The accumulation of tear film proteins as well as microbes colonization onto worn contact lenses can be eliminated conventionally by mechanical rubbing during the cleaning process. Lens2® functions in rotation manner to loosen the deposits on the contact lens and has antimicrobial coating to keep lenses away from contamination. The objective of this study was to determine the efficiency of Lens2® to remove deposited protein and reduce microbial contamination compared to conventional method. Twenty-eight subjects each wore a pair of contact lens FDA Group 1 (Polymacon, SoftLens® 38, Bausch & Lomb) for one month and cleaned them using multipurpose solution (COMPLETE® MoisturePLUSTM, Advanced Medical Optics) separately using two different methods. The right lens was cleaned conventionally while the left lens were cleaned using the Lens2®. The control group of thirteen subjects each wore a pair of contact lens for the same period and cleaned both conventionally. These lenses and its cases were then analyzed for protein deposition using Bichinchoninic Acid Assay (BCA) Kit (Sigma, USA) in 96-well plate. Microbial contamination was determined by culturing the samples on nutrient agar for bacteria and fungi and non-nutrient agar for amoeba isolation. The mean of total protein on control lenses (17.014 ± 13.246 µg/mL) was not significantly different from those on the Lens2® (21.623 ± 19.127 µg/mL). There were also low growth numbers of amoeba in each group of samples. Interestingly, there were no growths of amoeba from all Lens2® samples collected. There was also low growth numbers of bacteria in each sample group whereby Lens2® had the lowest growth of bacteria. No growth of fungi was obtained from all samples. The automatic lens cleaner, Lens2® was found to be as efficient as the conventional cleaning method. However, the Lens2® has additional advantage because of its antimicrobial material and need shorter time in the cleaning process as well as easy and effective.
DNA damaging effect of the salted and fermented food products (salted fishes, dried shrimps and shrimp pastes) collected from three different locations in Malacca namely Pantai Puteri, Batang Tiga and Kelemak on the DNA of the Chang liver cells were evaluated via Alkaline Comet Assay. Treatment at 62.5 mg/ml following 24 hours of incubation was used based on the preliminary cytotoxicity data. Percentage of damage to the DNA was calculated using software for scoring based on the tail moment and tail intensity (severity of the DNA damage). Hydrogen peroxide was used as positive control at 0.1 mM following 30 minutes of incubation in 4 C. The results showed that the methanol extracts of shrimp pastes and salted fish from Pantai Puteri, exhibited a higher DNA damage (shrimp pastes - TM - 8.33 ± 2.19; TI - 31.67 ± 5.84, salted fishes - TM - 2.25 ± 0.86; TI - 9.25 ± 1.55) and were expressed as (shrimp pastes) 56.66 ± 8.74% of DNA damage and methanol salted fish extracts from the same location showed 13.00 ± 2.84% of the DNA damage on Chang liver cells compared to the other extracts. Values for methanol extract of shrimp pastes from Pantai Puteri were comparable to the positive control - Hydrogen peroxide (TM- 9.50 ± 1.50; TI - 30.50 ± 2.50). On the other hand, aqueous salted fishes extract from Pantai Puteri (TM - 1.33 ± 0.42; TI - 8.67 ± 2.42) and shrimp pastes extracts from Kelemak (methanol extract - TM -1.75 ± 0.15; TI -7.50 ± 0.50, aqueous extract - TM - 1.00 ± 0.00; TI - 5.00 ± 0.00) showed slightly high value for tail moment and tail intensity as compared to negative control (TM - 0.29 ± 0.05; TI - 2.50 ± 0.29). Values for methanol extracts of shrimp pastes from Pantai Puteri were comparable to the positive control (TM- 9.50 ± 1.50; TI - 30.50 ± 2.50). In conclusion, our results demonstrate genotoxic damage induced by few salted and fermented food extracts in Chang liver cell.
