Optimization of concentrating process using rotary vacuum evaporation for pineapple juice

Pineapple juice has high water content which limits the storage duration and increases the transportation cost. This work was aimed to optimize the concentrating process of pineapple juice using a rotary vacuum evaporation statistically. The concentrating process was varied at temperatures (50–70 °C) and time (30–120 min) at the fixed pressure, 200 mbar in 13 experimental runs. The results found that rotary vacuum evaporation was able to reduce 44.3 % water content and increase total sugar content from 7.70 to 14.65 °Brix. The significant increment of total acidity from 4.43 to 10.91 g/100 mL could be due to the presence of citric acid and other organic acids in concentrated pineapple juice. The browning index of concentrated juice was also increased from 0.101 to 0.344 with the formation of hydroxymethylfurfural (1.55 mg/mL) as byproduct. Hydroxymethylfurfural is a carcinogenic substance which usually produced automatically in carbohydrate rich foods during thermal processing. Nevertheless, the content of hydroxymethylfurfural is still far below the permittable limit of 40 mg/kg as specified for table honey. Based on the response surface methodology, the optimized concentrating parameters were 60 °C for 75 min at 200 mBar using a central composite design

A Sectorial Performance Analysis of Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE, Bursa Malaysia)

This paper extended the examination on the sectoral stock performances in Malaysia using different approaches. In particular, we seek to compare the performance of stock returns across sectors by focusing on the risk adjusted performance measures (Jensen’s Alpha, Sharpe Ratio, Treynor Ratio and MM Measure), Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) hypothesis and stock diversification analysis. For this purpose, the single equation of Threshold Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (TGARCH) is applied. The results of TGARCH and the risk-adjusted measures are consistent which suggest the consumer product as the best performed sector while technology as the lowest ranked sector. The results of TGARCH verified the validity of the CAPM theory in our study. The results also show that oil price, gold price, exchange rate and policy rate are influential to affect the stock return. However, they have limited influence to affect the volatility of stock return. The volatility of stock return exhibits a random walk behavior, with GARCH effect as the dominant factor that contributing to the volatility of stock return

Design of Smart IoT Health and Social Distancing Monitoring System

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have started to work from home. As the pandemic recovers, companies slowly start to adapt to the situation by making the workers work from the office. This is an effort to reduce the risks of spreading diseases in the workplace during the endemic of COVID-19. An effective solution is urgently needed to reduce and control the transmission rate of COVID-19. This has motivated us to design an Internet of Things (IoT) Health and Social Distancing Monitoring System (IHDS). This system aims to support that initiative and introduce a system that can control the risks of infection among workers due to a worrying spike in the number of cases in the workplace. The proposed system monitors the health condition of the users and controls social distancing at the workplace by using IoT technology and machine learning. Extensive experiments were conducted to assess the performance of the proposed system. Four critical health metrics were closely monitored: body temperature, pulse rate, blood oxygen saturation, and cough detection, achieving impressive accuracy rates of 99.91%, 94.32%, 99%, and 80.5%, respectively. The proposed system initiates the assignment of red boxes to couples who are separated by less than 1 meter, while it designates green boxes for couples who maintain more than a 1-meter distance from each other

Nozzleless fabrication of oil-core biopolymeric microcapsules by the interfacial gelation of pickering emulsion templates

