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Species diversity and stumpage valuation of timber resources at Pasir Tengkorak Forest Reserve, Langkawi, Kedah

Hafidz abdullah, Awang noor A, Faridah-Hanum I

Sains Malaysiana, 2016;45:355-363.

Tropical forests are highly diverse and provide a great deal of economic value. They play an important role in providing goods and services which contribute to long-term social benefits in local communities. This study was carried out to examine the tree composition and estimate its economic value of timber resources in a lowland coastal forest. Four one ha plots were established in Pasir Tengkorak Forest Reserve in Langkawi, Kedah and the subplots measuring 10 × 10 m were established in each plot. All trees greater than 1 cm DBH (diameter at breast height) were identified and the parameters measured included tree height and diameter. The species diversity indices obtained for all four plots were relatively high. The Simpson’s index of diversity ranges from 0.946 to 0.969, while the Shannon-Weiner index (H’) ranges from 3.808 to 5.616. The Simpson’s measure of evenness (1/D) ranges from 0.239 to 0.563 suggesting that species evenness in the four ha plots were low. Stumpage value of timber in the study area was quite high with average value of RM33,600.46 per ha. Regression analysis showed that the relationship between stumpage value and species diversity was significant at the 5% level.
Tree species composition and diversity in One Ha Forest, Ulu Muda forest reserve, Kedah

Mardan M, Hakeem K, Faridah-Hanum I, Saari N

Sains Malaysiana, 2013;42:1409-1424.

The present study was carried out to investigate the composition of species and species diversity at Compartment 28A in the Ulu Muda Forest Reserve (UMFR), located in north-west of Peninsular Malaysia. The area covered was one ha. Stems with diameter at breast height (dbh)as ≥ 1 cm were enumerated, identified and their height measured. The importance value index (IVI) was estimated to show which species have the highest value, since species density was also estimated. We recorded 722 species from 81 genera belonging to 42 families. The highest IVI was recorded for Macaranga hosei (42.40). It was also the highest in stand density (33 individuals / 4.43 %) in one ha. Species from Euphorbiaceae were represented at the highest level, with 11 genera (about 210 individuals). The total above-ground biomass (TAGB) in one ha using three different modifications from Kato et al. (190.3 t/ha), Kueh and Lim (2522.8 t/ha) and Lim (174.7 t/ha) were noted from family Dipterocarpaceae.
Fulltext What lurks beneath: lacrimal gland adenocarcinoma dedifferentiation to sarcomatoid carcinoma

Farrah-Hani Imran, Muthukumaran, Guhan, Enda, Kelly, Jegan Thanabalan, Farizal Fadzil, Faridah Hanum

Journal of Surgical Academia, 2015;5(2):66-69.
MyJurnal

This was a case of a young lady presenting with 10 year history of a mass in the right eye. It was found to be an adenocarcinoma of the lacrimal gland from histopathological biopsy. She underwent wide excision, orbital exenteration and reconstruction with a free rectus abdominis flap. Unfortunately, she had a tumour recurrence which was not controlled by radiotherapy and a second excision. The behavior of the tumour was aggressive, resulting in widespread metastases. She passed away within a year of her presentation. Of note, the histopathology report from the second excision turned out to be sarcomatoid carcinoma. This is described in the literature as dedifferentiation, or high grade transformation (HGT). Occurrence of dedifferentiation in salivary gland tumours is well-established, but not as well-described in lacrimal gland tumours. In this case, there was a severely delayed presentation of a lacrimal gland adenocarcinoma in a young person, which underwent dedifferentiation into a sarcomatoid carcinoma. This phenomena is associated with aggressive tumour biology behavior and poor prognosis, despite surgery and radiotherapy.
Erratum to: Nitrate and Nitrogen Oxides: Sources, Health Effects and Their Remediation

