Julat rujukan bagi jumlah homosisteina dalam plasma di kalangan kanak-kanak di Malaysia

Homosisteinemia merupakan salah satu penyakit kepincangan metabolisme terwaris (IEM) yang menyebabkan peningkatan paras homosisteina. Homosisteina adalah salah satu asid amino mengandungi sulfur yang mempunyai kumpulan thiol yang dibentuk hasil daripada proses demetilasi asid amino methionina. Dalam penyakit kepincangan metabolisme terwaris (inborn errors of metabolism – IEM), terdapat tujuh jenis penyakit berpunca daripada kekurangan enzim yang terlibat dalam metabolisme homosisteina. Paras jumlah homosisteina adalah berbeza mengikut jenis penyakit akibat kekurangan enzim ini. Maka, terdapat keperluan bagi mewujudkan suatu julat rujukan untuk membezakan antara populasi normal dengan populasi berpenyakit. Kajian ini menerangkan penemuan berkenaan julat rujukan bagi jumlah homosisteina di kalangan kanak-kanak di Malaysia. Sebanyak 3 ml darah telah diambil daripada 86 individu normal (52 orang kanak-kanak lelaki dan 34 orang kanak-kanak perempuan) dan seterusnya diproses serta dianalisis menggunakan kaedah kromatografi cecair berprestasi tinggi jenis fasa penukar ion (HPLC-IEC). Hasil kajian mendapati min jumlah homosisteina bagi keseluruhan populasi rujukan ialah sebanyak 8.1 ± 3.89 μM (95% selang keyakinan 7.3-8.9 μM). Julat rujukan sedia ada bagi populasi rujukan adalah sebanyak 2.5 – 16.2 μM dengan had pemutus terendah (lower cut-off) dan had pemutus teratas (upper cut-off) masing-masing adalah 1.0 μM dan 21.0 μM. Julat tersebut didapati agak tinggi berbanding dengan penyelidik luar. Penemuan julat rujukan bagi jumlah homosisteina untuk populasi kanak-kanak di Malaysia yang terbaru ini dapat mengurangkan jumlah kadar positif palsu semasa proses diagnosis penyakit dilakukan

Specific detection of fungal pathogens by 18S rRNA gene PCR in microbial keratitis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The sensitivity and specificity of 18S rRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the detection of fungal aetiology of microbial keratitis was determined in thirty patients with clinical diagnosis of microbial keratitis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Corneal scrapings from patients were used for Gram stain, culture and PCR analysis. PCR was performed with primer pairs targeted to the 18S rRNA gene. The result of the PCR was compared with conventional culture and Gram staining method. The PCR positive samples were identified by DNA sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rRNA gene. Main outcome measures were sensitivity and specificity of PCR in the detection of fungus in corneal keratitis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Combination of microscopy and culture gave a positive result in 11 of 30 samples of microbial keratitis. PCR detected 10 of 11 samples that were positive by conventional method. One of the 19 samples that was negative by conventional method was positive by PCR. Statistical analysis revealed that the PCR to have a sensitivity of 90.9% and specificity of 94.7% in the detection of a fungal aetiology in microbial keratitis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>PCR is a rapid, sensitive and useful method to detect fungal aetiology in microbial keratitis.</p

Methyldiethanolamine and piperazine as extractant in emulsion liquid membrane for carbon dioxide removal

Emulsion liquid membrane was formulated using MDEA and piperazine as extractant in sodium hydroxide solution. Span-80 in the organic solution acts as surfactant to stabilize the formation emulsion. The effects of MDEA/PZ ratio on emulsion stability and CO2 absorption were investigated. CO2 absorption was carried out in rotating disc contactor (RDC) column and gas chromatography (GC) was used to determine the amount of CO2 leaving the column. This study showed that 8% v/v Span-80 has produced a stable emulsion. The emulsion was able to remove 60.3% of CO2. In the presence of methane (CH4), 54.1% of CO2 and 13.2% of CH4 were removed from CH4/CO2 mixtures. The finding demonstrates the promising technique of ELM for CO2 removal

Spatio-temporal distribution of gelatinous zooplankton in tropical mangrove estuaries: environmental drivers and possible mangrove disturbance effects

The impacts of environmental changes and mangrove disturbance on the gelatinous zooplankton community structure were investigated monthly for one annual cycle at six stations in three estuaries in Matang, Malaysia. Tiram, Tinggi, and Sepetang estuaries were classified based on the Mangrove Quality Index (MQI) to represent the least (MQI 5 = excellent), moderately (MQI 4 = good), and highly disturbed (MQI 2 = bad) areas, respectively. Among the gelatinous zooplankton species, the holoplanktonic ctenophore, Pukia ohtsukai (formed 56%–58% of the total gelatinous zooplankton), was the most dominant species and showed increased densities with the increasing level of disturbance. On the other hand, a hydrozoan, Blackfordia sp. (39%–43%), which needs suitable substrates for the survival of polyploids, was found to be most abundant in the moderately disturbed area, indicating low densities in areas with too little or too much disturbance. Salinity, a parameter influenced by river discharge and tidal changes, was identified as the main environmental factor affecting the species' seasonal variability. The dry season was associated with an increase in gelatinous zooplankton density and prevalence of marine species. Also, factors related to water clarity (turbidity, transparency, and suspended solids) and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) explained 91% of the variables that affected the gelatinous zooplankton community structure. The species diversity (H′) in the least and moderately disturbed areas were significantly higher than in the highly disturbed estuary. In contrast, the highest mean density was recorded in the highly disturbed estuary (34.4 ± 19.8 inds. m−3) followed by the moderately (21.6 ± 6.1 inds. m−3) and the least disturbed areas (9.7 ± 4.1 inds. m−3). The present study suggested that the gelatinous zooplankton biodiversity declines and the abundance escalates with increasing disturbance levels

