Bacillus pumilis was isolated and identified from limestone and the ability towards carbon dioxide (CO) sequestration was demonstrated. B . pumilus (S3 SC_1), isolated from Gua Tempurung, Gopeng, Perak was able to form calcite in the presence of calcium ions. B. pumilus was successfully characterized by using conventional biochemical characterization and 16s rDNA sequencing. Three types of experimental systems with B. pumilus, without B. pumilus and without continuous supply of CO2 with the presence of B. pumilus which could produce extracellular carbonic were studied to determine the effects of bacterially produced carbonic anhydrase (CA) by B. pumilus in removing CO2 as calcite. Through our current study, CO2 sequestration ability of B . pumilus was proven.
This is a study of 13 Malaysian patients with clinically definite Multiple sclerosis (MS) subjected to a hot bath test with VEPs, BAEPs, median nerve SSEPs before and after heating. Five patients (38%) developed neurological changes with the rise in body temperature. There was an average of 0.46 new sign per patient. Four patients had motor disturbances attributed mainly to aggravation of spinal cord dysfunction. Two patients had additional visual deterioration, one patient has associated VEP change. This study shows that though Uhthoff's phenomenon has not been noted in the reports of Asian MS patients, when subjected to rigorous testing, Asian MS patients also show sensitivity to body temperature change. However, the percentage of positivity of the hot bath test is much lower than that reported for Caucasians. Thus this study shows further differences between Asian and Caucasian MS patients.
Thirty consecutive patients from peninsular Malaysia with clinically definite multiple sclerosis were studied; 80% were ethnic Chinese, with a female-male ratio of 5:1. The average age at onset was 29.7 years, with one relapse average every 1.9 years. Optic-spinal recurrence was the most common clinical pattern of the disease, accounting for 63.3% (19/30) of the cases. All the patients had spinal cord involvement sometime during the course of the illness. The mortality was high at 36.7% (11/30), with an average duration of symptoms of 7.6 years. There was characteristic severe residual visual and motor disability. At the time of the last examination, 12 patients had bilateral optic atrophy with blindness or severe visual acuity impairment. Sixteen patients were bedridden or confined to a wheelchair. The severe motor disability reflected the severe spinal cord involvement. It was the main factor that accounted for the high mortality. The cerebral, cerebellar, and brain-stem involvements were, however, generally transient. None of the patients' had a family history of similar illness despite the average sibling size of six. There was no example of Devic's disease. The clinical pattern was closest to those patients who presented from Taiwan.
Two cases of Syndromes of Ophthalmoplegia , Ataxia and Areflexia were reported. A brief discussion on its clinical feature and differential diagnosis was made.
An Indian family with four members having hereditary ataxia was presented. The inheritance was most likely autosomal dominant. The onset was at adult life. The main disability was cerebellar ataxia with pyramidal tract sign found at physical examination. Electroencephalography and nerve conduction study were abnormal in two cases where they were done. The clinical feature correspond to an intermediate form of hereditary ataxia.
Changing social demands made it necessary for the Medical Faculty of the University of Malaya to accommodate students with a wider range of academic experience than before. However, teachers sought to achieve comparable academic standards to those in the West by striving to maintain a close resemblance to the Western model of medical education in other respects. As a result teachers failed to adapt their teaching methods, assessment techniques and curriculum design to meet the educational needs of the students, thus compromising academic standards. Many students lack basic academic skills and do not know how to learn effectively. In order to help students overcome their learning difficulties innovative teaching was required during the first year at university, designed to foster the joint development of knowledge and basic skills. In the case of less well-prepared students who lack self-confidence, a caring and supportive learning environment is crucial to the achievement of meaningful learning. Lecturers needed to become facilitators of learning rather than transmitters of knowledge. However, teachers' objective to retain international recognition of the degree, which presumably reflected the importance of teaching, was not operationalized in terms of its incentive structure such that teachers were constrained not to try to fill the new roles demanded of them. It was assumed that academic distinction accrued through scientific research was essential for the achievement of academic excellence. However, under the prevailing circumstances the two aims were mutually exclusive and incompatible and teaching quality deteriorated.
Nurses are an integral component of the health care delivery system. In discharging their duties, nurses encounter a variety of occupational health problems which may be categorized into biological hazards, chemical hazards, physical hazards, and psychosocial hazards. A review of some examples of each of these four types of hazards is presented in this article. Particular attention has been devoted to hepatitis B, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, tuberculosis, cytotoxic drugs, anesthetic agents, needlestick injury, back pain, and stress.
