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Fulltext Biosynthesis and characterization of polyhydroxyalkanoates copolymers produced by Pseudomonas putida Bet001 isolated from palm oil mill effluent

Gumel AM, Annuar MS, Heidelberg T

PLoS One, 2012;7(9):e45214.
PMID: 23028854 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045214

The biosynthesis and characterization of medium chain length poly-3-hydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHA) produced by Pseudomonas putida Bet001 isolated from palm oil mill effluent was studied. The biosynthesis of mcl-PHA in this newly isolated microorganism follows a growth-associated trend. Mcl-PHA accumulation ranging from 49.7 to 68.9% on cell dry weight (CDW) basis were observed when fatty acids ranging from octanoic acid (C(8:0)) to oleic acid (C(18:1)) were used as sole carbon and energy source. Molecular weight of the polymer was found to be ranging from 55.7 to 77.7 kDa. Depending on the type of fatty acid used, the (1)H NMR and GCMSMS analyses of the chiral polymer showed a composition of even and odd carbon atom chain with monomer length of C4 to C14 with C8 and C10 as the principal monomers. No unsaturated monomer was detected. Thermo-chemical analyses showed the accumulated PHA to be semi-crystalline polymer with good thermal stability, having a thermal degradation temperature (T(d)) of 264.6 to 318.8 (± 0.2) (o)C, melting temperature (T(m)) of 43. (± 0.2) (o)C, glass transition temperature (T(g)) of -1.0 (± 0.2) (o)C and apparent melting enthalpy of fusion (ΔH(f)) of 100.9 (± 0.1) J g(-1).
Fulltext Absence of antiretroviral therapy and other risk factors for morbidity and mortality in Malaysian compulsory drug detention and rehabilitation centers

Fu JJ, Bazazi AR, Altice FL, Mohamed MN, Kamarulzaman A

PLoS One, 2012;7(9):e44249.
PMID: 23028508 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044249

Throughout Asia, people who use drugs are confined in facilities referred to as compulsory drug detention and rehabilitation centers. The limited transparency and accessibility of these centers has posed a significant challenge to evaluating detainees and detention conditions directly. Despite HIV being highly prevalent in this type of confined setting, direct evaluation of detainees with HIV and their access to medical care has yet to be reported in the literature.
Fulltext Ethnic differences in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome: results from a multi-ethnic population-based survey in Malaysia

Rampal S, Mahadeva S, Guallar E, Bulgiba A, Mohamed R, Rahmat R, et al.

PLoS One, 2012;7(9):e46365.
PMID: 23029497 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046365

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome is increasing disproportionately among the different ethnicities in Asia compared to the rest of the world. This study aims to determine the differences in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome across ethnicities in Malaysia, a multi-ethnic country.
Fulltext Does the axillary lymph node ratio have any added prognostic value over pN staging for South East Asian breast cancer patients?

Saxena N, Hartman M, Yip CH, Bhoo-Pathy N, Khin LW, Taib NA, et al.

PLoS One, 2012;7(9):e45809.
PMID: 23029254 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045809

Lymph node ratio (LNR, i.e. the ratio of the number of positive nodes to the total number of nodes excised) is reported to be superior to the absolute number of nodes involved (pN stage) in classifying patients at high versus low risk of death following breast cancer. The added prognostic value of LNR over pN in addition to other prognostic factors has never been assessed.
Fulltext IGF2BP2 alternative variants associated with glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies negative diabetes in Malaysian subjects

Salem SD, Saif-Ali R, Ismail IS, Al-Hamodi Z, Poh R, Muniandy S

PLoS One, 2012;7(9):e45573.
PMID: 23029108 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045573

The association of Insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 2 (IGF2BP2) common variants (rs4402960 and rs1470579) with type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been performed in different populations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of alternative variants of IGF2BP2; rs6777038, rs16860234 and rs7651090 with glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies (GADA) negative diabetes in Malaysian Subjects.
Fulltext A replication study confirms the association of dendritic cell immunoreceptor (DCIR) polymorphisms with ACPA - negative RA in a large Asian cohort

Guo J, Wu X, Too CL, Yin F, Lu X, He J, et al.

