Passive maternal antibody transfer to eggs and larvae of tiger grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus)

The immune response of Tiger grouper (E. fuscoguttatus) broodstocks and its passive transfer of maternal antibodies to eggs and larvae were evaluated following vaccination with an inactivated V.harveyi. Tiger grouper broodstock (mean BW 8.66 ± 0.09 kg, n=19) were vaccinated intraperitoneally (IP) and followed by a booster two weeks post vaccination, while Controlled Non-vaccinated (CG) broodstock were IP injected with PBS. The serum antibody level against V.harveyi was monitored for two weeks on post-vaccination and monthly up to 5 months post-vaccination. This study showed that the Vaccinated Group (VG) broodstock induced significantly (P<0.05) higher in specific IgM antibody level against V.harveyi as compared to the CG, which in turn induced a marked increased (P<0.05) in specific IgM in eggs and larvae produced from VG broodstock at 14 weeks post vaccination. The findings from this study suggested that inactivated V.harveyi vaccines were able to stimulate the immune response in broodstock and passively transferred the maternal antibody to their eggs and larvae

Exploring Takfir, Its Origins and Contemporary Use: The Case of Takfiri Approach in Daesh’s Media

Muslims have been the primary targets of Daesh’s attacks since 2014 in different countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. These attacks were based on its takfiri ideology. As Daesh official media and documents indicate, kufr (unbelief, infidelity) in Daesh’s approach is not limited to non-Muslims (original disbelievers), but Muslims are the most significant parts of kuffar (unbelievers) in its view and defined as incidental disbelievers. Through studying Daesh’s official documents and various Arabic, English, and Persian media productions, in an explanatory research, this article attempts to display Daesh’s takfiri approach toward Muslims and explains its historical and ideological roots, difference with Al-Qaeda’s takfiri approach, different approaches to takfir inside Daesh, main targets of Daesh’s takfir, and the reasons behinds its takfiri view. This article displays that for Daesh, the Muslims are limited only to Sunni Muslims who are accepting and following its approach. Other Sunni and non-Sunni Muslims are thus kuffar. This study also shows that the assertion of takfir has become a method for Daesh to discredit its opponents, such as Shi’a Muslims and other Muslim groups

Firefly algorithm technique for solving economic dispatch problem

This paper presents the implementation of Firefly Algorithm (FA) in solving the Economic Dispatch (ED) problem by minimizing the fuel cost and considering the generator limits and transmission losses. ED is one of the most challenging problems of power system since it is difficult to determine the optimum generation scheduling to meet the particular load demand with the minimum fuel cost and transmission loss. Until now, there are a lot of researches that have been done to seek for closest optimum result in determining the power generation of each generator especially in large scale power system. FA is a meta-heuristic algorithm which is inspired by the flashing behavior of fireflies. The primary purpose of firefly's flash is to act as a signal system to attract other fireflies. In this paper, 26-bus system is utilized to show the effectiveness of the FA in solving the ED problem. Comparison with Continuous Genetic Algorithm (CGA) and conventional method are also given

Efficacy of intranasal vaccination of field buffaloes against haemorrhagic septicaemia with a live gdhA derivative Pasteurella multocida B:2.

The efficacy of an intranasal haemorrhagic septicaemia vaccine containing live gdhA derivative Pasteurella multocida B:2 was tested in buffaloes in Sabah. Sixty buffaloes, kept grazing in the field with minimal human intervention were devided into three groups of 20 buffaloes per group. Buffaloes of group 1 were exposed intranasal to 5 ml vaccine containing 106 CFU/ml of live gdhA derivative P multocida B:2. Buffaloes of group 2 were not exposed to the vaccine but exposed to PBS and were allowed to commingle and graze in the same field as the buffaloes of group 1 while buffaloes of group 3 were similarly exposed to PBS and were grazing separately. Booster was on group 1, two weeks later. Twelve months after the first vaccination, three buffaloes from each group were brought into the experimental house and challenged subcutaneously with 109 CFU/ml of live wild-type P multocida B:2. All challenged buffaloes of groups 1 and 2 survived with only mild, transient signs while all control unvaccinated buffaloes developed severe signs of haemorrhagic septicaemia and were euthanased between 28 hours and 38 hours postchallenge with signs and lesions typical of haemorrhagic septicaemia. These data showed that the gdhA mutant strain, given intranasally as two doses two weeks apart, successfully induced systemic immunity in exposed buffaloes and also led to spread of vaccine strain to the in-contact animals, where it acted as an effective live vaccine to protect both exposed buffaloes and in-contact buffaloes against challenge with the virulent parent strain

A survey on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance and concern among Malaysians

Abstract Background Vaccination is an effective way to curtail the burden of COVID-19 in which success depends on a high acceptance of the vaccine. However, addressing concerns among vaccine-hesitant individuals is essential to avoid failure of the immunisation programme. This study sought to assess the concerns and acceptance rates regarding the COVID-19 vaccine among Malaysians. Methods An online questionnaire was distributed to 1411 respondents via a snowball sampling method among Malaysians aged 18 years and above. Results The majority of the respondents were young adults (40.7%), female (62.8%), Malay (63.8%), Muslim (72.3%), married (52.9%), with tertiary education (86.8%) and without medical illness (85%). Social media (97.4%) was the primary source of information regarding COVID-19. The overall acceptance rate was high (83.3%), with the lowest rates among the elderly aged 60 years and above (63.4%) and pensioners (64.6%). Hesitance was caused by concerns regarding side effects (95.8%), safety (84.7%), lack of information (80.9%), effectiveness (63.6%) and religious (20.8%) and cultural factors related to the COVID-19 vaccine (6.8%). Respondents with diabetes mellitus (24.7%) and hypercholesterolemia (23%) were more hesitant to accept the COVID-19 vaccine, at 16.1 and 15.8%, respectively. Predictors of COVID-19 vaccine hesitance were age, religion, and current residence. Conclusions The results indicate a high rate of acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccine among Malaysians. Thus, the Malaysian government and other related agencies should increase their campaign and prepare to implement the COVID-19 mass immunisation programme among Malaysians. However, despite the high acceptance rate, it remains important to address concerns among hesitant individuals by building trust in vaccine safety and effectiveness through adequate information regarding the vaccine