Prevalence and risk factors of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) in livestock and companion animal in high-risk areas in Malaysia

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is vector-borne zoonotic disease which causes encephalitis in humans and horses. Clinical signs for Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) infection are not clearly evident in the majority of affected animals. In Malaysia, information on the prevalence of JEV infection has not been established. Thus, a cross-sectional study was conducted during two periods, December 2015 to January 2016 and March to August in 2016, to determine the prevalence and risk factors in JEV infections among animals and birds in Peninsular Malaysia. Serum samples were harvested from the 416 samples which were collected from the dogs, cats, water birds, village chicken, jungle fowls, long-tailed macaques, domestic pigs, and cattle in the states of Selangor, Perak, Perlis, Kelantan, and Pahang. The serum samples were screened for JEV antibodies by commercial IgG ELISA kits. A questionnaire was also distributed to obtain information on the animals, birds, and the environmental factors of sampling areas. The results showed that dogs had the highest seropositive rate of 80% (95% CI: ±?11.69) followed by pigs at 44.4% (95% CI: ±?1.715), cattle at 32.2% (95% CI: ±?1.058), birds at 28.9% (95% CI: ±?5.757), cats at 15.6% (95% CI: ±?7.38), and monkeys at 14.3% (95% CI: ±?1.882). The study also showed that JEV seropositivity was high in young animals and in areas where mosquito vectors and migrating birds were prevalent.     

Ahmed glaucoma valve implantation with Ologen® Collagen Matrix for the surgical treatment of feline glaucoma

An Ahmed valve implantation with an Ologen^® Collagen Matrix (Ologen^® CM, Aeon Astron, Leiden, the Netherlands) was performed for the treatment of uncontrolled glaucoma in a cat. This cat was a 5‐year‐old castrated Russian Blue male with a 12‐week history of conjunctival hyperemia and mydriasis of the left eye. During the ophthalmic examination, the intraocular pressure (IOP) oculus sinister (OS) was 52 mmHg, and a narrow iridocorneal angle (ICA) was detected by gonioscopy. Medical treatment with Cosopt^® (2% dorzolamide and 0.5% timolol) failed to decrease the IOP. The left eye still had vision, and an Ahmed valve implantation was performed. During the gonioimplantation, Ologen^® CM was used to inhibit scar formation around the valve. Following the operation, the IOP was stable at an approximate average of 15 mmHg during the 7‐month follow‐up period, and vision in the left eye was retained without medication. An adequate subconjunctival filtering bleb was formed after 140 days. This is the first case report in which an Ahmed valve gonioimplant with an Ologen^® CM has been used for the surgical treatment of glaucoma in a cat.     

Separation of quercetin's biological activity from its oxidative property through bioisosteric replacement of the catecholic hydroxyl groups with fluorine atoms

An oxidative property has endowed quercetin with numerous biological benefits, and some of quercetin's biological activities may be related, at least partly, to its antioxidant activity. On the other hand, the oxidative property and associated susceptibility to oxidative decomposition has hampered in-depth investigation of the biological targets as well as underlying mechanisms for quercetin's biological activity. This study was undertaken to separate quercetin's biological activities from its antioxidant properties through bioisosteric replacement of the phenolic hydroxyl groups. The novel quercetin derivative 3',4'-difluoroquercetin (2), thus prepared, showed nonoxidizable property with no attenuation of biological activity. Rather, 2 showed a subtle but significant increase in biological activity compared with quercetin, which might be attributed to its lack of oxidative property. The nonoxidizable nature along with the potent biological activity of the quercetin mimic 2 suggests possible oxidation-independent mechanisms for the biological activities of the quercetin that do not require oxidative formation of the highly electrophilic metabolites.     

Sorption of 17α-Methyltestosterone onto Soils and Sediment

In aquafarming, 17??-methyltestosterone (MT) is widely used as an anabolic steroid to induce the sex of Nile tilapia fry to male in order to increase production yield. Nile tilapia fry is fed at a rate of 0.06?mg of MT/kg of feed during the first 21?days after hatching. MT not consumed by the fish fry may be sorbed onto the sediment in the fish ponds which may contaminate the environment when released from the ponds. Using soils and sediment from a Nile tilapia masculinization pond as sorbents in batch sorption experiments, the linear sorption coefficients (K _d) of MT were found to range from 1.2 to 168.8?L/kg with an average K _oc value of 9,450?L/kg. The linear sorption coefficients of MT were found to correlate with the organic carbon contents of the sorbents. Sorption of MT onto sand, garden soil, and sediment was not impacted by pH, but the sorption of MT onto sediment was found to be impacted by the salinity of the water. The salting out coefficient of MT in saline water was found to be approximately 0.87?L/mol.     

