Antiproliferative activity of five garcinia species collected in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo against estrogen receptor-human breast carcinoma (MCF-7) cell line

Garcinia species are well-known for their unique properties of having natural secondary metabolite compounds called xanthone as well as their ethnomedicinal values such as antioxidant, anticancer, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. The study was conducted to investigate the antiproliferative activity of peel, flesh and seed extracts of G. dulcis, G. parvifolia, G. nitida, G. mangostana var. mangosta and G. cambogia collected from Malaysian Borneo (Sabah) against estrogen receptor-positive human breast carcinoma (MCF-7) cells. The antiproliferative activity was assessed using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The results showed that G. dulcis seed induced strongest antiproliferative activity against MCF-7 cancer cell line with the IC50 value of 2.5±0.0 μg/ml, followed by G. dulcis flesh, G. mangostana var. mangostana peel and G. dulcis peel with IC50 values of 9.33 ± 3.21, 11.17 ± 1.04 and 17.67 ± 2.08 μg/ml, respectively. Meanwhile, the IC50 value for G. cambogia peel was 56.67 ± 10.5 μg/ml. No IC50 value was detected in all parts of G. parvifolia and G. nitida at concentration tested (<100 μg/ml). Overall, this study clearly showed that the whole fruit of G. dulcis displayed potent cytotoxic effect by inducing antiproliferative activity at low concentration. Further studies are needed in the future to develop this fruit as pharmaceutical and nutraceutical product for the treatment and prevention against cancer

Using a Near-Infrared Spectrometer to Estimate the Age of Anopheles Mosquitoes Exposed to Pyrethroids

We report on the accuracy of using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to predict the age of Anopheles mosquitoes reared from wild larvae and a mixed age-wild adult population collected from pit traps after exposure to pyrethroids. The mosquitoes reared from wild larvae were estimated as <7 or ≥7 d old with an overall accuracy of 79%. The age categories of Anopheles mosquitoes that were not exposed to the insecticide papers were predicted with 78% accuracy whereas the age categories of resistant, susceptible and mosquitoes exposed to control papers were predicted with 82%, 78% and 79% accuracy, respectively. The ages of 85% of the wild-collected mixed-age Anopheles were predicted by NIRS as ≤8 d for both susceptible and resistant groups. The age structure of wild-collected mosquitoes was not significantly different for the pyrethroid-susceptible and pyrethroid-resistant mosquitoes (P = 0.210). Based on these findings, NIRS chronological age estimation technique for Anopheles mosquitoes may be independent of insecticide exposure and the environmental conditions to which the mosquitoes are exposed

Properties enhancement of oil palm plywood through veneer pretreatment with low molecular weight phenol-formaldehyde resin

One of the problems dealing with oil palm stem (OPS) plywood is the high veneer surface roughness that results in high resin consumption during the plywood manufacturing. In this study, evaluation was done on the effects of pretreatment of OPS veneers with phenol-formaldehyde resin on the bond integrity and bending strength of OPS plywood. OPS veneers were soaked in low molecular weight phenol-formaldehyde resin (LMW PF) for 20 seconds to obtain certain percentage of resin weight gain. OPS plywoods were produced using two types of lay-ups (100% outer veneer type and 100% inner veneer type) and two urea-formaldehyde (UF) adhesive spread amounts (200 g/m2 and 250 g/m2). The results show that pretreating the veneer with LMW PF could reduce the penetration of the adhesive into the fibres during gluing step. UF adhesive spread amount of 200 g/m2 is sufficient to produce good quality OPS plywood. The technique used in this study was able to enhance the mechanical properties of OPS plywood as well as reduce the amount of resin consumption

Conceptual design of semi-automatic wheelbarrow to overcome ergonomics problems among palm oil plantation workers

An ergonomics problem is one of the main issues faced by palm oil plantation workers especially during harvesting and collecting of fresh fruit bunches (FFB).Intensive manual handling and labor activities involved have been associated with high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among palm oil plantation workers.New and safe technology on machines and equipment in palm oil plantation are very important in order to help workers reduce risks and injuries while working. The aim of this research is to improve the design of a wheelbarrow, which is suitable for workers and a small size oil palm plantation.The wheelbarrow design was drawn using CATIA ergonomic features. The characteristic of ergonomics assessment is performed by comparing the existing design of wheelbarrow. Conceptual design was developed based on the problems that have been reported by workers. From the analysis of the problem, finally have resulting concept design the ergonomic quality of semi-automatic wheelbarrow with safe and suitable used for palm oil plantation workers

