The Perceptions of Macao Undergraduates Regarding Help Websites for Problem Gambling

This study conducted a web-surfing exercise and a questionnaire survey among a group of Macao undergraduate students regarding the websites that offered help with problem gambling. The results of this study found that most help websites in Macao and Hong Kong provided basic information-sharing service. The students indicated that they would choose their preferred help organization based on factors such as trust, familiarity, and the characteristics of the websites. They also gave comments/suggestions related to the publicity, design, contents, and focus of the websites. This study discussed the results and their implications for future research and practice

Timber-Concrete Composite Floor Beams under 4 Years Long-Term Load

The long-term behaviour of timber-concrete composite is characterized by the response of its three components (timber, concrete and connection) to load, moisture content, temperature and relative humidity of the environment. This paper reports results of a 4-years long-term test on three 8m span laminated veneer lumber (LVL)-concrete composite floor beams under service load performed in an indoor, uncontrolled, and unheated environment at the University of Canterbury. The environmental conditions were characterized by either low temperature with high relative humidity or high temperature with low relative humidity, conditions considered to be reasonably severe and presumably close to service class 3 according to Eurocode 5. The mid-span deflections were extrapolated to the end of service life (50 years) and compared to span/200 deflection limit, which was exceeded by all beams

Strength Behaviour Of Biomass Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Slab

This paper investigates the compressive strength and flexural strength of biomass fibre-reinforced concrete slab. The main objective of this study is to examine the effect of biomass aggregate and fibre glass on the concrete slab strength. The biomass aggregate is used to replace the natural aggregates. A total of 36 slab samples (250 mm x 600 mm x 50mm thick) and 36 numbers of 150 mm cube samples containing 0%, 30%, 60% and 100% biomass aggregate were prepared.  The E-class fibre and Supracoat SP800 were added to increase the strength and to achieve the required workability. All the samples were cured in water with room temperature of around 27oC and tested at the age of 7, 14 and 28 days respectively. The result showed that cube specimens containing 30% biomass aggregate concrete achieved minimum strength of 15 MPa at 28 days. The flexural strength for slab specimens containing 30% biomass aggregate, Supracoat SP 800 and fibre glass gained higher strength compared with control specimens. The 100% biomass aggregate slab achieved 88% of the control specimen strength. The workability was between 150 mm to 170mm slump. The density of the specimens was reduced 20% for cube and 28% for slab compared with control specimens. It can be concluded that the biomass aggregate has good potential as partial aggregate replacement in slab construction when combined with the use of glass fibre and superplasticizer. However, more research needs to be carried out to self-compacting biomass aggregate concrete for sustainable constructio

CO2 Uptake Model of Biomass Silica Foamed Concrete

The cement industry contributes about 5% to global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. CO2 isemitted from the calcination process of limestone, from combustion of fuels in the kiln, aswell as from power generation. A model of CO2 uptake by biomass silica foamed concrete isproposed as a potential mitigation strategy against CO2-emission. The key parameters in thecement production process are defined and the total CO2 emissions are reviewed. Acomparison between CO2 emission and CO2 uptake by carbonation is made. The forecastingof CO2 uptake by carbonation is modeled with the use of Microsoft Excel. The CO2 emissionmitigation options are discussed based on the modeling on CO2 uptake by biomass silicafoamed concrete. The proposed foamed concrete absorbs CO2 42.7% faster than the normalPortland cement concrete, with a regression accuracy of 0.98. Successful deployment couldcontribute towards sustainable development while benefiting from the carbon credits

