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Fulltext Profil gangguan visual di kalangan kanak-kanak prasekolah

Duratul Ain, Rokiah Omar, Knight, Victor Feizal

Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia, 2009;7(1):25-36.
MyJurnal

Gangguan visual di kalangan kanak-kanak boleh menjadi serius tanpa intervensi awal. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti prevalens penyebab kepada impairmen visual di kalangan kanak-kanak prasekolah. Sebanyak 21 buah tadika telah dipilih secara rawak untuk menjalani saringan penglihatan. Modul saringan penglihatan meliputi ujian akuiti visual, ujian katup, ujian Hirschberg, pemeriksaan mata luaran dan oftalmoskopi. Kanak-kanak yang gagal saringan penglihatan telah dirujuk untuk pemeriksaan lanjutan. Seramai 479 orang kanak-kanak dengan purata umur 5.30 ± 0.69 tahun telah mengambil bahagian dalam saringan penglihatan. Daripada 43 orang kanak-kanak yang gagal saringan penglihatan, 32 orang (6.7%) disahkan mempunyai gangguan visual. Manakala 8 orang didapati tidak mempunyai gangguan visual dan tiga orang digugurkan daripada kajian kerana tidak bekerjasama untuk pemeriksaan lanjutan. Ralat refraksi (5.8%) adalah penyebab utama kepada gangguan visual di kalangan kanak-kanak prasekolah. Penyebab-penyebab lain ialah ambliopia (1.3%), strabisms (1.0%) dan keabnormalan okular (0.8%). Pengesanan gangguan visual di peringkat awal melalui saringan penglihatan dan intervensi awal optometri adalah penting untuk dilaksanakan di kalangan kanak-kanak prasekolah supaya prevalens gangguan visual dapat dikurangkan.

Matched MeSH terms: Panthera
Fulltext Assessing the status of wild felids in a highly-disturbed commercial forest reserve in Borneo and the implications for camera trap survey design

Wearn OR, Rowcliffe JM, Carbone C, Bernard H, Ewers RM

PLoS One, 2013;8(11):e77598.
PMID: 24223717 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077598

The proliferation of camera-trapping studies has led to a spate of extensions in the known distributions of many wild cat species, not least in Borneo. However, we still do not have a clear picture of the spatial patterns of felid abundance in Southeast Asia, particularly with respect to the large areas of highly-disturbed habitat. An important obstacle to increasing the usefulness of camera trap data is the widespread practice of setting cameras at non-random locations. Non-random deployment interacts with non-random space-use by animals, causing biases in our inferences about relative abundance from detection frequencies alone. This may be a particular problem if surveys do not adequately sample the full range of habitat features present in a study region. Using camera-trapping records and incidental sightings from the Kalabakan Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, we aimed to assess the relative abundance of felid species in highly-disturbed forest, as well as investigate felid space-use and the potential for biases resulting from non-random sampling. Although the area has been intensively logged over three decades, it was found to still retain the full complement of Bornean felids, including the bay cat Pardofelis badia, a poorly known Bornean endemic. Camera-trapping using strictly random locations detected four of the five Bornean felid species and revealed inter- and intra-specific differences in space-use. We compare our results with an extensive dataset of >1,200 felid records from previous camera-trapping studies and show that the relative abundance of the bay cat, in particular, may have previously been underestimated due to the use of non-random survey locations. Further surveys for this species using random locations will be crucial in determining its conservation status. We advocate the more wide-spread use of random survey locations in future camera-trapping surveys in order to increase the robustness and generality of inferences that can be made.

Matched MeSH terms: Panthera*
Clouded leopards, the secretive top-carnivore of South-East Asian rainforests: their distribution, status and conservation needs in Sabah, Malaysia

Wilting A, Fischer F, Abu Bakar S, Linsenmair KE

BMC Ecol, 2006;6:16.
PMID: 17092347

The continued depletion of tropical rainforests and fragmentation of natural habitats has led to significant ecological changes which place most top carnivores under heavy pressure. Various methods have been used to determine the status of top carnivore populations in rainforest habitats, most of which are costly in terms of equipment and time. In this study we utilized, for the first time, a rigorous track classification method to estimate population size and density of clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa) in Tabin Wildlife Reserve in north-eastern Borneo (Sabah). Additionally, we extrapolated our local-scale results to the regional landscape level to estimate clouded leopard population size and density in all of Sabah's reserves, taking into account the reserves' conservation status (totally protected or commercial forest reserves), their size and presence or absence of clouded leopards.

