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Excessive high fat dietary intake promotes risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and predisposed with oxidative stress. Palm based tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) has been reported able to ameliorate oxidative stress but exhibited poor bioavailability. Thus, we investigated whether an enhanced formulation of TRF in combination with palm kernel oil (medium-chain triglycerides) (ETRF) could ameliorate the effect of high-fat diet (HFD) on leptin-deficient male mice. All the animals were divided into HFD only (HFD group), HFD supplemented with ETRF (ETRF group) and HFD supplemented with TRF (TRF group) and HFD supplemented with PKO (PKO group). After 6 weeks, sera were collected for untargeted metabolite profiling using UHPLC-Orbitrap MS. Univariate analysis unveiled alternation in metabolites for bile acids, amino acids, fatty acids, sphingolipids, and alkaloids. Bile acids, lysine, arachidonic acid, and sphingolipids were downregulated while xanthine and hypoxanthine were upregulated in TRF and ETRF group. The regulation of these metabolites suggests that ETRF may promote better fatty acid oxidation, reduce oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory metabolites and acts as anti-inflammatory in fatty liver compared to TRF. Metabolites regulated by ETRF also provide insight of its role in fatty liver. However, further investigation is warranted to identify the mechanisms involved.

Natural salt lick (sira) is a strategic localisation for ecological wildlife assemblage to exhibit geophagy which may act as a population dynamic buffer of prey and predators. Undoubtedly, many agree that geophagy at natural licks is linked to nutritional ecology, health and assembly places facilitating social interaction of its users. Overall, natural salt licks not only save energy of obtaining nutrient leading to health maintenance but also forms the basis of population persistence. The Royal Belum Rainforest, Malaysia (Royal Belum) is a typical tropical rainforest in Malaysia rich in wildlife which are mainly concentrated around the natural salt lick. Since this is one of the most stable fauna ecology forest in Malaysia, it is timely to assess its impact on the Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris) home range dynamics. The three-potential home ranges of the Malayan tiger in this rainforest were selected based on animal trails or foot prints surrounding the salt lick viz (e.g. Sira Kuak and Sira Batu; Sira Rambai and Sira Buluh and Sira Papan) as well as previous sightings of a Malayan tiger in the area, whose movement is dependent on the density and distribution of prey. Camera traps were placed at potential animal trails surrounding the salt lick to capture any encountered wildlife species within the area of the camera placements. Results showed that all home ranges of Malayan tiger were of no significance for large bodied prey availability such as sambar deer (Rusa unicolor), and smaller prey such as muntjacs (Muntiacus muntjac) and wild boar (Sus scrofa). Interestingly, all home range harbour the Malayan tiger as the only sole predator. The non-significance of prey availability at each home range is attributed to the decline of the Malayan tiger in the rainforest since tigers are dependant on the movement of its preferred prey surrounding natural salt licks. Thus, the information from this study offers fundamental knowledge on the importance of prey-predator interaction at salt lick which will help in designing strategy in rewilding or rehabilitation programs of the Malayan tiger at the Royal Belum Rainforest.

Acute obstructive uropathy is associated with significant morbidity among patients with any condition that leads to urinary tract obstruction. Immediate urinary diversion is necessary to prevent further damage to the kidneys. In many centres, the two main treatment options include percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) and retrograde ureteral stenting (RUS). The purpose of this study if to compare the efficacy and safety of PCN and RUS for the treatment of acute obstructive uropathy. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, the World Health Organisation International Clinical Trials Registry Platform and ClinicalTrials.gov. We also searched the reference lists of included studies to identify any additional trials. We included randomised controlled trials and controlled clinical trials comparing the outcomes of clinical improvement (septic parameters), hospitalisation duration, quality of life, urinary-related symptoms, failure rates, post-procedural pain [measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS)] and analgesics use. We conducted statistical analyses using random effects models and expressed the results as risk ratio (RR) and risk difference (RD) for dichotomous outcomes and mean difference (MD) for continuous outcomes, with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Seven trials were identified that included 667 patients. Meta-analysis of the data revealed no difference in the two methods in improvement of septic parameters, quality of life, failure rates, post-procedural pain (VAS), or analgesics use. Patients receiving PCN had lower rates of haematuria and dysuria post-operatively and longer hospitalisation duration than those receiving RUS. PCN and RUS are effective for the decompression of an obstructed urinary system, with no significant difference in most outcomes. However, PCN is preferable to RUS because of its reduced impact on the patient’s post-operative quality of life due to haematuria and dysuria, although it is associated with slightly longer hospitalisation duration.

