The Importance of Learning Islamic History and Civilization of Malaysia in the Building of Human Capital and Identity of the Muslim Society in Malaysia

AbstractThe purpose of this research is to study the importance of learning Islamic History and Civilization in Malaysia for human capital building and identification of the muslim society in Malaysia. Its aim is to clarify the importance of this course, specifically at the Department of Arabic Studies and Islamic Civilization, and the need to produce graduates who are conversant in this field in order that they may utilise it in their lives regardless of whichever field they venture into. This study uses the library research method by analysis and evaluation with an argumentative as well as narrative approach. The results of study finds that knowledge and conversance in this field is integral in the formation of human capital and identity of the muslim society in Malaysia. Knowledge and conversance in this field would enable Malays to know the ‘true’ history of the muslim ummah in Malaysia. This knowledge is crucial to help them form and build a Malay-muslim generation in Malaysia, strongly attached to Malay traditions which have once brought the muslims to the pinnacle of success

Comparative transcriptomics of genetically divergent lines of chickens in response to Marek’s disease virus challenge at cytolytic phase

<div><p>Marek’s disease (MD), caused by Marek’s disease virus (MDV), remains an economically significant threat to the poultry industry worldwide. Genetic resistance to MD is a promising alternative strategy to augment current control measures (vaccination and management). However, only a few functional genes reportedly conferring MD resistance have been identified. Here, we performed a comparative transcriptomics analysis of two highly inbred yet genetically divergent lines of chickens (line 6₃ and 7₂) that are resistant and susceptible to MD, respectively, in response to a very virulent plus strain of MDV (vv+MDV) challenge at cytolytic phase. A total of 203 DEGs in response to MDV challenge were identified in the two lines. Of these, 96 DEGs were in common for both lines, in addition to 36 and 71 DEGs that were specific for line 6₃ and 7₂, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis results showed the DEGs were significantly enriched in GO terms and pathways associated with immune response. Especially, the four DEGs, <i>FGA</i>, <i>ALB</i>, <i>FN1</i>, and <i>F13A1</i> that reportedly facilitate virus invasion or immunosuppression, were found to be significantly up-regulated in the susceptible line 7₂ but down-regulated in the resistant line 6₃ birds. These results provide new resources for future studies to further elucidate the genetic mechanism conferring MD resistance.</p></div

Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of line 6₃ and 7₂ chickens in response to MDV challenge.

<p>(A) Depicted different number of DEGs identified in each of the lines. (B) Venn diagram of DEGs between the lines 6₃ and 7₂. (C) Top ten gene ontology (GO) terms and significant pathways with wihch the common DEGs are associated; BP: biological process. KE: KEGG pathway. (D) Significant GO term of line 6₃-specific DEGs. (E) Significant GO and pathway terms of line 7₂-specific DEGs. (F) Heatmap showing the top DEGs that were very different in expression between the lines 6₃ and 7₂ in response to MDV challenge. The color bar represents the log2 Fold Change (FC) in response to MDV challenge (the FC value for <i>CATHB1</i> in line 7₂ bar was “Inf” and was arbitrarily set to 7 in the chart).</p

Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the two lines.

<p>(A) Summary of the number of DEGs between the two lines for each treatment. (B) Venn diagram showing the number of up-regulated DEGs in line 6₃ relative to line 7₂ for different treatments. (C) Venn diagram of number of up-regulated DEGs in line 7₂ relative to line 6₃ for different treatments. (D) Significant GO terms of DEGs between the two lines in control birds. BP: biological process. KE: KEGG pathway. (E) Significant GO terms of DEGs between the two lines in MDV-infected birds BP: biological process.</p

Genomic distribution of signatures of selection identified in comparison of DHP and WZSP.

<p>Red dots represent significant sites (<i>F_ST</i>≥0.450, and <i>P_E</i>≤0.01, data not shown) within selected regions containing adaptive genes.</p

Functional enrichment analysis of genes within the selected regions identified in comparison of TBP and WZSP.

<p>Notes: GO term, subcategory of biological process.</p><p>Functional enrichment analysis of genes within the selected regions identified in comparison of TBP and WZSP.</p

Genomic Scan Reveals Loci under Altitude Adaptation in Tibetan and Dahe Pigs

<div><p>High altitude environments are of particular interest in the studies of local adaptation as well as their implications in physiology and clinical medicine in human. Some Chinese pig breeds, such as Tibetan pig (TBP) that is well adapted to the high altitude and Dahe pig (DHP) that dwells at the moderate altitude, provide ideal materials to study local adaptation to altitudes. Yet, it is still short of in-depth analysis and understanding of the genetic adaptation to high altitude in the two pig populations. In this study we conducted a genomic scan for selective sweeps using <i>F_ST</i> to identify genes showing evidence of local adaptations in TBP and DHP, with Wuzhishan pig (WZSP) as the low-altitude reference. Totally, we identified 12 specific selective genes (<i>CCBE1, F2RL1, AGGF1, ZFPM2, IL2, FGF5, PLA2G4A, ADAMTS9, NRBF2, JMJD1C</i>, <i>VEGFC</i> and <i>ADAM19</i>) for TBP and six (<i>OGG1</i>, <i>FOXM</i>, <i>FLT3</i>, <i>RTEL1</i>, <i>CRELD1</i> and <i>RHOG</i>) for DHP. In addition, six selective genes (<i>VPS13A</i>, <i>GNA14, GDAP1, PARP8, FGF10 and ADAMTS16</i>) were shared by the two pig breeds. Among these selective genes, three (<i>VEGFC</i>, <i>FGF10</i> and <i>ADAMTS9</i>) were previously reported to be linked to the local adaptation to high altitudes in pigs, while many others were newly identified by this study. Further bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that majority of these selective signatures have some biological functions relevant to the altitude adaptation, for examples, response to hypoxia, development of blood vessels, DNA repair and several hematological involvements. These results suggest that the local adaptation to high altitude environments is sophisticated, involving numerous genes and multiple biological processes, and the shared selective signatures by the two pig breeds may provide an effective avenue to identify the common adaptive mechanisms to different altitudes.</p></div

Genomic <i>F_ST</i> distribution of selective signatures identified in comparison of TBP and WZSP.

<p>Red dots represent significant sites (<i>F_ST</i>≥0.362, and <i>P_E</i>≤0.01, data not shown) within selected regions containing adaptive genes.</p

Functional enrichment analysis of genes within selected regions identified in comparison of DHP and WZSP.

<p>Notes: GO term, subcategory of biological process.</p><p>Functional enrichment analysis of genes within selected regions identified in comparison of DHP and WZSP.</p

Principle component analysis of TBP, DHP and WZSP individuals.

<p>TBP, Tibetan pig; DHP, Dahe pig; WZSP, Wuzhishan pig.</p