Development of Fishburgers From Selaroides Leptolepis, Aristichthys Nobilis and Alutera Monoceros

Selaroides leptolepis, Aristichthys llobilis and Alutera monoceros were used to develop frozen fish product aimed at fast food outlets and households. At the idea generation stage, 24 product ideas were generated. The 24 product ideas were reduced to three using a series of scoring techniques for screening. Fishburgers were chosen for furthur development. The formulation for fishburger was established using a sensory panel A final consumer testing of the product was carried out in a nearby housing area. A sample size of 60 households was used. Results showed that the market potential for this product is expected to be very good as 75% of the respondents are willing to buy this product if it is in the market. The acceptable price range is RM 5.50 to RM 6.50. Fishburgers packed in LDPE bags, PP semi rigid containers and PS tray over wrapped with LDPE cling flim were acceptable after 18 weeks of storage at -20°C. The storage quality in terms of thiobarbituric acid no (TBA), trimethylamine (TMA) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVBN) showed significant (P<0.05) increases. There were decreases in salt soluble protein, pH, moisture content and microbial counts. Fishburgers in PP semi rigid containers had the best stability followed by samples in LDPE bags and PS + LDPE. The effects of washing and storage on the quality of S.leptolepis and A. nobilis surimi kept at -20°C for 24 weeks were studied. Surimi was prepared from unwashed, once-washed and twice-washed minces. The storage quality in terms of texture, colour, elasticity, moisture content, pH and SSP values for all samples showed significant (P<0.05) decreases during storage. There were increases in expressible moisture, TMA, TVBN and TBA. Results also showed that twice-washed mince of both species were generally more stable than once-washed and unwashed minces

STUDIES INTO THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE CARDIAC ANTI- HYPERTROPHIC AND ANTI-REMODELLING EFFECTS OF GINSENG

Ginseng is a widely prescribed herbal drug that has been used for over 2000 years in Asia for the treatment of several different disorders of the body including those of the cardiovascular system. Advances in ginseng research have identified the bioactive constituents considered responsible for eliciting its pharmacological effects known as ‘ginsenosides’. Several published reports have demonstrated the potential ability of ginseng and their isolated ginsenosides in the prevention and treatment of heart disease. In the study presented here the effects of ginseng on agonist-induced cardiac hypertrophy in isolated cardiomyocytes (Chapter 2 - 4) as well as an in vivo model of heart failure (Chapter 4) were investigated. In our first study (Chapter 2), the ability of ginseng to prevent leptin-induced ventricular cardiac hypertrophy by inhibiting pi 15RhoGEF-RhoA/ROCK-dependent MAPK activation was investigated. Leptin (50 ng/ml, which is a concentration representative of plasma levels found in obese individuals) produced a robust hypertrophic response that was associated with RhoA/ROCK activation resulting in a significant increase in cofilin-2 phosphorylation and actin polymerization, the latter evidenced by a reduction in the globular to filamentous actin ratio. These effects were prevented by North American ginseng (alcoholic extract; 10 pg/ml), hereon referred to as “ginseng”. The stimulation of RhoA/ROCK by leptin was associated with significantly increased pll5RhoGEF gene and protein expression and exchange activity, all of which were inhibited by ginseng. The attenuation of leptin-induced activation of RhoA/ROCK by ginseng was further associated with diminished p38 MAPK activation and nuclear translocation. In a follow-up study (Chapter 3), the ability of ginseng to reverse leptin-induced cardiac hypertrophy by enhancing Rnd3-pl90RhoGAP-mediated downregulation of RhoA/ROCK activation, was investigated. Cardiomyocytes incubated with leptin for 48 h displayed significantly increased cell surface area, which was accompanied by an increase in the expression of the fetal gene a-skeletal actin. A decrease in the G/F actin ratio, most likely as a result of RhoA/ROCK cofilin-2 phosphorylation was observed in hypertrophied cells treated with leptin. Treatment with ginseng however reversed these effects. In leptin-treated cells, Rnd3 gene and protein expression were decreased however treatment with ginseng reversed these effects by leptin. In the left ventricular tissues of rats subjected to four weeks of sustained myocardial infarction (MI), Rnd3 protein expression was markedly reduced while p63RhoGEF and ROCK expressions, which reflect upregulation of RhoA, were increased. These Mi-induced effects however were restored by ginseng to expressions as observed in sham. For our third study (Chapter 4), we investigated the ability of ginseng to reverse already established cardiac dysfunction as well as hypertrophy both in vitro and in vivo by inhibition of calcineurin/NFAT3 activation. The ability of a pharmacological agent to reverse HF is of particular importance as the majority of current treatments are unable to reverse already established myocardial remodelling and ventricular dysfunction. Accordingly, ginseng was administered in drinking water ad libitum to rats after 4 weeks of sustained coronary artery ligation (CAL) when hypertrophy and HF were established or to hypertrophic neonatal ventricular myocytes treated with angiotensin II, endothelin-1 or phenylephrine. Echocardiographie and catheter-based measurements of hemodynamic parameters revealed complete reversibility of systolic and diastolic abnormalities as well as increased myocardial collagen gene expression in CAL-rats after treatment with ginseng. Similarly, ginseng administration to hypertrophic cardiomyocytes resulted in complete reversal to a normal phenotype after 24 h as determined by cell surface area and a-skeletal gene expression. The IV effects of ginseng in vivo were associated with a tendency to attenuate calcineurin activation and MCIP-1 gene expression. In the cultured cardiomyocytes however, ginseng completely reversed agonist-induced calcineurin activation and NFAT3 nuclear translocation. Taken together, results from our studies demonstrate a marked anti-hypertrophic and anti-remodelling ability of ginseng in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseas

