Assessing Readiness for Self-Directed Learning among College Students in the Provision of Higher Learning Institution

Readiness for self-directed learning (SDRLS) is a necessary skill for 21st-century learners. Learners are expected to be responsible for their own learning. However, to what extend Malaysian students are ready to facilitate their own learning or are they still being spoon-fed?  This study was intended to assess SDLRS among college students. It utilized a survey method research design. There were 136 diploma students participated in this study. The finding revealed that respondents' levels of SDRLS were high. There was significant difference between SDRLS and gender but no significant differences between academic achievement and hometown. The discussion addresses implications to educators in designing instructional strategies© 2016. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.Keywords: innovation, self-directed learning, readiness, 21st-century learner

Effects of a Large Fishing Closure on Benthic Communitites in the Western Gulf of Maine: Recovery from the Effects of Gillnets and Otter Trawls

The recovery of benthic communities inside the western Gulf of Maine fishing closure area was evaluated by comparing invertebrate assemblages at sites inside and outside of the closure four to six years after the closure was established. The major restriction imposed by the closure was a year-round prohibition of bottom gillnets and otter trawls. A total of 163 seafloor sites (~half inside and half outside the closure) within a 515-km2 study area were sampled with some combination of Shipek grab, Wildco box corer, or underwater video. Bottom types ranged from mud (silt and clay) to boulders, and the effects of the closure on univariate measures (total density, biomass, taxonomic richness) of benthos varied widely among sediment types. For sites with predominantly mud sediments, there were mixed effects on inside and outside infauna and no effect on epifauna. For sites with mainly sand sediments, there were higher density, biomass, and taxonomic richness for infauna inside the closure, but no significant effects on epifauna. For sites dominated by gravel (which included boulders in some areas), there were no effects on infauna but strong effects on epifaunal density and taxonomic richness. For fishing gear, the data indicated that infauna recovered in sand from the impacts of otter trawls operated inside the closure but that they did not recover in mud, and that epifauna recovered on gravel bottoms from the impact of gillnets used inside the closure. The magnitudes of impact and recovery, however, cannot be inferred directly from our data because of a confounding factor of different fishing intensities outside the closure for a direct comparison of preclosure and postclosure data. The overall negative impact of trawls is likely underestimated by our data, whereas the negative impact of gillnets is likely overestimated