PLoS One, 2012;7(7):e41228.
PMID: 22829930 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041228

OBJECTIVES: Dendritic cell immunoreceptor (DCIR) has been implicated in development of autoimmune disorders in rodent and DCIR polymorphisms were associated with anti-citrullinated proteins antibodies (ACPA)-negative rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Swedish Caucasians. This study was undertaken to further investigate whether DCIR polymorphisms are also risk factors for the development of RA in four Asian populations originated from China and Malaysia.

METHODS: We genotyped two DCIR SNPs rs2377422 and rs10840759 in Han Chinese population (1,193 cases, 1,278 controls), to assess their association with RA. Subsequently, rs2377422 was further genotyped in three independent cohorts of Malaysian-Chinese subjects (MY_Chinese, 254 cases, 206 controls), Malay subjects (MY_ Malay, 515 cases, 986 controls), and Malaysian-Indian subjects (MY_Indian, 378 cases, 285 controls), to seek confirmation of association in various ethnic groups. Meta-analysis was preformed to evaluate the contribution of rs2377422 polymorphisms to the development of ACPA-negative RA in distinct ethnic groups. Finally, we carried out association analysis of rs2377422 polymorphisms with DCIR mRNA expression levels.

RESULTS: DCIR rs2377422 was found to be significantly associated with ACPA -negative RA in Han Chinese (OR 1.92, 95% CI 1.27-2.90, P=0.0020). Meta-analysis confirms DCIR rs2377422 as a risk factor for ACPA-negative RA across distinct ethnic groups (OR(overall) =1.17, 95% CI 1.06-1.30, P=0.003). The SNP rs2377422 polymorphism showed significant association with DCIR mRNA expression level, i.e. RA-risk CC genotype exhibit a significant increase in the expression of DCIR (P=0.0023, Kruskal-Wallis).

CONCLUSIONS: Our data provide evidence for association between DCIR rs2377422 and RA in non-Caucasian populations and confirm the influence of DCIR polymorphisms on RA susceptibility, especially on ACPA-negative RA.
Fulltext Revision of Gangesia (Cestoda: Proteocephalidea) in the Indomalayan region: morphology, molecules and surface ultrastructure

Ash A, Scholz T, de Chambrier A, Brabec J, Oros M, Kar PK, et al.

PLoS One, 2012;7(10):e46421.
PMID: 23056306 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046421

Tapeworms of Gangesia Woodland, 1924 (Cestoda: Proteocephalidea) parasitic in freshwater fishes in the Indomalayan Region were critically reviewed. Evaluation of type specimens and newly collected materials from Bangladesh, Cambodia and India, as well as critical examination of extensive literature have shown that only the following four species, instead of 48 nominal species of Gangesia and Silurotaenia Nybelin, 1942 reported from this region (36 new synonymies proposed), are valid: Gangesia bengalensis (Southwell, 1913), type-species of the genus and most common parasite of Wallago attu (Siluridae), G. macrones Woodland, 1924 typical of Sperata seenghala (Bagridae), both species characterized by the possession of two circles of hooks on the rostellum-like organ and several rows of hooklets on the anterior margins of suckers; G. agraensis Verma, 1928 from W. attu (typical host), which has the scolex with only one circle of hooks and 1-3 incomplete rows of tiny hooklets on the suckers; and G. vachai (Gupta and Parmar, 1988) n. comb. from several catfishes, which possesses 4-6 circles of hooks and 5-11 rows of hooklets on the anterior half of suckers. Scolex morphology, including surface ultrastructure (microtriches), of all but one species (G. vachai) is described for the first time using scanning electron microscopy. A phylogenetic analysis based on the partial sequences encoding the large nuclear ribosomal subunit RNA gene has shown that three Indomalayan species, namely G. bengalensis, G. macrones and G. vachai, form a monophyletic group within Gangesia, whereas G. agraensis tends to form a clade with the Palaearctic species of the genus. A table with differential characters of all species from the Indomalayan Region is also provided together with a key to identification of genera of the subfamily Gangesiinae. The present study demonstrates that species of Silurotaenia do not occur in the Indomalayan region.
Fulltext Development of multicellular tumor spheroid (MCTS) culture from breast cancer cell and a high throughput screening method using the MTT assay

