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Fulltext On the integral solutions of the diophantine equation x4 + y4 = z3

Ismail, S., Mohd Atan, K.A.

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2013;21(1):119-126.
MyJurnal

This paper is concerned with the existence, types and the cardinality of the integral solutions for
diophantine equation
4 4 3
x y z + = where x , y and z are integers. The aim of this paper was to
develop methods to be used in finding all solutions to this equation. Results of the study show the
existence of infinitely many solutions to this type of diophantine equation in the ring of integers
for both cases, x y = and x y ¹ . For the case when x y = , the form of solutions is given by
3 3 4
( , , ) (4 , 4 ,8 ) x y z n n n = , while for the case when x y ¹ , the form of solutions is given by
3 1 3 1 4 1
( , , ) ( , , )
k k k
x y z un vn n
- - -
= . The main result obtained is a formulation of a generalized method to find
all the solutions for both types of diophantine equations.
Fulltext Induction of hepatic glutathione-S-transferase activity by Orthosiphon stamineus, Benth in STZ-induced diabetic rats

Chin, J.H., Ismail, S., Hussin, A.H.

Malaysian Journal of Pharmaceutical Science, 2008;6(1):59-68.
MyJurnal

The aim of this study was to investigate the acute (one-day treatment) effect of a methanol extract of
Orthosiphon stamineus, Benth on glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic young male and female Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. The methanol extract of O. stamineus was administered orally (5, 31.25, 125 and 500 mg/kg) to diabetic rats, and the effect on GST activity was measured by the method of Habig et al. (1974). No lethality and no significant changes in body weight and water intake were observed in the treated group as compared to the control group. A significant increase in the activity of GST was observed in the liver S-9 cytosolic fraction of diabetic male SD rats treated with 125 mg/kg (P < 0.01) and 500 mg/kg (P < 0.01) of the methanol extract O. stamineus. Administration of 500 mg/kg (P < 0.01) of the methanol extract of O. stamineus to diabetic female SD rats increased GST activity when compared to the control group. This study indicates that the methanol extract of O. stamineus could affect the activity of GST in rat liver and the effect seen was dose-dependent.
Side effects of chemotherapy among cancer patients in a Malaysian General Hospital: experiences, perceptions and informational needs from clinical pharmacists

Chan HK, Ismail S

Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2014;15(13):5305-9.
PMID: 25040993

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the most common physical side effects experienced by local chemotherapy patients. Their perceptions of these side effects and informational needs from clinical pharmacists were also evaluated.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a single-center, cross-sectional study. A face-to-face interview guided by a structured questionnaire with cancer patients admitted to receive repeated cycles of chemotherapy was conducted. Information collected included chemotherapy-related side effects after last chemotherapy experience, the most worrisome side effects, the side effects overlooked by healthcare professionals and the preferred method, amount and source of receiving related information.
RESULTS: Of 99 patients recruited, 90 participated in this survey (response rate: 90.9%). The majority were in the age range of 45-64 years (73.3%) and female (93.3%). Seventy-five (83.3%) and seventy-one (78.9%) experienced nausea and vomiting, respectively. Both symptoms were selected as two of the most worrisome side effects (16.7% vs. 33.3%). Other common and worrisome side effects were hair loss and loss of appetite. Symptoms caused by peripheral neuropathies were perceived as the major symptoms being overlooked (6.7%). Most patients demanded information about side effects (60.0%) and they would like to receive as much information as possible (86.7%). Oral conversation (83.3%) remained as the preferred method and the clinical pharmacist was preferred by 46.7% of patients as the educator in this aspect.
CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of chemotherapy-related side effects among local patients is of concern. Findings of their perceptions and informational needs may serve as a valuable guide for clinical pharmacists to help in side effect management in Malaysia.
Fulltext Effects of mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine (the alkaloids of Mitragyna speciosa Korth) on 4-methylumbelliferone glucuronidation in rat and human liver microsomes and recombinant human uridine 5'-diphospho-glucuronosyltransferase isoforms

Haron M, Ismail S

Pharmacognosy Res, 2014 Oct-Dec;7(4):341-9.
PMID: 26692748 DOI: 10.4103/0974-8490.159580

