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Background/Objectives: Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands, plays a key role in various physiological processes, including bone health. Its age-related decline is linked to reduced bone density, though the mechanisms by which DHEA affects bone metabolism remain complex. This review summarises the diverse effects of DHEA on bone metabolism and density, highlighting its therapeutic potential; Methods: A literature search on the effects of DHEA on bone-related parameters was conducted from PubMed and Scopus using a specific search string, and after removing duplicates and irrelevant articles, 36 relevant full-text studies were included; Results: DHEA promotes osteoblast differentiation and proliferation, regulates the RANKL/OPG ratio, and inhibits osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption. Its osteogenic effects are mediated through multiple signalling pathways. In ovariectomised rat models, DHEA enhances trabecular bone volume, stimulates osteoblast proliferation, and increases oestradiol production and aromatase activity. In elderly individuals with low androgen levels, DHEA supplementation increases sulphated DHEA and oestradiol levels and improves bone mineral density, particularly in the ultra-distal radius of women and the femoral neck of men. However, the clinical use of DHEA remains debated due to inconsistent study results. Its effects on bone health may vary based on factors such as age, gender, and health conditions, emphasising the need for further research to clarify its mechanisms and optimise its use; Conclusions: In conclusion, while DHEA shows potential as a modulator of bone health, comprehensive clinical trials are required to assess its efficacy and safety, particularly in at-risk populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Listeria monocytogenes is a psychrophilic bacterium that commonly contaminates and grows in food stored at refrigeration temperature. It can cause serious illness in the elderly, pregnant women, children and immunocompromised individuals. Thus, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of L. monocytogenes in eight selected salad vegetables and characterized antibiotic resistance profiles of L. monocytogenes isolates. A total of 154 salad samples were purchased from four different districts in Terengganu namely Besut, Jerteh, Kemaman and Kuala Terengganu. Samples were enriched with Listeria Enrichment Broth (LEB) at 30˚С for 24 hr before being subjected to selective medium PALCAM agar and PCR and LAMP assays. The L. monocytogenes isolates were tested against seven antibiotics using disk diffusion method. Percentage of L. monocytogenes in samples were detected at 5.19, 3.89 and 3.25% using PCR assay, LAMP assay and plating, respectively. L. monocytogenes isolates showed resistance towards tetracycline, vancomycin, penicillin G and erythromycin. Three isolates have multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index higher than 0.2 which indicate the contamination from high-risk or animal sources. It can be concluded that vegetable samples were contaminated with L. monocytogenes that exhibit antibiotic resistance. Consumption of raw vegetables will pose significant risk of foodborne infection.

In this study, copper (Cu) is introduced as a foreign metal ion replacing platinum by modifying the recipe of GNBPs and the final structure obtained is gold bone nanorods (GBNRs). The aspect ratio and surface density of GBNRs were investigated by varying the growth time during the growth process from 30 minutes to 5 hours. It was found that the growth solution has been changed from colourless to light blue and violet colour with increasing growth time, indicating the formation of GBNRs. The UV-Vis analysis shows two resonance plasmon peaks for t-SPR and l-SPR at 583 nm and 766 nm with the intensity of 1.433 a.u and 2.236 a.u at the optimum 5 hours growth time. For morphological analysis, it was found that the sample with lower growth time produced gold nanosphere shapes and with increasing time, more GBNRs with large aspect ratios were produced. HR-TEM characterization reveals that bone nanorods are formed due to the influence of Cu foreign metal ions, which cause selective deposition of Au atoms onto {111} facet of gold nanorods, while simultaneously reducing the overgrowth rate of the {110} facet for the edge regions and the {100} facet for the tip regions of the nanorods. In addition, the influence of Cu foreign metal ions on the growth mechanism of Au nanoseeds into nanorods and the shape transformation of nanorods into bone nanorods are also discussed in this work. In conclusion, the GBNRs have been successfully synthesized using SMGM by induced Cu as foreign metal ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An energy storage system called a battery energy storage system (BESS) collects energy from various sources, builds up that energy, and then stores it in rechargeable batteries for future use. The battery's electrochemical energy can be discharged and supplied to buildings such as residences, electric cars, and commercial and industrial buildings. The advantages of utilizing BESSs, such as minimizing energy loss, improving voltage profile, peak shaving, and increasing power quality, may be reduced if incorrect decisions about the appropriate position and capacity for BESSs are chosen. Furthermore, the optimal position and size for BESSs are critical since deploying a BESS at every bus, particularly in an extensive network, is not a cost-effective option, and installing oversized BESSs would result in higher investment expenses. Hence, this study suggests a proficient method for identifying the most suitable position and the sizes of BESS to save costs. The grasshopper optimization algorithm (GOA) and evolutionary programming (EP) were employed to address the optimization challenge on the IEEE 69-bus distribution test system. The goal of the optimization is to minimize the overall cost. The findings indicate that the GOA has strong resilience and possesses a superior capacity for optimizing cost reduction in comparison to EP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extraction of nanocellulose from agro-waste have received wide attention in nanocomposite technologies. This research unravels physico-chemical characteristics of cellulose from Malaysia Indica rice straw, and the derived cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) by hydrochloric acid (HC1) hydrolysis. The CNC was subjected to field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and/or transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) studies. Furthermore, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) were compared with TEM for the CNC lateral crystal size. Subsequently, CNC reinforced epoxy laminates for Kevlar were prepared and tested for their tensile properties. While FTIR analysis confirmed the monoclinic cellulose structure of the isolated CNC, XRD, and SAXS were compared with TEM for the CNC lateral crystal size. Hydrolysis of the cellulose sample yielded 40.87% of CNC with 4.8 nm in width and a needle-shaped nature. The extracted CNC has relatively low crystallinity (56.12%) but interestingly low crystallite size with an average crystallite size of 1.69 nm (XRD) and 4.18 nm (SAXS). Furthermore, an addition of just 1 wt% of CNC to epoxy composite increased the strength of Kevlar by over 300% and the elastic modulus by nearly three-fold. Nanocellulose obtained from rice straw have great potential as reinforcing agents for the manufacture of nanocomposites. KEYWORDS acid hydrolysis, crystallinity, Kevlar, nanofiller, nanomaterials, 1 | INTRODUCTION Agro-industrial wastes are increasingly recognized as valuable and cheaper bioresources for development of renewable high-performance materials. Residue from annual crops such as wheat, rice, cotton, sisal, jute, [...]

The pandemic has profoundly disrupted the stability of the agri-food supply chain, primarily due to the inconsistent supply reaching the market caused by movement restrictions. This economic downturn is influenced by losses along the business supply chain and has prompted a closer examination in this study. The focus is on the specifics of post-harvest losses of watermelons, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 recovery phase. The watermelon is selected for scrutiny due to its status as the second-largest high-value crop in SSL after papaya (increasing by 142.3% in 2022). This choice indicates that the local production sufficiently satisfies domestic demand and is also available for export. The study reveals that losses contribute to almost 69.4%, resulting in a reduction of 2.0 metric tonnes from the pre-pandemic situation, where losses were around 1.0 to 1.2 metric tonnes. These losses are attributed to delays in distribution, especially at the farm level, due to distribution restrictions and a shortage of labour for harvesting. Overall, these findings aim to provide insights for industry players on how to handle future crises by developing backup plans to reduce losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]