Bacterial adhesion to host cells is the most important probiotic character. However, the adhesion of probiotic should not
affect the viability of the host cells. In this study, Lactobacillus plantarum strain L8, Lactobacillus plantarum strain L20
and Lactobacillus pentosus strain S1 were tested for their cytotoxic effects through MTT assay and their ability to adhere
and colonize on HT-29 and CCD-18Co intestinal cells as detected microscopically using light microscopy and Scanning
Electron Microscopy (SEM). No cytotoxicity effects were observed on both intestinal cells following 24 h treatment with
all Lactobacillus strains. Additionally, all strains demonstrated strong adhesive activity where more than 100 bacteria
adhered to both intestinal cells although differences in the adhesion scores observed among different strains. The adhesion
as observed via SEM showed an autoagreggative pattern and adhered as clusters on the surface of both intestinal cells.
In conclusion, all three Lactobacillus strains are non-cytotoxic to both cells with strong adhesion ability on intestinal
cells and this study also proved that Malaysian fermented fish are good source of probiotic bacteria.
Alpinia conchigera (lengkuas kecil) merupakan sejenis tumbuhan herba yang sering digunakan sebagai rawatan alternatif
dalam bidang perubatan tradisional. Kajian ini dijalankan untuk menilai kesan sitotoksik, genotoksik serta mod kematian
sel yang disebabkan oleh ekstrak heksana A. conchigera ke atas sel hepar Chang. Asai MTT selama 24 jam telah dijalankan
untuk mengenal pasti peratus viabiliti sel hepar Chang setelah dirawat dengan ekstrak heksana A. conchigera. Keputusan
menunjukkan terdapat penurunan viabiliti sel secara signifi kan (p < 0.05) dengan nilai IC50 (8.6 μg/ml) berbanding kawalan
negatif. Berdasarkan nilai IC50 ini, pewarnaan AO/PI dilakukan untuk menentukan mod kematian sel hepar Chang iaitu sama
ada secara apoptosis atau nekrosis. Didapati bahawa terdapat perbezaan secara signifi kan (p < 0.05) bagi mod kematian
sel hepar Chang secara apoptosis berbanding kawalan negatif. Dalam kajian ini, penentuan tahap kerosakan DNA sel
hepar Chang turut dilakukan dengan menggunakan asai komet beralkali dengan nilai IC10 dan IC25 yang diperoleh daripada
asai MTT (4 μg/ml dan 6 μg/ml) masing-masing. Setelah sel hepar Chang dirawat dengan ekstrak heksana A. conchigera
selama 2 jam, didapati terdapat perbezaan secara signifi kan (p < 0.05) bagi peratus kerosakan DNA bagi kumpulan rawatan
berbanding kawalan negatif. Kesimpulannya, ekstrak heksana A. conchigera memberi kesan sitotoksik dan genotoksik
terhadap sel hepar Chang serta menyebabkan kematian sel secara apoptosis.
Kajian kes-kawalan ini dijalankan untuk mengkaji hubungan adipositi dan komposisi tubuh terhadap risiko kanser payudara di kalangan 70 orang wanita yang baru didiagnos kanser payudara dan 138 orang kawalan. Parameter antropometri yang merangkumi tinggi, berat, ukuran pinggang dan ukuran pinggul dan aras glukosa darah berpuasa serta tekanan darah diukur di kalangan subjek. Komposisi tubuh ditentukan menggunakan analisis bioimpedans (Maltron 906). Hasil kajian menunjukkan Indeks Jisim Tubuh (?T) kumpulan kes adalah 26.0 ± 4.8 kg/m2 dan 25.3 ± 4.5 kg/m2 bagi kumpulan kawalan (p > 0.05). Seramai 71% subjek dari kumpulan kes dan 40% subjek kumpulan kawalan mengalami obesiti abdominal (ukurlilit pinggang 80 cm) [OR = 3.4 (95% CI =1.7-6.9] (p < 0.05). Wanita pra menopaus berisiko sebanyak empat kali untuk mendapat kanser payudara dengan [Adjusted OR = 4.3 (95% CI = 1.8-10.3)]. Peratus lemak tubuh adalah tinggi di kalangan kes (36.4 ± 4.7%) berbanding kawalan 35.3 ± 4.4% tetapi perbezaan ini adalah tidak signifikan. Jisim Tubuh Tanpa Lemak ?TTL) menunjukkan nilai min 38.8 ± 5.7 kg bagi kawalan dan 38.9 ± 5.5 kg pada kes. Korelasi positif yang lemah ditunjukkan di antara umur dan IJT (r = 0.179, p = 0.010), ukuran pinggang (r = 0.218, p = 0.002), nisbah pinggang-pinggul (NPR) (r = 0.233, p = 0.001) dan peratus lemak tubuh (r = 0.330, p = 0.000). Kesimpulannya, obesiti abdominal meningkatkan risiko kanser payudara, terutama di kalangan wanita pra menopaus. Obesiti jenis ini dan peratus lemak tubuh adalah meningkat dengan pertambahan usia. Adalah penting bagi wanita untuk mengekalkan ukuran pinggang yang sihat melalui gaya hidup sihat bagi mengurangkan risiko kanser payudara.
