Examining the Policy Agenda on Food Security: A Question of Food Availability in Malaysia

( Mohamed,Ahmad Martadha ),( Damin,Zahrul Akmal ),( Kim,Pan Suk ) 한국외국어대학교 동남아연구소 2015 東南亞硏究 Vol.25 No.1

Food security implies the ability of the country to ensure a stable supply for domestic consumption. To achieve that, the Malaysian Federal Government has to allocate a certain percentage of the national budget for food production. Within this framework, this article attempts to examine policies regarding food security in Malaysia. Since the Malaysian government initiated agricultural policies to provide sustainable food production, the percentage of budgetary allocation for food has varied substantially over the years. Prior to the establishment of the industrial policy, the budgetary allocation for food related policies was quite high. However, the influence of global warming as well as a series of catastrophic events in food producing nations such as Thailand and Australia has forced Malaysia to relook at its food security agenda. Using a content analysis method, based on the documents of the Malaysia economic development plans, this paper first explores government policies on food and agriculture. Then, the paper examines how these policies affect the balance of trade in regards to food availability in terms of three major commodities (rice, fruit, and vegetables). Finally, the researchers analyze the future direction of Malaysia in regards to the food security agenda focusing on food availability. It is hopeful that the recommendations will help policymakers formulate agricultural policies which can help the country to sustain its food production and at the same time protect the country from any unforeseen circumstances relating to food security issues.

Effect of acute pentylenetetrazol injection induced epileptic seizures on rat dentate gyrus at different postnatal ages

Heba K,Mohamed1,Sohair A,Eltony 대한해부학회 2020 Anatomy & Cell Biology Vol.53 No.1

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, its prevalence approximately from 0.5% to 2% of the general population. Generalized seizures could lead to several morphological changes in the brain. This study aimed to investigate the morphological effects of a single convulsive dose of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) on rat dentate gyrus at different postnatal ages. Thirty-six male Wistar rats were used at the following postnatal ages: P10, P21, and P90 (12 rats per each age). The animals in each age were equally divided into two groups: group I, control and group II, treated with a single intraperitoneal injection of PTZ (55 mg/kg). After confirmation of generalized tonic-clonic seizures, specimens from the right dentate gyrus were processed for light and electron microscopy. In PTZ-treated groups, the number of granule cells significantly decreased. Dark granule cells appeared in the deep layers of the granule cells in P10 and with the progress of age, they significantly increased in number and extended into the superficial layers of the granule cells. The dendritic spines diminished. Glial fibrillary acidic protein and caspase-3 expression increased. Ultrastructurally, granule cells showed irregular shaped nucleus, dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) cisternae, mitochondria with damaged cristae, large vacuoles, lysosomes, and lipofuscin granules. Dark granule cells characterized by electron-dense nucleus and cytoplasm containing disorganized Golgi bodies, swollen mitochondria with damaged cristae, numerous free ribosomes and few long strands of RER. Astrocytes had hypertrophied cell body. Acute treatment with PTZ-induced epileptic seizures caused toxic effect on the structure of rat dentate gyrus at different postnatal ages.

A modified trans-anconeus approach to facilitate fixation of a posterior radial head fracture: a cadaveric feasibility study

Ahmed Mohamed Desouky(Ahmed Mohamed Desouky ),Ahmed Naeem Atiyya(Ahmed Naeem Atiyya ),Mohamed Elbishbishi(Mohamed Elbishbishi ),Marwa Mohamed El Sawy(Marwa Mohamed El Sawy ) 대한해부학회 2023 Anatomy & Cell Biology Vol.56 No.1

