Increasing evidence of the association between ribosomal protein (RP) genes with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) have been derived from findings of their differential expression patterns in NPC cell lines. Nevertheless, expression data from a comprehensive list of RP gene family members is still lacking. This paper reports the assessment of two RP genes, eL13 and eL14, with regards to their expression patterns in several NPC cell lines (TW04, TW01, HK1, HONE1 and SUNE-1) relative to a non-malignant control (NP69). A conventional Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) assay was employed. Analysis of eL13 has never been explored before this, whereas investigation of eL14 represents an extended study. We found a general over-expression trend of eL14 in 40% (2 of 5; TW01 and HONE-1) of the NPC cell lines studied, with higher upregulated level in only one (TW01) of them. However, this pattern of expression level is not statistically significant. Expression of eL13 was not detected in any of the cell lines used. The inconsistency of these expression patterns demonstrates an elusive nature of RP activities in the malignancy of the nasopharynx.
Association between the expression of ribosomal protein (RP) genes and cancer is widely known. More specifically, the extra-ribosomal functions of RPs have been linked to carcinogenesis. The ribosomal protein gene, eL14 has been reported to be associated with malignancy of the colorectum, albeit of mechanism yet unclear. Its expression in cells derived from different tissue origin of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) has never been explored. Therefore, this study aims to comparatively analyse the expression pattern of eL14 between two different CRC cell lines (DLD-1 and HCT116). It involved a conventional gene expression analysis, the Reverse-Transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) assays. Products of RT-PCR assay were resolved via an agarose gel electrophoresis method, and band intensities of amplicons were documented and quantified using TotalLab Quant software. We observed differential expression patterns of eL14 between DLD-1 and HCT116 cells, but statistical analysis revealed insignificant differences. Therefore, the relevance of eL14 as a biomarker to distinguish between different colorectal cancer cells is suggestive but not conclusive.
The objective of this study is to identify the relationship between task characteristics (variety of skills, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback) and employee engagement. The study was conducted in a healthcare service in Sabah, Malaysia. A self administered questionnaire was used to collect data by using convenience sampling. A total of 78 respondents participated in the study. Data was analyzed using Spearman Correlation. The results revealed a significant and positive relationship between task characteristics (variety of skills, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback) and employee engagement in the studied organization. This has important implications to employers. It is recommended that managers, human resource development (HRD) practitioners and supervisors provide employees with more challenging tasks, autonomy and feedback from time to time. Moreover, work designs should include how the tasks may improve employee identity and significance.
Academic self-efficacy is important for students which will help them to perform better in studies. This study aims to explore the level of academic self-efficacy among UNIMAS undergraduates based on gender, CGPA and trait emotional intelligence. The samples of study involved are 50 male and 50 female participants which consists of final year students from Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development. The academic self-efficacy of the students is measured using the questionnaire adopted from a study by Sachitra and Bandara (2017) and The Short Form (TEIQue-SF) Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire is used to measure the trait emotional intelligence of the undergraduates. The result was analyzed using descriptive analysis and inferential analysis; independent samples t-test, One-Way ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation. The results of the study have shown that female students have higher academic self-efficacy compared to male students. In addition, students who obtain a higher CGPA also have higher self-efficacy. There was also a small positive correlation between trait emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy.
In recent years, Thailand videos advertising is generally known as the leading producer of weep-worthy viral videos in the world. Reasons for Thailand advertisements to stand out from the rest is said to be because of its commonly used advertising appeals, and cultural values focused in majority of Thailand advertisements. This research aims to study advertising appeals and cultural values in Thailand video advertisements. Specifically, the research investigates the reflection of cultural value through advertising appeal through the executional framework in Thailand video advertisements. This exploratory research employs primarily the method of ethnography in order to understand how cultural values are reflected through the advertising appeals in video advertisements from Thailand. The result shows that the most commonly used advertising appeal are Family Appeal, followed by Health Appeal and Effective Appeal. In terms of cultural values, the result shows the Thailand’s advertisements are skewed slightly higher towards collectivism and femininity. Majority of the Thailand video advertisements are using executional framework of storytelling.
