Background: Human brain endothelial cells (HBECs) are part of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). BBB acts as a barrier to control the passage of molecules or materials from the blood into the brain. Identification of specific proteins changes in their expressions that are related to disease state is important in order to understand the disease mechanism involving brain vasculature. To achieve that, the techniques involve in identifying the proteins of interest must be optimized prior to further investigation. Methodology: In this study, identification of Claudin-5 in HBEC lysates was tested using different sample preparation techniques such as; 1) reducing with Dithiothreitol (DTT) and non-reducing conditions; 2) denaturing by heating at 95°C for 5 minutes or 70°C for 20 minutes and 3) protein loading at 3 and 4 µg. The samples were then subjected to an automated capillary-based immunoassay, Jess. Results and Discussion: The results showed that HBEC samples loaded at 4 µg and heated for 5 minutes at 95°C with DTT produced clearer and intense bands for Claudin-5 identification compared to the other set ups. As reducing condition and denaturing by heated at 95°C for 5 minutes conditions demonstrated good results, the conditions were used to identify ICAM-1 expression at different protein loading (3 and 4 µg). The result demonstrated that HBEC samples heated for 5 minutes at 95°C with DTT and loaded at 4 µg produced a good detection for ICAM-1. Conclusion: These optimized conditions could be served as a standard procedure for further identification of Claudin-5 and ICAM-1 proteins in HBEC using a capillary immunoassay instrument.
Background: Over the years, global salt intake has increased and has resulted in the escalation of cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. The lack of knowledge, as well as poor attitude and practice, are the main reasons that have led to high salt intake. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards salt intake and health among non-academic staff of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FSK), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted among the non-academic staff of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FSK), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). The respondents were recruited using stratified random sampling technique with an informed consent. A validated questionnaire to test the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards salt intake and health by the Ministry of Health Malaysia was converted into a Google form and the link was emailed to 118 participants. A total of 33 responses were obtained for evaluation. The significant values were set as P < 0.05. Results: It was observed that female participants had better attitudes towards salt intake and health compared to males (p = 0.044). Also, individuals with higher education levels had better attitudes towards salt intake and health, compared to those with lower education levels (p=0.009). However, knowledge and practice of salt intake and health bore no significant results when considering gender, education level and age. Discussion and Conclusion: Overall, this study has identified sociodemographic characteristics as contributing factors towards individuals’ attitude on salt intake and health. This may provide a crucial foundation in the development of cost-effective healthcare programs to widen knowledge, create awareness and promote a healthy lifestyle by reducing salt intake and further reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases.
Background: Sudden death (SD) is defined as an unexpected natural death within an hour onset of symptoms or unwitnessed death that occurs within 24 hours, which accounts for most cardiovascular deaths in Malaysia. This study aimed to evaluate the extent of histopathological changes in the heart and to study the demographic trend in SD cases in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Methods: Specimens from all SD cases were received from 2017 to 2018 by the Forensic Unit, Hospital Canselor Tuanku Mukhriz (HCTM) were studied. The specimens were the left ventricular myocardium and left anterior descending artery (LAD), which were fixed in 10% formalin with haematoxylin and eosin staining. The tissues were graded histologically based on changes such as arterial occlusion, myocardial infarction, and/or thrombus formation. Results: Out of 545 medicolegal deaths, only 25 cases (4.6%) had samples available for analysis. Among these 25 patients, 24 (96%) were male patients and only one (4%) was a female patient. The available samples were from patients aged between 30 to 79 years old. In terms of ethinicity, Malays (40%) were the most numerous, followed by patients of Chinese and Indian ethnicities.The majority of the SD cases had a body mass index (BMI) that ranged between underweight (56%) and obese (40%). Besides, there were 10 (40%) cases of coronary artery with atheroma and 15 (60%) cases of myocardial infarction. The most common presentation of atherosclerosis was grade III and IV, and acute MI was the most common presentation at death, followed by healed infarcts and old infarcts. Discussion and Conclusion: Our findings reflect worsening risk factor levels in cardiovascular diseases, compounded by demographic trends. Further studies on biomarkers specific for cardiac diseases are warranted to understand imminent sudden cardiac death.
