Kelestarian penanaman kelapa sawit dalam kalangan pekebun kecil di Sri Aman, Malaysia

Kajian ini meneliti indikator kelestarian penanaman kelapa sawit dalam kalangan pekebun kecil di Sri Aman, Sarawak dan peranan pihak Lembaga Minyak Sawit Malaysia (MPOB) dan pihak bertanggungjawab yang lain dalam membantu pekebun kecil untuk memupuk amalan pertanian lestari. Pengkaji telah memilih pendekatan penyelidikan secara kuantitatif yang menggunakan pendekatan kaedah soal selidik. 50 orang responden yang terdiri daripada pekebun kecil sawit telah dipilih secara rawak sebagai subjek kajian. Borang soal selidik telah diggunakan untuk mendapat maklumat dan dipersembah secara deskriptif. Berdasarkan hasil kajian, bagi indikator kelestarian ekonomi, kebanyakan pekebun kecil sawit di kawasan kajian tidak mencapai kelestarian secara keseluruhan. Pendapatan yang diperolehi oleh pekebun kecil sawit tidak melepasi pendapatan miskin tegar yang telah ditentukan oleh kerajaan dengan menggunakan Pengukuran Garis Kemiskinan (PGK). Manakala kelestarian sosial pula, kajian mendapati bahawa keseluruhan pekebun kecil sawit telah mencapai tahap kelestarian yang amat memperangsangkan. Malangnya, pekebun kecil sawit di kawasan kajian tidak mencapai aspek kelestarian persekitaran. Pekebun kecil sawit di sini tidak semestinya menggunakan amalan pertanian yang baik dan kurang mementingkan penjagaan alam sekitar dalam proses penanaman kelapa sawit. Dari segi peranan MPOB dan pihak bertanggungjawab yang lain pula dilihat tidak begitu komited atau berusaha dalam menyalurkan maklumat serta bantuan kepada pekebun kecil sawit berhubung dengan pertanian lestari. Namun begitu, pekebun kecil sawit mempunyai inisiatif sendiri bagi memastikan aktiviti pertanian yang dilakukan tidak memberi kesan yang kronik kepada alam sekitar. Pendek kata, pihak-pihak bertanggungjawab semestinya mengambil strategi yang drastik agar mampu memastikan pembangunan kelestarian sawit dan sekali gus mencapai matlamat yang telah ditetapkan

Differential Proteomic Analysis of Human Saliva using Tandem Mass Tags Quantification for Gastric Cancer Detection.

Novel biomarkers and non-invasive diagnostic methods are urgently needed for the screening of gastric cancer to reduce its high mortality. We employed quantitative proteomics approach to develop discriminatory biomarker signatures from human saliva for the detection of gastric cancer. Salivary proteins were analyzed and compared between gastric cancer patients and matched control subjects by using tandem mass tags (TMT) technology. More than 500 proteins were identified with quantification, and 48 of them showed significant difference expression (p < 0.05) between normal controls and gastric cancer patients, including 7 up-regulated proteins and 41 down-regulated proteins. Five proteins were selected for initial verification by ELISA and three were successfully verified, namely cystatin B (CSTB), triosephosphate isomerase (TPI1), and deleted in malignant brain tumors 1 protein (DMBT1). All three proteins could differentiate gastric cancer patients from normal control subjects, dramatically (p < 0.05). The combination of these three biomarkers could reach 85% sensitivity and 80% specificity for the detection of gastric cancer with accuracy of 0.93. This study provides the proof of concept of salivary biomarkers for the non-invasive detection of gastric cancer. It is highly encouraging to turn these biomarkers into an applicable clinical test after large scale validation

