mechanisms of TMF were evaluated on thoracic aortic rings isolated from Sprague Dawley rats. TMF caused the relaxation of aortic rings with endothelium pre-contracted with phenylephrine. However, the vasorelaxant effect of TMF was significantly decreased in PE-primed endothelium-denuded and potassium chloride-primed endothelium-intact aortic rings. In the presence of Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, methylene blue, 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one, indomethacin, tetraethylammonium, 4-aminopyridine, barium chloride, atropine and propranolol, the relaxation stimulated by TMF was significantly reduced. TMF was also found to reduce Ca2+ release from sarcoplasmic reticulum (via IP3R) and block calcium channels (VOCC). The present study demonstrates the vasorelaxant effect of TMF involves NO/sGC/cGMP and prostacyclin pathways, calcium and potassium channels and muscarinic and beta-adrenergic receptors.
    Matched MeSH terms: Aorta, Thoracic/physiology; Cyclic GMP/physiology; Nitric Oxide/physiology; Epoprostenol/physiology; Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase/physiology
  3. Fulltext Effects of annexin A1 on apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in human leukemic cell lines
    Sabran A, Kumolosasi E, Jantan I
    Acta Pharm, 2019 Mar 01;69(1):75-86.
    PMID: 31259717 DOI: 10.2478/acph-2019-0005
    Recent studies suggest that annexin A1 (ANXA1) promotes apoptosis in cancerous cells. This study aims to investigate the effects of ANXA1 on apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in K562, Jurkat and U937 cells and peripheral blood mononu-clear cells (PBMC). Cells were treated with ANXA1 and cyclophosphamide prior to flow cytometry analysis for apoptosis and cell cycle arrest induction. At 2.5µM, ANXA1 induced significant apoptosis in K562 (p ≤ 0.001) and U937 (p ≤ 0.05) cells, with EC50 values of 3.6 and 3.8 µM, respectively. In Jurkat cells, induction was not significant (EC50, 17.0 µM). No significant apoptosis induction was observed in PBMC. ANXA1 caused cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase in K562 and U937 cells with p ≤ 0.001 for both, and (p ≤ 0.01) for Jurkat cells. ANXA1 induced apoptosis and cycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase in K562 and U937 cells, causing only cell cycle arrest in Jurkat cells.
    Matched MeSH terms: Leukocytes, Mononuclear/physiology*; G0 Phase/physiology; G1 Phase/physiology; Apoptosis/physiology*; Cell Cycle Checkpoints/physiology*
  4. Fulltext Bionomics of important mosquito vectors in Malaysia
    Vythilingam I, Chiang GL, Lee HL, Singh KI
    Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health, 1992 Dec;23(4):587-603.
    PMID: 1363679
    Matched MeSH terms: Dengue Virus/physiology*; Encephalitis Virus, Japanese/physiology*; Filarioidea/physiology*; Insect Vectors/physiology*; Culicidae/physiology*
  5. Fulltext Analysis of Jumping-Landing Manoeuvers after Different Speed Performances in Soccer Players
    Daneshjoo A, Abu Osman NA, Sahebozamani M, Yusof A
    PLoS One, 2015;10(11):e0143323.
    PMID: 26599336 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143323
    PURPOSE: Running at high speed and sudden change in direction or activity stresses the knee. Surprisingly, not many studies have investigated the effects of sprinting on knee's kinetics and kinematics of soccer players. Hence, this study is aimed to investigate indices of injury risk factors of jumping-landing maneuvers performed immediately after sprinting in male soccer players.

    METHODS: Twenty-three collegiate male soccer players (22.1±1.7 years) were tested in four conditions; vertical jump (VJ), vertical jump immediately after slow running (VJSR), vertical jump immediately after sprinting (VJFR) and double horizontal jump immediately after sprinting (HJFR). The kinematics and kinetics data were measured using Vicon motion analyzer (100Hz) and two Kistler force platforms (1000Hz), respectively.

