Adlay is an edible high nutritious minor cereal. The research aimed to study the adlay performance when cultivated intercropped on young teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) plantation. The treatments were consisted of two factors that were arranged by factorial (3 × 3) in randomised completed block design with four replicates. The first factor was three fertilisation dosages of NPK (16-16-16), as 0 g/hole (F0), 2 g/hole (F2) and 4 g/hole (F4). The second factors were three planting space as 2 m × 2 m (PS2), 3 m × 3 m (PS3) and 4 m × 4 m (PS4). The parameter observed were vegetative growth which was consisted of plant height, the number of leaves, tillers and sub tillers, leaf chlorophyll content, grain production and biomass weight. The results revealed that fertilisation treatment were significantly affected the growth and production of adlay. On 12 weeks after planting, the F4 treatment produced the tallest plant, and the highest leaf number. The highest grain number/plant was achieved on the F2 treatment that was significantly different compared with the control (F0). The shading intensity due to the teak coverage significantly affected adlay growth and production. The PS4 treatment produced the highest number of leaves, tillers and grains. The combination of F2 and PS4 treatments resulted in the best growth and production. The PS2 treatment which has lower light intercepted by plants due to lower incident light intensity, resulting in a significant reduction in plant growth and production. It is suggested that adlay offers potency as a component of agro-forestry on the teak plantations.
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is one of the commonest causes of neonatal jaundice in Malaysia. Screening of cord blood for G6PD deficiency by the semiquantitative fluorescent spot test (FST) is performed in Malaysia but this test can miss cases of partial G6PD deficiency. The OSMMR-D kit assay measures G6PD activity and hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, allowing direct expression of results in U/gHb. We evaluated this method and established the normal range for G6PD activity in normal term neonates and adults. EDTA blood from 94 neonates and 295 adults (age 15-59 years old) with normal Hb and FST were selected. The normal means for G6PD activity for neonates and adults were 12.43 +/- 2.28 U/gHb and 9.21 +/- 2.6 U/gHb, respectively; the reference ranges for normal G6PD activity in neonates and adults were 10.15-14.71 U/gHb and 6.61-11.81 U/gHb respectively. There were no significant differences in mean normal G6PD activity between the Malays and Chinese racial groups or between genders. The upper and lower limit cut-off points for partial deficiency in neonates were 7.4 U/gHb (60% of the normal mean) and 2.5 U/gHb (20% of the normal mean), respectively. For adults, the upper and lower limit cut-off points for partial deficiency in adults were 5.52 U/gHb (60% of the normal mean) and 1.84 U/gHb (20% of the normal mean), respectively. The quantitation of G6PD enzymes using this OSMMR-D kit with Hb normalization was simple since the Hb was analyzed simultaneously and the results were reproducible with a CV of less than 5%.