Displaying publications 61 - 80 of 200 in total

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  1. Fulltext Combined assessment of TGF-beta-1 and alpha-fetoprotein values improves specificity in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma and other chronic liver diseases in Malaysia
    Yasmin Anum MY, Looi ML, Nor Aini AH, Merican I, Wahidah A, Mohd Radzi AH, et al.
    Med J Malaysia, 2009 Sep;64(3):223-7.
    PMID: 20527273 MyJurnal
    Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-beta-1) is a multifunctional cytokine involved in the regulation of growth and differentiation of both normal and transformed cells. The main aim of this study was to determine whether TGF-beta-1 or alpha fetoprotein (AFP) or the combination of the two is a better indicator for hepatocellularcarcinoma (HCC). Serum TGF-beta-1 and AFP were measured by ELISA in 40 healthy subjects, 23 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 70 patients with hepatitis B, 26 patients with hepatitis C and 16 patients with liver cirrhosis (LC). Patients with liver diseases showed significantly higher serum TGF-beta-1 values (> 3 fold) compared to control subjects. As for serum AFP, significant elevation was only observed for HCC cases. Serum TGF-beta-1 exhibited higher percent sensitivity compared to serum AFP in all liver diseases. Combination of serum TGF-beta-1 and AFP increased specificities in all cases studied. In conclusion, serum TGF-beta-1 is a more sensitive marker for HCC when compared to serum AFP and its specificity is increased when combined with serum AFP.
  2. Fulltext Adequacy of cellular material in split-sampling of cervical scrapings for routine cancer screening: an analysis of 702 smears
    Othman N, Othman NH
    Malays J Pathol, 2012 Dec;34(2):115-21.
    PMID: 23424773 MyJurnal
    The aim of this study was to examine cells (split-sample) that were retained on sampling devices used to collect conventional Pap smears (primary smears) in order to evaluate specimen adequacy and cytological diagnosis of scrapings that are routinely discarded.
  3. Fulltext Immunohistochemical localization of RET rearrangements in a Malaysian papillary thyroid carcinoma population
    Omar E, Othman NH
    Med J Malaysia, 2003 Aug;58(3):461-2.
    PMID: 14750392
  4. The journey of Malaysian external quality assurance program for general diagnostic histopathology
    Ch'ng ES, Othman NH
    Malays J Pathol, 2021 Apr;43(1):19-23.
    PMID: 33903301
    International Academy of Pathology, Malaysian Division has initiated and run the external quality assurance program for general diagnostic histopathology since the year 2017. This article introduces the educational philosophy of this external quality assurance program and the technicalities in running such a national program. Challenges in ensuring the successful running of this program to gain wide acceptance by histopathology laboratories in Malaysia as well as experience in overcoming these challenges are detailed. This article charts the future direction of this external quality assurance program.
  5. Fulltext Direct growth inhibition assay of total airborne fungi with application of biocide-treated malt extract agar
    Er CM, Sunar NM, Leman AM, Othman N
    MethodsX, 2015;2:340-4.
    PMID: 27077051 DOI: 10.1016/j.mex.2015.07.002
    Indoor air pollution by airborne fungi has risen to become a common issue all over the world and it is hazardous to indoor occupants' health as it is associated with a series of respiratory-related and skin-related diseases. Selected bioactive compounds from the food industry have been suggested to be effective against individual fungus isolated from indoor environment. However, the techniques used to evaluate these compounds were lengthy and unsuitable against total airborne fungi. Therefore, this paper describes an assay to assess the effectiveness of a bioactive compound to inhibit growth of total airborne fungi.•A combination and modification of previous methods and the NIOSH Manual Analytical Standard Method (NMAM 0800) is proposed.•This method concurrently samples the total airborne fungi and evaluates the ability of bioactive compounds (potassium sorbate in this paper), as a biocide, to treat these indoor airborne fungi.•The current method shortens the time of evaluation from 30 days to only 5 days and employs the counting of colony forming units (CFUs) to ease the measurement of the growth of fungi.