Over the past few decades, microplastics have become increasingly ubiquitous in the environment and now contaminate the bodies of many living organisms, including humans. Microplastics, as defined here, are plastics within the size range 0.1 μm and 5 mm and are a worrying form of pollution due to public health concerns. This mini-review aims to summarise the route of entry of microplastics into humans and explore the potential detrimental health effects of microplastics. Trophic transfer is an important pathway for microplastic to be transferred across different groups of organisms, with ingestion is regarded as one of the major routes of exposure for humans. Other pathways include inhalation and dermal contact. The health consequences of microplastics manifest because these materials can translocate into the circulatory system and accumulate in the lungs, liver, kidney, and even brain, regardless of the route of entry. Health effects include gastrointestinal disturbances such as inflammation and gut microbiota disruption, respiratory conditions, neurotoxicity and potential cancers. Overall, while it is apparent that microplastics are causing adverse effects on different biological groups and ecosystems, current research is largely focused on marine organisms and aquaculture. Therefore, more studies are needed to investigate specific effects in mammalian cells and tissues, with more long-term epidemiological studies needed on human population considered to be at high-risk due to socioeconomic or other circumstance. Knowledge of the toxicity and long-term health impacts of microplastics is currently limited and requires urgent attention.
ABO blood grouping is an important antigenic blood typing tools in blood transfusion and organ transplants. Mismatching of blood during transfusion would lead to undesired transfusion reactions. Due to rare occurrence of rare blood group such as A2 subtype, regular blood grouping technique would have missed the identification of blood group. Objectives: In this study, the identification of A2 subgroup using routine serological technique was validated via DNA sequencing technique. Materials and Methods: A total of 656 students participated in this study consist of Malay (87.0 %), Chinese (0.4 %), Indian (11.4 %) and others ethnic group (0.9%) respectively. Monoclonal antisera A, B, AB, D, A1 lectin and H lectin were used to identify the antigen on red blood cells. DNA sequence analysis was applied to examine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at position 467 (substitution of C>T) and 1061 (deletion of C) on coding region of ABO gene. Results: Our findings showed of 656 blood samples, 256 (39.0%) were blood group O, 190 (29.0%) were blood group B, 179 (27.3%) were blood group A and 31(4.7%) were blood group AB. The frequency of A1 subgroup is 177 (99.0%) and A2 subgroup is 2 (1.0%). From 179 A blood group, only 2 samples showed negative reaction towards anti-A1 lectin. DNA sequence analysis revealed the SNPs at nucleotide 1061 position in sample 2, however this mutation was absence in sample 1, suggesting presence of another mutation that may result in the A2 phenotype. Conclusion: The current study reported the absence of 1061C deletion in A2 blood group sample among Malaysian population.
Recognition of health benefits associated with consumption of marine derived biomasses is one of the most promising developments in human nutrition and disease-prevention research. This endeavor for bioactives and functional ingredients discovery from marine sources is “experience driven,” as such the search for therapeutically useful synthetic drugs, and functional components is like “looking for a needle in a haystack,” thus a daunting task. Zoonotic infection, adulteration, global warming and religious belief can be the star-gate barrier: - For example, the outsourcing for Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), a pharmacologically bioactive compound have emerged as novel biomarkers and molecular players both within tumor cells and their microenvironment, as they integrate signals from growth factors, chemokines, integrins, and cell-cell matrix adhesion. As such, worldwide initiatives in outsourcing from geochemical signatures marine biomasses are flourishing. Most of these scientific interests are related to marketable compounds optimised via biotechnology applications. Approximately 50% of the US FDA approved drugs during 1981–2002 consist of either marine metabolites or their synthetic analogs. These bioactive compounds acts as antioxidant, peptides, chitoligosaccharides derivatives, sulfated polysaccharides, phlorotannins and carotenoids. Highlights from works to harness and provide scientific support to folk medicine much claimed legacy, pertaining to geochemical signatures vouchered sea cucumbers, macroalgae and crown of thorns starfish will be extrapolated.
Life Sciences, Medicine and Biomedicine was established in 2017 as an open access, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal. The journal welcomes submissions in all areas of life sciences, medicine and biomedicine with a selection of relevant biological sciences on a case by case basis. It is expected that the wide scope of the journal will promote multidisciplinary collaboration and attract research papers from diverse scientific settings. To put things into perspective, the first issue was published at the end of 2017, with four issues per year through 2018 and 2019 respectively. In 2020, the publication frequency was changed to a single issue annually, adopting to the continuous publication model practiced by many others. Manuscripts are processed for peer-review, and published as they are accepted throughout the year. This method has helped the editorial office to streamline the editorial process. Accepted articles are prepared for publication more robustly and in a timely manner. Based on this experience, the current model of continuous publication will be maintained. In addition to research and review articles, the journal also accepts submissions for mini reviews, opinion pieces and case reports.
