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  1. Fish pond water treatment using ultrasonic cavitation and advanced oxidation processes
    Tan WK, Cheah SC, Parthasarathy S, Rajesh RP, Pang CH, Manickam S
    Chemosphere, 2021 Jul;274:129702.
    PMID: 33529956 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.129702
    This investigation explores the efficacy of employing ultrasonic cavitation and coupling it with advanced oxidation processes (hydrogen peroxide and Fenton's reagent) for reducing the levels of total ammonia nitrogen in fish pond water containing Tilapia fishes. Ultrasonic cavitation is a phenomenon where the formation, growth and collapse of vaporous bubbles occur in a liquid medium producing highly reactive free radicals. Ultrasonic probe system (20 kHz with 750 W and 1000 W) was used to induce cavitation. Besides, to intensify the process, ultrasonic cavitation was coupled with hydrogen peroxide and Fenton's reagent. Using SERA colour indicator test kits, the levels of ammonium, nitrite and carbonate hardness were measured. The results obtained from this study clearly show that the advanced oxidation processes are more efficient in reducing the ammonium and nitrite levels in fish pond water than using ultrasound alone. The pH and carbonate hardness levels were not affected significantly by ultrasonic cavitation. The optimal treatment time and ultrasound power to treat the water samples were also established. Energy efficiency and cost analysis of this treatment have also been presented, indicating that ultrasonic cavitation coupled with hydrogen peroxide appears to be a promising technique for reducing total ammonia nitrogen levels in the fish pond water.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  2. Fulltext Molecular phylogenetics and evolutionary history of the endemic land snail genus Everettia in northern Borneo
    Liew TS, Marzuki ME, Schilthuizen M, Chen Y, Vermeulen JJ, Mohd-Azlan J
    PeerJ, 2020;8:e9416.
    PMID: 32714659 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9416
    Borneo has gone through dramatic changes in geology and topography from the early Eocene until the early Pliocene and experienced climatic cycling during the Pleistocene. However, how these changes have shaped the present-day patterns of high diversity and complex distribution are still poorly understood. In this study, we use integrative approaches by estimating phylogenetic relationships, divergence time, and current and past niche suitability for the Bornean endemic land snail genus Everettia to provide additional insight into the evolutionary history of this genus in northern Borneo in the light of the geological vicariance events and climatic fluctuations in the Pleistocene. Our results show that northern Borneo Everettia species belong to two deeply divergent lineages: one contains the species that inhabit high elevation at the central mountain range, while the other contains lowland species. Species diversification in these lineages has taken place before the Pliocene. Climate changes during the Pleistocene did not play a significant role in species diversification but could have shaped contemporary species distribution patterns. Our results also show that the species-rich highland habitats have acted as interglacial refugia for highland species. This study of a relatively sedentary invertebrate supports and enhances the growing understanding of the evolutionary history of Borneo. Species diversification in Everettia is caused by geological vicariance events between the early Miocene and the Pliocene, and the distribution patterns were subsequently determined by climatic fluctuations in the Pleistocene.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  3. Fulltext 16S rRNA metagenomic data of microbial diversity of Pheidole decarinata Santschi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) workers
    Ashigar MA, Ab Majid AH
    Data Brief, 2020 Aug;31:106037.
    PMID: 32728606 DOI: 10.1016/j.dib.2020.106037
    Metagenomic datasets of the microbial DNA of workers of a Pheidole decarinata Santschi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) around houses with three replicates were presented. Next-generation sequencing of the microbial DNA was performed on an Illumina Miseq platform. QIIME (version 1.9.1) was used to analyze the raw fastq files. Metagenome of the three (3) samples consist of 333,708 sequences representing 137,359,149 bps with an average length of 413.67 bps. The sequence data is available at the NCBI SRA with the bioproject number PRJNA632430. Community analysis revealed Proteobacteria was the predominant (84.77%) microbial community present in the microbial DNA of workers of the P. decarinata.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  4. Unfamiliar partnerships limit cnidarian holobiont acclimation to warming
    Herrera M, Klein SG, Schmidt-Roach S, Campana S, Cziesielski MJ, Chen JE, et al.
    Glob Chang Biol, 2020 Jul 06.