BACKGROUND: Glucuronidation catalyzed by uridine 5'- diphospho-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) is a major phase II drug metabolism reaction which facilitates drug elimination. Inhibition of UGT activity can cause drug-drug interaction. Therefore, it is important to determine the inhibitory potentials of drugs on glucuronidation.
OBJECTIVE: The objective was to evaluate the inhibitory potentials of mitragynine, 7-hydroxymitragynine, ketamine and buprenorphine, respectively on 4-methylumbelliferone (4-MU) glucuronidation in rat liver microsomes, human liver microsomes and recombinant human UGT1A1 and UGT2B7 isoforms.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The effects of the above four compounds on the formation of 4-MU glucuronide from 4-MU by rat liver microsomes, human liver microsomes, recombinant human UGT1A1 and UGT2B7 isoforms were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection.
RESULTS: For rat liver microsomes, ketamine strongly inhibited 4-MU glucuronidation with an IC50 value of 6.21 ± 1.51 μM followed by buprenorphine with an IC50 value of 73.22 ± 1.63 μM. For human liver microsomes, buprenorphine strongly inhibited 4-MU glucuronidation with an IC50 value of 6.32 ± 1.39 μM. For human UGT1A1 isoform, 7-hydroxymitragynine strongly inhibited 4-MU glucuronidation with an IC50 value of 7.13 ± 1.16 μM. For human UGT2B7 isoform, buprenorphine strongly inhibited 4-MU glucuronidation followed by 7-hydroxymitragynine and ketamine with respective IC50 values of 5.14 ± 1.30, 26.44 ± 1.31, and 27.28 ± 1.18 μM.
CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate the possibility of drug-drug interaction if 7-hydroxymitragynine, ketamine, and buprenorphine are co-administered with drugs that are UGT2B7 substrates since these three compounds showed significant inhibition on UGT2B7 activity. In addition, if 7-hydroxymitragynine is to be taken with other drugs that are highly metabolized by UGT1A1, there is a possibility of drug-drug interaction to occur.
KEYWORDS: 4-methylumbelliferone; 7-hydroxymitragynine; buprenorphine; glucuronidation; ketamine; mitragynine
Optimization of coagulation-flocculation process for palm oil mill effluent using response surface methodology

Ahmad AL, Ismail S, Bhatia S

Environ Sci Technol, 2005 Apr 15;39(8):2828-34.
PMID: 15884382

The coagulation-flocculation process incorporated with membrane separation technology will become a new approach for palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment as well as water reclamation and reuse. In our current research, a membrane pilot plant has been used for POME treatment where the coagulation-flocculation process plays an important role as a pretreatment process for the mitigation of membrane fouling problems. The pretreated POME with low turbidity values and high water recovery are the main objectives to be achieved through the coagulation-flocculation process. Therefore, treatment optimization to serve these purposes was performed using jar tests and applying a response surface methodology (RSM) to the results. A 2(3) full-factorial central composite design (CCD) was chosen to explain the effect and interaction of three factors: coagulant dosage, flocculent dosage, and pH. The CCD is successfully demonstrated to efficiently determine the optimized parameters, where 78% of water recovery with a 20 NTU turbidity value can be obtained at the optimum value of coagulant dosage, flocculent dosage, and pH at 15 000 mg/L, 300 mg/L, and 6, respectively.
Fulltext Biosurfactant Production by Bacillus salmalaya for Lubricating Oil Solubilization and Biodegradation

Dadrasnia A, Ismail S

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2015 Aug;12(8):9848-63.
PMID: 26295402 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph120809848

This study investigated the capability of a biosurfactant produced by a novel strain of Bacillus salmalaya to enhance the biodegradation rates and bioavailability of organic contaminants. The biosurfactant produced by cultured strain 139SI showed high physicochemical properties and surface activity in the selected medium. The biosurfactant exhibited a high emulsification index and a positive result in the drop collapse test, with the results demonstrating the wetting activity of the biosurfactant and its potential to produce surface-active molecules. Strain 139SI can significantly reduce the surface tension (ST) from 70.5 to 27 mN/m, with a critical micelle concentration of 0.4%. Moreover, lubricating oil at 2% (v/v) was degraded on Day 20 (71.5). Furthermore, the biosurfactant demonstrated high stability at different ranges of salinity, pH, and temperature. Overall, the results indicated the potential use of B. salmalaya 139SI in environmental remediation processes.
Fulltext Biotechnological potential of Bacillus salmalaya 139SI: a novel strain for remediating water polluted with crude oil waste