Hakeem KR, Sabir M, Ozturk M, Akhtar MS, Ibrahim FH

Rev Environ Contam Toxicol, 2017;242:E1.
PMID: 29026926 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-51243-3_15
Nitrate and Nitrogen Oxides: Sources, Health Effects and Their Remediation

Hakeem KR, Sabir M, Ozturk M, Akhtar MS, Ibrahim FH

Rev Environ Contam Toxicol, 2017;242:183-217.
PMID: 27734212 DOI: 10.1007/398_2016_11

Increased use of nitrogenous (N) fertilizers in agriculture has significantly altered the global N-cycle because they release nitrogenous gases of environmental concerns. The emission of nitrous oxide (N2O) contributes to the global greenhouse gas accumulation and the stratospheric ozone depletion. In addition, it causes nitrate leaching problem deteriorating ground water quality. The nitrate toxicity has been reported in a number of studies showing the health hazards like methemoglobinemia in infants and is a potent cause of cancer. Despite these evident negative environmental as well as health impacts, consumption of N fertilizer cannot be reduced in view of the food security for the teeming growing world population. Various agronomic and genetic modifications have been practiced to tackle this problem. Some agronomic techniques adopted include split application of N, use of slow-release fertilizers, nitrification inhibitors and encouraging the use of organic manure over chemical fertilizers. As a matter of fact, the use of chemical means to remediate nitrate from the environment is very difficult and costly. Particularly, removal of nitrate from water is difficult task because it is chemically non-reactive in dilute aqueous solutions. Hence, the use of biological means for nitrate remediation offers a promising strategy to minimize the ill effects of nitrates and nitrites. One of the important goals to reduce N-fertilizer application can be effectively achieved by choosing N-efficient genotypes. This will ensure the optimum uptake of applied N in a balanced manner and exploring the molecular mechanisms for their uptake as well as metabolism in assimilatory pathways. The objectives of this paper are to evaluate the interrelations which exist in the terrestrial ecosystems between the plant type and characteristics of nutrient uptake and analyze the global consumption and demand for fertilizer nitrogen in relation to cereal production, evaluate the various methods used to determine nitrogen use efficincy (NUE), determine NUE for the major cereals grown across large agroclimatic regions, determine the key factors that control NUE, and finally analyze various strategies available to improve the use efficiency of fertilizer nitrogen.
Fulltext Diversity and Characterization of Endophytic Fungi Isolated From the Tropical Mangrove Species, Rhizophora mucronata, and Identification of Potential Antagonists Against the Soil-Borne Fungus, Fusarium solani

Hamzah TNT, Lee SY, Hidayat A, Terhem R, Faridah-Hanum I, Mohamed R

Front Microbiol, 2018;9:1707.
PMID: 30090097 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01707

Rhizophora mucronata is an important ecosystem entity of the Malaysian mangrove forest. Since the species grows in a harsh environment, any organism that is isolated from this species would be of huge interest due to its potential in having novel bioactive compounds. In the present work, we isolated, identified and characterized, a total of 78 fungal isolates harboring inside the leaf tissues of R. mucronata. Molecular identification using the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribe spacer (ITS) sequences returned with high similarity matches to known sequences in the GenBank. Maximum likelihood analysis revealed the phylogenetic relationship of all isolates from this study. Most of the dominating fungal endophytes were from the genera Pestalotiopsis, followed by Alternaria and Cladosporium. Six isolates representing the genera Alternaria, Fusarium, Nigrospora, Pestalotiopsis, Phoma, and Xylaria, were further screened for their antagonism activities. Dual culture test assay revealed their inhibition percentages against the phytopathogenic fungus Fusarium solani between 45-66%, and 0.8-23% when using non-volatile test assay. Of the six isolates, only Fusarium lateritium and Xylaria sp. showed antibacterial activities against the pathogenic bacteria, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus, with the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) ranging from 0.5 to 2 mg/mL. The DPPH radical scavenging assay recorded a high level of antioxidant activity in Xylaria sp., 3-fold above that of F. lateritium. We demonstrate for the first time, two members belonging to the endophytic fungal community in the tropical mangrove species that have potential use as antagonists and antibacterial agents for future biotechnological applications.
Role of trees in climate change and their authentication through scanning electron microscopy

Arshad S, Ahmad M, Saboor A, Ibrahim FH, Mustafa MRU, Zafar M, et al.

