Abstract In DNA splicing system, DNA molecules are cut and recombined with the presence of restriction enzymes and a ligase. The splicing system is analyzed via formal language theory where the molecules resulting from the splicing system generate a language which is called a splicing language. In nature, DNA molecules can be read in two ways; forward and backward. A sequence of string that reads the same forward and backward is known as a palindrome. Palindromic and non-palindromic sequences can also be recognized in restriction enzymes. Research on splicing languages from DNA splicing systems with palindromic and non-palindromic restriction enzymes have been done previously. This research is motivated by the problem of DNA assembly to read millions of long DNA sequences where the concepts of automata and grammars are applied in DNA splicing systems to simplify the assembly in short-read sequences. The splicing languages generated from DNA splicing systems with palindromic and non- palindromic restriction enzymes are deduced from the grammars which are visualised as automata diagrams, and presented by transition graphs where transition labels represent the language of DNA molecules resulting from the respective DNA splicing systems.
local herb known as neem (semambu) or its scientific name Azadirachta indica has been used extensively in traditional treatment due to its medicinal properties. Neem leaves have been used traditionally for treating several epidermal dysfunctions, such as eczema, psoriasis, and acne. Neem is rich in antioxidants and helps to boost immune response in tissues of affected skin area. It also consists of bioactive compounds for antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer activities. In this study, neem leaves extract was used in producing herbal neem soap as a remedy for curing skin problems. The herbal neem soap was made by blending 36.4% palm oil, 9.1% coconut oil, 27.3% sodium hydroxide, 9.1% neem oil extract, and 18.2% neem aqueous extract which formed a pale yellow soap base. The results of the selected physical and chemical properties of this study show that the moisture content of the soap was 4.02% with 10.60 pH value, 57.40% total fatty matter, and 0.44% free caustic alkali. The results imply that herbal neem soap is suitable for human skin and can be a therapeutic alternative to skin problems.
The issue of overwork due to numerous responsibilities among academicians is getting a serious
attention in educational literature. Academicians have to fulfil many responsib ilitie s simultaneously,
including teaching, conducting research, writing, publication, holding administrative posts,
involvement in committees and community services, and other professional works which may
improve the image of their university. Thus, the o bjecti ves of this study are to examine the
academicians’ perceptions on their academic and non academic responsibilities and investigate the
relationship between the respondents’ length of service with academic workloads and administrative
posts. This stud y has used self administered questionnaires, which have been distributed to 391
lecturers from various faculties on the Campus of UiTM Cawangan Terengganu. Results obtained
from 119 academicians have indicated that a majority of the respondents have chosen to be in the
teaching and learning track for their performance evaluation purpose. This is consistent with the
findings that they have spent most of their working hours to fulfil their academic workloads. In
addition, the non academic responsibilities hav e requ ired them to work beyond office hours in
performing their duties. Overall, the findings of this study have shown that most academicians have
spent more time on the academic responsibilities. On the other hand, the correlation has revealed that
the lo nger t he length of service of the respondents, the more academic workloads will be given and
the higher their chances to be appointed as administrators. This has implied that the academicians will
be responsible for higher positions and a wide range of tas ks as they become more experienced and at
a senior level.
The Malaysian government received two endangered pandas as a diplomatic gift from the government
of China to mark 40 years of strong diplomatic ties between the two countries . T he Giant Panda
Conservation Centre (GPCC) in Zoo Negara was established to show Malaysia’s commitment towards
China’s governmental efforts in increasing the number of the endangered giant panda worldwide and
establishing a distinctly new niche tourism attraction called Panda Tourism ( The attraction has
pulled many local and international visitors from different countries across Asia, Europe, North
America, and Australia. However, research on the rationale, benefits, issues, and future of PT
initiative remains under explored . The present study attempts to understand the PT concept by
measuring the consumption value dimensions of PT , namely; functional, social, emotional, epistemic
and conditional and how these dimensions affect tourists behavioural intention to visit other PTs
throughout the world. In addition, the study measured the mediation effect of destination image
toward the relationship of consumption values and tourists behavioural intention. The findings of this
study are among the early attempts to better understand the rationales, benefits, and potentials of PT
as a niche tourism concept in Malaysia. The study employed the survey questionnaire to gather
quantitative data. Data were analyzed using the SmartPLS 3.0 software. The results of the analysis
identified conditional, functional, and social as the significant determinants of Consumption Value
towards tourists’ behavioural intention to visit PT Further more, functional value proved to have
significant direct as well as indirect influence on the tourists’ behavioural intention.
