In the last few decades, co-trimoxazole (SXT), an antibacterial combination of trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole, has been used for treatment of upper respiratory tract infection due to Haemophilus influenzae. The usage of this antibiotic has become less important due to emergence of SXT-resistant strains worldwide. Most reports associate SXT resistance to the presence of variants of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) dfrA genes which are responsible for trimethoprim resistance; while the sulfamethoxazole (SMX) resistance are due to sulfonamide (SUL) genes sul1 and sul2 and/or mutation in the chromosomal (folP) gene encoding dihydropteroate synthetase (DHPS). This study aims to detect and analyse the genes that are involved in SXT resistance in H. influenzae strains that were isolated in Malaysia. Primers targeting for variants of dfrA, fol and sul genes were used to amplify the genes in nine SXT-resistant strains. The products of amplification were sequenced and multiple alignments of the assembled sequences of the local strains were compared to the sequences of other H. influenzae strains in the Genbank. Of the five variants of the dhfA genes, dfrA1 was detected in three out of the nine strains. In contrast to intermediate strains, at least one variant of folP genes was detected in the resistant strains. Multiple nucleotide alignment of this gene revealed that strain H152 was genetically different from the others due to a 15-bp nucleotide insert in folP gene. The sequence of the insert was similar to the insert in folP of H. influenzae strain A12, a strain isolated in United Kingdom. None of the strains had sul1 gene but sul2 gene was detected in four strains. Preliminary study on the limited number of samples shows that the TMP resistance was attributed to mainly to dfrA1 and the SMX was due to folP genes. Presence of sul2 in addition to folP in seven strains apparently had increased their level of resistance. A strain that lacked sul1 or sul2 gene, its resistance to sulfonamide was attributed to a 15-bp DNA insert in the folP gene.
Larviciding is an effective control method in managing mosquito-borne diseases. However, most of the current larvicide formulations have raised environmental concerns due to the presence of non-biodegradable inert or carrier materials. Therefore, the utilisation of biodegradable natural cellulosic fibres has created much attention. This study aims to evaluate the application of biodegradable kenaf cellulose nanofibre (KCNF) in larvicide formulation where the larvicide, namely temephos, is impregnated onto the fibre matrix (KCNF+T). The bioefficacy of the formulation was evaluated against Aedes aegypti ( A. aegypti) mosquito larvae. The presence of the temephos on the KCNF was evaluated through micro- morphological analysis using a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and a transmission electron microscope (TEM), while the quantity of temephos impregnated, released, and retained on the fibres upon dispersion in water were determined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). It was observed that 97% of the temephos (0.1 mg) were impregnated on the KCNF. Upon dispersion in water, 53% of the temephos were released from the KCNF+T and the retention of temephos on the KCNF+T gradually decreased to 30%, 17%, and 7% on the first, third, and fifth month, respectively. Exposure of the A. aegypti larvae to the KCNF+T at concentrations ranging between 0.006 to 0.01 mg/L was effective in killing A. aegypti larvae at 17-25 folds as compared to using the temephos without KCNF. Microscopic examination revealed the accumulation of the KCNF on the larval appendages. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the utilisation of KCNF in pesticide formulation is an effective way of delivering the temephos to control A. aegypti mosquito larva.
Introduction: This multiple-subject fMRI study continue to further investigate brain activation within and effective connectivity between the significantly (p
The exposure of food to ionizing radiation is being progressively used in many countries to
inactivate food pathogens, to eradicate pests and to extend shelf-life of food. To ensure free
consumer choice, irradiated food will be labeled. The availability of a reliable method to detect
irradiated food is important to enforce legal controls on labeling requirements, ensure proper
distribution and increase consumer confidence. This paper reports on the preliminary application
of photostimulated luminescence technique (PSL) as a potential method to detect irradiated food
and perhaps be used for monitoring irradiated food on sale locally in the near future. Thus this
study will be beneficial and relevant for application of food irradiation towards improving food
safety and security in Malaysia.
Hospital Information System (HIS) is a comprehensive, integrated information system designed to manage the administrative, financial and clinical aspects of a hospital. This study is to describe those aspects of the implementation of hospital information system in three tertiary hospitals in Klang Valley; Serdang Hospital, Selayang Hospital and University Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). A qualitative study was conducted to obtain views on information system development and implementation in the hospitals mentioned above. In-depth interviews with personnel representing both the system providers and the end-users were done guided by a questionnaire. The results of the interviews were categorized into few themes namely the system development, human resource, scope of implementation, support system, user-friendly, training, hardware and security. There were differences in hospital information system development and implementation in the three hospitals. Each system has its own strengths and weaknesses that make it unique. In developing HIS, its important to ensure the system can work effectively and efficiently. Quality human resource, good support system, user-friendly and adequate training of the end-user will determine the success of implementation of HIS. Upgrading of hardware and software as needed is the basis to keep up with the pace of technology advancement and increasing number of patients. It is hoped that HIS will be implemented in all other hospitals with effective integration and networking.