    RESULTS: For knee flexion joint angle, (p = 0.014, η = 0.15) and knee valgus moment (p = 0.001, η = 0.71) differences between condition in the landing phase were found. For knee valgus joint angle, a main effect between legs in the jumping phase was found (p = 0.006, η = 0.31), which suggests bilateral deficit existed between the right and left lower limbs.

    CONCLUSION: In brief, the important findings were greater knee valgus moment and less knee flexion joint angle proceeding sprint (HJFR & VJFR) rather than no sprint condition (VJ) present an increased risk for knee injuries. These results seem to suggest that running and sudden subsequent jumping-landing activity experienced during playing soccer may negatively change the knee valgus moment. Thus, sprinting preceding a jump task may increase knee risk factors such as moment and knee flexion joint angle.

    Matched MeSH terms: Knee Joint/physiology
  6. Tracking of EEG activity using motion estimation to understand brain wiring
    Nisar H, Malik AS, Ullah R, Shim SO, Bawakid A, Khan MB, et al.
    Adv Exp Med Biol, 2015;823:159-74.
    PMID: 25381107 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-10984-8_9
    The fundamental step in brain research deals with recording electroencephalogram (EEG) signals and then investigating the recorded signals quantitatively. Topographic EEG (visual spatial representation of EEG signal) is commonly referred to as brain topomaps or brain EEG maps. In this chapter, full search full search block motion estimation algorithm has been employed to track the brain activity in brain topomaps to understand the mechanism of brain wiring. The behavior of EEG topomaps is examined throughout a particular brain activation with respect to time. Motion vectors are used to track the brain activation over the scalp during the activation period. Using motion estimation it is possible to track the path from the starting point of activation to the final point of activation. Thus it is possible to track the path of a signal across various lobes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Brain/physiology*
  7. Fulltext The impact of a submaximal level of exercise on balance performance in older persons
    Alias HA, Justine M
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:986252.
    PMID: 25383386 DOI: 10.1155/2014/986252
    The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a submaximal level of exercise on balance performance under a variety of conditions.
    Matched MeSH terms: Postural Balance/physiology*
  8. Fulltext Reduced graphene oxide anodes for potential application in algae biophotovoltaic platforms
    Ng FL, Jaafar MM, Phang SM, Chan Z, Salleh NA, Azmi SZ, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2014;4:7562.
    PMID: 25531093 DOI: 10.1038/srep07562
    The search for renewable energy sources has become challenging in the current era, as conventional fuel sources are of finite origins. Recent research interest has focused on various biophotovoltaic (BPV) platforms utilizing algae, which are then used to harvest solar energy and generate electrical power. The majority of BPV platforms incorporate indium tin oxide (ITO) anodes for the purpose of charge transfer due to its inherent optical and electrical properties. However, other materials such as reduced graphene oxide (RGO) could provide higher efficiency due to their intrinsic electrical properties and biological compatibility. In this work, the performance of algae biofilms grown on RGO and ITO anodes were measured and discussed. Results indicate improved peak power of 0.1481 mWm(-2) using the RGO electrode and an increase in efficiency of 119%, illustrating the potential of RGO as an anode material for applications in biofilm derived devices and systems.
    Matched MeSH terms: Chlorella/physiology*
  9. Fulltext Feature selection and classifier parameters estimation for EEG signals peak detection using particle swarm optimization
    Adam A, Shapiai MI, Tumari MZ, Mohamad MS, Mubin M
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:973063.
    PMID: 25243236 DOI: 10.1155/2014/973063
    Electroencephalogram (EEG) signal peak detection is widely used in clinical applications. The peak point can be detected using several approaches, including time, frequency, time-frequency, and nonlinear domains depending on various peak features from several models. However, there is no study that provides the importance of every peak feature in contributing to a good and generalized model. In this study, feature selection and classifier parameters estimation based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) are proposed as a framework for peak detection on EEG signals in time domain analysis. Two versions of PSO are used in the study: (1) standard PSO and (2) random asynchronous particle swarm optimization (RA-PSO). The proposed framework tries to find the best combination of all the available features that offers good peak detection and a high classification rate from the results in the conducted experiments. The evaluation results indicate that the accuracy of the peak detection can be improved up to 99.90% and 98.59% for training and testing, respectively, as compared to the framework without feature selection adaptation. Additionally, the proposed framework based on RA-PSO offers a better and reliable classification rate as compared to standard PSO as it produces low variance model.