  6. Testing comparison models of DASS-12 and its reliability among adolescents in Malaysia
    Osman ZJ, Mukhtar F, Hashim HA, Abdul Latiff L, Mohd Sidik S, Awang H, et al.
    Compr Psychiatry, 2014 Oct;55(7):1720-5.
    PMID: 24952938 DOI: 10.1016/j.comppsych.2014.04.011
    OBJECTIVE: The 21-item Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) is frequently used in non-clinical research to measure mental health factors among adults. However, previous studies have concluded that the 21 items are not stable for utilization among the adolescent population. Thus, the aims of this study are to examine the structure of the factors and to report on the reliability of the refined version of the DASS that consists of 12 items.
    METHOD: A total of 2850 students (aged 13 to 17 years old) from three major ethnic in Malaysia completed the DASS-21. The study was conducted at 10 randomly selected secondary schools in the northern state of Peninsular Malaysia. The study population comprised secondary school students (Forms 1, 2 and 4) from the selected schools.
    RESULTS: Based on the results of the EFA stage, 12 items were included in a final CFA to test the fit of the model. Using maximum likelihood procedures to estimate the model, the selected fit indices indicated a close model fit (χ(2)=132.94, df=57, p=.000; CFI=.96; RMR=.02; RMSEA=.04). Moreover, significant loadings of all the unstandardized regression weights implied an acceptable convergent validity. Besides the convergent validity of the item, a discriminant validity of the subscales was also evident from the moderate latent factor inter-correlations, which ranged from .62 to .75. The subscale reliability was further estimated using Cronbach's alpha and the adequate reliability of the subscales was obtained (Total=76; Depression=.68; Anxiety=.53; Stress=.52).
    CONCLUSION: The new version of the 12-item DASS for adolescents in Malaysia (DASS-12) is reliable and has a stable factor structure, and thus it is a useful instrument for distinguishing between depression, anxiety and stress.
  7. Nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus among healthy adults
    Choi CS, Yin CS, Bakar AA, Sakewi Z, Naing NN, Jamal F, et al.
    J Microbiol Immunol Infect, 2006 Dec;39(6):458-64.
    PMID: 17164947
    Data on the carriage rate and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of Staphylococcus aureus strains prevalent in the community are not available for many developing countries including Malaysia. To estimate the extent of community S. aureus transmission, in particular methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), the prevalence of S. aureus nasal colonization in a population of healthy adults was determined. Factors associated with S. aureus nasal carriage and antibiotic sensitivity patterns of the isolates were also analyzed.
  8. Recovery of kraft lignin from pulping wastewater via emulsion liquid membrane process
    Ooi ZY, Harruddin N, Othman N
    Biotechnol Prog, 2015 Sep-Oct;31(5):1305-14.
    PMID: 26101101 DOI: 10.1002/btpr.2129
    Kraft lignin (KL) is a renewable source of many valuable intermediate biochemical products currently derived from petroleum. An excessive of lignin comes from pulping wastewater caused an adverse pollution problems hence affecting human and aquatic life. A comprehensive study pertaining to emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) extraction of lignin from pulping wastewater was presented. ELM formulation contains Aliquat 336 as carrier, kerosene as diluent, sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3 ) as stripping agent and Span 80 as surfactant. The emulsion stability was investigated at different surfactant