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Molecular analysis of wrky trancription factors in banana (Musa acuminata cv. Berangan) primed with plant growth promoting bacteria / Abdussabur M Kaleh
No full textSaline soils pose a significant threat to food security, necessitating the exploration of solutions. In this study, halotolerant bacteria were isolated from a Malaysian mangrove forest and their effects on banana plantlets under salt stress were investigated. Among the collected isolates, three rhizobacterial strains (RB1, RB3, and RB4) and three endophytic bacterial strains (EB1, EB2, and EB3) exhibited the best performance in promoting plant growth. These strains, identified as Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp., were further analyzed. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed their successful colonization of banana plantlet roots. When subjected to salt stress, the colonized plantlets, particularly those with strains EB3 and RB3, demonstrated improved growth, increased levels of chlorophyll, carotenoids, and proline, as well as reduced malondialdehyde content, reactive oxygen species generation, and electrolyte leakage. The activity of antioxidant enzymes was also enhanced in the presence of strains EB3 and RB3. These findings highlight the multifunctional plant growth-promoting activity of halotolerant Bacillus and Pseudomonas strains from the mangrove, offering potential for mitigating salt stress in bananas. Furthermore, a plant-growth promoting bacterial consortium comprising halotolerant Bacillus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. was evaluated for its priming effect on banana plants subjected to abiotic (salinity) and biotic (Foc-TR4) stresses. Primed banana plants exhibited improved growth parameters, including plant height, root length, and biomass, along with enhanced physiological characteristics such as relative water content, chlorophyll, and carotenoid contents, compared to non-primed plants under stress. Lipid peroxidation was reduced, and proline levels and antioxidant enzyme activities were increased in primed plants. In salt-stress conditions, primed plants showed elevated levels of K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ ions, and reduced levels of Cl- and Na+. Under Foc-TR4 stress, primed plants demonstrated significant enhancements in total soluble phenolics, lignin content, and defense-related enzyme activities. Additionally, the expression analysis of stress-responsive MaWRKY genes revealed their upregulation in primed banana plants under salt and Foc-TR4 stresses. These findings highlight the effectiveness of the PGPB consortium in promoting banana plant growth and priming WRKY-mediated protection against abiotic and biotic stresses. In conclusion, the utilization of halotolerant Bacillus and Pseudomonas strains from mangroves as plant growth-promoting bacteria shows promise in alleviating salt stress in bananas. The priming effect of the bacterial consortium enhances plant growth, physiological parameters, ion balance, and defense mechanisms against abiotic and biotic stresses. These findings contribute to the exploration of microbial strategies for improving banana resilience and provide insights into the potential applications of halotolerant microbes in salt-stress tolerance enhancement in plants
Phytochemical content and antioxidant activity in fruits of Phyllanthus pectinatus Hook.f. and Phyllanthus emblica L. / Emma Natasya Ahmad
No full textPhyllanthus pectinatus is often mistakenly classified as Phyllanthus emblica since both species morphologically look very similar to each other. Unlike P. emblica, P. pectinatus have a very limited published work on its phytochemical constituents and biological activities. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the phytochemical content and antioxidant activities of the fruits of P. pectinatus in comparison with fruits of P. emblica. The phytochemicals, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), ascorbic acid content (AAC) and the antioxidant potentials of both P. pectinatus fruit (PPF) and P. emblica fruit (PEF) extracts were determined. The phytochemical screening result showed the presence of phenols, flavonoids, tannins, phlobatannins, terpenoids and sterols in both PPF and PEF extracts while saponin was only detected in PPF extract. The PPF contained the highest TPC (1140 ± 1.41 mg GAE/g DW) and TFC (35.88 ± 3.17 mg QE/g DW). Meanwhile, the highest value of AAC was from PEF (291.60 ± 0.00 mg/100g). Furthermore, the result revealed that PPF had the highest antioxidant potential against 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) and Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP). The TPC and TFC of both PPF and PEF showed strong positive correlation with total antioxidant activities. On the other hand, the correlation between AAC with all antioxidant assays were negative. The results suggested that both PPF and PEF are a good source of antioxidants. In addition, PPF can potentially be considered as a beneficial natural source of antioxidant