Transformational and transactional leadership styles in enhancing nurse educator’s job satisfaction: an integrative analysis of conventional and Islamic approaches

As nursing education increased its’ complexity, leadership styles employed in these nursing training institutions played a crucial role in achieving nurse educators’ job satisfaction. As such, this study intends to elicit attributes and practices of nursing academic leaders’ transformational and transactional leadership styles in enhancing the job satisfaction of nurse educators. The qualitative method used for the study was based on the phenomenological approach to gather an in-depth understanding of human behaviour through interview, documents and observations. Purposive sampling was undertaken in selecting nine nurse educators from three nursing colleges from Johor and Melaka. Data from the interview were summarized in answering nurse educators' job satisfaction and perceived leadership styles and practices of nursing academic leaders. The responses from the verbatim transcriptions were analysed using the software Atlas Ti. The strong relationship between nursing academic leadership styles and nurse educators’ job satisfaction suggested that the academic nursing transformational leadership style played a prominent role on subordinates’ job satisfaction and that nursing academic leaders’ transformational leadership practices and attributes had the ability to encourage subordinates to achieve more than what they planned. Transactional leadership practised by the nursing academic leaders indicated a weak link to subordinates’ job satisfaction as the leaders’ emphasis on payoffs for performance and corrective actions were not as acceptable to that transformational leadership attributes practised by the leaders. The study uncovered effective leadership was enacted via engaging leadership where the leader enabled the development of an organization modelled by a culture of integrity, transparency, accessibility and genuine valuing of others and that their contributions were concerned for the development and well-being of others. In fact, moral attributes like integrity, trustworthiness and commitment to work as well as decision making styles of leaders such as being consultative leader are among the basic Islamic teachings on establishing worthy social order

Image quality and entrance surface dose evaluation for lateral cervical spine: a study using grid and non-grid techniques

