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Displaying publications 101 - 120 of 136 in total

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Innovative approaches for amino acid production via consolidated bioprocessing of agricultural biomass

Chu PH, Jenol MA, Phang LY, Ibrahim MF, Purkan P, Hadi S, et al.

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2024 May;31(23):33303-33324.
PMID: 38710845 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-33534-0

Agricultural plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia yield substantial waste, necessitating proper disposal to address environmental concerns. Yet, these wastes, rich in starch and lignocellulosic content, offer an opportunity for value-added product development, particularly amino acid production. Traditional methods often rely on costly commercial enzymes to convert biomass into fermentable sugars for amino acid production. An alternative, consolidated bioprocessing, enables the direct conversion of agricultural biomass into amino acids using selected microorganisms. This review provides a comprehensive assessment of the potential of agricultural biomass in Indonesia and Malaysia for amino acid production through consolidated bioprocessing. It explores suitable microorganisms and presents a case study on using Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6051 to produce 9.56 mg/mL of amino acids directly from pineapple plant stems. These findings contribute to the advancement of sustainable amino acid production methods using agricultural biomass especially in Indonesia and Malaysia through consolidated bioprocessing, reducing waste and enhancing environmental sustainability.
Fulltext Immunomodulatory effects of Newcastle disease virus AF2240 strain on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells

Lam HY, Yusoff K, Yeap SK, Subramani T, Abd-Aziz S, Omar AR, et al.

Int J Med Sci, 2014;11(12):1240-7.
PMID: 25317070 DOI: 10.7150/ijms.8170

Immunotherapy has raised the attention of many scientists because it hold promise to be an attractive therapeutic strategy to treat a number of disorders. In this study, the immunomodulatory effects of low titers of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) AF2240 on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were analyzed. We evaluated cytokine secretion and PBMC activation by cell proliferation assay, immunophenotyping and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The proliferation of the human PBMC was measured to be 28.5% and 36.5% upon treatment with 8 hemaglutinin unit (HAU) and 2 HAU of NDV respectively. Interestingly, the percentage of cells with activating markers CD16 and CD56 were increased significantly. Furthermore, the intracellular perforin and granzyme levels were also increased upon virus infection. Human PBMC treated with NDV titer 8 HAU was found to stimulate the highest level of cytokine production including interferon-γ, interleukin-2 and interleukin-12. The release of these proteins contributes to the antitumor effect of PBMC against MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Based on the 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay, activated human PBMC showed high cytolytic efficiency towards human breast tumor cells. In summary, NDV was able to stimulate PBMC proliferation, cytokine secretion and cytolytic activity.
Fulltext Production of Biosurfactant Produced from Used Cooking Oil by Bacillus sp. HIP3 for Heavy Metals Removal

Md Badrul Hisham NH, Ibrahim MF, Ramli N, Abd-Aziz S

Molecules, 2019 Jul 18;24(14).
PMID: 31323813 DOI: 10.3390/molecules24142617

Heavy metals from industrial effluents and sewage contribute to serious water pollution in most developing countries. The constant penetration and contamination of heavy metals into natural water sources may substantially raise the chances of human exposure to these metals through ingestion, inhalation, or skin contact, which could lead to liver damage, cancer, and other severe conditions in the long term. Biosurfactant as an efficient biological surface-active agent may provide an alternative solution for the removal of heavy metals from industrial wastes. Biosurfactants exhibit the properties of reducing surface and interfacial tension, stabilizing emulsions, promoting foaming, high selectivity, and specific activity at extreme temperatures, pH, and salinity, and the ability to be synthesized from renewable resources. This study aimed to produce biosurfactant from renewable feedstock, which is used cooking oil (UCO), by a local isolate, namely Bacillus sp. HIP3 for heavy metals removal. Bacillus sp. HIP3 is a Gram-positive isolate that gave the highest oil displacement area with the lowest surface tension, of 38 mN/m, after 7 days of culturing in mineral salt medium and 2% (v/v) UCO at a temperature of 30 °C and under agitation at 200 rpm. An extraction method, using chloroform:methanol (2:1) as the solvents, gave the highest biosurfactant yield, which was 9.5 g/L. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis confirmed that the biosurfactant produced by Bacillus sp. HIP3 consists of a lipopeptide similar to standard surfactin. The biosurfactant was capable of removing 13.57%, 12.71%, 2.91%, 1.68%, and 0.7% of copper, lead, zinc, chromium, and cadmium, respectively, from artificially contaminated water, highlighting its potential for bioremediation.
Fulltext A Preliminary Study on Coagulation Parameters and Sterility of Thawed Refrozen Fresh Frozen Plasma

