Dietary intake, levels of trace elements and intelligence quotient (IQ) among huffaz students from selected tahfiz schools in Selangor

Tahfiz education has been well accepted by Muslims in Malaysia. Memorizing the Quran through rote learning can assist in improving the brain ability to process, store information and build memory. In addition, dietary intakes were reported to contribute in the process of memorizing the Quran and to increase the levels of intelligence (IQ) among huffaz students. This cross-sectional study was conducted to measure and to determine the correlation between IQ and dietary intake as well as between IQ and the level of trace elements among students in selected tahfiz schools and non-tahfiz school in Selangor. Questionnaires were used to obtain demographic data. Dietary intake was assessed via 3 days dietary record. Levels of trace elements in the nail samples were analyzed by using ICP-MS. Test for intelligence using WASI-II was conducted to measure the students’ IQ. The results showed that there was a moderate positive correlation between IQ and carbohydrate (r = 0.425, p < 0.001, a weak positive correlation between IQ and energy (r = 0.260, p < 0.05), vitamin B6 (r = 0.189, p < 0.05), vitamin B12 (r = 0.207, p < 0.05) and vitamin C (r = 0.211, p < 0.05). The levels of trace elements in nail samples showed no correlation with IQ, whereas there were moderate positive correlations between IQ and dietary zinc (r = 0.375, p < 0.001) as well as between IQ and dietary iron (r = 0.303, p < 0.001). There was also a moderate positive correlation between IQ and the level of memorization (r = 0.375, p < 0.001). The results of stepwise multiple linear regression showed that al-Quran memorization influence the level of IQ by 20 %. As a conclusion, dietary intake of certain nutrients including energy, vitamins and selected trace elements can potentially improve memorization activities and also IQ

BOOSTING ENZYMATIC HYDROLYSIS OF PRESSURIZED AMMONIUM HYDROXIDE PRETREATED EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH USING RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY

Oil palm Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) was pretreated using Pressurized Ammonium Hydroxide (PAH) and was employed as Lignocellulosic Biomass(LCB) substrate for the investigation on the monomeric fermentable sugar production using the enzymatic hydrolysis process. Cellulose saccharification in enzymatic hydrolysis into a high yield fermentable sugar is an important step in Biochemical Conversion Technology (BCT). In order to determine the optimum variable conditions that can produce a high yield of fermentable sugar, a statistical approach using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was performed in this study. Three independent variables, enzyme loading (15-50 FPU/g glucan), hydrolysis temperature (45-60°C), and agitation of the hydrolysis process (100-180 rpm) were investigated at five different levels (-α,-1, 0, +1, +α) of operating conditions and the experimental conditions were randomly setup using the Design of Experiment software. The regression models indicated that R 2 for glucose and xylose concentration was 95 and 88% showing the experimental variations were well defined by the models. For the lack of fit test, with p-values > 0.05 for both concentration sugars, 0.218 for glucose and 0.055 for xylose, it proves that the model was significant to the prediction models. The optimal conditions for the enzymatic hydrolysis of the EFB were determined at 32.5 FPU/g of glucan of enzyme loading, 50°C of hydrolysis temperature, and 140 rpm of agitation speed. The validation of the model at the optimum conditions produced a maximum glucose concentration of 8.78 ± 0.01 g/L (conversion of 81.7 ± 0.02 %, and yield of 332.95 ± 0.98 g/kg dry EFB), with a corresponding xylose concentration of 4.40 ± 0.01 g/L (conversion of 57 ± 0.35% and yield of 173.72 g/kg dry EFB)

Decentralized Children's Immunization Record Management System for Private Healthcare in Malaysia Using IPFS and Blockchain

