The effects of different indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) concentrations, two light regimes of in vitro rooting and acclimatization of in vitro teak (Tectona grandis L.f) plantlets

Effects of different indole-3-butyric (IBA) concentrations (0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 5.0 mg/l), two light regimes of in vitro rooting and acclimatization on in vitro teak (Tectona grandis L.f) were investigated. Shoots incubated in the light produced higher mean number of roots (2.0) and mean root length of 15.0 and 4.5 mm when supplemented with low IBA concentrations of 0.5 and 1.0 mg/l, respectively. Conversely, when shoots were incubated in the dark, higher mean number of roots (8.0 and 3.0) and mean root lengths (14.0 and 8.8 mm) were produced when supplemented with higher IBA concentrations of 2.0 and 3.0 mg/l, respectively. IBA was found necessary for root induction and growth in light and dark where 2.0 mg/l was optimum as it recorded high mean number of root (6.0 and 8.0) with mean root lengths of 11.8 and 14.0 mm, respectively. High survival percentage of 80% was recorded for those plantlets raised in "jiffy-7" but survival reduced to 40% when grown in the autoclaved soil after one week

Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM) use and its association with diabetic control among diabetic patients in a tertiary Centre, Kuantan Pahang

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes mellitus is a major global health concern worldwide. The fact that it is a lifelong chronic illness contributes to the increasing tendency of seeking traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM), yet study regarding this remains limited. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of T&CM use among diabetic patients and its association with diabetic control. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted at Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan (HTAA), Kuantan between July and August 2018. Following written consent, 136 type 2 adult diabetic patients in medical ward and those attending diabetic clinic were interviewed regarding the use of T & CM; and their blood investigation results were collected from patients' medical records. A data collection form was used as study instrument. Descriptive statistic was used to measure the prevalence while chi-square test and independent t-test were used to find associations between T&CM use and study background and diabetic control. RESULTS: Low prevalence of T&CM use (16.9%) was found, predominated by retiree group (p<0.05). Majority of patients used T&CM as additional treatment for diabetes (60.9%) and the usage was influenced by friends, family members and advertisement. There was a significant difference in Glycosylated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) levels between inpatient and outpatient T&CM users (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: 1 in every 6 diabetic patients in HTAA, Kuantan were using T&CM along with conventional diabetic medications in which retirees are predominated. No associations were found between T&CM uses and diabetic control. Outpatient T&CM users had lower HbA1c level with higher eGFR compared to inpatient users

Determination of ultra-morphological changes of trichophyton rubrum treated with hydroxychavicol

Introduction: Trichophyton rubrum is a common pathogenic fungal species that is responsible for causing infection of human skin, hair and nail. The antifungal-resistant strains however, complicate the treatment regime. Hydroxychavicol (HC) is one of the main compounds from the Piper betel leaf that have antifungal potential and its mechanism of action has yet to be studied. This study was carried out to determine the antifungal properties of HC against Trichophyton rubrum using transmission electron microscope (TEM) on gross and ultrastructure of Trichophyton rubrum hypha. Methods: Broth dilution method was used to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of HC and miconazole (MI) against the Trichophyton rubrum (ATCC 28188). Trichophyton rubrum was treated with HC and MI at concentrations of 1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/mL for 1, 3, 5 and 7 days continuously. Results: The MIC results of the HC and MI against Trichophyton rubrum were 0.00048 mg/mL and 0.000061 mg/mL respectively. MFC results showed 0.0019 mg/mL for HC and 0.000061 mg/mL for MI. Microscopically, the fungi structures became more severely damaged at increasing treatment duration. The cell wall of the fungi treated with HC showed a rough surface, shrinkage and demolition similar to that of the MI treated group. The fungi organelles were also demolished and disorganized. Conclusions: This study reveals that HC has the ability to inhibit Trichophyton rubrum growth and it has the potential to be an antifungal agent especially in treating dermatitis. KEYWORDS: Piper betel, Trichophyton rubrum, hydroxychavicol, miconazole, antifunga