Extraction techniques and industrial applications of jatropha curcas

The fact that Jatropha curcas oil cannot be used for nutritional purposes without detoxification makes its useful as energy or fuel source, which will improve the domestic economy and provide job opportunities particularly in rural areas, where mechanical pressing is currently the most extensively used process to extract oil from seed. In this context, the main goal of this study is to provide a summary of several studies dealing with the currently employed oil extraction technologies, the physicochemical properties of bio-oils obtained from J. curcas, and the potential uses of Jatropha oil. The aim is to shed light on the main differences among the four types of oil extraction techniques currently employed and to highlight their most appropriate applications. If tapped efficaciously, then these techniques could prove to be extremely helpful in these days of power and environmental crises

Spitting success and accuracy in archer fishes Toxotes chatareus (Hamilton, 1822) and Toxotes jaculatrix (Pallas, 1767)

Spitting success and accuracy of two congeneric archer fishes Toxotes chatareus and Toxotes jaculatrix were studied to determine whether spitting success and accuracy rate varied with height and/or group size. Overall, individuals of both species exhibited greater spitting success rate when alone than in a group. Greatest spitting success was observed in T. jaculatrix (29.87%) when alone followed by T. chatareus (27.55%), while lowest spitting success (14.88%) was observed for the average of all individuals in a group of two T. chatareus and two T. jaculatrix. Based on spitting accuracy categories right side high (RH), right side low (RL) and left side high (LH) showed no significant differences among the test groups

Study of X-phase formation on Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys with Ti addition

Cu-based shape memory alloys are used in various applications due to their attractive shape memory effect, easier process and cheaper cost. Cu-Al-Ni SMAs are one of the well-known Cu-based shape memory alloys because of their capability in demonstrating shape memory effect, damping behaviour, and thermoelastic martensitic transformation. In this paper, the effect of Ti addition on the phase transformation temperatures and microstructures of Cu-Al-Ni SMA was investigated. The Cu-Al-Ni alloy specimens were casted with the addition of titanium (Ti) using an induction furnace. Transformation temperature of the alloy was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The evolution of the phases and microstructures was investigated by using the field emission scanning electron microscopy corresponding with energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. It was found that the addition of Ti in the Cu-Al-Ni SMAs has increased the transformation temperatures. The results revealed that the addition of Ti led to the formation of a new phase into the microstructure known as X-phase. From the XRD result, it was indicated that the X-phase was AlNi2Ti and Cu3Ti compounds. It was also found that the alloy with 0.7wt% Ti has produced the most effective outcome of the transformation temperature (Ms: 233.16°C, Mf: 225.67°C, As: 229.85°C, Af: 239.25°C) due to the presence of X-phase in the microstructure. Further study will be carried out to investigate the application of this material and focus on the application of the material in damping application

Antiviral activity of silymarin against chikungunya virus

Citation: Lani, R., Hassandarvish, P., Chiam, C. W., Moghaddam, E., Chu, J. J. H., Rausalu, K., . . . Zandi, K. (2015). Antiviral activity of silymarin against chikungunya virus. Scientific Reports, 5, 10. doi:10.1038/srep11421The mosquito-borne chikungunya virus (CHIKV) causes chikungunya fever, with clinical presentations such as severe back and small joint pain, and debilitating arthritis associated with crippling pains that persist for weeks and even years. Although there are several studies to evaluate the efficacy of drugs against CHIKV, the treatment for chikungunya fever is mainly symptom-based and no effective licensed vaccine or antiviral are available. Here, we investigated the antiviral activity of three types of flavonoids against CHIKV in vitro replication. Three compounds: silymarin, quercetin and kaempferol were evaluated for their in vitro antiviral activities against CHIKV using a CHIKV replicon cell line and clinical isolate of CHIKV of Central/East African genotype. A cytopathic effect inhibition assay was used to determine their activities on CHIKV viral replication and quantitative reverse transcription PCR was used to calculate virus yield. Antiviral activity of effective compound was further investigated by evaluation of CHIKV protein expression using western blotting for CHIKV nsP1, nsP3, and E2E1 proteins. Briefly, silymarin exhibited significant antiviral activity against CHIKV, reducing both CHIKV replication efficiency and down-regulating production of viral proteins involved in replication. This study may have important consequence for broaden the chance of getting the effective antiviral for CHIKV infection