WASTE MANAGEMENT IN THE KAWATUNA LANDFILL SITE OF PALU CITY

Abstract: The waste is all kind of things or material/human excreta, animal, vegetation or anything from the result of human activity to fulfill their daily need. This waste may trigger and or cause contamination to the water, land, and air and cause damage to the human environmental. The ultimate waste disposal of the city in The Landfill Site is against some obstacles, physically and nonphysical, such as social, economy, maintenance problems, etc. According the field experience in some area especially in the City of Palu, city waste management in TPA Kawatuna or Kawatuna Landfill Site consistently practice open dumping system with specific awareness on the environmental protection. The problem occur in Kawatuna Landfill Site is none of waste selection criteria. This condition caused a habitant of the scavengers to earn the life for their expanse, but this settlement has negative impact to their healthiness. The contours of landfill site are valley and hilly. This caused a waste collections activity from the waste employee throw away randomly to the valley of landfill site area and caused wider landfill area. In addition, another wider valley becomes the garbage collection area and causes destruction to the land structure. As a result, the qualitative descriptive method of this research concludes applicable waste management system for the Kawatuna Landfill Site and factors that influences the waste management system. Effort and good cooperation are necessary for a good waste management practice in Kawatuna Landfill Site. This practice starts from each of us where the waste is a requirement that should minimize together. Application of 4R (Reduce, Replace, Reuse and Recycle) is the first step in maximizing the waste management system of Kawatuna Landfill Site. All of this effort certainly requires a support from human resources, facility and infrastructure, social participation and government regulation. Keywords: Waste, Waste Management, Kawatuna Landfill Abstrak: Sampah ialah semua jenis benda atau barang bangunan/kotoran manusia, hewan atau tumbuh-tumbuhan atau yang berasal dari aktivitas kehidupan manusia dalam memenuhi kebutuhan hidupnya yang dapat menimbulkan dan atau mengakibatkan pengotoran terhadap air, tanah dan udara sehingga dapat menimbulkan pengrusakan lingkungan hidup manusia. Penampungan akhir sampah kota dilakukan di Tempat Pembuangan Akhir (TPA) mengalami berbagai macam kendala baik fisik maupun non fisik, seperti masalah sosial, ekonomi, pemeliharaan dan lain–lain. Dari berbagai kenyataan yang ada di lapangan, di berbagai daerah, khususnya di Kota Palu, pengelolaan sampah perkotaan di TPA Kawatuna masih menggunakan sistem pembuangan terbuka (open dumping), dimana sistem ini kurang memperhatikan aspek perlindungan lingkungan. Masalah yang timbul di TPA Kawatuna yakni : belum ada pengelolaan untuk pemilahan jenis sampah, kondisi ini mengakibatkan munculnya permukiman para pemulung yang mencari nafkah dengan memilah sampah yang dapat memberikan pendapatan bagi mereka, namun keberadaan permukiman mereka dapat memberikan pengaruh negatif bagi kesehatan mereka. Dan kondisi TPA yang berkontur yaitu lembah dan perbukitan menjadikan sampah yang telah dikumpulkan oleh petugas dibuang sembarangan pada lembah di daerah TPA yang mengakibatkan bertambah luasnya daratan sampah, hal lain lembah yang cukup besar dijadikan sebagai penampung sampah yang dapat menyebabkan rusaknya struktur tanah. Olehnya penyelesaian penelitian dengan menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif didapatkan sistem pengelolaan sampah yang sesuai diterapkan di TPA Kawatuna dan faktor – faktor yang mempengaruhi sistem pengelolaan sampah. Diperlukan usaha dan kerjasama yang baik agar pengolahan sampah di TPA Kawatuna dapat berjalan dengan baik. Hal tersebut dimulai dari diri kita masing – masing bahwa sampah merupakan suatu kebutuhan yang harus kita minimalisasikan bersama – sama. Penerapan 4R yakni (Reduce, Replace, Reuse and Recycle) merupakan langkah awal agar sistem pengelolaan sampah di TPA Kawatuna berjalan maksimal. Tentunya semua itu perlu didukung dengan sumber daya manusia, sarana prasarana, partisipasi masyarakat dan peraturan pemerintah. Kata Kunci: Sampah, Pengelolaan Sampah, TPA Kawatun