Fixation of radial head fracture with minimally invasive posterior approach remains a significant challenge. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of trans-anconeus posterior elbow approach and to observe lateral ulnar collateral ligament (LUCL) in extended elbows. This cadaveric study was performed in twenty upper limbs of fresh fixed adult male cadavers. An oblique incision was made in the middle segment of anconeus until the lateral ligament complex and the joint capsule had been revealed. A deep dissection was explored to observe the anatomical relationship of the LUCL to the anconeus. Measurements of the LUCL were recorded while the elbow was fully extended. The mean distance between the edge of the radial head and the proximal insertion of the LUCL was 13.3 mm (11.5–16.2 mm); the mean distance between the edge of the radial head and the distal insertion of the LUCL was 20.9 mm (19.2–23.4 mm); the distance between the edge of the radial head and the distal edge of the annular ligament was 11.2 mm (8.22–11.7 mm). By estimate correlation of the previous measurements, the direct and accessible way to expose the posterolateral articular capsule of the elbow joint was through a window in medial 2/3 of the middle segment of anconeus muscle. These trans-anconeus approach is useful. It provides good visualization, facilitates applying the implants, and lessens the risk of radial nerve injury. Awareness of the anatomy is mandatory to avoid injury of LUCL.

Butyrate regulates leptin expression through different signaling pathways in adipocytes

Mohamed Mohamed Soliman,Mohamed Mohamed Ahmed,Alaa-eldin Salah-eldin,Abeer Abdel-Alim Abdel-Aal 대한수의학회 2011 Journal of Veterinary Science Vol.12 No.4

Leptin is an adipocytokine that regulates body weight, and maintains energy homeostasis by promoting reduced food intake and increasing energy expenditure. Leptin expression and secretion is regulated by various factors including hormones and fatty acids. Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid that acts as source of energy in humans. We determined whether this fatty acid can play a role in leptin expression in fully differentiated human adipocytes. Mature differentiated adipocytes were incubated with or without increasing concentrations of butyrate. RNA was extracted and leptin mRNA expression was examined by Northern blot analysis. Moreover, the cells were incubated with regulators that may affect signals which may alter leptin expression and analyzed with Northern blotting. Butyrate stimulated leptin expression, and stimulated mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phospho-CREB signaling in a time-dependent manner. Prior treatment of the cells with signal transduction inhibitors as pertusis toxin, Gi protein antagonist, PD98059 (a MAPK inhibitor), and wortmannin (a PI3K inhibitor) abolished leptin mRNA expression. These results suggest that butyrate can regulate leptin expression in humans at the transcriptional level. This is accomplished by: 1) Gi protein-coupled receptors specific for short-chain fatty acids, and 2) MAPK and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathways.

The Role of Small and Medium Enterprises in Achieving Economic Goals of the Vision of Saudi Arabia 2030

Mohammed Ali Mohamed Ahmed ALI(Mohammed Ali Mohamed Ahmed ALI ),Ahmed Saied Rahama ABDALLAH(Ahmed Saied Rahama ABDALLAH ),SalimAhmed Mohamed AlSHEHRI(SalimAhmed Mohamed AlSHEHRI ) 한국유통과학회 2023 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.10 No.2

This research aims to identify the role that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can play in achieving the economic goals of the vision of Saudi Arabia 2030. The study relied on descriptive analysis, designing a standard model, and analyzing it using the Eviews9 program. The study also adopted the questionnaire as a tool for data collection. The study area covered Alkharj and Hawtat Bani Tamim governorates. The sample size of the study was 142 participants. The study’s results confirmed the existence of a significant impact of changes in independent variables (X1, X2, X3, X4), which are (GDP, non-oil exports, number of employees, and public revenues), respectively. The dependent variable (Y) represents the number of small and medium-sized businesses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Additionally, it was found that 61.3% of small and medium-sized enterprises in the governorates of Al-Kharj and Hawtat Bani Tamim operate in the commercial sector. Most study participants concur that SMEs significantly lowered the unemployment rate and helped boost the GDP rate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The obstacles and difficulties facing the establishment of these enterprises were financial problems, marketing problems, and corporate monopoly. Furthermore, most of the small and medium l enterprises faced financing problems.