Cold plasma treatment to improve banana growth and disease tolerance against fusarium wilt / Priya Rajakumar
No full textBanana (Musa spp.) is a valuable fruit crop due to its high nutrition and availability throughout the year. Being among the top 10 staple food by production, banana serves millions of lives worldwide. However, banana production is threatened by a destructive disease called Fusarium wilt, caused by the hemi-biotrophic soil-borne pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc). Developing disease-tolerant banana varieties through conventional breeding or genetic engineering is complicated by the parthenocarpic nature of bananas, which lack seeds for traditional breeding methods. An alternative to these methods is using an eco-agricultural technology called cold plasma (CP) treatment. CP treatment is a non-ionizing radiation that uses electricity and reactive carrier gases (nitrogen, oxygen, helium) to inactivate enzymes, microbial decontamination and for food preservation. Besides, CP treatment also plays a role in crop improvement via growth and disease tolerance improvement. For consistency, the term ‘cold plasma’ will be generally referred as ‘plasma’ throughout the thesis. This study aimed to investigate the plasma effects on the growth performances and Fusarium wilt disease tolerance in banana plants. In this study, tissue culture derived ‘Berangan’ banana plantlets were treated with plasma followed by two months acclimatization in the greenhouse. Growth performances in terms of height, leaf number and stem diameter were measured and evaluated over a three-month duration for the plasma-treated plants in comparison with the untreated plants. Plasma treatment exhibited a favourable impact on plant growth, with no observed negative effects. In addition, a bioassay experiment was conducted by inoculating both plasma-treated and untreated plants with Foc Tropical Race 4 (Foc TR4) to study the plasma effect on Foc tolerance. Controls were also prepared (non-Foc inoculated plants comprises of plasma-treated and untreated). Disease severity index (DSI) and disease progression were recorded throughout five weeks post-Foc inoculation. Plasma-treated plants displayed delayed disease progression at week four compared to the untreated plants that started exhibiting severe wilting symptoms in week three. Nevertheless, the plasma-treated plants were found to be highly susceptible to Foc infection just like the untreated (non-plasma). However, DSI values in terms of leaf symptom index (LSI) and rhizome discoloration index (RDI) for the plasma-treated plants were slightly lesser (LSI: 4.0, RDI: 6.0) compared to the untreated plants (LSI: 4.2, RDI: 6.6). To understand the regulatory mechanism underlying CP treatment which influences the growth and defence in banana plants, several Foc-responsive genes involved in defence and growth were selected for this study including defence-related (PR1, WRKY22, WRKY50, PAL, CEBiP, ChiH) and growth-related (Cytochrome P450, NAC68, CAT) genes. qPCR analysis of root samples collected at 2-, 24-, 48- and 72-hours post-inoculation (hpi) revealed differential expression of those genes following CP treatment and Foc TR4 inoculation. CP treatment was found to differentially induce the defence and growth genes, particularly in conjunction with Foc TR4 infection. The findings not only shed light on the potential use of CP to increase yield by improving growth and tolerance against Fusarium wilt but offer insights into the possible mechanisms contributing to the improved traits
A comparative metabolome and proteome analysis to elucidate disease resistance in hot water treated Carica papaya L. cv. Eksotika II / Matthew Raj Alias
No full textThe metabolome and proteome analyses are powerful research techniques utilized to understand the molecular alterations in metabolic and protein profiles of organisms in response to environmental factors. This study uses these methods to investigate the differences in disease resistance between hot water-treated and untreated papaya fruit. The primary objectives are to uncover the molecular pathways involved in disease resistance and identify potential biomarkers of resistance in papaya. Proteome analysis aims to study the impact of environmental factors on protein expression patterns in organisms. In the context of papaya, this analysis helps determine changes in the expression of disease-fighting proteins in hot water-treated fruit. Examples of such proteins include chitinases and pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins. Metabolome analysis focuses on investigating alterations in the metabolic profiles of organisms. In this study, changes in metabolite levels, including sugars, organic acids, and phytohormones, in hot water-treated papaya are assessed. Metabolites are known to play a role in disease resistance. Combining the findings from proteome and metabolome analyses provides a better understanding of the molecular changes associated with disease resistance in hot water-treated papaya. This information can be applied to enhance disease resistance through strategies such as selecting appropriate cultivars or optimizing hot water treatment protocols. In conclusion, comparing metabolome and proteome analyses is an effective approach for investigating the molecular basis of disease resistance in hot water-treated papaya. This knowledge can provide crucial insights into the molecular pathways underlying disease resistance and be utilized to develop strategies for enhancing papaya's resistance to diseases
Interprofessional communication between doctors and nurses in a tertiary hospital / Norazizi Nor Azmi
No full textEffective interprofessional communication is essential in healthcare settings, particularly in
the fast-paced and high-stakes environment of the operating theatre. However, little is
known about how nurses perceive the communication between anaesthetic nurses and
anaesthetic doctors in this setting. This research aims to explore and understand the
perception of nurses regarding interprofessional communication between anaesthetic nurses
and anaesthetic doctors in the operating theatre. The research project was conducted as an
online, self-administered questionnaire, in a tertiary hospital in Kuala Lumpur, involving
anaesthetic nurses working in the operating theatre. The study concluded that whilst
professional interactions, competence, mutual respect and trust are satisfactory, there is
much left to be desired for teamwork and the workplace atmosphere (having the lowest
mean variables = 3, compared to other dimensions). The findings of this research can guide
the development of training programs and interventions to improve interprofessional
communication in the operating theatre, ultimately leading to enhanced patienty safety,
quality of care and staff satisfaction
ICU survivors’ and caregivers’ experiences of in-patient care: Exploratory qualitative study / Nur Nabila Qaisha Aswandi
No full textINTRODUCTION: A greater number of patients are surviving to ICU discharge with the advancement in intensive care and medical field these days. However, the nature of these admissions with strict isolations with no visitation policies and protracted course of illness is unprecedented and contributes to great anxiety for both patients and families. The voices and experiences of ICU survivors are missing from the policy development. Hence, we conducted this study to explore patients’ and caregivers’ experiences from ICU admission until discharge from the hospital. Apart from that, we aimed to explore the interactions between patients and caregivers with various hospital staff including specialists, medical officers, nurses, and allied health professionals as well to propose interventions including patients and family educational materials, ICU staff training and ICU workflow as well to improve the quality of ICU care. METHOD: This qualitative study involved ICU patients and their caregivers which was conducted in-depth interviews based on a semi-structured interview guide. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. The NVivo qualitative software package was used to manage the data. The themes and subthemes were generated and confirmed by literature and expert opinion. RESULT: Data was collected from 24 interviewees which comprised of 12 patients and 12 caregivers whose age ranging from 28 to 82 years old. Two main themes emerged from the analysis: (I) Recognition of potential sources of discomfort, (II) Intensive care services. From the potential source of discomfort, two subthemes which include physical and psychological source of discomfort were mentioned. Pain, sleep disturbances, immobility and noise were among the most concerning discomforts being highlighted. While for psychological discomfort often associated with worry, ineffective communication, experience of loss of memory and fear were mentioned. By recognition of the potential source of discomfort, patients’ and caregivers’ perspectives on intensive care services were gathered as well. Three subthemes were developed for intensive care services: (I) Medical requisite, (II) Social requisite, (III)Psychological requisite. Medical aspect of care such as effective communication, good nursing care, excellent pain management and conducive ICU environment