Evaluation of effect of ethanol extraction of Graptophyllum pictum on Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo model through toxicity assay assessment

Graptophyllum pictum is a medicinal plant that helps to cure different forms of disease due to the availability of beneficial phytochemicals such as flavonoids, steroids, alkaloids, saponins and glycosides. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the toxicity effect of G. pictum extract on zebrafish embryos (Danio rerio) at different concentrations. G. pictum was extracted using the ethanol method. A toxicity test was done by exposing the Danio rerio embryo to the G. pictum extraction at different concentrations (0.244-1000 μg/ml) for 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours. The survival rate, hatching rate, heartbeat rate, scoliosis rate and melanin pigmentation were observed. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 27. The value of LC50 was calculated. Result showed that the LC50, value of G. pictum is 7.662 μg/ml. No hatching was observed at higher concentrations (31.25-1000 μg/ml) while the hatch ability of Danio rerio embryos was observed at lower concentrations (0.244-1.953 μg/ml). Scoliosis of zebrafish larvae was not present at all concentrations. The heartbeat of the zebrafish larvae treated with G. pictum extract was within a normal range from 120-180 beats per minute at a lower concentration. Melanin pigmentation was detected at 48, 72 and 96 hours post-fertilization and is normally absent at 24 hours post-fertilization. As a conclusion, G. pictum extract stills exhibit a mild toxicity effect in higher concentrations when it was evaluated on zebrafish embryos

A particle swarm optimization levy flight algorithm for imputation of missing creatinine dataset

Clinicians could intervene during what may be a crucial stage for preventing permanent kidney injury if patients with incipient Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) and those at high risk of developing AKI could be identified. This paper proposes an improved mechanism to machine learning imputation algorithms by introducing the Particle Swarm Levy Flight algorithm. We improve the algorithms by modifying the Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm (PSO), by enhancing the algorithm with levy flight (PSOLF). The creatinine dataset that we collected, including AKI diagnosis and staging, mortality at hospital discharge, and renal recovery, are tested and compared with other machine learning algorithms such as Genetic Algorithm and traditional PSO. The proposed algorithms' performances are validated with a statistical significance test. The results show that SVMPSOLF has better performance than the other method. This research could be useful as an important tool of prognostic capabilities for determining which patients are likely to suffer from AKI, potentially allowing clinicians to intervene before kidney damage manifests

γ-Tocotrienol prevents oxidative stress-induced telomere shortening in human fibroblasts derived from different aged individuals

The effects of palm γ-tocotrienol (GGT) on oxidative stress-induced cellular ageing was investigated in normal human skin fibroblast cell lines derived from different age groups; young (21-year-old, YF), middle (40-year-old, MF) and old (68-year-old, OF). Fibroblast cells were treated with γ-tocotrienol for 24 hours before or after incubation with IC50 dose of H2O2 for 2 hours. Changes in cell viability, telomere length and telomerase activity were assessed using the MTS assay (Promega, USA), Southern blot analysis and telomere repeat amplification protocol respectively. Results showed that treatment with different concentrations of γ-tocotrienol increased fibroblasts viability with optimum dose of 80 µM for YF and 40 µM for both MF and OF. At higher concentrations, γ-tocotrienol treatment caused marked decrease in cell viability with IC50 value of 200 µM (YF), 300 µM (MF) and 100 µM (OF). Exposure to H2O2 decreased cell viability in dose dependent manner, shortened telomere length and reduced telomerase activity in all age groups. The IC50 of H2O2 was found to be; YF (700 µM), MF (400 µM) and OF (100 µM). Results showed that viability increased significantly (p < 0.05) when cells were treated with 80 µM and 40 µM γ-tocotrienol prior or after H2O2-induced oxidative stress in all age groups. In YF and OF, pretreatment with γ-tocotrienol prevented shortening of telomere length and reduction in telomerase activity. In MF, telomerase activity increased while no changes in telomere length was observed. However, post-treatment of γ-tocotrienol did not exert any significant effects on telomere length and telomerase activity. Thus, these data suggest that γ-tocotrienol protects against oxidative stress-induced cellular ageing by modulating the telomere length possibly via telomerase