Compositional and expression analyses of the glideosome during the Plasmodium life cycle reveal an additional myosin light chain required for maximum motility

Myosin A (MyoA) is a Class XIV myosin implicated in gliding motility and host cell and tissue invasion by malaria parasites. MyoA is part of a membrane-associated protein complex called the glideosome, which is essential for parasite motility and includes the MyoA light chain MTIP, and several glideosome-associated proteins (GAPs). However, most studies of MyoA have focused on single stages of the parasite life cycle. We examined MyoA expression throughout the Plasmodium berghei life cycle in both mammalian and insect hosts. In extracellular ookinetes, sporozoites and merozoites, MyoA was located at the parasite periphery. In the sexual stages, zygote formation and initial ookinete differentiation precede MyoA synthesis and deposition, which occurred only in the developing protuberance. In developing intracellular asexual blood stages, MyoA was synthesized in mature schizonts and was located at the periphery of segmenting merozoites, where it remained throughout maturation, merozoite egress and host cell invasion. Besides the known GAPs in the malaria parasite, the complex included GAP40, an additional myosin light chain designated essential light chain (ELC) and several other candidate components. This ELC bound the MyoA neck region adjacent to the MTIP binding site, and both myosin light chains co-located to the glideosome. Co-expression of MyoA with its two light chains revealed that the presence of both light chains enhances MyoA-dependent actin motility. In conclusion, we have established a system to study the interplay and function of the three glideosome components, enabling the assessment of inhibitors that target this motor complex to block host cell invasion

Image reconstruction of metal pipe in electrical resistance tomography

This paper demonstrates a Linear Back Projection (LBP) algorithm based on the reconstruction of conductivity distributions to identify different sizes and locations of bubble phantoms in a metal pipe. Both forward and inverse problems are discussed. Reconstructed images of the phantoms under test conditions are presented. From the results, it was justified that the sensitivity maps of the conducting boundary strategy can be applied successfully in identifying the location for the phantom of interest using LBP algorithm. Additionally, the number and spatial distribution of the bubble phantoms can be clearly distinguished at any location in the pipeline. It was also shown that the reconstructed images agree well with the bubble phantoms

Subcellular Location, Phosphorylation and Assembly into the Motor Complex of GAP45 during Plasmodium falciparum Schizont Development

An actomyosin motor complex assembled below the parasite's plasma membrane drives erythrocyte invasion by Plasmodium falciparum merozoites. The complex is comprised of several proteins including myosin (MyoA), myosin tail domain interacting protein (MTIP) and glideosome associated proteins (GAP) 45 and 50, and is anchored on the inner membrane complex (IMC), which underlies the plasmalemma. A ternary complex of MyoA, MTIP and GAP45 is formed that then associates with GAP50. We show that full length GAP45 labelled internally with GFP is assembled into the motor complex and transported to the developing IMC in early schizogony, where it accumulates during intracellular development until merozoite release. We show that GAP45 is phosphorylated by calcium dependent protein kinase 1 (CDPK1), and identify the modified serine residues. Replacing these serine residues with alanine or aspartate has no apparent effect on GAP45 assembly into the motor protein complex or its subcellular location in the parasite. The early assembly of the motor complex suggests that it has functions in addition to its role in erythrocyte invasion

An experimental investigation of palm pressed fibre waste as lubricant in strip drawing

The abundance of palm pressed fibre (PPF) biomass waste generates greenhouse gases. Therefore, an experimental study on catalytic pyrolysis technology using a tubular reactor on PPF oil was performed at temperature of 450 °C, which gave oil product yields of 44.1 percent. Viscosity of the PPF oil as a function of temperature was measured at different temperatures ranging from 25 °C to 50 °C. The viscosity of the oils was shown to decrease with increases in temperature. Finally, PPF oil was tested as lubricant in strip drawing and compared with palm olein (PO). A comparison of strip drawn aluminium samples show that the lubrication performance of PPF oil varies with PO in a remarkably similar wa

