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Pharmacy value-added services were developed to make it easier for patients to refill their chronic prescriptions in public health facilities in Malaysia. However, little is known about patients' awareness, attitudes and practice towards pharmacy value-added services provided by health clinics. This study was conducted to investigate factors associated with the usage of pharmacy value-added services at public health clinics in Perlis, Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to March 2021 at the pharmacy waiting area of all public health clinics in Perlis. All patients (≥18 years old) taking chronic medications and with the need to follow-up at the health clinic in Perlis were recruited in this study using quota sampling. Data was collected using a validated self-administered questionnaire. Descriptive analyses on the usage, awareness and attitudes of respondents were performed, followed by multiple logistic regression. A total of 582 patients responded to this study (response rate, 97.0%). Only 12.9% of respondents used pharmacy value-added services offered by health clinics. Age, gender, ethnicity, education level, occupation, monthly household income, length of stay in Perlis, distance from home to the clinic, total awareness and attitudes scores were factors significantly associated with the practice of pharmacy value-added services after adjusting for other variables (p<0.05). In conclusion, the proportion of patients using pharmacy value-added services at health clinics in Perlis is still low. The study's findings suggest that a more extensive promotion of pharmacy value-added services is needed to ensure more patients could benefit from these services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aromatic rice cultivars constitute a small but special group of rice and are considered the best in terms of quality and aroma. Aroma is one of the most significant quality traits of rice, and variety with aroma has a higher price in the market. This research was carried out to study the genetic diversity among the 50 aromatic rice accessions from three regions (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak) with 3 released varieties as a control using the 32 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The objectives of this research were to quantify the genetic divergence of aromatic rice accessions using SSR markers and to identify the potential accessions for introgression into the existing rice breeding program. Genetic diversity index among the three populations such as Shannon information index (I) ranged from 0.25 in control to 0.98 in Sabah population. The mean numbers of effective alleles and Shannon’s information index were 0.36 and 64.90%, respectively. Similarly, the allelic diversity was very high with mean expected heterozygosity (He) of 0.60 and mean Nei’s gene diversity index of 0.36. The dendrogram based on UPGMA and Nei’s genetic distance classified the 53 rice accessions into 10 clusters. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that 89% of the total variation observed in this germplasm came from within the populations, while 11% of the variation emanated among the populations. These results reflect the high genetic differentiation existing in this aromatic rice germplasm. Using all these criteria and indices, seven accessions (Acc9993, Acc6288, Acc6893, Acc7580, Acc6009, Acc9956, and Acc11816) from three populations have been identified and selected for further evaluation before introgression into the existing breeding program and for future aromatic rice varietal development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we quantified carbonaceous PM2.5 in Malaysia through annual observations of PM2.5, focusing on organic compounds derived from biomass burning. We determined organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon and concentrations of solvent-extractable organic compounds (biomarkers derived from biomass burning sources and n-alkanes). We observed seasonal variations in the concentrations of pyrolyzed OC (OP), levoglucosan (LG), mannosan (MN), galactosan, syringaldehyde, vanillic acid (VA) and cholesterol. The average concentrations of OP, LG, MN, galactosan, VA and cholesterol were higher during the southwestern monsoon season (June-September) than during the northeastern monsoon season (December-March), and these differences were statistically significant. Conversely, the syringaldehyde concentration during the southwestern monsoon season was lower. The PM2.5 OP = OC4 mass ratio allowed distinguishing the seven samples, which have been affected by the Indonesian peatland fires (IPFs). In addition, we observed significant differences in the concentrations between the Indonesian peatland fire (IPF) and other samples of many chemical species. Thus, the chemical characteristics of PM2.5 in Malaysia appeared to be significantly influenced by IPFs during the southwestern monsoon season. Furthermore, we evaluated two indicators, the vanillic acid = syringic acid (VA= SA) and LG =MN mass ratios, which have been suggested as indicators of IPFs. The LG =MN mass ratio ranged from 14 to 22 in the IPF samples and from 11 to 31 in the other samples. Thus, the respective variation ranges partially overlapped. Consequently, this ratio did not satisfactorily reflect the effects of IPFs in Malaysia. In contrast, the VA= SA mass ratio may serve as a good indicator, since it significantly differed between the IPF and other samples. However, the OP = OC4 mass ratio provided more remarkable