Exploring Muslim Consumers’ Acceptance of Cultured Beef Meat

The advancement in cultured meat research in cellular agriculture has greatly surged. The concerns of halalness and thayibban (cleanliness and permissibility to consume) of cultured beef meat will arise among Muslim consumers, prompting the question, “Who will consume the cultured meat, and are Muslims ready to consume it?” This study aimed to clarify how Muslims perceive cultured meat and the issues surrounding their acceptance. A chi-square test and a binary logistic regression analysis were applied to reveal the acceptance of cultured meat. The results revealed that 44.1% of the respondents accepted cultured meat as their food, while 55.9% expressed doubts due to religious concerns. Their attitudes toward cultured meat influenced their decision to accept it as food. Some consumers had high expectations for cultured meat because they believed it would be superior in taste and have nutritional value and health effects. In conclusion, those Muslims who did not doubt cultured meat accepted it as future food with expectations for better function and value

Exploring Muslim consumers' acceptance of cultured beef meat

The advancement in cultured meat research in cellular agriculture has greatly surged. The concerns of halalness and thayibban (cleanliness and permissibility to consume) of cultured beef meat will arise among Muslim consumers, prompting the question, “Who will consume the cultured meat, and are Muslims ready to consume it?” This study aimed to clarify how Muslims perceive cultured meat and the issues surrounding their acceptance. A chi-square test and a binary logistic regression analysis were applied to reveal the acceptance of cultured meat. The results revealed that 44.1% of the respondents accepted cultured meat as their food, while 55.9% expressed doubts due to religious concerns. Their attitudes toward cultured meat influenced their decision to accept it as food. Some consumers had high expectations for cultured meat because they believed it would be superior in taste and have nutritional value and health effects. In conclusion, those Muslims who did not doubt cultured meat accepted it as future food with expectations for better function and value

Evaluation on the effectiveness of using 3D rat model for teaching blood withdrawal technique among undergraduate students

Usage of 3D model in medical education is very important in this era as part of 21st century teaching method. Application of 3D printing model in medical education helps to improve student spatial visualization skill and also will increase their interest in difficult topic or subject specifically in the science-based issue. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of using a 3D rat model for teaching blood withdrawal techniques among undergraduate students. Workshop of usage of 3D model rat was conducted among all students. Students were exposure to classical teaching method of blood withdrawal and follow by workshop using 3D rat model. A set of questionnaire was given to students before and after usage of 3D- printed rat model. Data collected used a questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic, pre and post- test question and assessment towards 3D models. A total of 117 participants were tested. 3D-printed rat model was used as part of the paired sample t-test. The result supported the hypothesis that the 3D- printed rat model in teaching blood withdrawal techniques is more effective compared to the using classical teaching method in the classroom (p<0.05). Study also showed that students satisfy with usage of 3D model for teaching blood withdrawal techniques. This study further demonstrated the 3D print rat model is beneficial for interactive education and enriching student learning capacity

Silicate Scaling Formation: Impact of pH in High-Temperature Reservoir and Its Characterization Study

Silicate scaling tends to form and be aggravated during high pH Alkaline Surfactant Polymer (ASP) floods and this silicate scale deposition affects oil production. Hence, it is important to examine the conditions that lead to silicate scale forming. The severity of the silicate scaling reaction, the type and morphology of silica/silicate scale formed in an experimental ASP flood were studied for pH values 5, 8.5, and 11, whilst the temperature was kept constant at 90 ℃. In addition, the impact of calcium ion was studied and spectroscopic analyses were used to identify the extent of scaling reaction, morphology type and the functional group present in the precipitates. This was performed using imagery of the generated precipitates. It was observed that the silica/silicate scale is most severe at the highest pH and Ca:Mg molar ratios examined. Magnesium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide were observed to precipitate along with the silica and Mg-silicate/Ca-silicate scale at pH 11. The presence of calcium ions altered the morphology of the precipitates formed from amorphous to microcrystalline/crystalline. In conclusion, pH affects the type, morphology, and severity of the silica/silicate scale produced in the studied scaling system. The comprehensive and conclusive data showing how pH affects the silicate scaling reaction reported here are vital in providing the foundation to further investigate the management and prevention of this silicate scaling. Copyright © 2022 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

Preventive effect of Elateriospermum tapos seed extract against obese Sprague Dawley rats