The acceptance and effectiveness of telecommuting (work from home) in Malaysia

Telecommuting/Telework or “Work from Home” is slogan that we hear over the times almost everywhere in the world especially in developed nation. According to WorldatWork,an international association for human resource professionals and business leaders based in USA, the key finding of Telecommuting are as follows:Workers Increasingly Working from Anywhere, Employers Are Expanding Teleworking opportunities, Number of "At Least Once Per Year" Teleworkers Remains Steady, Frequency of Teleworking is Growing, Broadband Use Rises Sharply for Home Based Teleworkers, Teleworkers Are Far More Prevalent Users of Wireless. Home-based employees are in a situation where they are able to address both work and family demands. In contrast to non -home - based workers, home - based workers are more likely to respond to family demands (Sakamoto and Spinks, 2008). However, it has limitation especially in the form of implementation, such as a need for face - to - face interaction with colleagues and customers in the corporate world. In addition, according to Daft and Lengel (1986) with remote working, the effectiveness and the role of supervision are in doubt. Svein Bergum (2007) also noted that not all jobs and not all people are suitable for telework

Population data and forensic evaluation of six alu insertions in indigenous groups from Sabah, Malaysia

Background and aim: The present study is the first to report the genetic relatedness of indigenous populations of Sabah, Malaysia, using a set of Indel markers (HS4.32, TPA25, APO, PV92, B65 and HS3.23). The primary aim was to assess the genetic relationships among these populations and with populations from other parts of the world by examining the distribution of these markers. Subjects and methods: A total of 504 volunteers from the three largest indigenous groups, i.e. Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau and Rungus, were recruited for the study. Six Alu insertions were typed by PCR with specific primer sets. Results: All insertions were found to present at different frequencies, ranging from 0.170–0.970. The heterozygosity of most of the markers was high (.0.4), with the exception of HS3.23 and APO. A genetic differentiation study revealed that these populations are closely related to each other (GST ¼0.006). A principle component plot showed that these populations have higher affinity to Mainland South East Asia/East Asia populations, rather than Island Southeast Asia (ISEA) populations. Conclusion: In summary, these indigenous groups were closely associated in terms of their genetic composition. This finding also supports the colonization model of ISEA, which suggests that the inhabitants of this region were mostly descendants from Southern Chin

A framework of a sustainable performance measurements (SPMs) model for the Malaysian electronic and electrical industry

This conceptual paper is initiated by the growing awareness of environmental and social responsibility issues. Companies’ excellent performance is no longer championed solely on financial matters but has expanded to environment and social perspectives, calling for the need for a sustainable performance measurements (SPMs) model. Frequent and in-depth sustainable reporting are expected to be more demanding and comprehensive in the future with an intense pressure on and expectation of various stakeholders. The adoption of sustainable performance reporting is already in place in developed countries such as Europe, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom(UK), but reporting is relatively low among developing nations especially countries from Asia; Malaysia is no exception. This is due to the fact that sustainability performance reporting in Malaysia is still in its infancy phase and is subject to plenty of uncertain issues particularly on SPMs models that need to be managed, measured and reported on. The SPMs model is developed to be applied in the Malaysian electronic and electrical industry as this industry is subjected to intense scrutiny from Western Nations in term of environmental and social compliance. This paper, therefore, aims to mitigate the problem by constructing a framework of SPMs models in order to promote genuine sustainable reporting among the industry

Identifying common mutations in colorectal cancer using a 7-gene panel by next generation sequencing

Introduction: Colorectal cancer (CRC) arises from the cumulative effects of genetic and epigenetic alterations. Cur-rent treatment of metastatic CRC relies on combination of chemotherapy and targeted therapies such as anti-EGFR therapies. The success of targeted therapies relies on the detection of actionable targets and predictive biomarkers of resistance. The study aims to determine mutations in common actionable targets and predictive biomarkers of resistance to anti-EGFR therapies in Malaysian CRC patients. Methods: Mutations in 10 CRC tissues were determined by next-generation sequencing with a panel of 7 cancer-related genes covering all exons in KRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, PTEN, TP53, NRAS, and EGFR genes. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine mismatch repair (MMR) status. Results: Of the ten samples, 5 and 4 samples harboured two and one mutation, respectively and one had no mutation. All were missense mutations and were in five genes, namely, KRAS, PIK3CA, TP53, BRAF, and EGFR. They were, G12D, G12V, G12A, G13D, and V14I in KRAS, E545K, K733R, and D1056N in PIK3CA, G199V, D259Y, and R282W in TP53, V600E in BRAF and G696R in EGFR. Deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) was detected in three samples, of which two had KRAS mutation. Conclusion: Mutations in KRAS codon 12 and 13, BRAF and PIK3CAwhich predict resistance to anti-EGFR therapies and three TP53 mutations were found. This is the first report of EGFR mutation in Malaysian CRC patients. It is predicted to be a pathogenic variant. dMMR, one of the biomarkers for treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitor was also detected

