Relationship between socio-economic variables and preference towards herbal-based products: the Malay experience

Herbal-based products are getting popular in Malaysia especially among Malays due to their claimed benefits. However, some Malay consumers prefer not to consume herbal-based products for many reasons. The objective of this study is to determine consumers' perception towards herbal-based products as an alternative medicine. A total of 150 Malay respondents were selected to take part in this study. Face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire were carried out to get responses among the respondents in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The results revealed that Eurycoma longifolia Jack (Tongkat Ali) was the most preferred herb among the majority followed by Orthosiphon aristatus (Misai Kuching), Labisia pumila (Kacip Fatimah) and Centella asiatica (Pegaga). Ficus deltoidea (Mas Cotek) was the least preferred herb among the respondents in this study. Most of the herbal-based products were consumed as a source of energy, for health and fitness, to cure sickness and disease and for enhancing beauty. This study provides some information on the perception towards herbal-based products consumption among Malay consumers

Adhesion Characterization of Palm Oil Mill Sludge Modified Asphalt Binder

The adhesion of mineral aggregates to asphalt binder is an essential point that attributes to the quality and performance of the asphalt mixture. Moreover, the considerable problem to the asphalt pavement could come from the lack of bonding between the materials. Generally, adhesion of mineral aggregates depends on the source or type of aggregate and asphalt binder. This study investigated the adherence coverage of palm oil mill sludge (POMS) modified binder with granite aggregate. Base asphalt binder of penetration grade 60/70 was blended with 1%,2%,3%,4% and 5% of POMS to produce the modified asphalt binders, respectively. Consequently, POMS modified binders were mixed with the granite aggregate to produce loose mix samples. In this current study, boiling test procedure was used to reduce the adhesive bonding of the loose mix sample. Then, Image J software was used to evaluate the stripping area of the samples. The results from image analysis revealed that different stripping areas due to different amounts of POMS incorporated in the modified asphalt binder. Up to 4% POMS modified asphalt showed an acceptable resistance toward moisture compared to un-modified asphalt. Image J helped to produce a clear stripping result compared to visual observation. In conclusion, POMS could be used as an asphalt modifier with satisfactory adhesion properties

Adhesion Characterization of Palm Oil Mill Sludge Modified Asphalt Binder

The adhesion of mineral aggregates to asphalt binder is an essential point that attributes to the quality and performance of the asphalt mixture. Moreover, the considerable problem to the asphalt pavement could come from the lack of bonding between the materials. Generally, adhesion of mineral aggregates depends on the source or type of aggregate and asphalt binder. This study investigated the adherence coverage of palm oil mill sludge (POMS) modified binder with granite aggregate. Base asphalt binder of penetration grade 60/70 was blended with 1%,2%,3%,4% and 5% of POMS to produce the modified asphalt binders, respectively. Consequently, POMS modified binders were mixed with the granite aggregate to produce loose mix samples. In this current study, boiling test procedure was used to reduce the adhesive bonding of the loose mix sample. Then, Image J software was used to evaluate the stripping area of the samples. The results from image analysis revealed that different stripping areas due to different amounts of POMS incorporated in the modified asphalt binder. Up to 4% POMS modified asphalt showed an acceptable resistance toward moisture compared to un-modified asphalt. Image J helped to produce a clear stripping result compared to visual observation. In conclusion, POMS could be used as an asphalt modifier with satisfactory adhesion properties

Inhibitory effects of swietenia mahagoni seeds extract on A-glucosidase and A-amylase

This study analyzed the inhibition activity of Swietenia mahagoni seeds extract on α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes inhibition assays. Swietenia mahagoni seeds were extracted by using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction at pressures of 20-30 MPa and temperatures of 40-60°C. The oil yields obtained were analyzed with α- glucosidase and α- amylase enzymes inhibition assays. All data obtained were expressed as mean ± standard deviation for triplicate experiments. One way analysis was used for statistical significance by using statistica software version 7.0 (StartSoft, EUA) and IC50 (extract concentration causing 50% enzyme inhibitory) was determined by using GraphPad Prism 6.0 software. Swietenia mahagoni seeds extract have a strong inhibition of α-glucosidase enzyme activity (98.4% ± 0.2) but a moderate inhibition of α- amylase enzyme activity (34.9% ± 1.2). These findings implied that Swietenia mahagoni seeds extract could be an effective natural antidiabetic agent

Sound absorption of lightweight brick containing expanded polystyrene beads and palm oil fuel ash

Bricks are considered as important and strongest materials being used over the years. Commonly, bricks are made of clay mineral and usually used in construction of building wall. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of palm oil fuel ash (POFA) and expanded polystyrene beads (EPS) as a brick and its suitability as sound absorption material. POFA is used as partial replacement of cement while EPS as partial replacement of sand in the mortar mixture. Various percentages of EPS and POFA have been used which include 0%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% as sand replacement and from 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% as cement replacement respectively. Sound absorption tests were conducted using impedance tube. From this study, it has been identified that for sound absorption test, lowest result recorded is at maximum 25% POFA replacement with 50% EPS replacement with 0.011 sound absorption coefficient at frequency of 3500 Hz. The best sound absorption coefficient recorded is 0.998 at frequency of 250 Hz for sample with 0% EPS and 20% POFA replacement. It can be recognized that the brick produced have the excellent sound absorption

Chest imaging features of patients afflicted with Influenza A (H1N1) in a Malaysian tertiary referral centre