Targeted Treatment for KRAS12D For PDAC Treatment

Introduction: Cellular stress is known to function in synergistic cooperation with oncogenic mutations during tumorigenesis to drive cancer progression. Oncogenic RAS is a strong inducer of a variety of pro-tumorigenic cellular stresses, and also enhances the ability of cells to tolerate these stresses through multiple mechanisms that leads to resistance to chemotherapy and to therapies that target the RAS pathway. Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients exhibit extremely poor prognosis. KRAS mutation on codon-12 is present in 70–95% of PDAC cases and it drives stress-adaptive mechanisms, PDAC growth and progression. Galectin-1 (Gal-1) is present in both PDAC and stromal cells, being involved in tumor microenvironment, immune cell activation and metastasis. Therefore, this study discusses the efficiency of combined inhibition of mutated KRASG12D and Gal-1 inhibition to effectively suppress PDAC growth and progression. For this we have delivered KRASG12D inhibiting siRNA (siKRASG12D) using a superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION) and a galectin inhibitor. Methods: SPION nano-formulation was used to deliver siKRASG12D and investigate in conjunction with Gal-1 inhibitor for its anticancer efficacy. Particles were investigated for size, physico-chemical characterization (Dynamic light scattering), hemocompatibility (hemolysis assay) and the complexation of siKRAS (gel retardation assay). Cellular internalization and uptake of the particles were investigated. Anti-cancer efficacy was determined using in vitro functional assays for cell viability (MTT), migration (Boyden chambers), invasion (Matrigel), clonogenicity, tumor spheroid formation, and in a KrasG12D;LSL-Trp53R172H syngeneic mouse model. Results: Our results demonstrate that SP-siKRAS efficiently internalized in PDAC cells and suppressed KRASG12D as well as its downstream targets, YAP and PDL-1. Combined targeting of siKRAS and Gal-1 inhibited cell proliferation, clonogenicity, migration, and invasion of PDAC cells and tumor spheroid growth in 3D cell models, which recapitulate the heterogeneity and pathophysiology of PDAC. We have used -KrasG12D;LSL-Trp53R172H syngeneic mouse model of PDAC for investigating efficacy of combined SP-siKRAS formulation and galectin-1 inhibitor. Our results showed that the combination treatment inhibited the fibrotic tumor growth and increased survival rate. The combined treatment increased infiltration of total T cell population and CD8+T cells, reduced the population of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) by 50% (CD45+, CD3-, CD11b+, Ly6C high, Ly6G-) and T-Regulatory cells (Treg) by 57% (FoxP3+CD25+CD45+CD3+) and increased memory T cells by 34% in mice. Conclusion: This gene therapy targeting KRAS G12D mutation with a Gal-1 inhibition has a potential to modulate the oncogenic network, stress-adaptive mechanisms and tumor microenvironment resulting in the repression of growth, metastasis, chemoresistance, and improvement in patient survival. This study will develop a novel sustainable therapeutic approach to target PDAC growth and improve patient survivability

Coach-Supported Versus Self-guided Digital Training Course for a Problem-solving Psychological Intervention for Nonspecialists: Protocol for a Pre-Post Nested Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Psychosocial interventions delivered by nonspecialists can be effective at reducing common adolescent mental health problems in low-resource settings. However, there is a lack of evidence on resource-efficient methods for building capacity to deliver these interventions. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of a digital training (DT) course, delivered in a self-guided format or with coaching, on nonspecialists' competency to deliver a problem-solving intervention intended for adolescents with common mental health problems in India. METHODS: We will conduct a pre-post study with a nested parallel, 2-arm, individually randomized controlled trial. The study aims to recruit 262 participants, randomized 1:1 to receive either a self-guided DT course or a DT course with weekly individualized coaching provided remotely by telephone. In both arms, the DT will be accessed over 4 to 6 weeks. Participants will be nonspecialists (ie, without prior practice-based training in psychological therapies) recruited from among university students and affiliates of nongovernmental organizations in Delhi and Mumbai, India. RESULTS: Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and 6 weeks post randomization using a knowledge-based competency measure that incorporates a multiple-choice quiz format. The primary hypothesis is that self-guided DT will lead to increased competency scores among novices with no prior experience of delivering psychotherapies. The secondary hypothesis is that digital training with coaching will have an incremental effect on competency scores compared with DT alone. The first participant was enrolled on April 4, 2022. CONCLUSIONS: The study will address an evidence gap on the effectiveness of training methods for nonspecialist providers of adolescent mental health interventions in low-resource settings. The findings from this study will be used to support wider efforts to scale up evidence-based mental health interventions for young people. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05290142; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05290142. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/41981