Ho WY, Yeap SK, Ho CL, Rahim RA, Alitheen NB

PLoS One, 2012;7(9):e44640.
PMID: 22970274 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044640

In comparison to monolayer cells, MCTS has been claimed as more suitable candidate for studying drug penetration due to the high resemblance to solid tumors. However, the cultivation of MCTS is cumbersome, time consuming, and most technique fail to generate spheroids with uniform sizes. Therefore, the application of spheroid cultures in high throughput screening has been rather limiting. Besides, the lack of a well established screening protocol method that is applicable to spheroid could also be attributed to this limitation. Here we report a simple way of cultivating homogenous MCTS cultures with compact and rigid structure from the MCF-7 cells. Besides, we had also made some modifications to the standard MTT assay to realize high throughput screening of these spheroids. Using the modified protocol, tamoxifen showed cytotoxicity effect towards MCTS cultures from MCF-7 with high consistency. The results correlated well with the cultures' response assessed by LDH release assay but the latter assay was not ideal for detecting a wide range of cytotoxicity due to high basal background reading. The MTT assay emerged as a better indicator to apoptosis event in comparison to the LDH release assay. Therefore, the method for spheroid generation and the modified MTT assay we reported here could be potentially applied to high throughput screening for response of spheroid cultures generated from MCF-7 as well as other cancer cell lines towards cytotoxic stimuli.
Fulltext The effect of environmental conditions on biofilm formation of Burkholderia pseudomallei clinical isolates

Ramli NS, Eng Guan C, Nathan S, Vadivelu J

PLoS One, 2012;7(9):e44104.
PMID: 22970167 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044104

Burkholderia pseudomallei, a Gram-negative saprophytic bacterium, is the causative agent of the potentially fatal melioidosis disease in humans. In this study, environmental parameters including temperature, nutrient content, pH and the presence of glucose were shown to play a role in in vitro biofilm formation by 28 B. pseudomallei clinical isolates, including four isolates with large colony variants (LCVs) and small colony variants (SCVs) morphotypes. Enhanced biofilm formation was observed when the isolates were tested in LB medium, at 30 °C, at pH 7.2, and in the presence of as little as 2 mM glucose respectively. It was also shown that all SVCs displayed significantly greater capacity to form biofilms than the corresponding LCVs when cultured in LB at 37 °C. In addition, octanoyl-homoserine lactone (C(8)-HSL), a quorum sensing molecule, was identified by mass spectrometry analysis in bacterial isolates referred to as LCV CTH, LCV VIT, SCV TOM, SCV CTH, 1 and 3, and the presence of other AHL's with higher masses; decanoyl-homoserine lactone (C(10)-HSL) and dodecanoyl-homoserine lactone (C(12)-HSL) were also found in all tested strain in this study. Last but not least, we had successfully acquired two Bacillus sp. soil isolates, termed KW and SA respectively, which possessed strong AHLs degradation activity. Biofilm formation of B. pseudomallei isolates was significantly decreased after treated with culture supernatants of KW and SA strains, demonstrating that AHLs may play a role in B. pseudomallei biofilm formation.
Fulltext Long-term field data and climate-habitat models show that orangutan persistence depends on effective forest management and greenhouse gas mitigation

Gregory SD, Brook BW, Goossens B, Ancrenaz M, Alfred R, Ambu LN, et al.

PLoS One, 2012;7(9):e43846.
PMID: 22970145 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0043846

Southeast Asian deforestation rates are among the world's highest and threaten to drive many forest-dependent species to extinction. Climate change is expected to interact with deforestation to amplify this risk. Here we examine whether regional incentives for sustainable forest management will be effective in improving threatened mammal conservation, in isolation and when combined with global climate change mitigation.
Fulltext Open field release of genetically engineered sterile male Aedes aegypti in Malaysia

Lacroix R, McKemey AR, Raduan N, Kwee Wee L, Hong Ming W, Guat Ney T, et al.