concentrations, homogenizer speed and emulsification time. Modifier (2-ethyl-1-hexanol) was added to avoid segregation of third phase while improving the emulsion stability. At optimum conditions, 95% and 56% of lignin were extracted and recovered, respectively at 10 min of extraction time, 0.007 M of Aliquat 336, 0.1 M of NaHCO3 and 1:5 of treat ratio. Additional of modifier was contributed to highest recovery up to 98%. The ELM process was found to be equally feasible and quite effective in the recovery of KL from real pulping wastewater. Therefore, ELM process provides a promising alternative technology to recover KL from pulping wastewater while solving the environmental problems simultaneously.
  9. Comparison of culture-independent and dependent approaches for identification of native arsenic-resistant bacteria and their potential use for arsenic bioremediation
    Hamood Altowayti WA, Almoalemi H, Shahir S, Othman N
    Ecotoxicol Environ Saf, 2020 Dec 01;205:111267.
    PMID: 32992213 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.111267
    Arsenic is a common contaminant in gold mine soil and tailings. Microbes present an opportunity for bio-treatment of arsenic, since it is a sustainable and cost-effective approach to remove arsenic from water. However, the development of existing bio-treatment approaches depends on isolation of arsenic-resistant microbes from arsenic contaminated samples. Microbial cultures are commonly used in bio-treatment; however, it is not established whether the structure of the cultured isolates resembles the native microbial community from arsenic-contaminated soil. In this milieu, a culture-independent approach using Illumina sequencing technology was used to profile the microbial community in situ. This was coupled with a culture-dependent technique, that is, isolation using two different growth media, to analyse the microbial population in arsenic laden tailing dam sludge based on the culture-independent sequencing approach, 4 phyla and 8 genera were identified in a sample from the arsenic-rich gold mine. Firmicutes (92.23%) was the dominant phylum, followed by Proteobacteria (3.21%), Actinobacteria (2.41%), and Bacteroidetes (1.49%). The identified genera included Staphylococcus (89.8%), Pseudomonas (1.25), Corynebacterium (0.82), Prevotella (0.54%), Megamonas (0.38%) and Sphingomonas (0.36%). The Shannon index value (3.05) and Simpson index value (0.1661) indicated low diversity in arsenic laden tailing. The culture dependent method exposed significant similarities with culture independent methods at the phylum level with Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, being common, and Firmicutes was the dominant phylum whereas, at the genus level, only Pseudomonas was presented by both methods. It showed high similarities between culture independent and dependent methods at the phylum level and large differences at the genus level, highlighting the complementarity between the two methods for identification of the native population bacteria in arsenic-rich mine. As a result, the present study can be a resource on microbes for bio-treatment of arsenic in mining waste.
  10. Fulltext Evaluation of female Aedes aegypti proteome via LC-ESI-MS/MS using two protein extraction methods
    Shettima A, Ishak IH, Abdul Rais SH, Abu Hasan H, Othman N
    PeerJ, 2021;9:e10863.
    PMID: 33717682 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10863
    Background: Proteomic analyses have broadened the horizons of vector control measures by identifying proteins associated with different biological and physiological processes and give further insight into the mosquitoes' biology, mechanism of insecticide resistance and pathogens-mosquitoes interaction. Female Ae. aegypti ingests human blood to acquire the requisite nutrients to make eggs. During blood ingestion, female mosquitoes transmit different pathogens. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the best protein extraction method for mass spectrometry analysis which will allow a better proteome profiling for female mosquitoes.