were highly appreciated. Social aspect of care such as multicultural sensitivity, favourable waiting area and longer visiting hours were mentioned. Healthcare workers play a vital role in psychological needs such as providing emotional support as part of routine care. ICU support or counselling group could be beneficial for some cases. CONCLUSION: This study uncovered patients’ and caregivers’ experiences on the potential source of discomforts and the intensive care services. Potential discomforts were classified into physical, psychological and social discomforts which include pain, immobility as well as ineffective communication and worry. Further exploration on the intensive care received in ICU were further classified into medical, social and psychological requisites. These include effective communication, good nursing care, excellent pain management, conducive ICU environment, ICU emotional support and counselling
group, multicultural sensitivity, longer visiting hours as well as more seats at waiting room were mentioned. With the recognition of potential source of discomforts as highlighted in this study, as well as through patients’ and caregivers’ first hand experiences as recorded, together with the current literatures regarding ICU experiences, these will be useful references on establishing patients-centred and family centred intensive care services
Penentuan status ahliyyah pesakit skizofrenia berdasarkan skala penilaian tahap keterukan simptom / Ahmad Mustafa Surdi Roslan
No full textAllah S.W.T telah menganugerahkan taklif iaitu tanggungjawab dan tuntutan agama dalam bentuk syariat dan mewajibkan pelaksanaannya ke atas setiap mukalaf; individu Muslim yang baligh lagi sempurna akalnya. Kesempurnaan akal ialah sifat kelayakan yang dilihat berdasarkan fungsi dan penaakulan akal yang diperlukan demi melaksanakan dan memenuhi tuntutan taklif. Namun, diagnosis untuk mengenal pasti manifestasi gangguan mental skizofrenia adalah berpaksikan kepada pemerhatian jelmaan simptom pada pesakit. Ekoran setelah diagnosis adalah penilaian tahap keterukan gangguan simptom, dengan melihatkan kepada penjejasan yang diakibatkan oleh gangguan simptom terhadap aspek kehidupan dan fungsi normal manusia. Oleh itu, fokus kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui keberkesanan mengguna pakai hasil dapatan penilaian tahap keterukan gangguan simptom dalam menentukan status kelayakan individu Muslim yang ditimpa gangguan skizofrenia. Kajian ini mengaplikasi metodologi induktif, deduktif dan perbandingan dalam menganalisa dua topik utama iaitu akal dan simptom skizofrenia. Peranan akal terhadap pelaksanaan taklif dan sempadan kerosakan akal telah dibangunkan demi menghuraikan batu asas kepada proses penaakulan yang diperlukan untuk melaksanakan taklif dan had kerosakan akal yang menghilangkan kelayakan mukalaf individu Muslim. Seterusnya, dapatan tersebut dibandingkan dengan skala penilaian tahap keterukan gangguan simptom iaitu Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) dan Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Kajian mendapati gangguan simptom pada tahap 7 dan 6 adalah memenuhi sempadan al-junūn dan al-ʿatah bi-lā ʾl-tamyīz, gangguan simptom bertahapkan 5 dan 4 adalah selari dengan al-ʿatah bi ʾl-tamyīz sementara pada tahap 3, 2 dan 1 tidak mengakibatkan kehilangan akal. Sehubungan dengan itu, hasil dapatan daripada skala penilaian boleh digunakan untuk menentukan status al-ahliyyah pesakit yang mengalami gangguan skizofrenia
Determination of al-Hajah and al-Darurah: An analysis from Juristic and Maqasid Study / Muhammad Mostofa Hossain
No full textSome studies dispute the actual application of the concept of ḍarūrah and ḥājah to certain Islamic financial contracts. Despite there are claims that such application is in pursuit of maṣlaḥah, critics argue that the application fails to align with the essential criteria set by ḍarūrah and ḥājah not being entirely consistent with the underlying parameters (ḍawābiṭ). The study addresses the need for a precise alignment of the concept of ḍarūrah and ḥājah in attaining maṣlaḥah with the principles of maqāṣid al- Sharīʿah within the context of IBF. To deal with this issue, the study explores the Sharīʿah issues, scopes, and challenges associated with ḍarūrah and ḥājah, and their legal maxims in IBF, drawing upon both classical and contemporary Islamic jurisprudential scholarships and incorporating insights from interview analysis. To carry out the outcomes, the study adopts a qualitative research approach, utilising descriptive and analytical methods. In addition to reviewing relevant works of literature through library works and document analysis, the research conducts semi-structured interviews with Sharīʿah advisors, academicians, Sharīʿah researchers and Sharīʿah consultants. The findings from the study and interviews reveal several reasons contributing to the misapplication of ḍarūrah and ḥājah in IBF. These factors include but are not limited to overlooking parameters and conditions, not adequately addressing the spirit of ḍarūrah and ḥājah, prioritising profit maximisation, a lack of comprehensive understanding and the absence of a unified framework for product development. In response to these challenges, the study proposes a novel framework for product development tailored to the global IBF industry, accompanied by a set of recommendations to enhance the alignment of ḍarūrah and ḥājah within the IBF
