Social networking sites in cyberspace community in Malaysia / Abdul Rauf Ridzuan…[et.al]

This study is done in order to find the level of social networking sites among multiethnic users in Malaysia. Social networking sites are chosen as they bring many benefits to the users. This study used social capital theory as foundations theories for model development. The minimum sample size was determined through G⃰Power analysis. The study involved 482 respondents, selected through a cluster sampling technique involving three main ethnics in Malaysia. A cross sectional survey and structured questionnaire were used for data collection. All variables were measured through scales previously used by other researchers. SPSSS ver. 20 software was used in the analysis. Results of the SPSS indicated that the level of SNS, three out of four factors namely quality, intimacy, and interaction in SNS show very high level

Evaluation of antimicrobial and antibiofilm activities of stingless bee Trigona honey (Malaysia) against Streptococcus pneumoniae

Background: The study aims to evaluate the antibacterial activity of Trigona honey against S. pneumonia. Methods: The effect of Trigona honey on S. pneumonia investigated using agar well diffusion, MIC, MBC, biofilm formation and RT-qPCR. Results: Trigona honey samples showed the larger zones of inhibition against S. pneumonia, 22.2±0.4 at 100% concentration. Trigona honey possessed the lowest MIC, MBC, MIC50 and MIC90 against S. pneumoniae, 25%, 30%, 12.5% and 25% (w/v) respectively. Trigona honey permeated established biofilms of S. pneumonia, resulting in significant decreased the cells from the biofilm. RT-qPCR revealed that the expression of genes amiF, ftsY, mvaS, pnpA, argG, mvd1, purN, miaA and pbp2a were upregulated, glcK, marR, prmA and ccpA­­­ were downregulated after exposure to honey. Conclusion: Trigona honey demonstrated the highest antibacterial activity against S. pneumoniae. By limiting study in vitro on Trigona honey, we infer that Trigona honey impacts on S. pneumoniae

Antibacterial activity of selected varieties of Malaysian honey against Escherichia coli: A comparative study

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate antibacterial activity of three varieties of Malaysian honey; Tualang honey (TH), Gelam honey (GH), and Acacia honey (AH) against Escherichia coli. Methods: The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the honey samples against E. coli were determined by the broth microdilution assay in the presence and absence of catalase enzyme. The mode of inhibition of honey samples against E. coli was investigated by the effect of time on viability. Impacts of the honeys on the expression profiles of the selected genes of E. coli were examined using RT-qPCR analysis. Results: The results showed that TH and GH honey possessed lowest MIC and MBC values against E. coli with 20% and 25% (w/v) respectively. Highest MIC and MBC values were observed by AH honey against E. coli with 25% (w/v) and 50% (w/v) values respectively. Among the tested honeys, TH and GH exhibited the highest total antibacterial activity and the highest levels of peroxide-dependent activity. Time–kill curve demonstrated a bactericidal rather than a bacteriostatic effect; with a 2-log reduction estimated within 540 min. Viable cells were not recovered after 9 hours exposure to MIC of all honey-treated. The RT-qPCR analysis showed that all honey-treated cells share a similar overall pattern of gene expression, with a trend toward reduced expression of the virulence genes of interest. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that Malaysian honey have the potential to be effective inhibitor and virulence modulator of E. coli via multiple molecular targets

Proliferation and Differentiation of Human Hair Follicle Stem Cells on Chitosan-Skin Engineered Template in Vitro

Hair follicles repeatedly regress and reconstitute themselves, suggesting the presence of intrinsic tissue stem cells. Among the unique characteristics of adult stem cells isolated from hair follicles is their ability to differentiate into keratinocytes. Study on chitosan skin-engineered templates (SETs) as scaffolds for the proliferation of human fibroblasts have shown the promise of SETs in facilitating skin cell growth in three-dimensional culture. High proliferation in three-dimensional culture using human cells allows the researcher to extensively evaluate the cultivation of desirable cell types on chitosan SETs. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the in vitro attachment, proliferation and differentiation of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) on a chitosan SETs. HFSCs were isolated from human scalp tissues using collagenase type I prior to propagation in supplemented CnT-07 media. The phenotype of the HFSCs was verified using the markers keratin-15 (K15) and CD200, as detected by immunocytochemical staining. The attachment and proliferation of the HFSCs on the chitosan SETs were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), an alamar blue assay and a live/dead assay. Subsequently, the HFSCs were differentiated using CnT-2D differentiation media. The cells’ differentiation was verified using the markers involucrin and keratin-6 (K6), as detected by immunofluorescence staining. The HFSCs were successfully isolated, proliferated and differentiated according to staining positivity and microscopy imaging. HFSCs are able to proliferate and directly differentiate into keratinocytes on a chitosan SETs, which may facilitate their use in regenerative medicine