    Methods: In this present study, two protein extractions methods were performed to analyze female Ae. aegyti proteome, via TCA acetone precipitation extraction method and a commercial protein extraction reagent CytoBusterTM. Then, protein identification was performed by LC-ESI-MS/MS and followed by functional protein annotation analysis.

    Results: The CytoBusterTM reagent gave the highest protein yield with a mean of 475.90 µg compared to TCA acetone precipitation extraction showed 283.15 µg mean of protein. LC-ESI-MS/MS identified 1,290 and 890 proteins from the CytoBusterTM reagent and TCA acetone precipitation, respectively. When comparing the protein class categories in both methods, there were three additional categories for proteins identified using CytoBusterTM reagent. The proteins were related to scaffold/adaptor protein (PC00226), protein binding activity modulator (PC00095) and intercellular signal molecule (PC00207). In conclusion, the CytoBusterTM protein extraction reagent showed a better performance for the extraction of proteins in term of the protein yield, proteome coverage and extraction speed.

  11. Fulltext Time, love and tenderness: Doctors' online volunteering in Health Virtual Community searching for work-family balance
    Mohd Yusof SA, Mohd Noor N, Othman N
    J Infect Public Health, 2021 Jan;14(1):1-5.
    PMID: 33341478 DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2020.11.004
    BACKGROUND: This study will explore and understand the experience of doctors volunteering online in managing the boundaries between work and family in health virtual communities (HVC).

    METHODOLOGY: A qualitative case study approach was used to explore and understand how doctors volunteering online balances between work and family in a Health Virtual Community called DoktorBudak.com (DB). A total of seventeen (17) doctors were interviewed using either face-to-face, Skype, phone interview or through email.

    RESULTS: The results of this study suggested that doctors perceived the physical border at their workplace as less permeable though the ICT has freed them from the restriction to perform other non-related work (such as online volunteering (OV) works) during working hours. In addition, doctors OV use ICTs to perform work at home or during working hours, they perceive their work and family borders as flexible. Furthermore, the doctors used different strategies when it came to blending, whether to segment or integrate their work and family domains.

    CONCLUSION: This study has defined issues on work-family balance and OV. Most importantly this study had discussed the conceptual framework of work-family balance focusing on doctors volunteering online and how they have incorporated ICTs such as Internet technology to negotiate the work-family boundaries, which are permeable, flexible and blending.

