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by
Sekaran Muniandy |
Total Records (
6 ) for
Sekaran Muniandy |
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Koshy Philip
,
Wuen Yew Teoh
,
Sekaran Muniandy
and
Hashim Yaakob
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Culture dependent and culture independent methods have shown that about 600 species of bacteria inhabit the human oral cavity. While some oral microorganisms have a direct link to dental caries, periodontal disease and halitosis, opportunistic pathogens may be responsible for systemic diseases such as bacterial endocarditis, aspiration pneumonia, osteomyelitis in children, preterm low birth weight, coronary heart disease and cerebral infarction (or stroke). This study employs bacterial 16S rDNA sequences to rapidly identify the major cultivable aerobic bacteria in the oral cavity of Malaysian subjects. The data obtained shows that the oral cavity of healthy volunteers contains a number of potentially pathogenic organisms including Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus. The need to profile and characterize these microorganisms using rapid detection methods can go a long way in developing future management strategies in clinical setting to enhance oral health in the Malaysian population. |
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Umaiyal Munusamy
,
Vikineswary Sabaratnam
,
Sekaran Muniandy
,
Noorlidah Abdullah
,
Ashok Pandey
and
E.B.G. Jones
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Four strains of Pycnoporus sanguineus isolated
from Thailand (KUM 60953), Shah Alam (KUM 60954), Endau Rompin (KUM 60955),
Cherating (KUM 60956) and Gombak (KUM 60957) were grown on PDA plates.
Laccase of P. sanguineus was produced using oil palm frond parenchyma
tissue (OPFPt) in solid substrate fermentation (SSF). Strain KUM 60954
produced significant (p = 0) levels of laccase at 2.53 U mL-1
(76 U g-1) followed by KUM 60957 at 1.05 U mL-1
(32 U g-1), KUM 60956 at 0.55 U mL-1 (17 U g-1)
and KUM 60955 at 0.46 U mL-1 (14 U g-1). Meanwhile,
KUM 60953 (reference strain) from Thailand produced 2.44 U mL-1
of laccase (73 U g-1 of OPFPt). Biodegradation of a mixture
of 10 ppm each of phenanthrene, anthracene and pyrene by 30 U mL-1
of laccase in sodium citrate buffer pH 5 was studied. The reaction mixture
was incubated at 40°C and was shaken at 80 rpm for 24 h. Laccase of
KUM 60954 degrades 90% of phenanthrene, 37% of anthracene and 96% of pyrene.
Meanwhile, laccase of KUM 60953 degrades 89% of phenanthrene, 43% of anthracene
and 95% pyrene. Pyrene was rapidly biodegraded followed by phenanthrene
and anthracene. However, a similar pattern of degradation was observed
for both KUM 60953 and KUM 60954. Degraded PAH sample was further tested
for toxicity using Artemia. The untreated PAH caused more than
50% of Artemia death while for the treated PAH no death was observed
indicating that the toxicity level was reduced and possibly no any new
toxic compound was produced during the degradation. |
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Koshy Philip
,
Saravana Kumar Sinniah
and
Sekaran Muniandy
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The objective of this research was to isolate novel peptides from extracts prepared from native microbial, plant and fermented sources. The antimicrobial properties of these extracts were initially tested using Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus. The exact species and strains of these test microorganisms were confirmed by identifying its 16S RNA sequence. The most pronounced inhibition zone for ethanolic extracts was obtained with Andrographis paniculata. For peptide/protein extracts only Allium sativum showed promising results. The particular compound responsible for the inhibition in each case is undergoing characterization by using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry. |
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Shafiqur Rahman
,
Mohd. Zakaria-Ismail
,
Pek Yee Tang
and
Sekaran Muniandy
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The genetic variability of wild populations of green
arowana (Scleropages formosus) from Tasek Bera Lake and
Endau River and a captive stock of Malaysian golden arowana as an out-group
population was studied. The average number of alleles per locus was low,
ranging from 2.33 in the Endau River population to 2.56 in the Tasek Bera
Lake population. Departures from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were observed
in these three populations depending on the locus. Among nine loci, seven
significantly deviated from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (p<0.05) in
the Tasek Bera Lake population whereas five significantly departed from
HWE (p<0.05) in the Endau River population. A deficit of heterozygosity
was observed from the analysis of these nine loci. This genetic data indicate
the wild population may be under stress due to inbreeding, over fishing
and deterioration in the breeding environment. The estimates of FST
and RST were statistically greater than zero for each comparison
and this suggested the existence of three genetically distinct populations.
However, the values of FST is low between Tasek Bera Lake and
Endau River populations, reflecting historical patterns of connections
between river systems in Peninsular Malaysia. |
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Umaiyal Munusamy
,
Vikineswary Sabaratnam
,
Sekaran Muniandy
,
Noorlidah Abdullah
,
Ashok Pandey
and
E.B.G. Jones
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Four strains of Pycnoporus sanguineus isolated
from Shah Alam (KUM 60954), Endau Rompin (KUM 60955), Cherating (KUM 60956),
Gombak (KUM 60957) and the standard strain from Thailand (KUM 60953) were
evaluated for their ability to grow on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon
(PAH)- and acetonitrile-incorporated Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA). The mycelial
growth was then compared to the growth of P. sanguineus on PAH
and acetonitrile free PDA. All strains tested showed a high tolerance
to PAH up to 25 ppm and 2.5% of acetonitrile. Laccase derived from the
best strains KUM 60954 and KUM 60953 which exhibited higher tolerance
to both PAH and acetonitrile was further characterised. The activity was
maximum for both strains at pH 5.0 and 40 °C. Laccase from both strains
was stable over a wide range of pH (3-5) and at temperatures below 60 °C.
Laccase was stored as a concentrate or as a lyophilised powder to minimise
the degradation of enzyme activity during storage. The laccase activity
in the extract remained a high activity up to four months at optimum pH
5.0 and at both 0 and 4 °C. Further laccase was also stable up to 24
h at 40 °C when mixed with 1% of acetonitrile. |
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Rajes Qvist
,
Ikram Shah Ismail
,
Sekaran Muniandy
,
Kumutha Malar Vellasamy
and
Karuthan Chinna
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Aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between sialic acid component and C-reactive protein and lipids in the plasma of 80 healthy subjects. Levels of sialic acid, C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and plasma lipids were measured in a normal population consisting of 80 subjects. The possible correlation between sialic acid and CRP was also studied. The total sialic acid concentration was 2.61±0.61 mM L-1, CRP (2.52±2.32 mmole L-1), total cholesterol (5.50±1.28 mM L-1), triglycerides (1.31±0.87 mM L-1), low density lipoprotein (3.51±1.11 mM L-1) and high density lipoprotein (1.40±0.37 mM L-1). There was a positive correlation between sialic acid and CRP (r = 0.283, p<0.05). However, there was no correlation between CRP and the plasma lipids. |
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