In Malaysia, private healthcare providers keep computerized records of vaccination data, including personal information, diagnostic results, and vaccine prescriptions. However, such sensitive information is commonly stored using a centralized storage paradigm which subsequently brings about the issue of maintaining user privacy. Concerning this, unauthorized access to crucial information such as identity details and ailments that a patient is suffering from, as well as the misuse of patients' data and medical reports, are common threats to user's (patient) privacy. To overcome this problem, the researchers suggest leveraging IPFS (Interplanetary File System) and blockchain technology to create a decentralized children's immunization record management system. While respecting patient privacy, the proposed system also allows authorized entities, such as healthcare professionals, and provides easy access to medical data (e.g., doctors and nurses). The proposed decentralized system integrates IPFS, blockchain, and AES cryptography to ensure consistency, integrity, and accessibility. A permission Ethereum blockchain allows hospitals and patients within private healthcare providers to connect. We utilized a combination of symmetric and asymmetric key encryption to provide secure storage and selective records access. The proposed system was analyzed using Wireshark to evaluate the overall system's performance in terms of integrity and accessibility while sharing patient records. This project aims to provide automated system keeper using autonomous agents collaboratively with the role of blockchain for further enhancement

The Malaysian Acute Vascular Events Risk (MAVERIK) study protocol: studying genetic and other determinants of first-ever myocardial infarction in Malaysia (Preprint)

INTRODUCTION: Although the burden of premature myocardial infarction (MI) is high in Malaysia, direct evidence on the determinants of MI in this multi-ethnic population remains sparse. The Malaysian Acute Vascular Events Risk (MAVERIK) study is a retrospective case-control study established to enable investigation of genomic, lipid-related and other determinants of acute MI in Malaysia. To our knowledge, it represents the largest case-control study of MI and related traits in Malaysia. In this paper, we report the study’s design and initial results. METHODS: By June 2019, MAVERIK had enrolled about 2500 patients with first-ever MI and 2500 controls without cardiovascular disease (CVD), frequency-matched by age, sex and ethnicity, from 17 hospitals in Malaysia. For each participant, serum and whole blood have been collected and stored. Clinical, demographic and behavioural information has been obtained using a 200-item questionnaire. RESULTS: Tobacco consumption, history of diabetes, hypertension, markers of visceral adiposity, indicators of lower socioeconomic status, and family history of coronary disease were more prevalent in cases than controls. Crude and adjusted (age, sex) logistic regression models for traditional risk factors indicated that current smoking, previous smoking, history of high blood pressure, history of diabetes mellitus, family history of CHD and obesity (BMI>30) were associated with MI in age- and sex-adjusted models. CONCLUSION: The MAVERIK study can serve as a useful platform to investigate genetic and other risk factors for MI in an under-studied South-East Asian population. It should help to hasten discovery of disease-causing pathways and to inform regionally appropriate strategies that optimise public health action

Investigating Genetic and Other Determinants of First-Onset Myocardial Infarction in Malaysia:Protocol for the Malaysian Acute Vascular Events Risk Study

BACKGROUND: Although the burden of premature myocardial infarction (MI) is high in Malaysia, direct evidence on the determinants of MI in this multi-ethnic population remains sparse. OBJECTIVE: The Malaysian Acute Vascular Events Risk (MAVERIK) study is a retrospective case-control study established to investigate the genomic, lipid-related, and other determinants of acute MI in Malaysia. In this paper, we report the study protocol and early results. METHODS: By June 2019, we had enrolled approximately 2500 patients with their first MI and 2500 controls without cardiovascular disease, who were frequency-matched by age, sex, and ethnicity, from 17 hospitals in Malaysia. For each participant, serum and whole blood have been collected and stored. Clinical, demographic, and behavioral information has been obtained using a 200-item questionnaire. RESULTS: Tobacco consumption, a history of diabetes, hypertension, markers of visceral adiposity, indicators of lower socioeconomic status, and a family history of coronary disease were more prevalent in cases than in controls. Adjusted (age and sex) logistic regression models for traditional risk factors indicated that current smoking (odds ratio [OR] 4.11, 95% CI 3.56-4.75; P30 kg/m(2); OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.05-1.34; P=.009) were associated with MI in age- and sex-adjusted models. CONCLUSIONS: The MAVERIK study can serve as a useful platform to investigate genetic and other risk factors for MI in an understudied Southeast Asian population. It should help to hasten the discovery of disease-causing pathways and inform regionally appropriate strategies that optimize public health action. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): RR1-10.2196/3188