  12. Phylogenetic Diversity of Burkholderia pseudomallei isolated from veterinary cases and the environments in Peninsular Malaysia
    Sadiq MA, Hassan L, Aziz SA, Zakaria Z, Musa HI, Amin MM, et al.
    Vet Anim Sci, 2018 Dec;6:21-28.
    PMID: 32734049 DOI: 10.1016/j.vas.2018.07.004
    This study was designed to determine the genotype and the phylogeny of Burkholderia pseudomallei isolated from veterinary cases and from the animal environments in Peninsular Malaysia. The Malaysian B. pseudomallei population were then compared to those found elsewhere. A total of 113 isolates from veterinary cases (35) and the environment (56 from soil and 22 from water) were characterized using multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Two novel alleles, allele 97 and 69 of the gene locus ace and lepA respectively were recovered. Isolates were resolved into 12 distinct sequence types (STs) out of which five were novel, namely ST1130, ST1131, ST1338, ST1339 and ST1367. The isolates from veterinary cases co-clustered with those from the environment. B. pseudomallei isolates in this study were highly clonal and have descended from a common ancestor clonal complex (CC) 48 found in Southeast Asia. This study shows that veterinary case isolates are often caused by similar STs, with similar populations found in the direct animal environment and those previously reported to cause human infections in Malaysia and elsewhere. Isolates of B. pseudomallei from human infections have been given more attention, with a comparatively lower focus on isolates from animals and the farm environment. This study highlighted the genotype and phylogeny of B. pseudomallei isolated from animals and the environment and their relations to the isolates from human cases reported in Malaysia and elsewhere. Most STs reported in this study, from veterinary cases and animal environment are similar to those previously reported as causing human infections in Malaysia and elsewhere. Therefore, even though direct zoonosis is uncommon, monitoring melioidosis occurrences in animals can provide insights on the bacterial strains infecting humans.
  13. Heavy metals in leachate, impacted soils and natural soils of different landfills in Malaysia: An alarming threat
    Hussein M, Yoneda K, Mohd-Zaki Z, Amir A, Othman N
    Chemosphere, 2021 Mar;267:128874.
    PMID: 33199110 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128874
    Landfills are a potential threat to human health and the environment, especially from the detrimental and toxic heavy metals. This study focuses on the assessment of heavy metals contamination in leachate and surface soils from different landfills in Malaysia. Maximum quality rating scale (QRS) values of As (787) and Cr (552) denotes progressive deterioration of leachate contamination in landfill. The impacted soils showed high heavy metal concentrations especially at non-sanitary unlined landfills, as compared to background values, and natural soil nearby the landfills. In addition, to examine the environmental impacts of the landfill area (soil) in more detail, specific indexes; geo-accumulation index (Igeo), pollution index (PI) and integrated pollution index (IPI) were determined. Maximum As (3.122) and Cd (2.633) for Igeo and As (34.037) and Cd (20.881) for PI revealed that the soil samples in non-sanitary landfills were moderate to strongly polluted. The difference in range of IPI values for sanitary (0.294-0.322) and non-sanitary landfill soils (1.263-1.956) confirmed advanced decline of the soil quality in non-sanitary landfills. Arsenic concentrations were found to be statistically significant (ANOVA) for leachate and impacted soil in landfills investigated. It is also important to realize that rise in metal contents in landfill environments were not only caused by anthropogenic sources such as from the waste disposed, but also some other factors such as redox conditions, anoxic environments, pH, oxidation state of metals and microbial activities. Those conditions will actively promotes leaching of metals from waste and also natural soils in the landfill.
  14. Fulltext Entamoeba histolytica: Proteomics Bioinformatics Reveal Predictive Functions and Protein-Protein Interactions of Differentially Abundant Membrane and Cytosolic Proteins
    Azmi N, Othman N
    Membranes (Basel), 2021 May 21;11(6).
    PMID: 34063994 DOI: 10.3390/membranes11060376
    Amoebiasis is caused by Entamoeba histolytica and ranked second for parasitic diseases causing death after malaria. E. histolytica membrane and cytosolic proteins play important roles in the pathogenesis. Our previous study had shown several cytosolic proteins were found in the membrane fraction. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the differential abundance of membrane and cytosolic proteins in membrane versus cytosolic fractions and analyze their predicted functions and interaction. Previous LC-ESI-MS/MS data were analyzed by PERSEUS software for the differentially abundant proteins, then they were classified into their functional annotations and the protein networks were summarized using PantherDB and STRiNG, respectively. The results showed 24 (44.4%) out of the 54 proteins that increased in abundance were membrane proteins and 30 were cytosolic proteins. Meanwhile, 45 cytosolic proteins were found to decrease in abundance. Functional analysis showed differential abundance proteins involved in the molecular function, biological process, and cellular component with 18.88%, 33.04% and, 48.07%, respectively. The STRiNG server predicted that the decreased abundance proteins had more protein-protein network interactions compared to increased abundance proteins. Overall, this study has confirmed the presence of the differentially abundant membrane and cytosolic proteins and provided the predictive functions and interactions between them.
