Most studies highlight mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) extracted primarily from bone marrow (BM), very few report the use of peripheral blood (PB), often due to the associated low seeding density and ...difficulties with extraction techniques. As ageing populations are becoming more predominant globally, together with escalating demands for MSC transplantation and tissue regeneration, obtaining quality MSCs suitable for induced differentiation and biological therapies becomes increasingly important. In this study, BM and PB were obtained from elderly patients and extracted MSCs grown
to determine their successful isolation and expansion. Patients’ socio-demographic background and other medical information were obtained from medical records. Successful and failed cultures were correlated with key demographic and medical parameters. A total of 112 samples (BM or PB) were used for this study. Of these, 50 samples (44.6%) were successfully cultured according to standardised criteria with no signs of contamination. Our comparative analyses demonstrated no statistical correlation between successful MSC cultures and any of the six demographic or medical parameters examined, including sample quantity, age, sex, race, habits and underlying comorbidities of sample donors. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that typical demographics and comorbidities do not influence successful MSC isolation and expansion in culture.
Background: Antimicrobial prescribing behaviors are often influenced by the local culture and prescribing appropriateness of medical doctors and other health care professionals. Globally, ...antimicrobial utilization practices have a profound impact on antimicrobial resistance and are a tremendous public health concern. The aim of this survey was to explore the knowledge and attitudes of medical students from the National Defence University of Malaysia regarding antimicrobial usage and antimicrobial resistance. Research design and methods: This was a cross-sectional study. The study population consisted of undergraduate medical students in each year group from the National Defence University of Malaysia. Students receive limited formal training on the use of antibiotics in their curriculum, and most of this learning is opportunistic whilst on clinical placement. Universal sampling was used as the study population was small. Data were collected utilizing a previously validated instrument regarding antibiotic use. Simple descriptive statistics were used to generate frequencies and percentages with SPSS V21. This research was approved by the Centre for Research and Innovation Management, National Defence University of Malaysia. Results: 206 questionnaires were distributed with a response rate of 99.03%, 54% (110) male, and 46% (94) female. Out of the respondents, 65% (132) had used antibiotics in the last year. Respondents displayed a moderate level of knowledge about antibiotics. Conclusions: This study revealed that the older the student was, or when the year of study and total knowledge score was higher, the students were less likely to stop antimicrobials when they felt better or use leftover antibiotics without consulting a doctor. Therefore, the nearer the students were to graduation, the better their knowledge and skills were, and this translated into their own behaviors regarding use of antimicrobials. This finding has clear implications for curriculum design and the inclusion of formal teaching throughout the medical program on antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). However, more research is needed on this topic, including the prescribing habits and antibiotic use of practicing doctors.
Gastrointestinal parasites (GIPs) in elephants have been reported in several studies over the last decades. Nonetheless, comprehensive data on clinicopathology of elephant GIPs, parasite burden ...threshold value, and the effectiveness of conventional anthelmintic drugs are still lacking. Herein, we have systematically reviewed the available knowledge on elephant GIPs identified among different parts of the world based on their prevalence, epidemiology, pathology, diagnosis, treatment, and control. Two electronic databases were searched for publications that met the inclusion criteria. About19 English journal articles published between year of 2011- 2021 were included. The main GIPs reported in elephants were Cyathostomidae (at least 14 species), Ancylostomidae, Haemonchus contortus, Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Oesophagostomum columbianum, Oesophagostomum aceleatum, Ascarids, Trichurids, Strongyloides, Anophlocephalidae, flukes, and Coccidia across different parts of the world, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. Most elephants show no clinical signs until the equilibrium between parasite and host is disturbed. The common diagnostic methods for GIPs are traditional direct smear, faecal floatation, sedimentation, and McMaster egg counting technique, all involving morphological identification. However, some articles described the use of molecular detection to characterise common GIPs of elephants. Although benzimidazoles and macrocyclic lactones group of anthelmintic are the most conventional GIPs treatment and control for captive and semi-captive elephants, there is limited data on the threshold value of faecal egg count as the baseline for treatment decision. Over the last decades, various studies regarding elephant GIPs have been conducted. However, more focused and systematic studies are required to enhance our knowledge in multiple aspects of elephant parasitology to find effective solutions and improve elephant health.
This study presented the strength and water absorption properties of lightweight concrete brick containing Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) as the material replacement for sand. EPS has been widely used by ...the construction industries in the production of lightweight building materials such as wall panel and lightweight concrete blocks. Hence, in this study, EPS has been used as the replacement material in the production of lightweight concrete brick. Replacement of sand by EPS was based on volume. The replacement percentage of EPS was 0%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%. The brick properties that have been investigated in this study were density, water absorption and compressive strength. Based on the experimental results, the density and compressive strength of the brick was decreased as the percentage of the replacement increased. Meanwhile, for water absorption properties, it was found that water absorption of the brick was decreased as the percentage of EPS increased. However, the properties obtained has satisfied the requirement where the brick density for lightweight should be less than 1680 kg/m3 and the strength for load bearing and non-load bearing brick is 11.7 MPa and 3.45 MPa for each individual unit. Meanwhile, for water absorption, the percentage of water absorption of brick should be less than 12% 1,2. From this study, it was found that, the replacement of sand by EPS give significant impact towards strength and water absorption performance of concrete brick.
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the fifth most common cancer among Malaysians. While several studies have reported the trend of NPC in other states in Malaysia, no studies have reported the trend ...of NPC in Pahang state. This study was designed to report the number and distribution of newly diagnosed NPC cases in Pahang.
