Development Of A Thermostabilized Multiplex PCR Assay For The Rapid Detection Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

Staphylococcus aureus rintang methicillin (MRSA) bertanggungjawab terhadap kebanyakan jangkitan nosokomial dan komuniti. Ujian kultur konvensional mengambil masa selama dua hingga lima hari untuk menghasilkan maklumat penuh mengenai organisma dan pola kerintangan antibiotiknya. Oleh itu, kajian ini bertujuan untuk membangunkan ujian reaksi berantai polimerasi berganda untuk pengesanan MRSA dengan pantas. Ujian ini akan mengesan lima gen iaitu 16S rRNA gen dari genus Staphylococcus,femA Staphylococcus aureus, mecA yang mengekod rintangan methicillin, lukS yang mengekod pengeluaran leukosidin Panton-Valentine (PVL), sitotoksin nekrosis, dan satu gen kawalan dalaman secara serentak. Pasangan primer yang unik dan khusus telah pireka untuk mengamplifikasi lima gen dengan produk reaksi berantai polimerasi pada julat 151 hingga 759 bp. Primer yang spesifik disahkan berdasarkan urutan jujukan DNA produk reaksi berantai polimerasi berganda dan analisa Blast. The emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is responsible for nosocomial and community-acquired infections. The conventional culture test takes 2-5 days to yield complete information of the organism and its antibiotic sensitivity pattern. Hence our present study was focused on developing a multiplex PCR assay for the rapid detection of MRSA. The assay simultaneously detected five genes, namely 16S rRNA of the Staphylococcus genus,femA of S. aureus, mecA that encodes methicillin resistance, lukS that encodes production of Panton- Valentine leukocidin (PVL), a necrotizing cytotoxin and one internal control. Unique and specific primer pairs were designed to amplify the 5 genes with the PCR products ranging from 151 to 759 bp. The specificity of the primers was confirmed by DNA sequencing of the multiplex PCR products and BLAST analysis

Developmental research of sustainable technologies to minimise problematic road embankment settlements

Challenging, problematic and non-uniform ground conditions are a night mare to geotechnical engineers tasked with the design and construction of buildings and transport infrastructure. These often suffer undesirable structural settlements. Designing within the current understanding of geotechnics; settlement in peat and organic soils need to be recognised to include the known “primary and secondary consolidation characteristics” and the lesser known “tertiary consolidation phase”. These eventually contribute cumulatively to the consequential uneven and hazardous “bumpy road” surfaces. Undulating flexible road pavements result primarily from the transference of the heavy self-weight of the embankment fill to yielding and non-uniform subgrade. The adoption of conventional design/repair methods such as pile, vertical drain, soil replacement and soil stabilisation are expensive and inappropriate in very soft ground conditions. These then lead to unjustifiably high and repetitive maintenance costs. There being no one quick fix solution for all; pragmatic research must necessarily identify the best/progressively improved practical and sustainable solution. A viable solution is to develop criteria and explore the concept of a “masonry arch bridge structure/lintel-column structure” and adopting sustainable materials through pragmatic searching for appropriate recyclable waste materials. This will lead to the basis for a sustainable, innovative, strong, stiff, permeable composite mat structure that can be used on soft and/or yielding ground conditions. Conceptual lightweight fill technology including the popularly used expanded polystyrene (EPS) and the innovative composite mats recently being developed by the research team are outlined

Temperature and heat flux measurement techniques for aeroengine fire test: a review

This review is made of studies whereby some types of fire test measuring instrument were compared based on their mode of operation, sensing ability, temperature resistance and their calibration mode used for aero-engine applications. The study discusses issues affecting temperature and heat flux measurement, methods of measurement, calibration and uncertainties that occur in the fire test. It is found that the temperature and heat flux measurements of the flame from the standard burner need to be corrected and taken into account for radiation heat loss. Methods for temperature and heat flux measurements, as well as uncertainties analysis, were also discussed

Conflict Resolution: the Truncated Zoning Arrangement and the Buhari Political Tsunami in Nigeria

The Nigerian Fourth Republic ushered in a demo-cratically elected government in 1999 that paved way for the civilians to take over government after a long period of military rule in Nigeria. This made the political parties to project their candidates for contest in occupying the political positions at the federal, states and local government levels. Thus, such projection through the ruling political party that won the election in 1999 known as the People's Democratic Party (PDP), went into zoning arrange-ment that could give the country's six geopolitical zones a place for participation in the administration of the country. This arrangement coordinated the highest positions such as the President, Vice-Presi-dent, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and Chairman of the ruling party. However, such arrangements were only practiced from 1999 to 2011. The zoning arrangements were trun-cated in 2011, which led to conflict in the Northern part of the country. The objective of the study there-fore, is to examine the consequences of the trun-cated zoning arrangement and lessons from the Buhari Political tsunami in 2015 general elections in Nigeria, with interest on how to resolve such con-flicts that emanated. The study made use of qualita-tive research and the review of previous literature as sources of data collection. The findings revealed that, many people were killed during the years 2011-2015 under study; both private and public properties were also destroyed. This study recom-mends constitutional approach regarding the zoning formula to accom-modate all the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria in order to resolve the conflicts therein

