Reliability and validity for measurement of body composition: A field method

Measurement of body composition via a field method has the most popular instruments which are used to estimate the percentage of body fat. Among the instruments used are the Body Mass Index, Bio Impedance Analysis and Skinfold Test. All three of these instruments do not involve high costs, do not require high technical skills, mobile, save time, and are suitable for use in large populations. Because all three instruments can estimate the percentage of body fat, but it is important to identify the most appropriate instruments and have high reliability. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the reliability and convergent validity of the instruments. A total of 40 students, males and females aged between 13 and 14 years participated in this study. The study found that the test retest and Pearson correlation coefficient of reliability for the three instruments is very high, r = .99. While the inter class reliability also are at high level with r = .99 for Body Mass Index and Bio Impedance Analysis, r = .96 for Skinfold test. Intra class reliability coefficient for these three instruments is too high for Body Mass Index r = .99, Bio Impedance Analysis r = .97, and Skinfold Test r = .90. However, Standard Error of Measurement value for all three instruments indicates the Body Mass Index is the most appropriate instrument with a mean value of .000672 compared with other instruments. The findings show that the Body Mass Index is an instrument which is the most accurate and reliable in estimating body fat percentage for the population studied.Keywords: Reliability, Validity, Body Mass Index, Bio Impedance Analysis and Skinfold Test

Application of ANFIS in predicting TiAlN coatings flank wear

In this paper, a new approach in predicting the flank wear of Titanium Aluminum Nitrite (TiAlN) coatings using Adaptive Network Based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) is implemented. TiAlN coated cutting tool is widely used in machining due to its excellent resistance to wear. The TiAlN coatings were formed using Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) magnetron sputtering process. The substrate sputtering power, bias voltage and temperature were selected as the input parameters and the flank wear as an output of the process. A statistical design of experiment called Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used in collecting optimized data. The ANFIS model was trained using the limited experimental data. The triangular, trapezoidal, bell and Gaussian shapes of membership functions were used for inputs as well as output. The results of ANFIS model were validated with the testing data and compared with fuzzy rule-based and RSM flank wear models in terms of the root mean square error (RMSE), coefficient determination (R2) and model accuracy (A). The result indicated that the ANFIS model using three bell shapes membership function obtained better result compared to the fuzzy and RSM flank wear models. The result also indicated that the ANFIS model could predict the output response in high prediction accuracy even using limited training data

Agarwood Leaf Essential Oil Characterization and Effects on MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

Breast cancer continues to remain as the leading cause of cancer mortality among women worldwide. Agents for prevention and cure for breast cancer are contiuously being researched. İn particular, agarwood essential oil from resin infiltrated heartwood has been reported to have substantial evidences of medicinal benefits. Nevertheless, there is very limited report on agarwood leaf essential oil (ALEO). Hence, this present study was conducted to evaluate the physicochemical properties, chemical constituents and anticancer activity of ALEO. ALEO was observed to be of pale-yellow colour with sweet smell. Other physicochemical properties include refractive index of 1.44, specific gravity of 0.886, saponification value of 131.88 mg KOH/g, acid value of 2.80 mg KOH/g and iodine value of 105.07 gI2/100g. The profiling of chemical constituents using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) revealed 19 compounds. Hexadecanoic acid was the major compound (64.41%). The biomarkers of agarwood; azulene (0.619%) and guaiol (0.2997%) were also detected. ALEO was tested for anticancer activity against MCF-7 cancer cells using WST-8 assay. ALEO showed the IC50 value of 31% (v/v) against MCF-7 cells after 36 hours of treatment. In conclusion, this study provides information on ALEO physicochemical properties and chemical constituents that can be used as benchmark for quality assurance as well as proof that ALEO holds a potential as anticancer agent

Evaluation of meat and meat product oxidation and off-flavor formation: Managing oxidative changes