Ionotropic gelation has been an attractive method for the fabrication of biopolymeric oil-core microcapsules due to its safe and mild processing conditions. However, the mandatory use of a nozzle system to form the microcapsules restricts the process scalability and the production of small microcapsules (<100 μm). We report, for the first time, a nozzleless and surfactant-free approach to fabricate oil-core biopolymeric microcapsules through ionotropic gelation at the interface of an O/W Pickering emulsion. This approach involves the self-assembly of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) nanoparticles at the interface of O/W emulsion droplets followed by the addition of a polyanionic biopolymer into the aqueous phase. Subsequently, CaCO3 nanoparticles are dissolved by pH reduction, thus liberating Ca(2+) ions to cross-link the surrounding polyanionic biopolymer to form a shell that encapsulates the oil droplet. We demonstrate the versatility of this method by fabricating microcapsules from different types of polyanionic biopolymers (i.e., alginate, pectin, and gellan gum) and water-immiscible liquid cores (i.e., palm olein, cyclohexane, dichloromethane, and toluene). In addition, small microcapsules with a mean size smaller than 100 μm can be produced by selecting the appropriate conventional emulsification methods available to prepare the Pickering emulsion. The simplicity and versatility of this method allows biopolymeric microcapsules to be fabricated with ease by ionotropic gelation for numerous applications

Pulse wave velocity is associated with increased plasma oxLDL in ageing but not with FGF21 and habitual exercise

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) and adiponectin increase expression of genes involved in antioxidant pathways, but their roles in mediating oxidative stress and arterial stiffness with ageing and habitual exercise remain unknown. We explored the role of the FGF21–adiponectin axis in mediating oxidative stress and arterial stiffness with ageing and habitual exercise. Eighty age- and sex-matched healthy individuals were assigned to younger sedentary or active (18–36 years old,n=20 each) and older sedentary or active (45–80 years old,n=20 each) groups. Arterial stiffness was measured indirectly using pulse wave velocity (PWV). Fasted plasma concentrations of FGF21, adiponectin and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) were measured. PWV was 0.2-fold higher and oxLDL concentration was 25.6% higher (both p<0.001) in older than younger adults, despite no difference in FGF21 concentration (p=0.097) between age groups. PWV (p=0.09) and oxLDL concentration (p=0.275) did not differ between activity groups but FGF21 concentration was 9% lower in active than sedentary individuals (p=0.011). Adiponectin concentration did not differ by age (p=0.642) or exercise habits (p=0.821). In conclusion, age, but not habitual exercise, was associated with higher oxidative stress and arterial stiffness. FGF21 and adiponectin did not differ between younger and older adults, unlikely mediating oxidative stress and arterial stiffness in healthy adults. <br

Health promotion activity in Kampung Rosob, Pitas

We, group 3 members which consist of 9 medical students, 8 who recently finished 1st year Medical program and 1 who recently finished 2nd year Medical program and 5 nursing students went to Kg Rosob, Pitas for health promotion from 24th August 2015 to 2nd September 2015. During our visit in the village, we started with opening ceremony once we reached the village as we have already planned with the head of the village to do opening ceremony before any activities in the village. The next day, we started our rapid rural appraisal (RRA) to get overview of the village and health problems and then we planned activities according to information from RRA to promote the health of villagers by various actions such as 1. RRA which indudes direct or field observation, secondary data resources, key informant Interview, individual interview, group meeting or interview and discussion, house-house visit, and social mapping. 2. Health education by means of talk such as breast and cervix cancer , demonstration , exhibitions , and health screening . 3. Life style and behavioral changes; for example: talk for high blood pressure , personal hygiene practice, school activities ,mini sports day and aerobic exercise. 4. Nutritional education; for example: talk on balanced diet, proper way to take medicine and good eating habits. 5. Education ; fun learning for year 5 students as a preparation for them to sit for next year UPSR examination. And involved in motivation camp for year 6 students as a preparation for their UPSR examination in August. 6.Voluntary works ; such as gotong royong to clean the compound of the village for the benefits of their health, and also killing the hair louse for the infected girls in the dorm

Diagnostic Accuracy of the Electrocardiogram for Heart Failure With Reduced or Preserved Ejection Fraction

Current heart failure (HF) guidelines recommend electrocardiography (ECG) as an essential initial investigation in a patient's workup. 1 However, these recommendations were based on studies primarily including patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). 1 , 2 , 3 Guidelines do not distinguish HFrEF from HF with preserved and mid-range ejection fraction (HFpEF and HFmrEF) in their ECG recommendations. We hypothesized that a normal ECG does not exclude HFpEF and has a considerably lower sensitivity for diagnosing HFpEF than HFrEF

Induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis by copper complex Cu(SBCM)₂ towards oestrogen-receptor positive MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Copper complexes have the potential to be developed as targeted therapy for cancer because cancer cells take up larger amounts of copper than normal cells. Copper complex Cu(SBCM)2 has been reported to induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis towards triple-negative breast cancer cells. Nevertheless, its effect towards other breast cancer subtypes has not been explored. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of Cu(SBCM)₂ towards oestrogen-receptor positive MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Growth inhibition of Cu(SBCM)₂ towards MCF-7 and human non-cancerous MCF-10A breast cells was determined by MTT assay. Morphological changes of Cu(SBCM)2-treated-MCF-7 cells were observed under an inverted microscope. Annexin V/PI apoptosis assay and cell cycle analysis were evaluated by flow cytometry. The expression of wild-type p53 protein was evaluated by Western blot analysis. The intracellular ROS levels of MCF-7 treated with Cu(SBCM)₂ were detected using DCFH-DA under a fluorescence microscope. The cells were then co-treated with Cu(SBCM)₂ and antioxidants to evaluate the involvement of ROS in the cytotoxicity of Cu(SBCM)2. Docking studies of Cu(SBCM)2 with DNA, DNA topoisomerase I, and human ribonucleotide reductase were also performed. The growth of MCF-7 cells was inhibited by Cu(SBCM)2 in a dose-dependent manner with less toxicity towards MCF-10A cells. It was found that Cu(SBCM)₂ induced G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, possibly via a p53 pathway. Induction of intracellular ROS was not detected in MCF-7 cells. Interestingly, antioxidants enhance the cytotoxicity of Cu(SBCM)2 towards MCF-7 cells. DNA topoisomerase I may be the most likely target that accounts for the cytotoxicity of Cu(SBCM)₂

A cross-sectional study on level of knowledge and level of attitude towards asthma among the sampled population aged 13 years and above of Rumah Uming and Rumah Cherida, Meradong, from 20th November 2006 to 26th January 2007

Introduction: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways characterized by wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and cough. Asthma affects people of all ages. In Malaysia, asthma was among the commonest conditions that accounted for outpatient department attendance. Asthma is not curable, yet an asthmatic patient can live a normal life ifit is well-controlled. Objectives: The objective of this study is to study the level of knowledge and level of attitude towards asthma among the sampled population aged 13 years and above in Rumah Uming and Rumah Cherida from 20th November 2006 to 26th January 2007. Methodology: A cross-sectional study on level of knowledge and level of attitude towards asthma was carried out. The sample size of 90 respondents was chosen using a simple random sampling method. Data collection was done by means of interview-guided questionnaire, and all collected data was entered and analysed using SPSS software version 13. The statistical tests that were used include Pearson correlation test, chi-square test, independent sample t-test, ANOV A test, Spearman rho test, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: The main source of information regarding asthma was obtained from mass media. The study showed more than half of the respondents had poor level of knowledge in terms of general knowledge and signs and symptoms (62.2%), risk factor and triggering factor (55.6%), and treatment and prevention of asthma (60.0%). However, 56.7% of respondents had good knowledge about complications of asthma. There was a significant relationship between total level of knowledge with gender (p = 0.034), household income (p = 0.018), and personal and family history of asthma (p = 0.008). Females, higher income group and respondents with personal and family history of asthma showed better score of knowledge. Most of the respondents had good attitude in terms of seeking knowledge (65.6%) and prevention of asthma (53.3%), however 55.6% showed poor attitude in terms of the treatment of asthma. Significant association was found between total level of attitude and level of education (p = 0.042). There was also a positive relationship between the total level of knowledge and the total level of attitude towards asthma among the respondents (p = 0.023). Conclusion: The study revealed a significantly higher level of knowledge among the respondents who were female, with higher household income and with personal and family history of asthma