Quassia borneensis has been traditionally used as antihypertensive agent without any scientific literature on its mechanism
of action. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antiinflammatory, antioxidant and antiproliferation properties of
Q. borneensis extracts. The hexane, chloroform and aqueous extracts of root and bark of Q. borneensis were subjected to
nitric oxide (NO) inhibition assay in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) protein
level was analyzed by Western blot. The antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of the extracts on HL-60 cells were
determined using Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) and MTT assays, respectively. The chloroform extract of
Q. borneensis root obtained by soxhlet method (CSR) significantly inhibited 97.64 ± 0.96% of NO production (p < 0.001)
and suppressed iNOS expression (p < 0.05) at the highest concentration of 1.0 µg/ml. The chloroform extract of bark
obtained by maceration (CMB) exhibited the highest antioxidant capacity in the absence and presence of HL-60 cells,
where the FRAP value were 125.45 ± 9.10 µM FeSO4
.7H2
O and 181.55 ± 3.45 µM FeSO4
.7H2
O, respectively. The greatest
inhibition of HL-60 cell proliferation was exhibited by the chloroform extract of bark obtained by soxhlet method (CSB)
with the IC50 of 5.0 µg/ml. The findings suggested that the chloroform extracts of Q. borneensis possess antiinflammatory,
antioxidant and antiproliferative activities.
Mutagenic and antimutagenic activities of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from the local fermented durian (tempoyak) was determined by Ames test (Salmonella/microsome mutagenicity assay). Our study also involved pre-incubation assay against Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 and TA 100 bacterial strain in the presence and absence of metabolic activator S9 system. It was found that the L. plantarum showed no mutagenic activity on both S. typhimurium strain TA 98 and TA 100 in the presence and absence of metabolic activator. Significant antimutagenic activity (p < 0.05) was observed in both cell-free supernatant and bacterial cell suspension of L. plantarum as compared to the mutagenicity induced by 2-Aminoanthracene in the presence of metabolic activator. Meanwhile, in the absence of metabolic activator, only the bacterial cells of L. plantarum showed antimutagenicity acitivity against Sodium Azide and 2-Nitrofluorene. In conclusion, L. plantarum could play a vital role as chemopreventive agent by binding to mutagens and suppressing mutagenesis. Thus, L. plantarum could be consider as a good candidate for functional food development as a supplement product to prevent development of colon cancer.
