GAMBARAN SENSE OF HUMOR PADA MAHASISWA BARU YANG MERANTAU

Banyak mahasiswa baru setiap tahun melakukan perjalanan jauh dari daerah asal mereka untuk kuliah ke perguruan tinggi. Hal ini akan menimbulkan masalah dalam kehidupan mahasiswa yang merantau. Mahasiswa baru yang merantau dapat menggunakan humor sebagai mekanisme koping untuk membantu mereka melewati situasi sulit. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menggambarkan bagaimana sense of humor mahasiswa merantau berkembang dan berubah seiring waktu. Pendekatan kuantitatif dalam penelitian ini mempunyai orientasi deskriptif. Sebanyak 314 mahasiswa yang masuk disurvei secara isidental sampling. Skala yang digynkaan adalah Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale (MSHS). Pada peneitian ini ditemukan hasil bahwa mahasiswa baru yang merantau di Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang memiliki Sense of Humor yang tinggi. Artinya rata-rata mahasiswa baru yang merantau di Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang memiliki kemampuan merasakan sebuah humor atau Sense of Humor yang baik. sehingga, diharapkan dengan adanya Sense of Humor yang bagus dan efektif maka perilaku dalam bersosialisasi mahasiswa baru yang merantau di lingkungan yang baru lebih mudah dilakukan

Ancient DNA & stable isotope profiling of fossil eggshell

Eggshell is frequently encountered within palaeontological and archaeological deposits and due to various chemical and physical properties, it is highly valued as a substrate for geochronology, palaeodietary and palaeoecological applications. Despite the wellrecognised preservation of biomolecules in fossil eggshell, the substrate had never been evaluated for ancient DNA (aDNA) preservation. Herein, this thesis describes the first exploration involving the recovery and characterisation of aDNA from fossil eggshell. The primary aim of this thesis research is to explore eggshell aDNA and how genetic data, when combined with stable isotope profiles, provides new insights into hunting practices, zooarchaeology, palaeodiets, palaeobiology and extinction processes. The visualisation of fluorescently-stained DNA in fossil eggshell by confocal microscopy revealed that genetic material was present in the eggshell of the extinct New Zealand moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes) and Madagascan elephant bird (Aves: Aepyornithiformes). The immediate task was to determine how to go about characterising the aDNA encapsulated in this previously unrecognised substrate. Quantitative PCR assays were employed to thoroughly evaluate different methods to maximise the recovery and amplification of aDNA from powdered eggshell. This study resulted in the successful characterisation of both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA isolated from 19,000 year-old emu eggshell and the first ever DNA sequence from the elephant bird, Aepyornis. All data pointed toward fossil eggshell as a reliable source of relatively pure aDNA. This work culminated in a formal description of the methodology that should be employed to maximise recovery of aDNA from eggshell. Next, this thesis investigates whether eggshell aDNA could be applied to ‘first-contact’ archaeological sites in New Zealand, to gain new insights into the Moa-hunter period of prehistory. The abundance of moa eggshell within the ‘first-contact’ Polynesian archaeological sites is well recognised from previous excavations. With nine species of moa contained within the New Zealand archipelago however, the scientific value of these remains has been limited by the lack of definitive species assignments. Genetic species assignments of moa eggshell combined with morphological identification of bone (literature and museum catalogued specimens) has enabled the most comprehensive audit of zooarchaeology assemblages from several significant 13th-15th century AD deposits. In total, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was amplified from 251 of 323 (78 %) eggshell fragments and 22 of 27 (88 %) bone samples, and the analyses revealed the presence of four moa species: Anomalopteryx didiformis; Dinornis robustus; Emeus crassus; and Euryapteryx curtus. The mtDNA, together with highly polymorphic microsatellite markers, were used in combination to individualise eggshell fragments. These data revealed over 50 individual eggs from Wairau Bar – a number that likely represents a considerable proportion of the total reproductive output of moa in the area. This emphasises that human predation of all life stages of moa was intense. In addition, an excess of male bones at the Wairau Bar site (determined by molecular sexing) suggests that males might have been preferential targets, perhaps while incubating eggs. Lastly, moa eggshell genetics and stable isotope profiles were combined to examine the palaeodiets, palaeobiology, palaeoecology and the human mediated extinction of the moa. Organic (δ13Corg and δ15N) and carbonate (δ13Ccarb and δ18O) stable isotope profiles were analysed from 247 genetically identified eggshell fragments. The combination of ancient DNA and stable isotope profiles revealed moa consumed a diet consisting exclusively of C3 vegetation and occupied the varied landscape that surrounded the archaeological deposits. Given that moa were foraging in such diverse landscapes suggests that the first colonisers hunted these moa away from the homogenous landscapes immediately surrounding these archaeological sites and thus engaged in ‘central point foraging’. Discriminant functional analyses indicate moa eggshells can be assigned with good precision to their parent species based purely on their stable isotope profiles. In conclusion, this thesis research has revealed a ‘new’ aDNA substrate that has a number of useful applications in archaeology, palaeogenomics and palaeoecology. The research on New Zealand moa eggshell demonstrated, first-hand, how this substrate can provide valuable insights into the biology, ecology and extinction of a megafaunal species. It is hoped the research will have a lasting influence on eggshell discovered across the globe