    PMID: 32627905 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15263
    Enhancing the resilience of corals to rising temperatures is now a matter of urgency, leading to growing efforts to explore the use of heat tolerant symbiont species to improve their thermal resilience. The notion that adaptive traits can be retained by transferring the symbionts alone, however, challenges the holobiont concept, a fundamental paradigm in coral research. Holobiont traits are products of a specific community (holobiont) and all its co-evolutionary and local adaptations, which might limit the retention or transference of holobiont traits by exchanging only one partner. Here, we evaluate how interchanging partners affect the short- and long-term performance of holobionts under heat stress using clonal lineages of the cnidarian model system Aiptasia (host and Symbiodiniaceae strains) originating from distinct thermal environments. Our results show that holobionts from more thermally variable environments have higher plasticity to heat stress, but this resilience could not be transferred to other host genotypes through the exchange of symbionts. Importantly, our findings highlight the role of the host in determining holobiont productivity in response to thermal stress and indicate that local adaptations of holobionts will likely limit the efficacy of interchanging unfamiliar compartments to enhance thermal tolerance.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  5. Fulltext Study on the distribution and abundance of Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Albopictus in different environment settings for highrise buildings
    Zuhainy Ahmad Zhaki, Nazri Che Dom, Ibrahim Ahmed Alhothily
    Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(104):91-98.
    MyJurnal
    Vector surveillance in high-rise buildings is important to predict and monitor the presence of vectors regarding their abundance and distribution. In this study, the infestation profile of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus species in different environmental settings were investigated. Methods: Four high-rise apartments in four different localities were selected for ovitrap surveillance. Fifty ovitraps were placed in semi indoor and outdoor settings. Results: A total of 507 (42.8%) from ovitraps showed the presence of the Aedes species larvae. Out of these, 170 (33.5%) of the positive ovitraps were those placed in semi indoor and 337 (66.5%) in outdoor. Of the total 16,613 Aedes larvae found, 4,130 (24.9%) were from semi indoor, and 12,483 (75.1%) from outdoor. In terms of distribution, Ae. albopictus was predominantly found in outdoor environments (POI=87.5%; MLT=36.45 larvae). Ae. aegypti was also found in outdoor environments (POI=14.89%; MLT=8.26 larvae). There was a significant difference in POI for both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in the two different environments but no significant difference was observed in MLT, indicating that the density of the Aedes species in both environments was well distributed. Conclusion: In this study, the patterns of Aedes habitat in high-rise apartments were observed. This study has shown an invasion and adaptation of Aedes mosquitoes into the ecosystems of high-rise buildings. It can be concluded that housing designs and the condition of the surrounding environment affects the infestation profile and the distribution of Aedes mosquitoes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  6. Shifts in foraging behaviour of heterospecific flocking birds in a lowland Malaysian rainforest
    Mansor MS, Nor SM, Ramli R
    Behav Processes, 2020 Nov;180:104229.
    PMID: 32866554 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104229
    Mixed-species flocks (MSFs) serve important roles in bird communities, especially in tropical forests. Although structure of mixed-species bird flocks and its benefits has been intensively studied globally, the foraging plasticity of a species when joining MSFs has rarely been evaluated. The present study examines foraging strategies of the Rufous-crowned Babbler (Malacopteron magnum), Chestnut-winged Babbler (Cyanoderma erythropterum) and Black-naped Monarch (Hypothymis azurea) when participating in MSFs in the Krau Wildlife Reserve, central Peninsular Malaysia. These species exhibit active foraging shifts in utilisation of vertical strata, foraging substrate, attack manoeuvres and foliage density, when foraging in MSFs, compared to when foraging outside MSFs. While the Rufous-crowned Babbler and Chestnut-winged Babbler commonly used gleaning and stretching (to completely extend the legs or neck to reach the food items) manoeuvres when foraging outside MSFs, respectively, they adopted probing manoeuvre and frequently used higher strata upon joining MSFs. The Chestnut-winged Babbler tended to forage on the underside of leaves and the Black-naped Monarch frequently utilised branches when joining MSFs, while they exclusively used aerial leaf litter and live green leaves, respectively, when foraging with conspecifics. The monarch also adopted the hovering manoeuvre and frequently foraged within denser foliage cover when joining MSFs. This study demonstrated that flock members exhibits foraging plasticity either through an expansion or active shift in foraging niches when participating in MSFs, thus suggesting the occurrence of possible foraging improvement and/or reductions in predation risk.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  7. Fulltext The whole mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis of Lupocycloporus gracilimanus (Stimpson, 1858) (Decapoda, portunidae)
    Guan M, Tan H, Fazhan H, Xie Z, Shi X, Zhang Y, et al.