This study aims to investigate the perception of Muslim travellers toward Halal lifestyle in South Korea. This study is significant due to a huge growth of Muslim tourists in South Korea over recent years. Statistics has shown an influx of Muslim tourists from Malaysia travelling to South Korea from year-to-year. Interviews were conducted to gain in-depth and comprehensive insights of Malaysian Muslims’ percipience on the Halal culture in South Korea. The questions were designed in the interview covers three issues, which include the pre-travel behaviour, extensity of information search, and travel decision. According to the interviews, most of the travellers spent their time conducting research, explicitly on Halal dietary matters before heading to South Korea. They also stated that it was quite hard finding places that serve Halal food. Therefore, we concluded that the Halal principle adoption in Korea influences the travel decision by most Muslim travellers.
Nowadays, gold prices have been volatile, and the wealth of gold investors depend on the movement of gold prices. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between gold prices, crude oil prices, inflation rate, real interest rate and stock prices in United States. This study uses monthly data covering the period ranging from January 1990 to August 2018. The Johansen and Juselius (JJ) Cointegration test and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) are conducted in this study. The result shows that there is a long-run relationship among gold prices, crude oil prices, inflation rate, real interest rate and stock prices. The results show that inflation rate and crude oil prices are significance and positively related to gold prices, while stock prices and real interest rate are negatively affecting gold prices. There are three unidirectional Granger causality and one bidirectional Granger causality in the short run. Only inflation rate Granger cause gold price, which means that inflation rate directly affects the gold prices. This study allows community such as central bank, government, financial institution, economist, investor and policy makers in manipulating and controlling the movement of the gold prices so that they have a better decision making to diversify their risks.
Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a causative agent of foodborne outbreaks associated with the consumption of raw or under-cooked seafood. This study aimed to quantify and detect the occurrence of V. parahaemolyticus in freshwater fish by performing Most Probable Number (MPN) method in combination with Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). In this study, a total of 20 red tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) were collected from nearby local wet markets. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay targeting the toxR gene in V. parahaemolyticus was performed, with the expected DNA amplification size of 368 bp. MPN analysis showed that the estimated microbial load of V. parahaemolyticus were more than 1100 MPN/g. The result of the PCR assay confirmed the presence of V. parahaemolyticus in 90% of the isolates. This positive detection elucidated the presence of food-borne bacteria in freshwater fish from local wet-market which may affect not only the health of fish stocks but also raise public health concerns.
In the age of modern competitive market force, where traditional marketing system is not enough to capture the loyalty from customers, and the increasing consciousness toward the brand making the marketer more concern to survive and the competition are becoming more difficult. So, customers are more conscious about their choice and giving more priority on the right product with right features, conditions, images and quality at the right price. The aim of this study is to explore customer consciousness toward brand loyalty between Malaysian and International Students. Quantitative research method is being used to evaluate the outcome of the research where total survey respondents were 197 (140 Malaysian and 57 International students) and the scope of the research is limited to the respondent of University Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan. The result of regression linear and Pearson Correlation showed that except price-consciousness, brand-consciousness, quality-consciousness and social-consciousness have positive significant relationship toward brand loyalty.
Agents are the most important marketing tools for company to become a successful in business. Agents not only operate as a channel to customers, but they also play an important role in providing customers with a variety of services before and after the sales. The main purpose of this study is to identify the factor influencing agent’s sales at an Apparel Manufacturing company. There are three categories of agents at the company namely, Trial agent, Basic agent and Premium agent. Based on the sales records in May 2018, the sales of product obtained by Trial Agent is lower than Basic and Premium Agents in this company. Therefore, this study aims to determine difference mean on record sales by agent among three categories of agents. This study also investigates the relationship between sales records by agents and years of experienced in business. Data was collected using questionnaire from 46 active agents at the company. Data was analyzed using One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation coefficient and Multiple Linear Regression. Result showed that there is a statistically significant difference in the mean sales records among the three of agent’s categories. Furthermore, there is a strong positive correlation between sales records by agent and years of experienced in business. Meanwhile, factors of knowledge and skills in business are most contributed to the agent’s sales. This study can help the company to create a strategic business plan and conducting several workshop trainings for agents to increase their knowledge and skills in business.