For the upcoming Volume 6 Issue 1 which will be accepting articles throughout 2022, the journal will be implementing a number of changes to the submission and editorial process. One area currently being improved is the mechanism to allow authors to submit manuscripts with very minimal formatting. Based on the feedback received from our authors, this will significantly reduce the time taken for new submissions to go through initial quality checks and approval, so that the peer-review process can commence as soon as possible. The new author’s guide will be updated and implemented in September 2021. Taking into account the global pandemic, the article processing charges for accepted manuscripts are waived throughout 2021. Further discussions are currently being held to provide financial assistance for future article processing charges for authors that may require them.
Despite the challenging period the world is currently facing, the growth of the journal continues. The journal attributes this achievements to the scholarly contributions of the authors, reviewers and editors. During this similar period, the journal received successful approval for indexing with the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and Scilit. It is also indexed in MyJurnal (Citation and Infometric Division of the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia). Editorial good practices will continue to be enhanced based on industry standards to ensure the journal attracts high quality scientific work. Preparation is also in progress for indexing with other major indexing organizations, which will assist authors and articles to reach a wider global audience.
While the journal was initially established for the Malaysian scientific community, the current focus is for authorship and readership coverage to reach as widely as possible within the South East Asian and Asian regions. With this in mind, the expansion of the editorial board members now include experts from Malaysia, Philippines and Hong Kong. Additional editorial roles are currently being explored to complement the multidisciplinary scope of the journal, with plans for each field of research to spearhead its own section. For the journal to reach a wider global scientific community, the International Advisory Board consisting of experts from Singapore, UK, Japan, Bangladesh, China, Iraq, Philippines and Malaysia was recently established. The advisory board will provide feedback on current strategies and future direction for the international expansion of the journal, establishing good practices and will submit an annual assessment for continuous quality improvement.
It is equally exciting to announce that the journal will publish a special issue this year for the Asian Conference on Biomedical Research and Laboratory Medicine 2021 organized by the Malaysian Association of Clinical Biochemist in collaboration with Malaysian Association of Biomedical Sciences and Association of Scientific Officers of the Ministry of Health, Malaysia from the 24-26 August 2021.
Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency (AADC) is a rare autosomal recessive pediatric neurotransmitter disease. To date it remains poorly understood mainly due to an absence of a disease model. The dopaminergic neuroblastoma cell SH-SY5Y was chosen to develop our AADC deficiency model. These cells are not native dopamine synthesizers. Objective: To develop a dopamine-producing cellular model of AADC deficiency using SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Methods: Dopamine pathway proteins were identified with Western Blotting. Dopaminergic differentiation was attempted using all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) with dopamine detection via HPLC-ECD post alumina extraction. Treatment with L-DOPA provided SH-SY5Y with excess precursor. RT-PCR was used to determine the expression of markers of mature neurons. Results: Western Blot screening identified AADC, dopamine β-hydroxylase and tyrosine hyrdoxylase proteins, indicative of a dopaminergic pathway. ATRA was unsuccessful in producing dopamine from the cells. L-DOPA treatment however, generated dopamine first visible as a HPLC-ECD peak 30 minutes post-incubation. Prior to this, SH-SY5Y dopamine synthesis from L-DOPA has never been documented. This de novo synthesis is then inhibited using benserazide to form our AADC deficiency cell model. RT-PCR showed that SH-SY5Y cells express markers of mature neurons in its ‘native’ state and is not affected by L-DOPA and benserazide treatment. This cell model will potentially benefit many areas of AADC deficiency research. Conclusion: SH-SY5Y cells produced HPLC-ECD measureable amounts of dopamine with the addition of L-DOPA. Our model of AADC deficiency is generated by quelling the dopamine production with Benserazide.