Drug Metabolizing Enzyme (DME) has been a target of natural chemopreventive agents to inhibit, retard and reverse the process of carcinogenesis. Pterostilbene, an analog to resveratrol has been reported to possess various pharmacological benefits including chemoprevention. In our study, benzo[a]pyrene-induced HT-29 colorectal cell line was used as the DME model. The activity of phase I enzyme CYP1A as determined by the 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylation (EROD) assay was found to be inhibited significantly by pterostilbene at 50 μM, 75 μM and 100 μM (p ≤ 0.01, p ≤ 0.05, p ≤ 0.01 respectively) compared to the benzo[a]pyrene treated group. Meanwhile, pterostilbene induced glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity significantly (p ≤ 0.01) at 50 μM as compared to the untreated. In addition, However, the protein expression of CYP1A1 and GST in pterostilbene treated group was not significantly affected compared to untreated. On the other hand, pterostilbene at 25 and 75 μM were able to increase the protein expression of transcription factor Nrf2 significantly (p ≤ 0.01). Results indicated that pterostilbene could reduce metabolic activation of procarcinogens and increase the detoxification process which can be potentially developed as chemopreventive agent.
Hibiscus sabdariffa Linn. or also known as roselle which is rich in polyphenols, has been demonstrated to cause lowering of blood pressure in animal and clinical settings. However its exact mechanism of action particularly from polyphenolic compounds is not clearly understood. Therefore, we aimed to determine the effects of H. sabdariffa polyphenol extract (HPE) towards vascular reactivity and its mechanism of action. The HPE was studied on isolated thoracic aortic rings from normal Sprague-Dawley rats, suspended in a 15-ml organ chambers containing Krebs-Henseleit solution. The changes in tension were recorded by isometric transducer connected to data acquisition. HPE relaxed the contraction induced by phenylephrine (PE, 1 μM) in similar pattern for both endothelium-intact and endothelium denuded aortic rings in dose-dependent manner 0.1 ~ 0.9 mg/ml. The pretreatment with atropine (1 μM), a competitive muscarinic antagonist, and propranolol (1 μM), a non-selective beta- blocker did not alter HPE vasorelaxation response. In addition, HPE did not inhibit the contraction induced by extracellular Ca2+ precontracted by PE (1 μM) or KCl (60 mM), in Ca2+ -free solution, suggesting that the relaxation effect of HPE was not via inhibition of calcium channels. In conclusion, HPE demonstrated vasorelaxation effects on rat thoracic aorta although the underlying mechanism is still unknown. The vasorelaxation effect could be via angiotensin type 1 receptor inhibition in the vascular smooth muscle cells or the activation of hyperpolarizing K+ channel.
Exposure to organophosphate pesticide including fenitrothion (FNT) has led to many adverse effects on human health.
However, a potent antioxidant like palm oil tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) can reduce oxidative damage in various
pathological conditions, could also reduce the adverse effects by FNT. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect
of TRF on oxidative liver damage in FNT induce hepatotoxicity in experimental rats. A total of 40 male Sprague-Dawley
rats were randomly divided into four groups of 10, namely control, TRF, FNT and TRF+FNT group. TRF (200 mg/kg
body weight) and FNT (20 m/kg body weight) were administered through oral gavage for 28 days. Corn oil which
served as vehicle was given orally to the control group. At the end of the study period, liver and blood was taken for
oxidative damage and biochemical evaluation and histological observation. TRF supplementation prevents oxidative
liver damage by reducing the hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl (PCO) level significantly. Besides,
TRF also restored the endogenous antioxidants particularly reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx)
and ferric reducing/antioxidant power (FRAP). TRF also prevent liver damage by reducing the liver enzymes, alanine
aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). The attenuation of liver damage by TRF was also showed
histologically. In conclusion, TRF supplementation showed a potential in preventing oxidative liver damage in FNTtreated
rats by reducing the oxidative damage and improving the antioxidant status.
Salted fish is a locally processed raw food which is used in everyday cooking among Malaysians. Previous studies suggested that salted fish intake was a risk of nasopharyngeal cancer. Hence, this study was carried out to evaluate gene mutation effects through the induction of mutagenic effect of aqueous and methanol extracts of salted fish from Balik Pulau, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. Balik Pulau was chosen for sampling purpose due to its popularity as a commercial centre for local raw fisheries in Malaysia. Evaluation of mutagenic effect was carried out by hprt Gene Mutation Assay towards V79 lung fibroblast cells. It was found that the aqueous and methanol extracts of salted fish were not cytotoxic towards V79 lung fibroblast cells. It was also found that the extracts of salted fish from Balik Pulau were not mutagenic towards hprt gene of V79 lung fibroblast cells as the mutation frequency of the extracts did not exceed 3 times of the value for negative control mutation frequency. In conclusion, both aqueous and methanol extracts of salted fish from Balik Pulau did not have gene mutation effect towards hprt gene in vitro. However, other toxicological profile could be assessed to determine the mechanism of toxicity of salted fish.