Draman R, Yousuf R, Abdul Aziz S, Ding CH, Zainol S, Leong CF

Indian J Hematol Blood Transfus, 2020 Jan;36(1):112-116.
PMID: 32174694 DOI: 10.1007/s12288-019-01171-0

Thawed fresh frozen plasma (FFP) if not used within 6 h, may have to be discarded due to the risk of contamination and uncertainty about its quality. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the levels of coagulation Factor II (FII), Factor VIII (FVIII), fibrinogen and bacterial growth in thawed refrozen FFP. Thirty FFP samples were collected from healthy donors. FFP were thawed in water bath at 37 °C for 20-25 min. Approximately 10 mL of plasma from each FFP unit was tested for FII, FVIII, fibrinogen and sterility. The thawed FFP units were then kept at 4 °C for 6 h before being refrozen and stored at - 20 °C. Two weeks later, the refrozen FFP were thawed again and representative samples were analysed as before. There was a significant decline in the mean FVIII level, from 155.77% to 85.6% at second thaw. The mean FII level increased significantly from 74.9% to 82%, whereas the mean fibrinogen level fell from 3.34g/L to 3.28 g/L, but the decline was not statistically significant. There was no bacterial contamination in all samples at both time points. Refrozen plasma may be considered as an alternative to the storage of thawed unused FFP provided they are kept in a controlled environment to reduce wastage. These thawed refrozen FFP can be used later in bleeding cases like other FFP as the levels of FVIII are still within the standard haematology range (0.5-2 IU/mL) and above the minimal level of 30% coagulation factors required for adequate haemostasis.
Fulltext Preparation of bioactive peptides with high angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory activity from winged bean [Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.] seed

Wan Mohtar WA, Hamid AA, Abd-Aziz S, Muhamad SK, Saari N

J Food Sci Technol, 2014 Dec;51(12):3658-68.
PMID: 25477632 DOI: 10.1007/s13197-012-0919-1

Winged bean [Psophocarpus tetragonolobus (L.) DC.] seed is a potential underexploited source of vegetable protein due to its high protein content. In the present work, undefatted and defatted winged bean seed hydrolysates, designated as UWBSH and DWBSH, respectively were produced separately by four proteolytic enzymes namely Flavourzyme, Alcalase, Bromelain, and Papain using pH-stat method in a batch reactor. Enzymatic hydrolysis was carried out over a period of 0.5 to 5 h. UWBSH and DWBSH produced were tested for their ACE inhibitory activity in relation to the hydrolysis time and degree of hydrolysis (DH). Maximum ACE inhibitory activity, both for UWBSH and DWBSH, were observed during 3 to 5 h of hydrolysis. Both, UWBSH (DH 91.84 %), and DWSBH (DH 18.72 %), produced by Papain at 5 h hydrolysis, exhibited exceptionally high ACE inhibitory activity with IC50 value 0.064 and 0.249 mg mL(-1), respectively. Besides, papain-produced UWBSH and DWBSH were further fractionated into three fractions based on molecular weight (UWBSH-I, <10 kDa; UWBSH-II, <5 kDa; UWBSH-III, <2 kDa) and (DWBSH-I, <10 kDa; DWBSH-II, <5 kDa; DWBSH-III, <2 kDa). UWBSH-III revealed the highest ACE inhibitory activity (IC50 0.003 mg mL(-1)) compared with DWBSH-III (IC50 0.130 mg mL(-1)). The results of the present investigation revealed that winged bean seed hydrolysates can be explored as a potential source of ACE inhibitory peptides suggesting their uses for physiological benefits as well as for other functional food applications.
Fulltext Antileukemic Effect of Palladium Nanoparticles Mediated by White Tea (Camellia sinensis) Extract In Vitro and in WEHI-3B-Induced Leukemia In Vivo