Some of the beneficial bio compatible properties of hydroxyapatite [Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2]; the major componentand an essential ingredient of normal bone and teeth, are that it is rapidly integrated into the human body and will bondto bone forming in distinguishable unions. But, before new materials are approved for medical use, mutagenesis systems to exclude cytotoxic, mutagenic or carcinogenic properties are applied worldwide. This study aimed to detectany chromosomal aberrations induced by the synthetic hydroxyapatite granules [Manufactured by Universiti Sains
Malaysia, (USM) Penang, Malaysia] in the bone marrow cells of mice. The mitotic indices of the groups treated with synthetic hydroxya patite granules did not show any significant difference as compared to the negative control group treated with distilled water. Also the groups of mice treated with synthetic hydroxyapatite granules and distilled waterdid not induce significant change in chromosome aberrations as compared to the positive control group treated with Mitomycin C. The mitotic indices and chromosomal analyses indicate that under the present test conditions, synthetichydroxya patite granules (manufactured by USM) are non cytotoxic and do not induce chromosome aberrations in the bone marrow cells of mice.
Objective: A baseline functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was carried out on a healthy right-handed male subject to attain further insights into the basic neuronal control mechanisms of bimanual and unimanual movements of hand fingers, an area that is still not fully understood. Methods : The study used the basic unimanual and bimanual movements of the left- and right-hand fingers to stimulate neuronal activity in the cerebral cortices. The subject was instructed to sequentially press his fingers either unimanually (UNI) or bimanually (BIM), against the thumb in a consistent alternative manner during the functional scans. The data were analysed using the MATLAB and SPM2 software packages. Results : Brain activations obtained via the F-test indicate a larger activation area as compared to that obtained from the T-test. The results showed that, the activated brain regions due to the self-paced finger movements are the precentral and postcentral gyrii covering the primary motor, premotor and somatosensory primer areas. The activestate signal intensity was found to be significantly (p < 0.05) higher than that of the resting-state. For UNI, brain activation showed contra-laterality with a larger activation area and a higher signal intensity at the point of maximum intensity for the left-hand finger
movement (UNIleft) compared to the right-hand finger movement (UNIright). Small ipsilateral activations were observed during UNIright and UNIleft. For BIM, the activation was observed in both hemispheres with the right hemisphere showing a higher signal intensity and coverage. The results support the fact that for a right-handed person performing either UNI or BIM type of movement, the activated motor area on the right hemisphere of the brain (movement of the left hand fingers) experience a higher intensity and larger coverage of hemodynamic response compared to the left hemisphere of the brain (movement of the right hand fingers). Analyses performed on the activated regions of interest (ROI) by
comparing the unimanual and bimanual types of activations revealed that during BIM, there are voxels in the left hemisphere controlling the movement of the left hand fingers (BIMleft) and voxels in the right hemisphere controlling the movement of the right hand fingers (BIMright). The interactions observed in this study resemble the existence of interhemispheric connection between both hemispheres during BIM. Conclusion : Although this is a single subject study, the hemodynamic response and the neuronal control mechanism in the cerebral cortices based on the BOLD mechanism can be studied and evaluated using fMRI and SPM.
Objective: This study investigates functional specialisation in, and effective connectivity between the
precentral gyrus (PCG) and supplementary motor area (SMA) in seven right handed female subjects.
Methods: Unimanual (UNIright and UNIleft) and bimanual (BIM) self-paced tapping of hand fingers were
performed by the subjects to activate PCG and SMA. Brain activations and effective connectivity were
analysed using statistical parametric mapping (SPM), dynamic causal modeling (DCM) and Bayesian
model selection (BMS) and were reported based on group fixed (FFX) and random (RFX) effects
analyses. Results: Group results showed that the observed brain activation for UNIright and UNIleft fulfill contralateral behavior of motor coordination with a larger activation area for UNIright. The activation for BIM occurs in both hemispheres with BIMright showing higher extent of activation as compared to BIMleft. Region of interest (ROI) analyses reveal that the number of activated voxel (NOV) and percentage of signal change (PSC) on average is higher in PCG than SMA for all tapping conditions. However, comparing between hemispheres for both UNI and BIM, higher PSC is observed in the right PCG and the left SMA. DCM and BMS results indicate that most subjects prefer PCG as the intrinsic input for UNIright and UNIleft. The input was later found to be bi-directionally connected to SMA for UNIright. The bi-directional model was then used for BIM in the left and right hemispheres. The model was in favour of six out of seven subjects. DCM results for BIM indicate the existence of interhemispheric connectivity between the right and left hemisphere PCG. Conclusion: The findings strongly support the existence of functional specialisation and integration i.e. effective connectivity in human brain during finger tapping and can be used as baselines in determining the probable motor coordination pathways and their connection strength in a population of subjects.
