Biotechnology Commons^™

A Phenomenological Study On The Quality Of Life Among Patients With Osteoarthritis Admitted For Rehabilitative Physiotherapy In A Private Hospital In Kuala Lumpur, Dioso R. (Iii) P., Tanggaya R.

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

The aim of this study is to explore patients’ experiences and how their rehabilitation and physiotherapy at a private hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has affected their quality of life (QOL) due to osteoarthritis (OA). In addition, this study also aims to explore patients’ perspectives of the rehabilitation and physiotherapy for their OA before and after which affects moreover their QOL. The seven domains of the QOL were the physiological, social, financial,environmental, psychological, level of independence and spiritual – aimed to guide the theme of the interview sessions. A qualitative design was used. Of the 50 patients purposively enrolled only …

Physiological Evidence For Isopotential Tunneling In The Electron Transport Chain Of Methane-Producing Archaea, Nikolas Duszenko, Nicole R. Buan

Department of Biochemistry: Faculty Publications

Many, but not all, organisms use quinones to conserve energy in their electron transport chains. Fermentative bacteria and methane-producing archaea (methanogens) do not produce quinones but have devised other ways to generate ATP. Methanophenazine (MPh) is a unique membrane electron carrier found in Methanosarcina species that plays the same role as quinones in the electron transport chain. To extend the analogy between quinones and MPh, we compared the MPh pool sizes between two well-studied Methanosarcina species, Methanosarcina acetivorans C2A and Methanosarcina barkeri Fusaro, to the quinone pool size in the bacterium Escherichia coli. We found the quantity of MPh per …

Rational Drug Design Directed At Blocking The Initial Signaling Events In Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Sepsis., Christopher A. Tipton

Theses

Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) is classified as an immune system response to an infectious state. If left untreated, SIRS leads to sepsis, septic shock, end-organ dysfunction, and death. As a patient progresses through these stages, associations of acute respiratory distress, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and acute renal failure persist, resulting in millions of deaths annually. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a bacterial endotoxin, is released into the blood stream, triggering SIRS. LPS is found in the outer cell-wall of Gram-negative bacteria and is responsible for initiation of a devastating cytokine storm. One of the regions of LPS, lipid A, is a polyacylated glucosamine …

Methanolysis Of Crude Jatropha Oil Using Heterogeneous Catalyst From The Seashells And Eggshells As Green Biodiesel, Reddy A. N. R., Ahmed A. S., Islam M. D., Hamdan S.

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

In this work, heterogeneous calcium oxide catalysts gleaned from Polymedosa expansa and eggshell were investigated for the transesterification of crude jatropha oil with methanol, to access their prospective performance in biodiesel production as an alternative green energy resource. The best yield of biodiesel achieved was 96% in 1 h for Step 1 using 0.01:1 ratio of acid catalyst to oil and 0.6:1 ratio of alcohol to oil ratio, together with 2 h of Step 2 using 0.02:1 ratio with base catalyst CaO, derived from P. expansa, to oil ratio and 5:1 ratio of alcohol to oil. The properties of jatropha …

Structures, Energies, And Bonding Analysis Of Monoaurated Complexes With N-Heterocyclic Carbene And Analogues, Nguyen T.A.N., Huynh T.P.L., Vo T.X.P., Tran T.H., Tran D.S., Dang T.H., Duong T.Q.

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

In this work, we computationally investigated from quantum chemical calculations (DFT) at the BP86 level with the various basis sets def2-SVP, def2-TZVPP, and TZ2P+, chemical bonding issues of the recently described carbene-analogues gold(I) complexes AuCl-NHEMe (Au1-NHE) with E = C – Pb. The optimized structures and the metal-ligand bond dissociation energy (BDE) were calculated, and the nature of the E→Au bond was studied with charge and energy decomposition methods. The equilibrium structures of the system showed that there were major differences in the bonded orientation from the ligands NHC-NHPb to gold(I) complex between the lighter and the heavier homologues. The …

Short Communication: Sulphur Levels And Fuel Quality In Peninsular Malaysia, Ramalingam M., Fuad A. Ahmad

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

This paper presents the investigation on sulphur levels in fuels collected from different petrol stations in Peninsular Malaysia. Diesel and gasoline samples were analysed for sulphur using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry technique. In general, diesel concentrations of sulphur were only slightly lower than the Deprtment of Environment’s current sulphur limit of 500 p.p.m. across 2010–2014 (the range was 289–698 p.p.m., 374–410 p.p.m., 319–436 p.p.m., 447–605 p.p.m. and 300–477 p.p.m. for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively). Sulphur concentrations were relatively low in gasoline samples: the mean figures were 95, 77, 96, 74, 240 and 125 for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, …

Periphytic Diatoms In The Polluted Linggi (Sensu Stricto) And Kundor Rivers, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, Khan I.S.A. Nather

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

The investigation in this paper aimed to describe periphytic diatom assemblage, species composition and distribution in tropical polluted Linggi (sensu stricto or s.s.) and Kundor rivers in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Regardless of ecological and environmental conditions, diatoms were the numerically dominant flora among periphytic algae collected monthly over a period of 13 months at nine stations in the Linggi (s.s.) and Kundor rivers. The freshwater periphytic diatom samples were collected mainly using artificial substrates and supplemented with natural substrates. The periphytic diatoms thus collected from both natural and artificial substrates comprised 86 taxa (82 pennate and 4 centric forms) belonging …

Decision-Making Processes For A Do-Not-Resuscitate Poisoned Pediatric Patient Admitted To The Department Of Emergency And Medical Services — A Case Study, Dioso R. (Iii) P.