Oral health gained attention worldwide as it exerted unfavourable and undesired influences on an individual’s daily lives and wellbeing, especially among the rural population. In order to increase the understanding on the oral health among the rural community, this study aimed to determine the oral health knowledge and practice and its association with sociodemographic characteristics among the longhouse residents in Julau, Sarawak. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 105 residents were recruited from five longhouses, namely Rumah Panjang Mengga, Rumah Panjang Ikeh, Rumah Panjang Michael, Rumah Panjang Budit, and Rumah Panjang Manju. Information related to sociodemographic characteristics, as well as oral health knowledge and practice was gathered through face-to-face interview by using a structured questionnaire. Spearman rho correlation test, Mann-Whitney U-test, and Krukal-Wallis H-test were applied during data analysis. Median (interquartile) age of the children and adults was 10.0 (5.0) and 50.0 (22.0) years old, respectively. Findings revealed that oral health knowledge and practices among participants, both children and adults were inadequate as a high proportion of the participants were unable to provide answers for oral health related questions (functions of fluoride and correlation between gum disease with heart disease) and several oral health practices (regular oral check-up, change of toothbrush, and consumption of sweetened food) were also not being engaged in the daily life among the children and adult participants. A significant correlation was found between age and knowledge score among adult participants (rs = -0.389, p < 0.001). Besides, significant higher oral health knowledge score were found among adult participants with higher education level (H = 27.466; p < 0.001) and significant higher in oral health practice score was found among unemployed adult participants when compared to self-employed and employed workers for government and private (H = 9.631, p = 0.008). In conclusion, younger and educated participants are more knowledgeable regarding oral health. Engagement of oral health practices were related to occupation of the adult participants. Provision of health education and education aid for longhouse community should be continued taking into consideration age, level of education level, and even occupation in order to improve their oral health knowledge and practice.
On the 10th December 2018, an unprecedented historic event took place in the lower courthouse of the Malaysia Parliament. After years of repressive and regressive stance on student activism, members of parliament voted unanimously to amend the Universities and University Colleges Act 1975, which finally allows student political participation on campus. However, claims of youth apathy and the portrayal of youth in mass media as “unprepared and inexperienced political actors” pose a detrimental dilemma on the participation front. Intrinsic experiences of the youth community, especially from within the confines of universities have been misunderstood, and in fact, very much alienated. Therefore, the impact of the amendment amongst students is assessed in this research. Through exploring the experiences of youth who are caught up between state autonomy and civil liberties, this study employs qualitative research methods through asynchronous in-depth interviews in understanding youth’s freedom of expression. The findings are analyzed thematically to extract emergent themes from interviews derived from participants’ experiences with bureaucratic structures of the university environment and secondary data on the existing models of polity within the campus. Results show that structural barriers empowered by the existing ideological control provide both perceived positive and negative experiences to the participants. The majority of participants were alienated from the mechanisms of existing democratic institutions and discourses whereas subaltern voices of the youth prevail outside the confines of state-oriented spaces. This study has implications on the Overton Window practices of policymakers in providing true autonomy to students.