    Mitochondrial DNA B Resour, 2018 Oct 26;3(2):1244-1245.
    PMID: 33474478 DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2018.1532345
    The mitochondrial genome plays an important role in studies on phylogeography and population genetic diversity. Here we report the complete mitochondrial genome of Lupocycloporus gracilimanus (Stimpson, 1858) which is the first mitochondrial genome reported in genus Lupocycloporus by now. The mitogenome is 15,990 bp in length, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and a putative control region. The phylogenetic analysis showed that L. gracilimanus was closest to genus Scylla. The present research should provide valuable information for phylogenetic analysis and classification of Portunidae.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  8. Fulltext The complete mitochondrial genome of the snakeskin gourami, Trichopodus pectoralis (Regan 1910) (Teleostei: Osphronemidae)
    Gan HM, Amornsakun T, Tan MP
    Mitochondrial DNA B Resour, 2017 Mar 17;2(1):148-149.
    PMID: 33473747 DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2017.1298418
    We sequenced and assembled three whole mitogenome sequences of the commercially important snakeskin gourami Trichopodus pectoralis isolated from Malaysia (introduced), Viet Nam (native) and Thailand (native). The mitogenome length range from 16,397 to 16,420 bp. The final partitioned nucleotide alignment consists of 14,002 bp and supports the monophyly of the genus Trichopodus (95% ultrafast bootstrap support) with T. trichopterus forming a sister group with the members of T. pectoralis.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  9. Fulltext Teori darwinisme sosial: suatu pendekatan barat dalam mentamadunkan penduduk di Borneo utara menerusi perspektif sejarah
    Noorazmil Bin Noorta, Maureen De Silva
    Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2019;4(6):114-125.
    MyJurnal
    Darwinisme sosial merupakan sebuah teori yang diagungkan oleh kuasa Barat bagi mewujudkan jurang perbezaan manusia dalam pelbagai aspek dengan mengangkat status mereka sebagai bangsa ‘superior’, manakala bangsa kulit hitam dan berwarna pula dikategorikan sebagai ‘inferior’ atau “lesser breed’’ pada abad ke-19. Justeru kajian ini akan memberi tumpuan kepada analisis bagaimana kuasa barat cuba untuk mengimplementasikan teori ini kepada penduduk di Borneo Utara dengan menggunakan dan menerapkan sistem sosial serta budaya mereka sebagai acuan bagi membentuk masyarakat yang mempunyai ketamadunan moden seperti yang mereka percayai bahawa itu merupakan tanggungjawab mereka menerusi slogan “white man burden”. Bagi mencapai objektif ini, kaedah kajian secara kualitatif telah digunakan dengan merujuk kepada sumber primer dan sekunder sebagai sumber utama. Sumber-sumber tersebut merupakan bahan yang dapat diakses di Arkib Negeri dan perpustakaan, serta terdiri daripada buku dan artikel yang terdapat dalam jurnal. Selain itu, sumber daripada laman sesawang yang releven juga digunakan bagi mengukuhkan hujah dan perbincangannya. Dapatan utama kajian ini mendapati bahawa penjajahan kuasa barat khususnya British dalam menguasai Borneo Utara bukan hanya bermatlamatkan pengeksploitasian ekonomi sahaja, namun mereka juga bertujuan untuk mengubah kehidupan tradisional penduduk tempatan memandangkan mereka beranggapan bahawa itu adalah suatu tanggungjawab yang mereka pikul dalam mendidik bangsa yang lebih rendah dari mereka, banyak berkait rapat dengan status dan maruah mereka sebagai kuasa imperialis yang mempromosikan ketamadunan. Maka, demi mencapai matlamat tersebut, pelbagai transformasi dan perubahan yang telah dilakukan oleh British dalam pelbagai aspek bagi mengubah taraf hidup penduduk tempatan khususnya dalam aspek ekonomi, politik dan sosial. Oleh itu, penulis akan membincangkan secara lebih mendalam mengenai justifikasi teori tersebut, serta dengan lebih lanjut bagi membincangkan apakah aspek dan pendekatan yang digunakan oleh Barat dalam mentamadunkan penduduk di Borneo Utara seperti apa yang mereka percayai menurut Darwinisme Sosial.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  10. Fulltext Pengetahuan pedagogi kandungan (ppk) guru bukan pengkhususan reka bentuk dan teknologi (rbt) di sekolah menengah
    Cathrine Binti Masingan, Sabariah Bte Sharif
    Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2019;4(6):64-71.