    Matched MeSH terms: Eye Movements/physiology*
  10. Fulltext Minimum variance distortionless response beamformer with enhanced nulling level control via dynamic mutated artificial immune system
    Kiong TS, Salem SB, Paw JK, Sankar KP, Darzi S
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:164053.
    PMID: 25003136 DOI: 10.1155/2014/164053
    In smart antenna applications, the adaptive beamforming technique is used to cancel interfering signals (placing nulls) and produce or steer a strong beam toward the target signal according to the calculated weight vectors. Minimum variance distortionless response (MVDR) beamforming is capable of determining the weight vectors for beam steering; however, its nulling level on the interference sources remains unsatisfactory. Beamforming can be considered as an optimization problem, such that optimal weight vector should be obtained through computation. Hence, in this paper, a new dynamic mutated artificial immune system (DM-AIS) is proposed to enhance MVDR beamforming for controlling the null steering of interference and increase the signal to interference noise ratio (SINR) for wanted signals.
    Matched MeSH terms: Immune System/physiology
  11. Re: Targeting NOS as a therapeutic approach for heart failure
    Bonsu KO, Kadirvelu A, Reidpath DD
    Pharmacol Ther, 2014 Sep;143(3):350.
    PMID: 24769330 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2014.04.003
    Matched MeSH terms: Nitric Oxide Synthase/physiology*
  12. Fulltext Effect of feeding palm oil by-products based diets on total bacteria, cellulolytic bacteria and methanogenic archaea in the rumen of goats
    Abubakr A, Alimon AR, Yaakub H, Abdullah N, Ivan M
    PLoS One, 2014;9(4):e95713.
    PMID: 24756125 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0095713
    Rumen microorganisms are responsible for digestion and utilization of dietary feeds by host ruminants. Unconventional feed resources could be used as alternatives in tropical areas where feed resources are insufficient in terms of quality and quantity. The objective of the present experiment was to evaluate the effect of diets based on palm oil (PO), decanter cake (DC) or palm kernel cake (PKC) on rumen total bacteria, selected cellulolytic bacteria, and methanogenic archaea. Four diets: control diet (CD), decanter cake diet (DCD), palm kernel cake diet (PKCD) and CD plus 5% PO diet (CPOD) were fed to rumen cannulated goats and rumen samples were collected at the start of the experimental diets (day 0) and on days 4, 6, 8, 12, 18, 24 and 30 post dietary treatments. Feeding DCD and PKCD resulted in significantly higher (P<0.05) DNA copy number of total bacteria, Fibrobacter succinogenes, Ruminococcus flavefeciens, and Ruminococcus albus. Rumen methanogenic archaea was significantly lower (P<0.05) in goats fed PKCD and CPOD and the trend showed a severe reduction on days 4 and 6 post experimental diets. In conclusion, results indicated that feeding DCD and PKC increased the populations of cellulolytic bacteria and decreased the density of methanogenic archaea in the rumen of goats.
    Matched MeSH terms: Rumen/physiology*
  13. Optimal selection of mother wavelet for accurate infant cry classification
    Saraswathy J, Hariharan M, Nadarajaw T, Khairunizam W, Yaacob S
    Australas Phys Eng Sci Med, 2014 Jun;37(2):439-56.