Othman H, Rahman H, Mohan S, Aziz S, Marif H, Ford D, et al.

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2020;2020:8764096.
PMID: 32922508 DOI: 10.1155/2020/8764096

This study investigated the in vivo antileukemic activity of palladium nanoparticles (Pd@W.tea-NPs) mediated by white tea extract in a murine model. The cell viability effect of Pd@W.tea-NPs, "blank" Pd nanoparticles, and white tea extract alone was determined in murine leukemia WEHI-3B cells and normal mouse fibroblasts (3T3 cells). Apoptotic and cell cycle arrest effects of Pd@W.tea-NPs in WEHI-3B cells were evaluated. The effects of Pd@W.tea-NPs administered orally to leukemic mice at 50 and 100 mg/kg daily over 28 days were evaluated. Pd@W.tea-NPs reduced the viability of WHEI-3B cells with IC50 7.55 μg/ml at 72 h. Blank Pd nanoparticles and white tea extract alone had smaller effects on WHEI-3B viability and on normal fibroblasts. Pd@W.tea-NPs increased the proportion of Annexin V-positive WHEI-3B cells and induced G2/M cell cycle arrest. Leukemic cells in the spleen were reduced by Pd@W.tea-NPs with an increase in Bax/Bcl-2 and cytochrome-C protein and mRNA levels indicating the activation of the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. These effects replicated the effects of ATRA and were not observed using blank Pd nanoparticles. Pd@W.tea-NPs afford therapeutic efficacy against leukemia likely to pivot on activation of the mitochondrial pathway of apoptotic signaling and hence appear attractive potential candidates for development as a novel anticancer agent.
Fulltext Decoding the Clinical Significance of Immunoglobulin G4 in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Tan LF, Sakthiswary R, Veshaaliini UR, Shaharir SS, Wahab AA, Aziz S, et al.

J Clin Med, 2023 Jul 17;12(14).
PMID: 37510831 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12144716

Immunoglobulin (Ig) G4 accounts for 4-6% of the total IgG in a healthy human. Several evidence-based studies have suggested that the level of IgG4 is significantly elevated in autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The clinical significance of IgG4 in RA with regard to disease activity, severity, and treatment response remains elusive. We consecutively recruited 174 patients with RA from our rheumatology clinic. All subjects were assessed for their disease activity based on DAS28, radiographic joint damage based on the Modified Sharp Score (MSS), the functional capacity based on the Health Assessment Questionnaire -Disability Index (HAQ-DI), and treatment responsiveness using the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response criteria. The serum IgG4 of the recruited subjects was measured via the ELISA test. The mean serum IgG4 level was 60.23 ± 30.08 mg/dL. We found that serum IgG4 had significant positive correlations with disease activity (r = 0.406; p < 0.001), ESR (r = 0.155; p = 0.041), CRP (r = 0.269; p < 0.001), joint damage (r = 0.195; p = 0.012) and functional disability (r = 0.909; p < 0.001). Subjects with elevated IgG4 (IgG4 > 86 mg/dL) had significantly higher ESR, CRP, HAQ-DI, and DAS 28 and a poorer treatment response compared to the group with non-elevated IgG4. After multivariate analysis, only HAQ-DI (OR = 4.229, 95% CI 1.302, 15.751, p = 0.018) and DAS28 (OR = 3.743, 95% CI 1.062, 13.193, p = 0.040) remained significantly associated with elevated serum IgG4. The preliminary findings of this study could suggest serum IgG4 to be a potential biomarker of disease activity and functional disability in RA.
Fulltext Pre-treatment of Oil Palm Biomass for Fermentable Sugars Production