Membrane technologies have received high interest in the separation gas mixture. The
ceramic inorganic membranes have possessed high permeability, excellent thermal,
chemical and mechanical stabilities compared to conventional polymer membranes.
This work presents the fabrication of silica ceramic membrane by sol dip-coating
method. The tubular support was dipped into the solution of tetrethylorthosilicate
(TEOS), distilled water and ethanol with the addition of nitric acid as a catalyst. The
fabricated silica membrane was then characterized by (Field Emission Scanning
Electron Microscope) FESEM and (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) FTIR to
determine structural and chemical properties at different dipping number. FESEM
images indicate that the silica has been deposited on the surface fabricated ceramic
membrane and penetrate into the pore walls. However, number of dipping did not
affect the intensity peak of FTIR analysis.
This paper proposes a 3D object recognition method based on 3D SURF and the derivation of the robot space transformations. In a previous work, a three fingered robot hand had been developed for grasping task. The reference position of the robot hand was programmed based on predetermined values for grasping two different shapes of object. The work showed successful grasping but it could not generate the reference position on its own since no external sensor was used, hence it is not fully automated. Later, a 2D Speed-Up Robust Features (SURF) and 3D point cloud algorithm were applied to calculate the object’s 3D position where the result showed that the method was capable of recognising but unable to calculate the 3D position. Thus, the present study developed 3D SURF by combining recognised images based on 2D SURF and triangulation method. The identified object grasping points then are converted to robot space using the robot’s transformation equation which is derived based on dimensions between robot and camera in the workplace. The result supported the capability of the SURF algorithm for recognising the target without fail for nine random images but produced errors in the 3D position. Meanwhile, the transformation has been successful where the calculated object positions are inclined towards the directions of actual measured positions accordingly related to robot coordinates. However, maximum error of 3.90 cm was observed due to the inaccuracy of SURF detection and human error during manual measurement which can to be solved by improving the SURF algorithm in future.
GABAA receptors are members of the Cys-loop family of ligand-gated ion channels which mediate most inhibitory neurotransmission in the central nervous system. These receptors are pentameric assemblies of individual subunits, including α1-6, β1-3, γ1-3, δ, ε, π, θ and ρ1-3. The majority of receptors are comprised of α, β and γ or δ subunits. Depending on the subunit composition, the receptors are located in either the synapses or extrasynaptic regions. The most abundant receptors are α1βγ2 receptors, which are activated and modulated by a variety of pharmacologically and clinically unrelated agents such as benzodiazepines, barbiturates, anaesthetics and neurosteroids, all of which bind at distinct binding sites located within the receptor complex. However, compared to αβγ, the binary αβ receptors lack a benzodiazepine α-γ2 interface. In pentameric αβ receptors, the third subunit is replaced with either an α1 or a β3 subunit leading to two distinct receptors that differ in subunit stoichiometry, 2α:3β or 3α:2β. The consequence of this is that 3α:2β receptors contain an α-α interface whereas 2α:3β receptors contain a β-β interface. Apart from the replacement of γ by α1 or β3 in binary receptors, the incorporation of ε subunit into GABAA receptors might be more complicated. As the ε subunit is not only capable of substituting the γ subunit, but also replacing the α/β subunits, receptors with altered stoichiometry and different pharmacological properties are produced. The different subunit arrangement of the receptors potentially constructs novel binding sites which may become new targets of the current or new drugs.
This study aims to determine the relationship between non-financial compensation factors and employees retention in a selected hotel industry. A survey methodology was used in this study. A total of 120 questionnaires were administered to employees who are currently working in the hotel industry. Using the Pearson’s Correlation analysis test, this study analysed the relationship between employees retention and financial compensation factors which include opportunities for training and promotion, job challenges, recognition and the working environment. Multiple Linear Regression was used to determine the dominant factor that contributes to retention of employees. The results revealed that there was a significant relationship between the factors and employees retention. The results indicated that the working environment is the most dominant factor that contributes to employees retention.