Fenitrothion (FNT) usage has received much attention for its potential to promote free radicals generation and interfere with antioxidant defense system. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of palm oil tocotrienol rich fraction (TRF) supplementation on oxidative stress and histological changes in rat brain induced by FNT. A total of 32 male Sprague Dawley rats divided into four groups: control group which received corn oil; TRF group was received palm oil TRF (200 mg/kg bw); FNT group administered with FNT (20 mg/kg bw) and TRF+FNT group pretreated with palm oil TRF (200 mg/kg bw) 30 min prior to administration of FNT (20 mg/kg bw). FNT and TRF were dissolved in corn oil and all supplementations were given by oral gavage once daily for 28 days. After four weeks of supplementation, TRF+FNT rats had significantly lower malondialdehyde (MDA) content and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity but higher reduced glutathione (GSH) level and total protein level compared to FNT rats (p<0.05). However, protein carbonyl (PC) level was insignificantly lower for TRF+FNT group compared to FNT group. In conclusion, this study suggested that palm oil TRF was effective in preventing brain damage in rats.
Subclinical changes that occur in the heart at an early age may provide valuable information to outline prevention strategies for cardiovascular diseases. Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects regulation of autonomic balance, heart, and vascular tone, which are the determinants of blood pressure. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the difference in heart rate variability (HRV) of Malay male young adult with their BMI and adiposity level. MATERIALS AND METHODS:A total of 201 Malay male young adult aged between 19 to 24 years old were screened and their BMI and adiposity level were measured. Three non-invasive tests; Valsalva Manoeuvre, orthostatic response and 30/15 ratio of heart rate were performed. Short term HRV time and frequency domains were recorded. RESULTS:Despite few significant differences in HRV parameters of overweight/obese subjects, the result is inconclusive to conclude any reduced variability. However, those with high adiposity regardless of their BMI reported significantly lower mean of R-R SD in time domain and lower mean of LF/HF ratio in frequency domain. The orthostatic reflex results revealed that high adiposity subjects had significantly lower mean of LF and HF. A decrement of -0.28 ms2HF/LF during Valsalva manoeuvre, -0.35 LF ms2in orthostatic reflex and 0.33 ms2in orthostatic reflex per 1% of body fat percentage were observed. CONCLUSION: HRV parameters were inversely proportional to the adiposity level which was suggestive of modulation of sympathetic function can occur at an early age.
Entomologi forensik dapat ditakrifkan sebagai pengetahuan mengenai serangga yang berkait rapat dengan bangkai terutamanya manusia, dengan tujuan ia dapat digunakan dalam penentuan jangka masa pascakematian. Jangka masa pascakematian (PMI) dapat ditentukan dengan mengambil kira spesies serangga dan peringkat perkembangan setiap spesies tersebut. Oleh kerana penentuan jenis spesies memerlukan serangga berkembang ke peringkat dewasa dan ini mengambil masa yang lama, maka objektif utama kajian ini adalah untuk mengoptimumkan suhu dan kelembapan terhadap perkembangan serangga dengan menggunakan larva Chrysomya megacephala sebagai spesimen. Larva C. megacephala dipindahkan ke dalam bekas khas, kemudiannya dimasukkan ke dalam pengeram yang telah dilaraskan suhunya kepada 27, 30, 33, 36 dan 39°C. Selepas menentukan suhu optimum perkembangan larva, aras kelembapan relatif ditentukan. Ini dilakukan dengan menentukan tempoh masa yang diperlukan untuk mengembangkan telur C. megacephala hingga ke peringkat dewasa. Untuk itu aras kelembapan relatif dalam pengeram tersebut dilaraskan kepada 54.2, 57.6, 76.0 dan 67.5% (kawalan). Peringkat perkembangan C. megacephala direkodkan. Hasil yang diperolehi menunjukkan perkembangan C. megacephala lebih pantas pada suhu 33oC berbanding suhu-suhu lain yang digunakan. Aras kelembapan relatif yang optimum juga telah dikenal pasti iaitu pada 76.0%. Dengan menggunakan keduadua data didapati keseluruhan peringkat perkembangan C. megacephala iaitu daripada peringkat telur hingga dewasa dapat dipendekkan daripada 8 hingga 9 hari kepada 5 hari.