Rizal NFAA, Ibrahim MF, Zakaria MR, Abd-Aziz S, Yee PL, Hassan MA

Molecules, 2018 Jun 07;23(6).
PMID: 29880760 DOI: 10.3390/molecules23061381

Malaysia is the second largest palm oil producer in the world and this industry generates more than 80 million tonnes of biomass every year. When considering the potential of this biomass to be used as a fermentation feedstock, many studies have been conducted to develop a complete process for sugar production. One of the essential processes is the pre-treatment to modify the lignocellulosic components by altering the structural arrangement and/or removing lignin component to expose the internal structure of cellulose and hemicellulose for cellulases to digest it into sugars. Each of the pre-treatment processes that were developed has their own advantages and disadvantages, which are reviewed in this study.
Fulltext Lymphocytic mastitis mimicking breast carcinoma, radiology and pathology correlation: review of two cases

Alhabshi SM, Rahmat K, Westerhout CJ, Md Latar NH, Chandran PA, Aziz S

Malays J Med Sci, 2013 May;20(3):83-7.
PMID: 23966831 MyJurnal

Lymphocytic mastitis, or diabetic mastopathy, is an unusual finding in early-onset and long-standing diabetes. It can presents as a non-tender or tender palpable breast mass. Mammogram and ultrasound frequently demonstrate findings suspicious of malignancy, thus biopsy and histological confirmation is usually required. We reviewed two cases of lymphocytic mastitis with characteristics findings on mammogram, ultrasound, and histopathology. Diagnoses were confirmed with excision biopsy.
Fulltext Blending and Characteristics of Electrochemical Double-Layer Capacitor Device Assembled from Plasticized Proton Ion Conducting Chitosan:Dextran:NH4PF6 Polymer Electrolytes

B Aziz S, Brza MA, Brevik I, Hafiz MH, Asnawi ASFM, Yusof YM, et al.

Polymers (Basel), 2020 Sep 16;12(9).
PMID: 32947829 DOI: 10.3390/polym12092103

This research paper investigates the electrochemical performance of chitosan (CS): dextran (DX) polymer-blend electrolytes (PBEs), which have been developed successfully with the incorporation of ammonium hexafluorophosphate (NH4PF6). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis indicates that the plasticized electrolyte system with the highest value of direct current (DC) ionic conductivity is the most amorphous system. The glycerol addition increased the amorphous phase and improved the ionic dissociation, which contributed to the enhancement of the fabricated device's performance. Transference number analysis (TNM) has shown that the charge transport process is mainly by ions rather than electrons, as tion = 0.957. The CS:DX:NH4PF6 system was found to decompose as the voltage goes beyond 1.5 V. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) revealed that the potential window for the most plasticized system is 1.5 V. The fabricated electrochemical double-layer capacitor (EDLC) was analyzed with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and charge-discharge analysis. The results from CV verify that the EDLC in this work holds the characteristics of a capacitor. The imperative parameters of the fabricated EDLC such as specific capacitance and internal resistance were found to be 102.9 F/g and 30 Ω, respectively. The energy stored and power delivered by the EDLC were 11.6 Wh/kg and 2741.2 W/kg, respectively.
Fulltext Combined Optimization of Codon Usage and Glycine Supplementation Enhances the Extracellular Production of a β-Cyclodextrin Glycosyltransferase from Bacillus sp. NR5 UPM in Escherichia coli

Nik-Pa NIM, Sobri MFM, Abd-Aziz S, Ibrahim MF, Kamal Bahrin E, Mohammed Alitheen NB, et al.

