Responses of some selected Malaysian rice genotypes to callus induction under in vitro salt stress

Tissue culture technique can be used as a source for genetic variability by means of genetic modifications through the process of in vitro cultures. This technique has been widely used for breeding purposes, especially for stress tolerance selection, which severely limits rice production. Also, the establishment of a suitable plant regeneration system is a prerequisite for successful genetic transformation. The aim of this study is to identify the most suitable medium and to assess the genotype performance for in vitro salt stress responses in some selected Malaysian rice genotypes. Differences in culture conditions, growth rate, plant hormone responses and accumulation of proline content were monitored. All the selected genotypes showed that the callus-growth capacities were significantly affected by the genotypes and the culture media. Evidently, callus was best induced on the MS medium added with 10 ìM dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 0.4 gm/l casein hydrolysate. In addition, the shoot regeneration capacity from the callus was the most effective in ½ MS added with 10 ìM 6 benzylaminopurine (BAP). The two genotypes, that is, MR219 (line 4) and MR219 (line 9), consistently performed the best in both callus culture (93.51 and 92.22%) and plant regeneration capacity (27.03 and 26.34%), respectively. When the callus were transferred to different concentrations of NaCl (0 to 250 mM) supplemented medium in order to examine their responses to salinity, the two genotypes, that is, MR219 (line 4) and MR219 (line 9), showed a significant decline in the callus growth (18.83 and 23.5%) and regeneration capacity (7.33 and 7.68%), respectively. A similar trend was also observed for the proline content. All the genotypes significantly resulted in proline accumulation.MR211 showed the highest accumulation, whereas MR219 (line 4) revealed the lowest proline accumulation. These proline content analyses further suggest potential salinity tolerance in the rice genotypes.Key words: Plant regeneration, embryogenesis, salinity, callus

Eating behaviour and its associations with overweight among nurses on shift duty in teaching hospital

Overweight and obesity have become a global concern and estimated with more than 1.9 billion adults worldwide were overweight and more than 650 million were obese in 2016. Nurses in Malaysia were no exception to overweight and obesity. This research was conducted with the aim to identify the prevalence of overweight among nurses on shift duty in a teaching hospital and to understand the relationship between abnormal eating behavior and body mass index. A total of 280 respondents participated in this research and Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire was used. Body Mass Index (BMI) score was categorized according to Clinical Practice Guidelines 2004. Results showed that 68.5% of the nurses were either overweight (37.1%) or obese (31.4%). The nurses’ BMI does not showed any association with socio-demographic data except age (r=0.156). As age increases, the nurses’ BMI also increase. This research also showed that there was no association between emotional and external eating behavior to BMI. However, there was a statistically significant differences in BMI for restraint eating (F=6.056, p=0.003). In conclusion, restraint eating behavior was the most practiced form of eating behavior in an attempt to achieve the ideal body weight but unfortunately lead to overweight among the nurses. Overweight or obese nurses will have a negative impression to the society and even reduce their confidence towards nurses’ health education. Overweight or obesity also ruined the nurses’ working performance and quality of care for patients. This issue requires immediate action and interventions to promote healthy lifestyles and eating habits among nurses should be conducted in the hospital