differences than the VA= SA mass ratio, offering an even better indicator. Finally, we extracted biomass burning emissions' sources such as IPF, softwood/hardwood burning and meat cooking through varimax-rotated principal component analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blast, caused by Magnoporthe oryzae, is considered to be a global rice disease around the world including Malaysia. Limited information is available on the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) and linked markers associated with blast resistance within local rice varieties e.g. Pongsu Seribu 2. Partial resistance against blast disease is widely observed in this variety with mapping of QTLs linked to resistance genes. However, knowledge about the blast resistance genes on chromosome 3 is very limited and no specific blast resistance gene have been identified on chromosome 3 in rice genome of Pongsu Seribu 2. In order to find the similarity of sequence, QTL qRBr-3.1 located on chromosome 3 in Pongsu Seribu 2 was cloned and compared with identified blast resistant genes from other varieties. Sequence analysis of cloned fragment revealed a tandem of (CA)23 repeats. The similarity of sequence was searched in Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST), which expressed similarity with different clones of rice located on chromosome 3. The cloned QTL fragment also expressed the similarity of 46% with Pi-b, 52% with Pi-kh, 23% with Pi-9 and 38% with Pi-zt, blast resistance genes located at different chromosomes in rice. The QTL fragment produced none of distribution of leucine rich repeats (LRRs) and nucleotide binding site (NBS-LRR). However, the domain contains maximum distribution of leucine amino acid which is responsible for the pathogen recognition in host-plant interaction and play important role in resistance mechanism against diseases. This result concluded that Pongsu Seribu 2 has homology to other resistant genes which are allelic to Pi-b, Pi9, Pi-zt and Pi-kh at different chromosomes. © 2014 Friends Science Publishers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to determine the composition and sources of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or less (PM) in a semi-urban area. PM samples were collected using a high volume sampler. Heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Pb, Mn, Cu, Cd and Ni) and cations (Na, K, Ca and Mg) were detected using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, while anions (SO, NO, Cl and F) were analysed using Ion Chromatography. Principle component analysis and multiple linear regressions were used to identify the source apportionment of PM. Results showed the average concentration of PM was 29.5 ± 5.1 μg/m. The heavy metals found were dominated by Fe, followed by Zn, Pb, Cu, Mn, Cd and Ni. Na was the dominant cation, followed by Ca, K and Mg, whereas SO was the dominant anion, followed by NO, Cl and F. The main sources of PM were the Earth's crust/road dust, followed by vehicle emissions, industrial emissions/road activity, and construction/biomass burning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice blast caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae is one of the most devastating diseases of rice in nearly all rice growing areas of the world including Malaysia. To develop cultivars with resistance against different races of M. oryzae, availability of molecular markers along with marker-assisted selection strategies are essential. In this study, 11 polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers with good fit of 1:2:1 ratio for single gene model in F population derived from the cross of Pongsu seribu 2 (Resistant) and Mahsuri (Susceptible) rice cultivars were analysed in 296 F families derived from individual F plants to investigate association with Pi gene conferring resistance to M. oryzae pathotype. Parents and progeny were grouped into two phenotypic classes based on their blast reactions. Chi-square test for the segregation of resistance and susceptibility in F generation fitted a ratio of approximately 3:1. Association of SSR markers with phenotypic trait in F families was identified by statistical analysis. Four SSR markers (RM413, RM5961, RM1233 and RM8225) were significantly associated with blast resistance to pathotype 7.2 of M. oryzae in rice ( p ≤ 0.01). These four markers accounted for about 20% of total phenotypic variation. So, these markers were confirmed as suitable markers for use in marker-assisted selection and confirmation of blast resistance genes to develop rice cultivars with durable blast resistance in Malaysian rice breeding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlabelled: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) chest infection is a common cause of hospitalization in the very young child. The aim of this study was to determine the direct cost of resource utilization in the treatment of children hospitalized with RSV chest infection and the potential cost-savings with passive immunization for high-risk infants. An audit of the hospital resource consumption and its costs was performed for 216 children aged < 24 mo admitted with RSV chest infection between 1995 and 1997. The cost-saving potential of passive immunization using monoclonal RSV antibodies during the RSV season was determined by assuming an 0.55 efficacy in hospitalization reduction when administered to "high-risk" infants according to the guidelines outlined by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The hospital treatment cost of 1064 bed-days amounted to USD 