Pesticides and chemical fertilizers are widely used in agriculture to increase crop productivity among farmers. However, exposure to pesticides will give potential risk to human health. The aim of this study was to analyze the frequency of micronucleus (MN) and binucleus (BNu) formation in buccal cells from farmers who were exposed to pesticides using the MN assay. Buccal swabs were collected from the farmers in Tanjung Karang (n = 32) and Kelantan (n = 43) using wooden tongue depressor. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain demographic data of the farmers. Cytogenetic analysis was carried out by Acridin Orange (AO) staining 0.0025% (w/v). The frequency of MN and BNu as the biomarkers for cytogenetic damage was observed by using a fluorescence microscope. Comparison of frequency of MN and BNu is conducted in two areas namely Tanjung Karang, Selangor and Kelantan because of the agricultural activity and the type of pesticides used are different. Results showed that the frequencies of both MN and BNu among farmers in Tanjung Karang were significantly higher (p < 0.05) compared to farmers in Kelantan. Meanwhile, for the socio-demographic factors (age, smoking status, working period), MN and BNu frequencies among farmers in Tanjung Karang were also significantly higher (p < 0.05) as compared to farmers in Kelantan. While in the aspect of pesticide exposure, the frequencies of MN and BNu showed no significant difference between the frequency of pesticide spraying (p > 0.05) and the practices of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) (p > 0.05). This may suggests that cytogenetic changes were not influenced by these factors. In addition, correlation study shows positive correlation between the frequency of MN with the pesticide exposure of farmers in Tanjung Karang (p > 0.05, r = 0.015) and Kelantan (p > 0.05, r = 0.0158). Besides, the frequency of BNu also has a positive correlation with the pesticide exposure among farmers in Tanjung Karang (p > 0.05, r = 0.036) and farmers in Kelantan (p > 0.05, r = 0.013). Hence, this present study demonstrated that exposure to pesticides increased the formation of MN and BNu among farmers and the prolonged use of pesticides may induce genotoxicity and DNA damage to human
Tahfiz education has been well accepted by Muslims in Malaysia. Memorizing the Quran through rote learning can assist in improving the brain ability to process, store information and build memory. In addition, dietary intakes were reported to contribute in the process of memorizing the Quran and to increase the levels of intelligence (IQ) among huffaz students. This cross-sectional study was conducted to measure and to determine the correlation between IQ and dietary intake as well as between IQ and the level of trace elements among students in selected tahfiz schools and non-tahfiz school in Selangor. Questionnaires were used to obtain demographic data. Dietary intake was assessed via 3 days dietary record. Levels of trace elements in the nail samples were analyzed by using ICP-MS. Test for intelligence using WASI-II was conducted to measure the students’ IQ. The results showed that there was a moderate positive correlation between IQ and carbohydrate (r = 0.425, p < 0.001, a weak positive correlation between IQ and energy (r = 0.260, p < 0.05), vitamin B6 (r = 0.189, p < 0.05), vitamin B12 (r = 0.207, p < 0.05) and vitamin C (r = 0.211, p < 0.05). The levels of trace elements in nail samples showed no correlation with IQ, whereas there were moderate positive correlations between IQ and dietary zinc (r = 0.375, p < 0.001) as well as between IQ and dietary iron (r = 0.303, p < 0.001). There was also a moderate positive correlation between IQ and the level of memorization (r = 0.375, p < 0.001). The results of stepwise multiple linear regression showed that al-Quran memorization influence the level of IQ by 20 %. As a conclusion, dietary intake of certain nutrients including energy, vitamins and selected trace elements can potentially improve memorization activities and also IQ.
