PERSEPSI PENSYARAH DAN PELAJAR TERHADAP PELAKSANAAN PEMBELAJARAN BERASASKAN MASALAH DI POLITEKNIK

Problem-based learning (PBM) is a type of self-conceptual learning approaches by facilitate lecturers and students to form a more effective in learning process. The purpose of this study is to ensure the perception of lecturers and students in the implementation of PBM in polytechnics. This is a descriptive study by using a quantitative approach. The total amount of 80 lecturers and 364 students in Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical and Trade Engineering at Kota Bharu Polytechnic were selected randomly as the sample of the study. A set of questionnaires was used as a research instrument in this study. All data were analyzed by using SPSS software and presented in the form of frequency, percentage and mean score. The findings show that no problems arise in the implementation of PBM when learning process. The lecturers and students have high knowledge perceptions on PBM with mean score of 4.02 and 3.73 respectively. The findings also showed that lecturers and students have a high level of readiness at PBM with mean score of 4.16 and 4.15 respectively. Therefore, it can be concluded that lecturers and students have a positive perception of PMB implementation, therefore PBM should be practice not only at polytechnics but in all institutions of higher learning

Optimizing the Use of Solid-Phase Reversible Immobilization Beads for High-Throughput Full-Length 16S rDNA Sequencing Library Construction

Solid-phase reversible immobilization (SPRI) beads are widely used for high-throughput sequencing library construction to purify and recover nucleic acids. This research was aimed at investigating the effects of SPRI bead ratio, incubation time, and elution time on nucleic acid recovery during full-length 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing library construction. The effects of different SPRI bead ratios, incubation times, and elution times were compared for three different initial sample amounts. An L9(3 3 ) orthogonal experiment was designed to determine the optimal combination of these factors. The incubation time of three factors including SPRI beads ratio, incubation time, and elution time had a statistically significant effect on the recovery rate for the initial sample amount of 1500 ng and 3000 ng. The orthogonal experiment results indicated that incubation time had the greatest impact among the three factors. Incubation time significantly influences recovery rate in full-length 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing library construction. The use of 0.8× SPRI beads, 15 minutes of incubation, and 10 minutes of elution resulted in the highest recovery rate. SPRI beads offer a viable method for recovering full-length 16S rDNA amplicons

Integration of Learning Styles and Higher Order Thinking Skills among Technical Students

Learning styles and higher order thinking skills (HOTS) play an important role in higher education learning.  They represent different individual preferences and strengths in learning and can be a stimuli for developing new ways of learning.  This is because KBAT can increase an individual’s ability to observe and process new information while learning style is a method of observation and process the information that occurs in the individual. The purpose of this research was to identify the pattern of Kolb Learning Styles among the technical students based on demographic factors and identify the patterns of Marzano HOTS usage based on Kolb learning styles. The design of this study was descriptive with a quantitative approach. A total of 163 technical students from Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) were random cluster selected as samples. The Kolb Learning Styles Inventory and assessment rubric were used as research instruments. The findings indicated that the most dominant learning style among technical students is Doer and followed by Feeler, Thinker and Watcher. The patterns of learning styles based on demographic factors are the same.  The findings showed that the most widely used Marzano HOTS by all four types of Kolb Learning Styles are comparison and induction. Besides that, the findings revealed that there is no statistically significant difference in Kolb Learning Styles on the usage of Marzano HOTS. Therefore, the differences in learning styles do not affect the usage of HOTS. The implication of the integration of Kolb's learning styles and HOTS Marzano have the potential to bring two simultaneous benefits to students in terms of achievement of ideas generation

Effectiveness of Integration of Learning Strategies and Higher-Order Thinking Skills for Generating Ideas Among Technical Students

Learning strategies and higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) play an important role in higher education learning. Every student as different preferences and strengths in learning strategies and HOTS, thus it can be a stimulus for developing new ways of learning. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of the integration of learning strategies and HOTS in generating ideas via a self-instructional manual among technical students. This quantitative approach research used the modified quasi-experimental design with a treatment group (TG) and a control group (CG) comprising 81 students. The pre- and post-individual assignments and assessment analytic rubric were used as the research instruments. The pre- and post-assignments were used to test the effectiveness of the integration of learning strategies and HOTS in generating ideas before and after treatment was given to TG students. The assessment analytic rubric was used to evaluate the pre- and post-assignments based on five evaluation criteria (ideas, designs, functions, materials and dimensions). Each TG student received a self-instructional manual for the integration of Kolb’s learning strategies and Marzano’s HOTS as a treatment for one month, while the CG students had no treatment but conventional teaching. The gathered data were analysed using SPSS software. The findings show that there are statistically significant differences between TG and CG on the five evaluation criteria for the individual post-assignment result. There are also statistically significant differences in the five evaluation criteria between the individual pre- and post-assignments results. Overall, the approach of integrating learning strategies and HOTS by using a self-instructional manual for generating ideas is significantly effective