Microsc Res Tech, 2019 Feb;82(2):92-100.
PMID: 30511479 DOI: 10.1002/jemt.23106

Climate change is the most realistic theory of this era. Sudden and drastic changes are happening on the earth and the survival of mankind is becoming questionable in the future. The plants play the key role in controlling the climate change. The study emphasizes on role of trees in the cop up or damaging the climate of this earth, whether they are medicinal trees or economically important trees. Due to the overgrazing and intense deforestation the climate is being affected hazardously. The global warming phenomenon is occurring due to the less availability of trees and more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In total 20 plants were collected from across the Pakistan on the basis of their abundance and their key roles. Out of which seeds of eight plants were scanned through scanning electron microscope for correct authentication and importance of these medicinally important trees in mitigating the climate change. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The role of forest sector in the climate's change mitigation. Medicinally and economically important tree species across Pakistan. By using SEM, Ultra seed sculpturing features as an authentication tool. To formulate some policies to stop or control deforestation.
Job insecurity and psychological distress during the COVID-19 outbreak: The moderating role of perceived supervisor support among hotel employees in Malaysia

Appannan JS, Maheswaran L, Raimee N, Lim WL, Amran FH

Work, 2022;73(4):1135-1145.
PMID: 36057808 DOI: 10.3233/WOR-211467

BACKGROUND: Millions of employees were laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospitality industry has been gravely hit by this crisis.
OBJECTIVE: Drawing from the theory of conservation of resources (COR), our study aims to examine possible factors that influence turnover intention among hotel employees.
METHODS: The hypotheses were tested on 141 hotel employees from Klang Valley, Malaysia. Data were collected by means of questionnaires, purposive sampling was employed, and PLS-SEM was used in performing the data analyses.
RESULTS: Job insecurity and psychological distress were found to be the potent antecedent of turnover intention. In contrast, the role of perceived supervisor support did not significantly moderate the effects of both job insecurity and psychological distress on the quitting intention.
CONCLUSION: Re-looking at existing policies and leadership styles may be fruitful in ensuring the sustainability path of an organization. This is pivotal in growing back the entire hospitality industry that has gravely affected by COVID-19.
Fulltext Towards identification of important plant areas (IPA) for Peninsular Malaysia. Methodology and future directions

Hamidah M, Mohd Hasmadi I, Chua LSL, Lau KH, Faridah-Hanum I, Yong WSY, et al.

Heliyon, 2020 Jul;6(7):e04370.
PMID: 32642589 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04370

Malaysia is a megadiverse country and listed as one of the world's biodiversity hotspots. Land use changes and deforestation have led to the threat of, and extinction of plant species. In order to mitigate loss in population numbers, and to prevent species extinction events, Important Plant Areas (IPA) for Malaysia shall be identified. The identification of IPA is important to ensure that key natural areas are adequately protected and managed to preserve the species and its habitats. Currently, there are 1771 IPA identified globally and only seven tropical countries are actively involved excluding Malaysia. Inventory and biodiversity research are actively conducted in Malaysia, however, the initiative to identify IPA is still in its infancy. The first attempt for IPA identification was in the state of Terengganu by using herbarium database through scoring technique. In this paper, we discussed methods and criteria used in IPA identification globally. We also deliberated current IPA development in Terengganu and challenges such as collections biases and the need for a robust scoring technique to reduce judgement uncertainty. We suggested GIS based multi-criteria decision making, analytical hierarchy process and species distribution for Malaysian IPA. These strategies were considered to be effective tools in providing decision support for spatial planning aimed at plant conservation in Malaysia.
Fulltext Quantitative Ethnobotanical Analysis of Medicinal Plants of High-Temperature Areas of Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Usman M, Ditta A, Ibrahim FH, Murtaza G, Rajpar MN, Mehmood S, et al.

