The effect of plant growth regulators on optimization of tissue culture system in Malaysian upland rice

Mature seeds of four upland rice cultivars namely Kusan, Lamsan, Selasi and Siam were assessed for callus induction and plant regeneration on different concentrations and combinations of plant growth regulators, incorporated into MS (Murashige and Skoog) basal medium. Callus induction frequency was significantly different among the cultivars, as well as among the 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) levels tested. All tested cultivars exhibited highest callus frequency at 2 mgl-1 2,4-D. The incorporation of -naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and kinetin (Kin) in the callus induction medium supplemented with 2 mgl-1 2,4-D did not significantly improve the callus induction frequency. After two subcultures, at 24 days interval, the best response to callus induction was from cultivar Selasi, while callus browning became prominent in cultivars Kusan and Siam. Embryogenic callus placed on different regeneration media exhibited the highest regeneration frequency on medium containing 0.5 mgl-1 NAA + 2.0 mgl-1 Kin + 2.0 mgl-1 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). The maximum regeneration frequency was achieved in cultivar Selasi followed by Lamsan while Siam and Kusan exhibited poor regeneration response. Among the four upland rice cultivars evaluated, Selasi and Lamsan are two promising cultivars in terms of callus induction frequency and morphology, and regeneration ability of the embryogenic callus

Detection of phytosterols in Ganoderma boninense-infected oil palm seedlings through GC-MS analysis.

Ganoderma boninense is a fungus known to be pathogenic to oil palm. It causes the basal stem rot (BSR) and upper stem rot (USR) diseases. This study shows that the interaction between Ganoderma and oil palm produced many secondary metabolites including sterol compounds revealed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The roots of progenies were artificially infected with G. boninense and subjected to metabolite extraction. A total of 13 sterol compounds and two tocopherols were identified from the root extracts of both tolerant and susceptible oil palm seedlings. The main sterol compounds identified were sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol and ergostenol. The GC-MS library, namely NIST 08, Wiley 229 and comparison of fragmentation patterns of the mass spectra reported in literature made it possible to identify the sterol components present in the root extracts. The results indicate that the number and level of sterol compounds induced in infected palms were significantly higher than in uninfected seedlings. Variations in the type and level of compounds detected were also observed between infected tolerant and susceptible progenies. This study provides information that relates sterols and tocopherol (antioxidant) compounds to the oil palm defence mechanism against G. boninense

Evaluation on the Potential of Hot Spring as Nature Tourism Attraction in Lojing Highlands, Kelantan, Peninsula Malaysia

Natural hot springs are a common occurrence in Malaysia. These natural hot springs occur when water seeps into the earth and is heated by magma and pressure causes the water to rise again as a heated pool or hot springs. Some locals believe that these natural hot springs have curative effects and can cure skin ailments such as rashes, pimples and fungi infections. Whether this is true or not remains to be scientifically proven, but these places have become a magnet for tourists and those seeking healing. Some of Malaysia’s natural hot springs have developed into modern tourists’ attractions with shops, rest houses, restaurants and changing rooms built nearby to accommodate visitors who are interested by this natural phenomenon and the best example is the Poring Hot Springs, in Ranau, Sabah. Consequently, the objective of this paper is to briefly highlight the potential of Lojing’s hot springs as nature tourism attraction for the state of Kelantan. This paper provides a broad insight into the demand for services and facilities, location and characteristics of Lojing’s geothermal and natural mineral water resources, the opportunities available to expand and establish new facilities and an indication of the success of Sabah’s developments with the potential to be replicated in Lojing. Based on the content analysis done using Leximancer, it is apparent that Lojing’s hot spring requires intervention in terms of strategies that aimed at increasing tourist satisfaction. It is suggested that the theme “leisure” to be concentrated as the pull factor for Lojing hot spring-based tourism

The use of Arabidopsis thaliana model system for testing oil palm promoter: case study on oil palm MT3-A promote

A previous study on transient expression of oil palm tissues has shown that the oil palm metallothionein-like type 3 (MT3-A) gene promoter is specifically expressed in the mesocarp and not in other tissues. This study was conducted to determine whether or not Arabidopsis can be used as a model system to study oil palm promoter. Functional characterisation of the oil palm MT3-A promoter was performed using promoter::GUS fusion analysis in transgenic Arabidopsis. The localisation of β-glucuronidase (GUS) expression in several different tissues of transgenic Arabidopsis homozygous lines driven by the oil palm MT3-A promoter was determined. Histochemical GUS analysis in transgenic Arabidopsis revealed the highest expression in the cotyledon and hypocotyls as well as at the early stage of plant development and gradually decreased as the plant grew. Lower expression was detected in organs of mature plant and no expression was observed in reproductive tissues. This observation may suggest that MT3-A promoter might be involved during early stage of plant development. Since we use Arabidopsis which is neither a fruit nor mesocarp plant to check mesocarp-specific promoter it might not give a faithful pattern of expression but it may be suited to study oil palm specific promoter derived from other tissues

'Candidatus Phytoplasma malaysianum', a novel taxon associated with virescence and phyllody of Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus).