Kajian terdahulu menunjukkan kualiti hidup dapat ditingkatkan melalui amalan keagamaan dan kerohanian. Hafazan al-Quran merupakan amalan keagamaan dan kerohanian yang memperkasa aspek mental dan fizikal. Namun, kajian saintifik yang mengaitkan hafazan al-Quran dengan kualiti hidup masih terhad terutamanya dalam konteks pelajar tahfiz. Maka, kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti hubungan antara hafazan al-Quran dengan kualiti hidup dalam kalangan pelajar tahfiz di Selangor, Malaysia. Satu kajian keratan rentas telah dijalankan ke atas 116 pelajar dengan pensampelan rawak berstrata dari tiga buah sekolah tahfiz di Selangor. Pelajar tahfiz dikategorikan kepada tiga tahap hafazan berdasarkan jumlah juzuk yang telah dihafaz iaitu Tahap 1 (1-10 juzuk), Tahap 2 (11-20 juzuk) dan Tahap 3 (21-30 juzuk). Borang soal selidik telah digunakan untuk mendapatkan data sosiodemografi dan borang soal selidik Short Form-36 Quality of Life (SF-36) versi Bahasa Malaysia telah digunakan untuk menilai tahap kualiti hidup. Data telah dianalisa menggunakan SPSS versi 23.0. Hasil kajian mendapati wujud hubungan positif yang signifikan antara hafazan al-Quran dengan kesihatan fizikal (r = 0.300, p < 0.05) dan kesihatan mental (r = 0.194, p < 0.05). Ini jelas menunjukkan bahawa semakin banyak pelajar menghafaz al-Quran semakin tinggi tahap kualiti hidup mereka. Faktor yang mempengaruhi kesihatan mental dan fizikal adalah jumlah muka surat hafazan. Kesimpulannya, hafazan al-Quran berpotensi meningkatkan kualiti hidup serta kesihatan mental dan fizikal pelajar tahfiz.
Pendedahan terhadap pestisid dapat menyebabkan penurunan paras unsur surih di dalam badan manusia. Unsur surih memainkan peranan penting dalam metabolisma tubuh. Kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengkaji paras unsur surih selenium, zink dan kromium dalam kalangan pesawah yang terdedah kepada pestisid di Wilayah I, MADA, Perlis. Kajian keratan rentas ini melibatkan 70 orang pesawah dan 57 orang yang tinggal di perkampungan nelayan sebagai kumpulan kawalan yang berumur di antara 21 hingga 80 tahun. Maklumat sosiodemografi pesawah dilakukan melalui temuduga borang soal selidik yang telah divalidasi. Pemeriksaan tekanan darah dan glukosa darah pesawah dilakukan. Paras selenium, zink dan kromium sampel kuku dan rambut dianalisis dengan menggunakan kaedah penghadaman asid dan mesin Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa paras selenium pada rambut (5.11 ± 17.05 μg/L) dan kuku (4.92 ± 2.17 μg/L) adalah lebih rendah secara signifikannya (p < 0.05) berbanding paras selenium pada rambut (15.67 ± 10.59 μg/L) dan kuku (6.67 ± 2.81 μg/L) kumpulan kawalan. Paras kromium pada rambut (31.83 ± 15.17 μg/L) dan kuku (87.64 ± 23.30 μg/L) kumpulan pesawah juga didapati lebih rendah secara signifikannya (p < 0.05) berbanding paras kromium pada rambut (85.19 ± 56.90 μg/L) dan kuku (99.36 ± 56.89 μg/L) pada kumpulan kawalan. Walau bagaimanapun, tiada perbezaan paras unsur surih yang signifikan (p > 0.05) menurut tempoh pendedahan pestisid. Kesimpulannya, paras selenium dan kromium pada kuku dan rambut pesawah yang terdedah kepada pestisid adalah lebih rendah berbanding kumpulan komuniti nelayan.