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to ascertain the effect of a moving grid, stationary grid and non-grid in the lateral cervical spine radiography on image quality and entrance surface dose (ESD). Image quality and radiation doses have been studied by various authors, but there is limited amount of information available on image quality and patient dose from cervical spine examination with different grid techniques. Materials and Methods: The radiographs of the lateral cervical spine were acquired by positioning the RANDO phantom abutting the erect bucky whilst using a moving grid, stationary grid and non-grid. A 24 cm x 30 cm Fuji standard cassette type imaging plate was used in this study. A Leeds TOR test tool was utilized for relative comparison of image quality for the fore mentioned techniques. The ESD of each examination was determined by using the Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dosimeter (OSLD). Results: Increased kilovoltage (kVp) resulted in the reduction of ESD whether moving grid, stationary grid or non-grid was utilized. Significant differences in high contrast sensitivity, low contrast sensitivity and spatial resolution were reflected when using the grid compared to that of non-grid, x2(2, N=42) = 8.000; 5.000, p<0.05. The results also indicated significant differences in ESD when using a moving grid, stationary grid and non-grid, x2(2, N=42) = 7.200, p<0.05. Conclusion: This study reflected that there were significant differences in image quality and ESD when a moving grid, stationary grid and non-grid were used in lateral cervical spine radiography. Further, non-grid cervical spine lateral radiography using the highest appropriate kVp is recommended as the existed air gap acts as a grid, resulting in acceptable image quality with reduction in ESD

The relationship of health beliefs on the stage of mammography behavior adoption amongst women in Kuantan, Pahang

Background: Breast cancer (BC) awareness is relatively poor among Malaysian women indicated by the presence of BC at a late stage and the low rate of mammography screening. Only a few theoretically based studies have been conducted on Malaysian women’s participation in mammography. Therefore, the objective of this study is to use health belief model (HBM) and stage of change model (SCM) to determine the relationship between health beliefs on the behavioural adoption of mammography amongst women in Kuantan, Pahang. Methods: Five hundred and twenty women were randomly selected to complete the survey. Data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression (MLR) to ascertain the multivariate relationships between health beliefs and stage of mammography behavioural adoption. Results: The MLR test indicates that there is no significant difference in perceived severity, benefits, motivator factors and cues to action between participants in the action stage and the maintenance stage. However, significant differences existed in perceived severity, susceptibility, motivator factors and self-efficacy between the pre-contemplation, relapse and contemplation stage to that of the referenced (maintenance) stage of mammography adoption. Conclusion: Women in the action stage are more likely to progress towards maintenance stage as they perceived breast cancer as a disease that leads to death and that mammogram screening is beneficial in detecting the disease at an early stage. However, women in the pre-contemplation, relapse and contemplation stage are found unlikely to move towards the maintenance stage as they perceived their risk of getting breast cancer is low

A Phantom Study for the Optimization of Image Quality and Radiation Dose for Common Radiographic Examinations in Digital Radiography

Introduction: Phantom studies facilitate the implementation of radiation dose surveillance as a function of radiographic technical parameters for minimizing patient radiation dose. The evidence of such investigations can then be used to evaluate technical parameters used in the radiographic procedures to reduce radiation dose without compromising the image quality. Material and Methods: This experimental study was carried out using an anthropomorphic phantom and the Leeds test object. Computed radiographic system was utilized and the images were printed for objective evaluation. Dose-area-product (DAP) readings were obtained using a DAP meter for the technical parameters employed for the radiographic procedures. Results: The use of 0.2 mm additional copper filtration resulted in the lowest radiation doses for all four radiographic procedures (i.e. posteroanterior chest, anteroposterior abdomen and lumbar sacral spine projections). The highest tube potential appropriate to the body part being imaged, patient size, image receptor response and required information resulted in the minimum radiation dose to the patient without compromising the image quality. The focus to film distance utilized for the radiographic procedure must be in accordance with the focus to grid distance specified by the manufacturer when using the bucky to eliminate grid “cut-off.” Conclusion: The optimization of image quality and radiation dose can be accomplished by using a phantom and selecting the imaging parameters that yield an acceptable image quality with the lowest entrance surface dose while considering the adjustment for patient size