Ismail S, Dadrasnia A

PLoS One, 2015;10(4):e0120931.
PMID: 25875763 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0120931

Environmental contamination by petroleum hydrocarbons, mainly crude oil waste from refineries, is becoming prevalent worldwide. This study investigates the bioremediation of water contaminated with crude oil waste. Bacillus salamalaya 139SI, a bacterium isolated from a private farm soil in the Kuala Selangor in Malaysia, was found to be a potential degrader of crude oil waste. When a microbial population of 108 CFU ml-1 was used, the 139SI strain degraded 79% and 88% of the total petroleum hydrocarbons after 42 days of incubation in mineral salt media containing 2% and 1% of crude oil waste, respectively, under optimum conditions. In the uninoculated medium containing 1% crude oil waste, 6% was degraded. Relative to the control, the degradation was significantly greater when a bacteria count of 99 × 108 CFU ml-1 was added to the treatments polluted with 1% oil. Thus, this isolated strain is useful for enhancing the biotreatment of oil in wastewater.
Efficacy of three pyrethroids against Leptotrombidium fletcheri (Acari: Trombiculidae) infected and noninfected with scrub typhus

Ho TM, Ismail S

J Med Entomol, 1991 Nov;28(6):776-9.
PMID: 1770512

Toxicities of three pyrethroids, d-phenothrin, decamethrin, and permethrin, were evaluated in the laboratory against Leptotrombidium fletcheri (Womersley & Heaslip). The susceptibilities between populations of the species infected and noninfected with scrub typhus were investigated. The three pesticides exhibited different toxicities to the chiggers. D- phenothrin was the most toxic, followed by decamethrin, then permethrin. There were no significant differences between susceptibilities of the infected and noninfected populations. Log-probit regression lines indicated that the species was most sensitive to increasing concentrations of d-phenothrin and least sensitive to permethrin. The results show that the three pesticides are potential candidates for chemical control of L. fletcheri. It may be possible in the future to conduct similar bioassays only with the noninfected population, thus reducing risk of infection to workers conducting the bioassays. Similarly, there may not be a need to separate field-collected chiggers into the two populations before performing the bioassays.
Encapsulation of Bacillus salmalaya 139SI using double coating biopolymer technique

Vejan P, Abdullah R, Khadiran T, Ismail S

Lett Appl Microbiol, 2019 Jan;68(1):56-63.
PMID: 30339728 DOI: 10.1111/lam.13088

Sustainable crop production for a rapidly growing human population is one of the current challenges faced by the agricultural sector. However, many of the chemical agents used in agriculture can be hazardous to humans, non-targeted organism and environment. Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria have demonstrated a role in promoting plant growth and health under various stress conditions including disease. Unfortunately, bacterial viability degrades due to temperature and other environmental factors (Bashan et al., Plant Soil 378: 1-33, 2014). Encapsulation of bacteria into core-shell biopolymers is one of the promising techniques to overcome the problem. This study deals with the encapsulation of Bacillus salmalaya 139SI using simple double coating biopolymer technique which consist of brown rice protein/alginate and 0·5% low molecular weight chitosan of pH 4 and 6. The influence of biopolymer to bacteria mass ratio and the chitosan pH on the encapsulation process, physic-chemical, morphology and bioactivity properties of encapsulated B. salmalaya 139SI have been studied systematically. Based on the analysis of physico-chemical, morphology and bioactivity properties, B. salmalaya 139S1 encapsulated using double coating encapsulation technology has promising viability pre- and postfreeze-drying with excellent encapsulation yields of 99·7 and 89·3% respectively. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The need of a simple yet effective way of encapsulating plant growth promoting rhizobacteria is crucial to further improve their benefits to global sustainable agriculture practice. Effective encapsulation allows for protection, controlled release and function of the micro-organism, as well as providing a longer shelf life for the product. This research report offers an innovative yet simple way of encapsulating using double coating technology with environmentally friendly biopolymers that could degrade and provide nutrients when in soil. Importantly, the bioactivity of the bacteria is maintained upon encapsulation.
Identification of differentially expressed genes in oil palms (Elaeis guineensis) related to infections by Ganoderma boninense

Mohamad Arif, A.M., Zetty Norhana, B.Y., Abdullah, F., Tan, Su.G., Ismail, S.

