Seven single locus microsatellite markers were characterized in Malaysian giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii from an enriched genomic library Primer pairs were designed to flank the repeat sequences and the loci characterized for this species. The bands resulting from the PCR amplifications of these eight microsatellite loci were polymorphic with the number of alleles ranging from 8 to 26 alleles per locus, whereas the observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.0641 to 0.6564. These newly developed microsatellite markers should prove to be useful for population studies and in the management of genetic variations in broodstocks of freshwater prawn, M. rosenbergii.
Titania nanotubes are gaining prominence in photocatalysis, owing to their excellent physical and chemical properties such as high surface area, excellent photocatalytic activity, and widespread availability. They are easily produced by a simple and effective hydrothermal method under mild temperature and pressure conditions. This paper reviews and analyzes the mechanism of titania nanotube formation by hydrothermal treatment. It further examines the parameters that affect the formation of titania nanotubes, such as starting material, sonication pretreatment, hydrothermal temperature, washing process, and calcination process. Finally, the effects of the presence of dopants on the formation of titania nanotubes are analyzed.
Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) score has been used to predict outcomes in patients presenting with unstable angina (UA) and non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Our study assessed other clinical predictors for patients with UA/NSTEMI undergoing early percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
The use of the enzyme alanine dehydrogenase (AlaDH) for the determination of ammonium ion (NH(4)(+)) usually requires the addition of pyruvate substrate and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) simultaneously to effect the reaction. This addition of reagents is inconvenient when an enzyme biosensor based on AlaDH is used. To resolve the problem, a novel reagentless amperometric biosensor using a stacked methacrylic membrane system coated onto a screen-printed carbon paste electrode (SPE) for NH(4)(+) ion determination is described. A mixture of pyruvate and NADH was immobilized in low molecular weight poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) membrane, which was then deposited over a photocured pHEMA membrane (photoHEMA) containing alanine dehydrogenase (AlaDH) enzyme. Due to the enzymatic reaction of AlaDH and the pyruvate substrate, NH(4)(+) was consumed in the process and thus the signal from the electrocatalytic oxidation of NADH at an applied potential of +0.55 V was proportional to the NH(4)(+) ion concentration under optimal conditions. The stacked methacrylate membranes responded rapidly and linearly to changes in NH(4)(+) ion concentrations between 10-100 mM, with a detection limit of 0.18 mM NH(4)(+) ion. The reproducibility of the amperometrical NH(4)(+) biosensor yielded low relative standard deviations between 1.4-4.9%. The stacked membrane biosensor has been successfully applied to the determination of NH(4)(+) ion in spiked river water samples without pretreatment. A good correlation was found between the analytical results for NH(4)(+) obtained from the biosensor and the Nessler spectrophotometric method.
The authors propose a musculoskeletal (MSK) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol using selected sequences for common orthopaedic indications. Selected sequences allow optimal visualisation of the indicated pathology while screening for other common conditions. The authors emphasise the need for standard positioning of the patient and standard orientation of scan planes to facilitate comparison with follow-up scans.
Objective: To describe the association between childhood adversity and depression in adult depressed patients in a Malaysian population.
Methods: Fifty-two patients, who met the criteria for major depressive disorder or dysthymia according to the Structured Clinical Interview based on the revised 3rd edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, were used as cases and compared with 52 controls matched for age and sex. Cases and controls were assessed using a sexual and physical abuse questionnaire and a Parental Bonding Instrument.
Results: There was a positive relationship between childhood abuse in general and childhood physical abuse with adult depressive disorder in particular. Nearly a quarter (23%) of depressed patients reported being abused in childhood compared with none in the control group. There was no significant association between childhood loss and depression in adulthood. Low level of parental care during childhood was significantly correlated with adult depressive disorder.
Conclusion: Clinicians should assiduously seek a history of childhood adversities in adult patients with depression. This information can influence clinical management by way of implementing secondary preventive measures. In all depressed patients, mental health professionals also need to look out for their poor attachment with parents during childhood. This may enable interventions directed at parenting skills and improved attachment relationships with their own children. These types of interventions together
with pharmacotherapy may provide the optimal approach to the management of depression in adults and help prevent the cycle of depression perpetuating itself in the next generation.
Key words: Child abuse; Depression; Maternal behavior
Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen presenting cells of the immune system. They can be generated in vitro from peripheral blood monocytes supplemented with GM-CSF, IL-4 and TNF alpha. During induction, DCs will increase in size and acquire multiple cytoplasmic projections when compared to their precursor cells such as monocytes or haematopoietic stem cells which are usually round or spherical. Morphology of DCs can be visualized by conventional light microscopy after staining or phase-contrast inverted microscopy or confocal laser scanning microscopy. In this report, we described the morphological appearances of DCs captured using the above-mentioned techniques. We found that confocal laser scanning microscopy yielded DCs images with greater details but the operating cost for such a technique is high. On the other hand, the images obtained through light microscopy after appropriate staining or phase contrast microscopy were acceptable for identification purpose. Besides, these equipments are readily available in most laboratories and the cost of operation is affordable. Nevertheless, morphological identification is just one of the methods to characterise DCs. Other methods such as phenotypic expression markers and mixed leukocyte reactions are additional tools used in the characterisation of DCs.