    PMID: 24691930 DOI: 10.1007/s13246-014-0264-y
    Wavelet theory is emerging as one of the prevalent tool in signal and image processing applications. However, the most suitable mother wavelet for these applications is still a relative question mark amongst researchers. Selection of best mother wavelet through parameterization leads to better findings for the analysis in comparison to random selection. The objective of this article is to compare the performance of the existing members of mother wavelets and to select the most suitable mother wavelet for accurate infant cry classification. Optimal wavelet is found using three different criteria namely the degree of similarity of mother wavelets, regularity of mother wavelets and accuracy of correct recognition during classification processes. Recorded normal and pathological infant cry signals are decomposed into five levels using wavelet packet transform. Energy and entropy features are extracted at different sub bands of cry signals and their effectiveness are tested with four supervised neural network architectures. Findings of this study expound that, the Finite impulse response based approximation of Meyer is the best wavelet candidate for accurate infant cry classification analysis.
    Matched MeSH terms: Crying/physiology*
  14. Classification of intelligence quotient via brainwave sub-band power ratio features and artificial neural network
    Jahidin AH, Megat Ali MS, Taib MN, Tahir NM, Yassin IM, Lias S
    Comput Methods Programs Biomed, 2014 Apr;114(1):50-9.
    PMID: 24560277 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2014.01.016
    This paper elaborates on the novel intelligence assessment method using the brainwave sub-band power ratio features. The study focuses only on the left hemisphere brainwave in its relaxed state. Distinct intelligence quotient groups have been established earlier from the score of the Raven Progressive Matrices. Sub-band power ratios are calculated from energy spectral density of theta, alpha and beta frequency bands. Synthetic data have been generated to increase dataset from 50 to 120. The features are used as input to the artificial neural network. Subsequently, the brain behaviour model has been developed using an artificial neural network that is trained with optimized learning rate, momentum constant and hidden nodes. Findings indicate that the distinct intelligence quotient groups can be classified from the brainwave sub-band power ratios with 100% training and 88.89% testing accuracies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Brain/physiology*
  15. Fulltext Coming down from the trees: is terrestrial activity in Bornean orangutans natural or disturbance driven?
    Ancrenaz M, Sollmann R, Meijaard E, Hearn AJ, Ross J, Samejima H, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2014;4:4024.
    PMID: 24526001 DOI: 10.1038/srep04024
    The orangutan is the world's largest arboreal mammal, and images of the red ape moving through the tropical forest canopy symbolise its typical arboreal behaviour. Records of terrestrial behaviour are scarce and often associated with habitat disturbance. We conducted a large-scale species-level analysis of ground-based camera-trapping data to evaluate the extent to which Bornean orangutans Pongo pygmaeus come down from the trees to travel terrestrially, and whether they are indeed forced to the ground primarily by anthropogenic forest disturbances. Although the degree of forest disturbance and canopy gap size influenced terrestriality, orangutans were recorded on the ground as frequently in heavily degraded habitats as in primary forests. Furthermore, all age-sex classes were recorded on the ground (flanged males more often). This suggests that terrestrial locomotion is part of the Bornean orangutan's natural behavioural repertoire to a much greater extent than previously thought, and is only modified by habitat disturbance. The capacity of orangutans to come down from the trees may increase their ability to cope with at least smaller-scale forest fragmentation, and to cross moderately open spaces in mosaic landscapes, although the extent of this versatility remains to be investigated.
    Matched MeSH terms: Pongo pygmaeus/physiology*
  16. Olfactory dysfunction in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension
    Khoo KF, Kunte H
    Neurology, 2014 Jan 14;82(2):189.
    PMID: 24419980 DOI: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000442872.80558.6c
    Matched MeSH terms: Smell/physiology*
  17. Fulltext Colonized Aedes albopictus and its sexual performance in the wild: implications for SIT technology and containment
    Hamady D, Ruslan NB, Ahmad AH, Rawi CS, Ahmad H, Satho T, et al.
    Parasit Vectors, 2013;6:206.