Toward high-resolution population genomics using archaeological samples

The term ‘ancient DNA’ (aDNA) is coming of age, with over 1,200 hits in the PubMed database, beginning in the early 1980s with the studies of ‘molecular paleontology’. Rooted in cloning and limited sequencing of DNA from ancient remains during the pre-PCR era, the field has made incredible progress since the introduction of PCR and next-generation sequencing. Over the last decade, aDNA analysis ushered in a new era in genomics and became the method of choice for reconstructing the history of organisms, their biogeography, and migration routes, with applications in evolutionary biology, population genetics, archaeogenetics, paleoepidemiology, and many other areas. This change was brought by development of new strategies for coping with the challenges in studying aDNA due to damage and fragmentation, scarce samples, significant historical gaps, and limited applicability of population genetics methods. In this review, we describe the state-of-the-art achievements in aDNA studies, with particular focus on human evolution and demographic history. We present the current experimental and theoretical procedures for handling and analysing highly degraded aDNA. We also review the challenges in the rapidly growing field of ancient epigenomics. Advancement of aDNA tools and methods signifies a new era in population genetics and evolutionary medicine research

Sharq al-Adna: British Covert Radio and the Development of Arab Broadcasting

Sharq al-Adna or the Near East Arab Broadcasting Station was a covert, British radio station which broadcast in Arabic from 1941 to 1956, at first from Palestine before moving to Cyprus in 1948, where it posed as a commercial station but was in reality controlled by British Special Intelligence Services until it was commandeered by the military at the time of Suez. In the intervening fifteen years, its mainly Arab staff, loosely supervised by a small number of British personnel broadcast a mixture of music, drama, discussion, educational and religious material, together with a subtle British slant to its news output. Based on archival sources including the memoirs of some of those involved some material originally published in Arabic, this article assesses the station’s contribution to British propaganda efforts in the Middle East and to the development of Arab broadcasting

Ancient DNA: genomic amplification of Roman and medieval bovine bones.

Cattle remains (bones and teeth) of both roman and medieval age were collected in the archaeological site of Ferento (Viterbo, Italy) with the aim of extracting and characterising nucleic acids. Procedures to minimize contamination with modern DNA and to help ancient DNA (aDNA) preservation of the archaeological remains were adopted. Different techniques to extract aDNA (like Phenol/chloroform extraction) from bovine bones were tested to identify the method that applies to the peculiar characteristics of the study site. Currently, aDNA investigation is mainly based on mtDNA, due to the ease of amplification of the small and high-copied genome and to its usefulness in evolutionary studies. Preliminary amplification of both mitochondrial and nuclear aDNA fragments from samples of Roman and medieval animals were performed and partial specific sequences of mitochondrial D-loop as well as of nuclear genes were obtained. The innovative amplification of nuclear aDNA could enable the analysis of genes involved in specific animal traits, giving insights of ancient economic and cultural uses, as well as providing information on the origin of modern livestock population

Yersinia pestis DNA from Skeletal Remains from the 6(th) Century AD Reveals Insights into Justinianic Plague.

Yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of the disease plague, has been implicated in three historical pandemics. These include the third pandemic of the 19(th) and 20(th) centuries, during which plague was spread around the world, and the second pandemic of the 14(th)-17(th) centuries, which included the infamous epidemic known as the Black Death. Previous studies have confirmed that Y. pestis caused these two more recent pandemics. However, a highly spirited debate still continues as to whether Y. pestis caused the so-called Justinianic Plague of the 6(th)-8(th) centuries AD. By analyzing ancient DNA in two independent ancient DNA laboratories, we confirmed unambiguously the presence of Y. pestis DNA in human skeletal remains from an Early Medieval cemetery. In addition, we narrowed the phylogenetic position of the responsible strain down to major branch 0 on the Y. pestis phylogeny, specifically between nodes N03 and N05. Our findings confirm that Y. pestis was responsible for the Justinianic Plague, which should end the controversy regarding the etiology of this pandemic. The first genotype of a Y. pestis strain that caused the Late Antique plague provides important information about the history of the plague bacillus and suggests that the first pandemic also originated in Asia, similar to the other two plague pandemics

Mitochondrial DNA analysis of eneolithic trypillians from Ukraine reveals neolithic farming genetic roots

The agricultural revolution in Eastern Europe began in the Eneolithic with the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture complex. In Ukraine, the Trypillian culture (TC) existed for over two millennia (ca. 5,400–2,700 BCE) and left a wealth of artifacts. Yet, their burial rituals remain a mystery and to date almost nothing is known about the genetic composition of the TC population. One of the very few TC sites where human remains can be found is a cave called Verteba in western Ukraine. This report presents four partial and four complete mitochondrial genomes from nine TC individuals uncovered in the cave. The results of this analysis, combined with the data from previous reports, indicate that the Trypillian population at Verteba carried, for the most part, a typical Neolithic farmer package of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages traced to Anatolian farmers and Neolithic farming groups of central Europe. At the same time, the find of two specimens belonging to haplogroup U8b1 at Verteba can be viewed as a connection of TC with the Upper Paleolithic European populations. At the level of mtDNA haplogroup frequencies, the TC population from Verteba demonstrates a close genetic relationship with population groups of the Funnel Beaker/ Trichterbecker cultural complex from central and northern Europe (ca. 3,950–2,500 BCE)

Thorium Energy Futures

The potential for thorium as an alternative or supplement to uranium in fission power generation has long been recognised, and several reactors, of various types, have already operated using thorium-based fuels. Accelerator Driven Subcritical (ADS) systems have benefits and drawbacks when compared to conventional critical thorium reactors, for both solid and molten salt fuels. None of the four options – liquid or solid, with or without an accelerator – can yet be rated as better or worse than the other three, given today's knowledge. We outline the research that will be necessary to lead to an informed choice