    MyJurnal
    Kajian ini bertujuan untuk meneroka kefahaman Pengetahuan Pedagogi Kandungan (PPK) guru bukan pengkhususan mata pelajaran Reka Bentuk dan Teknologi (RBT) di Sekolah Menengah. Kajian ini adalah kajian kualitatif single case yang melibatkan dua orang guru bukan pengkhususan mata pelajaran RBT dipilih sebagai peserta kajian. Pengumpulan data menggunakan kaedah temu bual, pemerhatian dan juga analisis dokumen. Proses analisis data melibatkan tiga peringkat koding dalam Grounded Theory iaitu open coding, axial coding dan selective coding. Hasil kajian mendapati kedua peserta belum memahami dan menguasai sepenuhnya hala tuju, matlamat dan fokus KSSM RBT. Selain itu, mereka juga masih menghadapi masalah dalam menguasai isi kandungan mata pelajaran tersebut dengan baik. Dari aspek pengetahuan pedagogi, walaupun peserta kajian sedar tentang pendekatan-pendekatan PdPc yang dicadangkan dalam DSKP KSSM mata pelajaran RBT, namun mereka kurang menggunakan pendekatan tersebut dan masih cenderung menggunakan pendekatan pengajaran tradisional yang lebih berpusatkan kepada guru dan menggunakan kaedah syarahan semasa proses PdPc.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  11. Behavioural responses of anxiety in aversive and non-aversive conditions between young and aged Sprague-Dawley rats
    Hiew LF, Khairuddin S, Aquili L, Koh J, Fung ML, Lim WL, et al.
    Behav Brain Res, 2020 05 15;385:112559.
    PMID: 32097707 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112559
    Measures of anxiety in behavioural tests remain largely unclear even decades after their establishment. Differences in the severity of anxiety measured by anxiety tests is an important issue that must be addressed. To test the hypothesis that the addition of light as an aversive stimulus will elicit a difference in behaviour between aged and young animals, we compared the responses of aged and young animals in the home cage emergence test (HCET) and elevated plus maze (EPM), in high aversive bright light and low aversive dim light conditions. In the HCET, our results demonstrated that young animals escaped with shorter latency and greater frequency than aged animals in both bright and dim light conditions, indicating that young animals display greater exploratory tendencies than aged animals. In the EPM, bright light conditions induced anxiogenic effects in both age groups. Interestingly, two-way ANOVA showed a significant interaction effect of age and light on the number of entries into the open arms of the EPM as well as frequency of escape in the HCET. These results show that the addition of light as an aversive stimulus in the EPM and HCET produced different responses in aged versus young animals in each test. In conclusion, significant interactions between age and light affected aged and young animals differently in the HCET and EPM, indicating that the two tests measure different aspects of anxiety.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  12. Fulltext OBSERVATION OF FLOWER VISITORS TO DETERMINE THEIR POTENTIAL ROLE AS POLLINATORS OF Ixora coccinae AND Ruellia simplex
    Fakhriah Kamaruddin, Mohamed Nor Zalipah
    UMT Journal of Undergraduate Research, 2020;2(1):61-70.