Matched MeSH terms: Panthera*
Fulltext Penentuan kandungan makronutrien dalam tiga jenis kuih manis tempatan: pengiraan berbanding analisis

Hasnah Haron, Nurul Hidayah Aminudin, Nik Shanita Safii, Hazila Khalid

Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia, 2013;11(1):19-24.
MyJurnal

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk membandingkan kandungan makronutrien dalam tiga jenis kuih manis tempatan iaitu kuih seri muka (SM), kuih bakar (B) dan kuih wajik (W) yang mana resepinya telah dibentuk secara pengiraan nutrien yang berdasarkan Jadual Komposisi Makanan Malaysia (JKMMM) dengan kaedah analisis secara proksimat. Penentuan kandungan makronutrien secara spesifik ditentukan menggunakan kaedah analisis proksimat manakala penentuan tenaga dan karbohidrat total dijalankan melalui pengiraan. Hasil analisis proksimat menunjukkan W mengandungi karbohidrat total tertinggi (61.5 ± 1.6%) secara signifikan (p < 0.05), berbanding B (39.3 ± 1.5%) dan SM (38.7 ± 1.5%). SM mempunyai kandungan air yang lebih tinggi (46.7 ± 1.6%) secara signifikan (p < 0.05) berbanding B (42.5 ± 6.6 %) dan W (30.2 ± 0.4%). B mengandungi kandungan protein tertinggi (6.1 ± 0.9%) secara signifikan berbanding dengan W (3.0 ± 0.3%). Tiada perbezaan yang signifikan bagi kandungan lemak di antara B (12.8 ± 1.8%), SM (9.9 ± 0.2%) dan W (8.2 ± 2.6%). Jumlah kalori untuk W adalah tertinggi (332 kcal/100g) diikuti oleh B (299 kcal/100g) dan SM (262 kcal/100g). Secara umumnya, nilai kandungan makronutrien dari analisis proksimat adalah lebih rendah berbanding secara pengiraan kandungan makronutrien menggunakan JKMMM. Ini disebabkan pengiraan berdasarkan JKMMM adalah berdasarkan bahan mentah manakala analisis proksimat berdasarkan sampel kuih yang telah disediakan.

Matched MeSH terms: Panthera
Fulltext Giardiasis di kalangan kanak-kanak orang asli di Pos Lenjang, Pahang

Hartini Yusof, Mohamed Kamel Abd. Ghani

Jurnal Sains Kesihatan Malaysia, 2009;7(2):97-102.
MyJurnal

Giardia intestinalis merupakan parasit kosmopolitan dan infeksinya tersebar luas di seluruh dunia terutamanya di negara membangun yang tahap sanitasinya rendah dan kekurangan bekalan air yang bersih. Seramai 71 orang kanak-kanak Orang Asli dari Pos Lenjang, Pahang telah terlibat di dalam kajian ini. Sampel feses dikumpul dan diperiksa bagi mengesan infeksi G. intestinalis dengan menggunakan tiga teknik diagnosis iaitu teknik apusan langsung, konsentrasi formalin-eter dan perwarnaan trikrom. Prevalens infeksi Giardia intestinalis di kalangan kanak-kanak Orang Asli di Pos Lenjang, Pahang adalah tinggi iaitu 43.7%. Dari segi jantina, prevalens infeksi hampir sama di kalangan kanak-kanak perempuan (45.0%) berbanding kanak-kanak lelaki (41.9%). Infeksi juga didapati lebih banyak berlaku di kalangan kanak-kanak bersekolah (48.6%) berbanding kanakkanak pra-sekolah (38.2%).

Matched MeSH terms: Panthera
Fulltext Keberkesanan program interventif remaja dikalangan remaja berisiko di tiga buah penempatan pembangunan tanah di Semenanjung Malaysia

Hidayah, N.I., Hanafiah, M.S., Idris, M.N., Rosnah, S., Haslina, M., Azlin, I., et al.