64 277.70. Each child occupied a median of 4.0 bed-days at a median cost of USD 169.99 (IQ1 128.08, IQ3 248.47). Children, who were ex-premature or with an underlying illness were more likely to have a longer hospital stay, higher treatment costs and need for intensive care. Ten (42%) of 24 ex-premature infants fulfilled the recommended criteria for passive immunization. Its use resulted in an incremental cost of USD 31.39 to a potential cost saving of USD 0.91 per infant for each hospital day saved.Conclusion: Ex-prematurity and the presence of an underlying illness results in escalation of the direct treatment cost of RSV chest infection. Current guidelines for use of passive RSV immunization do not appear to be cost-effective if adopted for Malaysian infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sum of 48 accessions of physic nut, Jatropha curcas L. were analyzed to determine the genetic diversity and association between geographical origin using RAPD-PCR markers. Eight primers generated a total of 92 fragments with an average of 11.5 amplicons per primer. Polymorphism percentages of J. curcas accessions for Selangor, Kelantan, and Terengganu states were 80.4, 50.0, and 58.7%, respectively, with an average of 63.04%. Jaccard's genetic similarity co-efficient indicated the high level of genetic variation among the accessions which ranged between 0.06 and 0.81. According to UPGMA dendrogram, 48 J. curcas accessions were grouped into four major clusters at coefficient level 0.3 and accessions from same and near states or regions were found to be grouped together according to their geographical origin. Coefficient of genetic differentiation (G(st)) value of J. curcas revealed that it is an outcrossing species.

The experiments were carried out in two research stations (MARDI Bukit Tangga, Kedah, and MARDI Seberang Perai, Penang) in Malaysia. The crossings were performed using the four inbred lines in complete diallel cross including selfs and reciprocals. We evaluated the yield components and fruit characters such as fruit yield per plant, vine length, days to fruit maturity, fruit weight, total soluble solid content, and rind thickness over a period of two planting seasons. General combining ability and its interaction with locations were statistically significant for all characteristics except number of fruits per plant across the environments. Results indicated that the additive genetic effects were important to the inheritance of these traits and the expression of additive genes was influenced greatly by environments. In addition, specific combining ability effect was statistically evident for fruit yield per plant, vine length, days to first female flower, and fruit weight. Most of the characters are simultaneously controlled by additive and nonadditive gene effects. This study demonstrated that the highest potential and promising among the crosses was cross P2 (BL-14) × P3 (6372-4), which possessed prolific plants, with early maturity, medium fruit weight and high soluble solid contents. Therefore this hybrid might be utilized for developing high yielding watermelon cultivars and may be recommended for commercial cultivation.

Direct amplified length polymorphism (DALP) combines the advantages of a high-resolution fingerprint method and also characterizing the genetic polymorphisms. This molecular method was also found to be useful in brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens species complex for the analysis of genetic polymorphisms. A total of 11 populations of Nilaparvata spp. were collected from 6 locations from Malaysia. Two sympatric populations of brown planthopper, N. lugens, one from rice and the other from a weed grass (Leersia hexandra), were collected from each of five locations. N. bakeri was used as an out group. Three oligonucleotide primer pairs, DALP231/DALPR'5, DALP234/DALPR'5, and DALP235/DALPR'5 were applied in this study. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) dendrogram based on genetic distances for the 11 populations of Nilaparvata spp. revealed that populations belonging to the same species and the same host type clustered together irrespective of their geographical localities of capture. The populations of N. lugens formed into two distinct clusters, one was insects with high esterase activities usually captured from rice and the other was with low esterase activities usually captured from L. hexandra. N. bakeri, an out group, was the most isolated group. Analyses of principal components, molecular variance, and robustness also supported greatly to the findings of cluster analysis.

Genetic diversity is prerequisite for any crop improvement program as it helps in the development of superior recombinants. Fifty Malaysian upland rice accessions were evaluated for 12 growth traits, yield and yield components. All of the traits were significant and highly significant among the accessions. The higher magnitudes of genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation were recorded for flag leaf length-to-width ratio, spikelet fertility, and days to flowering. High heritability along with high genetic advance was registered for yield of plant, days to flowering, and flag leaf length-to-width ratio suggesting preponderance of additive gene action in the gene expression of these characters. Plant height showed highly significant positive correlation with most of the traits. According to UPGMA cluster analysis all accessions were clustered into six groups. Twelve morphological traits provided around 77% of total variation among the accessions.