    MyJurnal
    This study aimed to determine the potential pollinating agents of Ixora coccinae and Ruellia simplex at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) campus based on the foraging activities of the flower visitors. The diurnal observations (0700 hr to 1800 hr) were conducted for a total of 144 hours and 96 hours for I. coccinae, for R. simplex respectively. The flower visitor activities (landing or hovering at the flowers) and the time spent at the flowers however were recorded for only the first 10 minutes of every hour between 0700 hr and 1000 hr for four days. A total of 383 flower visitations was recorded by 17 insect species and a bird species, the olive-backed sunbird (Cinnyris jugularis). For I. coccinae, the most common visitors were Apis cerana, Heterotrigona itama and Xylocopa confusa, in which all species were found to show only landing behaviour to forage at the flowers, and the time spent foraging at the flowers was not significantly different between the species (Kruskal-Wallis test, H = 1.323, df = 2, p = 0.055). For R. simplex, the most common visitors were A. cerana with 100% landing, and C. jugularis which recorded 80% landing and 20% hovering during their visits to the flowers. Between the two, A. cerana recorded significantly longer time spent at the flowers as compared to C. jugularis (Mann-Whitney test, U = 17.355, p < 0.001). Based on the visitation rate and feeding behaviour of the flower visitors, A. cerana, H. itama and X. confusa were the potential pollinating agents for I. coccinae while for R. simplex, A. cerana showed higher potential to be a pollinating agent as compared to C. jugularis. Therefore, this study highlighted the importance of recording the behaviour of each flower visitor to determine the relative contribution to the pollination success of the plant species visited.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  13. Caligus coryphaenae infection from the Osumi strait, Southern Japan: A new record on wild yellowtail (Seriola quinqueradiata)
    Khoa TND, Shaharom-Harrison F
    Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports, 2021 Apr;24:100576.
    PMID: 34024392 DOI: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2021.100576
    The caligid parasite Caligus coryphaenae has been reported in several marine fishes from Japan. In this study, a total of 223 wild yellowtail (Seriola quinqueradiata) were collected from Kagoshima fish market, separated into three groups according to total length (TL  70 cm), and examined for C. coryphaenae infection. A total of 518 specimens of C. coryphaenae were isolated giving an overall prevalence of infection and mean intensity of 24.2% and 4.7 ± 3.5, respectively. Body surface, fins and operculum of hosts TL > 50 cm were recorded as preferred sites for the attachment of C. coryphaenae. Of female specimens, 56.7% bore egg strings with various egg string lengths (7.1 ± 1.2 mm), carrying from 98 to 140 eggs (0.06 ± 0.005 mm in length) per each string. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. coryphaenae infection from wild yellowtail in Japanese waters and globally. This parasite has not been reported in yellowtail culture to date, but the finding on wild specimens of yellowtail means that it poses a risk to their culture.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  14. Fulltext STABILITY OF LACTIC ACID BACTERIA IN PASTEURIZED COW’S AND GOAT’S MILK
    Nurfarhana Syed Malik, Mohd. Nizam Lani, Fauziah Tufail Ahmad
    UMT Journal of Undergraduate Research, 2019;1(4):0-0.
    MyJurnal
    This study was done to determine the effect of pasteurization on the stability of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and its enzyme in raw and pasteurized cow’s and goat’s milk. The total viable count for plate count of the bacterial growth concentration was higher in both pasteurized cow’s and goat’s milk at 2.48 log CFU/ml. This is followed by raw cow’s milk (1.59 log CFU/ml) and raw goat’s milk (0.65 log CFU/ml). Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was found to be similar in both raw cow’s and goat’s milk (p>0.05), and pasteurized milk of both animals also contained the same amount of LAB (p>0.05). LAB was still detected in pasteurized milk (p
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  15. Fulltext Smart Bran Dispenser for Animal Husbandry Purpose
    Muhammad Alif Azanuddin Alias, Nur Athirah Mohd Taib, Nurul Nadia Adnan
    Malaysian Journal of Science, Health & Technology, 2021;7(1):56-61.
    MyJurnal
    The creation of technology in this century changes people’s life. Technology plays an important role that benefits young people and has increased agriculture production’s efficiency and profitability. Innovative technology mainly involved in animal feeding automation is currently one of Smart Bran Dispensers’ new inventions. This project approaches an innovative animal husbandry management system to improve the agricultural system’s efficiency, particularly livestock nutrition and feed resources. The benefit of this project is to facilitate animal feeding for breeders, which can be remotely controlled and detected by a tracking module that transmits a signal to the user and informs them of the status of the bran dispenser through the Blynk server. NodeMCU ESP8266 and Arduino UNO were implemented as the main controller.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  16. Fulltext PRELIMINARY STUDY OF SPIDER DIVERSITY IN UITM NEGERI SEMBILAN KUALA PILAH CAMPUS FOREST RESERVE
    Farida Hamimi Ahmad Dasran, Nursyazni Abdul Rahim
    Journal of Academia Universiti Teknologi MARA Negeri Sembilan, 2021;9(1):91-96.