Breast cancer is the commonest cancer among women worldwide and the probability of a woman dying from breast cancer is high (about 1 in 38 of total human population (2.6%)).The main factor for mortality is due to the resistance of this particular disease to chemotherapeutic agents. One of the most well-known proteins to be found to correlate significantly with breast cancer resistance to chemotherapeutic agent is the ATP-binding cassette super-family G member 2 (ABCG2). Knowledge on ABCG2 gene regulation is still lacking in terms of how the increased cytotoxic levels are closely related to induce a hype in gene transcript levels and ultimately cause of the reduction in chemotherapeutic agents. The approach taken in this study is through mutational analysis of selected transcription factor governing the expression of ABCG2. In order to achieve this, a previously cloned ABCG2 promoter which has been isolated (around 1500 bp in size) from Danio rerio and inserted into pGL3.0 plasmid, was subjected to site-directed mutagenesis. Selected transcription factor which is AP-1 was successfully mutated by deletion of 5'- TGACGCG -3' sequence at position 1113 bp from TSS+1 where it would bind in order to define their role in ABCG2 physiological function. Sequencing result after site-directed mutagenesis shows high similarities about 98% with ABCG2 gene of Danio rerio. Upon validation, it was found that the intended AP-1 binding site has been mutated. In future work, the mutated clone here will be subjected to transfection analysis where dual-luciferase assay will be conducted to verify the loss of activity from the ABCG2 promoter upon mutation of the targeted AP-1 site. Hence, the mutagenesis analysis of ABCG2 promoter are able to provide information on the involvement of AP-1 transcription factor in multidrug resistance mechanism of breast cancer and thus will be a potential target for chemotherapeutic agent.
Land surface temperature and vegetation cover are two important parameters to evaluate the climate change and environmental condition. The current study is carried out in respect of monitoring the changing phenomena of climate and environment. The area selected to conduct the study was ward number 1, 2 and 3 of Khulna City Corporation), from the third largest city of Bangladesh. This study is corresponding through the calculation of Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) for two different years, 2010 and 2018. LST and NDVI are observed to realize the association between surface temperature and amount of vegetation. With the help of ArcGIS 10.5, LST and NDVI calculations are done using Landsat 5 Thermal Mapper, Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager and Thermal Infrared Sensor images (for 2010 and 2018, respectively) collected from USGS Earth Explorer. The findings of the study specify that the highest temperature in 2018 is 32.5˚C in ward 2 and in 2010 it was 27.5˚C in ward 3, though the overall vegetation amount decreased in 2018, About 18, 900 square meter of very low canopy area has increased in ward 3 from the period of 2010 to 2018 and in the same time 35, 100 square meter of low canopy area has been decreased for the overall study area. However, parts of the study area of ward no. 3 had faced a significant increase in vegetation cover which is the cause of low temperature compared to ward 1 and 2 in 2018.
Zebrafish abcb4 gene (ortholog to human ABCB1 gene) serves primarily in multidrug resistance (MDR) mechanism by effluxing chemotherapeutic agents, chemicals, xenobiotics, and numerous anti-cancer drugs out of the cells. This study aims to identify the specific transcription factor binding sites (TFBS) within the promoter region of zebrafish abcb4 gene and determine the functional roles of these factors in abcb4 gene expression regulation via mutagenesis analysis. First, primers were designed to target and amplify the promoter region of zebrafish abcb4 gene through gradient PCR. The zebrafish abcb4 gene promoter was then cloned into pGL3.0 vector and sent for sequencing. The sequencing results revealed high similarity to zebrafish DNA sequence from clone DKEY-24I24 in linkage group 16, indicating a successful cloning of targeted gene. Thereafter, consensus sequence of zebrafish abcb4 gene promoter was generated with the length of 1,392 bp which was close to its expected size during primer design (1,500 bp). Using MATCH tool, 155 TFBSs were found within zebrafish abcb4 gene promoter region. Activator protein 1 (AP-1) TFBS at 1,255 bp was chosen to be mutated through site-directed mutagenesis. Mutagenic primers (forward primer: 5’ GGG CAA GGC AGT ATA AAC GTG 3’ and reverse primer: 5’ TTA TGT TTC TAG GGA TTA CGT CAC 3’) were designed to substitute AGT with GGG to remove the AP-1 TFBS. By mutating the zebrafish abcb4 gene promoter, the MDR phenomenon driven by zebrafish abcb4 gene can be elucidated and this might provide clues to the development of tumor and malignancy in human. The results from this study may enrich the knowledge in chemotherapy and cancer treatments.