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2005;5(1):10-15.
MyJurnal

Kajian kuasbeksperimental telah di lakukan di tiga buah penempatan pembangunan tanah di negeri Johor, Pahang dan Perak, Semenanjung Malaysia daripada Januari 2003 sehingga Disember 2003 untuk menilai keberkesanan satu program intervensi yang komprehensif dalam mengurangkan tingkahlaku berisiko dikalangan remaja. Tiga buah sekolah yang diberi intervensi (disebut sebagai sekolah kes) dan tiga buah lagi sekolah tidak diberi sebarang intervensi (sekolah kawalan) telah dipilih untuk ketiga»tiga kawasan penempatan pembangunan tanah tersebut. Data pra»intervensi dan pos-intervensi telah diambil daripada setiap remaja tingkatan satu yang menjadi sampel kajian. Walaupun terdapat peningkatan signifikan dalam peratusan remaja yang bertingkahlaku berisiko pos-intervensi, namun peningkatan tersebut adalah lebih tinggi (32 .2%) di sekolah kawalan berbanding
Y sekolah kes (29.2%). Penurunan yang signifikan dikalangan mereka yang telah dikenalpasti sebagai bertingkahlaku berisiko semasa pra»intervensi berlaku cli sekolah kes (25.8%) dan juga kawalan (32.6%). Kajian ini telah menunjukkan kepentingan program interventif remaja yang bukan sahaja boleh mengurangkan bilangan remaja yang bertingkahlaku berisiko malah mencegah
sebahagian besar remaja daripada bertingkahlaku berisiko.

Matched MeSH terms: Panthera
Fulltext Population genetic structure and habitat connectivity for jaguar (Panthera onca) conservation in Central Belize

Menchaca A, Rossi NA, Froidevaux J, Dias-Freedman I, Caragiulo A, Wultsch C, et al.

BMC Genet, 2019 12 27;20(1):100.
PMID: 31881935 DOI: 10.1186/s12863-019-0801-5

BACKGROUND: Connectivity among jaguar (Panthera onca) populations will ensure natural gene flow and the long-term survival of the species throughout its range. Jaguar conservation efforts have focused primarily on connecting suitable habitat in a broad-scale. Accelerated habitat reduction, human-wildlife conflict, limited funding, and the complexity of jaguar behaviour have proven challenging to maintain connectivity between populations effectively. Here, we used non-invasive genetic sampling and individual-based conservation genetic analyses to assess genetic diversity and levels of genetic connectivity between individuals in the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary and the Maya Forest Corridor. We used expert knowledge and scientific literature to develop models of landscape permeability based on circuit theory with fine-scale landscape features as ecosystem types, distance to human settlements and roads to predict the most probable jaguar movement across central Belize.
RESULTS: We used 12 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci to identify 50 individual jaguars. We detected high levels of genetic diversity across loci (HE = 0.61, HO = 0.55, and NA = 9.33). Using Bayesian clustering and multivariate models to assess gene flow and genetic structure, we identified one single group of jaguars (K = 1). We identified critical areas for jaguar movement that fall outside the boundaries of current protected areas in central Belize. We detected two main areas of high landscape permeability in a stretch of approximately 18 km between Sittee River Forest Reserve and Manatee Forest Reserve that may increase functional connectivity and facilitate jaguar dispersal from and to Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. Our analysis provides important insights on fine-scale genetic and landscape connectivity of jaguars in central Belize, an area of conservation concern.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study demonstrate high levels of relatively recent gene flow for jaguars between two study sites in central Belize. Our landscape analysis detected corridors of expected jaguar movement between the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary and the Maya Forest Corridor. We highlight the importance of maintaining already established corridors and consolidating new areas that further promote jaguar movement across suitable habitat beyond the boundaries of currently protected areas. Continued conservation efforts within identified corridors will further maintain and increase genetic connectivity in central Belize.

Matched MeSH terms: Panthera/genetics*
Fulltext Identifying priority landscapes for conservation of snow leopards in Pakistan

Hameed S, Din JU, Ali H, Kabir M, Younas M, Ur Rehman E, et al.

PLoS One, 2020;15(11):e0228832.
PMID: 33151925 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228832