Anticancer Effects of Different Seaweeds on Human Colon and Breast Cancers

Seafoods and seaweeds represent some of the most important reservoirs of new therapeutic compounds for humans. Seaweed has been shown to have several biological activities, including anticancer activity. This review focuses on colorectal and breast cancers, which are major causes of cancer-related mortality in men and women. It also describes various compounds extracted from a range of seaweeds that have been shown to eradicate or slow the progression of cancer. Fucoidan extracted from the brown algae Fucus spp. has shown activity against both colorectal and breast cancers. Furthermore, we review the mechanisms through which these compounds can induce apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. By considering the ability of compounds present in seaweeds to act against colorectal and breast cancers, this review highlights the potential use of seaweeds as anticancer agents.     

Chemical and flavour changes in jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) cultivar J3 during ripening

Chemical composition (titratable acidity, moisture content, crude fibre, colour, pH, soluble solids, sugars, organic acids) and flavour changes during ripening of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus L.) cultivar J3 were evaluated. Significant (p < 0.05) changes in titratable acidity and colour was obtained, but no significant changes were found in moisture and crude fiber contents during ripening. Total soluble solids and total sugars increased significantly (p < 0.05) throughout the ripening process. Total soluble solids at the top portion of the fruit were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than middle and bottom portions of the same fruit. A high content of malic acid was found in unripe fruit (day 1). In contrast, ripened fruit (days 5 and 6) contained a high amount of citric acid. Overall, the total amount of organic acids was found to decrease from the early to later stage of ripening. A total of 23 volatile compounds were tentatively identified by GC and GC–MS. The number of peaks was observed to increase throughout the ripening process. In this study, data obtained suggest that the ripening process of jackfruit was at its optimum at day 5 after harvest.     

Differential protein expression of the inhibitory effects of a standardized extract from Scutellariae radix in liver cancer cell lines using liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry

The purpose of this study is to verify the inhibitory effect of a chemically standardized extract from Scutellariae radix in liver cancer cell lines (HepG2). The botanical extract was prepared using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE). A method using proteolytic digest with single dimensional and two-dimensional liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry was used to characterize differential protein expression in mammalian cells in response to the botanical extract. The whole cell lysates were digested with trypsin, and the peptides were separated by one-dimensional (reversed phase) or by two-dimensional (cation exchange and reversed phase) solid-phase extraction (SPE) cleanup and separated by liquid chromatography with UV detection and mass spectrometry. In the presence of the botanical extracts, drug-induced apoptosis was not observed, and a number of proteins that played an important role in the metabolic pathways in HepG2 cell line had been affected. The data, as presented, suggest that the inhibitory effects of the standardized extracts from Scutellariae radix resulted from expression of heat shock protein and other proteins related to energy metabolism. The proposed platform had the potential to provide significant information about the particular proteome such as human hepatoma HepG2. At the molecular level, it was possible to study the proteins and how their levels and modifications change in response to the effects of the botanical extract.     

Optimizing the design of an activated sludge/secondary clarifier system via univariate search technique

This article presents a simple and effective univariate search technique which is suitable for optimizing the design of an activated sludge/secondary clarifier system on microcomputers. The usefulness of the proposed optimal design procedure was tested on an IBM personal computer (IBM-PC). The results of this study indicated that the least-cost design of a typical activated sludge/secondary clarifier system can be obtained within 4 min on an IBM-PC. Besides, the proposed procedure was also found capable of obtaining the optimum solution over a wide range of initial step size of search chosen.     

Tree phenology and water availability in semi-arid agroforestry systems

Four common agroforestry trees, including both exotic and native species, were used to provide a range of leafing phenologies to test the hypothesis that temporal complementarity between trees and crops reduces competition for water in agroforestry systems during the cropping period and improves utilisation of annual rainfall. Species examined included Melia volkensii, which sheds its leaves twice a year, Senna spectabilis and Gliricidia sepium, which shed their leaves once during the long dry season, and the evergreen Croton megalocarpus. Phenological patterns were examined in relation to climatic conditions in the bimodal rainfall regions of Kenya to identify factors which dictate the intensity of competition between trees and crops.

The main differences in leaf cover patterns were between indigenous and exotic tree species. The Central American species, S. spectabilis and G. sepium, shed their foliage during the dry season before the short rains, whereas the native species, M. volkensii and C. megalocarpus, exhibited reduced leaf cover during both dry seasons. C. megalocarpus was the only species to maintain leaf cover throughout the 2-year experimental period. M. volkensii and S. spectabilis exhibited similar leafing phenology, losing almost all leaf cover during the long dry season (July–October) and flushing before the onset of the ensuing rains. S. spectabilis lost few leaves during the short dry season, whereas M. volkensii shed a greater proportion of its foliage before flushing prior to the long rains (March–July). M. volkensii lost much of its leaf cover during the 1997/1998 short rains (October–February), when soil water content was unusually high. Although essentially evergreen, leaf cover in C. megalocarpus decreased during the dry season and increased rapidly during periods of high rainfall. G. sepium exhibited a period of low leaf cover during the long dry season and did not regain full leaf cover until mid-way through the short rains. The mechanisms responsible for these phenological changes and the implications of tree phenology for resource utilisation and competition with crops are discussed.