Pesticide exposure may cause genotoxic effects by inducing the formation of micronucleus (Mn). Mn are fragments of chromosomes that remains after cells division. The increase in Mn may increase the risk of cancer formation. Our study aimed to determine the effects of lifestyle and pesticide exposure on the formation of Mn in epithelial cells from buccal swabs among paddy farmers in Malaysia. About 40 farmers who were exposed to pesticides were chosen as subjects and 30 personnels whose not directly exposed to pesticides, were chosen as the control group. Demographic and anthropometric data were obtained from questionnaires developed. Analysis of Mn formation was done using Giemsa staining (10% v/v) and the frequency of Mn formation was scored from 1000 cells per sample. Kruskal-Wallis test done between Mn frequency with age group showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) in Mn frequency in farmers as compared to the control in the age group of 30-39 , 40-49 years, and 50-59 years. Significant increased (p < 0.05) were observed between Mn frequency groups of normal BMI, pre-obese, and grade 1 obese as compared to control. Significant increase of Mn frequency (p < 0.01) was also seen among smokers and farmer’s group (15.39 ± 3.34) as compared to controls (4.76 ± 1.26). The maximum numbers of Mn found in farmers are 7 Mn per cell whereas for control group is only 3 Mn. However, most farmers had only 1 Mn (81.75 ± 6.42%) and 2 Mn (15.28 ± 5.14%). Mn frequency with the duration of exposure to pesticides in a month and the use of PPE revealed no significant difference (p = 0.27). In conclusion, the increased frequency of Mn was influenced by age, gender, BMI and smoking status of farmers besides commonly repeated duration of exposures and the use of PPE. Further studies are needed to analyze the causes of an increased in Mn among farmers.
Sekolah tahfiz merupakan institusi yang mengkhususkan pendidikan kepada pelajar yang boleh menghafaz serta mengingati keseluruhan al-Quran. Aktiviti menghafaz al-Quran dengan teknik pengucapan berulang kali akan membantu meningkatkan keupayaan otak untuk memproses, mengingati maklumat dan membina memori. Kehadiran logam berat akan memberi kesan kepada sistem saraf serta mengganggu fungsi sistem saraf pusat dan periferi di mana akan seterusnya menyebabkan berlakunya kecelaan fungsi mental dan kognitif. Keupayaan untuk belajar, mengingati atau menghafaz, penggunaan bahasa dan untuk memahami sesuatu akan terganggu serta mengurangkan IQ dan perhatian. Kajian keratan rentas telah dilakukan bagi mengukur dan mengenal pasti hubungan di antara tahap logam berat, hafazan al-Quran dan tahap kecerdasan (IQ) dalam kalangan pelajar di sekolah tahfiz berbanding sekolah bukan tahfiz terpilih di Selangor. Kepekatan logam berat ditentukan melalui analisa sampel kuku dan rambut pelajar dengan menggunakan Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Ujian kecerdasan Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Edisi Kedua (WASI-II) digunakan untuk mengukur IQ pelajar. Borang soal selidik yang digunakan untuk mengumpulkan data demografik dianalisa menggunakan SPSS versi 23.0. Berdasarkan ujian korelasi Pearson yang dilakukan, terdapat korelasi negatif yang sangat lemah tetapi signifikan antara logam mangan dalam sampel rambut dengan tahap hafazan al-Quran (r = -0.178, p = 0.017). Selain itu, terdapat korelasi positif yang lemah tetapi signifikan antara IQ dengan tahap hafazan al-Quran (r = 0.375, p = < 0.001). Kesimpulannya, semakin tinggi kepekatan logam mangan akan menyebabkan penurunan tahap hafazan al-Quran serta apabila semakin tinggi tahap hafazan al-Quran akan menyebabkan tahap kecerdasan (IQ) juga semakin meningkat.