Feasibility and efficacy of erector spinae plane block versus transversus abdominis plane block in laparoscopic bariatric surgery: a randomized comparative trial

Elshazly Mohamed,EL-Halafawy Yasser Mohamed,Mohamed Dina Zakaria,Wahab Khaled Abd El,Mohamed Tamer Mohamed Kheir 대한마취통증의학회 2022 Korean Journal of Anesthesiology Vol.75 No.6

Background: Overweight and obesity are growing public health concerns worldwide. Bariatric surgery is a modality of weight reduction; however, postoperative pain can increase the length of hospital stay, with all the associated consequences. While regional anesthesia is an available option, the feasibility of performing abdominal wall blocks on patients with obesity is questionable. Methods: Sixty adult patients with a body mass index of 40–50 kg/m2 undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery were randomly assigned to receive either an ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane (TAP) or erector spinae plane (ESP) block. The primary outcome was the analgesic effect in the first 24 h postoperatively, assessed using the mean visual analog scale (VAS) score. Secondary outcomes were the time required for a successful block, incidence of complications, time to first rescue analgesia, time to flatus or stool passage, and total opioid consumption. Results: The mean VAS score during the first 24 h was higher with the TAP block than with the ESP block (2.78 ± 0.34 vs. 2.32 ± 0.12, P < 0.001). Additionally, the time to first rescue analgesia was greater with the ESP block (P = 0.001) and the time required for a successful block was higher with the TAP block (P = 0.001). However, the incidence of complications, total opioid consumption, and other secondary outcomes was similar between the groups. Conclusions: Compared with the TAP block, the bilateral ESP block is a more feasible and effective method for intra- and postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery.

Original Article: Food Science/Microbiology : Optimization of Medium Composition and Cultivation Parameters for Fructosyltransferase Production by Penicillium aurantiogriseum AUMC 5605

( Mohamed Abdel Fattah Mohamed Farid ),( Zinat Kamel ),( Elsayed Ahmed Elsayed ),( Azza Mohamed Noor El Deen ) 한국응용생명화학회 2015 Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry (J. Appl. Vol.58 No.3

Fructooligosaccharides have been mainly produced by microbial fructosyltransferases (FTase) enzymes. The present work focuses on the optimization of medium composition and cultivation parameters affecting FTase produced by Penicillium aurantiogriseum AUMC 5605 in shake flask cultivation. FTase production was optimized in two steps using DeMeo’s fractional factorial design. A 1.46-fold increase in FTase production (105.4 U/mL) was achieved using the optimized culture medium consisting of (g/L): sucrose, 600; yeast extract, 10; K2HPO4, 5; MgSO4·7H2O, 0.5; (NH4) 2SO4, 1.0 and KCl, 0.5. The obtained results showed that the maximum FTase enzyme activity was produced at initial cultivation pH values ranging from 6.0-6.5, at agitation speed of 200 rpm and using vegetative fungal cells as inoculum. Moreover, results showed that optimization of medium composition and some cultivation parameters resulted in an increase of about 93.7% in the enzyme activity than the nonoptimized cultivation conditions after 96 h of cultivation. Additionally, maximum production and specific production rates recorded 2340 U/L/h and 102 U/L/h/g cells, respectively.

Role of protease inhibitors and acylation stimulating protein in the adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 cells

Mohamed Mohamed Soliman,Yakut Abdel-Fattah El-Senosi,Maysara Mahmoud Salem,Omniya Mahmoud Abdel Hamid,Kimura Kazuhiro 대한수의학회 2009 JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE Vol.10 No.3

Treatment of AIDS (HIV) and hepatitis C virus needs protease inhibitors (PI) to prevent viral replication. Uses of PI in therapy are usually associated with a decrease in body weight and dyslipidemia. Acylation stimulating protein (ASP) is a protein synthesized in adipocytes to increase triglycerides biosynthesis, for that the relation of PI and ASP to adipogenesis is tested in this work. ASP expression was increased during 3T3-L1 differentiation and reached a peak at day 8 with cell maturation. Addition of PI during adipocytes differentiation dose dependently and significantly (p < 0.5) inhibited the degree of triglycerides (TG) accumulation. Moreover, presence of ASP (450 ng/mL) in media significantly (p < 0.5) stimulated the degree of TG accumulation and there was additive stimulation for ASP when added with insulin (10 μg/mL). Finally, when ASP in different doses (Low, 16.7; Medium, 45 and High, 450 ng/mL) incubated with a dose of ×150 PI, ASP partially inhibited the PI-inhibited adipogenesis and TG accumulation. The results in this study show that PI inhibit lipids accumulation and confirm role of ASP in TG biosynthesis and adipogenesis.

