Secondary metabolites, antioxidant, and antiproliferative activities of Dioscorea bulbifera Leaf Collected from Endau Rompin, Johor, Malaysia

Breast cancer is among the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death among women globally. Malaysia is a country that is rich in medicinal plant species. Hence, this research aims to explore the secondary metabolites, antioxidant, and antiproliferative activities of Dioscorea bulbifera leaf collected from Endau Rompin, Johor, Malaysia. Antioxidant activity was assessed using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and 2,2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) assays, while the cytotoxicity of D. bulbifera on MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines was tested using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cell cycle analysis and apoptosis were assessed using flow cytometry analysis. Phytochemical profiling was conducted using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results showed that methanol extract had the highest antioxidant activity in DPPH, FRAP, and ABTS assays, followed by ethyl acetate and hexane extracts. D. bulbifera tested against MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cell lines showed a pronounced cytotoxic effect with IC50 values of 8.96 μg/mL, 6.88 μg/mL, and 3.27 μg/mL in MCF-7 and 14.29 μg/mL, 11.86 μg/mL, and 7.23 μg/mL in MDA-MB-231, respectively. Cell cycle analysis also indicated that D. bulbifera prompted apoptosis at various stages, and a significant decrease in viable cells was detected within 24 h and substantially improved after 48 h and 72 h of treatment. Phytochemical profiling of methanol extract revealed the presence of 39 metabolites such as acetic acid, n-hexadecanoic acid, acetin, hexadecanoate, 7-tetradecenal, phytol, octadecanoic acid, cholesterol, palmitic acid, and linolenate. Hence, these findings concluded that D. bulbifera extract has promising anticancer and natural antioxidant agents. However, further study is needed to isolate the bioactive compounds and validate the effectiveness of this extract in the In in vivo model

Process analytical technology based monitoring and control of crystal properties in pharmaceutical crystallisation processes.

Crystallization is an important unit operation used in a variety of industries. Its importance in the pharmaceutical industries is due to a large number of active pharmaceutical ingredients that are utilised in solid form. It is estimated that more than 80% ofpharmaceutical products involve at least one crystallization step in their manufacturing process (Reutzel-Edens, 2006). The pharmaceutical crystallisation operation is often critical because it determines the product properties, such as the crystal size distribution, morphology and polymorphic form. These properties in tum influence the efficiency of the subsequent downstream operations, particularly filtration and drying. The properties also affect the therapeutic performance ofthe product, such as dissolution rate and bioavailability. A proper control of crystallization processes offers possibilities for improved process efficiency and better product qualit

The Difference Between Bacterial Growth in Humidifier and Non Humidifier at the Patient Who Got Oxygen Therapy

Introduction: Humidifier is a device for delivering oxygen to the patients. Before using it, the humidifier tube should fill with sterile water. There was a recent study that administering oxygen less than five liter per minutes, the tube was not load with the sterile water. This research aim was to describe the difference between bacterial growth in the humidifier and non humidifier at the patient who got oxygen therapy. Method: The design was the analytic survey with purposive sampling method. The samples were 24 patients. They were divided into two groups. Group one, consisted of 12 patients with humidifier and the others with non humidifier. The instrument was culture equipments diagnostic test and observation guidance. The hypothesis was there was no difference bacterial growth existence in humidifier and non humidifier at the patient who got oxygen therapy. Result: The results showed that there was no significance difference of bacterial growth at time of zero hour (p=0.131). Meanwhile, there was significance different of bacterial growth at time of 12 hour (p=0.046), and time of 24 hour (p=0.046). There was also significance different between bacterial growth in humidifier and non humidifier at the patient who got oxygen therapy (p=0.010). Discussion : The conclusion is a non humidifier device could prevent bacterial and reduce nosocomial infection. It was recommended that hospital should use non humidifier and the humidifier had to disinfect and change the water every 12 hours

Corrosion Protection Coatings from Size-Specified Graphene Oxide

Corrosion performance of graphene oxide (GO) coatings from different sheets sizes in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution was investigated. The GO dispersion was subjected to 5 and 10 hours of ultrasonication before electrophoretically deposited (EPD) onto the copper substrate. It was found that the EPD-GO coating from smaller sheets (10h ultrasonication) possess hydrophobic, thinner film and smooth surfaces. It is suggested that the corrosion performance of the coating from smaller GO sheets is improved due to the surface texture and compactness of the coating as compared to the larger GO sheets

