Decision to enroll in post-graduate education: What are the predictors?

The objective of the study was to predict students’ decision to enroll for a doctoral program at the Faculty of Educational Studies. A discriminant analysis was conducted to investigate the predictors that influence a student’s decision to enroll for a doctoral program. The predictors investigated were job factors, personal factors, program factors, social factors, satisfaction, and academic performance. The overall Wilk’s Lambda was significant, Λ = 0.87, Chi-Square (6, n = 117) = 15.99, p = 0.014. This indicated that the predictors were significantly different among groups of student who plan to enroll for a doctoral program (Group 1) and those who do not (Group 2). Of the total 117 students, 90 (76%) were classified correctly

The Effect of Gamma Radiation on Plant Morphological Characteristics of Zingiber officinale Roscoe

Induced mutation through gamma irradiation can cause changes in chromosome and genome which bring to successful variation in morphology of plant.  The study was carried out to investigate the effect of gamma radiation on mutation frequency and plant morphology of Zingiber officinale Roscoe. The ginger rhizomes of Bentong and Tanjung Sepat cultivars were treated with gamma rays at six different dosages (5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15 Gray). The gamma ray was emitted from the Caesium-137 source at the rate of 4.31 Gy per minute at Malaysian Nuclear Agency irradiator facility. Different mutation frequencies and wide of mutation spectrum were observed in all treatments.  The spectrums of mutant characters observed were stunted growth, plant stature, leaf deformation and chlorophyll mutation. The results show that mutation frequency in both varieties was higher at 5 and 7 Gy when compared to other doses. Therefore, the results proved that different doses of mutagen caused different effects on plant

Effect of selected plant growth regulators and abiotic factors on micropropagation of plantlets from shoot bud cultures of boesenbergia rotunda (l.) mansf; a valuable medicinal plants. / Dr. Nor Azma Yusuf, Dr. Shamsiah Abdullah and Dr. Asmah Awal

Boesenbergia rotunda is a herbaceous plant belonging to family Zingiberaceae and the pharmacological importance of this plant is mainly due to the presence of flavanoids, essential oil and chalcones (Jaipetch et al., 1982; Pandji et al., 1993; Trakoontivakorn et al., 2001). Recently, 4-hydroxypanduratin A and panduratin A, which isolated from the rhizome of B. rotunda were found to show high inhibitory activity towards dengue-2 virus protease at 120 ppm (Tan et al., 2006). Conventionally Boesenbergia rotunda is propagated by dividing into small clumps and planted in the soil, however this process regularly results in fungal diseases that can control the quality of medicinal values of the plants. In view of the problem of the fungal diseases in the field, in vitro culture technique can be a wonderful alternative technique for mass propagation of disease free plant material for B. rotunda. In vitro propagation of the Zingiberaceae family has already been reported, for example Alpinia galanga (Inden & Asahira 1988) and Zingiber officinale (Hosoki & Sagawa 1977; Pillai & Kumar 1982; Inden & Asahira 1988; Bhagyalakshmi & Singh 1988; Ikeda & Tanabe 1989).However, to date there are scarce report on the rapid micropropagation of B. rotunda, which will be discover in this study. The aim of study is to establish a micropropagation protocol that can be applied to B. Rotunda by focusing at the effect of selected plant growth regulators (BAP, Zeatin, 2,4-D and IAA) and effect of divided or undivided shoot buds on proliferation rate of this species. The shoot explants of the in vitro plantlets were cultured in solid medium supplemented with selected plant growth regulators. Shoot bud will be cut into half and subculture for 3 times to observe the effect of the undivided and divided shoots on proliferation rate of the B. rotunda. An average of shoots produce from the experiment will be analysed using student t test

Gender differences in computational thinking skills among Malaysian’s primary school students using visual programming

Computational Thinking (CT) is a thought process which utilize computer science concepts to solve problem in the real life. One of the methods to develop CT among the Children is by using visual programming to create computational artifacts such as animation and games. This study collected 50 animation and 47 games projects created by the primary school students in standard 6 (12-year-old) from the eight-week lesson using visual programming Scratch. The purpose of the study is to investigate if there is a significant difference between male and female students on CT skills of flow control, logic, data representation, parallelism, synchronization, user interactivity and abstraction. Source code projects were analyzed for CT skills score. Result from Mann-Whitney U test shows the different was not statistically significant between male and female students on CT skills mentioned previously

Bio-potential of fermented fruits waste solutions on in vitro seed germination and regeneration of Lycium barbarum and Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk.

There are many synthetic growth media for plant tissue culture available in the market such as Murashige and Skoog (MS) Medium, Woody Plant Medium (WPM), Schenk and Hildebrandt (SH) Medium and Gamborg’s B-5 Medium. The aim of this study was to substitute the synthetic media used in the plant tissue culture by organic additives which are pineapple, banana, papaya, calamansi lime, kaffir lime and key lime peels. Two formulated fermented fruits waste solutions composed of these organic additives were prepared in different concentrations (Formula A- calamansi lime, kaffir lime, and key lime peel; Formula B -banana, pineapple, and papaya peels) to study their effects on in vitro seed germination and regeneration of Lycium barbarum and Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk. Statistical results showed that they were significantly different in interaction effects (p<0.05) in promoting the plant growth in the formulated media as compared to control medium determined by ANOVA test. Application of this formulated fermented fruits waste solutions should be considered since it is found to be responsive in in vitro seed germination and regeneration of L. barbarum and A. malaccensis Lamk and will potentially minimize the operational cost