    MyJurnal
    UiTM Negeri Sembilan Kuala Pilah Campus Forest Reserve was a lowland rainforest canopy located in Kampung Beting, Kuala Pilah, which hold various habitats for a wide range of organisms. Many of the species, however, were poorly known and documented. Therefore, a preliminary study was conducted to record the diversity of spider fauna in UiTM Kuala Pilah Campus Forest Reserve in two separate areas using three different methods: hand picking, net sweeping and pitfall traps. The present study resulted in 85 samples of spiders from seven families (Araneidae, Ctenidae, Eutichuridae. Oxyopidae, Pholcidae, Salticidae, and Sparassidae) and 13 genera. There were 29 individuals from four families collected from Site A, and 56 individuals from seven families collected from Site B. Salticidae spiders had dominated both sites with 62% of total samples collected. The second dominant family was Araneidae, which constituted 15% of the samples, followed by Ctenidae (6%), Oxyopidae (6%), Eutichuridae (5%), Sparassidae (4%), and Pholcidae (2%). This ecosystem’s spider fauna was qualitatively rich due to diverse microhabitats that represented the high flora and fauna diversity in UiTM Negeri Sembilan Kuala Pilah Campus Forest Reserve. However, the study did not reflect the full spider inventory as fewer sampling periods and areas were conducted. Therefore, additional sampling activities and study periods are anticipated to submit to the inventory of the organisms.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  17. Over 30 years of HABs in the Philippines and Malaysia: What have we learned?
    Yñiguez AT, Lim PT, Leaw CP, Jipanin SJ, Iwataki M, Benico G, et al.
    Harmful Algae, 2021 02;102:101776.
    PMID: 33875175 DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2020.101776
    In the Southeast Asian region, the Philippines and Malaysia are two of the most affected by Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Using long-term observations of HAB events, we determined if these are increasing in frequency and duration, and expanding across space in each country. Blooms of Paralytic Shellfish Toxin (PST)-producing species in the Philippines did increase in frequency and duration during the early to mid-1990s, but have stabilized since then. However, the number of sites affected by these blooms continue to expand though at a slower rate than in the 1990s. Furthermore, the type of HABs and causative species have diversified for both toxic blooms and fish kill events. In contrast, Malaysia showed no increasing trend in the frequency of toxic blooms over the past three decades since Pyrodinium bahamense was reported in 1976. However, similar to the Philippines, other PST producers such as Alexandrium minutum and Alexandrium tamiyavanichii have become a concern. No amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) has been confirmed in either Philippines or Malaysia thus far, while ciguatera fish poisoning cases are known from the Philippines and Malaysia but the causative organisms remain poorly studied. Since the 1990s and early 2000s, recognition of the distribution of other PST-producing species such as species of Alexandrium and Gymnodinium catenatum in Southeast Asia has grown, though there has been no significant expansion in the known distributions within the last decade. A major more recent problem in the two countries and for Southeast Asia in general are the frequent fish-killing algal blooms of various species such as Prorocentrum cordatum, Margalefidinium polykrikoides, Chattonella spp., and unarmored dinoflagellates (e.g., Karlodinium australe and Takayama sp.). These new sites affected and the increase in types of HABs and causative species could be attributed to various factors such as introduction through mariculture and eutrophication, and partly because of increased scientific awareness. These connections still need to be more concretely investigated. The link to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) should also be better understood if we want to discern how climate change plays a role in these patterns of HAB occurrences.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  18. Antibiotic usage and resistance in animal production in Vietnam: a review of existing literature
    Di KN, Pham DT, Tee TS, Binh QA, Nguyen TC
    Trop Anim Health Prod, 2021 Jun 05;53(3):340.
