Control of animal brucellosis: the Malaysian experience

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease characterized by reproductive failure in animals and undulent fever in humans. In cattle, it is caused by Brucella abortus while in goats by Brucella melitensis, the main cause of brucellosis in humans. Brucellosis in livestock has been associated with importation of animals from breeder herd of unknown disease status. The prevalence of bovine brucellosis Brucella abortus in 2014 ranged between 1% and 2% in Thailand and Indonesia, and 4%–5% in Malaysia and Myanmar. Prevalence of goat brucellosis Brucella melitensis is approximately 1% in Malaysia and Thailand. ‘Test-and-slaughter’ is the general policy against brucellosis adopted by most ASEAN countries to eradicate the disease. Under this program, the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) is used as the screening test to identify infected farm/herd while the complement fixation test (CFT) is the confirmatory test. The test-and-slaughter eradication strategy that was implemented since 1979 had managed to keep the prevalence rate to less than 5%, from 3.3% in 1979, 0.23% in 1988, 1% in 1998 and 5% in 2016. The test-and-slaughter program seemed effective in reducing the prevalence of brucellosis but was unable to eradicate the disease due to several factors, which include failure to locate and identify the remaining affected animals and to control their movement, importation of breeder animals from non-brucellosis free countries and lack of participation by the farmers following unreliable test results. To support the eradication policy, research activities since 1980s have suggested combinations of serological tests to improve diagnosis while surveillance should be focused on hotspots areas. The prevalence can be further reduced by strictly sourcing breeder animals from brucella-free areas or countries

Antioxidative properties and proximate analysis of spent coffee ground (SCG) extracted using ultrasonic-methanol assisted technique as a potential functional food ingredient

Spent coffee ground (SCG) produced in tons by restaurants and cafeterias and domestic consumers is a potentially good source of natural antioxidants because it contains substantial amounts of bioactive compounds. The purpose of this study was to identify the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of three different types of spent coffee ground (SCG), namely Robusta, Arabica and Liberica extracted using ultra-sonicmethanol assisted technique. DPPH, FTC, TBA, total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were used to measure the antioxidant properties. Robusta SCG exhibited the highest DPPH inhibition 41.63±0.04%), FTC (60.42±0.03%) and TBA analysis (73.09±0.08%). The total phenolic compounds in the samples varied widely ranging from 18.94±0.06 to 26.23±0.86 mg GAE/g sample, with Robusta SCG showing the highest value among the three, while Arabica SCG depicted the highest amount total flavonoid content (47.62±0.05 to 56.20±0.08). A strong correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenolic content were observed in this study. Compared to Arabica and Liberica SCGs expended, Robusta SCG demonstrated a stronger beneficial effect against lipid peroxidation. This study reveals that SCGs can be regarded as a new useful source of natural antioxidant with a view to increasing the use of antioxidant synthetics by using the ingredient of agro-industrial residues in food production especially ingredients for functional food

Nigella sativa meal alleviates injury against benzo[a]pyrene exposures in broilers

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of Nigella sativa (Ns) meal on such influences of Benzo[a] Pyrene (BaP) on the broilers performance, pulmonary index (PI), and histopathological changes. Chicks were assigned into four equal groups, namely as controls, Ns, BaP and BaP with Ns. Six birds were sacrificed at days 7, 14, 21, and 35. The results revealed that there were significant decreases (p<0.05) in the mean body weight (BW) values and body weight gain (BWG) in the BaP alone group. Pulmonary weight (PW) and index increased (p<0.05) in the same group compared to the control groups. Pulmonary morphology showed heavy infiltration and denudation of ciliated epithelium in the trachea, with infiltration by polymorphonuclear and mononuclear cells in the parabronchi of the lung, in the BaP exposed chickens. Nigella sativa (Ns) supplementation significantly alleviated these alterations, and thereby showing a potent anti-inflammatory effect after 14 days in the treated group. A key finding from this study is that BaP triggers inflammatory disorders and this transient effect is believed to be fatal if an infection occurs warranting a reassessment of the health status on exposure, and Ns was found to be helpful in alleviating such effects in broiler chickens

Pulmonary modulation of benzo[a]pyrene-induced hemato- and hepatotoxicity in broilers

Aftermath in several air pollution episodes with high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons did not significantly affect health and performance of broilers despite its renowned sensitivity to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The aim of the study was to elucidate the previous lack of response in birds exposed to such severe episodes of air pollution. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) was used to simulate the influence of air pollution on hematology, selected organ function, and oxidative stress in broilers. One-day-old chicks were assigned to 5 equal groups composed of a control group, tricaprylin group, and 3 groups treated with BaP (at 1.5 micro g, 150 micro g, or 15 mg/kg of BW). The BaP was intratracheally administered to 1-d-old chicks for 5 consecutive days. The hematology, liver and kidney function, P450 activity, and malondialdehyde level especially in the group receiving 15 mg of BaP/kg of BW demonstrated evidence of hemato- and hepatoxicity via BaP-induced oxidative stress. The deleterious effect of exposure to high concentration of BaP in broiler chickens was probably due to the anatomy of this species and the half-life of BaP. Although the effect of BaP may be transient or irreversible, pathogen challenges faced during the period of suppression may prove fatal

