Langerian Mindfulness Reduces Learned Helplessness: An Online Experiment on Undergraduates in Malaysia

The study examined the framing of LGBTQ in four newspapers in Malaysia. The search uncovered 60 articles on LGBTQ published from January 1 to December 31, 2019 in four online newspapers, namely, MalaysiaKini, The Star Online, Free Malaysia Today, and Astro Awani Online. MalaysiaKini attributed the greatest salience to LGBTQ both in article number and length. LGBTQ was mostly covered using episodic framing (72.73%–91.67%). There were significant differences among the four newspapers on the dominant frames used for representing LGBTQ. The most-used frame was morality in the articles published by the alternative newspapers, but the constitution and jurisprudence frame dominated in the mainstream newspaper, The Star. The four newspapers were similar in their reliance on human rights groups and politicians as information sources. The voices of LGBTQ are muted, implying that they have been sidelined as members of society who cannot assert their rights to speak. Some articles were written in a positive tone in The Star, Free Malaysia Today, and MalaysiaKini, but there were no articles with positive valence in Astro Awani. Negative valence dominated in LGBTQ coverage, reflecting the disapproval of LGBTQ in Malaysia where Islam is the official religion and homosexuality is banned. The findings suggest that dominant frames and valence are constructed through a selective choice of information sources in the context of cultural factors that are at play

Amino acid composition, antioxidant activity and mineral content of Achatina fulica snail slimes and edible bird’s nest

This study was performed to investigate whether the snail slimes which also well-known for their anti-aging properties, can be served as an alternative for edible bird’s nest (EBN) in our daily lives. The amino acid composition of samples was evaluated using a reversed-phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography. The four major amino acids detected in snail slimes were aspartic acid (3.80 µmol/mL), glutamic acid (2.87 µmol/mL), alanine (2.23 µmol/mL) and serine (1.80 µmol/mL), while for EBN, the top four amino acids were proline (5.31 µmol/mL), serine (5.27 µmol/mL), aspartic acid (4.78 µmol/mL) and threonine (3.97 µmol/mL). In overall, EBN possessed significantly (p < 0.05) higher total amino acid content (42.63 µmol/mL) than the snail slimes (23.59 µmol/mL). Besides, the EBN was found to have significantly higher (p < 0.05) DPPH free radical scavenging activity (25.12 %) as compared to the snail slimes (16.02 %). The four major elements identified in snail slimes and EBN were sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium. Snail slimes contained higher levels of minerals compared to EBN. In conclusion, the snail slimes can potentially be served as an alternative of EBN to those people suffered from mineral deficiencies

Tim29 is a novel subunit of the human TIM22 translocase and is involved in complex assembly and stability

The TIM22 complex mediates the import of hydrophobic carrier proteins into the mitochondrial inner membrane. While the TIM22 machinery has been well characterised in yeast, the human complex remains poorly characterised. Here, we identify Tim29 (C19orf52) as a novel, metazoan-specific subunit of the human TIM22 complex. The protein is integrated into the mitochondrial inner membrane with it&rsquo;s C-terminus exposed to the intermembrane space. Tim29 is required for the stability of the TIM22 complex and functions in the assembly of hTim22. Furthermore, Tim29 contacts the Translocase of the Outer Mitochondrial Membrane, TOM complex, enabling a mechanism for transport of hydrophobic carrier substrates across the aqueous intermembrane space. Identification of Tim29 highlights the significance of analysing mitochondrial import systems across phylogenetic boundaries, which can reveal novel components and mechanisms in higher organisms

Opposing roles for JNK and Aurora A in regulating the association of WDR62 with spindle microtubules

WD40-repeat protein 62 (WDR62) is a spindle pole protein required for normal cell division and neuroprogenitor differentiation during brain development. Microcephaly-associated mutations in WDR62 lead to mitotic mislocalization, highlighting a crucial requirement for precise WDR62 spatiotemporal distribution, although the regulatory mechanisms are unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the WD40-repeat region of WDR62 is required for microtubule association, whereas the disordered C-terminal region regulates cell-cycledependent compartmentalization. In agreement with a functional requirement for the WDR62-JNK1 complex during neurogenesis, WDR62 specifically recruits JNK1 (also known as MAPK8), but not JNK2 (also known as MAPK9), to the spindle pole. However, JNKmediated phosphorylation of WDR62 T1053 negatively regulated microtubule association, and loss of JNK signaling resulted in constitutive WDR62 localization to microtubules irrespective of cell cycle stage. In contrast, we identified that Aurora A kinase (AURKA) and WDR62 were in complex and that AURKA-mediated phosphorylation was required for the spindle localization of WDR62 during mitosis. Our studies highlight complex regulation of WDR62 localization, with opposing roles for JNK and AURKA in determining its spindle association