Mirror-induced behaviour has been described as a cognitive ability of an animal to self-direct their image in front of the mirror. Most animals when exposed to a mirror responded with a social interactive behaviour such as aggressiveness, exploratory and repetitive behaviour. The objective of this study is to determine the mirror-induced self-directed behaviour on wildlife at the Royal Belum Rainforest, Malaysia. Wildlife species at the Royal Belum Rainforest were identified using a camera traps from pre-determined natural saltlick locations. Acrylic mirrors with steel frame were placed facing the two saltlicks (Sira Batu and Sira Tanah) and the camera traps with motion-detecting infrared sensor were placed at strategically hidden spot. The behavioural data of the animal response to the mirror were analysed using an ethogram procedure. Results showed that barking deer was the species showing the highest interaction in front of the mirror. Elephants displayed self-directed response through inspecting behaviour via usage of their trunk and legs while interacting to the mirror. Interestingly, the Malayan tapir showed startled behaviour during their interaction with the mirror. However, the absence of interactive behaviour of the Malayan tiger signalled a likelihood of a decreased social response behaviour. These results suggested that the ability to self-directed in front of the mirror is most likely related to the new approach to study the neural mechanism and its level of stimulus response in wildlife. In conclusion, research on mirror-induced self-directed behaviour in wildlife will have profound implications in understanding the cognitive ability of wildlife as an effort to enhance the management strategies and conservation.

The conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into bioethanol or biochemical products requires a crucial pretreatment process to breakdown the recalcitrant lignin structure. This research focuses on the isolation and characterization of a lignin-degrading bacterial strain from a decaying oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB). The isolated strain, identified as Streptomyces sp. S6, grew in a minimal medium with Kraft lignin (KL) as the sole carbon source. Several known ligninolytic enzyme assays were performed, and lignin peroxidase (LiP), laccase (Lac), dye-decolorizing peroxidase (DyP) and aryl-alcohol oxidase (AAO) activities were detected. A 55.3% reduction in the molecular weight (Mw) of KL was observed after 7 days of incubation with Streptomyces sp. S6 based on gel-permeation chromatography (GPC). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) also successfully highlighted the production of lignin-derived aromatic compounds, such as 3-methyl-butanoic acid, guaiacol derivatives, and 4,6-dimethyl-dodecane, after treatment of KL with strain S6. Finally, draft genome analysis of Streptomyces sp. S6 also revealed the presence of strong lignin degradation machinery and identified various candidate genes responsible for lignin depolymerization, as well as for the mineralization of the lower molecular weight compounds, confirming the lignin degradation capability of the bacterial strain.

Eucalyptus globulus is an aromatic medicinal plant which known for its 1,8-cineole main pharmacological constituent exhibits as natural analgesic agent. Eucalyptus globulus-loaded micellar nanoparticle was developed via spontaneous emulsification technique and further evaluation for its analgesic efficacy study, in vivo analgesic activity assay in rats. The nanoemulsion system containing Eucalyptus-micelles was optimized at different surfactant types (Tween 40, 60 and 80) and concentrations (3.0, 6.0, 9.0, 12.0, 15.0, and 18.0 wt. %). These formulations were characterized by thermodynamically stability, viscosity, micelles particle size, pH, and morphology structure. The spontaneous emulsification technique offered a greener micelles formation in nanoemulsion system by slowly titrated of organic phase, containing Eucalyptus globulus (active compound), grape seed oil (carrier oil) and hydrophilic surfactant into aqueous phase, and continuously stirred for 30 min to form a homogeneity solution. The characterizations evaluation revealed an optimized formulation with Tween 40 surfactant type at 9.0 wt. % of surfactant concentration promoted the most thermodynamic stability, smaller micelles particle size (d = 17.13 ± 0.035 nm) formed with spherical shape morphological structure, and suitable in viscosity (≈2.3 cP) and pH value (6.57) for transdermal purpose. The in vivo analgesic activity assay of optimized emulsion showed that the transdermal administration of micellar nanoparticle of Eucalyptus globulus on fore and hind limb of rats, possessed the central and peripheral analgesic effects by prolonged the rats pain responses towards the heat stimulus after being put on top of hot plate (55 °C), with longest time responses, 40.75 s at 60 min after treatment administration. Thus, this study demonstrated that micellar nanoparticle of Eucalyptus globulus formed in nanoemulsion system could be promising as an efficient transdermal nanocarrier for the analgesic therapy alternative.

