Can metal-tolerant endophytic biocontrol agents promote plant-growth under metal stress?

Five metal-tolerant endophytic isolates (Bipolaris sp. LF7, Diaporthe miriciae LF9, Trichoderma asperellum LF11, Phomopsis asparagi LF15, Saccharicola bicolor LF22), with known metal-tolerance attributes and biocontrol activities against Ganoderma boninense, were tested for growth-promoting activities independent of (in vitro) and associated with plants (height, weight, root mass and stem circumference) (in vivo). Results revealed that metal-tolerant endophytes did not significantly render benefit to host plants as plant growth was compromised by the presence of metals. Lower production of indole-acetic acid (0.74-21.77 μg mL-1), siderophores (8.82-90.26%), and deaminase activities of 1-aminocyclopropane carboxylic acid (3.00-69.2 μmol mg protein-1 hr-1) were observed

Study of early changes in intraocular pressure following phacoemulsification

: To evaluate early postoperative changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) following phacoemulsification and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation. Method: This retrospective and observational study included 100 patients with normal IOP underwent uneventful standard phacoemulsification procedure for senile cataracts at Sarawak General Hospital over a period of six months from July 2017 to December 2017. Patient's data were retrieved from Eye Clinic records. All patients were checked for IOP with Goldmann tonometry during pre-operative assessment and one month postoperatively. Patients with pre-existing IOP related ocular disease or intraocular surgery were excluded. Effects of age, gender, comorbidity of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, eye laterality, ocular axial length and pre-operative IOP on post-operative IOP reduction were analysed. Results: Phacoemulsification was found to reduce IOP by mean of 1.07 mmHg, which was statistically significant (P < 0.001). A larger IOP reduction was seen in cases with a higher pre-operative IOP (P 0.05). Conclusion: Phacoemulsification had a significant IOP-lowering effect in normal subjects, in particular in higher pre-operative IOP. There was no correlation between age, gender, comorbidity of diabetes mellitus or hypertension, eye laterality, and ocular axial length to IOP reduction following hacoemulsification

IMPACT OF CRITICAL APPRAISAL SKILLS WORKSHOP ON NURSES’ KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, PERCEIVED CONFIDENCE AND INTENTION

Bachelor'sBachelor of Science (Nursing)(Honours

Oral Absorption Enhancement of Hydrophobic Drugs by Chitosan Based Amphiphilic Polymers

Poor physiochemical properties which lead to sub-optimal absorption and pharmacokinetic profiles have been estimated to be responsible for 40% of drug development failures. There is evidence that quaternary ammonium palmitoyl glycol chitosan (GCPQ) based nanoparticles enable the transport of hydrophobic drugs across biological barriers and improve bioavailability. The current project was aimed at identifying the mechanism of action of these bioavailability enhancing carbohydrate nanoparticles. Our working hypothesis states that the polymers increase drug solubility in the gastrointestinal fluid and improve drug permeability across the gut membrane and we sought to identify the polymer characteristics which promote drug absorption. Six amphiphilic glycol chitosan based polymers were synthesized. The quaternised polymers formed isotropic micellar liquids whereas the non quaternised polymers formed dense nanoparticles. These polymers possess very low CAC values (3-100μM) thus making them stable drug delivery systems which do not fall apart upon dilution in large volumes of biological fluids like the blood and the gastrointestinal fluids. The quaternary ammonium function in the chitosan amphiphiles directed the formation of highly stable micellar aggregates (100-500nm) with enhanced drug loading ability. Both the quaternised and non quaternised polymers enhanced the oral absorption of cyclosporine and griseofulvin in rats. The area under the plasma level versus time curve was increased up to six fold when the hydrophobic drug was administered with these polymers. The three mechanisms of oral absorption enhancement by these polymers are, a) by increasing the solubility of hydrophobic drugs, b) by increasing drug residence time at the absorptive membrane of the gut via mucoadhesion, and c) by promoting transcellular uptake of hydrophobic molecules

Evaluation of crime watch TV programme.

Crime Watch TV programme is a prominent crime prevention programme implemented jointly by Singapore Police Force (SPF) and National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC). It educates the general public about crime prevention and engages the community in fighting crime. This study provides an evaluation on the programme’s effectiveness in preventing crime in partial fulfillment to the final year project required by Nanyang Business School (NBS) under the Home Team Research Grant 2007 awarded by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)

Corporate diversification and market performance : the role of discretionary accruals.

This paper investigates whether firms manage their earnings prior to diversification and whether investors have the ability to unravel earnings management within the next three years

Singapore's overseas industrial parks ventures.

This report highlights Singapore's regionalisation and globalisation strategy through the building of industrial parks. Based on the success of past industrial parks ventures, some crucial points are identified as to what determines the success of these projects

Metagenomics study of endophytic bacteria in Aloe vera using next-generation technology

Next generation sequencing (NGS) enables rapid analysis of the composition and diversity of microbial communities in several habitats. We applied the high throughput techniques of NGS to the metagenomics study of endophytic bacteria in Aloe vera plant, by assessing its PCR amplicon of 16S rDNA sequences (V3–V4 regions) with the Illumina metagenomics technique used to generate a total of 5,199,102 reads from the samples. The analyses revealed Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Bacteriodetes as the predominant genera. The roots have the largest composition with 23% not present in other tissues. The stems have more of the genus—Pseudomonas and the unclassified Pseudomonadaceae. The α-diversity analysis indicated the richness and inverse Simpson diversity index of the bacterial endophyte communities for the leaf, root and stem tissues to be 2.221, 6.603 and 1.491 respectively. In a similar study on culturable endophytic bacteria in the same A. vera plants (unpublished work), the dominance of Pseudomonas and Bacillus genera was similar, with equal proportion of four species each in root, stem and leaf tissues. It is evident that NGS technology captured effectively the metagenomics of microbiota in plant tissues and this can improve our understanding of the microbial–plant host interactions