Buletin Persatuan Genetik Malaysia, 2005;11(2):0-0.
MyJurnal

Basal stem rot (BSR) caused by species Ganoderma, is one of the most serious disease of oil palm in Malaysia. As far as the disease problem to oil palm in Malaysia is concerned, BSR is the only disease requiring urgent solution. The BSR is not new to Malaysia, it has been known to attack oil palm since the early years when the crop was introduced into this country. There is an indication that there are differences in susceptibility to basal stem rot between germplasm materials from different genetic origin [2]. This provides hope in generating oil palm varieties with reduced level of susceptibility using existing genetic materials. There is also interest in developing diagnostic tools such as using PCR primers for detection of the pathogen in oil palms [1]. Altered expression of several classes of genes was observed in plants in response to fungal infection. These include genes associated with cell maintenance and development, genes involved in biosynthesis of lignin and phenolics and genes implicated in oxidative burst, programmed cell death or hypersensitive response [5].
Fulltext Inhibition of UGT2B7 Enzyme Activity in Human and Rat Liver Microsomes by Herbal Constituents

Abdullah NH, Ismail S

Molecules, 2018 Oct 19;23(10).
PMID: 30347696 DOI: 10.3390/molecules23102696

The co-use of conventional drug and herbal medicines may lead to herb-drug interaction via modulation of drug-metabolizing enzymes (DMEs) by herbal constituents. UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs) catalyzing glucuronidation are the major metabolic enzymes of Phase II DMEs. The in vitro inhibitory effect of several herbal constituents on one of the most important UGT isoforms, UGT2B7, in human liver microsomes (HLM) and rat liver microsomes (RLM) was investigated. Zidovudine (ZDV) was used as the probe substrate to determine UGT2B7 activity. The intrinsic clearance (Vmax/Km) of ZDV in HLM is 1.65 µL/mg/min which is ten times greater than in RLM, which is 0.16 µL/mg/min. Andrographolide, kaempferol-3-rutinoside, mitragynine and zerumbone inhibited ZDV glucuronidation in HLM with IC50 values of 6.18 ± 1.27, 18.56 ± 8.62, 8.11 ± 4.48 and 4.57 ± 0.23 µM, respectively, hence, herb-drug interactions are possible if andrographolide, kaempferol-3-rutinoside, mitragynine and zerumbone are taken together with drugs that are highly metabolized by UGT2B7. Meanwhile, only mitragynine and zerumbone inhibited ZDV glucuronidation in RLM with IC50 values of 51.20 ± 5.95 μM and 8.14 ± 2.12 µM, respectively, indicating a difference between the human and rat microsomal model so caution must be exercised when extrapolating inhibitory metabolic data from rats to humans.
A clinicopathologic study of 173 odontogenic tumours in Northern Peninsular Malaysia (2007-2014)

