Ultrastructure on the light organ of tropical synchronize firefly, Pteroptyx tener

The ultrastructure of the light organ Pteroptyx tener was examined using a Carl Zeiss Axioscope microscope and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The light organ of the male and female P. tener comprises of two layers namely the photogenic layer and the dorsal (reflector) layer. Photogenic layer consists of several elements, i.e. photocyte, differentiated zone, cylinder, trachea and trachea end cell. The photocyte is the main source of the emitted light. This layer is packed with photocyte granules except at a differentiated zone that have low granules but high number of mitochondria. The reflector layer comprised of trachea and the cytoplasm of the cells in this layer is densely packed with spherical uric acid granule. The finding of this study has shown that P. tener have similar general histology structure of light organ of fireflies species that produce sharp flashes. However, the cylinder and trachea end cell may have significant capacities in controlling the luminescent creation in the fireflies that need to be investigate further

Antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli isolated of ulam from supermarkets and wet markets in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

Raw vegetables were highly exposed to microbial contamination by handling at harvest or during postharvest processing. Nowadays, emerging issues threatening public health are bacterial resistance to antibiotics due to the excessive usage and misuse of antibiotics in agriculture. In this study, antibiotic susceptibility profiles of 23 Escherichia coli strains were tested by the standard disk diffusion method. Sixteen antimicrobial agents namely amikacin, amoxycillin/cluvanic acid, ampicillin, ampicillin/sulbactam, chloramphenicol, ceftriaxone, ciproflaxacin, ceftazidime, cephalotin, cefoperazone, gentamicin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, streptomycin, tetracycline and trimethoprim were included in this study. In this study, 78.3% of the E. coli isolates were found to be resistant to cephalotin and it was the highest compared with the other antibiotics. It was found that 87% of isolates exhibited resistance to at least one antibiotic. E. coli showed high resistance to ampicillin (52.2%) and tetracycline (52.2%). In contrast, ceftriaxone and ceftazidime were found to be (100%) effective in restraining the growth of E. coli isolates. The highest multiple antibiotic resistance index (MAR) index was 0.48. Multiple resistance was observed in 47.8% of isolates with resistance to three to seven antibiotics. In conclusion, ulam could be the potential source of this antibiotic resistance of E. coli, and it may pose health threats to consumers

Kepekatan kandungan enzim lusiferase dan morfometrik organ cahaya kelip-kelip, Pteroptyx tener (Coleptera: Lampyridae) spesies jantan dan betina

Kelip-kelip spesies Pteroptyx tener (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) menjadi daya tarikan utama dalam industri eko-pelancongan di Malaysia kerana hanya spesies kelip-kelip ini mampu menghasilkan kerlipan cahaya secara serentak dan berkumpulan. Kerlipan cahaya ini terhasil dari tindakan biokimia enzim lusiferase pada organ cahaya yang terletak di bahagian abdomen, di mana individu jantan menghasilkan cahaya lebih terang berbanding individu betina. Namun, kandungan enzim lusiferase yang terlibat dalam penghasilan cahaya ini tidak pernah dilaporkan ke atas spesies ini. Oleh itu, kajian ini bertujuan untuk menentukan kandungan enzim lusiferase pada organ cahaya kelip-kelip spesies jantan dan betina P. tener. Pengukuran morfometrik organ cahaya turut dilakukan untuk melihat perbezaan dan persamaan di antara morfologi organ cahaya jantan dan betina P. tener. Sebanyak 10 individu kelip-kelip P. tener jantan dan betina telah disampel dari Kampung Kuantan, Kuala Selangor, Malaysia. Hanya bahagian abdomen telah diambil bagi mengukur kuantiti enzim lusiferase yang ditentukan dengan melakukan ujian Asai Imunoerap Terangkai Enzim (ELISA). Kandungan kepekatan enzim lusiferase pada individu jantan didapati lebih tinggi dan menunjukkan perbezaan signifikan (P<0.05) iaitu 6.03±0.48 ng/mL (n=10) berbanding spesies betina iaitu sebanyak 2.94±0.27 ng/ml (n=10). Perbezaan perimeter organ cahaya spesies jantan lebih besar dan menunjukkan perbezaan signifikan (P<0.05) iaitu 5.85±0.44 mm (n=20) berbanding spesies betina iaitu 3.52±0.37 mm (n=20). Hasil kajian ini menunjukkan saiz organ yang lebih besar pada kelip-kelip jantan mengandungi kepekatan enzim lusiferase yang lebih tinggi berbanding kelip-kelip betina yang seterusnya menyumbang kepada perbezaan cahaya yang lebih terang pada individu jantan. Maklumat ini boleh digunakan bagi mempromosikan keunikan kumbang ini pada indusri ekopelancongan kelip-kelip

Removal of Suspended Solid, Colour and Ammoniacal-Nitrogen from Leachate Using Aerated Electrochemical Coagulation (AEC) Under The Influence Factors of pH and Electrolysis Duration