PLoS One, 2012;7(8):e42771.
PMID: 22970102 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0042771

Dengue is the most important mosquito-borne viral disease. In the absence of specific drugs or vaccines, control focuses on suppressing the principal mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti, yet current methods have not proven adequate to control the disease. New methods are therefore urgently needed, for example genetics-based sterile-male-release methods. However, this requires that lab-reared, modified mosquitoes be able to survive and disperse adequately in the field.
Fulltext Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) mediate large-scale edge effects in a lowland tropical rainforest in Peninsular Malaysia

Fujinuma J, Harrison RD

PLoS One, 2012;7(5):e37321.
PMID: 22615977 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0037321

Edge-effects greatly extend the area of tropical forests degraded through human activities. At Pasoh, Peninsular Malaysia, it has been suggested that soil disturbance by highly abundant wild pigs (Sus scrofa), which feed in adjacent Oil Palm plantations, may have mediated the invasion of Clidemia hirta (Melastomataceae) into the diverse tropical lowland rain forest. To investigate this hypothesis, we established three 1 km transects from the forest/Oil Palm plantation boundary into the forest interior. We recorded the distribution of soil disturbance by wild pigs, C. hirta abundance, and environmental variables. These data were analyzed using a hierarchical Bayesian model that incorporated spatial auto-correlation in the environmental variables. As predicted, soil disturbance by wild pigs declined with distance from forest edge and C. hirta abundance was correlated with the level of soil disturbance. Importantly there was no effect of distance on C. hirta abundance, after controlling for the effect of soil disturbance. Clidemia hirta abundance was also correlated with the presence of canopy openings, but there was no significant association between the occurrence of canopy openings and distance from the edge. Increased levels of soil disturbance and C. hirta abundance were still detectable approximately 1 km from the edge, demonstrating the potential for exceptionally large-scale animal mediated edge effects.
Fulltext Distinct genetic lineages of Bactrocera caudata (Insecta: Tephritidae) revealed by COI and 16S DNA sequences

Lim PE, Tan J, Suana IW, Eamsobhana P, Yong HS

PLoS One, 2012;7(5):e37276.
PMID: 22615962 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0037276

The fruit fly Bactrocera caudata is a pest species of economic importance in Asia. Its larvae feed on the flowers of Cucurbitaceae such as Cucurbita moschata. To-date it is distinguished from related species based on morphological characters. Specimens of B. caudata from Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia (Bali and Lombok) were analysed using the partial DNA sequences of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and 16S rRNA genes. Both gene sequences revealed that B. caudata from Peninsular Malaysia was distinctly different from B. caudata of Bali and Lombok, without common haplotype between them. Phylogenetic analysis revealed two distinct clades, indicating distinct genetic lineage. The uncorrected 'p' distance for COI sequences between B. caudata of Malaysia-Thailand-China and B. caudata of Bali-Lombok was 5.65%, for 16S sequences from 2.76 to 2.99%, and for combined COI and 16S sequences 4.45 to 4.46%. The 'p' values are distinctly different from intraspecific 'p' distance (0-0.23%). Both the B. caudata lineages are distinctly separated from related species in the subgenus Zeugodacus - B. ascita, B. scutellata, B. ishigakiensis, B. diaphora, B. tau, B. cucurbitae, and B. depressa. Molecular phylogenetic analysis indicates that the B. caudata lineages are closely related to B. ascita sp. B, and form a clade with B. scutellata, B. ishigakiensis, B. diaphora and B. ascita sp. A. This study provides additional baseline for the phylogenetic relationships of Bactrocera fruit flies of the subgenus Zeugodacus. Both the COI and 16S genes could be useful markers for the molecular differentiation and phylogenetic analysis of tephritid fruit flies.
Fulltext Inhibition of enterovirus 71 (EV-71) infections by a novel antiviral peptide derived from EV-71 capsid protein VP1

Tan CW, Chan YF, Sim KM, Tan EL, Poh CL

PLoS One, 2012;7(5):e34589.
PMID: 22563456 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0034589