Smoked food was one of the most authentic dishes in Malaysian cuisines. However, local consumers were still unaware on the hygienic level of these smoked products. Nowadays, the smoked products were smoked in an open space that allowed the contamination of bacteria on the food. This study aimed to determine the occurrence and antibiotic resistance of Salmonella in the smoke catfish and meat at the local street stalls in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan by MPN-PCR methods. The microbial concentration of Salmonella sp. in smoked catfish was 2.4 x 10-8 MPN/g in smoked catfish and 2.9 x 10-7 MPN/g in smoked meat and were confirmed by culturing on selective agar of Salmonella Shigella agar. The prevalence of Salmonella sp. was found to be 68% in both samples by MPN-PCR approach. Salmonella sp. were 100% detected in smoked catfish followed by smoked meat by 44% respectively. All the positive isolates from MPN-PCR were continued with antibiotic susceptibility to determine the resistance level of Salmonella sp. towards selected antibiotics. As result, the isolates showed a multi-resistance patters from one to four antibiotics tested with MAR indices ranging from 0.25 to 1.00. The outcome indicated a high rate of foodborne pathogens which indicated the need to create the awareness on the safety and proper handling of smoked products to minimization of any potential health hazard caused by this foodborne pathogen.
Background: Acute appendicitis is one of the most common surgical emergencies. However, its proper diagnosis is complicated. This study aims to evaluate the ability of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) to diagnose acute appendicitis in pre-operative state. Methods: Histopathological examination of appendicectomies conducted between 2016 and 2017 in Melaka Hospital, Malaysia were traced and categorised into three groups: i) G1 (normal appendix), ii) G2 (acute appendicitis) and iii) G3 (perforated appendicitis). The reports were randomised and a total of 338 samples were collected. NLR values were compared between the three different groups and analysed. Results: The median values of NLR for G1, G2 and G3 were 2.37, 5.25 and 9.27, respectively. We found a statistically significant difference in NLR between G1 and G2 (P < 0.001), and G2 and G3 (P < 0.001). The diagnostic values of NLR for acute appendicitis and perforated appendicitis were 3.11 (sensitivity: 75.23%, specificity: 68.70%) and 6.17 (sensitivity: 76.32%, specificity: 58.72%), respectively. There was a substantial correlation between NLR and disease severity, and a moderate correlation between NLR and duration of admission. Conclusion: NLR, with a sensitivity of 75.23% and specificity of 68.70%, is a useful and reliable adjunct in diagnosing acute appendicitis. Hence, it will help in reducing the rate of negative appendicectomies.
Arabica coffee beans from the same origin were roasted at three different roasting parameters namely minimum roasting (180°C), medium roasting (220°C) and maximum roasting (260°C) each for 20 minutes in order to investigate the changes in the physical, chemical and sensorial evaluation. During the roasting process, the coffee beans becomes more brittle due to the chemical, physical and structural modifications. There are limited studies reported for coffee beans that have been roasted with different roasting parameters in term of selected physicochemical properties and sensory evaluation. The roasted coffee beans oil was extracted by using Soxhlet Extraction method for 8 hours. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of different roasting parameters on selected physicochemical properties and sensory evaluation of coffee beans in the term of: moisture content (%), oil extraction (%), peroxide value (mEq/kg), acid value (mg KOH/g), furan (absorbance) and sensory evaluation. The furan (abs) content was recorded as 0.24 ± 0.04 (minimum roasting),
0.69 ± 0.03 (medium roasting) and
0.91 ± 0.01 (maximum roasting). In terms of sensory evaluation, most participants preferred coffee drink made from medium roasted coffee beans for aroma, colour, sweetness, flavour and overall criteria. Meanwhile, for the acidity and bitterness criteria, the participants preferred coffee drink made from maximum roasted coffee beans. As a conclusion, roasting temperature is the main factor that influences the physicochemical properties and sensory evaluation of coffee beans.