Background: Fermentable carbohydrates or FODMAPs (Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Monosaccharides, and Polyols) are short-chained, poorly absorbed carbohydrates which trigger gastrointestinal symptoms causing pain, bloating, distension, diarrhea, and constipation in Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) patients. This debilitating condition has an impact on the quality of life of patients. In addition, due to lack of dietary intervention, it can result in food restriction to alleviate symptoms as patients avoid a wide variety of food and beverages. Objective: To compare FODMAP and nutrient intake, food avoidance behavior and quality of life in 2 long standing patients with IBS. Methods: Patients were selected on the basis of being diagnosed with IBS by a gastroenterologist. A 24-hour dietary recall with multiple pass method was used to assess intake. FODMAP intake was determined using published data. Symptom severity and quality of life was measured using a validated questionnaire. Meanwhile, food avoidance was assessed using a dietary trigger piloted questionnaire. Results: Two female Chinese patients with severe gastrointestinal symptoms were selected for this case series. Patient 1 was a 75-year-old female presenting with constipation-predominant IBS and patient 2 was a 61-year-old presenting with diarrhea-predominant IBS. Patient 1 had a higher energy intake: 2198 kcal, and FODMAP intake 10.6g/d, compared to patient 2 with an energy and FODMAP intake of 1800 kcal and 3.6g/d respectively. Both patients avoided a wide of range of food groups including cereals and grains, animal products, dairy and spicy foods. They also reported reduced scores for quality of life. Conclusion: Both patients had low intake of calcium as a result of food avoidance. This highlights the importance of appropriate and timely dietary intervention to this group of patients, to promote improved symptom management without compromising nutrient intake.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has radically change the higher education landscape that caused closures of all education institutions in adherence to social distancing. It has forced the education sector to adopt online teaching and learning, and reminded educators that a flexible and robust education system is needed as the future is unpredictable. This paper focuses on educator’s viewpoint in adapting and adopting online teaching and learning, highlights the challenges experienced and the ways to overcome it that could serve as a reference for other educators to assimilate in similar circumstances. This paper also explores and discusses the benefit brought by these changes to higher education and the way forward in progressing, revolutionising and sustaining quality online teaching and learning where globalised, borderless and seamless teaching and learning with technology may become “the new normal” in higher education.
Background: The Malaysian Dietary Guidelines recommended that at least two servings of fruits and three servings of vegetables be consumed daily. However, is there a relationship between daily fruit and vegetable intake and body mass index (BMI)? The aim of this study was to identify the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and BMI among postgraduate students in the health sciences. Methodogy: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. 44 postgraduate students from the 2019/2020 batch of health sciences took partn in this study. Respondents were asked to complete three parts of the questionnaire: socio-demographic data, anthropometric measurements, and self-administered questions. Results: The majority of respondents are female (n=44, 77.3%), and they are mainly Malay (n=22, 50.0%). The average BMI of all respondents is 23.76±4.83. This study found that majority of respondents did not meet the recommended daily fruit (n=31, 70.5%) and vegetable intake (n=23, 52.3%). Discussion: The study discovered a significant relationship (p0.05) between gender, age, BMI, waist circumference, and daily fruit intake. Moreover, neither daily fruit nor vegetable intake predicted changes in BMI. Conclusion: This study found that the consumption of fruits and vegetables among postgraduate students was unsatisfactory and lower than recommended guidelines.
Introduction: Overweight currently has become a major global burden. Salmon is one of the major sources for fish oil to treat inflammatory related cardiovascular diseases. Yellow-stripe scad (YSS) on the other hand, is a local Malaysian fish which can be a good substitute for salmon; however, the therapeutic effects of YSS is still unclear. Objective: Therefore, this study compared the nutritional values EPA+DHA of YSS and salmon on body mass index (BMI), leptin and activation markers for both platelet and endothelial cell. Methods: Healthy overweight Malaysian adults (n=45), aged 21-55 years old, were recruited for 6-months cross-over trial study. They were randomised equally to receive eight weeks of either steamed whole YSS fish or salmon fillet, for three days per week, obtaining approximately 7000 mg EPA+DHA weekly. The diets were switched after an eight-week washout period. Baseline dietary fish intakes were similar in the two groups. Results: Significant differences observed in serum leptin for YSS-baseline group I and salmon-baseline group II (p0.05) on time and treatment in all variable after 16 week, but there was a significant effect of treatment on sCD40L from YSS and vWF from salmon (p