Pakistan's total estimated snow leopard habitat is about 80,000 km2 of which about half is considered prime habitat. However, this preliminary demarcation was not always in close agreement with the actual distribution-the discrepancy may be huge at the local and regional level. Recent technological developments like camera trapping and molecular genetics allow for collecting reliable presence records that could be used to construct realistic species distribution based on empirical data and advanced mathematical approaches like MaxEnt. The current study followed this approach to construct an accurate distribution of the species in Pakistan. Moreover, movement corridors, among different landscapes, were also identified through circuit theory. The probability of habitat suitability, generated from 98 presence points and 11 environmental variables, scored the snow leopard's assumed range in Pakistan, from 0 to 0.97. A large portion of the known range represented low-quality habitat, including areas in lower Chitral, Swat, Astore, and Kashmir. Conversely, Khunjerab, Misgar, Chapursan, Qurumber, Broghil, and Central Karakoram represented high-quality habitats. Variables with higher contributions in the MaxEnt model were precipitation during the driest month (34%), annual mean temperature (19.5%), mean diurnal range of temperature (9.8%), annual precipitation (9.4%), and river density (9.2). The model was validated through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) plots and defined thresholds. The average test AUC in Maxent for the replicate runs was 0.933 while the value of AUC by ROC curve calculated at 0.15 threshold was 1.00. These validation tests suggested a good model fit and strong predictive power. The connectivity analysis revealed that the population in the Hindukush landscape appears to be more connected with the population in Afghanistan as compared to other populations in Pakistan. Similarly, the Pamir-Karakoram population is better connected with China and Tajikistan, while the Himalayan population was connected with the population in India. Based on our findings we propose three model landscapes to be considered under the Global Snow Leopard Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) agenda as regional priority areas, to safeguard the future of the snow leopard in Pakistan and the region. These landscapes fall within mountain ranges of the Himalaya, Hindu Kush and Karakoram-Pamir, respectively. We also identified gaps in the existing protected areas network and suggest new protected areas in Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan to protect critical habitats of snow leopard in Pakistan.

Matched MeSH terms: Panthera/growth & development
Fulltext Effect of Age on the Protein Profile of Healthy Malay Adults and its Association with Cognitive Function Competency

Abu Bakar ZH, Damanhuri HA, Makpol S, Wan Kamaruddin WMA, Abdul Sani NF, Amir Hamzah AIZ, et al.

J Alzheimers Dis, 2019;70(s1):S43-S62.
PMID: 30594926 DOI: 10.3233/JAD-180511

BACKGROUND: Many studies on biochemical and psychological variables have aimed to elucidate the association between aging and cognitive function. Demographic differences and protein expression have been reported to play a role in determining the cognitive capability of a population.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the effect of age on the protein profile of Malay individuals and its association with cognitive competency.
METHODS: A total of 160 individuals were recruited and grouped accordingly. Cognitive competency of each subject was assessed with several neuropsychological tests. Plasma samples were collected and analyzed with Q Exactive HF Orbitrap. Proteins were identified and quantitated with MaxQuant and further analyzed with Perseus to determine differentially expressed proteins. PANTHER, Reactome, and STRING were applied for bioinformatics output.
RESULTS: Our data showed that the Malay individuals are vulnerable to the deterioration of cognitive function with aging, and most of the proteins were differentially expressed in concordance. Several physiological components and pathways were shown to be involved, giving a hint of a promising interpretation on the induction of aging toward the state of the Malays' cognitive function. Nevertheless, some proteins have shown a considerable interaction with the generated protein network, which provides a direction of focus for further investigation.
CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated notable changes in the expression of several proteins as age increased. These changes provide a promising platform for understanding the biochemical factors affecting cognitive function in the Malay population. The exhibited network of protein-protein interaction suggests the possibility of implementing regulatory intervention in ameliorating Malay cognitive function.

Matched MeSH terms: Panthera
Effects of dietary protein level on growth and ammonia excretion of leopard coral grouper, plectropomus leopardus (lacepede, 1802)

Feng S, S. Xia ZS, Zhang Z, Rahman M, Rajkumar M

Sains Malaysiana, 2015;44:537-543.

The effects of dietary protein level on the growth performance and ammonia excretion of the leopard coral grouper,
Plectropomus leopardus were investigated for eight weeks. Fish were fed diets with 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60% crude protein
levels in separate recirculating systems. Fish fed with the 50% crude protein containing diet showed the best ingestion
rate, which was significantly higher than that found in the other groups. As the dietary protein level increased, the
specific growth rate increased significantly and it reached the highest level at 50% crude protein containing diet. Based
on the results of all measured parameters 50% protein containing diet was the best among all test diets. The regression
equation for dietary protein level versus ammonia excretion indicated that the optimal dietary protein level with the
least ammonia excretion was 53.14%. More research is still needed to elucidate the effects of 53.14% crude protein
containing diet on the specific growth rate, feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio and ingestion rate of leopard
coral grouper before recommending this level. Until then, 50% protein containing diet can be recommended for leopard
coral grouper culture in the recirculation system.

Matched MeSH terms: Panthera
Fulltext Mapping black panthers: Macroecological modeling of melanism in leopards (Panthera pardus)

da Silva LG, Kawanishi K, Henschel P, Kittle A, Sanei A, Reebin A, et al.