Endophytes are
an endosymbiont that colonize in plant without causing apparent disease. Medicinal
plan ts have been proven as a host to endophytes fungi thus providing a rich reservoir of bioactive
compounds. However, there is lack information available about medicinal plants associated
endophytes. Therefore, in the present study, the presence of endoph ytic fungi inhabiting in leaves of
Pandanus sp. and Alpinia sp wer e isolated. Healthy and symptomless leaves of Pandanus sp . and
Alpinia sp were surface sterilized and used for the isolation of endophytes. Variation in the
colonization frequency of endop h ytic fungi was observed in leaves of both species. Relatively, leaves
of Pandanus sp . w ere found to have greater colonization frequency ( 16.7 %) as compared to leaves of
Alpinia sp (8.3 %). A total of 3 fungal isolates were obtained and identified based on the morphology
of fungal cultures and spores. Among them one unidentified isolate ( P2) was group to Zygomycota
phylum. Other two isolates were identified as species belong to Lentinus sp ( and C olleotrichum
sp. (P1). Finding in this study suggest the p ossi ble exploration of many such bioactive compounds
from this potential fungus.
The study on composition, abundance and diversity of larval fish was conducted with the aim to attain information on larval fish breeding ground and made easy for fishery management. Larval fish were collected during September 2015 from mangrove areas of Pekan Pahang, Pendas Johor, Matang Perak and Setiu Terengganu using a bongo net, towed at a depth of about 0.5 m from the surface for 5 min against the tidal flow. A total of 354 larval fish were collected, representing 21 families and 51 species. The top 3 families were Gobiidae (39.26%), Engraulidae (14.97%) and Clupeidae (14.40%), occurred in all sampling areas except in Setiu. The most abundant 11 species formed about 50% of all collected larval fish. Gobiidae spp. were the most abundant, making up 17.8% of the total catch, followed by Clupeidae spp. (12.7%), Engraulidae spp. (8.2%), Ambassis dusumieri (6.5%), Thryssa kammalensis (4.8%), Pseudogobius masago (both 4.8%), Sillaginidae spp. (4.2%), Ambassidae spp. (3.4%), Pseudogobius sp. (3.4%), Blenniidae spp. (2.8%), and Hemigobius hoevenii (2.5%). The highest diversity of larval fish was recorded for Pendas, Johor with Shannon Wiener index Hs = 2.699, and the lowest was Setiu, Terengganu (Hs = 0.832). The highest evenness index of larval fish species was recorded for Pekan, Pahang with Es = 0.815 and the lowest for Setiu Terengganu with Es = 0.465, indicating high single-species dominance. Species overlapping was the highest between Pendas and Setiu at 14.3%, and zero similarity of fish composition was recorded between Matang and Setiu according to Jaccard coefficient. Findings from surveillance of larval fish species provide valuable information for future biodiversity studies and allow better management of biodiversity resources in the mangrove ecosystem of Malaysia.
Antibiotic resistance is an ever
increasing in worldwide problem nowadays. It is happened when t he exten-
sive use of antibiotics which will creates the selective pressure resulting from mutation of normal genes and
spreading of a variety of an antimicrobial resistance. Uses of Lactobacillus as probiotics or in starter cul-
tures may serve as hosts of antibiotic resistance genes, which could be transfer or resistance to multiple an-
tibiotics. Therefore it is important to screen the susceptible or resist ance towards antibiotics which will not
tr ansferable resistance genes. In the recent study, a total of 3 7 strains of Lactobacillus species isolated from
various milk and dairy products such as goat ’s milk, cattle ’s milk , human ’s milk , homemade yogurt and
commercial yogurt were examined for the a ntibiotic p rofile using Kirby Bauer method . The results of this
study show that human’s milk has a high number of Lactobacillus isolates resistant to ampicillin (75%),
vancomycin (62.5%) and gentamycin (62.5%). Whereas Lactobacillus isolated from cattle’s milk have re-
sistant to ampicillin (42.1%), vancomycin (42.1%) and susceptible to gentamycin (0%). But however,
goat’s milk stil l has lower percentage number of resistant to ampicillin (28.0%), vancomycin (14.3%) and
are susceptible to gentamycin (0%). These results indicate that ampicillin and vancomycin resistant seems
to be very common among Lactobacillus isolates bu t g entamyci n are still susceptible used. Vancomycin
resistant are more concerned because of the emerging problem in hospital and often described as one of the
last resorts against the infection caused by multidrug resistant pathogens. Therefore, lactobacilli as probi ot-
ics would be more monitor ing when applied in food industry and clinical especially for immune
compromised patients or during anti biotherapy. Acquisition and retransfer of resistance genes should be
addressed in the new safety aspects of probiotics uses.