Carnivorous pitcher plants produce specialised pitcher organs containing secretory glands, which secrete acidic fluids with hydrolytic enzymes for prey digestion and nutrient absorption. The content of pitcher fluids has been the focus of many fluid protein profiling studies. These studies suggest an evolutionary convergence of a conserved group of similar enzymes in diverse families of pitcher plants. A recent study showed that endogenous proteins were replenished in the pitcher fluid, which indicates a feedback mechanism in protein secretion. This poses an interesting question on the physiological effect of plant protein loss. However, there is no study to date that describes the pitcher response to endogenous protein depletion. To address this gap of knowledge, we previously performed a comparative RNA-sequencing experiment of newly opened pitchers (D0) against pitchers after 3 days of opening (D3C) and pitchers with filtered endogenous proteins (>10 kDa) upon pitcher opening (D3L). Nepenthes ampullaria was chosen as a model study species due to their abundance and unique feeding behaviour on leaf litters. The analysis of unigenes with top 1% abundance found protein translation and stress response to be overrepresented in D0, compared to cell wall related, transport, and signalling for D3L. Differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis identified DEGs with functional enrichment in protein regulation, secondary metabolism, intracellular trafficking, secretion, and vesicular transport. The transcriptomic landscape of the pitcher dramatically shifted towards intracellular transport and defence response at the expense of energy metabolism and photosynthesis upon endogenous protein depletion. This is supported by secretome, transportome, and transcription factor analysis with RT-qPCR validation based on independent samples. This study provides the first glimpse into the molecular responses of pitchers to protein loss with implications to future cost/benefit analysis of carnivorous pitcher plant energetics and resource allocation for adaptation in stochastic environments.

Polygonumins A, a new compound, was isolated from the stem of Polygonum minus. Based on NMR results, the compound’s structure is identical to that of vanicoside A, comprising four phenylpropanoid ester units and a sucrose unit. The structure differences were located at C-3″″′. The cytotoxic activity of polygonumins A was evaluated on several cancer cell lines by a cell viability assay using tetrazolium dye 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT). The compound showed the highest antiproliferative (p P. minus is used in Malaysian traditional medicine for the treatment of tumour cells. This is the first report on the use of P. minus as an HIV-1 protease inhibitor.

Parasitic plants are known to discard photosynthesis thus leading to the deletion or loss of the plastid genes. Despite plastid genome reduction in non-photosynthetic plants, some nucleus-encoded proteins are transported back to the plastid to carry out specific functions. In this work, we study such proteins in Rafflesia cantleyi, a member of the holoparasitic genus well-known for producing the largest single flower in the world. Our analyses of three transcriptome datasets, two holoparasites (R. cantleyi and Phelipanche aegyptiaca) and one photosynthetic plant (Arabidopsis thaliana), suggest that holoparasites, such as R. cantleyi, retain some common plastid associated processes such as biosynthesis of amino acids and lipids, but are missing photosynthesis components that can be extensions of these pathways. The reconstruction of two selected biosynthetic pathways involving plastids correlates the trend of plastid retention to pathway complexity - transcriptome evidence for R. cantleyi suggests alternate mechanisms in regulating the plastidial heme and terpenoid backbone biosynthesis pathways. The evolution to holoparasitism from autotrophy trends towards devolving the plastid genes to the nuclear genome despite the functional sites remaining in the plastid, or maintaining non-photosynthetic processes in the plastid, before the eventual loss of the plastid and any site dependent functions.