This was a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence and characteristics of mother-infant bed-sharing practice in Klang district, Malaysia. Data was collected by face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire for a four month period in 2006. A total of 682 mother-infant pairs attending government health clinics were included in the study. Data regarding socio-demographic characteristics of the mothers, information on the infants, bed-sharing and breastfeeding practices were collected. The mean maternal age was 28.4 +/- 5.1 years while the mean infant gestational age was 38.8 +/- 1.8 weeks. The study showed the prevalence of bed-sharing was 73.5% (95% CI: 70.0, 76.7). In multivariate analysis; area of interview, maternal occupation, family income, breastfeeding and infant birth weight were associated with bed-sharing after adjusted for maternal ethnicity, age, marital status, educational level, parity, infant gender and infant gestational age. In conclusion, bed-sharing is a common practice in Klang district, Malaysia, not specific to ethnicity, but strongly associated with low family income and breastfeeding.
The placenta constitutes a physical and immunological barrier against infectious agents. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are essential components for the induction of innate immunity responses in different human tissues including the placenta. We investigated the expressions of TLR2 and TLR4 in the decidua and amniotic cells in non-inflamed placenta and placenta with infection.
The current study examined normative beliefs about aggression as a mediator between narcissistic exploitativeness and cyberbullying using two Asian adolescent samples from Singapore and Malaysia. Narcissistic exploitativeness was significantly and positively associated with cyberbullying and normative beliefs about aggression and normative beliefs about aggression were significantly and positively associated with cyberbullying. Normative beliefs about aggression were a significant partial mediator in both samples; these beliefs about aggression served as one possible mechanism of action by which narcissistic exploitativeness could exert its influence on cyberbullying. Findings extended previous empirical research by showing that such beliefs can be the mechanism of action not only in offline but also in online contexts and across cultures. Cyberbullying prevention and intervention efforts should include modification of norms and beliefs supportive of the legitimacy and acceptability of cyberbullying.
A gel imaging method was employed to quantitate the GFP that had been subjected to denaturation and degradation treatments. This method is able to differentiate the nativity of GFP by relating the observed changes in the position of fluorescent bands which is unable to be detected using the spectrofluorometric method.
Isozyme and protein electrophoresis data from mycelial extracts of 27 isolates of Trichoderma harzianum, 10 isolates of T. aureoviride and 10 isolates of T. longibrachiatum from Southern Peninsular Malaysia were investigated. The eight enzyme and a single protein pattern systems were analyzed. Three isozyme and total protein patterns were shown to be useful for the detection of three Trichoderma species. The isozyme and protein data were analyzed using the Nei and Li Dice similarity coefficient for pairwise comparison between individual isolates, species isolate group, and for generating a distance matrix. The UPGMA cluster analysis showed a higher degree of relationship between T. harzianum and T. aureoviride than to T. longibrachiatum. These results suggested that the T. harzianum isolates had high levels of genetic variation compared to the other isolates of Trichoderma species.
It has been widely reported that allozyme frequency variation is a potential indicator of heavy metal-induced impacts in aquatic populations. In the present study, wild populations of horseshoe crab (Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda) were collected from contaminated and uncontaminated sites of Peninsular Malaysia. By adopting horizontal starch gel electrophoresis, seven enzyme systems were used to study allozyme polymorphisms. Nine polymorphic loci were observed in C. rotundicauda. The relationships of allozyme variations with the concentrations of Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn in sediments and in muscle tissues of horseshoe crabs were determined. Based on genetic distance, the lower mean value of Nei's D (0.017) indicated that both of the contaminated populations of Kg. Pasir Puteh and Kuala Juru were very closely related when compared to the relatively uncontaminated Pantai Lido population. Higher heterozygosities were shown by the contaminated populations when compared to the uncontaminated population. Different allelic frequencies could be observed for the aldolase (ALD; E.C. 2.7.5.1) locus between the contaminated and uncontaminated populations of C. rotundicauda. The dendrogram of genetic relationships of the three populations of C. rotundicauda showed the same clustering pattern as the dendrograms are based on heavy metals in the sediments and in the horseshoe crabs' abdominal muscles. From the F statistics, the present study showed that the three populations of horseshoe crabs were considered to have undergone moderate genetic differentiation with a mean F (ST) value of 0.092 .The current results suggest that allozyme polymorphism in horseshoe crabs is a potential biomonitoring tool for metal contamination, although further validation is required.
Cervical cancer is the second most common female cancer after breast cancer both in Malaysia and worldwide although it can be mostly prevented. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge level and attitude of University Kebangsaan Malaysia female students in the Faculties of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences on the prevention of cervical cancer. A total of 675 respondents were recruited for this cross-sectional study involving pre-tested questionnaires. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15.0. There was significant association between grade and mean score of knowledge with different faculties and year of education (p<0.05). However, significant association was shown only between grade of knowledge with different programs in the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences. For mean score of knowledge, significant difference only existed among different races (p<0.05). Mass media was the most common source of information. In conclusion, the knowledge level of respondents on cervical cancer and its prevention was not satisfactory despite their positive attitude on prevention. Thus, more awareness programs should be conducted in University campuses to provide students with knowledge on prevention of cervical cancer.