Phosphite induces morphological and molecular changes in Phytophthora species

The influence of the chemical phosphite on Phytophthora species was investigated by studying the morphological and molecular changes induced by phosphite. In vitro experiments were conducted to study the effects of phosphite on five isolates of each of five species of Phytophthora grown in low phosphate defined medium. Sensitivity to phosphite varied greatly among the five isolates of each species and resulted in a significant interaction between isolate and phosphite effect. The EC50 values ranged from less than 5 to 10 mcg/ml for P. cinnamomi, to 13 mcg/ml for P. nicotianae, to 27 mcg/ml for P. citricola, to 24 mcg/ml for P. palmivora and to 49 mcg/ml for P. capsici. Phosphite concentrations from 5 to 100 mcg/ml caused different degrees of morphological changes. Mycelial growth of all species was significantly suppressed by phosphite at 5 mcg/ml while at 100 mcg/ml there was hyphal lysis. Swelling of hyphae with stunted sidebranches and shrinking of cytoplasm from hyphal tips and hyphal walls were characteristic changes observed. Phosphite also retarded the development and caused distortion and lysis of chlamydospores, sporangia and zoospores. Zoosporogenesis was also adversely affected. Differential display reverse transcription-PCR was used to study changes in gene expression in P. cinnamomi induced in response to phosphite stress. The differential conditions were simulated by growth on a defined medium with and without phosphite amendment. This technique resulted in the isolation of 34 putative differentially expressed cDNA fragments which were cloned and sequenced. Nucleotide sequences of 26 of these cDNA clones were generated. BLASTX analysis of these nucleotide sequences against the NCBI database revealed that 18 exhibited homology to gene sequences encoding known proteins involved in various biological processes. The remaining eight showed homology to either hypothetical or unknown or unnamed proteins. The expression level of four of these cDNA clones were further analysed by real-time quantitative RT-PCR using SYBR Green 1 assay. Three candidate endogenous reference genes namely, tubulin, cyclophilin and actin were evaluated to determine their expression level under the influence of phosphite. None of these genes were significantly regulated by phosphite. As tubulin had the highest expression among the three, it was chosen as the endogenous reference gene. Amplification efficiencies between the reference gene and each of the target genes were validated and found to be approximately equal or within 5% of each other. The relative gene expression between the phosphite-treated and untreated samples can thus be determined using the comparative CT ([Delta][Delta]CT) method. One of the cDNA clones, CP6 which showed differential expression of three-fold was up-regulated. The remaining three were constitutively expressed. CP6 which encodes 1564 nucleotides showed sequence homology, at the amino acid level with proteophosphoglycans from Leishmania major. This study demonstrated the growth inhibition and morphological deformities caused by phosphite in Phytophthora species. It also illustrated the use of a modified DDRT-PCR method to study genes expressed in phosphite stress regulation. The application of real-time quantitative RT-PCR with SYBR Green I assay facilitated the quantification of the expression level of some of these genes

Correlates, Facilitators and Barriers of Healthy Eating Among Primary Care Patients with Prediabetes in Singapore—A Mixed Methods Approach

Healthy diet remains the primary means to prevent chronic diseases among those with prediabetes. We conducted a mixed methods study, consisting of a cross-sectional survey and in-depth interviews to assess factors associated with fulfilling the healthy plate recommendation, and to explore reasons for the behaviour among primary care patients with prediabetes in Singapore. The prevalence of meeting the recommendation was 57.3%. This was positively associated with being married and negatively associated with being Malay, frequency of eating out weekly and frequency of deep-fried food consumption weekly. The recurrent themes for not meeting the recommendation included family influence, perception of healthy food being not tasty, lack of skills to prepare or choose healthy food, difficulty in finding healthier options when eating out, and healthy food being costly. The recurrent themes for meeting the recommendation included family influence, self-discipline, fear of disease complications, education by healthcare professionals, mass media influence and health promotion campaigns. Much more remains to be done to promote healthy eating among these patients. There were different levels of facilitators and barriers to healthy eating. Apart from the individual and interpersonal levels, practitioners and policy makers need to work together to address the organisational, community and policy barriers to healthy eating

Changes in Corneal Biomechanics and Glaucomatous Visual Field Loss

PURPOSE: To investigate the longitudinal change in corneal resistance factor (CRF) and cornea hysteresis (CH) as risk factors for visual field progression. METHODS: In this prospective observational cohort study, seventy-two eyes of 48 glaucoma or glaucoma suspect patients were followed for an average of 4.5 years. Baseline and follow-up CH and CRF measurements were performed with the Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA; Reichert Ophthalmic Instruments Inc, Depew, New York, USA). Evaluation of rates of visual field change during follow-up was performed using visual field mean deviation (MD). Univariable and multivariable linear mixed models assessed the relationship of visual field progression with baseline CRF and CH as well as with changes in CRF and CH. RESULTS: The mean baseline CH was 9.0 (95% CI 8.6, 9.4) mg Hg and the mean baseline CRF was 9.3 (95% CI 8.8, 9.9) mm Hg. There was no statistically significant difference in average CH and CRF measurements over time. In multivariable modeling adjusting for age, race and mean IOP during follow-up, each 1 mm Hg lower in baseline CH and 1 mm Hg decrease in CRF over time were associated with a 0.12 (p = 0.042)) and 0.14 dB/year (p = 0.007) faster rate of visual field MD loss, respectively. Similar findings were found in glaucoma eyes but not found in glaucoma suspect eyes. CONCLUSION: Visual field progression was associated with a lower baseline CH and a decrease in CRF over time. Assessment of corneal resistance and elasticity at baseline and during follow-up examinations should be considered to identify those eyes at highest risk of visual field progression

Phyllosticta species associated with freckle disease of banana

The identity of the casual agent of freckle disease of banana was investigated. The pathogen is generally referred to in literature under its teleomorphic name, Guignardia musae, or that of its purported anamorph, Phyllosticta musarum. Based on morphological and molecular data from a global set of banana specimens, several species were found associated with freckle disease. Phyllosticta maculata (from Southeast Asia and Oceania) is introduced as a new name for Guignardia musae, and an epitype is designated from Australia. Phyllosticta musarum (from India and Thailand) is shown to represent a distinct species, and the name is fixed by designation of an epitype from India. Guignardia stevensii is confirmed as distinct species from Hawaii, while Guignardia musicola from northern Thailand is shown to contain different taxa and is regarded as nomen confusum. Phyllosticta cavendishii is described as a new, widely distributed species, appearing primarily on Cavendish, but also on non-Cavendish banana cultivars