Novel strategy to make KRAS targeted therapies more effective for PDAC treatment

Introduction: Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients exhibit extremely poor prognosis. KRAS mutation on codon-12 is present in 70–95% of PDAC cases and it drives PDAC growth and progression. Galectin-1 (Gal-1) is present in both PDAC and stromal cells, being involved in tumor microenvironment, immune cell activation and metastasis. Therefore, this study discusses the efficiency of combined inhibition of mutated KRASG12D and Gal-1 inhibition to effectively suppress PDAC growth and progression. For this we have delivered KRASG12D inhibiting siRNA (siKRASG12D) using a superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION) and a galectin inhibitor. Methods: SPION nano-formulation was used to deliver siKRASG12D and investigate in conjunction with Gal-1 inhibitor for its anticancer efficacy. Particles were investigated for size, physicochemical characterization (Dynamic light scattering), hemocompatibility (hemolysis assay) and the complexation of siKRAS (gel retardation assay). Cellular internalization and uptake of the particles were investigated. Anti-cancer efficacy was determined using in vitro functional assays for cell viability (MTT), migration (Boyden chambers), invasion (Matrigel), clonogenicity, tumor spheroid formation, and in a KrasG12D;LSL-Trp53R172H syngeneic mouse model. Results: Our results demonstrate that SP-siKRAS efficiently internalized in PDAC cells and suppressed KRASG12D as well as its downstream targets, YAP and PDL-1. Combined targeting of siKRAS and Gal-1 inhibited cell proliferation, clonogenicity, migration, and invasion of PDAC cells and tumor spheroid growth in 3D cell models, which recapitulate the heterogeneity and pathophysiology of PDAC. We have used -KrasG12D;LSL-Trp53R172H syngeneic mouse model of PDAC for investigating efficacy of combined SP-siKRAS formulation and galectin-1 inhibitor. Our results showed that the combination treatment inhibited the fibrotic tumor growth and increased survival rate. The combined treatment increased infiltration of total T cell population and CD8+T cells, reduced the population of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) by 50% (CD45+, CD3-, CD11b+, Ly6C high, Ly6G-) and T-Regulatory cells (Treg) by 57% (FoxP3+CD25+CD45+CD3+) and increased memory T cells by 34% in mice. Conclusion: This gene therapy targeting KRAS G12D mutation with a Gal-1 inhibition has a potential to modulate the oncogenic network and tumor microenvironment resulting in the repression of growth, metastasis, chemoresistance, and improvement in patient survival. This study will develop a novel sustainable therapeutic approach to target PDAC growth and improve patient survivability

Phenotypic and functional analyses show stem cell-derived hepatocyte-like cells better mimic fetal rather than adult hepatocytes

Background & Aims: Hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs), differentiated from pluripotent stem cells by the use of soluble factors, can model human liver function and toxicity. However, at present HLC maturity and whether any deficit represents a true fetal state or aberrant differentiation is unclear and compounded by comparison to potentially deteriorated adult hepatocytes. Therefore, we generated HLCs from multiple lineages, using two different protocols, for direct comparison with fresh fetal and adult hepatocytes. Methods: Protocols were developed for robust differentiation. Multiple transcript, protein and functional analyses compared HLCs to fresh human fetal and adult hepatocytes. Results: HLCs were comparable to those of other laboratories by multiple parameters. Transcriptional changes during differentiation mimicked human embryogenesis and showed more similarity to pericentral than periportal hepatocytes. Unbiased proteomics demonstrated greater proximity to liver than 30 other human organs or tissues. However, by comparison to fresh material, HLC maturity was proven by transcript, protein and function to be fetal-like and short of the adult phenotype. The expression of 81% phase 1 enzymes in HLCs was significantly upregulated and half were statistically not different from fetal hepatocytes. HLCs secreted albumin and metabolized testosterone (CYP3A) and dextrorphan (CYP2D6) like fetal hepatocytes. In seven bespoke tests, devised by principal components analysis to distinguish fetal from adult hepatocytes, HLCs from two different source laboratories consistently demonstrated fetal characteristics. Conclusions: HLCs from different sources are broadly comparable with unbiased proteomic evidence for faithful differentiation down the liver lineage. This current phenotype mimics human fetal rather than adult hepatocytes