The Golden Apple Snail (GAS), Pomacea canaliculata is an invasive species that has become a serious pest organism in rice fields in Southeast Asia since 1980s. This study was conducted to assess the hatchability of eggs under a combination effect of temperature and light. The clusters of eggs were exposed to different temperature (28oC, 30oC, 32oC, 34oC and 36oC) and under the presence and the absence of light. The finding showed that the cluster of egg hatched faster with an increase of temperature (2-way ANOVA; P < 0.05). However, the egg hatchability was not impacted by the presence or the absence of light. The combined effect between temperature and light on egg hatchability was also insignificant (2-way ANOVA; P > 0.05). Our findings indicate that temperature alone produces the main impact on the egg hatchability. Therefore, this knowledge provides an initial understanding to predict the population dynamic and geographical distribution of Pomacea from Malaysia particularly in the effort to hamper their ecological invasion.
This study was carried out to determine the hand properties of cotton woven fabric treated with three different brands of commercial softeners and to identify the stiffness relationship between objective and subjective assessment. The hand properties refer to the impression feels when the fabric is touched, squeezed, rubbed or otherwise handled. The cotton woven fabric was categorized into light to medium weight and medium to heavy weight type. Three different brands of softener; Brand A, Brand B and Brand C were used, and the fabric samples were washed by using top load home washing machine for 48 minutes in each cycle with the detergent and softener added into the washing machine dispenser drawer following the instruction label on the softener’s bottle. After washing process was done, the samples were evaluated objectively by their stiffness and panel experts did subjective assessment on the samples by investigating three attributes namely stiffness, softness, smoothness. The results obtained from objective and subjective evaluation were then analysed using Two-way ANOVA and Kruskal Wallis test respectively.
In this paper, a semi analytic iterative method (SAIM) is presented for solving two forms of Blasius equation. Blasius equation is a third order nonlinear ordinary differential equation in the problem of the two-dimensional laminar viscous flow over half-infinite domain. In this scheme, the first solution which is in a form of convergent series solution is combined with Padé approximants to handle the boundary condition at infinity. Comparison the results obtained by SAIM with those obtained by other method such as variational iteration method and differential transform method revealed the effectiveness of the SAIM.
Fc
Gamma Receptor 3B (FcγRIIIB, encoded by the gene FCGR3B ) plays a crucial role in immunity
response activated by cellular effectors and regulatory functions. Copy number variation (CNV) of
this gene has been previously reported to affect susceptibility to several diseases such as autoimmune
diseases and chronic inflammatory response . One of the rarest and smallest tribes of Orang Asli which
is Negrito Mendriq sample was used as a subject in this study. Twenty two (22) Lymphoblastoid cell
lines (LCLs) of Ne grito Mendriq was obtained from the deposited cell archive, Institute Medical
Molecular Biotechnology, IMMB (UiTM Sg Buloh, Selangor, Malaysia) and the LCLs were revived.
The DNA was extracted from the LCL and finally PRT REDVR assay was carried for FCGR 3B
copy number genotyping. Analysis revealed that copy number 2 demonstrated the highest distribution
for FCGR3B (90.9%); whilst no copy number loss was found for FCGR3B. For high copy number
(>2), 9.1% was obtained. Copy number greater than 3 (>3) was not found in this study. Finally, it was
concluded that no significant difference of CNV of FCGR3B for Orang Asli Negrito Mendriq when
compared with the reported studies. CNV of FCGR3B genes of Negrito Men driq was found normal in
this study , where the pattern of copy number distribution was almost similar with previously reported studies.
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is a well-known method to test the equality of mean for two or more
groups. ANOVA is a robust test under the normality assumption. Arithmetic mean is used in the
computation of the ANOVA test. Mean is known to be sensitive towards outlier and this problem will
affect the robustness and power of ANOVA. In this study, modification of ANOVA was created using
one type of mean to replace arithmetic mean namely trimmed mean. New approaches were be obtained
for the computation of ANOVA. This study was conducted based on a simulation study and application
on real data. The performance of the modified ANOVA is then compared with the classical ANOVA
test in terms of Type I error rate. This innovation enhances the ability of modified ANOVA to provide
good control of Type I error rates. The findings were in favor of the modified ANOVA or better known
as ANOVATM.
Kajian yang dilakukan adalah bertujuan untuk melihat hubungan diantara peranan jurulatih dengan
interaksi sosial dalam pendidikan luar. Seramai 113 responden telah terlibat di dalam kajian ini yang
merupakan peserta yang hadir ke Pusat Kokurikulum Sabah. Kajian kuantitatif ini menggunakan
instrumen soal selidik yang telah disesuaikan dengan iklim pendidikan luar Pusat Kokurikulum Sabah.