This is a retrospective descriptive study of the chest imaging findings of 118 patients with confirmed A(H1N1) in a tertiary referral centre. About 42% of the patients had positive initial chest radiographic (CXR) findings. The common findings were bi-basal air-space opacities and perihilar reticular and alveolar infiltrates. In select cases, high-resolution computed tomography (CT) imaging showed ground-glass change with some widespread reticular changes and atelectasis

Modelling numerical simulation of DP590 steel undergoing finite strain deformation of uniaxial tensile test

Metal sheets made of Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) of Dual Phase (DP) steels are commonly utilised in the automobile industry to form numerous complex forms and sizes of components specifically related to crash energy management. In this paper, the deformation behaviour of DP 590 at various strain rates (0.0001, 0.001, 0.01 and 0.1 s−1) along two principal directions; 0° and 90° are simulated. The tensile behaviour of DP590 was captured in terms of stress-strain curves using the simplified Johnson-Cook (JC) of LS Dyna Finite Element code. The engineering data was first characterised to output the material parameters of JC model which were used further to predict the strain rate dependency of DP590 at various strain rates along the principal directions. A good agreement was obtained in each test

Bridging the data gaps in the epidemiology of hepatitis C virus infection in Malaysia using multi-parameter evidence synthesis

BACKGROUND: Collecting adequate information on key epidemiological indicators is a prerequisite to informing a public health response to reduce the impact of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Malaysia. Our goal was to overcome the acute data shortage typical of low/middle income countries using statistical modelling to estimate the national HCV prevalence and the distribution over transmission pathways as of the end of 2009. METHODS: Multi-parameter evidence synthesis methods were applied to combine all available relevant data sources - both direct and indirect - that inform the epidemiological parameters of interest. RESULTS: An estimated 454,000 (95% credible interval [CrI]: 392,000 to 535,000) HCV antibody-positive individuals were living in Malaysia in 2009; this represents 2.5% (95% CrI: 2.2-3.0%) of the population aged 15-64 years. Among males of Malay ethnicity, for 77% (95% CrI: 69-85%) the route of probable transmission was active or a previous history of injecting drugs. The corresponding proportions were smaller for male Chinese and Indian/other ethnic groups (40% and 71%, respectively). The estimated prevalence in females of all ethnicities was 1% (95% CrI: 0.6 to 1.4%); 92% (95% CrI: 88 to 95%) of infections were attributable to non-drug injecting routes of transmission. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalent number of persons living with HCV infection in Malaysia is estimated to be very high. Low/middle income countries often lack a comprehensive evidence base; however, evidence synthesis methods can assist in filling the data gaps required for the development of effective policy to address the future public health and economic burden due to HCV. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-014-0564-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Toxoplasmosis in HIV and non HIV prisoners in Malaysia

This is the first Malaysian study to determine the trend and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection in HIV and non-HIV among prisoners in terms of socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics, clinical presentations and haematological distributions. Blood samples from 303 participants, comprising 133 HIV positive and 170 HIV negative inmates were collected in EDTA and plain tubes. Two mls of each blood sample in plain tubes were centrifuged at 1500 rpm for 10 minutes and the sera obtained were subjected to ELISA for detection of Toxoplasma IgM and IgG antibody towards Toxoplasma antigen. Seropositive samples for Toxoplasma IgM or both Toxoplasma IgM and IgG were further tested with Novalisa Toxoplasma gondii IgG avidity test to rule out acute from latent infections. Blood in EDTA tubes were sent to Clinical Diagnostic Lab (CDL), University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Kuala Lumpur for complete blood count and differential count analysis. Overall seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies was detected in 41.9% (127 out of 303) of the participants. Anti-T. gondii antibodies was detected in 63.2% (84 out of 133) of HIV positive subjects and in 25.3% (43 out of 170) of HIV negative subjects. Seroprevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies was significantly higher in HIV positive than in HIV negative subjects (OR = 5.06; 95% CI = 3.09-8.30; p < 0.001). The rate of T. gondii seropositivity increased significantly in those aged 40 years and above, HIV positive individuals and those with history of drug abuse. White blood cells (WBCs), neutrophils and basophils counts decreased significantly in those infected with Toxoplasma. Creating awareness about T. gondii infection and follow-up of their status is recommended. Moreover, screening of T. gondii infection in HIV-infected individuals should be considered for better treatment and management, including control and prevention

Adhesion characterization of palm oil mill sludge modified asphalt binder

The adhesion of mineral aggregates to asphalt binder is an essential point that attributes to the quality and performance of the asphalt mixture. Moreover, the considerable problem to the asphalt pavement could come from the lack of bonding between the materials. Generally, adhesion of mineral aggregates depends on the source or type of aggregate and asphalt binder. This study investigated the adherence coverage of palm oil mill sludge (POMS) modified binder with granite aggregate. Base asphalt binder of penetration grade 60/70 was blended with 1%,2%,3%,4% and 5% of POMS to produce the modified asphalt binders, respectively. Consequently, POMS modified binders were mixed with the granite aggregate to produce loose mix samples. In this current study, boiling test procedure was used to reduce the adhesive bonding of the loose mix sample. Then, Image J software was used to evaluate the stripping area of the samples. The results from image analysis revealed that different stripping areas due to different amounts of POMS incorporated in the modified asphalt binder. Up to 4% POMS modified asphalt showed an acceptable resistance toward moisture compared to un-modified asphalt. Image J helped to produce a clear stripping result compared to visual observation. In conclusion, POMS could be used as an asphalt modifier with satisfactory adhesion properties