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

A team of healthcare professionals in the Department of Emergency and Medical Services demonstrated decision-making processes for a poisoned pediatric patient with a Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order. At the same time, clinical guidelines for poison resuscitations were critically applied. Lastly, the case examined and evaluated emergency care, management, treatment and diagnostic laboratory tests for pediatric poisoned patients. Ideas on pertinent literatures of decision-making models, clinical guidelines on poison resuscitation and DNR policies were already known by the majority. In addition, ideas on the benefits such as becoming enlightened on how to make sound judgments in an emergency situation, particularly addressing issues …

A Rapid Colorimetric Peptide Nucleic Acid Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay For The Detection Of The Idh1 Mutation In Glioblastoma, Edward J. Raack

All NMU Master's Theses

The IDH1 mutation is an important diagnostic and prognostic biomarker used to characterize glioblastoma (GBM). Patients harboring the IDH1 mutation have improved overall survival following maximal resection. Knowledge of the IDH1 mutation status allows the surgeon to modify the surgical plan; however, no existing molecular test can provide this information intraoperatively. We designed a novel colorimetric peptide nucleic acid loop-mediated isothermal amplification (PNA-LAMP) method that rapidly detects the IDH1 R132H mutation in GBM. PNA-LAMP amplifies target DNA under isothermal conditions with high specificity and speed. The PNA prevents amplification of wild-type IDH1 DNA, while allowing amplification of the R132H variant …

Multi-Material Mesh Representation Of Anatomical Structures For Deep Brain Stimulation Planning, Tanweer Rashid

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The Dual Contouring algorithm (DC) is a grid-based process used to generate surface meshes from volumetric data. However, DC is unable to guarantee 2-manifold and watertight meshes due to the fact that it produces only one vertex for each grid cube. We present a modified Dual Contouring algorithm that is capable of overcoming this limitation. The proposed method decomposes an ambiguous grid cube into a set of tetrahedral cells and uses novel polygon generation rules that produce 2-manifold and watertight surface meshes with good-quality triangles. These meshes, being watertight and 2-manifold, are geometrically correct, and therefore can be used to …

Experience With The Quantitative Lyta Gene Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction For The Detection Of Streptococcus Pneumoniae From Pediatric Whole Blood In Pakistan, Furqan Kabir, Sahrish Muneer, Adil Kalam, Ana Sami, Shahida Qureshi, Aneeta Hotwani, Atif Riaz, Syed Mohiuddin, Mohammad Tahir Yousafzai, Sara Hussain, Syed Asad Ali, Sadia Shakoor

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Background: We present our experience with optimization and diagnostic use of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the lytA gene of Streptococcus pneumoniae for the detection of S. pneumoniae in whole blood of children ≥5 CFU/10 μl or 1 copy of DNA/2 μl of blood.
Methods: This assay was applied on 1912 whole blood specimens collected from children pneumonia, of which 35 specimens were lytA positive. The bacterial loads were determined through categorization of load into five different categories, i.e., very high load, high load, moderate load, low load, and very low load.
Results: Of the 35 lytA-positive …

Bio-Docklets: Virtualization Containers For Single-Step Execution Of Ngs Pipelines, Baekdoo Kim, Thahmina Ali, Carlos Lijeron, Enis Afgan, Konstantinos Krampis

Publications and Research

Processing of next-generation sequencing (NGS) data requires significant technical skills, involving installation, configuration, and execution of bioinformatics data pipelines, in addition to specialized postanalysis visualization and data mining software. In order to address some of these challenges, developers have leveraged virtualization containers toward seamless deployment of preconfigured bioinformatics software and pipelines on any computational platform. We present an approach for abstracting the complex data operations of multistep, bioinformatics pipelines for NGS data analysis. As examples, we have deployed 2 pipelines for RNA sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing, preconfigured within Docker virtualization containers we call Bio-Docklets. Each Bio-Docklet exposes a single …

Editorial Board, Board Editorial

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

No abstract provided.

A Clinical Audit For Compliance On The Innovated Radiographic Technique At A Radiologic Unit, Ismanto S., Hassan C.H.