One of the primary issues with processed foods during heat treatment and freezing storage is fat oxidation, which causes significant changes in fats due to their interaction with reactive oxygen species (ROS). This interaction leads to the creation of various aldehydes that have a high affinity for large molecules, such as proteins, leading to the formation of final products of advanced oxidation processes that contribute to food spoilage. Co-oxidation can also result in extensive damage. Another problem affecting the quality and nutritional value of meat products is protein oxidation, which can occur during storage via freezing and thawing or as a result of heat treatment. Heat treatment can cause physical and chemical changes, such as the loss of some essential amino acids and the transformation of certain amino acids into carbonyl compounds via various mechanisms. Protein oxidation is indicated by the accumulation of these carbonyl compounds, and the heat treatment can lead to the denaturation of myoglobin, which is responsible for the brown color of cooked meat and is influenced by several factors. Active protein aggregates can interact with the oxidation products of polyunsaturated fatty acids and with carbohydrate glycation or glycoxidation to produce Maillard products. It is critical to understand the oxidative changes that occur in fats and proteins in food, particularly in meat products, since these components are among the primary constituents of food.One of the primary issues with processed foods during heat treatment and freezing storage is fat oxidation, which causes significant changes in fats due to their interaction with reactive oxygen species (ROS). This interaction leads to the creation of various aldehydes that have a high affinity for large molecules, such as proteins, leading to the formation of final products of advanced oxidation processes that contribute to food spoilage. Co-oxidation can also result in extensive damage. Another problem affecting the quality and nutritional value of meat products is protein oxidation, which can occur during storage via freezing and thawing or as a result of heat treatment. Heat treatment can cause physical and chemical changes, such as the loss of some essential amino acids and the transformation of certain amino acids into carbonyl compounds via various mechanisms. Protein oxidation is indicated by the accumulation of these carbonyl compounds, and the heat treatment can lead to the denaturation of myoglobin, which is responsible for the brown color of cooked meat and is influenced by several factors. Active protein aggregates can interact with the oxidation products of polyunsaturated fatty acids and with carbohydrate glycation or glycoxidation to produce Maillard products. It is critical to understand the oxidative changes that occur in fats and proteins in food, particularly in meat products, since these components are among the primary constituents of food

3D Image Plane from Stereo Camera Calibration on Extrinsic Parameters in Stereo Vision Aplication

This paper presents a 3D image plane in a group of target or image during the process of stereo pair calibration. The extrinsic parameters of camera calibration can be viewed in 3D image or scene which contains the rotation and translation of vector. The error re-projection of a single image could determine the less error of distortion during the extraction of chessboard corner each image taken. The distortion model also generates an error coordinate system in pixel value. The 3D image will viewed the result and output of extrinsic parameters during the calibration process.

Comparative study of herbal plants on the phenolic and flavonoid content, antioxidant activities and toxicity on cells and zebrafish embryo

Natural antioxidants derived from plants have shown a tremendous inhibitory effect on free radicals in actively metabolizing cells. Overproduction of free radicals increases the risk factor of chronic diseases associated with diabetes, cancer, arthritis and cardiovascular disease. Andrographis paniculata, Cinnamon zeylanicum, Curcuma xanthorrhiza, Eugenia polyantha and Orthosiphon stamineus are ethnomedicinal plants used in the Asian region to treat various illnesses from a common fever to metabolic disease. In this study, we have quantified the total phenolic (TPC) and flavonoid content (TFC) in these plants and its inhibitory effect on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) free radicals as well as the cytotoxicity effect on cell lines proliferation and zebrafish embryogenesis. Results showed that Cinnamon zeylanicum and E. polyantha have the highest phenolic and flavonoid content. Furthermore, both herbs significantly inhibited the formation of DPPH and ABTS free radicals. Meanwhile, O. stamineus exhibited minimum cytotoxicity and embryotoxicity on tested models. Good correlation between IC50 of 3T3-L1 cells and LC50 embyrotoxicity was also found. This study revealed the potent activity of antioxidant against free radical and the toxicology levels of the tested herbal plants

ESTIMATION OF LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE USING LANDSAT TM THERMAL INFRARED IN SELANGOR-NEGERI SEMBILAN

A full-scene of Landsat TM acquired on April 17, 1988 (path 127/row58) was used in this study. This scene covers the areas of Selangor and north part of Negeri Sembilan in Peninsular Malaysia. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the use of remote sensed information, especially thermal band 6 to gain land surface temperature (LST) using thermal band of Landsat images. The result will be compared with urban and non-urban surfaces by using normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) and compare relationships between them. The initial result showed that the correlation between the LST and the NDVI over ten locations in the study area is quite significant. The derivation of LST map using remote sensing technique in this study is useful in providing information for analysing geophysical parameters over Selangor-Negeri Sembilan area, especially dealing with the urban heat island phenomenon