NPC cases that were diagnosed between 2012 and 2017 in two referral hospitals in Pahang were traced. The crude incidence rate (CR) and age-standardised rate (ASR) were calculated to investigate the NPC incidence.
There were 143 new cases of NPC reported from the two hospitals. The mean age at diagnosis was 52.0 ± 13.7 years old. The majority of cases involved males (74.1%) with a male to female ratio of 2.9:1. Chinese males were found to have the highest incidence with a mean ASR of 4.7 per 100,000 population. Overall, the mean ASR for Pahang was 2.4 per 100,000 population for males and 0.9 per 100,000 population for females.
The total number of NPC cases reveals an increasing trend from 2012 to 2014 and then a slightly decreasing trend from 2015 to 2017. The incidence of NPC in Pahang was intermediate in males and low in females.
The significant role of energy efficiency labelling should not be ignored as it provides various information that serve as a guideline when people make purchasing decision. It indicates projection ...energy consumption of an electrical equipment according to energy efficiency rating system. This study applied choice experiment (CE) method in which the conditional logit (CL) model was valued to determine students’ willingness to pay (WTP) based on their preferences of the energy label attributes of table fans. A questionnaire survey was distributed to 151 on-campus students in Terengganu, Malaysia. The attributes were speed of fan, energy consumption and energy star and price of fan. The study found that the students mostly preferred energy consumption attribute with WTP estimation of RM123.538 (USD29.66) at level two and RM42.88 (USD10.30) at level three. These findings illustrate how people place value on monetary and non-monetary attributes based on their preferences. A label with energy-efficient standard makes it easier for utility companies and government energy-conservation organizations to offer consumers incentives to purchase energy-efficient products. The usefulness of energy efficiency label is very reliant in terms of how it portrays information to the people and promote energy conservation.
This paper examines the dynamic relationship between income, energy use and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Malaysia using time-series data during 1975 to 2011. This study also attempts to validate ...the environmental Kuznet curve (EKC) hypothesis. Applying a multivariate model of income, energy consumption in the transportation sector, carbon emissions, structural change in the economy and renewable energy use, the empirical evidence confirmed that there is a long-run relationship between the variables as shown by the result of co-integration analysis. The results indicate that the inverted U-shape EKC hypothesis does not fully agree with the theory. The coefficient of squared GDP is not statistically different from zero. The time duration and the annual data used for the present study do not seem to strongly validate the existence of EKC hypothesis in the case of Malaysia. Causality test shows that the relationship between GDP and CO2 is unidirectional. The Granger causality test results reveal that emissions Granger-cause income, energy consumption and renewable energy use. Moreover, we find that income Granger-causes energy consumption and renewable energy use, and both structural change and renewable energy use Granger-cause energy consumption in road transportation.
•We examine the dynamic relationship among energy consumption in transportation sector, income and CO2 and also attempts to validate the environmental Kuznet curve (EKC) hypothesis.•We used a multivariate approach based on VECM.•The inverted U-shape EKC hypothesis is not valid in the case of Malaysia.•Uni-directional causality exists from emission to income, energy consumption and renewable energy use.•Income Granger-causes energy consumption and renewable energy use, and both structural change and renewable energy use Granger-cause energy consumption in road transportation.
Abstract
Cement is a key material in the construction industry. However, this widespread use adversely affects the environment. The replacement of cement with waste materials, mainly agricultural ...wastes, can reduce the impact of environmental pollution and result in sustainable construction. Sago fine waste (SFW) is a fibrous residue from waste from sago milling operations where physical treatment has been made. This study used SFW as a partial cement replacement material in cement brick and the effect of adding SFW to cement brick properties. Brick samples are designed with five different percentages of 2,4,6,8, and 10% of cement replacement, including control cement brick. The mortar mix is based on a ratio of 1:3, which follows Malaysian brick production standards. For compressive strength, density, and water absorption tests, all the specimens were cured for 7 and 28 days. The strength of cement bricks was investigated based on the difference of two water-cement ratios: 0.5 and 0.6. The brick properties investigated in this study are density, water absorption and compressive strength. The experimental results show that the brick’s density, compressive strength, and water absorption decreased as the replacement percentage increased. However, it still meets the requirements of the standard for load-bearing structures. Analysis of this study is according to extensive data collection, the ideal composition for SFW in cement brick was 2% and 0.6 water-cement ratios. This demonstrates SFW’s promise as a novel pozzolanic material for producing more sustainable bricks. As a result, SFW as a cement replacement material could improve bricks’ physical and mechanical properties as curing time increases.
► High volatile matter of EFB (82%) increases the reactivity. ► Thermogravimetric analysis of EFB portrays three distinguished decomposition stages. ► Kinetic parameter values increase with ...increasing EFB particle size. ► Modeled curves show a very good fit with experimental results of EFB sample.
Empty fruit bunches (EFBs), a waste material from the palm oil industry, were subjected to pyrolysis and gasification. A high content of volatiles (>82%) increased the reactivity of EFBs, and more than 90% decomposed at 700°C; however, a high content of moisture (>50%) and oxygen (>45%) resulted in a low calorific value. Thermogravimetric analysis demonstrated that the higher the heating rate and the smaller the particle size, the higher the peak and final reaction temperatures. The least squares estimation for a first-order reaction model was used to study the degradation kinetics. The values of activation energy increased from 61.14 to 73.76 and from 40.06 to 47.99kJ/mol when the EFB particle size increased from 0.3 to 1.0mm for holocellulose and lignin degradation stages, respectively. The fuel characteristics of EFB are comparable to those of other biomasses and EFB can be considered a good candidate for gasification.
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