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

This study identifed X-ray laboratory users’ compliance with the innovated radiographic technique and evaluated it’s effectiveness in decreasing risks of repeating unnecessary X-ray exposure. The use of various steps in the standard operating procedures of radiography, proper radiographic technique and critique, practical protection measures, and radiographic positioning practice in X-ray laboratory at a private radiographic academy in Indonesia were audited. Thirty participants were used as the simple random sample. The demographic distribution was divided into, gender, nationality, and practical experience. Generally, out of 30 participants, 20 (67%) complied, and 10 (33%) did not. Radiograph image results showed that proper radiographic …

Optimization Of The Photochemical Degradation Of Textile Dye Industrial Wastewaters, Dang T.H., Mai T.P., Truong M.T., Dao L.T, Nguyen T.A.N

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

In this study, the photochemical degradation via photo-Fenton process was carried out to degrade dyes in textile industrial wastewaters. Experimental design methodology was also applied for optimizing effects of factors which influencethe effective treatment such as ferric dose, hydroperoxide dosage, initial pH, reaction time and initial chemical oxygen demand (COD). Two independent variables namely colour and COD removal efficiencieswere used to evaluate the treatment yield. Under the optimal conditions, ca. 99% and ca. 88%, colour, and COD were removed, respectively.

Factors Influencing Iso 14001 Firm’S Perceived Environmental Performance In Malaysia, Rohati S., Norlida M.N., Syed Jamal A.N.S.M.

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

The changes in the global environmental conditions have placed great challenges on governments, industries, and societies. Business organizations are often blamed for being the sources of theseenvironmental problems. This study aimed to examine the factors influencing the perceived environmental performance of firms certified under the ISO 14001 in Malaysia. A total of 268 manufacturing companies responded to the questionnaires. In this study, structural equation modeling was applied to test the hypotheses. It was found that the “environmental policy”, “environmental training”, “regulatory stakeholder’s pressures”, and “customer pressures”, influence the firm’s perceived environmental performance in which “customer pressures”, was found to be …

Potential Application Of Enr/Epdm Blends, Chan B.L.

ASEAN Journal on Science and Technology for Development

Since the process and conversion of natural rubber into epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) was discovered and patented by I. R. Gelling of the Malaysian Rubber Product Research Association (or now known as the Tun Razak laboratory), Brickendonbury, Hertford, in the United Kingdom, there are more than 10 000 technical and technological papers cited in the internet. Information on ENR is available, not only in the the English language but also other languages like Chinese, Malay, French, Thai and even German languages are used.NR is the most versatile and reactive rubber/elastomer. It is an advanced natural rubber which could be potentially …

Efficient Dehydration And Recovery Of Ionic Liquid After Lignocellulosic Processing Using Pervaporation, Jian Sun, Jian Shi, N. V. S. N. Murthy Konda, Dan Campos, Dajiang Liu, Stuart Nemser, Julia Shamshina, Tanmoy Dutta, Paula Berton, Gabriela Gurau, Robin D. Rogers, Blake A. Simmons, Seema Singh

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Background: Biomass pretreatment using certain ionic liquids (ILs) is very efficient, generally producing a substrate that is amenable to saccharification with fermentable sugar yields approaching theoretical limits. Although promising, several challenges must be addressed before an IL pretreatment technology can become commercially viable. One of the most significant challenges is the affordable and scalable recovery and recycle of the IL itself. Pervaporation (PV) is a highly selective and scalable membrane separation process for quantitatively recovering volatile solutes or solvents directly from non-volatile solvents that could prove more versatile for IL dehydration.

Results: We evaluated a commercially available PV system for …

Mechanosensing Of Shear By Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Leads To Increased Levels Of The Cyclic-Di-Gmp Signal Initiating Biofilm Development, Christopher A. Rodesney, Brian Roman, Numa Dhamani, Benjamin J. Cooley, Ahmed Touhami, Vernita D. Gordon

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Biofilms are communities of sessile microbes that are phenotypically distinct from their genetically identical, free-swimming counterparts. Biofilms initiate when bacteria attach to a solid surface. Attachment triggers intracellular signaling to change gene expression from the planktonic to the biofilm phenotype. For Pseudomonas aeruginosa, it has long been known that intracellular levels of the signal cyclic-di-GMP increase upon surface adhesion and that this is required to begin biofilm development. However, what cue is sensed to notify bacteria that they are attached to the surface has not been known. Here, we show that mechanical shear acts as a cue for surface adhesion …

The 'Pseudomonas Aeruginosa' Psl Polysaccharide Is A Social But Noncheatable Trait In Biofilms, Yasuhiko Irie, Aled E. Roberts, Kasper N. Kragh, Vernita D. Gordon, Jaime B. Hutchison, Rosalind J. Allen, Gavin Melaugh, Thomas Bjarnsholt, Stuart A. West, Stephen P. Diggle

Biology Faculty Publications

Extracellular polysaccharides are compounds secreted by microorganisms into the surrounding environment, and they are important for surface attachment and maintaining structural integrity within biofilms. The social nature of many extracellular polysaccharides remains unclear, and it has been suggested that they could function as either cooperative public goods or as traits that provide a competitive advantage. Here, we empirically tested the cooperative nature of the PSL polysaccharide, which is crucial for the formation of biofilms in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We show that (i) PSL is not metabolically costly to produce; (ii) PSL provides populationlevel benefits in biofilms, for both growth and antibiotic …