Enterovirus 71 (EV-71) is the main causative agent of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). In recent years, EV-71 infections were reported to cause high fatalities and severe neurological complications in Asia. Currently, no effective antiviral or vaccine is available to treat or prevent EV-71 infection. In this study, we have discovered a synthetic peptide which could be developed as a potential antiviral for inhibition of EV-71. Ninety five synthetic peptides (15-mers) overlapping the entire EV-71 capsid protein, VP1, were chemically synthesized and tested for antiviral properties against EV-71 in human Rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) cells. One peptide, SP40, was found to significantly reduce cytopathic effects of all representative EV-71 strains from genotypes A, B and C tested, with IC(50) values ranging from 6-9.3 µM in RD cells. The in vitro inhibitory effect of SP40 exhibited a dose dependent concentration corresponding to a decrease in infectious viral particles, total viral RNA and the levels of VP1 protein. The antiviral activity of SP40 peptide was not restricted to a specific cell line as inhibition of EV-71 was observed in RD, HeLa, HT-29 and Vero cells. Besides inhibition of EV-71, it also had antiviral activities against CV-A16 and poliovirus type 1 in cell culture. Mechanism of action studies suggested that the SP40 peptide was not virucidal but was able to block viral attachment to the RD cells. Substitutions of arginine and lysine residues with alanine in the SP40 peptide at positions R3A, R4A, K5A and R13A were found to significantly decrease antiviral activities, implying the importance of positively charged amino acids for the antiviral activities. The data demonstrated the potential and feasibility of SP40 as a broad spectrum antiviral agent against EV-71.
Fulltext De novo assembly, characterization and functional annotation of pineapple fruit transcriptome through massively parallel sequencing

Ong WD, Voo LY, Kumar VS

PLoS One, 2012;7(10):e46937.
PMID: 23091603 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0046937

BACKGROUND: Pineapple (Ananas comosus var. comosus), is an important tropical non-climacteric fruit with high commercial potential. Understanding the mechanism and processes underlying fruit ripening would enable scientists to enhance the improvement of quality traits such as, flavor, texture, appearance and fruit sweetness. Although, the pineapple is an important fruit, there is insufficient transcriptomic or genomic information that is available in public databases. Application of high throughput transcriptome sequencing to profile the pineapple fruit transcripts is therefore needed.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To facilitate this, we have performed transcriptome sequencing of ripe yellow pineapple fruit flesh using Illumina technology. About 4.7 millions Illumina paired-end reads were generated and assembled using the Velvet de novo assembler. The assembly produced 28,728 unique transcripts with a mean length of approximately 200 bp. Sequence similarity search against non-redundant NCBI database identified a total of 16,932 unique transcripts (58.93%) with significant hits. Out of these, 15,507 unique transcripts were assigned to gene ontology terms. Functional annotation against Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway database identified 13,598 unique transcripts (47.33%) which were mapped to 126 pathways. The assembly revealed many transcripts that were previously unknown.
CONCLUSIONS: The unique transcripts derived from this work have rapidly increased of the number of the pineapple fruit mRNA transcripts as it is now available in public databases. This information can be further utilized in gene expression, genomics and other functional genomics studies in pineapple.
Fulltext A Cobb Douglas stochastic frontier model on measuring domestic bank efficiency in Malaysia

Hasan MZ, Kamil AA, Mustafa A, Baten MA

PLoS One, 2012;7(8):e42215.
PMID: 22900009 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0042215

Banking system plays an important role in the economic development of any country. Domestic banks, which are the main components of the banking system, have to be efficient; otherwise, they may create obstacle in the process of development in any economy. This study examines the technical efficiency of the Malaysian domestic banks listed in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) market over the period 2005-2010. A parametric approach, Stochastic Frontier Approach (SFA), is used in this analysis. The findings show that Malaysian domestic banks have exhibited an average overall efficiency of 94 percent, implying that sample banks have wasted an average of 6 percent of their inputs. Among the banks, RHBCAP is found to be highly efficient with a score of 0.986 and PBBANK is noted to have the lowest efficiency with a score of 0.918. The results also show that the level of efficiency has increased during the period of study, and that the technical efficiency effect has fluctuated considerably over time.
Fulltext Home range and ranging behaviour of Bornean elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) females

Alfred R, Ahmad AH, Payne J, Williams C, Ambu LN, How PM, et al.