  15. Fulltext Antigenic membrane proteins of virulent variant of Entamoeba histolytica HM-1:IMSS
    Kumarasamy G, Abdus Sani AA, Olivos-García A, Noordin R, Othman N
    Pathog Glob Health, 2020 09;114(6):333-342.
    PMID: 32536281 DOI: 10.1080/20477724.2020.1780402
    Amoebiasis, caused by Entamoeba histolytica, is one of the leading parasitic infections in the world. This study was aimed at profiling antigenic membrane proteins of a virulent variant of E. histolytica HM-1:IMSS. The membrane proteins were extracted using ProteoExtract® kit (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) or conventional method, separated using OFFGEL 3100 fractionator (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, California), followed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. Selected antigenic membrane proteins were identified using LC-ESI-MS/MS. Subsequently, the proteins were classified according to their biological processes and predictions were made on membrane and membrane-associated proteins. When the proteins were probed with pooled sera from amoebic liver abscess (ALA) patients, 10 and 15 antigenic proteins with molecular weights 25 to 200 kDa were identified using the ProteoExtract® kit and conventional method, respectively. LC-ESI-MS/MS identified 13 antigenic proteins, and both extraction methods predicted six of them as membrane and membrane-associated proteins. The topmost biological processes which comprised of six proteins were involved in cellular processes.. These antigenic membrane proteins merit further investigations as potential candidates for vaccine studies.
  16. Fulltext Evaluation of Total Female and Male Aedes aegypti Proteomes Reveals Significant Predictive Protein-Protein Interactions, Functional Ontologies, and Differentially Abundant Proteins
    Shettima A, Joseph S, Ishak IH, Abdul Raiz SH, Abu Hasan H, Othman N
    Insects, 2021 Aug 20;12(8).
    PMID: 34442320 DOI: 10.3390/insects12080752
    Aedes aegypti is a significant vector for many tropical and subtropical flavivirus diseases. Only the female mosquito transmits pathogens, while the male plays a vital role in mating and species continuity. This study explored the total proteomes of females and males based on the physiological and genetic differences of female and male mosquitoes. Protein extracts from mosquitoes were analysed using LC-ESI-MS/MS for protein identification, protein interaction network analysis, functional ontology enrichment, and differential protein abundance analyses. Protein identification revealed 422 and 682 proteins exclusive to males and females, respectively, with 608 common proteins found in both sexes. The most significant PPIs (<1.0 × 10-16) were for common proteins, followed by proteins exclusive to females (<1.0 × 10-16) and males (1.58 × 10-12). Significant functional enrichments were observed in the biological process, molecular function, and cellular component for the male and female proteins. The abundance of the proteins differed, with one protein showing an increase (elongation factor 1 α, EF1α) and two showing reductions (actin family) in females versus males. Overall, the study verified the total proteomes differences between male and female Ae. aegypti based on protein identification and interactions, functional ontologies, and differentially abundant proteins. Some of the identified proteins merit further investigation to elucidate their roles in blocking viral transmission.
  17. Fulltext Diagnostic dilemma of reactive arthritis aided by multimodality imaging using MRI, CECT and 18F-FDG PET/CT Scans
    Suppiah S, Zakaria MH, Khalid B, Mohamad Saini S, Othman N
    Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2017;13(1):73-77.
    MyJurnal
    Reactive arthritis can be an elusive diagnosis especially in the elderly. A 77-year-old lady, presented with recent history of hip pain. She had been treated for urinary tract infection caused by Chlamydia sp. and had associated weight loss. She was also investigated for possible tuberculosis and occult malignancy. CT scan abdomen/pelvis and MRI revealed peri-articular muscle inflammation. Biopsy of her hip joint failed to find the causative factor. Whole body 18F-FDG PET/CT scan revealed increased FDG uptake at bilateral hip and shoulder joints. She recovered after an intensive course of antibiotics. Thus, she was diagnosed with reactive arthritis. Reactive arthritis is usually a diagnosis of exclusion made by a high index of suspicion and positive serology test. Molecular imaging can be an alternative investigation for joint pains in the elderly, which enables excellent anatomical and functional information to exclude more sinister conditions such as malignancy.
  18. Fulltext Mobile phone reminders and peer counseling improve adherence and treatment outcomes of patients on ART in Malaysia: A randomized clinical trial
    Abdulrahman SA, Rampal L, Ibrahim F, Radhakrishnan AP, Kadir Shahar H, Othman N
    PLoS One, 2017;12(5):e0177698.
    PMID: 28520768 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177698
    BACKGROUND: Adherence to treatment remains the cornerstone of long term viral suppression and successful treatment outcomes among patients receiving Antiretroviral Therapy (ART).