Transferring a huge amount of data between different network locations over the network links depends on the network's traffic capacity and data rate. Traditionally, a mobile device may be moved to achieve the operations of vertical handover, considering only one criterion, that is the Received Signal Strength (RSS). The use of a single criterion may cause service interruption, an unbalanced network load and an inefficient vertical handover. In this paper, we propose an enhanced vertical handover decision algorithm based on multiple criteria in the heterogeneous wireless network. The algorithm consists of three technology interfaces: Long-Term Evolution (LTE), Worldwide interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) and Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). It also employs three types of vertical handover decision algorithms: equal priority, mobile priority and network priority. The simulation results illustrate that the three types of decision algorithms outperform the traditional network decision algorithm in terms of handover number probability and the handover failure probability. In addition, it is noticed that the network priority handover decision algorithm produces better results compared to the equal priority and the mobile priority handover decision algorithm. Finally, the simulation results are validated by the analytical model.
This work was aimed to evaluate the feasibility of castor bean residue based activated carbons prepared through metals chloride activation. The activated carbons were characterized for textural properties and surface chemistry, and the adsorption data of rhodamine B were established to investigate the removal performance. Zinc chloride-activated carbon with specific surface area of 395 m(2)/g displayed a higher adsorption capacity of 175 mg/g. Magnesium chloride and iron(III) chloride are less toxic and promising agents for composite chemical activation. The adsorption data obeyed Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetics model. The rate-limiting step in the adsorption of rhodamine B is film diffusion. The positive values of enthalpy and entropy indicate that the adsorption is endothermic and spontaneous at high temperature.
Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.) is one of the world’s most economically important fiber crops particularly in Asia-Pacific region. Mutation induction is a method to increase genetic divergence associated with selection, recombination, or a combination of these approaches in plant breeding. One of preliminary procedures for an execellent mutation breeding program is the radiosensitivity study to determine the optimal doses for irradiation. A total of 10 different doses of acute gamma rays (0, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 1700 and 2000 Gy) from ceasium-137 source were applied to the seeds of V 36 kenaf variety. The irradiated seeds including the control were planted in trough for 30 days. The gamma irradiation effects on several parameters such as seedling survival percentages, plant height, root length, shoot fresh weight, root frest weight, shoot dry weight and root dry weight were analysed. From the radiosensitivity curve, the LD50 and LD25 values were estimated at 810 and 310 Gy, respectively. Two doses (200 Gy and 300 Gy) based on LD25 were chosen for evaluating the effects of gamma irradiation on morphological traits in M1 generation. Irradiated and non-irradiated seeds were planted in the field at Beseri, Perlis. About 10 phenotypic traits of irradiated plants were observed and evaluated against the controls. Cluster analysis on M1 progenies showed that the mutation could be classified into eight genotypic groups. The first two components from principal component analysis explained about 77.99% of variation. Number of seeds per pod, weight of seeds per plant and dry stem biomass play an important role in explaining the variation since they showed positive correlated values for the first component analysis. Morphological changes such as flower shape, flower colour, and leaf shape were also observed in M1 generation. The findings of this study are important in determining the effectiveness of these doses in generating mutations on kenaf plant and subsequent breeding program to develop new kenaf varieties with enhanced quality traits.
Enzymatic catalysis is considered to be among the most environmental friendly processes for the synthesis of fine chemicals. In this study, lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus (Lecitase Ultra™) was used to catalyze the synthesis of flavor esters, i.e., methyl butanoate and methyl benzoate by esterification of the acids with methanol in a microfluidic system. Maximum reaction rates of 195 and 115 mM min(-1) corresponding to catalytic efficiencies (k cat/K M) of 0.30 and 0.24 min(-1) mM(-1) as well as yield conversion of 54 and 41 % were observed in methyl butanoate and methyl benzoate synthesis, respectively. Catalytic turnover (k cat) was higher for methyl butanoate synthesis. Rate of synthesis and yield decreased with increasing flow rates. For both esters, increase in microfluidic flow rate resulted in increased advective transport over molecular diffusion and reaction rate, thus lower conversion. In microfluidic synthesis using T. lanuginosus lipase, the following reaction conditions were 40 °C, flow rate 0.1 mL min(-1), and 123 U g(-1) enzyme loading found to be the optimum operating limits. The work demonstrated the application of enzyme(s) in a microreactor system for the synthesis of industrially important esters.
Citation:
Abdullah MAH, Abdullah AT. Annual report of National Orthopaedic Registry Malaysia (NORM) Hip Fracture 2009. Kuala Lumpur: Clinical Research Centre, Kuala Lumpur; 2010
Traumatic hip dislocation in children is relatively rare accounting for about 5% of all hip dislocations. Most of the hip dislocations seen in children are of the posterior type but the much rarer anterior and anterior-inferior (obturator) types have also been described. We present the case of an eight years old girl with an obturator type of hip dislocation following trivial trauma. She was treated with closed reduction and immobilisation in skin traction for three weeks. She was followed up closely for one year and did not develop any complications during that period.