COVID-19, Suffering and Palliative Care: A Review

According to the WHO guideline, palliative care is an integral component of COVID-19 management. The relief of physical symptoms and the provision of psychosocial support should be practiced by all healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients. In this review, we aim to provide a simple outline on COVID-19, suffering in COVID-19, and the role of palliative care in COVID-19. We also introduce 3 principles of palliative care that can serve as a guide for all healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients, which are (1) good symptom control, (2) open and sensitive communication, and (3) caring for the whole team. The pandemic has brought immense suffering, fear and death to people everywhere. The knowledge, skills and experiences from palliative care could be used to relieve the suffering of COVID-19 patients

Mindful gratitude journaling: psychological distress, quality of life and suffering in advanced cancer: a randomised controlled trial

Context Numerous studies have shown that gratitude can reduce stress and improve quality of life. Objective Our study aimed to examine the effect of mindful gratitude journaling on suffering, psychological distress and quality of life of patients with advanced cancer. Methods We conducted a parallel-group, blinded, randomised controlled trial at the University of Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia. Ninety-two adult patients with advanced cancer, and an overall suffering score ≥4/10 based on the Suffering Pictogram were recruited and randomly assigned to either a mindful gratitude journaling group (N=49) or a routine journaling group (N=43). Results After 1 week, there were significant reductions in the overall suffering score from the baseline in both the intervention group (mean difference in overall suffering score=−2.0, 95% CI=−2.7 to −1.4, t=−6.125, p=0.000) and the control group (mean difference in overall suffering score=−1.6, 95% CI=−2.3 to −0.8, t=−4.106, p=0.037). There were also significant improvements in the total Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale score (mean difference=−3.4, 95% CI=−5.3 to −1.5, t=−3.525, p=0.000) and the total Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being score (mean difference=7.3, 95% CI=1.5 to 13.1, t=2.460, p=0.014) in the intervention group after 7 days, but not in the control group. Conclusion The results provide evidence that 7 days of mindful gratitude journaling could positively affect the state of suffering, psychological distress and quality of life of patients with advanced cancer

Oral administration of bovine milk-derived extracellular vesicles induces senescence in the primary tumor but accelerates cancer metastasis

The concept that extracellular vesicles (EVs) from the diet can be absorbed by the intestinal tract of the consuming organism, be bioavailable in various organs, and in-turn exert phenotypic changes is highly debatable. Here, we isolate EVs from both raw and commercial bovine milk and characterize them by electron microscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis, western blotting, quantitative proteomics and small RNA sequencing analysis. Orally administered bovine milk-derived EVs survive the harsh degrading conditions of the gut, in mice, and is subsequently detected in multiple organs. Milk-derived EVs orally administered to mice implanted with colorectal and breast cancer cells reduce the primary tumor burden. Intriguingly, despite the reduction in primary tumor growth, milk-derived EVs accelerate metastasis in breast and pancreatic cancer mouse models. Proteomic and biochemical analysis reveal the induction of senescence and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in cancer cells upon treatment with milk-derived EVs. Timing of EV administration is critical as oral administration after resection of the primary tumor reverses the pro-metastatic effects of milk-derived EVs in breast cancer models. Taken together, our study provides context-based and opposing roles of milk-derived EVs as metastasis inducers and suppressors

A novel community driven software for functional enrichment analysis of extracellular vesicles data.

Bioinformatics tools are imperative for the in depth analysis of heterogeneous high-throughput data. Most of the software tools are developed by specific laboratories or groups or companies wherein they are designed to perform the required analysis for the group. However, such software tools may fail to capture "what the community needs in a tool". Here, we describe a novel community-driven approach to build a comprehensive functional enrichment analysis tool. Using the existing FunRich tool as a template, we invited researchers to request additional features and/or changes. Remarkably, with the enthusiastic participation of the community, we were able to implement 90% of the requested features. FunRich enables plugin for extracellular vesicles wherein users can download and analyse data from Vesiclepedia database. By involving researchers early through community needs software development, we believe that comprehensive analysis tools can be developed in various scientific disciplines

Quantitative proteomic analysis of Porphyromonas gingivalis W50 in response to different environmental conditions

TypescriptThesis (PhD) -- University of Melbourne, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, 2008Includes bibliographical references (171-199)CD-ROM content not included in digitised versio