Int J Mol Sci, 2020 May 30;21(11).
PMID: 32486212 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21113919

Two optimization strategies, codon usage modification and glycine supplementation, were adopted to improve the extracellular production of Bacillus sp. NR5 UPM β-cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase (CGT-BS) in recombinant Escherichia coli. Several rare codons were eliminated and replaced with the ones favored by E. coli cells, resulting in an increased codon adaptation index (CAI) from 0.67 to 0.78. The cultivation of the codon modified recombinant E. coli following optimization of glycine supplementation enhanced the secretion of β-CGTase activity up to 2.2-fold at 12 h of cultivation as compared to the control. β-CGTase secreted into the culture medium by the transformant reached 65.524 U/mL at post-induction temperature of 37 °C with addition of 1.2 mM glycine and induced at 2 h of cultivation. A 20.1-fold purity of the recombinant β-CGTase was obtained when purified through a combination of diafiltration and nickel-nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA) affinity chromatography. This combined strategy doubled the extracellular β-CGTase production when compared to the single approach, hence offering the potential of enhancing the expression of extracellular enzymes, particularly β-CGTase by the recombinant E. coli.
Fulltext Reduction of the acidity and peroxide numbers of tengkawang butter (Shorea stenoptera) using thermal and acid activated bentonites

Darmawan MA, Muhammad BZ, Harahap AFP, Ramadhan MYA, Sahlan M, Haryuni, et al.

Heliyon, 2020 Dec;6(12):e05742.
PMID: 33364505 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05742

Tengkawang fat (Shorea stenoptera), from an indigenous plant of the Kalimantan forest, has excellent potential as an alternative source of vegetable fat because it has a high level of fatty acids composition. Activated natural bentonite can be used as a bleaching agent to improve the quality of tengkawang fat. This research aims to reduce the acidity, peroxide number values and identify the physicochemical properties (fatty acid composition, nutrients, and thermal) of tengkawang butter. Initially, tengkawang samples from Nanga Yen and Sintang were pre-treated using the degumming process with 1% phosphoric acid and the neutralization process with a 1 M NaOH 10% w/w solution. The results show that the acidity (mg NaOH/g) of the tengkawang fat samples was reduced from 11.00 to 3.36 when using bentonite activated at 200 °C. The bentonite activated with 0.5 M HCl reduced the acidity to 3.61. The peroxide number (meq O2/kg) of the tengkawang fat samples was reduced from 9.45 to 4.84 and 3.47 by bleaching with thermal-activated and acid-activated bentonites, respectively. Peroxide value correlates with β-carotene content. The smaller of the β-carotene content, the smaller the peroxide value. The acidity, peroxide number, and iodine number values from tengkawang fat after treatment adhere to the SNI 2903: 2016 standard. The main content of fatty acids in tengkawang fat is palmitic acid, stearic acid, and oleic acid. These results show that both products are suitable for the food industry in terms of the acid and peroxide numbers. The application of this research results will assist local people in increasing the economic value of the product from tengkawang plant, which is an indigenous plant from Kalimantan.
Fulltext Phytochemical screening and enzymatic and antioxidant activities of Erythrina suberosa (Roxb) bark

Ahmed Z, Aziz S, Hanif M, Mohiuddin SG, Ali Khan SH, Ahmed R, et al.

J Pharm Bioallied Sci, 2020 04 10;12(2):192-200.
PMID: 32742119 DOI: 10.4103/jpbs.JPBS_222_19