Molecular Evidence of Cholera Outbreak Caused by a Toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor Variant Strain in Kelantan, Malaysia ▿

A total of 20 Vibrio cholerae isolates were recovered for investigation from a cholera outbreak in Kelantan, Malaysia, that occurred between November and December 2009. All isolates were biochemically characterized as V. cholerae serogroup O1 Ogawa of the El Tor biotype. They were found to be resistant to multiple antibiotics, including tetracycline, erythromycin, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, streptomycin, penicillin G, and polymyxin B, with 35% of the isolates being resistant to ampicillin. All isolates were sensitive to ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, and kanamycin. Multiplex PCR analysis confirmed the biochemical identification and revealed the presence of virulence genes, viz., ace, zot, and ctxA, in all of the isolates. Interestingly, the sequencing of the ctxB gene showed that the outbreak strain harbored the classical cholera toxin gene and therefore belongs to the newly assigned El Tor variant biotype. Clonal analysis by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis demonstrated that a single clone of a V. cholerae strain was responsible for this outbreak. Thus, we present the first molecular evidence that the toxigenic V. cholerae O1 El Tor variant has invaded Malaysia, highlighting the need for continuous monitoring to facilitate early interventions against any potential epidemic by this biotype

Empowering smart city governance through decentralized blockchain solutions for security and privacy in IoT communications

This paper highlights the benefits and challenges of smart cities, which leverage technology to offer a wide range of services to citizens. While these services have the potential to greatly improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas, they also raise significant privacy and security concerns. The study emphasizes the need to employ "privacy by design" principles to ensure that personal data is protected throughout the entire lifecycle of data, and data owners have the self-control to manage their data according to their preferences. Smart contracts, built on blockchain technology,offer a secure and transparent way of conducting transactions, particularly in e-governance, and automating processes. By leveraging these technologies, smart cities can address the privacy and security challenges they face while continuing to offer cutting-edge services to their inhabitants. Ultimately, the study emphasizes the importance of a proactive approach to privacy and security in the development and implementation of smart cities

Validasi kaedah kromatografi cecair berprestasi tinggi (HPLC) jenis penukar ion dan perbandingannya terhadap HPLC jenis fasa berbalik bagi penentuan jumlah homosisteina

Kajian ini dijalankan untuk menilai kemampuan kaedah penentuan jumlah homosisteina dalam plasma dengan menggunakan kromatografi cecair berprestasi tinggi jenis penukar ion (HPLC-IEC) dan membandingkan kaedah ini dengan kit komersil yang menggunakan kromatografi cecair berprestasi tinggi jenis fasa berbalik (HPLC-RPC). Validasi kaedah bagi penentuan jumlah homosisteina menggunakan HPLC-IEC telah dilakukan mengikut panduan yang dikeluarkan oleh Jabatan Standard Malaysia. Sebanyak 57 sampel daripada pesakit yang dihantar untuk penentuan jumlah homosisteina telah diuji secara serentak untuk menentukan korelasi antara kedua kaedah tersebut. Hasil kajian ini mendapati bahawa validasi kaedah ini telah memenuhi keperluan ISO MS 15189 dan kelinearan sehingga 500 μM dengan pekali penentuan, r2 ialah 0.999. Kepersisan yang dikaji pada aras normal (10 μM) dan aras berpenyakit/abnormal (60 μM) bagi kebolehulangan adalah masing-masing 3.2% dan 3.8% manakala bagi kebolehasilan semula masing-masing adalah 8.0% dan 8.3%. Had pengesanan dan had pengiraan yang diperoleh adalah 0.9274 dan 3.0912 μM. Keputusan ketepatan bagi kembalian semula adalah 92% dan bias adalah -8.6%. Perbandingan kaedah yang telah divalidasi dengan kit komersil menunjukkan hubungan korelasi yang kuat antara kedua-dua kaedah ini (y = 0.721x + 4.034; r = 0.978; p<0.05). Oleh yang demikian, kaedah penentuan jumlah homosisteina menggunakan HPLC-IEC menunjukkan kepersisan yang memuaskan dan korelasi yang kuat setara dengan kit komersil yang dianalisis menggunakan HPLC-RPC. Kaedah ini lebih menjimatkan kos reagen dan mampu menganalisis lebih banyak sampel jika dibandingkan dengan kit komersil. Ini sekaligus dapat membantu dalam diagnosis bagi penyakit kepincangan metabolisme terwaris (IEM) terutama dalam metabolisme homosisteina dengan tepat