The leachate produced by the decomposition of waste in landfills contains toxic substances that pollute the environment and cause health concerns which proper leachate treatment is essential before leachate is directly discharge into the environment. The most important factors to be considered when adopting a leachate treatment are effluent removal performance and the ability of treated effluent to satisfy the standard limit discharge. This study investigates the optimum condition of Aerated Electrochemical Coagulation (AEC), a mix of physical and chemical treatments in removing suspended solid, colour and ammonia from leachate under the influence factors of pH and electrolysis duration. Stabilised leachate from Simpang Renggam Landfill was used as samples for this study. From the data analysis, the highest removal effectiveness was achieved at 10 minutes of electrolysis duration and pH 5 for removal of suspended solid, colour and ammonia with 93%, 93%, and 40%, respectively. Based on the data, integration of the aeration method into electrochemical coagulation in leachate treatment has shown enhancement of the removal efficiency of suspended solid, colour and ammonia. However, only suspended solid satisfy the standard leachate discharge

Removal of Suspended Solid, Colour and Ammoniacal-Nitrogen from Leachate Using Aerated Electrochemical Coagulation (AEC) Under The Influence Factors of pH and Electrolysis Duration

The leachate produced by the decomposition of waste in landfills contains toxic substances that pollute the environment and cause health concerns which proper leachate treatment is essential before leachate is directly discharge into the environment. The most important factors to be considered when adopting a leachate treatment are effluent removal performance and the ability of treated effluent to satisfy the standard limit discharge. This study investigates the optimum condition of Aerated Electrochemical Coagulation (AEC), a mix of physical and chemical treatments in removing suspended solid, colour and ammonia from leachate under the influence factors of pH and electrolysis duration. Stabilised leachate from Simpang Renggam Landfill was used as samples for this study. From the data analysis, the highest removal effectiveness was achieved at 10 minutes of electrolysis duration and pH 5 for removal of suspended solid, colour and ammonia with 93%, 93%, and 40%, respectively. Based on the data, integration of the aeration method into electrochemical coagulation in leachate treatment has shown enhancement of the removal efficiency of suspended solid, colour and ammonia. However, only suspended solid satisfy the standard leachate discharge

A review on incidences of foodborne diseases and interventions for a better national food safety system in Malaysia

This paper reviews the trend and possible contributing factors that cause the incidence of foodborne illnesses as it is the major concern of food safety issues in Malaysia. Surveillance and monitoring done by the enforcement authorities have improved the food safety as the percentage of contravened samples and food premises closures have been decreased. Some factors that contribute to the emergence of the foodborne pathogens are cross contamination of foods and food handlers, eating behaviour and technology, globalisation, antimicrobial resistance bacteria and climate change. Main problems that contribute to the high rates of foodborne illnesses are poor practices of food handlers and lack of public awareness. Various interventions have been initiated by the Food Safety and Quality Division, Ministry of Health (MoH) to improve national food safety system through food handlers training programme, the establishment of Food Safety Information System of Malaysia (FOSIM) and Malaysia Foodborne Disease Network (MyFoodNet) as parts of strengthening the surveillance system and improving the effective enforcement of legislation and regulations. Continous collaboration between government and private sectors are crucial for a sustainable improvement for a better health of the nation

Biodegradable gas separation membrane preparation by manipulation of casting parameters

Poly(lactic acid) PLA that derived from renewable resources can help our society to reduce the dependence to non-renewable fossil resources. When come to human contact, this polymer and its degradation product are neither toxic nor carcinogenic to human body. The use of poly(lactic acid) (PLA), a biodegradable polymer, as a membrane material would assist the reduction of depending to petroleum-based polymer that will assist in disposal issues on non-biodegradable polymer. This study investigated the effect of evaporation time to the gas separation performance of PLA membrane. Membrane prepared from polymer solution consists of PLA and dichloromethane (DCM) as solvent was fabricated using pneumatically controlled casting system with dry/wet phase inversion method. Permeation test was conducted using pure oxygen and nitrogen gas. The results revealed that as the evaporation time increased, the pore size and surface porosity decreased, while the skin layer thickness increased. Although the morphology of the prepared membranes showed the desirable structure, the gas separation performance of the membrane prepared with polymer concentration of 15 wt% and 60s evaporation time was found to be promising but not yet commercially ready

Semipurified ethyl acetate partition of methanolic extract of Melastoma malabathricum leaves exerts gastroprotective activity partly via its antioxidant-antisecretory-anti-inflammatory action and synergistic action of several flavonoid-based compounds

Recent study has demonstrated the gastroprotective activity of crude methanolic extract of M. malabathricum leaves. The present study evaluated the gastroprotective potential of semipurified extracts (partitions): petroleum ether, ethyl acetate (EAMM), and aqueous obtained from the methanolic extract followed by the elucidation of the gastroprotective mechanisms of the most effective partition. Using the ethanol-induced gastric ulcer assay, all partitions exerted significant gastroprotection, with EAMM being the most effective partition. EAMM significantly (i) reduced the volume and acidity (free and total) while increasing the pH of gastric juice and enhanced the gastric wall mucus secretion when assessed using the pylorus ligation assay, (ii) increased the enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant activity of the stomach tissue, (iii) lost its gastroprotective activity following pretreatment with N-omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; NO blocker) or carbenoxolone (CBXN; NP-SH blocker), (iv) exerted antioxidant activity against various in vitro oxidation assays, and (v) showed moderate in vitro anti-inflammatory activity via the LOX-modulated pathway. In conclusion, EAMM exerts a remarkable NO/NP-SH-dependent gastroprotective effect that is attributed to its antisecretory and antioxidant activities, ability to stimulate the gastric mucus production and endogenous antioxidant system, and synergistic action of several gastroprotective-induced flavonoids