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the phytochemicals screening of Erythrina suberosa (Roxb) bark and to analyze the enzymatic activities of its various organic fractions.
Materials and Methods: Crude methanolic fraction of E. suberosa (Roxb) bark and its respective fractions were screened for the presence of different phytochemicals with different reagents. On the basis of increasing order of polarity, different organic solvents were used to obtain different fractions. Enzymatic studies were performed on crude methanolic extract of the plant. All the assays were performed under standard in vitro conditions.
Results: The phytochemical analysis shows the presence of alkaloids, phenols, triterpenoids, phytosterols, and flavonoids. Phenolic compounds and flavonoids are the major constituents of the plant. In anticholinesterase assay, the percent inhibition of standard drug (eserine) was 91.27 ± 1.17 and the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was 0.04 ± 0.0001. For α-glucosidase inhibition, the IC50 value for Dichloromethane fraction was 8.45 ± 0.13, for Methanol fraction it was 64.24 ± 0.15, and for aqueous fraction it was 42.62 ± 0.17 as compared with standard IC50 that is 37.42 (acarbose). Furthermore, results show that all fractions have potential against anti-urease enzyme, but DCM fraction of crude aqueous extract has significant IC50 value (45.26 ± 0.13) than other fractions.
Conclusion: Keeping in view all the results, it is evident that the plant can be used in future for formulating effective drugs against many ailments. Secondary metabolites and their derivatives possess different biological activities, for example, .g. flavonoids in cancer, asthma, and Alzheimer. Furthermore, the extracts of this plant can be used in their crude form, which is an addition to the complementary and alternative treatment strategies.
Fulltext The Study of EDLC Device with High Electrochemical Performance Fabricated from Proton Ion Conducting PVA-Based Polymer Composite Electrolytes Plasticized with Glycerol

Brza MA, B Aziz S, Anuar H, Dannoun EMA, Ali F, Abdulwahid RT, et al.

Polymers (Basel), 2020 Aug 23;12(9).
PMID: 32842522 DOI: 10.3390/polym12091896

In the present work, a novel polymer composite electrolytes (PCEs) based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA): ammonium thiocyanate (NH4SCN): Cd(II)-complex plasticized with glycerol (Gly) are prepared by solution cast technique. The film structure was examined by XRD and FTIR routes. The utmost ambient temperature DC ionic conductivity (σDC) of 2.01 × 10-3 S cm-1 is achieved. The film morphology was studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The trend of σDC is further confirmed with investigation of dielectric properties. Transference numbers of ions (tion) and electrons (tel) are specified to be 0.96 and 0.04, respectively. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) displayed that the PCE potential window is 2.1 V. The desired mixture of activated carbon (AC) and carbon black was used to fabricate the electrodes of the EDLC. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was carried out by sandwiching the PCEs between two carbon-based electrodes, and it revealed an almost rectangular shape. The EDLC exhibited specific capacitance, energy density, and equivalent series resistance with average of 160.07F/g, 18.01Wh/kg, and 51.05Ω, respectively, within 450 cycles. The EDLC demonstrated the initial power density as 4.065 × 103 W/Kg.
Fulltext The effects of dietary edible bird nest supplementation on learning and memory functions of multigenerational mice

Mahaq O, P Rameli MA, Jaoi Edward M, Mohd Hanafi N, Abdul Aziz S, Abu Hassim H, et al.

Brain Behav, 2020 11;10(11):e01817.
PMID: 32886435 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1817

INTRODUCTION: Edible bird nest (EBN) is a natural food product produced from edible nest swiftlet's saliva which consists of glycoproteins as one of its main components; these glycoproteins contain an abundant of sialic acid. The dietary EBN supplementation has been reported to enhance brain functions in mammals and that the bioactivities and nutritional value of EBN are important during periods of rapid brain growth particularly for preterm infant. However, the effects of EBN in maternal on multigeneration learning and memory function still remain unclear. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the effects of maternal EBN supplementation on learning and memory function of their first (F1)- and second (F2)-generation mice.
METHODS: CJ57BL/6 breeder F0 mice were fed with EBN (10 mg/kg) from different sources. After 6 weeks of diet supplementations, the F0 animals were bred to produce F1 and F2 animals. At 6 weeks of age, the F1 and F2 animals were tested for spatial recognition memory using a Y-maze test. The sialic acid content from EBN and brain gene expression were analyzed using HPLC and PCR, respectively.
RESULTS: All EBN samples contained glycoprotein with high level of sialic acid. Dietary EBN supplementation also showed an upregulation of GNE, ST8SiaIV, SLC17A5, and BDNF mRNA associated with an improvement in Y-maze cognitive performance in both generations of animal. Qualitatively, the densities of synaptic vesicles in the presynaptic terminal were higher in the F1 and F2 animals which might derive from maternal EBN supplementation.
CONCLUSION: This study provided a solid foundation toward the growing research on nutritional intervention from dietary EBN supplementation on cognitive and neurological development in the generation of mammals.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of I-NEED Program: Improving Nurses' Detection and Management of Elder Abuse and Neglect-A 6-Month Prospective Study