Structural properties of graphene oxide coatings from different sheets sizes

The structural properties of different sizes of graphene oxide (GO) sheets were observed. It is worth to mention that smaller size GO sheets (ultrasonicated 10h) exhibits higher absorption intensity, and the absorption peak was shifted towards lower wavelength (~223 nm) due to the fragmentation of the GO sheets. It has caused an extension of a π-conjugated system, thereby enhance the absorption intensity and energy. After electrophoretic deposition (EPD), the coatings exhibit a reduction in the oxygen content with oxygen-related band (ORB) values of the larger GO sheets is higher than that of small size GO sheets. The surface morphology of both the coatings are homogenous and the layers adhered well to the underlying copper. However, larger GO sheets exhibit rougher and coarser morphology than that of small size GO sheets. It is reflected in the thickness measurement where the large size GO sheets exhibit thicker film (3.16 ± 0.01 µm) while small size GO sheets possess thinner film (1.95 ± 0.02 µm)

Consumers’ attitude towards “mamak” food in Malaysia

Malaysia is a unique country. There are various races and ethnics of people living together in harmony and as such there are many ethnic foods for example “Mamak” food. “Mamak” food is popular among Malaysian and can be found from roadside stalls to café or bistro concept restaurants. The objective of this study is to provide an insight into customers dining intention to “Mamak” restaurants measuring the service quality and food attributes. A questionnaire survey was administered in this study and result showed that only one of the factor of service quality that is assurance and one variable of food attributes that is aroma, have greater influence on customers dining intention. The findings in this study can be used by other concepts restaurants to develop a competitive advantage that will further promote Malaysia as an interesting and colorful gastronomic tourism destination in the world

Seeded batch cooling crystallization with temperature cycling for the control of size uniformity and polymorphic purity of sulfathiazole crystals

An experimental study has been conducted to evaluate the capability of a seeded batch cooling crystallization with a temperature cycling method to produce a narrow crystal size distribution and grow a desired polymorphic form of sulfathiazole crystals. The study used focused beam reflectance measurement (FBRM), and attenuated total reflectance ultraviolet/visible (ATR-UV/vis)spectroscopy for the in situ monitoring and control of the process. Based on the FBRM readings, the process was driven using a feedback control approach that employs alternating cycles of heating and cooling phases so that the number of counts, corresponding to the number of seed particles, is maintained, whilst the square-weighted chord length distribution, indicating the dynamic progress of the growth of the seeds in the system, is increased. Results of the experiments show that the temperature cycling method promoted Ostwald ripening, which helped in accelerating the growth and enhancing the size uniformity of the product. The method also has a good prospect to be implemented for the control of polymorphic purity. Seeds of Form I and Form II could be grown from n-propanol and water, respectively. Form I seeds in water were first transformed into Form II and/or swamped by nuclei of Form II, before the growth of the newly formed crystals took place. Seeds of Form II and Form III in n-propanol, however, were not able to grow at all. This study confirmed that the nucleation and growth of sulfathiazole crystals are solvent-mediated, and the insight into these phenomena was captured very well by the in situ monitoring tools

A combined approach of differential scanning calorimetry and hot-stage microscopy with image analysis in the investigation of sulfathiazole polymorphism

A combination of differential scanning calorimetry and hot-stage microscopy with image analysis has been used to investigate the polymorphism of sulfathiazole. The use of light intensity profiles obtained from the HSM images, as an alternative way to present results of the HSM analysis, was found to be useful in describing and verifying thermal events. The approach provides a unique insight into the polymorphic transformations and thermal behaviour exhibited by this compound. The results of the experiments show that sulfathiazole tends to crystallise as mixtures of polymorphs, even though the literature methods for producing pure polymorph were followed

Effect of different curing conditions on the mechanical properties of UHPFC

(Received: Match 20, 2013; Accepted in Revised Form: June 22, 2013) Abstract: Ultra-High Performance Fiber Concrete (UHPFC) is a new class of concrete. Because of its distinguished mechanical properties, UHPFC is considered as an ideal alternative material for use in developing new structural solutions. This paper discusses on influence of different curing conditions on mechanical properties of UHPFC. An experimental program was performed to study the mechanical properties of UHPFC which were cured under six different curing conditions. Test results indicated that steam and boil curing methods showed a promising performance particularly at early age of curing compared to other type of curing