Search

The present work investigated the chemopreventive and immunoadjuvant properties of edible bird’s nest (EBN) extract on breast cancer cell line (MCF-7). Specifically, the cytotoxicity level of EBN extracts (HMG, EHMG, pHMG) against MCF-7, human immune cells of cytotoxic T cells, and monocytes (CD8+ and CD14+) were evaluated by measuring the production of pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic molecules released in single and co-culture of MCF-7, CD8+, and CD14+ cells, before and after EBN treatment. The highest cytotoxic effect towards MCF-7 using IC50 of 15 µg/mL was demonstrated by HMG but no effects on CD8+ and CD14+, with cell viability of more than 90%. At the mRNA level, activated CD8+ and CD14+ depicted increased pro-apoptotic gene expression after HMG treatment in co-culture. Additionally, HMG treatment increased apoptosis by down-regulating the regulation of anti-apoptotic genes and up-regulating the pro-apoptotic genes in MCF-7. ELISA and multiplex assay reflected increased pro-apoptotic factors, and decreased anti-apoptotic soluble factors, by non-activated and activated CD8+ and CD14+, in a single or co-culture with MCF-7 after HMG treatment. In conclusion, HMG extract possesses immunoadjuvant properties that can be a potential anticancer agent without causing any deleterious effects on the human immune cells.

Over the years, researchers have been developing different ventilation strategies as a potential solution for controlling infectious airborne transmissions in healthcare facilities. The effects of ventilation systems on airflow characteristics have been extensively discussed among researchers since SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in 2019. Based on a bibliometric study of 154 publications from 1970 to 2021 retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database, this paper examines the research landscape on the effects of ventilation strategies on airflow analysis in healthcare facilities. Results show that China is the most productive country due to its significant contributions to the top prolific authors and funding agencies, which have promoted the research development of the topic. Several research hotspots were identified through keyword co-occurrence analysis. Cluster 1 highlights the ventilation studies involving ventilation layouts and ventilation rates in healthcare facilities. Cluster 2 underlines the computational analysis of ventilation performance for reducing the exposure risk of occupants, which promotes the development of infection control measures. Cluster 3 strengthens the knowledge of the emission and dispersion characteristics of respiratory droplets in healthcare facilities. Overall, this paper highlights the future direction of the current research field other than identifying strategic collaborators and suitable publication outlets for interested researchers.

Ultrasound-mechanical stirrer assisted extraction (UMSAE) of extraction yield, total alkaloid content (TAC) and antioxidant (DPPH) activity from Annona muricata leaves were optimized using response surface methodology. Five factors were screened using Plackett-Burman Design to investigate the variables that significantly influence the extraction yield, TAC and DPPH activity, namely solvent concentration, extraction time, ultrasound power, plant material to solvent ratio, and extraction temperature. According to statistical significance analysis, solvent concentration, ultrasound power, plant material to solvent ratio, and extraction temperature were selected for further optimization of the UMSAE extraction process using a Central Composite Design. ANOVA results exhibited that the obtained models were significant at 95 % confidence level. Satisfactory extraction yields (26.38 %) and TAC (39.73 mg AE/g) were obtained with relatively short extraction time under the optimum conditions compared with conventional Soxhlet extraction. The extract prepared under UMSAE displayed excellent DPPH activity (93.15 %). The optimized UMSAE promoted considerable yield increases 1.59-fold the yield extract, 2.32-fold TAC, and 1.19-fold antioxidant activity if compared to the Soxhlet extraction. This study provides the ideal integrated UMSAE settings for the maximum recovery of total alkaloid content with high antioxidant activity from A. muricata for possible utilization of their leaves in food applications.

This paper presents the research landscape on microplastics and nanoplastics (M/NPs) in global food webs based on a bibliometric analysis of 330 publications published in 2009-2019 extracted from Web of Science. The publications increased tremendously since 2013. Marine Pollution Bulletin is one of the top productive journals for this topic. The publication landscape related to M/NPs in global food webs, as interdisciplinary research, is highly dependent on the funding availability. The high productivities of England, China, USA and European countries are attributed to the funding from the agencies at regional or national levels. Keyword analysis reveals the shift of research hotspots from investigations on M/NPs absorbed by various organisms in the ecosystems to studies on the trophic transfer of M/NPs and sorbed contaminants in the food webs and their associated adverse impacts. Funding agencies play important roles in leading the future development of this topic.