PLoS One, 2012;7(2):e31400.
PMID: 22347469 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031400

Home range is defined as the extent and location of the area covered annually by a wild animal in its natural habitat. Studies of African and Indian elephants in landscapes of largely open habitats have indicated that the sizes of the home range are determined not only by the food supplies and seasonal changes, but also by numerous other factors including availability of water sources, habitat loss and the existence of man-made barriers. The home range size for the Bornean elephant had never been investigated before.
Fulltext High diversity of Cryptosporidium subgenotypes identified in Malaysian HIV/AIDS individuals targeting gp60 gene

Iqbal A, Lim YA, Surin J, Sim BL

PLoS One, 2012;7(2):e31139.
PMID: 22347442 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031139

Currently, there is a lack of vital information in the genetic makeup of Cryptosporidium especially in developing countries. The present study aimed at determining the genotypes and subgenotypes of Cryptosporidium in hospitalized Malaysian human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patients.
Fulltext Carbon stocks and fluxes in tropical lowland dipterocarp rainforests in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

Saner P, Loh YY, Ong RC, Hector A

PLoS One, 2012;7(1):e29642.
PMID: 22235319 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029642

Deforestation in the tropics is an important source of carbon C release to the atmosphere. To provide a sound scientific base for efforts taken to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) good estimates of C stocks and fluxes are important. We present components of the C balance for selectively logged lowland tropical dipterocarp rainforest in the Malua Forest Reserve of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Total organic C in this area was 167.9 Mg C ha⁻¹±3.8 (SD), including: Total aboveground (TAGC: 55%; 91.9 Mg C ha⁻¹±2.9 SEM) and belowground carbon in trees (TBGC: 10%; 16.5 Mg C ha⁻¹±0.5 SEM), deadwood (8%; 13.2 Mg C ha⁻¹±3.5 SEM) and soil organic matter (SOM: 24%; 39.6 Mg C ha⁻¹±0.9 SEM), understory vegetation (3%; 5.1 Mg C ha⁻¹±1.7 SEM), standing litter (<1%; 0.7 Mg C ha⁻¹±0.1 SEM) and fine root biomass (<1%; 0.9 Mg C ha⁻¹±0.1 SEM). Fluxes included litterfall, a proxy for leaf net primary productivity (4.9 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹±0.1 SEM), and soil respiration, a measure for heterotrophic ecosystem respiration (28.6 Mg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹±1.2 SEM). The missing estimates necessary to close the C balance are wood net primary productivity and autotrophic respiration.Twenty-two years after logging TAGC stocks were 28% lower compared to unlogged forest (128 Mg C ha⁻¹±13.4 SEM); a combined weighted average mean reduction due to selective logging of -57.8 Mg C ha⁻¹ (with 95% CI -75.5 to -40.2). Based on the findings we conclude that selective logging decreased the dipterocarp stock by 55-66%. Silvicultural treatments may have the potential to accelerate the recovery of dipterocarp C stocks to pre-logging levels.
Fulltext You look familiar: how Malaysian Chinese recognize faces

Tan CB, Stephen ID, Whitehead R, Sheppard E

PLoS One, 2012;7(1):e29714.
PMID: 22253762 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029714

East Asian and white Western observers employ different eye movement strategies for a variety of visual processing tasks, including face processing. Recent eye tracking studies on face recognition found that East Asians tend to integrate information holistically by focusing on the nose while white Westerners perceive faces featurally by moving between the eyes and mouth. The current study examines the eye movement strategy that Malaysian Chinese participants employ when recognizing East Asian, white Western, and African faces. Rather than adopting the Eastern or Western fixation pattern, Malaysian Chinese participants use a mixed strategy by focusing on the eyes and nose more than the mouth. The combination of Eastern and Western strategies proved advantageous in participants' ability to recognize East Asian and white Western faces, suggesting that individuals learn to use fixation patterns that are optimized for recognizing the faces with which they are more familiar.

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