Formulation of highly exposed (001) facet titanium dioxide/graphene oxide nanocomposite for an efficient photodegradation of organic dyes / Arini Izzataddini
No full textPhotodegradation has been considered one of the most effective ways to remove organic dyes from wastewater. As one of the semiconductor materials, TiO2 has shown tremendous potential due to its chemical stability and good photocatalytic efficiency. The catalysts' crystalline information, morphology, and optical properties were studied using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, TEM, and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. In this research, the photocatalytic activity of five types of photocatalyst; TiO2 P25, TiO2 (001), Graphene Oxide (GO), TiO2 P25/GO, and TiO2 (001)/GO—was studied by the degradation of methylene blue, rhodamine b, crystal violet, and a mixture of the three dyes above in an aqueous medium under visible light and different contact time variations. This semiconductor/carbon composite material has excellent potential for removing organic stains and is applicable in water purification. The photocatalytic experiment showed that TiO2 (001)/GO nanocomposites performed the highest photodegradation activity. The removal rates are 95%, 92%, 94%, and 87% for the photodegradation of methylene blue, rhodamine b, crystal violet, and a mix of the three dyes, respectively. It followed a pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The results indicated that TiO2 (001)/GO nanocomposite is a highly efficient photocatalyst for removing persistent organic pollutants in water
A hyperbolic sarcasm detection model using negative sentiment tweets and machine learning algorithms / Vithyatheri Govindan
No full textSocial media platforms consist of rich language resources and is a valuable source for analysing people’s sentiment around the globe. Sarcasm detection is one of many challenges faced in sentiment analysis and is a classification problem. Many past studies employed various techniques and approaches to detect sarcasm. Even though hyperbole is one of the common approaches used individually or combined with other approaches such as lexical or pragmatic, not all types of hyperboles were used. From past research, the top five hyperboles identified and explored in this research to detect sarcasm are intensifier, interjection, capital letters, punctuation marks and elongated words. Each of the hyperboles were identified from six thousand and six hundred pre-processed negative sentiment tweets comprising of #Chinesevirus, #Kungflu, #COVID19, #Hantavirus and #Coronavirus hash tagged tweets. The unbiased dataset was analyzed using three renowned machine learning algorithms, that is, Support Vector Machine, Random Forest, and Random Forest with Bagging. A total of 81 models were evaluated with single and double hyperboles consisting of the top two dominant hyperboles as well as with all hyperbole features. With the presence of hyperbolic words in the tweets in an unbiased dataset, the proposed model (two-class setup) with interjection word achieved an accuracy of 76.61%, 78% precision, 85% recall, an AUC of 74% and F-score of 82% respectively. The model with all hyperboles achieved accuracy of 78.89%, 81% precision, 87% recall, an AUC of 76% and F-score of 84%, respectively. Experiments and analysis conducted in this study concluded that hyperboles exist in an unbiased dataset which helps enhance the sarcasm detection as well. A similar approach was undertaken on an open dataset which focused on lexical approach and artificial recurrent neural network (RNN). The proposed model performed well achieving an accuracy of 89.46% and 90% precision, an increase of 10% in accuracy and more than 40% for precision. Another avenue explored in this study is to determine the significant hyperbole and intensifier was found to be the most significant hyperbole (p< .0001). This finding coincides with ablation study which shows that intensifier as the predominant hyperbole for detecting sarcasm. Experiments and analysis conducted in this study concluded that hyperboles exist in an unbiased dataset which helps enhance the sarcasm detection as well