Mohd Mydin FH, Wan Yuen C, Othman S, Mohd Hairi NN, Mohd Hairi F, Ali Z, et al.

J Interpers Violence, 2022 01;37(1-2):NP719-NP741.
PMID: 32394780 DOI: 10.1177/0886260520918580

Elder abuse and neglect (EAN) goes largely unrecognized and underreported globally by health care professionals. Despite acknowledging their role to intervene elder abuse, health care professionals lacked knowledge and skills in this issue. This is a single-blinded, three-armed, cluster randomized controlled trials aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the face-to-face Improving Nurses' dEtection and managEment of elDer abuse and neglect (I-NEED) intensive training program and I-NEED educational video in improving primary care nurses' knowledge, attitude, and confidence to intervene EAN; 390 primary care nurses were randomized equally into two intervention groups-ITP group (intensive training program) and ITP+ group (intensive training program and educational video)-and a control group. The knowledge, attitudes, and confidence to intervene EAN were measured using questionnaires at four intervals during 6-month follow-up. A total of 269 primary care nurses participated in this study. There was a significant increase in knowledge, attitude, and confidence to intervene EAN immediately post intervention observed in both intervention groups compared to the control group (p < .001). At the end of sixth month, there was an increase of knowledge favoring ITP group than the ITP+ group (p < .001). There is, however, no significant difference in attitude score between ITP and ITP+ group. There is a significant difference of confidence to intervene among the participants between both intervention groups with ITP+ participants reporting higher scores post intervention (p < .05). An intensive training module improved the knowledge, attitude, and confidence to intervene EAN. Other co-existing barriers for abuse victims getting help, resources, policy, and law of EAN need further highlights.
The economic burden of schizophrenia in Malaysia

Teoh SL, Chong HY, Abdul Aziz S, Chemi N, Othman AR, Md Zaki N, et al.

Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat, 2017;13:1979-1987.
PMID: 28814869 DOI: 10.2147/NDT.S137140

INTRODUCTION: Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a highly debilitating disease despite its low prevalence. The economic burden associated with SCZ is substantial and mainly attributed to productivity loss. To improve the understanding of economic burden of SCZ in the low- and middle-income country regions, we aimed to determine the economic burden of SCZ in Malaysia.
METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted using a prevalence-based approach from a societal perspective in Malaysia with a 1 year period from 2013. We used micro-costing technique with bottom-up method and included direct medical cost, direct non-medical cost, and indirect cost. The main data source was medical chart review which was conducted in Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL). The medical charts were identified electronically by matching the unique patient's identification number registered under the National Mental Health Schizophrenia Registry and the list of patients in HKL in 2013. Other data sources were government documents, literatures, and local websites. To ensure robustness of result, probabilistic sensitivity analysis was conducted.
RESULTS: The total estimated number of treated SCZ cases in Malaysia in 2015 was 15,104 with the total economic burden of USD 100 million (M) which was equivalent to 0.04% of the national gross domestic product. On average, the mean cost per patient was USD 6,594. Of the total economic burden of SCZ, 72% was attributed to indirect cost, costing at USD 72M, followed by direct medical cost (26%), costing at USD 26M, and direct non-medical cost (2%), costing at USD 1.7M.
CONCLUSION: This study highlights the magnitude of economic burden of SCZ and informs the policy-makers that there is an inadequate support for SCZ patients. More resources should be allocated to improve the condition of SCZ patients and to reduce the economic burden.
Advanced microbial fuel cell for waste water treatment-a review

Jatoi AS, Akhter F, Mazari SA, Sabzoi N, Aziz S, Soomro SA, et al.