This study addressed the taxonomic position and group classification of a phytoplasma responsible for virescence and phyllody symptoms in naturally diseased Madagascar periwinkle plants in western Malaysia. Unique regions in the 16S rRNA gene from the Malaysian periwinkle virescence (MaPV) phytoplasma distinguished the phytoplasma from all previously described 'Candidatus Phytoplasma' species. Pairwise sequence similarity scores, calculated through alignment of full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences, revealed that the MaPV phytoplasma 16S rRNA gene shared 96.5 % or less sequence similarity with that of previously described 'Ca. Phytoplasma' species, justifying the recognition of the MaPV phytoplasma as a reference strain of a novel taxon, 'Candidatus Phytoplasma malaysianum'. The 16S rRNA gene F2nR2 fragment from the MaPV phytoplasma exhibited a distinct restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) profile and the pattern similarity coefficient values were lower than 0.85 with representative phytoplasmas classified in any of the 31 previously delineated 16Sr groups; therefore, the MaPV phytoplasma was designated a member of a new 16Sr group, 16SrXXXII. Phytoplasmas affiliated with this novel taxon and the new group included diverse strains infecting periwinkle, coconut palm and oil palm in Malaysia. Three phytoplasmas were characterized as representatives of three distinct subgroups, 16SrXXXII-A, 16SrXXXII-B and 16SrXXXII-C, respectively

Preparation of GNPs thermally conductive adhesive at different epoxy resin/curing agent ratio and mixing method

Reinforcement of GNPs fillers to polymer composite show remarkable improvement in thermal conductivity. However, high aspect ratio of GNPs attributes to agglomerate during the preparation process, which limits its performance. A proper step methodology is in urgent need to improve the interfacial reaction between the polymer matrix and fillers. The factors that play a significant role during preparation are controlling the epoxy resin/curing agent ratio (stoichiometry ratio) to ensure complete curing reaction and an appropriate mixing and processing method to improve dispersion and distribution of fillers. This study focuses on the effect of varying the ratio of polymer/curing agent to its curing reaction and combining the mixing method with solvent-free approach on the performance of the polymer composite. The results show that a complete curing reaction was observed at its stoichiometry ratio, which is ratio 3:1. The GNPs fillers also founded distribute and disperse well, especially when using BS+PCTM at the ratio of 3:1. This mixing method can avoid agglomeration of fillers and improve the interfacial reaction with good contact between filler-filler interface. As a result, the thermal conductivity of BS+PCTM was enhanced compared to BS+UH. The results presented perhaps facilitated improvement in the preparation of high performance of TC

Gene flow from Clearfield® rice to weedy rice under field conditions

Imidazolinone-herbicide-resistant Clearfield® (CL) rice permits the selective chemical control of weedy rice (Oryza sativa), a major weed problem in South-East Asian rice growing countries. However, there is major concern involving resistant individuals resulting from gene flow as the cultivated and weedy rice live side by side in the fields. An experiment was conducted in the rice fields of Kuala Rompin, Pahang, Malaysia to determine which Clearfield® rice cultivars and weedy rice cultivars are more prone to hybridization, and the effect on distance between the pollen donor and receptor plants. The experiment was piloted in a split plot design with four replications. Encircled population technique was used to determine the distance between the Clearfield® rice and detection of hybrids (F1). Resistance of progeny was determined after spraying with OnDuty™ and the confirmation of hybrids was done using the SSR primer RM251. Higher survival rate was recorded with cv. CL2 which was significantly different from cv. CL1. Weedy rice cultivar V1 and V2 in CL1 plots differed significantly from the same cultivar from CL2 plots. However, no significant difference was observed between weedy rice cultivars of V3 and V4, either in CL1 or CL2 plots. No survivors were found after second spraying. Suspected hybrids were found up to 5 m however the rate was much lower compared to only 1 m from the CL plots

Preparation and characterization of calcium hydroxyphosphate (hydroxyapatite) from tilapia fish bones and scales via calcination method

Calcium hydroxyphosphate (hydroxyapatite) is a calcium phosphate that is widely used in biomedical application. Hydroxyapatite is an excellent component for bone substitutes for their chemical and structural similarity to natural bone component. In this research, hydroxyapatite was synthesized from tilapia fish bones and scales using calcination method with 3 different temperatures namely 1000 °C, 900 °C and 800 °C. The obtained hydroxyapatite powder was characterized using several techniques such as Fourier-Transform infrared spectroscopy Attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), proximate analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicated that temperature 1000 °C has the highest weight loss with 21.825 g compared to the temperature 800 °C and 900 °C. From FTIR-ATR analysis, the presence of characteristic peaks for hydroxyl group, phosphate groups and water molecule indicated that the powder were hydroxyapatite. SEM results showed that increasing temperature had led to more dense structure. The hydroxyapatite powder were further analysed for their proximate analysis. The results proved that the highest contents of ash, fat, moisture and crude protein were observed at 1000 °C as compared to 900 °C and 800 °C. Based on this study, it revealed that produced pure hydroxyapatite from natural resources could be a potential candidate for food industry as protein enhancer

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Hydrophobicity Performance Of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) And Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) With Thermal Effect

Combining the flexibility and stretchability of printed flexible circuits (PFC) such as PET and TPU with water repellent characteristics may improve the functionality of printed circuit for electronic packaging. Water repellent characteristics using ceramic-based coating may protect the surface from degradation and moisture absorption due to the hydrophobicity behavior of the surface after coating. This paper seeks to provide insight into characterization and understanding on the effect of thermal on the hydrophobic performance of polymer substrate (PET and TPU) with and without coated with a ceramic coating which is Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) for more robust and vigorous hydrophobic coating. The annealing temperature was determined by using DSC analysis and four different temperatures have been used in this study. Contact angle and surface roughness characterization were evaluated by self-fabricate contact angle measurement tools and Mitutoyo Profilometer Surftest SJ410. The results reveal that hydrophobicity of uncoated TPU increase and PET decrease after thermally aged. However, after coated with TiO2, both substrate shows further increment in hydrophobicity with contact angle more than 90°. The 2D profile reveals that surface roughness protrusion becomes one of the factors affecting the hydrophobicity of the surface due to liquid-air interfaces under the droplet (air trap) as stated in Wenzel and Cassie-Baxter theory