    PMID: 34089130 DOI: 10.1007/s11250-021-02780-6
    Inappropriate use of antibiotics in animal production system is one of the major factors leading to the antibiotic resistance (ABR) development. In Vietnam, the ABR situation is crucial as antibiotics have been used indiscriminately for disease prevention and as growth promoters in animals. Thus, a thorough understanding on the ABR in veterinary settings would be beneficial to the Vietnam public health authority in formulating timely interventions. This review aimed to provide information on the current status of antibiotic usage in animal husbandry in Vietnam, identified gaps in research, and suggested possible solutions to tackle ABR. To this end, data on ABR in animals were extracted from 3 major electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect) in the period of January 2013-December 2020. The review findings were reported according to PRISMA, which highlighted the emergence and persistence of ABR in bacterial isolates, including Escherichia coli, Enterococcus spp., and Salmonella species, obtained from pigs and poultry. The lack of awareness of Vietnamese farmers on the antibiotic utilization guidelines was one of the main causes driving the animal ABR. Hence, this paper calls for interventions to restrict antibiotics use in food-producing animals by national action plan and antibiotics control programs. Additionally, studies to evaluate knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of the community are required to promote rational use of antibiotics in all sectors.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  19. Fulltext Eupatorin Suppressed Tumor Progression and Enhanced Immunity in a 4T1 Murine Breast Cancer Model
    Abd Razak N, Yeap SK, Alitheen NB, Ho WY, Yong CY, Tan SW, et al.
    Integr Cancer Ther, 2020 8 25;19:1534735420935625.
    PMID: 32830560 DOI: 10.1177/1534735420935625
    Eupatorin is a polymethoxy flavone extracted from Orthosiphon stamineus and was reported to exhibit cytotoxic effects on several cancer cell lines. However, its effect as an anti-breast cancer agent in vivo has yet to be determined. This study aims to elucidate the potential of eupatorin as an anti-breast cancer agent in vivo using 4T1 challenged BALB/c mice model. In this article, BALB/c mice (20-22 g) challenged with 4T1 cells were treated with 5 mg/kg or 20 mg/kg eupatorin, while the untreated and healthy mice were fed with olive oil (vehicle) via oral gavage. After 28 days of experiment, the mice were sacrificed and blood was collected for serum cytokine assay, while tumors were harvested to extract RNA and protein for gene expression assay and hematoxylin-eosin staining. Organs such as spleen and lung were harvested for immune suppression and clonogenic assay, respectively. Eupatorin (20 mg/kg) was effective in delaying the tumor development and reducing metastasis to the lung compared with the untreated mice. Eupatorin (20 mg/kg) also enhanced the immunity as the population of NK1.1+ and CD8+ in the splenocytes and the serum interferon-γ were increased. Concurrently, eupatorin treatment also has downregulated the expression of pro-inflammatory and metastatic related genes (IL-1β. MMP9, TNF-α, and NF-κB). Thus, this study demonstrated that eupatorin at the highest dosage of 20 mg/kg body weight was effective in delaying the 4T1-induced breast tumor growth in the animal model.
    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
  20. Colonization of Rabbit Carcasses by Drain Fly Larvae, Psychoda sp. (Diptera: Psychodidae): The First Report
    Azmiera N, Low VL, Heo CC
    Acta Parasitol, 2021 Jun;66(2):706-709.
    PMID: 33389626 DOI: 10.1007/s11686-020-00313-z
    INTRODUCTION: Psychoda sp. is often collected from patchy habitats such as sewers, drains and decomposing organic matters. The discovery of Psychoda sp. in forensic studies indicated that it might have noteworthy value in assisting death investigations.

    PURPOSE: This study reports on the first finding of Psychoda larvae collected from decomposing rabbit carcasses placed in Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia.

    METHODS: The larvae were first observed on rabbit carcasses and were collected using tweezers and carefully preserved in 70% ethanol. They were subsequently mounted on microscopy slides using Hoyer's medium and identified as Psychoda sp. morphologically. The identification was also confirmed through a DNA barcoding analysis.

    RESULTS: Psychoda sp. larvae were collected on day-10 post-mortem where the rabbit carcasses were at the advanced decay stage of decomposition. The cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene sequences of the larvae had 90% similarity with the Psychoda spp. in the database.

    CONCLUSION: The finding of these larvae on carrion may provide additional valuable insights into forensic entomology and may assist in death investigations.

    Matched MeSH terms: Animals
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