The aging man is becoming a major burden to Asian countries because of the current poor health status of Asian men and the aging Asian population. Life expectancy at birth for men is shorter than women by an average of 4 years in Asian countries and major causes of death are cardiovascular disease, cancers, injuries and infections. However, there are considerable variations between Asian countries because of great disparity in socioeconomic status. Male-specific disorders, such as male sexual health and urological conditions, are other major health burdens because they have a great impact on men's quality of life. More importantly, many risk factors to the causes of mortality and morbidities, such as high-risk behavior and smoking, can be improved with health promotion and early intervention. The current evidence suggests that the poor health status of men is the result of their poor health care utilization, negative health-seeking behavior, the adverse social environment for men and gender-insensitive health care delivery. However, much evidence is still needed as Asian countries have great diversity in culture, societal values and men's needs. Asian time-tested wisdom on a balanced healthy lifestyle to longevity should be explored as potential men's health promotional programs. Taking into account Asian men's health-care needs, a gender-streamlined approach and man-friendly health care delivery should be on the national agenda in managing the aging man.
OBJECTIVES: Breast self-examination (BSE) was evaluated to see if it is a significant predictor of mammography.
METHODS: The decisions of females above age 40 in Malaysia to test for breast cancer using BSE and mammography are jointly modeled using a bivariate probit so that unobserved attributes affecting mammography usage are also allowed to affect BSE. Data come from the Malaysia Non-Communicable Disease Surveillance-1, which was collected between September 2005 and February 2006.
RESULTS: Having ever performed BSE is positively associated with having ever undergone mammography among Malay (adjusted OR=7.343, CI=2.686, 20.079) and Chinese (adjusted OR=3.466, CI=1.330, 9.031) females after adjusting for household income, education, marital status and residential location. Neither relationship is affected by jointly modelling the decision problem. Although the association is also positive for Indian females when mammography is modelled separately (adjusted OR=5.959, CI=1.546 - 22.970), the relationship is reversed when both decisions are modelled separately.
CONCLUSIONS: De-emphasizing BSE in Malaysia may reduce mammography screening among a large proportion of the population. Previous work on the issue in developed countries may not apply to nations with limited resources.
The main objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of polyoxyethylene sorbitan esters and sodium caseinate on physicochemical properties of palm-based functional lipid nanodispersions prepared by the emulsification-evaporation technique. The results indicated that the average droplet size increased significantly (P < 0.05) by increasing the chain length of fatty acids and also by increasing the hydrophile-lipophile balance value. Among the prepared nanodispersions, the nanoemulsion containing Polysorbate 20 showed the smallest average droplet size (202 nm) and narrowest size distribution for tocopherol-tocotrienol nanodispersions, while sodium caseinate-stabilized nanodispersions containing carotenoids had the largest average droplet size (386 nm), thus indicating a greater emulsifying role for Polysorbate 20 compared with sodium caseinate.
Array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) is a new molecular technique that has the potential to revolutionize cytogenetics. However, use of high resolution array CGH in the clinical setting is plagued by the problem of widespread copy number variations (CNV) in the human genome. Constitutional microarray, containing only clones that interrogate regions of known constitutional syndromes, may circumvent the dilemma of detecting CNV of unknown clinical significance.
Multivariate analysis including correlation, multiple stepwise linear regression, and cluster analyses were applied to investigate the heavy metal concentrations (Cd, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the different parts of bivalves and gastropods. It was also aimed to distinguish statistically the differences between the marine bivalves and the gastropods with regards to the accumulation of heavy metals in the different tissues. The different parts of four species of bivalves and four species of gastropods were obtained and analyzed for heavy metals. The multivariate analyses were then applied on the data. From the multivariate analyses conducted, there were correlations found between the soft tissues of bivalves and gastropods, but none was found between the shells and the soft tissues of most of the molluscs (except for Cerithidea obtusa and Puglina cochlidium). The significant correlations (P < 0.05) found between the soft tissues were further complemented by the multiple stepwise linear regressions where heavy metals in the total soft tissues were influenced by the accumulation in the different types of soft tissues. The present study found that the distributions of heavy metals in the different parts of molluscs were related to their feeding habits and living habitats. The statistical approaches proposed in this study are recommended for use in biomonitoring studies, since multivariate analyses can reduce the cost and time involved in identifying an effective tissue to monitor the heavy metal(s) bioavailability and contamination in tropical coastal waters.
This represents the first study to determine the genetic diversity of Blastocystis sp. among cancer and HIV/AIDS patients. Forty Blastocystis sp. isolates obtained from 20 cancer and 20 HIV/AIDS patients were genotyped by PCR using seven pairs of known sequenced-tagged site primers. Out of the 40 isolates, 38 were identified as one of the known genotypes and two isolates were negative with all the STS primers. Blastocystis sp. subtype 3 which is reported to be associated with disease was found to be predominant among the study subjects.