Ismail S, Saw CL

Malays J Pathol, 2018 Aug;40(2):129-135.
PMID: 30173229 MyJurnal

INTRODUCTION: The objectives of this study were to analyse, compare and contrast the demographic, clinical and pathological data of odontogenic tumours seen at a regional oral pathology centre in the Northern part of Peninsular Malaysia with other international data as an aid to clinicians in diagnosing odontogenic tumours.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive, retrospective study of odontogenic tumours diagnosed from January 2007 to December 2014 at this centre. The odontogenic tumours were classified using the 2005 World Health Organization classification system.
RESULTS: Among 2,733 biopsy specimens, 173 cases were diagnosed as odontogenic tumours (6.3%), of which 171 (98.8%) are benign and 2 (1.2%) are malignant. The most frequently encountered tumour was ameloblastoma (n=96, 55.5%), followed by keratocystic odontogenic tumour (KCOT) (n=38, 22.0%) and odontomas (n=16, 9.2%). Malignant tumours accounted for 1.2% of the tumours. Most ameloblastomas and KCOTs affected the mandible preferentially. The mean age was 33.5 (± 17.8) years and 64.7% of patients were in the age group of 10 to 39. Odontogenic tumours were slightly more common in males, with a male to female ratio of 1.4:1.
CONCLUSION: The findings of this study are similar to the other studies in Asia in which the most common tumour encountered is the ameloblastoma, followed by KCOT. The most common signs and symptoms are pain and swelling, while paraesthesia and root resorption are less frequently reported. Such clinical and radiographic features should alert the clinician of a possible odontogenic tumour and though rare, malignant tumours should also be included in the differential diagnoses.
Fulltext Detection of nuclear appendage in peripheral blood neutrophil leukocytes for sex determination

Htwe, T.T., Anis, S., Nurul, A., Syuhada, A.M., Zafira, N., Ismail, S.

Asian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;2(1):23-29.
MyJurnal

Background: Sex determination can be done by the detection of drumstick-shaped nuclear appendage that is present in neutrophil leukocytes from peripheral blood smear of female subjects. Objectives: This study was conducted to identify a drumstick-shaped nuclear appendage on neutrophil leucocytes from peripheral blood smear and to analyse the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the test in gender determination. Materials and Methods: A total of 110 randomly selected blood smears (from 40 male and 70 female subjects) with age range from 19-22 years, were stained with Jenner-Giemsa stain. At least 100 well-stained neutrophils per slide were double-blindly studied by the observers.
Results: Sixty-six out of 70 female subjects and 36 out of 40 male subjects were correctly identified. There was 4 false positive result on the male subjects and 4 false negative results on the female subjects in the detection of nuclear appendage. A 94.28% sensitivity, 90% specificity, 94.28% positive predictive value and 90% negative predictive value for the study was calculated. Conclusions: The identification and detection of nuclear appendage from neutrophil leukocyte is an easily applicable method that is useful as a screening method in sex determination. Overall, the method also has a high sensitivity, specificity and predictive values.
Fulltext Poor bowel preparation in patients undergoing colonoscopy

Qureshi A, Ismail S, Azmi A, Murugan P, Husin M

Med J Malaysia, 2000 Jun;55(2):246-8.
PMID: 19839154

A prospective analysis of 500 consecutive patients undergoing colonoscopy at the endoscopy unit of Hospital UKM under the care of the surgical unit was analysed. All colonoscopies were supervised by one of two consultant surgeons. The bowel preparation was graded from grade 1 to 4 according to established criteria. All patients had 3 litres of colonic lavage solution as bowel preparation. One hundred and two patients (20.4%) were considered to have poor bowel preparation, while 398 patients (79.6%) had good bowel preparation. Statistically significant factors that resulted in poor bowel preparation included age <20 years and >60 years (p<0.0001), and inpatients (p<0.0193). There was no significant difference in respect to sex, ethnic groups and the indication for colonoscopy. We conclude that young adults and the elderly as well as inpatients are more likely to have a poor bowel preparation using the standard regime.
Activated electric arc furnace slag as an effective and reusable Fenton-like catalyst for the photodegradation of methylene blue and acid blue 29

Nasuha N, Ismail S, Hameed BH

J Environ Manage, 2017 Jul 01;196:323-329.
PMID: 28314221 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.02.070

In this work, an activated electric arc furnace slag (A-EAFS) was investigated as an effective Fenton catalyst for the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) and acid blue 29 (AB29). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and UV-visible absorption analyses indicated that A-EAFS offers additional Fe3O4 because of the changes in the iron oxide phase and the favorable response to visible light. It has been found that the highest degradation efficiency can reach up to 94% for MB under optimal conditions of 1 g L-1 of A-EAFS, 20 mM H2O2, and pH 3. The optimal conditions for AB29 were 0.1 g L-1 A-EAFS, 4 mM H2O2, and pH 3 to reach 98% degradation efficiency. Visible light enhanced the degradation of both dyes. In addition, A-EAFS, could be easily separated magnetically, exhibited good chemical stability after seven successive photodegradation cycles.
Fulltext Clinical decision making ability of nursing students in a tertiary hospital

Ho, S.E., Koo, Y.L., Ismail, S., Hing, H.L., Widad, O., Chung, H.T., et al.