Plants (Basel), 2021 Sep 22;10(10).
PMID: 34685784 DOI: 10.3390/plants10101974

Lack of proper infrastructure and the poor economic conditions of rural communities make them dependent on herbal medicines. Thus, there is a need to obtain and conserve the historic and traditional knowledge about the medicinal importance of different plants found in different areas of the world. In this regard, a field study was conducted to document the medicinal importance of local plants commonly used by the inhabitants of very old historic villages in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. In total, 58 plant species were explored, which belonged to 28 taxonomic families, as informed by 200 experienced respondents in the study area. The vernacular name, voucher number, plant parts used, and medicinal values were also documented for each species. Among the documented species, Poaceae remained the most predominant family, followed by Solanaceae and Asteraceae. The local communities were dependent on medicinal plants for daily curing of several ailments, including asthma, common cold, sore throat, fever, cardiovascular diseases, and digestive disorders. Among the reported species, leaves and the whole plant remained the most commonly utilized plant parts, while extracts (38.8%) and pastes (23.9%) were the most popular modes of utilization. Based on the ICF value, the highest value was accounted for wound healing (0.87), followed by skincare, nails, hair, and teeth disorders (0.85). The highest RFC value was represented by Acacia nilotica and Triticum aestivum (0.95 each), followed by Azadirachta indica (0.91). The highest UV was represented by Conyza canadensis and Cuscuta reflexa (0.58 each), followed by Xanthium strumarium (0.37). As far as FL was concerned, the highest value was recorded in the case of Azadirachta indica (93.4%) for blood purification and Acacia nilotica (91.1%) for sexual disorders. In conclusion, the local inhabitants primarily focus on medicinal plants for the treatment of different diseases in the very old historic villages of Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Moreover, there were various plants in the study area that have great ethnobotanical potential to treat various diseases, as revealed through different indices.
Fulltext How to develop a comprehensive Mangrove Quality Index?

Ibrahim FH, Mohd Yusoff F, Fitrianto A, Nuruddin AA, Gandaseca S, Samdin Z, et al.

MethodsX, 2019;6:1591-1599.
PMID: 31321213 DOI: 10.1016/j.mex.2019.06.014

Currently, the available indices to measure mangrove health are not comprehensive. An integrative ecological-socio economic index could give a better picture of the mangrove ecosystem health. This method explored all key biological, hydrological, ecological and socio-economic variables to form a comprehensive mangrove quality index. A total of 10 out of 43 variables were selected based on principal component analysis (PCA). They are aboveground biomass, crab abundance, soil carbon, soil nitrogen, number of phytoplankton species, number of diatom species, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, education level and fishing time spent by fishers. Two types of indices were successfully developed to indicate the health status viz., (1) Mangrove quality index for a specific category (MQISi ) and, (2) Overall mangrove quality index (MQI) to reflect the overall health status of the ecosystem. The indices for the five different categories were mangrove biotic integrity index ( M Q I S 1 ), mangrove soil index ( M Q I S 2 ), marine-mangrove index ( M Q I S 3 ), mangrove-hydrology index ( M Q I S 4 ) and mangrove socio-economic index ( M Q I S 5 ). The quality of the mangroves was classified from 1 to 5 viz. 1 (worst), 2 (bad), 3 (moderate), 4 (good), 5 (excellent). These MQI class could reflect the quality of mangrove forest which could be managed with the objective of improving its quality. Advantages of this method include: •PCA to select metrics from ecological-socioeconomic variables•Formulation of MQI based on selected metrics•Comprehensive index to classify mangrove ecosystem health.

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