PLoS One, 2017;12(4):e0170378.
PMID: 28379961 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170378

The geographic distribution and habitat association of most mammalian polymorphic phenotypes are still poorly known, hampering assessments of their adaptive significance. Even in the case of the black panther, an iconic melanistic variant of the leopard (Panthera pardus), no map exists describing its distribution. We constructed a large database of verified records sampled across the species' range, and used it to map the geographic occurrence of melanism. We then estimated the potential distribution of melanistic and non-melanistic leopards using niche-modeling algorithms. The overall frequency of melanism was ca. 11%, with a significantly non-random spatial distribution. Distinct habitat types presented significantly different frequencies of melanism, which increased in Asian moist forests and approached zero across most open/dry biomes. Niche modeling indicated that the potential distributions of the two phenotypes were distinct, with significant differences in habitat suitability and rejection of niche equivalency between them. We conclude that melanism in leopards is strongly affected by natural selection, likely driven by efficacy of camouflage and/or thermoregulation in different habitats, along with an effect of moisture that goes beyond its influence on vegetation type. Our results support classical hypotheses of adaptive coloration in animals (e.g. Gloger's rule), and open up new avenues for in-depth evolutionary analyses of melanism in mammals.

Matched MeSH terms: Panthera/physiology*
Fulltext First Evaluations and Cryopreservation of Semen Samples from Sunda Clouded Leopards (Neofelis diardi)

Zainuddin ZZ, Mohamed Tarmizi MR, Yap KC, Comizzoli P, Sipangkui S

Animals (Basel), 2020 06 22;10(6).
PMID: 32580372 DOI: 10.3390/ani10061072

A better understanding of semen characteristics and resilience to freezing temperatures is necessary before developing assisted reproductive techniques and systematic biobanking for the Sunda clouded leopard. The objective of this study was to evaluate for the first time the semen and sperm quality (in fresh and frozen samples) of two captive Sunda clouded leopards in Malaysia. A total of 17 examinations of the reproductive tract (using ultrasonography) and electro-ejaculations were performed on the two leopards over a 2-year period. Samples obtained from Leopard 1 (8 years old) varied in terms of volume (402 ± 92 µL), pH (7.9 ± 0.9), sperm motility (54.5 ± 24.2%), sperm concentration (122.4 ± 84.7 × 106 sperm/mL), normal morphology (23.9 ± 12.3%), and viability (55.2 ± 18.2%). Midpiece defects represented the most common structural abnormality followed by abnormal tail and head defects. Samples from Leopard 2 (11 year old with abnormal testicular tissue) were of lesser quality. Two frozen semen samples from Leopard 1 were thawed and examined for acrosome integrity. Post-thawed samples contained <10% of motile spermatozoa but almost 50% of abnormal acrosomes. The present results emphasized the high incidence of structurally-abnormal spermatozoa, similar to the mainland clouded leopard. Post-thaw evaluations showed that the few surviving spermatozoa could potentially be used for in vitro fertilization or sperm injection. However, more individuals must be studied to validate those first findings that are exciting but still preliminary.

Matched MeSH terms: Panthera
Computational prediction of miRNAs in Nipah virus genome reveals possible interaction with human genes involved in encephalitis

Saini S, Thakur CJ, Kumar V, Tandon S, Bhardwaj V, Maggar S, et al.

Mol Biol Res Commun, 2018 Sep;7(3):107-118.
PMID: 30426028 DOI: 10.22099/mbrc.2018.29577.1322

Current re-emergence of Nipah virus (NiV) in India caused 11 deaths so far and many patients were kept in quarantine. A thorough study of previous outbreaks occurred in Malaysia, Bangladesh and India represents cases with high rate of fatality due to acute encephalitis. Our work involves genome analysis of NiV for prediction of miRNAs and their targeted genes in human in order to understand encephalitis origin. Ab-intio program-VMir was used for initial screening of genome, obtained nine pre-miRNAs was analyzed by ViralMir to check for any pseudo pre-miRNAs. Eighteen functional mature miRNAs were extracted from pre-miRNAs by using Mature-Bayes tool, which targets 669 genes in human genome as retrieved by miRDB. Gene ontology terms by PANTHER provide important pathways in which target genes were involved like Axon guidance, T cell activation, and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor signaling. Significant outcome was obtained after NCBI Gene and OMIM database mining and literature search for predicted target genes. TLR3, TJP1, NOTCH2, FHL1, and GRIA3 target genes obtained showed their involvement in host defense, blood brain barrier, neurogenesis, mental retardation and encephalitis. To conclude, we predicted significant genes in human that can be inhibited by miRNAs of NiV and results in etiology of encephalitis.

Matched MeSH terms: Panthera

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