Medicine & Health, 2013;8(2):73-80.
MyJurnal

Decision making in nursing is one of the most important skills nurses must apply and utilize in their nursing practice. The aim of this study was to determine the perception of clinical decision making ability among nursing students. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary hospital. A total of 54 nursing students were recruited using a modified version of Clinical Decision Making in Nursing Scale (CDMNS) adapted from Jenkins (1985). The findings showed good CDMNS score with mean and standard deviation of (124.24±12.713). The four sub-scales of CDMNS were: searching for alternative (33.24±4.821), canvassing (28.74±3.514), evaluation and re-evaluation (31.43±3.922), searching for information (30.83±4.765). Nineteen (35%) of the participants chose nursing as their first choice, whereas 35 participants (65%) did not. Thirthy seven (69%) participants were satisfied with their nursing competency, 17 (31%) were unsatisfied. There were significant differences between searching for alternatives, evaluation and re-evaluation, and nursing as their first choice (p=

Study site: Nursing students, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM)
Fulltext MRSA Infection in Vascular Surgical Patients: The HKL Experience

Wong, HS, YH, William Chang, Neeta, K.B., Lum, SG, Seet, KC, Tan, HL, et al.

Medicine & Health, 2008;3(2):294-299.
MyJurnal

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is important among vas-cular surgical patients. Its effect can be devastating resulting in limb amputation and mortality. We performed a retrospective patients record analysis to determine the pat-tern of MRSA infection among vascular surgical patients in Hospital Kuala Lumpur from January 2005 to December 2007. We also attempted to identify the factors asso-ciated with poor clinical outcome after such infection. There were 999 patients who underwent vascular surgeries in HKL within the analysis period. Of these 24 patients (2.4%) were detected to have MRSA surgical site infection. The infection was commoner among cigarette smokers, patients with diabetes melitus and those who had previous vascular surgery. Most infections occurred in the emergency surgery category and manifested as wound breakdown. Fifty-four percent of the infected pa-tients ended with graft removal, amputations or death. MRSA infection complicating vascular surgery resulted in poor clinical outcome. This serious threat requires intensi-fied preventive measures.
Mechanism of Action of Isolated Caffeic Acid and Epicatechin 3-gallate from Euphorbia hirta against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Perumal S, Mahmud R, Ismail S

Pharmacogn Mag, 2017 Jul;13(Suppl 2):S311-S315.
PMID: 28808398 DOI: 10.4103/pm.pm_309_15

BACKGROUND: The escalating dominance of resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains as infectious pathogen had urged the researchers to look for alternative and complementary drugs.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to address the biological targets and probable mechanisms of action underlying the potent antibacterial effect of the isolated compounds from Euphorbia hirta (L.) against P. aeruginosa.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The action mechanisms of caffeic acid (CA) and epicatechin 3-gallate (ECG) on P. aeruginosa cells were investigated by several bacterial physiological manifestations involving outer membrane permeabilization, intracellular potassium ion efflux, and nucleotide leakage.
RESULTS: The findings revealed that ECG and CA targeted both cell wall and cytoplasmic membrane of P. aeruginosa. The cellular membrane destruction and ensuing membrane permeability perturbation of P. aeruginosa had led to the ascending access of hydrophobic antibiotics, release of potassium ions, and leakages of nucleotides.
CONCLUSION: The overall study concludes that ECG and CA isolated from E. hirta possess remarkable anti-infective potentials which can be exploited as drug template for the development of new antibacterial agent against resistant P. aeruginosa pathogen.
SUMMARY: Epicatechin 3-gallate (ECG) and caffeic acid (CA) exhibited remarkable bactericidal abilities by increasing the outer membrane and plasma membrane permeability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pathogenECG and CA had facilitated the entry of hydrophobic antibiotics into P. aeruginosa by disintegrating the lipopolysaccharides layer of the outer membraneECG-induced potassium efflux with efficiency close to that obtained with cefepime suggesting mode of action through membrane disruptionBoth ECG and CA had caused consistent leakage of intracellular nucleotide content with the increase in time. Abbreviations used: ECG: Epicatechin 3-gallate; CA: Caffeic acid; E. hirta: Euphoria hirta.
Animated educational video using health belief model on the knowledge of anemia prevention among female adolescents: An intervention study