This study aimed to investigate the preventive role of Elateriospermum tapos seed extract against obese Sprague Dawley rats through assessment of bodyweight, caloric intake, organs weight, biological assays and histopathology. Thirty-six male Sprague Dawley rats were assigned into six groups of normal control (G1) group fed with standard chow diet, negative control (G2), positive control (G3) and treatment groups (G4, G5 and G6) were on high-fat and cafeteria diet for 9 weeks. G3 group was given 10 mg kg−1 of Orlistat while treatment groups were supplemented with E. tapos seed extract of 5 mg kg−1, 25 mg kg−1 and 125 mg kg−1 orally daily for another 10 weeks. Bodyweight and food intake were monitored weekly. At the end, liver, retroperitoneal white adipose tissue (rpWAT) and blood were collected for analysis of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density (LDL-C) and high density lipoprotein (HDL-C). The E. tapos seed treated groups showed significant (p < 0.05) reduction in bodyweight, caloric intake, liver and rpWAT weight as compared to the G2 group. G6 group showed tremendous improvement of liver histopathology and biological assay. There was a significant decrease (p < 0.05) of TC, TG, and LDL-C level and significant increase (p < 0.05) of HDL-C in the E. tapos seed treated group as compared to G2 group. Based on the findings, E. tapos seed extract exhibited a great potential as an anti-obesity. The extract promoted the fat oxidation by removing the uptake and storage of fat by the adipose cells and also decrease the fatty acid synthesis

Transgenerational evaluation of Elateriospermum tapos extracts on the male offspring of obesity-induced sprague dawley rats

Obesity has been considered as a great public health concern, that has spread in both economic and poor resources countries. This study aimed to investigate the effect of Elateriospermum tapos supplementation on the male offspring of female obesity-induced Sprague Dawley (SD) rats at weaning and adult age. A total of thirty (30) female and fifteen (15) male Sprague Dawley rats (N=45) were purchased for this study. Of the 30 female rats, six (n=6) were randomly selected as the control group (CG) and fed separately with male on standard chow diet, while the remaining rats (n=24) were fed on a high-fat diet for 5 weeks. The obese group were further randomly divided into 4 groups, positive control group (PG), orlistat treatment (DG) at 200 mg/kg, treatment 1 (TX1, 200 mg/kg E. tapos seed) and treatment 2 (TX2, 200 mg/kg E. tapos shell) for 6 weeks. One male pup from each dam was culled at weaning (postnatal day 21 (PND21)) and adulthood (12 weeks). The liver, kidney, retroperitoneal white adipose tissue (RpWAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT) were collected for histopathological study. Serum lipid profiles, liver enzyme activities and creatinine were measured. The bodyweight of male offspring from treatment 1 (MTX1) and 2 (MTX2) was significantly lower (P<0.05) compare to MNG group. The RpWAT weight in MTX1 and MTX2 for adult offspring also were significantly lower (P<0.05) compared to MPG. The histopathological examination of liver in MCG, MDG, MTX1, and MTX2 showed normal hepatocytes while the MPG group showed the presence of ballooning cell and hypertrophy of adipocytes was also observed in MPG group compared to another group’s rat. The E. tapos extracts from the shell have greater therapeutic potential on maternal obesity in short and long term treatment

Phytochemical Analysis and Toxicity Assessment of Bouea Macrophylla Yoghurt

The Bouea macrophylla fruit is native to Malaysia and is known for its many beneficial effects on one’s health. Probiotics are well-known for their roles as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-tumour properties due to their widespread use. As a result, the purpose of this study was to incorporate the ethanolic extract of Bouea macrophylla into yoghurt and then assess the rodents for any toxicological effects. According to the findings of the nutritional analysis, each 100 mL serving of the newly formulated yoghurt contains 3.29 g of fat, 5.79 g of carbohydrates, 2.92 g of total protein, and 2.72 g of sugar. The ability of the newly developed yoghurt to stimulate the growth of Lactobacilli was demonstrated by the fact that the peak intensity of Lactobacillus species was measured at 1.2 × 106 CFU/g while the titratable acidity of the lactic acid was measured at 0.599 CFU/g. In order to carry out the toxicological evaluation, forty-eight male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were utilized. Oral administration of single doses of 2000 mg/kg over the course of 14 days was used for the study of acute toxicity. Subacute toxicity was studied by giving animals Bouea macrophylla yoghurt (BMY) at repeated doses of 50, 250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg/day over a period of 28 days, while the control group was given normal saline. The results of the acute toxicity test revealed that rats treated with increasing doses up to a maximum of 2000 mg/kg exhibited no signs of toxicity. After an additional 14 days without treatment, acute toxicity of a single dose (2000 mg/kg) of BMY did not show any treatment-related toxicity in any of the rats that were observed. According to the data from the subacute toxicity study, there were no differences between the treated groups and the control groups in terms of food and water intake, body weight, plasma biochemistry (AST, ALT, ALP, and creatinine), haematological products, or organ weights. The architecture of the liver, heart, and kidney were all found to be normal upon histological examination. This indicates that oral consumption of BMY did not result in any negative effects being manifested in the rodents