Dapatan kajian menunjukkan nilai min bagi peranan jurulatih (4.40) dan interaksi sosial (4.23)
mempunyai interpretasi pada tahap yang tinggi memandangkan ia berada dalam lingkungan nilai 4.01
hingga 5.00. Manakala hasil korelasi menunjukkan terdapat hubungan positif yang kuat dan signifikan
(r=0.524, k < 0.05). Justeru, dapatan kajian ini telah membawa kepada dua perkara iaitu bahagian teori
yang menyokong keselarian teori mengenai peranan jurulatih dalam mencorakkan interaksi sosial,
memahami dan membantu peserta meneruskan misi atau hala tuju dalam menyelesaikan sesebuah
perkara. Manakala bahagian praktikalnya menjelaskan bahawa kemampuan campur tangan jurulatih
dalam sesebuah program pendidikan luar akan membawa corak interaksi sosial yang bersifat lebih baik
berbanding tanpa bantuan jurulatih.
Tujuan kajian ini dijalankan adalah untuk mengenalpasti secara terperinci tentang kursus kokurikulum
berteraskan pembelajaran servis (CSL) dan kecenderungan pemilihan kursus mengikut persepktif
pelajar diploma di Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur (UTMKL). Kepentingan dalam
berkokurikulum sangat penting dalam mengukuhkan sifat insaniah dalam diri seorang pelajar yang
cemerlang. Kajian ini melibatkan 406 responden daripada 1,904 jumlah populasi pelajar diploma
UTMKL. Data dikumpul melalui instrumen borang soal selidik yang diedarkan kepada pelajar diploma
UTMKL. Analisis kajian mendapati terdapat pelbagai jenis kokurikulum dibahagikan mengikut empat
(4) kluster masing-masing yang dikenal pasti bagi objektif pertama. Objektif kedua pula adalah
mengenal pasti kecenderungan pelajar terhadap pilihan kursus CSL ini. Didapati bahawa kursus yang
berteraskan kesukarelawan mencatatkan kecenderungan yang paling tinggi. Manakala skor kursus
Memanah dari kluster sukan, rekreasi dan kebudayaan pula mencatatkan skor pelajar yang paling tinggi
kecerungan pelajarnya. Kesimpulannya, walaupun jumlah respondan hanya 21.32% dari bilangan
populasi yang memberikan maklumbalas kepada kajian ini, namun ia dapat memberikan indikator
kepada kecenderungan pemilihan kursus CSL mengikut persektif pelajar diploma UTMKL. Hasil
daripada kajian ini boleh digunapakai dalam membuat perancangan penawaran kursus CSL mengikut
pilihan dan kehendak pelajar.
Through this part the researcher introduces a sufficient analysis of Walker’s selected novels to reflect
the ill-treatment against black women in American society from 1970 to 1982. The researcher will
analyze Walker’s characters to offer a real justification of the racial oppression, cruelty, unkindness
and misery that most of African American women have been faced on the hand of the whites American
especially in the south. The researcher support and analyze this subject by trace the life of the main
characters that suffer from ill-treatment and racial oppression. The researcher analyzes these texts with
regard to black feminist critical theory, to discuss the main themes by tracing group of heroines who
live, represent and portray these topics through a contemporary black American author Alice Walker in
her selected novels, The Third Life of Grange Copeland, Meridian , The Color Purple . Referring to the
main themes in the statement of the problem and first research questions the researcher achieve that all
the characters of the novels are racially oppressed.
Issues concerning risk taking attitude and behaviors among adolescents in Malaysia has become increasingly complex and challenging. This paper aims to examine the gender differences in risk-taking attitude among adolescents in Malaysia. 426 adolescents consisting of 183 boys (43%) and 243 girls (51.9 %) participated in this study. Data were obtained using a self-administered questionnaire namely the Attitude towards risk questionnaire (Franken, Gibson & Rowland, 1992). The findings suggested that there is a significant difference between male and female with respect to risk taking attitude, t (424) = 3.14, p = .03 (two-tailed). The analysis of mean further revealed that male adolescents (M = 53.85. SD = 11.99) is inclined towards risk attitudes compared to female adolescents (M =50.14, SD=13.39). Apart from verifying the previous findings on the gender differences in risk taking attitudes, the present finding indicates the need for a gender specific approach to the assessment and intervention of risk-taking attitude among adolescents in Malaysia.