Influence of forced-air precooling time on the changes in quality attributes and consumer acceptance of Musa AAA Berangan

A good temperature management, such as precooling and cold storage, can delay deterioration of fresh produce. In this study, different forced-air precooling times were applied on Musa AAA Berangan to investigate the influence of forced-air precooling time on the changes of quality attributes and consumer acceptance. The banana was subjected to forced-air precooling treatment (5 ± 1°C) for 0, 14, 50, and 120 min and then stored in a cold room (13 ± 1°C) for 2 weeks. Then, all the fruits were transferred to a ripening room (25 ± 2°C) and initiated to ripen with ethylene gas. Quality attributes analyses and sensory evaluations were conducted when the fruits reached maturity index 5. Quality parameters, such as soluble solids concentration, titratable acidity, pulp firmness, and peel colour, showed no significant differences when fruits were precooled at different times. Blackening of peel as a result of chilling injury occurred in fruits treated with forced-air precooling for 50 and 120 min. This blackening significantly influenced consumer acceptance, although it did not affect the pulp colour and taste

COMPARISON OF NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS FOR OVERTOPPING DISCHARGE OF THE OBREC WAVE ENERGY CONVERTER

OBREC is the latest innovation of overtopping wave energy converter (WEC) which is coalesced with the rubble mound breakwaters. The acquisition of wave overtopping in a front reservoir and consequently releasing process through turbine is the concept of energy production in OBREC. The physical scale model studies of overtopping discharge of the OBREC have recently been done by previous researcher in wave flume at Aalborg University. This paper demonstrates the overtopping behavior of OBREC device using a VOF method with capabilities to solve RANS equation in the numerical suite Flow3D. The purpose of this research is to validate the overtopping discharge performance of the numerical model against the experiments of the OBREC. Based on the observation, the results have shown a good agreement between the validation and physical experiment

Identification of bovine growth hormone (BGH) gene polymorphism using PCR-RFLP method in buffalo bulls

Growth Hormone (GH) is a single polypeptide chain synthesised and secreted from anterior pituitary gland by somatroph cells. The product of GH gene hastens metabolism and promotes the growth of many organs and tissues especially bone, muscle and visceral organs. It also regulates growth, mammary gland development and lactation. Polymorphism in this gene is associated with increase in growth and development of many tissues in the body. Aim: The objective of this study was to investigate the polymorphism of bovine growth hormone (bGH) gene in buffalo bulls (Bubalus bubalis) using the PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism) technique. Design: Genomic DNA was extracted from a total of 10 bulls, consisting of Murrah – Swamp crossbred and pure Swamp buffalo bulls. A The 446 segment of the bGH gene was amplified. The DNA amplicons were detected in 2% agarose gel following 45 minutes of electrophoresis. They were thereafter digesting with AluI endonuclease restriction enzyme, and the digested DNA were detected in 2% agarose gel following electrophoresis for about 45minutes in all samples Results: Similar bands of approximately 300 and 146-bp each, with no variation, were detected in 2% agarose gel following electrophoresis in all the animals tested. Conclusion: Based on the Alu1 digestion result, all samples produced the same allele of the gene, with no polymorphism detected

Tensile and shear strength of four species of bamboo in Malaysia

As one of the fastest growing plants on earth, bamboo has a lot of species that range in size from a few centimeters to many meters tall. Bamboo is a unique plant where it can reach their full height up to 30m in a period of 2 to 4 months. Even though bamboo has been used traditionally as a construction material for thousands of years, there are not many studies about the mechanical properties of the bamboo itself. Thus, this paper presents an investigation on tensile and shear strength of four species treated bamboos that are available in Malaysia, which include Bambusa Vulgaris, Dendrocalamus Asper, Gigantochloa Scortechinii and Shizostachyum Grande. All the test was conducted according to the International Standard Organization (ISO-22157-2004). From the test result, Bambusa Vulgaris and Dendrocalamus Asper possess high tensile strength, meanwhile, Gigantochloa Scortechinii shows the highest value of shear strength compared with other species. Moreover, the test result also shows that Shizostachyum Grande possesses the lowest tensile and shear strength. Thus, with the available data on bamboo properties, structural engineers should take the advantages of bamboo to be used as a construction material in modern design buildings

Respiratory macrophage activity and pulmonary morphology following exposure to benzo(a)pyrene in broilers

The effect of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) on the macrophage defense system and lung morphology in broilers was evaluated. One day age chicks were divided into 4 groups of 40. Control chicks were given tricaprylin alone intratracheally (IT), while treated groups were given BaP (viz, at 1.5 micro g, 150 micro g or 15 mg/kg bodyweight) for 5 consecutive days IT. Ten birds per group were sacrificed at days 7, 14, 21 and 35. Respiratory lavage was performed immediately to procure avian respiratory macrophages (ARM). A significant decrease in the mean values of the given lavage volume, phagocytosis and intracellular killing activities along with an increase in ARM counts was observed especially in the group receiving 15 mg BaP, suggesting a possible immunopulmonary toxic effect of inhaled BaP