Effect of Opening Size on Wind-Driven Cross Ventilation

The opening size on indoor airflow is important to the ventilation of building because various size openings change the ventilation performance for building. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the effect of opening size on indoor airflow characteristics of naturally ventilated building model. The numerical simulation with steady RANS equations was used. A total of six different opening ratios, namely 4:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 4:9 and 1:4 were considered in this study. The results of mesh independence study and model validation were also in good agreement with previous study. The simulation results show that velocity and pressure of the indoor air, ventilation rate, and pressure coefficient are highly dependent on the opening ratio. The velocity and pressure contour indicate that the lower the opening ratio, the higher the velocity and subsequently lower pressure inside the building. In addition, the pressure coefficient and ventilation rate are also increased as the opening ratio decreases. Besides, the results indicate that percentage increase in ventilation rate of opening ratio 4:1 and 2:1, 2:1 and 1:1, and 1:1 and 1:2 is higher than those of opening ratio for 1:2 and 4:9, 4:9 and 1:4. The study concluded that pairing a large outlet and small inlet leads to increase in better ventilation rate for building

Effect of Roof Design Configurations On Natural Ventilation with an Obstacle Inside the Building Model

Roof shape, roof angle, and internal obstacle are some of the factors that have a substantial impact on building's ventilation performance. However, previous roof ventilation studies have not considered the influence of internal obstacle which can affect the overall building’s ventilation performance. For this study, CFD was used to study the effect of roof design configurations on natural ventilation with an obstacle inside the building model. The numerical simulation was carried out by using steady RANS equation specifically the Standard k-ε with enhanced wall treatment. A total of 40 simulation cases were carried out. The study considered two roof shapes mainly the sawtooth roof and the saltbox roof with varying roof angle which were 10º, 20º, 30º, and 40º. Internal obstacles with various height were further added into the simulation cases. Next, grid sensitivity analysis was carried out using Grid Convergence Index (GCI) and Factor of two of observations (FAC2) analysis was carried out as model verification method to ensure a reliable simulation result. Based on the results, it is found that airflow characteristics such as wind speed, distribution of pressure coefficient, and flowrate of an isolated building are strongly dependent on the roof shape and roof angle. Next, the dimensionless flowrate (DFR) is measured to be highest with largest roof angle while lowest with smaller roof angle. Furthermore, the DFR of a building with internal obstacle is lower than that without an internal obstacle due to blockage of incoming air. Moreover, the results show that the sawtooth roof outperforms the saltbox roof in terms of measured parameter. Finally, the study concluded that an isolated building with higher roof angle and without an internal obstacle leads to the best dimensionless flowrate throughout the building.Roof shape, roof angle, and internal obstacle are some of the factors that have a substantial impact on building's ventilation performance. However, previous roof ventilation studies have not considered the influence of internal obstacle which can affect the overall building’s ventilation performance. For this study, CFD was used to study the effect of roof design configurations on natural ventilation with an obstacle inside the building model. The numerical simulation was carried out by using steady RANS equation specifically the Standard k-ε with enhanced wall treatment. A total of 40 simulation cases were carried out. The study considered two roof shapes mainly the sawtooth roof and the saltbox roof with varying roof angle which were 10º, 20º, 30º, and 40º. Internal obstacles with various height were further added into the simulation cases. Next, grid sensitivity analysis was carried out using Grid Convergence Index (GCI) and Factor of two of observations (FAC2) analysis was carried out as model verification method to ensure a reliable simulation result. Based on the results, it is found that airflow characteristics such as wind speed, distribution of pressure coefficient, and flowrate of an isolated building are strongly dependent on the roof shape and roof angle. Next, the dimensionless flowrate (DFR) is measured to be highest with largest roof angle while lowest with smaller roof angle. Furthermore, the DFR of a building with internal obstacle is lower than that without an internal obstacle due to blockage of incoming air. Moreover, the results show that the sawtooth roof outperforms the saltbox roof in terms of measured parameter. Finally, the study concluded that an isolated building with higher roof angle and without an internal obstacle leads to the best dimensionless flowrate throughout the building