Abstract Giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrahium rosenbergii is a commercial species that is popular especially in Asian countries; Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and others. Currently, there is a decline in M. rosenbergii due to dependency on natural resources and intensive reduction of M. rosenbergii. Thus, this study provides new information on the gonad maturation of M. rosenbergii especially in Padas River Bay, Beaufort, Sabah, Malaysia. A total of 40 tails in M. rosenbergii (20 tails of male and 20 tails of female) were obtained from Kampung Inuman, Beaufort, Sabah. The gonads of M. rosenbergii were dissected out and the stages of gonad maturation were identified through the histological examination. The body length (BL), body weight (BW) and carapace length (CL) for male and female of M. rosenbergii were 16.90 ± 2.19 cm, 50.55 ± 47.83 g, 8.14 ± 1.84 cm, 14.97 ± 2.22 cm, 27.14 ± 23.04 g and 6.55 ± 1.68 cm. There were five gonad maturation stages recognized comprised of 40% male and 30% female categorized in immature stage (stage I and II) while 60% male and 70% female were in matured stage (stage III, IV and V). In addition, gonadosomatic index (GSI) was not significant for male, while it was significant for female. In conclusion, five maturation stages were found at the Bay of Padas River Beaufort, Sabah and the giant freshwater prawn can reproduce more than once in their life cycle as well as their reproduction occurs throughout the year.

Abstract Malaria and HIV co-infection are of public health concern, most especially in sub-Sahara Africa. Therefore, this study investigated malaria parasite prevalence and a key haematological parameter among potential HIV/AIDS outpatients in selected hospitals in a metropolitan city in Central Nigeria in July, 2021. A total of 200 subjects’ blood were screened for HIV as well as Plasmodium, parasitemia and packed cell volume (PCV) levels. Of the 200 samples examined, all the just walk-in (naive) subjects were HIV positive among which only 33 (16.5%) were infected with P. falciparum. There was a significant variation (χ²= 8.482, df = 2, P = 0.01439) in malaria parasite prevalence in relation to subjects’ locations. More females were infected, however, Plasmodium prevalence in relation to sex showed no significant difference (χ²= 0.095778, df = 1, P = 0.757). P. falciparum prevalence in relation to age groups significantly varied (χ² = 18.682, df = 5, P < 0.01) in which age group 20-29 years HIV/AIDS subjects were more infected (7.5%). Subjects who had tertiary education qualification were the most infected (25.0%). Parasitemia was more dominant in females than in infected males. Subjects whose PCV was between 30-34% were the most infected (28.57%) while those with a PCV levels of 20-24% and 40-44% were Plasmodium parasite free. Thus, a very high significant difference (χ² = 56.607, df = 4, P < 0.001) in malaria infection in relation to PCV levels of the HIV/AIDS subjects. In conclusion, the 100% HIV infection recorded in all the just walk-in outpatients is of great public health concern that demands urgent attention of policy makers and stakeholders on the dynamics of current HIV infection status in the metropolitan city of Lafia in order to curb the continuous rapid spread. Also, all inhabitants in the study area should endeavor to protect themselves against human-vectors contact through the use of all forms of protection against mosquitoes such as sleeping under insecticide treated-bed nets in order to prevent malaria transmission.

Abstract The development of novel drugs is one of the necessities required to help halt the burden caused by malaria parasite. Thus, the in vivo study on the prophylactic activities of the ethanolic leaf extract of Hyptis suaveolens in Plasmodium berghei infected Swiss albino mice was investigated. Oral toxicity of the plant extract was first established before the experiment. Also, the mean change in haematological parameters and body weight were determined. The prophylactic test result showed a dose-dependent efficacy of the plant extract on the parasitemia. The group treated with ACT had the least parasitemia while the negative control recorded the highest parasitemia. Thus, the mean parasitemia in relation to the various treatments varied significantly (P ˂ 0.05). However, there was no significant difference (P ˃ 0.05) in the mean change in Hb, RBC, PCV and mean change in body weight respectively. In conclusion, the result obtained suggests that the ethanolic leaf extract of H. suaveolens possesses a dose-dependent prophylactic antiplasmodial activity. This supports the traditional usage of H. suaveolens for the treatment of malaria.

Abstract Agriculture industry plays a significant role in the well-being of Malaysia’s economy. It provides employment for more than 1.87 million people and contributes 7.1% to the gross domestic product (GDP). The vegetable industry, however, is lagging behind other agricultural industries, such as oil palm, rubber, and tea. There is a shortage of vegetable supply in Malaysia. The demand for vegetables increased almost 4.5% annually from 1.58 million metric tonnes (MT) in 2010 to 2.4 million MT in 2020. The production, however, was only 0.1 million MT in 2010, 1.01 million MT in 2015, and 1.7 million MT in 2020. The trade balance deficit in 2020 stood at Ringgit Malaysia (RM) 3.16 billion. The vegetable industry is under pressure from rising population, shortage of resources, and post coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic impacts. To increase the local vegetable production, vertical farming (VF) of vegetables is widely promoted. In VF, the vegetables are produced in environmentally controlled multistorey buildings with different vegetables at different levels. In the buildings, the vegetables are cultivated using vertical farming systems (VFSs). In that way, the production per unit area is said to be maximal. However, for the leafy (Pak Choy) vegetable industry in Malaysia, is it agronomically ready to embark into VF and VFS? The present paper aimed to review the leafy vegetable industry specifically Pak Choy production in Malaysia to assess its readiness in the application of VF and VFS in order to better the direction of future research projects. Keywords used for the search of relevant information in Science Direct, World Wide Science, Google Scholar and Google, and online newspapers were Malaysia plus vertical farming, hydroponic systems, column hydroponic system, agriculture sector, agriculture 4.0, precision agriculture, soilless culture, leafy vegetable industry, and Pak Choy production. The articles and reports obtained were then reviewed. It was found that the leafy industry specifically the Pak Choy production in Malaysia is not yet agronomically ready to venture into VF and VFS, although VF and VFS have gained attention. The agronomic information pertaining to VF and VFS based on the local scenarios are still lacking. Local farmers have little guides to operate VF and VFS. It is understood that VF is an expensive venture and hence, it will be relatively unknown to many farmers, but even the agronomic information related to VFS, which is just about the system used in VF, is seldom published. Of the many designs of VFSs in Malaysia, the Column Hydroponic System (CHS) has a markedly higher vegetable yield per unit area. Thus, more research on CHS is needed and the agronomic and technical information are published for the local vegetable farmers to use to solve the shortage of supply and the high foreign exchange of leafy vegetables in Malaysia.

Abstract Textile industry is one of the most important manufacturing sectors for the development of a society such as in Pakistan. Cotton crop is the main raw material used in the sector for the production of textile fiber in the form of clothes, woven or non-woven. The aim of this study is to investigate the heavy metal contents and physicochemical parameters of the textile finished materials. The concentrations of heavy metals in 10 different textile fibers of different colors, collected from local markets in Hyderabad city, Pakistan, were determined by using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. In addition, these textiles finished products were analyzed in triplicate for physical parameters assessment. It was found that the concentration of nickel was beyond the permissible limits in 9 out of 10 samples, chromium in 5 samples, and copper in 2 samples. A further investigation could be carried out to correlate the physicochemical results and heavy metal contents in the textile products.