Proliferation and Differentiation of Human Hair Follicle Stem Cells on Chitosan-Skin Engineered Template in Vitro

Hair follicles repeatedly regress and reconstitute themselves, suggesting the presence of intrinsic tissue stem cells. Among the unique characteristics of adult stem cells isolated from hair follicles is their ability to differentiate into keratinocytes. Study on chitosan skin-engineered templates (SETs) as scaffolds for the proliferation of human fibroblasts have shown the promise of SETs in facilitating skin cell growth in three-dimensional culture. High proliferation in three-dimensional culture using human cells allows the researcher to extensively evaluate the cultivation of desirable cell types on chitosan SETs. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the in vitro attachment, proliferation and differentiation of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) on a chitosan SETs. HFSCs were isolated from human scalp tissues using collagenase type I prior to propagation in supplemented CnT-07 media. The phenotype of the HFSCs was verified using the markers keratin-15 (K15) and CD200, as detected by immunocytochemical staining. The attachment and proliferation of the HFSCs on the chitosan SETs were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), an alamar blue assay and a live/dead assay. Subsequently, the HFSCs were differentiated using CnT-2D differentiation media. The cells’ differentiation was verified using the markers involucrin and keratin-6 (K6), as detected by immunofluorescence staining. The HFSCs were successfully isolated, proliferated and differentiated according to staining positivity and microscopy imaging. HFSCs are able to proliferate and directly differentiate into keratinocytes on a chitosan SETs, which may facilitate their use in regenerative medicine

Factors Related to Smoking Habits of Male Adolescents

A cross-sectional study was conducted to identify the factors related to smoking habits of adolescents among secondary school boys in Kelantan state, Malaysia. A total of 451 upper secondary male students from day, boarding and vocational schools were investigated using a structured questionnaire. Cluster sampling was applied to achieve the required sample size. The significant findings included: 1) the highest prevalence of smoking was found among schoolboys from the vocational school; 2) mean duration of smoking was 2.5 years; 3) there were significant associations between smoking status and parents' smoking history, academic performance, perception of the health hazards of smoking, and type of school attended. Peer influence was the major reason students gave for taking up the habit. Religion was most often indicated by non-smokers as their reason for not smoking. Approximately 3/5 of the smokers had considered quitting and 45% of them had tried at least once to stop smoking. Mass media was indicated as the best information source for the students to acquire knowledge about negative aspects of the smoking habit. The authors believe an epidemic of tobacco use is imminent if drastic action is not taken, and recommend that anti-smoking campaigns with an emphasis on the religious aspect should start as early as in primary school. Intervention programs to encourage behavior modification of adolescents are also recommended

Comparative in vitro activity of various antibiotic against planktonic and biofilm and the gene expression profile in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

P. aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that is commonly found in nosocomial infections. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of seven antibiotics on P. aeruginosa planktonic growth, biofilm formation, and the expression of virulence factors. These antibiotics included Ciprofloxacin (CP), Amikacin (AMK), Vancomycin (VAN), Tetracycline (TET), Gentamicin (GEN), Erythromycin (Ery), and Clindamycin (CLI). Antibiotic susceptibility testing, Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC), Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), growth curve, time-kill curve, biofilm inhibition and reduction assay, and RT-qPCR were used to assess the effects of these antibiotics on P. aeruginosa planktonic and biofilm. The clear zones of inhibition against P. aeruginosa for the CP, AMK, VAN, TET, GEN, Ery, and CLI were 26 mm, 20 mm, 21 mm, 22 mm, 20 mm, 25 mm and 23 mm, respectively. The MIC values for CP, AMK, VAN, TET, GEN, Ery and CLI against P. aeruginosa ranged from 0.25 to 1 µg/mL while the MBC values ranged from 1 and 0.5 to 2 µg/mL respectively. The growth, total viable counts (TVCs), bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation of P. aeruginosa were reduced after exposure to all the tested antibiotics in a dose-dependent manner. The RT-qPCR analysis showed that all the tested antibiotics share a similar overall pattern of gene expression, with a trend toward reduced expression of the virulence genes of interest (lasR, lasI, fleN, fleQ and fleR, oprB and oprC) in P. aeruginosa. The results indicate that all of the tested antibiotics possess antimicrobial and anti-biofilm activities, and that they may be multiple inhibitors and moderators of P. aeruginosa virulence via a variety of molecular targets. This deduction requires to be investigated in vivo