Evaluation of genotype x environment interaction on morphological characteristics of eight selected Labisia pumila var. alata clones (Kacip Fatimah) by Francis and Kannenbergs method

Since Labisia pumila species are not yet produce locally, it is important for this species to undergo propagation and testing at different environment in different location so that only variety or clones that has good mean plant growth over a wide range of environments can be identified as well as introduced to Malaysia farmer. In other means, the selected clones of L. pumila produced are genetically superior and genetically stable. The aim of this study is to evaluate interaction of genotype x environment between eight selected Labisia pumila var. alata clones and to identify stability of these eight clones respected to plant growth characteristics; plant height, leaf number, leaf length, leaf width, and collar region. Eight clones (KF01, KF02, KF03, KF04, KF05, KF06, KF07 and KF08) had tested at four different locations of FRIM Research Station; SPF Mata Ayer, Perlis; SPF Maran, Pahang; SPF Setiu, Terengganu; and FRIM Kepong, Selangor. The experimental unit consisted of 3 blocks, 0.7 m between clone and 0.4 m within rows in randomized complete block design (RCBD) at area of 0.04 ha under a drip irrigation system. Clones main effect from ANOVA analysis was found in give highly contribution for the phenotypic expression of this species at each locations. Across locations, highly significant was found for clone and location / (GXE) effects. The interaction existed raised the need to use stabilityanalysis by Francis and Kannenberg’s method to predict the stability. Results scattergram from Francis and Kannenberg’s method showed that clones KF07 and KF08 were shows its superiority in growth performances as both present in Group I. Thus, both were selected as potential elite planting materials as they considered stable and perform well in various range of environments at four locations trial

Morphological and molecular characterization of fungal pathogen, Magnaphorthe oryzae

Rice is arguably the most crucial food crops supplying quarter of calories intake. Fungal pathogen, Magnaphorthe oryzae promotes blast disease unconditionally to gramineous host including rice species. This disease spurred an outbreaks and constant threat to cereal production. Global rice yield declining almost 10-30% including Malaysia. As Magnaphorthe oryzae and its host is model in disease plant study, the rice blast pathosystem has been the subject of intense interest to overcome the importance of the disease to world agriculture. Therefore, in this study, our prime objective was to isolate samples of Magnaphorthe oryzae from diseased leaf obtained from MARDI Seberang Perai, Penang, Malaysia. Molecular identification was performed by sequences analysis from internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal RNA genes. Phylogenetic affiliation of the isolated samples were analyzed by comparing the ITS sequences with those deposited in the GenBank database. The sequence of the isolate demonstrated at least 99% nucleotide identity with the corresponding sequence in GenBank for Magnaphorthe oryzae. Morphological observed under microscope demonstrated that the structure of conidia followed similar characteristic as M. oryzae. Finding in this study provide useful information for breeding programs, epidemiology studies and improved disease management

Assessment of Variability and Genetic Diversity Study in an Advanced Segregating Population in Rice with Blast Resistance Genes Introgression

Blast disease caused by a pathogenic fungus, Magnaphorthe oryzae, is the most destructive disease and has resulted in more than 50% of crop losses worldwide, including in Malaysia. The present study was conducted to investigate genetic variability among 36 advanced lines of MR264 × PS2 rice with blast resistance genes introduced at the Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. Traits such as days of maturity, plant height, grain width, and seed setting rate exhibited negative skewness in this study, indicating a doubling of gene effects. Seed setting rate and 1000 grain weight showed positive kurtosis, indicating gene interactions. The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was slightly higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all traits, indicating that environmental influences affect the expression of these traits. High heritability associated with high genetic advance as a percentage of the mean was observed for filled grains per panicle. In addition, the second-highest value for high heritability and the high genetic advance was observed for the number of tillers. Cluster and principal component analysis revealed that 36 advanced lines were grouped into four clusters based on ten agromorphological traits. Clusters A and C had higher mean values for most of the traits studied than clusters B and D. Desirable recombinants for higher yields with a broad genetic base can be generated by using cross lines from different clusters

In vitro regeneration of bakawali (Epiphyllum oxypetalum) / Asmah Awal … [et al.]

Being a tropical country with a large portion of rainforests, Malaysia is blessed by having various types of exotic plants and herbs. Among those precious species is bakawali which is scientifically known as Epiphyllum oxypetalum. Bakawali belongs to Cactacea family and is also commonly known as ric rac cactus, kengwa, queen of the night, lady of the night and tan hua (Ariffin, 2005; Chooi, 2006). Efficient in vitro regeneration of bakawali under controlled environment determines the competency of plant tissue culture techniques in horticultural industry development. Micropropagation of bakawali is also an important step of any genetic transformation and improvement protocol because it provides sources of starting materials that can be used in genetic studies for its improvement. A proper manipulation and determination of plant growth regulators in plant tissue culture can induce embryogenesis, organogenesis and rhizogenesis of plant tissues by varying the cytokinin-to-auxin ratio in the culture media. The present study was carried out with the aim of establishing in vitro regeneration protocol of bakawali (£ oxypetalum). Lateral buds obtained from three different sections of young bakawali leaves were used as explants. A micropropagation method using culture media supplemented with various plant growth regulators (NAA and BAP) was demonstrated