This work investigated the polar (PC: protein, amino acid and metabolite) and non-polar (NPC: fatty acid) compounds and bioactivity characteristics of the EBN harvested from the state of Johor in Malaysia. The electrophoretic gels exhibited 15 protein bands (16-173 kD) with unique protein profile. Amino acids analysis by AccQ⋅Tag method revealed 18 types of amino acids in EBN. Metabolite profiling was performed using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (HPLC-QTOF/MS) technique and a total of 54 compounds belonging to different groups were detected and identified. These findings help to uncover the relation of therapeutic activity of EBN. The EBN was further extracted with AcOEt and BuOH. The AcOEt extract was fractionated into three fractions (F1 -F3 ), and the high triglyceride content in F2 was verified by gC-FID. The three groups of fatty acids discovered in EBN are 48.43 % of poly-unsaturated (PUFA), 25.35 % of saturated fatty acids (SFA) and 24.74 % of mono-unsaturated fat (MUFA). This is the first time to report results ofEBN, BuOH, and AcOEt extracts and of fraction F2 (TEBN) on their analysis for their antioxidant activities by DPPH, ABTS and catalase assay and for their paraoxonase and anti-tyrosinase activities. The results showed that TEBN exhibited the significant bioactivity in all assays. These findings suggest that TEBN is a good source for natural bioactive compounds in promoting body vigor. Current work widened the content of EBN especially on the triglyceride and also marked the content of specific location (Johor, Malaysia) of EBN origin.

Global solid waste is expected to increase by at least 70% annually until year 2050. The mixture of solid waste including food waste from food industry and domestic diaper waste in landfills is causing environmental and human health issues. Nevertheless, food and diaper waste containing high lignocellulose can easily degrade using lignocellulolytic enzymes thereby converted into energy for the development and growth of mushroom. Therefore, this study explores the potential of recycling biomass waste from coffee ground, banana, eggshell, tea waste, sugarcane bagasse and sawdust and diaper waste as raw material for Lingzhi mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) cultivation. Using 2% of diaper core with sawdust biowaste leading to the fastest 100% mushroom mycelium spreading completed in one month. The highest production yield is 71.45 g mushroom; this represents about 36% production biological efficiency compared to only 21% as in commercial substrate. The high mushroom substrate reduction of 73% reflect the valorisation of landfill waste. The metabolomics profiling showed that the Lingzhi mushroom produced is of high quality with a high content of triterpene being the bioactive compounds that are medically important for treating assorted disease and used as health supplement. In conclusion, our study proposed a potential resource management towards zero-waste and circular bioeconomy for high profitable mushroom cultivation.

Purple corn (Zea mays) is one of the newly introduced important cash crops in Malaysia. It is a fast turnover crop, health-promoting that partially due to the secondary metabolite composition. However, little is known on its content and its secondary metabolite since it is first planted in Malaysia. Purple corn kernels were extracted in 1.5 N HCl-95% ethanol and the extracted compounds were separated on a C18 column followed by an extensive characterization using UPLC-Orbitrap-MS/MS method in two ionization modes. A total of 12 metabolite compounds belong to different chemical groups (phenolic, flavonoid, alkaloid, ester, and fatty acid) and other organic compounds were tentatively identified, offering the first qualitative analysis available on the phytochemicals from purple corn. The data obtained in this study will provide a better understanding on the chemical composition of purple corn in Malaysia and hence, it could be used in food product developments and nutraceutical research based on this newly introduced crop.

In this study,a Six-port Reflectometer (SPR) with dielectric probe sensor is used to predict relative dielectric,er of normal and tumorous breast tissue in frequency range from 2.34GHz to 3.0GHz. Other than that,a superstrate with an exterior copper layer is overlaid on the surface of a primitive Five-port Ring Circuit (FPRC),which is also a denominated,enhanced superstrate FPRC. It is the main component of the SPR and is presented in this paper as well. The enhanced superstrate FPRC is capable of improving its operating bandwidth by 26% and shifting the operating centre frequency to a lower value without increasing circuit physical size. The detailed design and characteristics of the FPRC are described here. In addition,the enhanced superstrate FPRC is integrated into the SPR for one-port reflection coefficient measurement. The measurement using the SPR is benchmarked with Agilent’s E5071C Vector Network Analyzer (VNA) for one-port reflection coefficient. Maximum absolute mean error of the linear magnitude and phase measurements are recorded to be 0.03 and 5.50°,respectively. In addition,maximum absolute error of the predicted dielectric and loss factor are 1.77 and 0.61,respectively.

Voltage stability improvement is an important issue in power system planning and operation. Voltage stability of a system depends on the network topology and settings of reactive compensation devices. This research first proposes an improved voltage stability index ( IVSI ) for network systems, and then presents an optimization method for reactive compensation devices settings. To solve the optimization problem, this work introduces the hybrid differential evolution (HDE) to determine tap settings of on-load tap changing (OLTC) transformers, excitation settings of generators or synchronous condensers (SCs), and locations with sizes of static var compensators (SVCs). The performance of this technique is verified using the IEEE 30-bus power flow test system. The results show that the proposed method using the improved voltage stability index and the optimization method is able to effectively enhance voltage stability of a system and reduce line losses.