Skim latex serum as an alternative nutrition for microbial growth

Malaysia is one of the biggest producers of natural rubber. The fresh latex, tapped from the rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), known as field latex, is a cloudy white and viscous liquid containing rubber fraction and non-rubber components. As a basic raw material in rubber processing, fresh field latex undergoes a series of procedures during its conversion to either dry rubber, or high concentrated latex. To prepare high concentrated latex, ammonia is usually added to the field latex upon reaching the factories to prevent coagulation. Ammoniated latex will then undergo centrifugation which yield high concentrated latex and a by-product named ‘skim latex’. Skim latex is considered as low value by-product and usually discarded as waste effluent. However, it must be first treated in the oxidation treatment pond, before the clearer water can be released into the main waterways. In Malaysia, the discharged water must meet the strict requirements of MS ISO/IEC 17025:2005. Eventually, the rubber manufacturers have to spend a lot of money for waste management and effluent treatment of skim latex. Therefore, utilization of this wasteful skim latex is one of the economic saving measures and may minimize the environmental problems. This chapter aims at delibrating the use of the serum of skim latex as an alternative nutrition for culturing microorganism. As a model microorganism, this study has selected to use Bacillus lichenformis (ATCC 12759). Skim latex serum was used as the basal media, supplemented by some selected medium composition (lactose, galactose, casein, KH2PO4, MgSO4 and LB broth) for the production of extracellular protease. At the end of the study, it was demonstrated that skim latex serum is able to fulfill a criteria as an efficient culture media due to its abundance, low cost, stable in quality and having a stimulatory effect on bacterial growth. Therefore, valorization of this wasteful skim latex into protease enzyme is hoped to be an introduction for further inventions relating to processes suitable for microbial culturing

The Nigeria Parkinson Disease Registry: Process, Profile, and Prospects of a Collaborative Project

BACKGROUND: Clinical disease registries are useful for quality improvement in care, benchmarking standards, and facilitating research. Collaborative networks established thence can enhance national and international studies by generating more robust samples and credible data and promote knowledge sharing and capacity building. This report describes the methodology, baseline data, and prospects of the Nigeria Parkinson Disease Registry. METHODS: This national registry was established in November 2016. Ethics approval was obtained for all sites. Basic anonymized data for consecutive cases fulfilling the United Kingdom Parkinson's Disease Brain Bank criteria (except the exclusion criterion of affected family members) are registered by participating neurologists via a secure registry website (www.parkinsonnigeria.com) using a minimal common data capture format. RESULTS: The registry had captured 578 participants from 5 of 6 geopolitical zones in Nigeria by July 2019 (72.5% men). Mean age at onset was 60.3 ± 10.7 years; median disease duration (interquartile range) was 36 months (18–60.5 months). Young‐onset disease (<50 years) represented 15.2%. A family history was documented in 4.5% and 7.8% with age at onset <50 and ≥ 50, respectively. The most frequent initial symptom was tremor (45.3%). At inclusion, 93.4% were on treatment (54.5% on levodopa monotherapy). Per‐capita direct cost for the registry was $3.37. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first published national Parkinson's disease registry in sub‐Saharan Africa. The registry will serve as a platform for development of multipronged evidence‐based policies and initiatives to improve quality of care of Parkinson's disease and research engagement in Nigeria