Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of anaemia in children aged six months to fifteen years old treated in a single centre from 2008 to 2018. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted among 274 children age six months to fifteen years old, treated in Advanced Medical and Dental Institute (AMDI), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) from 2008 to 2018. The data was obtained from computerised hospital data (CARE2X), Laboratory Information System (LIS) or medical record. Parents of the eligible participants were called for any incomplete data and verbal consents were obtained. Descriptive analysis was conducted to determine the prevalence whereas the relationship between independent variables with types of anaemia were examined using simple logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of anaemia was 22.3%. Among the anaemic children, the predominant morphology form was hypochromic microcytic anaemia (82%) followed with normochromic normocytic anaemia (18%). Iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) was found to be the commonest cause (24%) of hypochromic microcytic anaemia, followed by IDA with concomitant thalassaemia (14%) and thalassaemia alone (8%). In simple logistic regression analysis, no significant association was found. Conclusions: The prevalence of anaemia was 22.3%, which is considered as moderate public health problem according to WHO. Hypochromic microcytic anaemia was the predominant red cell morphology (82%) and IDA was the commonest causes (24%).
Consumption of Solanum lycopersicum or known as tomato has been associated
with the decreased risk of some cancer types. Epidemiological findings confirmed
the observed health effects due to the presence of varied antioxidants in tomato.
This is due to variations of antioxidants presence in tomatoes. Therefore, it is
important to know which types of tomatoes species contain the highest number
of antioxidants and antioxidant activity. In this study, antioxidant content and
antioxidant activity of four tomato variants was studied. The objectives of this
research was to screen for metabolites and to compare number of metabolites by
using two different extraction method. A comparison of the antioxidant activity
and total phenolic content between four tomato variants was conducted based on
the results. Tomatoes that are used in this study includes tomato, truss tomato,
yellow cherry tomato and red cherry tomato. These tomatoes were subjected to
metabolite extraction using two different solvents which is methanol and
methanol-chloroform. Following that, screening of metabolites were performed
using Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GCMS) and metabolites were
detected and analysed. The total antioxidant activity of the tomatoes was
measured using 2,2’-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing
power (FRAP) assays. The Total Phenolic Content (TPC) was determined
spectrophotometrically according to the Folin-Ciocalteau procedure. The number
of metabolites detected using GCMS are higher in methanol-chloroform extract
as compared to methanol extract. Methanolic extracts of all four tomatoes were
shown to have free radical scavenging activity. However, red cherry tomato
showed to have the highest antioxidant activity with IC50 value of 1.7 mg/ml,
followed by truss tomato with IC50 2.1 mg/ml, yellow cherry tomato with IC50 4.0
mg/ml and finally tomato with IC50 5.6 mg/ml. The highest value of FRAP in
Gallic Acid Equivalent was 4.3 mg/g in red cherry tomato, followed by 3.8 mg/g
in truss tomato, 2.9 mg/g in yellow cherry tomato and 2.4 mg/g in tomato. The
total phenolic content ranges from 0.44 to 3.73 mg/ml. In conclusion, red cherry
tomato shown to have the highest total phenolic content and antioxidant activity
compared to the other three variants. The findings of this research provide some
valuable information to consumers when choosing the best type of tomatoes for
good wellbeing and as well to set the basis of future research.
Modern-day Malacca is a vibrant old city with a unique historical and cultural background from being the capital of a powerful Malay kingdom before the colonial era, as well as subsequent Portuguese, Dutch and British rule. The city centre was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in July 2008, many tourists come to Malacca to visit historical sites and tourism, so homestay facilities need to be available to their families Homestay a stay at a residence by a traveller and especially by a visiting foreign student who is hosted by a local family. In this study, propose a smart digital door lock system for homestay system. A digital door lock system is equipment that uses the digital information such as a secret code, semi-conductors, smart card, and finger prints as the method for authentication instead of the legacy key system. In proposed system, a ZigBee module is embedded in digital door lock and the door lock acts as a central main controller of the overall homestay system. A door lock system proposed here consists of RFID reader for user authentication, touch LCD, motor module for opening and closing of the door, sensor modules for detecting the condition inside the house, communication module, and control module for controlling other modules. Status of individual ZigBee module can be monitored and controlled by the centralized controller, digital door lock. As the door lock is the first and last thing people come across in entering and leaving the homestay respectively, the homestay automation function in digital door lock system enables user to conveniently control and monitor homestay environment and condition all at once before entering or leaving the house stay. Furthermore, it also allows users to remotely monitor the condition inside the house through Internet or any other public network.
Lignin is a complex phenylpropanoid polymer which present between the cell-wall of plant cells and the second largest biomass after cellulose. This structural component is important in plant as they provide physical strength imparting stiffness to the plant cells that enables the plant to transport water and solutes through the treachery elements in plant vasculature system. In pulp and paper industry, delignification is an important step to produce high quality of fiber for paper making. Nevertheless, hindrance from lignin recalcitrant has make pulping process inefficient in both chemical and mechanical methods. This has resulted in pulping process to use more chemicals, high energy consumption and releasing pollutants to the environments. A greener technology or enzyme-based processing might be one of the alternative to improve pulping process. Researchers have been studied to remove lignin using enzymes produced by isolated microorganism from the gut of wood feeding insects or soil. This paper will provide a review on lignin and previous studies about lignin degradation using enzymes such as lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase, versatile peroxidase, dye-decolorizing peroxidase and laccase. The discussion in this paper is focused on issues pertaining the efficiency of using enzymes to degrade lignin which also known as bio-delignification. Also, the challenges in implementing bio-based method for pulping process is mentioned in this paper.
Innovation is not just an individual study by a company or an entrepreneur, but it has to be in a larger system that enables innovation. There is a need, therefore to study the external and internal factors that influence the output of technological innovation. The goal of this study was to identify the factor that influence of the performance in technology innovation defined from several researchers. The role of innovation as a critical factor influencing a company’s business creativity and competitiveness make it essential to growth of productivity and productivity of the industry. Various studies of innovation is identified as helping companies open new markets and gain competitive advantage succeeded in increasing market share and achieving sustainable competitiveness.
The demand for enzyme as biocatalyst is increasing for biotechnological based industry. This is due to their ability to catalyze specific biochemical reactions and able to generate products that have significant commercial value. Some of these enzymatic reactions cannot be replicated using conventional organic synthesis process. On the other hand, insects have evolved and established various enzymatic pathways that are not only important for their survival but also valuable. Therefore, scientists and engineers are searching a way to utilize insect’s enzyme for industrial processing as an alternative for greener technology. A high-level idea about how the biological systems work, evolve and interconnect in nature is essential in order to put the application into the industry. A new field of innovation to increase performance and reliability, discoveries are in turn solving some of technology’s greatest challenges as the demand for cleaner and greener technology is rising. This paper will review on the application of insect’s enzyme as a biocatalyst in the field of biopharmaceutical, agricultural, food and pulp and paper industry.
The application of nanoparticles (NPs) has attracted considerable attention as targeted delivery systems. CaCO3 has become the focus due to its advantages including affordability, low toxicity, biocompatibility, cytocompatibility, pH sensitivity and sedate biodegradability and environment friendly materials. In this article, we will discuss the po- tential roles of CaCO3-NPs in three major therapeutic applications; as antimicrobial, for drug delivery, and as gene delivery nanocarrier.