No abstract

The number of students pursuing science and engineering is reducing drastically over the years which is of great concern to the country. Hence, in 2011, the Malaysia Education Blueprint was initiated emphasizing on the role of STEM for establishing a scientific and innovative society. The National STEM Movement has taken the step forward to make the blueprint a reality by initiating the STEM Mentor-Mentee program in schools facilitated by universities. Universiti Selangor (Unisel) contributed actively through the participation of lecturers as facilitators and students as mentors. Fondly known as the Unisel Fun with STEM program, the team has shared their modules with seven schools in Selangor. This particular study is focusing on one of the schools, SMK Sungai Burong involving 60 students and 3 teachers, assessing the effectiveness of the module and the impact of mentoring approach. A five Likert scale survey was conducted at the end of the program with each of the four domains received positive feedback. The program itself was well-executed with the mean score of 4.24. The response towards the mentoring approach was very favourable, resulting in the mean score of 4.61. This outreach program is considered effective as students demonstrated positive attitude towards the module and STEM field.

Fermented tilapia (Tilapia nicoliticus) is one of the famous fermented food in Malaysia. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) which well known as GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) are present in most fermented foods and they are well-known non-pathogenic bacteria that play an important role in everyday life. Apart from LAB, spices have also been used for centuries across different regions of the world to improve aroma, flavour and food preservative. This research was aimed to explore a potential natural food preservative using LAB isolated from fermented Tilapia nicoliticus incorporated with various spices (9% turmeric, 6% chilli and 9% black pepper) against foodborne pathogens. The isolation of LAB in different media (MRS, MRS+CaCO3, M17 and Tomato Juice Agar) showed the highest LAB count on day-9 and day-15 during the fermentation period in fermented Tilapia incorporated with black pepper, turmeric and chilli. The highest antimicrobial activity by LAB against Bacillus cereus was observed in fermented tilapia incorporated with black pepper. On the other hand, fermented fish incorporated with chilli showed the highest antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. Higher antimicrobial activity was detected in fermented Tilapia in the presence of LAB together with the spices, in comparison to the presence of LAB alone, suggesting synergistic effects between LAB in fermented fish with spices could enhance stronger antimicrobial activities against food pathogens and therefore, served as a natural food preservative.

A total of 70 isolates of Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolated from beef samples were examined with respect to plasmid profiles and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) patterns. All isolates carried the 90 kb pO157 plasmid alone or in combination with other smaller plasmids. Using Gen1-50-02 (5'-CAATGCGTCT-3'), Gen1-50-09 (5'-AGAGGCGATG-3') and Gen1-50-10 (5'-CCATTTACGC-3') as primers, respectively, we obtained DNA polymorphisms which allowed us to discriminate the E. coli O157:H7 isolates into one, six and five RAPD patterns; providing bands ranging in size from 0.25 to 4.0 kb. Our results demonstrate that both plasmid profiling and RAPD-PCR fingerprinting methods are suitable tools for a fast and reliable molecular typing of E. coli O157:H7. The RAPD-PCR method is more sensitive with respect to the individualization of isolates and that RAPD-PCR assay could be a valuable technique for epidemiological studies.

Nowadays, the foodborne outbreaks associated with fresh produces, including ulam, are increasing worldwide. The biofilm formation or bacterial attachment to plant surface is the initial step towards the contamination in fresh produce. The biofilm phenotype of bacteria grown on congo red agar is termed as red, dry and rough (rdar) morphotype. The binding of congo red dye with both biological proteins and inert surfaces is due to the presence of curli fimbriae and cellulose as the main extracellular components. The objective of this study was to determine the rdar morphotypes, biofilm ability and the role of csgA gene of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. isolated from ulam or Malaysian herbs. A total of 29 isolates, including 23 E. coli and 6 Salmonella spp. were analyzed for their ability to produce biofilm by colony morphology test, microtiter plate biofilm assay and qualitative biofilm test (pellicle formation). The presence of the csgA gene of E. coli was identified by PCR, which demonstrated the potential gene that able to produce curli fimbriae. Results revealed that 16 (69.6%) E. coli isolates were categorized as strong biofilm producers, 2 (8.7%) as moderate biofilm producers, 3 (13%) as weak biofilm producers, whereas 2 (8.7%) as negative biofilm producers (did not produce biofilm). While 4 (66.7%) Salmonella spp. isolates were identified as strong biofilm producers, 1 (16.7%) as moderate biofilm producers and 1 (16.7%) as negative biofilm producers. Majority of the E. coli strains (69.6%) were identified as strong biofilm producers and able to express rdar morphotypes. The ability of the of E. coli and Salmonella spp. isolates to form biofilm reveals the ability of these isolates to persist on the fresh vegetables and become hosts for the disease transmission to humans or/and animals.