Evaluation of Hibiscus Sabdariffa L. calyx as cardioprotective agents

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), particularly Myocardial Infarction (MI), are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Hypercholesterolaemia increased the risk of developing CVD. Hibiscus sabdariffa L. (Roselle) has been used traditionally to reduce cholesterol levels. However, there is limited evidence of the plant's cardioprotective effects. The present study evaluated the effects of the aqueous extract of H. sabdariffa calyx (AEHS) on hypercholesterolaemia-myocardial infarction (HC-MI) rats. The proximate analysis was conducted to determine the nutritional composition of a self-made high-cholesterol diet (HCD). There are three phases in the animal study. The first phase (induction phase) was aim to develop an HC rat model using HCD for 6 weeks. The second phase (intervention phase) was to evaluate the effects of 30 days of AEHS treatment on body mass index (BMI), fasting blood sugar (FBS), fasting cholesterol (FC) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the rat. The third phase is where isoprenaline induced the myocardial infarction in rats (HC-MI) at day- 29 and 30. Although the cholesterol level was normal in HC-MI rats, there was a fatty change in the liver (steatosis). The HC-MI rat was also established based on raised cardiac troponin T level and the necrotic changes on the left ventricle tissue. However, AEHS did not significantly improve the parameters in the intervention phase. Moreover, AEHS did not reduce the cardiac troponin T significantly compared to the untreated-HC-MI, which is concurrent with the histology of the left ventricle. However, RFT and LFT were normal in AEHS-treated HC-MI. Collectively, further studies are needed to elucidate H. sabdariffa as a cardioprotective agent

Perception, knowledge and awareness towards the attitude on organ donation among staffs of UiTM Cawangan Kelantan / Annur Liyana Mohd Kemari, Nur Ain Hidayah Zainuddin and Nurul Farhana Mohd Asri

Organ donation is an act of people give or transplant their organs sincerely and not based on monetary value. However, the previous studies show that Malaysia is one of the countries which has a lower rate of organ and tissue donation compared to other countries in the world. Based on previous studies, negative perception, poor knowledge and lack of awareness are the reasons for the problem occurred. Hence, this study focuses on identifying the significant and direct effect of perception, knowledge and awareness towards the attitude on organ donation. Not only that, this study identifies the significant difference in mean of attitude between different levels of demographic factors involving gender, marital status, income and highest educational level. This study applied a cross-sectional study on 249 staffs consisting academic and non-academic staffs in UiTM Cawangan Kelantan and the sample were chosen by using Simple Random Sampling. This study recorded 100.00% of response rate. In order to collect the data, self-administered questionnaire was used. The statistical analysis that have been applied to achieve the objectives were Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), Independent t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) which both were analysed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21 and AMOS version 23 respectively. In conclusion, only perception has a significant and direct effect towards the attitude on organ donation. However, knowledge and awareness showed no significant and direct effect towards the attitude on organ donation. This study also concluded that there is no significant difference in mean of attitude between gender. Not only that, this study also found that there was a significant difference in mean of attitude between levels of income while the other variables (marital status, highest educational level) do not show any significant difference in mean of attitude among different levels. This study suggested some modifications such as conducting the study on large population and include new variables that may has possibility affect the attitude towards organ donation for further studies. This study also suggested several ways to build positive perception thus increase positive attitude by doing campaign, teach and encourage children about organ donation and give talk on the importance of donating orga

Critical analysis of the inadequacies of the peaceful assembly act / Nur Shazlin Muhamad Asri … [et al.]

This paper studies the inadequacy of the newly implemented PAA which allows the Malaysian citizen to have the assembly on certain matter that arises. To extract the relevant information, semi-structured interviews were conducted with police officer, the lecturers and people in judiciary field to supplement the library-based information which were mostly on article of another country that we compared mainly being United Kingdom and Australia who had the same law implemented. Factors that we considered are like how the law will assist the society, the inadequacy of the law in governing the maturity of the citizens, and improvement that should be taken from time to time. Our study also signify that although it is too soon to study whether this newly legislated law will be able to facilitates our citizens needed, worldwide statistics have proven this fact. Finally, our findings indicate that although the government bodies are certain that enough research has been done before implementing the law, there are still lacuna in dealing with the society and their own hidden agendas and that's why this law should be more complete and critical. Lastly, the end-result will largely depend on public's acceptance and the authority to enforce the law justly

SIXN Enterprise: portable dustbin sink / Najihah Zakariya [et al.]

Our company were working on a project named 'PORTABLE DUSTBIN SINK' The base features that we have use on our product were the portable dustbin, steel tray, water pump and the water tap that will complete the features of the portable dustbin sink

Leaf anatomy of Morinda citrifolia L. in Pahang, Malaysia, and its taxonomic significance

Leaf anatomical study has been conducted on Morinda citrifolia L. from family Rubiaceae in Kuantan, Pahang. The aim of this study was to identify and list characteristics of leaf anatomy that can be used to identify and classification of species and genus in the Rubiaceae family. Methods used in this study were cross section using sliding microtome, epidermis peeling and leaf clearing and observation under a light microscope. Results from this study showed few characteristics can be used in identification in species studied. The result of this study showed that the presence of collenchyma cells, sclerenchyma cells, cell inclusions such as raphide at the petiole and midrib and hypostomatic stomata can be useful as an additional data to identify species studied. In conclusion, leaf anatomy characteristics can be used as an additional characteristic in the identification and classification of selected Rubiaceae species

Global Prevalence of Nosocomial Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The emergence of nosocomial multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae is an escalating public health threat worldwide. The prevalence of nosocomial infections due to K. pneumoniae was recorded up to 10%. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, which were conducted according to the guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, 1092 articles were screened from four databases of which 47 studies fulfilled the selected criteria. By performing a random-effect model, the pooled prevalence of nosocomial multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae was estimated at 32.8% (95% CI, 23.6–43.6), with high heterogeneity (I2 98.29%, p-value < 0.001). The estimated prevalence of this pathogen and a few related studies were discussed, raising awareness of the spread of multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae in the healthcare setting. The emergence of nosocomial multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae is expected to increase globally in the future, and the best treatments for treating and preventing this pathogen should be acknowledged by healthcare staff

Conducting polymer-based textile materials

The new age of wearable technology has popularized the field of smart textiles among researchers. In essence, smart textiles are functional textiles with applications in various industries such as healthcare, sports, automotive, semiconductor, and military. The convergence of textiles and electronics (e-textiles) united electronic functionalities without compromising the comfort of conventional textiles. E-textiles are also commonly known for their flexibility, wearability, breathability, and lightweight. Due to their favorable characteristics, e-textiles have made their way into a variety of applications such as biosensors, wearable antennas, artificial muscles, thermoelectric clothing, etc. Electrical conductivity can be introduced into the textile by embedding conducting materials through melt-spinning or coating techniques. However, the rigidity of conducting materials such as metal may compromise the mechanical properties of the textile. This inherent disadvantage with common conducting material presents an opportunity to evaluate the feasibility of conducting polymers (CPs) in e-textiles. This type of polymer combines the mechanical traits of plastics with the electrical properties that are typical of metals. At the moment, CPs that are frequently studied are polypyrrole, polyaniline, polythiophene, and its derivative, poly(3,4-ethylyene dioxythiophene). However, some challenges must be considered while designing conductive textiles, such as the stability of the conductive materials in their environment, washability of the textile, viability in industrial manufacturing, etc. In this chapter, we will go through an overview of the various aspects of conductive textile, followed by the finer details on its fabrication techniques, challenges, and potential application. Finally, we will discuss future directions in the research to develop an ideal CP-based smart textile