Fifty-four per cent of 52 patients presenting to the University of Malaya Medical Centre with a myelopathy for which appropriate investigations uncovered no definite etiology, subsequently developed clinically definite or probable multiple sclerosis. In the subgroup of patients with a presentation indicative of acute/subacute transverse myelopathy, 14 or 52% also went on to develop clinically definite or probable multiple sclerosis, a far higher proportion than previously recorded in the literature. This finding is probably a further manifestation of racial difference in the behaviour of multiple sclerosis. For the group as a whole, the only factor which appeared to be associated with an increased risk of developing multiple sclerosis was female sex; 67% of 33 female patients went on to develop multiple sclerosis after a mean follow-up period of 5.5 years. Other factors such as age of onset, racial composition, level of spinal cord involvement, presence of fever and CSF finding were found not to be important.
Thirty four patients with cryptococcal meningitis seen in the University of Malaya medical centre since 1980 were reviewed. Eleven patients had bilateral papilloedema and visual impairment but eventually survived. Seven patients had intensive aggressive measures, including shunting to reduce intracranial hypertension irrespective of ventricular size shown in CT scan, and showed substantial improvement in vision. It is concluded that papilloedema and visual failure in cryptococcal meningitis reflects raised intracranial pressure and that this should be treated vigorously.
Following revision of the curriculum the effectiveness of a traditional cookbook experiment, used in conjunction with an 'interpretation seminar', was evaluated. Curriculum revision had been predominantly concerned with an avoidance of overloading and provision of self-study periods. The preceding lectures were integrated with the experiment. The learning resulting from the practical experience was assessed using pre- and post-tests. The practical exercise was ineffective and did not facilitate conceptual understanding. Due to the central role of passive teaching methods the students adopted a surface approach to all learning, were teacher dependent and did not make effective use of their private study. Furthermore, owing to a broad-based entry into medical school many students lacked the basic skills essential to the achievement of meaningful learning. Clearly, for effective learning the curriculum and pedagogy must be geared to the background and educational needs of the students.
Henna plant (Lawsonia inermis) is an Indian medicinal plant used in traditional medicine for the treatment of various diseases, besides its popularity as a natural dye to colour hand and hair. Research in the recent past has accumulated enormous evidence revealing henna plant to be an excellent source of antioxidants such as total phenolics. In this study, the extraction of total phenolics from henna stems was evaluated using the Folin-Ciocalteu assay. A set of single factor experiments was carried out for identifying the optimum condition of each independent variable affecting total phenolic content (TPC) extraction efficiency of henna stems, namely the solvent type, solvent concentration (v/v, %), extraction time (min) and extraction temperature (oC). Generally, high extraction yield was obtained using aqueous acetone (about 40%) as solvent and the extraction yield could further be increased using a prolonged time of 270 min and a higher incubation temperature of 55°C. Under these optimized conditions, the experimental maximum yield of TPC of 5554.15 ± 73.04 mg GAE/100 g DW was obtained.
Formative and summative student assessment has always been of concern to medical teachers, and this is especially important at the level of graduating doctors. The effectiveness and comprehensiveness of the clinical training provided is tested with the use of clinical cases, either with real patients who have genuine medical conditions, or with the use of standardised patients who are trained to simulate accurately actual patients. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is one method of assessing the adequacy of clinical skills of medical students, and their level of competence. It can be used to test a variety of skills such as history taking (communication and interpersonal skills) and performing aspects of physical examination, undertaking emergency procedures, and interpreting investigational data. It can also be used to ensure an adequate depth and breadth of coverage of clinical skills expected of a graduating doctor.
One hundred and twenty-eight medical students who had experienced a traditional-style preclinical curriculum completed three self-report questionnaires. Using factor analysis of students' responses this study explores interactions between study orientation, preferences for different kinds of learning environment, and evaluations of the physiology course. Such interactions can provide insight into the reasons why students fail to adopt effective learning strategies. Although many students had the intention to understand, they did not adopt a deep approach. Achievement motivation was strong, test anxiety high, and the course was perceived to be competitive. The meaning orientation merged with the achieving orientation; students were thus performance rather than task oriented. These students perceived the course to have been challenging, as did students within the reproducing orientation and who had 'surface' preferences. Students within the non-academic orientation had difficulty coping with the course. The findings suggest that conventional teaching and assessment methods are preventing students from developing appropriate criteria and internal standards for evaluating performance. An illusion of comprehension may prevent students from seeing the need to adopt more effective learning strategies and cause 'good' students with the ability to adopt a deep approach to abort the pursuit of deep understanding. Students' preferences and evaluations of teaching and assessment indicate that students within the different learning orientations have different educational needs. The implications for instruction and evaluation are discussed.