The Effect of Brisk Walking on Blood Pressure in Hypertension Patients: A Literature Review

Hypertension is a condition caused by disruption in the bloodstream which can make it more difficult for oxygen and food substances (nutrients) from the blood to be delivered to the tissues in need. Hypertension is also known as a silent disease, which can lead to more dangerous and life-threatening complications. As a chronic condition, hypertension requires proper treatment not only pharmacologically but non-pharmacologically. One alternative in improving the circulatory system in the body is brisk walking exercise. The aim of this literature review was to find out the effect of brisk walking on blood pressure in hypertension patients. 10 articles were included, which were found from searching through three databases, namely Google Scholar, PubMed and Science Direct, for experimental studies published from 2017 to 2020. According to the results, brisk walking can control blood pressure from an average of 150 and diastolic measurements of 100 mmHg to an average of 140 and 80 mmHg, respectively, with significant average values from the 10 articles. Brisk walking can reduce blood pressure in hypertension patients when carried out three times a week in the morning, with a duration of 30-45 minutes, for at least three months (regularly). Keywords: hypertension, brisk walking exercise, blood pressur

A peer evaluation of the community-based education programme for medical students at the University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences: A southern African Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) collaboration

Background. The University of Zimbabwe College of Health Sciences (UZCHS), Harare, which has a long tradition of community-based education (CBE), has not been evaluated since 1991. An innovative approach was used to evaluate the programme during 2015. Objectives. To evaluate the CBE programme, using a peer-review model of evaluation and simultaneously introducing and orientating participating colleagues from other medical schools in southern Africa to this review process. Methods. An international team of medical educators, convened through the Medical Education Partnership Initiative, worked collaboratively to modify an existing peer-review assessment method. Data collection took the form of pre-visit surveys, on-site and field-visit interviews with key informants, a review of supporting documentation and a post-review visit. Results. All 5 years of the medical education curriculum at UZCHS included some form of CBE that ranged from community exposure in the 1st year to district hospital-based clinical rotations during the clinical years. Several strengths, including the diversity of community-based activities and the availability of a large teaching platform, were identified. However, despite the expression of satisfaction with the programme, the majority of students indicated that they do not plan to work in rural areas in Zimbabwe. Several key recommendations were offered, central to which was strengthening the academic co-ordination of the programme and curriculum renewal in the context of the overall MB ChB curriculum. Conclusion. This evaluation demonstrated the value of peer review to bring a multidimensional, objective assessment to a CBE programme

Decentralised training for medical students: Towards a South African consensus

Introduction: Health professions training institutions are challenged to produce greater numbers of graduates who are more relevantly trained to provide quality healthcare. Decentralised training offers opportunities to address these quantity, quality and relevance factors. We wanted to draw together existing expertise in decentralised training for the benefit of all health professionals to develop a model for decentralised training for health professions students.Method: An expert panel workshop was held in October 2015 initiating a process to develop a model for decentralised training in South Africa. Presentations on the status quo in decentralised training at all nine medical schools in South Africa were made and 33 delegates engaged in discussing potential models for decentralised training.Results: Five factors were found to be crucial for the success of decentralised training, namely the availability of information and communication technology, longitudinal continuous rotations, a focus on primary care, the alignment of medical schools’ mission with decentralised training and responsiveness to student needs.Conclusion: The workshop concluded that training institutions should continue to work together towards formulating decentralised training models and that the involvement of all health professions should be ensured. A tripartite approach between the universities, the Department of Health and the relevant local communities is important in decentralised training. Lastly, curricula should place more emphasis on how students learn rather than how they are taught

Friction and wear phenomena of vegetable oil based lubricants with additives at severe sliding wear conditions

The tribological responses of palm oil and soybean oil, combined with two commercial antiwear additives (zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate and boron compound), were investigated at a lubricant temperature of 100 °C and under severe contact conditions in a reciprocating sliding contact. The friction coefficient of palm oil with zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate was closest to the commercial mineral engine oil, with a 2% difference. The soybean oil with zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate produced a 57% improvement in wear resistance compared to its pure oil state. The existence of boron nitride in vegetable oils was only responsive in reduction of wear rather than friction. The response of commercial antiwear additives with vegetable oils showed a potential for the future improvement in the performance of vegetable oils