Abdul Majid Mohamed

Nigella sativa Oil Enhances the Spatial Working Memory Performance of Rats on a Radial Arm Maze

Nigella sativa, an established historical and religion-based remedy for a wide range of health problems, is a herbal medicine known to have antioxidant and neuroprotective effects. This present study investigated the effect of Nigella sativa oil (NSO) administration on the spatial memory performance (SMP) of male adult rats using eight-arm radial arm maze (RAM). Twelve Sprague Dawley rats (7–9 weeks old) were force-fed daily with 6.0 μL/100 g body weight of Nigella sativa oil (NSO group; n = 6) or 0.1 mL/100 g body weight of corn oil (control) (CO group; n = 6) for a period of 20 consecutive weeks. For each weekly evaluation of SMP, one day food-deprived rats were tested by allowing each of them 3 minutes to explore the RAM for food as their rewards. Similar to the control group, the SMP of the treated group was not hindered, as indicated by the establishment of the reference and working memory components of the spatial memory. The results demonstrated that lesser mean numbers of error were observed for the NSO-treated group in both parameters as compared to the CO-treated group. NSO could therefore enhance the learning and memory abilities of the rats; there was a significant decrease in the overall mean number of working memory error (WME) in the NSO-treated group.

Growth curves for school children from Kuching, Sarawak: a methodological development

In this article, the authors propose reference curves for height and weight for school children in the Kuching area, Sarawak. The school children were from primary to secondary schools (aged 6.5 to 17 years old) and comprised both genders. Anthropometric measurements and demographic information for 3081 school-aged children were collected (1440 boys and 1641 girls). Fitted line plots and percentiles for height and weight (3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 97th percentiles) were obtained. The height of school boys and school girls were almost similar at the start of their school-going age. For school girls, height and weight values stabilized when they reached 16 or 17 years old but kept increasing for school boys. School boys were taller than school girls as they entered adolescence. Height differences between school boys and school girls became significantly wider as they grew older. Chinese school children were taller and heavier than those of other ethnic groups.

Malaysian growth centiles for children under six years old

Abstract Background: Growth references are useful for the screening, assessment and monitoring of individual children as well as for evaluating various growth promoting interventions that could possibly affect a child in early life. Aim: To determine the growth centiles of Malaysian children and to establish contemporary cross-sectional growth reference charts for height and weight from birth to 6 years of age based on a representative sample of children from Malaysia. Methods: Gender- and age-specific centile curves for height and weight were derived using the Cole’s LMS method. Data for this study were retrieved from Malaysian government health clinics using a two-stage stratified random sampling technique. Assessment of nutritional status was done with the SD scores (Z-scores) of WHO 2006 standards. Results: Boys were found to be taller and heavier than girls in this study. The median length of Malaysian children was higher than the WHO 2006 standards and CDC 2000 reference. The overall prevalence of stunting and underweight were 8.3% and 9.3%, respectively. Conclusions: This study presents the first large-scale initiative for local reference charts. The growth reference would enable the growth assessment of a Malaysian child compared to the average growth of children in the country. It is suggested that the use of WHO 2006 Child Growth Standards should be complemented with local reference charts for a more wholesome growth assessment.

The effects of microalgae as live food for brachionus plicatilis (Rotifer) in intensive culture system

Brachionus plicatilis is used to feed fish and crustacean larvae in the aquaculture industry. It is well established that the type of microalgae may influence rotifer production. This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of five different locally available microalgae species at Fisheries Research Institute (FRI), Kampung Pulau Sayak, Kedah, Malaysia on the instantaneous growth rate (μ) of rotifer. Nannochloris sp., Tetraselmis sp., Isochrysis sp., Chlorella sp., and Nannochloropsis sp. were used as feed at different algae densities (0.1, 0.3, 0.7 and 1.5 × 106 cells/ml) and culture volumes (20, 70 and 210 ml). At algae densities ranging from 0.3 to 1.5 × 106 cells/ml, an average μ value of more than 0.90 per day were recorded for all algae species. However, at density of 0.1 × 106 cells/ml, only Tetraselmis sp. resulted in the significantly highest μ value compared with others (p < 0.05). In terms of volume, smaller culture volume of Tetraselmis sp. (20 ml) showed significantly higher μ compared with higher volume (70 and 210 ml cultures).

Three-Dimensional (3D) Anthropometry Study of the Malaysian Population

Three-dimensional (3D) anthropometry has become an emerging field with the advancement of 3D body scanning technology over the recent years. Conventional method of anthropometry data measurement is time consuming and error-prone. The 3D whole-body surface scanner, which was initially developed for the clothing industry, contributes to healthcare application by providing accurate anthropometric measurements and data visualization in body size, shape and skin surface area. The body scanner utilized 3D photogrammetry technology to generate high quality digital anthropometric information about shapes and sizes of an individual. The aim of the study is to investigate body size and shape of Malaysian females. A cross-sectional study was conducted using random sampling technique. Recruitment of subjects were randomized and based on age and ethnicity. A preliminary study of 160 female subjects was carried out. In addition to the scanning procedures using the body scanner, selected manual anthropometric measurements for height, weight and skinfold thickness were obtained using manual methods and demographic data such as age and ethnic groups were recorded. All manual measurement followed the requirements and procedures stated in the respective ISO documents, involving body posture, landmark and the instrument used. Descriptive statistical analysis for body dimensions and calculations were carried out. The 3D scanners undoubtedly produced highly accurate, consistent and repeatable measurements. However, the scan data can be slightly different from traditional anthropometric data especially for circumference measurements such as chest, waist and hip. Therefore, scanned anthropometric data and manual measurement data are more useful together. We envisage that this study would be beneficial for healthcare providers for growth monitoring and early diagnosis of health problems related to obesity especially for the Malaysian population. Although the study focuses on the healthcare sector, datasets can also be utilized by the industry in the design and production of consumer products related on the human body.