Introduction: Pheromones are chemicals produced by an animal that affects the behavior of another animal or the same species. Information conveyed includes location, presence of food or threat, sexual attraction, courtship, and dam–pup interactions. Pheromones are used widely in laboratory mice facilities to synchronize estrus and simultaneous breeding for logistic purposes. Female mice housed together in the absence of the male exhibit the Lee-Boot effect of lengthened diestrus or ovarian inactive period of up to several weeks. Whitten effect is described when a large number of female mice housed together in the absence of the male and having diestrus, will enter estrous 48 to 72 hours later upon exposure to male odors or male mouse urine soaked-bedding. Objective: The aim of this study is to determine the time taken for the Whitten effect to occur based on changes in vaginal cell characteristics, vulva appearance and behavior in grouped female mice. Methodology: Ten female mice were acclimatized to the animal facility for 3 estrus cycles or 12 days. Phases of the estrus cycle were evaluated by visual observation to assess changes to the vulva and vaginal cytology. Male urine soaked-bedding were exposed to females for 3 days and the time taken for the Whitten effect to occur was determined based on changes in vaginal cell characteristics, vulva appearance and observation of behavior. Result: The Cochran's Q test was used to observe the changes from diestrus to proestrus and later estrus. The results showed a significant difference (p
Actinobacteria from underexplored and unusual environments have gained significant attention for their capability in producing novel bioactive molecules of diverse chemical entities. Streptomyces is the most prolific Actinobacteria in producing useful molecules. Rapid decline effectiveness of existing antibiotics in the treatment of infections are caused by the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens. Intensive efforts are urgently required in isolating non-Streptomyces or rare Actinobacteria and understanding of their distribution in the harsh environment for new drug discovery. In this study, pretreatment of soil samples with 1.5% phenol was used for the selective isolation of Actinobacteria from Dee Island and Greenwich Island. A high number of non-Streptomyces (69.4%) or rare Actinobacteria was significantly recovered despite the Streptomyces (30.6%), including the genera Micromonospora, Micrococcus, Kocuria, Dermacoccus, Brachybacterium, Brevibacterium, Rhodococcus, Microbacterium and Rothia. Reduced diversity and shift of distribution were observed at the elevated level of soil pH. The members of genera Streptomyces, Micromonospora and Micrococcus were found to distribute and tolerate to a relatively high pH level of soil (pH 9.4-9.5), and could potentially be alkaliphilic Actinobacteria. The phylogenetic analysis had revealed some potentially new taxa members of the genera Micromonospora, Micrococcus and Rhodococcus. Principal Component Analysis of soil samples was used to uncover the factors that underlie the diversity of culturable Actinobacteria. Water availability in soil was examined as the principal factor that shaped the diversity of the Actinobacteria, by providing a dynamic source for microbial interactions and elevated diversity of Actinobacteria.
Introduction: Active compounds derived from plants are able to inhibit nerve conduction. Cardamonin, a naturally occurring chalcone, manifests anti-nociceptive, anti-inflammatory and anti-neuropathy properties. Consequently, cardamonin may potentially inhibit nerve action potential, whereby, it affects the nerve conduction. Compound action potential is the sum of the activity which is measured from a nerve trunk. Objective: The experiment was carried out to investigate the inhibitory effect of cardamonin on compound action potentials and its possible mechanism of action on frog sciatic nerve. Methodology: LabTutor software was used to record compound action potentials in frog sciatic nerve. Sciatic nerve was isolated from the frog and soaked in Ringer’s solution. Stimulating electrodes were used to stimulate the nerve and recording electrodes were used to record compound action potentials. Compound action potential of the nerve were recorded before and after treatments [vehicle, cardamonin (0.5, 1 & 2 mg/ml) & morphine (3mg/ml)]. Participation of opioid system was investigated by pre-treating the nerve with naloxone and followed by cardamonin. All the data were recorded and analysed via LabTutor software. The data were analysed by using Two-way ANOVA followed by Bonferonni’s post hoc test with significant value at P < 0.05. Results: The outcomes showed that all the doses of cardamonin significantly reduced the peak amplitude of compound action potential in frog sciatic nerves. Besides, co-treatment of naloxone and cardamonin significantly (P < 0.001) reversed the effect of cardamonin on peak amplitude of compound action potential, suggesting the involvement of opioid receptors to inhibit nerve conduction. Conclusion: Cardamonin reduces the nerve signal conduction via activation of opioid receptors to modulate pain and contribute to the analgesic effects.