    OBJECTIVE(S): Evaluate the effectiveness of mobile phone reminders and peer counseling in improving adherence and treatment outcomes among HIV positive patients on ART in Malaysia.

    METHODS: A single-blind, parallel group RCT conducted in Hospital Sungai Buloh, Malaysia in which 242 adult Malaysian patients were randomized to intervention or control groups. Intervention consisted of a reminder module delivered through SMS and telephone call reminders by trained research assistants for 24 consecutive weeks (starting from date of ART initiation), in addition to adherence counseling at every clinic visit. The length of intended follow up for each patient was 6 months. Data on adherence behavior of patients was collected using specialized, pre-validated Adult AIDS Clinical Trial Group (AACTG) adherence questionnaires. Data on weight, clinical symptoms, CD4 count and viral load tests were also collected. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22 and R software. Repeated measures ANOVA, Friedman's ANOVA and Multivariate regression models were used to evaluate efficacy of the intervention.

    RESULTS: The response rate after 6 months follow up was 93%. There were no significant differences at baseline in gender, employment status, income distribution and residential location of respondents between the intervention and control group. After 6 months follow up, the mean adherence was significantly higher in the intervention group (95.7; 95% CI: 94.39-96.97) as compared to the control group (87.5; 95% CI: 86.14-88.81). The proportion of respondents who had Good (>95%) adherence was significantly higher in the intervention group (92.2%) compared to the control group (54.6%). A significantly lower frequency in missed appointments (14.0% vs 35.5%) (p = 0.001), lower viral load (p = 0.001), higher rise in CD4 count (p = 0.017), lower incidence of tuberculosis (p = 0.001) and OIs (p = 0.001) at 6 months follow up, was observed among patients in the intervention group.

    CONCLUSION: Mobile phone reminders (SMS and telephone call reminders) and peer counseling are effective in improving adherence and treatment outcomes among HIV positive patients on ART in Malaysia. These findings may be of potential benefit for collaborative adherence planning between patients and health care providers at ART commencement.

  19. Synergistic green extraction of nickel ions from electroplating waste via mixtures of chelating and organophosphorus carrier
    Sulaiman RNR, Othman N
    J Hazard Mater, 2017 Oct 15;340:77-84.
    PMID: 28711835 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.06.060
    The discharge of electroplating waste containing nickel ions has led to environmental issues owing to the toxicity problem mainly to the aquatic organisms and humans. Liquid-liquid extraction offers a great potential treatment for nickel removal with several advantages of simple, high efficiency and high separation factor. In this study, a green synergistic liquid-liquid extraction of nickel ions from electroplating waste solution using chelating oxime (LIX63) and organophosphorus (D2EHPA) carriers individually as well as their synergistic mixture has been studied. The result demonstrated that about 83% of nickel ions have been successfully extracted via the mixture system of 0.08M LIX63 +0.02M D2EHPA with the maximum synergistic enhancement factor, Rmax of 29.56. Meanwhile, the back extraction study also revealed that HNO3 was the most suitable stripping agent while the diluent screening also showed that palm oil has high potential to be incorporated as a diluent in the green synergistic liquid-liquid extraction of nickel.
  20. Fulltext Entamoeba histolytica: Quantitative Proteomics Analysis Reveals Putative Virulence-Associated Differentially Abundant Membrane Proteins
    Ng YL, Olivos-García A, Lim TK, Noordin R, Lin Q, Othman N
    Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2018 12;99(6):1518-1529.
    PMID: 30298805 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.18-0415
    Entamoeba histolytica is a protozoan parasite that causes amebiasis and poses a significant health risk for populations in endemic areas. The molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis and regulation of the parasite are not well characterized. We aimed to identify and quantify the differentially abundant membrane proteins by comparing the membrane proteins of virulent and avirulent variants of E. histolytica HM-1:IMSS, and to investigate the potential associations among the differentially abundant membrane proteins. We performed quantitative proteomics analysis using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation labeling, in combination with two mass spectrometry instruments, that is, nano-liquid chromatography (nanoLC)-matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry and nanoLC-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Overall, 37 membrane proteins were found to be differentially abundant, whereby 19 and 18 membrane proteins of the virulent variant of E. histolytica increased and decreased in abundance, respectively. Proteins that were differentially abundant include Rho family GTPase, calreticulin, a 70-kDa heat shock protein, and hypothetical proteins. Analysis by Protein ANalysis THrough Evolutionary Relationships database revealed that the differentially abundant membrane proteins were mainly involved in catalytic activities (29.7%) and metabolic processes (32.4%). Differentially abundant membrane proteins that were found to be involved mainly in the catalytic activities and the metabolic processes were highlighted together with their putative roles in relation to the virulence. Further investigations should be performed to elucidate the roles of these proteins in E. histolytica pathogenesis.
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