Aisah S, Ismail S, Margawati A

Malays Fam Physician, 2022 Nov 30;17(3):97-104.
PMID: 36606168 DOI: 10.51866/oa.136

INTRODUCTION: As the younger female generation, female adolescents should understand anaemia prevention. This study examined the effects of animated educational videos on the knowledge of anaemia prevention among female adolescents using the Health Belief Model (HBM).
METHOD: A quasi-experimental method with a randomised pre-test and post-test control group design was applied. Animated educational videos about anaemia prevention were used as the intervention. One hundred sixty-one female adolescents were recruited through multistage random sampling and divided into intervention (n=78) and control (n=83) groups. The intervention group received education via animated educational videos. The HBM questionnaire was used to measure the nine HBM indicators (r=0.8); the item categories were valid and reliable. Descriptive analyses, independent t-tests and repeated-measures ANOVA were used to analyse the data.
RESULTS: The animated educational videos played thrice significantly increased the knowledge of the intervention group (mean score: pre-test, 94; post-test one, 99; post-test two, 102). The scores for anaemia examination barriers (P=0.001), anaemia susceptibility (P=0.001), anaemia severity (P=0.001), anaemia prevention benefits (P=0.001), anaemia examination benefits (P=0.001), self-efficacy for obtaining iron tablets (P=0.001), self-recognition of anaemia signs and symptoms (P=0.001), signs of anaemia prevention (P=0.001) and health motivation (P=0.001) significantly changed. Meanwhile, the knowledge of the control group did not significantly increase (pre-test, 93; post-test one, 94; post-test two, 97). The intervention group had significantly higher mean scores in both the first and second measurements than the control group (P=0.05).
CONCLUSION: Animated educational videos significantly increased the knowledge of anaemia prevention, including the nine HBM indicators.
Prevalence, characterization, and antimicrobial resistance of Yersinia species and Yersinia enterocolitica isolated from raw milk in farm bulk tanks

Jamali H, Paydar M, Radmehr B, Ismail S

J Dairy Sci, 2015 Feb;98(2):798-803.
PMID: 25497824 DOI: 10.3168/jds.2014-8853

The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence and to characterize and determine the antibiotic resistance of Yersinia spp. isolates from raw milk. From September 2008 to August 2010, 446 raw milk samples were obtained from farm bulk milk tanks in Varamin, Iran. Yersinia spp. were detected in 29 (6.5%) samples, out of which 23 (79.3%), 5 (17.2%), and 1 (3.4%) were isolated from cow, sheep, and goat raw milk, respectively. The most common species isolated was Yersinia enterocolitica (65.5%), followed by Yersinia frederiksenii (31%), and Yersinia kristensenii (3.4%). Of the 19 Y. enterocolitica isolates, 14 (73.7%) were grouped into bioserotype 1A/O:9, 4 (21.1%) belonged to bioserotype 1B:O8, 1 (5.3%) belonged to bioserotype 4/O:3, and 1 isolate (biotype 1A) was not typable. All the isolates of biotypes 1B and 4harbored both the ystA and ail genes. However, all the isolates of biotype 1A were only positive for the ystB gene. The tested Yersinia spp. showed the highest percentages of resistance to tetracycline (48.3%), followed by ciprofloxacin and cephalothin (each 17.2%), ampicillin (13.8%), streptomycin (6.9%), and amoxicillin and nalidixic acid (each 3.4%). All of the tested isolates demonstrated significant sensitivity to gentamicin and chloramphenicol. Recovery of potentially pathogenic Y. enterocolitica from raw milk indicates high risks of yersiniosis associated with consumption of raw milk.

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