    PMID: 23856274 DOI: 10.1186/1756-3305-6-206
    Mating is a physiological process of crucial importance underlying the size and maintenance of mosquito populations. In sterile and incompatible insect technologies (SIT and IIT), mating is essential for mass production, persistence, and success of released individuals, and is a central parameter for judging the effectiveness of SIT/IIT programs. Some mosquitoes have an enormous reproductive potential for both themselves and pathogens and mating may contribute to persistence of infection in nature. As Aedes albopictus can transmit flaviviruses both sexually and horizontally, and as infected insects are usually derived from laboratory colonies, we investigated the implications of mating between a long-term laboratory colony of Ae. albopictus and wild populations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Aedes/physiology*
  18. Fulltext The influence of 1-triacontanol on the growth, flowering, and quality of potted Bougainvillea plants (Bougainvillea glabra var. "Elizabeth Angus") under natural conditions
    Khandaker MM, Faruq G, Rahman MM, Sofian-Azirun M, Boyce AN
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2013;2013:308651.
    PMID: 23970832 DOI: 10.1155/2013/308651
    Selected physiological and biochemical parameters were monitored at the vegetative and reproductive growth stages in potted Bougainvillea plants treated with five different concentrations of TRIA. Advanced flowering, flower bud number, and blooming rate increased significantly with 0.5 and 1.0 mg/L TRIA treatments. Similarly, photosynthetic rate, pigment content, quantum yield, and stomatal conductance increased significantly with 2.5, 1.0, and 5.0 mg/L TRIA treatments. Higher levels of N, P, and K, as well as increased total soluble solids (TSS) and higher sugar and protein contents, were recorded in treated plants. Furthermore, 46% more flowers, a 1.5-fold increase in bract weight, increased longevity, and 40% less leaf abscission were recorded following 2.5 mg/L TRIA treatment. Phenol and flavonoid contents, sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), and antioxidant activities were also markedly increased with 2.5 and 1.0 mg/L TRIA treatments. However, ethylene production was significantly lower in the treated plants. Positive correlations were observed between leaf TSS and flowering time and flower number, between leaf sugar content and bract weight, and between net photosynthesis and bract growth and dry matter production. It can be concluded that the foliar spray of TRIA stimulates growth, enhances flowering, and improves the quality of potted Bougainvillea plants.
    Matched MeSH terms: Nyctaginaceae/physiology*
  19. Intrarater test-retest reliability of static and dynamic stability indexes measurement using the Biodex Stability System during unilateral stance
    Arifin N, Abu Osman NA, Wan Abas WA
    J Appl Biomech, 2014 Apr;30(2):300-4.
    PMID: 23878204 DOI: 10.1123/jab.2013-0130
    The measurements of postural balance often involve measurement error, which affects the analysis and interpretation of the outcomes. In most of the existing clinical rehabilitation research, the ability to produce reliable measures is a prerequisite for an accurate assessment of an intervention after a period of time. Although clinical balance assessment has been performed in previous study, none has determined the intrarater test-retest reliability of static and dynamic stability indexes during dominant single stance. In this study, one rater examined 20 healthy university students (female=12, male=8) in two sessions separated by 7 day intervals. Three stability indexes--the overall stability index (OSI), anterior/posterior stability index (APSI), and medial/ lateral stability index (MLSI) in static and dynamic conditions--were measured during single dominant stance. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error measurement (SEM) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated. Test-retest ICCs for OSI, APSI, and MLSI were 0.85, 0.78, and 0.84 during static condition and were 0.77, 0.77, and 0.65 during dynamic condition, respectively. We concluded that the postural stability assessment using Biodex stability system demonstrates good-to-excellent test-retest reliability over a 1 week time interval.
    Matched MeSH terms: Postural Balance/physiology*
  20. Fulltext Cellular mechanisms of emerging applications of mesenchymal stem cells
    Mok PL, Leong CF, Cheong SK
    Malays J Pathol, 2013 Jun;35(1):17-32.
    PMID: 23817392 MyJurnal
    Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are multipotent, self-renewing cells that can be found mainly in the bone marrow, and other post-natal organs and tissues. The ease of isolation and expansion, together with the immunomodulatory properties and their capability to migrate to sites of inflammation and tumours make them a suitable candidate for therapeutic use in the clinical settings. We review here the cellular mechanisms underlying the emerging applications of MSC in various fields.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mesenchymal Stromal Cells/physiology*
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