Genetic data for 15 STR loci in Kadazan-Dusun population from East Malaysia

Allele frequencies of 15 short tandem repeat (STR) loci, namely D5S818, D7S820, D13S317, D16S539, TH01, TPOX, Penta D, Penta E, D3S1358, D8S1179, D18S51, D21S11, CSF1PO, vWA, and FGA, were determined for 154 individuals from the Kadazan-Dusun tribe, an indigenous population of East Malaysia. All loci were amplified by polymerase chain reaction, using the Powerplex 16 system. Alleles were typed using a gene analyzer and the Genemapper ID software. Various statistical parameters were calculated and the combined power of discrimination for the 15 loci in the population was calculated as 0.999999999999999. These loci are thus, informative and can be used effectively in forensic and genetic studies of this indigenous population

Inhibition of cell migration and invasion by miR-29a-3p in a colorectal cancer cell line through suppression of CDC42BPA mRNA expression

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of miR 29a 3p inhibitor on the migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cell lines (CRC) and the underlying molecular mechanisms. miR 29a 3p was detected using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT qPCR) in the CRC cell lines HCT11, CaCo2, HT29, SW480 and SW620. An invasive subpopulation designated SW480 7 was derived from the parental cell line, detected by Transwell and Transwell Matrigel assays. Cytoskeleton Regulators RT2 profiler PCR array and western blot analysis were utilized to identify the alterations in expression of downstream mRNAs. siRNA against CDC42BPA was transfected into SW480 7 and effects on cell migration and invasion were investigated. Data obtained showed that miR 29a 3p was detected in these five CRC cell lines. miR 29a 3p inhibitor had no effect on viability but stimulated cell migration and invasion of SW480 7 cells. In contrast, miR 29a 3p mimic suppressed cell migration and invasion. TargetScan miRBD and DIANA were employed to identify the potential direct target genes of miR 29a 3p in the Cytoskeleton Regulators RT2-Profiler PCR array. Cytoskeleton Regulators RT2-Profiler PCR array data showed that 3 out of the 5 predicted targets genes, CDC42BPA (2.33-fold), BAIAP2 (1.79-fold) and TIAM1 (1.77-fold), in the array were upregulated by miR 29a 3p. A significant increase in expression IQGAP2, PHLDB2, SSH1 mRNAs and downregulation of PAK1 mRNA was also detected with miR 29a 3p inhibition. Increase in CDC42BPA, SSH1 and IQGAP2 mRNA expression correlated with increased protein level in miR 29a 3p transfected SW-480-7 cells. Silencing of CDC42BPA (an enhancer of cell motility) partially abolished miR 29a 3p inhibitor-induced stimulation of cell migration and invasion. miR 29a 3p expression in stage II and III CRC is relatively lower than that of stage I CRC. However, the data need to be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size. In conclusion, inhibition of miR 29a 3p stimulates SW480 7 cell migration and invasion and downstream expression IQGAP2, PHLDB2, SSH1 mRNAs are upregulated whilst PAK1 mRNA is downregulated. Silencing of CDC42BPA expression partially reduces miR29a 3p inhibitor-induced migration and invasion of SW480 7 cells