Anthocyanins Extracted from Grapes as Green Corrosion Inhibitors for Tin Metal in Citric Acid Solution

Mohamed, Mervate Mohamed,Alsaiari, Raiedhah,Al-Qadri, Fatima A.,Shedaiwa, Iman Mohammad,Alsaiari, Mabkhoot,Musa, Esraa Mohamed,Alkorbi, Faeza,Alkorbi, Ali S. The Corrosion Science Society of Korea 2022 Corrosion Science and Technology Vol.21 No.5

Cyclic Voltammetry and weight loss measurements were used to investigate corrosion prevention of tin in a 0.5M citric acid solution containing Anthocyanins extracted from grapes at various concentrations and temperatures. Results showed that the investigated chemicals, Anthocyanins extracted from grapes, performed well as tin corrosion inhibitors in 0.5M citric acid. Increasing the concentration of Anthocyanins increased their corrosion inhibition efficiencies. When the temperature dropped, their inhibition efficiencies, increased indicating that higher temperature tin dissolution predominated the adsorption of Anthocyanins at the surface of tin metal. When inhibitor concentrations were increased, their inhibition efficiencies were also increased. These results revealed that corrosion of tin metal was inhibited by a mixed type of adsorption on the metal surface. The adsorption isotherm of Langmuir governed the adsorption of Anthocyanins. Thermodynamic parameters such as the enthalpy of adsorption, the entropy of adsorption, and Gibbs free energy and kinetic parameters such as activation energy, enthalpy of activation, and entropy of activation were computed and discussed in this study.

A Fast Sensing Method using Concurrent Driving and Sequential Sensing for Large Capacitance Touch Screens

Mohamed G.A. Mohamed(모하메드 모하메드 가말 아흐메드),HyungWon Kim(김형원),Tae-Won Cho(조태원) 대한전자공학회 2015 전자공학회논문지 Vol.52 No.4

최근 스마트폰의 발달과 더불어 대형 TV, 의료용 장비 및 전자 칠판에도 터치스크린의 수요가 급증하고 있다. 스크린 사이즈가 증가 할수록 고해상도를 위하여 훨씬 더 많은 채널이 추가 되면서 한 프레임을 스캔하는데 긴 시간이 소요되어 터치감지 지연이 큰 문제가 되고 있다. 본 논문에서는 이러한 문제를 해결하기 위하여 새로운 드라이빙 및 센싱 기법을 제안한다. 이 기법은 differential 드라이빙 방법으로 2 단계로 수행되어진다. 먼저 고속 센싱 프로세스를 통해 터치가 발생된 센싱 라인들을 우선 대략적으로 도출해 낸 후 정확한 터치 위치 스캔을 위해서 터치된 라인에서만 감지가 수행되어 진다. 이 방법을 사용하면 터치 패널의 frame refresh rate를 향상 시킬 수 있다. 제안된 구조는 FPGA와 개발된 AFE board로 구현되었으며, 23인치 상용 터치패널을 사용하여 테스트하였다. 이 기법은 기존 대비 frame scan rate를 8.4배 향상시킨다. Recently the demand for projected capacitance touch screens is sharply growing especially for large screens for medical devices, PC monitors and TVs. Large touch screens in general need a controller of higher complexity. They usually have a larger number of driving and sensing lines, and hence it takes longer to scan one frame for touch detection leading to a low frame scan rate. In this paper, a novel touch screen control technique is presented, which scans each frame in two steps of simultaneous multi-channel driving. The first step is to drive all driving lines simultaneously and determine which sensing lines have any touch. The second step is to sequentially rescan only the touched sensing lines, and determine exact positions of the touches. This technique can substantially increase the frame scan rate. This technique has been implemented using an FPGA and an AFE board, and tested using a commercial 23-inch touch screen panel. Experimental results show that the proposed technique improves the frame scan rate by 8.4 times for the 23-inch touch screen panel over conventional methods.