We investigated the foraging ecology of three species of babblers in Kampung Gumbang, Kampung Padang Pan and Dered Krian National Park, Bau. Vegetation in Kampung Gumbang include tall trees, shrubs and patches of kerangas. Dered Kerian National Park consists of mixed dipterocarp forest and limestone forest, which is surrounded by orchards and few villages. In Kampung Padang Pan, the vegetation is a mixed fruit orchard and secondary forest. Foraging data were obtained to compare foraging behaviour in three species. From 133 observations, suspended dead leaves was the most frequently used substrate by the three species. Stachyris maculate showed the most general foraging behavior, and it adopted probing strategy. Cyanoderma erythropterum and Mixnornis gularis obtained food items by gleaning. These three babblers utilize different foraging strategies and substrates, irrespective of their resemblances in other characteristics. C. erythropterum and S. maculate forage mainly among dead and curled, twisted leaves in understory vegetation at significantly different heights. M. gularis forages on dead and living leaves and this species can be found abundantly in disturbed forest and plantation or farm habitats. All the three areas were observed never lacked falling leaves and structural complexity required as foraging substrates by those three babbler species. All three babblers occupy different foraging niches, and therefore interspecific competitions among themselves are minimized.
The Energy Equivalence Rule (EER) is an unresolved issue in ecology. This rule states that the amount of energy used for each species in a population is independent of its body size. A study on the relationship between abundance and body size of bird assemblages was conducted in Western Sarawak. Abundance data of bird assemblages from seven selected sites in Western Sarawak were used to produce a regression line of log absolute species abundance versus log average body mass. Data from all selected sites were combined to represent bird assemblages in Western Sarawak and the slope produced was -0.216. The slopes obtained for each site were 0.808, -0.080, -0.258, -0.067, -0.161, -0.072 and -0.237, respectively. Statistical analysis shows that the slope of combined data did not differ significantly from -0.75, as expected under the EER. Thus, this study shows that the EER can be applied as a general rule of community structure of bird assemblages in Western Sarawak.
Education emancipates a society, and this is also true in Sarawak for where it has an important role in maintaining the core values of Sarawak Malay identity politics. Education, and how it is related to the political consciousness of the Sarawak Malay, shall be the main subject of this research. The purpose of this study is to analyse the role and importance of education in maintaining the core values in Sarawak Malays identity politics. This study was conducted through library research and other secondary sources as it tries to explore the elements of education and the social and political change of the Sarawak Malays. Education not only provided the access to social mobility and socio-political awareness of the Sarawak Malays, but it also enhanced the politics of identity of Sarawak Malays through the inculcation of values based on Islam and the local context of Malayness (Kemelayuaan).
Tourism is an economic activity that can contributes various impacts (both positive and negative) to local communities. This article presents the preliminary result of a research that was conducted in order to study the impacts of tourism at Lamin Dana on the lives of the local residents at Kampung Tellian Tengah, Mukah. The data for this study was collected using direct observation and interviews, which were conducted among the local residents of Kampung Tellian Tengah. The data were analysed qualitatively in order to identify the impacts from tourism activities at Lamin Dana. The preliminary results show that the impacts experienced by the local residents are in the aspects of economy, culture and life, and infrastructure and environment.
This paper focuses on the implications of a longhouse fire on its survivors. It also presents the assistance that survivors received during post-disaster and the implications on the social work practice. It draws on qualitative research based on in-depth interviews with survivors selected through purposive sampling. The data of the study were analysed based thematic analysis. The findings revealed that the survivors faced both short-term and long-term implications after the fire disaster. The assistance received was mainly focused on responding to the short-term implications and was less focused on long-term implications. In the scheme of things, these implications bear on the social work practices as well as on the conditions of the fire disaster survivors.