Implementation of Zakat Payment Platform for Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin spearheaded the rise of cryptocurrencies since it was first launched in 2009. The concept of bitcoin as digital currency was first published publicly in the 2008 well-known whitepaper by pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. The whitepaper outlined a self-serving peer-to-peer transaction network concept based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party such as financial institutions. Since then, thousands of cryptocurrencies have been launched mostly through token offerings as an alternative approach of raising funds for blockchain, technology projects, and start-ups. People are holding cryptocurrencies mostly as digital asset investments. Some individuals made huge profits from buying cryptocurrencies at their initial offerings and sold later when the prices increased. Some crypto millionaires were born from such trades. However, many people lost their investment as well due to many factors. Some were due to bad investment decisions, and some fall into scams and investment programs run by dishonest peoplewith promises of highly lucrative returns. As trading and owning cryptocurrencies are becoming common, governments and policymakers around the world are coming up with proper and comprehensive regulations for cryptocurrencies. In the context of Malaysia, in which zakat collections and distributions are of state matters, this paper discusses the implementation of zakat payment platform for cryptocurrencies at zakat institutions. This paper seeks to contribute to the academic development, blockchain technology, and zakat management

The learning factory – a new stimulus to enhance international collaboration

The paper describes a new stimulus using learning factories and an academic research programme - an M.Sc. in Digital Industrial Management and Engineering (DIME) comprising a double degree - to enhance international collaboration between four partner universities. The programme will be structured in such a way as to maintain or improve the level of innovation at the learning factories of each partner. The partners agreed to use Learning Factory focus areas along with DIME learning modules to stimulate international collaboration. Furthermore, they identified several research areas within the framework of the DIME program to encourage horizontal and vertical collaboration. Verticalcollaboration connects faculty expertise across the Learning Factory network to advance knowledge in one of the focus areas, while Horizontal collaboration connects knowledge and expertise across multiple focus areas. Together they offer a platform for students to develop disciplinary and cross-disciplinary applied research skills necessary for addressing the complex challenges faced by industry. Hence, the university partners have the opportunity to develop the learning factory capabilities in alignment with the smart manufacturing concept. The learning factory is thus an important pillar in this venture. While postgraduate students/researchers in the DIME program are the enablers to ensure the success of entire projects, the learning factory provides a learning environment which is entirely conducive to fostering these successful collaborations. Ultimately, the partners are focussed on utilising smart technologies in line with the digitalization of the production process

Molecular confirmation of candidate Hsp70 gene associated with heat tolerance in BC3F2 advanced backcross lines and their phenotypic resemblance with recurrent chilli Kulai

Domestic production of chilli in Malaysia is insufficient which accounted for 52% self-sufficiency level. Poor performance of local varieties under high temperatures above 42°C is one of the major factors affecting chilli production. This study was conducted with the objective of introgress heat-tolerant gene (Hsps) from AVPP0702 donor into Kulai using marker-assisted backcrossing. A total of 68 SSR markers, including Hsp linked markers that showed polymorphism between the parents were used to assess the generation of backcrossing; BC1F1, BC2F1, BC3F1 and BC3F2 and the average RPG percentage of the recurrent parent was found to be 81, 90, 95 and 97%, respectively. The pattern of Hsp expression in the backcross generations was similar to the donor parent (upregulated with more than 4-fold increase). Twelve improved heat tolerant chilli lines were developed. Most of the morphological and agronomical traits were recovered in the selected improved heat-tolerant genotypes from Kulai such as plant height, number of days to 50% flowering, number of fruits, fruit length and total fruit yield per plant. Improved high-yielding heat-tolerant chilli lines showed tolerance to high temperature as well as did not express any negative effect on agronomic traits in comparison with Kulai variety