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2021 Feb;28(5):5005-5019.
PMID: 33241504 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-11691-2

Petroleum, coal, and natural gas reservoir were depleting continuously due to an increase in industrialization, which enforced study to identify alternative sources. The next option is the renewable resources which are most important for energy purpose coupled with environmental problem reduction. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have become a promising approach to generate cleaner and more sustainable electrical energy. The involvement of various disciplines had been contributing to enhancing the performance of the MFCs. This review covers the performance of MFC along with different wastewater as a substrate in terms of treatment efficiencies as well as for energy generation. Apart from this, effect of various parameters and use of different nanomaterials for performance of MFC were also studied. From the current study, it proves that the use of microbial fuel cell along with the use of nanomaterials could be the waste and energy-related problem-solving approach. MFC could be better in performances based on optimized process parameters for handling any wastewater from industrial process.
Fulltext Global research Activity on olfactory marker protein (OMP): A bibliometric and visualized analysis

Ab Aziz S, Mohd Nasir MH, Jusoh AR, Azman KF, Ismail CAN, Ahmad AH, et al.

Heliyon, 2024 Feb 29;10(4):e26106.
PMID: 38390049 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26106

Olfactory marker protein (OMP) is extensively studied in mature olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) for understanding olfaction physiology. However, no bibliometric analysis on this topic exists. We conducted a bibliometric analysis of OMP research articles, wherein the publication count was assessed by year, country, journal, and author, collaboration by country, and productivity of the authors. Additionally, key terms and research themes were identified. Using the search phrase "olfactory marker protein" in Scopus, we retrieved 691 original research articles by 2487 authors since 1974. Publications showed an increasing trend, with the United States leading in quantity and collaboration. Our thematic map highlights "Olfactory bulb, regeneration, olfactory" as the primary research domain, while "olfaction, olfactory sensory neuron, glomerulus" and "olfactory receptor neurons, apoptosis, olfactory dysfunction" emerge as essential future research topics. These bibliometric findings offer insights into the global OMP research landscape, guiding researchers in potential collaborations and intriguing future research fields.
Fulltext Hepatoprotective Effect of Fermented Soybean (Nutrient Enriched Soybean Tempeh) against Alcohol-Induced Liver Damage in Mice

Mohd Yusof H, Ali NM, Yeap SK, Ho WY, Beh BK, Koh SP, et al.

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2013;2013:274274.
PMID: 24058369 DOI: 10.1155/2013/274274

Recently, soybean tempeh has received great attention due to many advantages such as higher nutritional value, lower production cost, and shorter fermentation time. In this study, the in vivo hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects of nutrient enriched soybean tempeh (NESTE) were determined. NESTE fermentation process which involved anaerobic incubation was previously proclaimed to increase the content of amino acids and antioxidant properties remarkably. The evaluation of histological sections, serum biochemical markers (aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and cholesterol and triglycerides (TG)), liver immune response level (nitric oxide (NO)) and liver antioxidant level (superoxide dismutase (SOD), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and malondialdehyde (MDA)) was conducted in order to compare the effects of nonfermented soybean extract (SBE) and fermented soybean extract (NESTE) on alcohol-induced liver damage in mice. Results demonstrated that 1000 mg/kg of NESTE can significantly reduce the levels of AST, ALT, cholesterol, TG, MDA, and NO. On the other hand, it also raised the level of SOD and FRAP. Furthermore, the histological examination on 1000 mg/kg NESTE treatment group showed that this extract was capable of recovering the damaged hepatocytes to their normal structures. Thus, it can be concluded that NESTE produced through fermentation process was able to enhance hepatoprotective and antioxidant effects in vivo.

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