Observation of temporary accommodation for construction workers according to the code of practice for temporary construction site workers amenities and accommodation (ms2593:2015) in Johor, Malaysia

The Malaysian government is currently improving the quality of workers temporary accommodation by introducing MS2593:2015 (Code of Practice for Temporary Site Workers Amenities and Accommodation) in 2015. It is in line with the initiative in the Construction Industry Transformation Programme (2016-2020) to increase the quality and well-being of construction workers in Malaysia. Thus, to gauge the current practice of temporary accommodation on complying with the particular guideline, this paper has put forth the observation of such accommodation towards elements in Section 3 within MS2593:2015. A total of seventeen (17) temporary accommodation provided by Grade 6 and Grade 7 contractors in Johor were selected and assessed. The results disclosed that most of the temporary accommodation was not complying with the guideline, where only thirteen (13) out of fifty-eight (58) elements have recorded full compliance (100%), and the lowest compliance percentage (5.9%) are discovered in the Section 3.12 (Signage). In a nutshell, given the significant gap of compliance between current practices of temporary accommodation and MS2593:2015, a holistic initiative need to be in place for the guideline to be worthwhile

Extraction of Swietenia macrophylla Seed Oil using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Technique and Its Antioxidant, Antidiabetic and Toxicity Properties

Abstract: Swietenia macrophylla has been used in treatments for diabetes, asthma, premenstrual syndrome and migraine traditionally. The seeds of S. macrophylla have been proven to possess antioxidant, antimicrobial, antifungal and hyperglycemic activity. Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction is a recent extraction process technology that has been developed to provide better extraction yield, safer and easier process. This study aimed to extract S. macrophylla seed oil by using SC-CO2 and investigate the antioxidant, antidiabetic activity and toxicity content of the oil extracted. Antioxidant analysis was performed by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and in vitro antidiabetic analysis was done by using the inhibitory of a-amylase and a-glucosidase to validate antidiabetic activity of S. macrophylla seed oil. Toxicity test of S. macrophylla seed extract was performed using MTT assay on human skin fibroblast cell (HSF 1184). The result showed that S. macrophylla seed extracts at studied concentrations of 10 to 0.0001 mg/mL are non-toxic with cell viability above 80 %. a-amylase and a -glucosidase inhibition (%) of the S. macrophylla seed extracts was 100.0 ± 0.3 % and 4.1 ± 2.0 %. S. macrophylla seed extract was proven to have promising antidiabetic activity to act as an alternative to the commercial antidiabetic drugs

Klasifikasi al-Quran terhadap tingkah laku manusia dalam membina peradaban

Sebagai panduan dan pedoman bagi manusia, al-Quran tidak hanya merangkumi perkara yang berkaitan dengan aqidah, ibadah, muamalah dan akhlak, tetapi juga membincangkan hal-hal yang berhubung kait dengan manusia, seperti asal kejadian, proses penciptaan serta matlamat dan tujuan mereka dicipta oleh Allah SWT. Al-Quran juga tidak ketinggalan membincangkan perilaku, sikap dan tabiat manusia, baik yang dapat dikesan oleh pancainderia mahupun yang tersembunyi dalam hati sanubari. Hal ini dimaktubkan dalam banyak surah dan ayat. Namun adanya penjelasan tentang hakikat tingkah laku ini kurang disedari oleh kebanyakan sarjana, sedangkan ianya amat penting untuk menyelesaikan masalah manusia yang berkaitan khususnya tingkah laku yang negatif. Mereka lebih banyak merujuk kepada sumber bukan daripada al-Quran ataupun pandangan sarjana barat semata-mata apabila membicarakan tentang tingkah laku dan perkara yang berhubungan dengannya. Sehubungan dengan itu, penulisan ini bertujuan membincangkan kepelbagaian tingkah laku manusia menerusi ayat al-Quran serta huraiannya. Huraian al-Quran mengenainya adalah isyarat kepada tranformasi tingkah laku manusia yang dianjurkan bagi membina peradaban yang unggul. Perbincangan merujuk kepada ayat al-Quran dan huraian serta analisisnya menurut sarjana Islam, khususnya dalam kalangan ahli tafsir. Boleh dirumuskan bahawa al-Quran telah mengisyaratkan kepelbagaian tingkah laku manusia samada tingkah laku yang meliputi aspek luaran manusia (fizikal) dan juga aspek dalaman (rohani). Mengetahui dan memahami kepelbagaian ini dapat membantu usaha menyelesaikan masalah yang dihadapi oleh seseorang dengan mengenal pasti diri mereka dari sudut tindakan dan perbuatannya