Introduction: Type 2 diabetes is increasing at an alarming rate worldwide. One of the leading factors to this condition is obesity. Low glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) diets have been proposed as lifestyle changes to address obesity, however, there is a lack of consensus on the optimal approach for weight loss, glycemic control and improving insulin sensitivity. In addition, the outcome of these diets are equivocal, with some studies suggesting beneficial outcomes and others suggesting otherwise. Furthermore, discrepant study designs have led to divergent conclusions. In order to provide a comprehensive overview of the low GI and low GL diets, a systematic review of literature on relevant observational studies and randomised control trials was performed on these databases:- The Cochrane Library, Medline, PubMed, Embase, Cinahl and Web of Science. Methods: The review was conducted based on the methodological standards for the conduct and reporting of Cochrane intervention reviews, Version 1.07, November 2018. Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcomes (PICO) tool was used as the organising framework to define key elements of the review question. Results: Pertinent outcome variables include body weight, insulin resistance, HbA1c, fasting serum glucose, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, triglyceride, HDL and LDL cholesterol. Our current understanding of these diets has been complicated by the reports that were based on different study designs and study populations. This review defines the issues, gaps in the research, study design, and evidence that is needed to inform practice, policy making and future research. There is also a dearth of information on the effect of low GI and GL diets on the Asian populations, specifically on improving insulin resistance. High carbohydrate diets are a mainstay of Asian societies. Conclusion: As cases of obesity and type 2 diabetes surge, there is an urgent need for research on low GI and GL dietary modifications among the Asian populations.
Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the top diseases that lead public health concern in Malaysia. It was believed to rise in number up to 4.5 million on cases by year 2020 based on the current figure. Momordica charantia Linn (MC), a climber belonging to family Cucurbitaceae, is well known in treating diabetic-related conditions. In earlier studies related to the hypoglycemic properties of MC mainly utilized the crude extract, which contain a mixture of bioactives (charantins, insulin-like peptides and alkaloids). Till now, there is no conclusive result on the major bioactives that play role in the hypoglycemic effect of MC and research regarding the charantin purification was not well established. Hence, the objectives of this study were to purify the charantin from MC and to characterize the purified charantin before further subjected to in vivo hypoglycemic study. Methods: The crude was first extracted from MC using ethanol as solvent via Soxhlet extraction following by a series of purification steps via washing, centrifugation, and C-18 cartridges. Results: The HPLC analysis showed that the charantin of purified extract after passing out from the cartridge exuded at 12.50 min with a concentration of 500 ppm, which is relatively 20 times higher than the crude extract (25 ppm). The structural properties of purified charantin were studied using FTIR and it showed strong peaks of carboxylic acids (2884 nm), alcohols (1023 nm) and diethyl ether (1114 nm) as compared
with the standard. The compound was reconfirmed in LC-MS analysis. The result displayed mass spectrum in positive mode indicates the presence of similar compound in the purified extract and standard charantin, as presented by ion m/z = 300. Conclusion: The charantin was successfully purified from MC and can act as a potent plant-based hypoglycemic agent for diabetes.
The effect of selected high pressure processing (HPP) parameters on the sensory attributes and
shelf life of jackfruit bulb packed using vacuum skin (VS) and vacuum nylon (VN) packaging
was studied. The samples were stored at chilled temperature (4°C) for shelf life study. HPP
significantly (p < 0.05) increased the shelf life of VS- and VP-packed jackfruit bulbs to 60 d
during chilled storage. In terms of colour stability during storage, both VS- and VP-packed
HP-treated jackfruit bulbs exhibited no significant differences (p > 0.05) in L*, a*, and b*
values. Also, the VS- and VP-packed HP-treated samples exhibited no significant differences
(p > 0.05) in terms of texture. However, the sensory evaluation carried out among 48 panellists
showed that there were significant differences (p < 0.05) between the untreated and HP-treated jackfruit bulbs. The aforementioned results had proven that HPP treatment of 500 MPa for
5 min could successfully extend the shelf life and retain the physicochemical properties of
jackfruit bulbs, regardless of the types of packaging used.
Pepsin-solubilized collagen (PSC) was extracted from the body wall of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) (Acanthaster planci) using pepsin digestion in 0.5 M acetic acid. The electrophoretic pattern of PSC showed that it consisted of two α chains (α1 and α2 chains). In addition, the peptide mapping showed that there were some differences in peptide patterns among PSC, calf skin collagen and salmon skin collagen. This suggested that the primary structure of the PSC was different from calf skin collagen and salmon skin collagen. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) investigation showed the existence of triple helical structure in PSC, suggesting that the triple helical structure was well preserved during the extraction of collagen from COTS. The denaturation temperature of PSC was 33.0°C, which was comparable with mammalian collagen. In addition, the amino acid composition analysis showed that the imino acid content of PSC was similar to mammalian collagen but it was higher than other marine collagen. This suggested that the imino acid content might contributed the denaturation temperature of collagen. The results in this study suggest that PSC from the underutilized COTS has potential to be exploited in various commercial applications.