Background: Bacteria such as the Salmonella species had been extensively studied not only for its mechanism of pathogenicity, but for its beneficial utilisation in bacterial-mediated tumour therapy. Genetically modified bacterial strain, BDLA Salmonella Agona (BDLA S. Agona) had shown great promise as tumour targeting and suppressing agent. By, constructing green fluorescent protein (GFP) expressing of this strain, it would be beneficial as it could be used to further study the interaction of the BDLA S. Agona strain with various cancerous cells and the host at the systemic level. However, GFP plasmid-induced strains may exhibit growth defects, and this was investigated in this study. Methods: The GFP-transformed Salmonella strains were constructed, and the replication rate of the strains were investigated using the BacterioScan™ 216R instrument. The replication rate between the strains was compared from the 24-hour data collected and analysed as growth curves. The 24-hour growth curves were constructed using the Log CFU/mL and OD650 data collected by the instrument. Results: It was observed from the growth curves that the transformation of the GFP plasmid into different Salmonella strains did not affect the replication rate of the bacteria. Discussion and Conclusion: This finding answers the objective of the study, and it was concluded that incorporation of the GFP plasmid does not cause any negative effect on bacterial growth. GFP-transformed Salmonella, specifically the BDLA S. Agona strain, could be utilised as a powerful tool for future studies on the mechanism of tumour suppression and real-time in vivo biodistribution of the strain.
Nur Khalisah Kaswan, Nurul Syazwani Mohd Suhaimi, Noor Aishah Mohammed Izham, Tengku Azam Shah Tengku Mohamad, Mohd Roslan Sulaiman, Enoch Kumar Perimal
Background: Cardamonin is a naturally occurring chalcone from the Alpinia species. It is known to possess antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Our previous studies have shown that cardamonin has antihyperalgesic and antiallodynic effects on CCI-induced neuropathic pain in mice. Although the evidence of the association between cardamonin and neuropathic pain has been reported in animal studies, specific targets using in vitro models are still lacking. Objectives/Methods: This study aims to investigate the effect of cardamonin on nitric oxide production using the LPS-induced neuropathic pain-like SH-SY5Y in vitro model through NMDA receptor expression. Results: Cardamonin administration in differentiated SH-SY5Y cells significantly reduced nitric oxide production assessed using Griess reagent. Western blot analysis demonstrated a significant reduction in GluN2B receptor expression in the cardamonin treated SHSY5Y cells compared to the vehicle treated group. Conclusions: These data suggest that cardamonin reduces nitric oxide production modulated through NMDA GluN2B receptor subunit. Our results provides preliminary data to support the in vivo studies using cardamonin and may contribute to further understanding the mechanisms of action of cardamonin.
Background: Time management is one of the factors that may influence students’ academic performance in university. A cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate the role of motivation camp programme towards time management among first-year undergraduate students of the Biomedical Science Programme, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) by using a questionnaire. Methods: A total of 32 students was categorized into group 1 and group 2 (n=16 per group), with group 1 is students who did not attend the motivational camp and group2 participated in the camp. Their academic performance in terms of Grade Point Average (GPA) was evaluated in semester 1 and 2 of the 2017/2018 session. A correlation test between total study hours and GPA in both semesters showed a weak correlation for group1 and group2. Independent T-test was also carried out to compare time management and GPA. Results: There is no significant difference between group1 and group2 in time planning; however, there is a significant difference (p
Introduction: Plasmodium falciparum (P. falciparum) is a deadly protozoan that is accountable for malaria and chloroquine was the first-line antimalarial drug before its withdrawal and replaced by artemisinin. To date, several studies showed that P. falciparum had regained its sensitivity towards chloroquine after its withdrawal for decades. By understanding the basic principle and mechanism of chloroquine resistance in P. falciparum, at the molecular level, it would be valuable prior to the re-introduction of chloroquine as a first-line anti-malarial drug for malaria treatment. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the chloroquine resistance level of long preserved lab-adapted P. falciparum strain. Methodology: By using 14 years (2006-2020) cryopreserved chloroquine-sensitive (3D7) and chloroquine-resistant (W2) lab-adapted P. falciparum strains, the strains were subjected to continuous culture for three months before in vitro drug susceptibility assay and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) analysis on Pfcrt and Pfmdr-1 gene for both strains. Results: This study shows the IC50 chloroquine of lab-adapted P. falciparum 3D7 and W2 strains were at 32.98 nM and 691.21 nM, respectively and both strains showed 3-fold higher IC50 when compared to their susceptibility before cryopreserved (3D7; 13.84nM and W2; 208.27 nM). The SNPs result showed a consistent amino acid substitution at position 76 (K to T) on PfCRT and 86 (N to Y) in Pfmdr-1 gene which concordance with other studies before preservation. Conclusion: Thus, this study shows that long cryopreserved of lab-adapted P. falciparum increases the chloroquine resistance level but not exhibited any change in susceptibility.