Analysis of human meiotic recombination events with a parent-sibling tracing approach

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Meiotic recombination ensures that each child inherits distinct genetic materials from each parent, but the distribution of crossovers along meiotic chromosomes remains difficult to identify. In this study, we developed a parent-sibling tracing (PST) approach from previously reported methods to identify meiotic crossover sites of GEO GSE6754 data set. This approach requires only the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data of the pedigrees of both parents and at least two of children.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to other SNP-based algorithms (identity by descent or pediSNP), fewer uninformative SNPs were derived with the use of PST. Analysis of a GEO GSE6754 data set containing 2,145 maternal and paternal meiotic events revealed that the pattern and distribution of paternal and maternal recombination sites vary along the chromosomes. Lower crossover rates near the centromeres were more prominent in males than in females. Based on analysis of repetitive sequences, we also showed that recombination hotspots are positively correlated with SINE/MIR repetitive elements and negatively correlated with LINE/L1 elements. The number of meiotic recombination events was positively correlated with the number of shorter tandem repeat sequences.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The advantages of the PST approach include the ability to use only two-generation pedigrees with two siblings and the ability to perform gender-specific analyses of repetitive elements and tandem repeat sequences while including fewer uninformative SNP regions in the results.</p

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Development of a duplex droplet digital PCR assay for the detection of Burkholderia cepacia complex and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia in bloodstream infections

ABSTRACTBurkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia are nosocomial pathogens that cause various infections and exhibit high resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents. In this study, we aimed to develop a duplex droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) assay for detecting BCC and S. maltophilia in bloodstream infections. We optimized the experimental conditions by setting the annealing temperature to 51°C and determining the optimal concentrations of primers and probes, as well as the thermal cycle numbers. The feasibility of the duplex ddPCR reaction system with the optimal conditions was established and verified through parallel reactions with reference strains of BCC and S. maltophilia. The specificity of the assay, tested with 33 reference strains, was found to be 100%. The duplex ddPCR assay demonstrated good repeatability and could detect as low as 5.35 copies/reaction of BCC and 7.67 copies/reaction of S. maltophilia. This level of sensitivity was consistent in the simulated blood and blood bottle samples. We compared nucleic acid extraction methods and found that the Chelex-100 boiling method and kit extraction method exhibited similar detection sensitivity, suggesting the potential application of the Chelex-100 boiling method in the ddPCR assay. In the clinical samples, the duplex ddPCR assay accurately detected BCC and S. maltophilia in 58 cases. In conclusion, our study successfully developed a duplex ddPCR assay that provides accurate and convenient detection of BCC and S. maltophilia in bloodstream infections.IMPORTANCEBurkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia are implicated in a wide range of infections, including bloodstream infections (BSIs), pneumonia, and meningitis, and often exhibit high intrinsic resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents, limiting therapeutic options. The gold standard for diagnosing bloodstream infections remains blood culture. However, current blood culture detection and positivity rates do not meet the “rapid diagnosis” required for the diagnosis and treatment of critically ill patients with BSIs. The digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) method is a potentially more powerful tool in the diagnosis of BSIs compared to other molecular methods due to its greater sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and reproducibility. In this study, a duplex ddPCR assay for the detection of BCC and S. maltophilia in BSIs was developed

Field-induced spin-liquid-like state in a magnetic honeycomb lattice

Physical Review B. Volume 98, Issue 22, 18 December 2018, Article number 220407.© 2018 American Physical Society. Quantum fluctuations in magnetic lattices can yield a quantum spin-liquid (QSL) state, where no long-range order appears even at zero temperature. The variety of mechanisms that can generate the spin-liquid state and the more exotic QSL state remain unclear, however. Here, we report a magnetic honeycomb system, BaCo2(P1-xVx)2O8, in which the spin correlations can be tuned by the disorder, leading to different magnetic behaviors. At low x, the material has a spin-glass ground state that appears to be due to coexisting and competing correlations. We have found that an external magnetic field can introduce spin-liquid-like behavior for some members of the solid solution, testified by the magnetic and thermodynamic experiments. Our results suggest that structural geometry, chemical disorder, and external field may help enhance quantum fluctuations in magnetic honeycomb materials

Integration of learning styles and higher order thinking skills among technical students

Learning styles and higher order thinking skills (HOTS) play an important role in higher education learning. They represent different individual preferences and strengths in learning and can be a stimuli for developing new ways of learning. This is because KBAT can increase an individual’s ability to observe and process new information while learning style is a method of observation and process the information that occurs in the individual. The purpose of this research was to identify the pattern of Kolb Learning Styles among the technical students based on demographic factors and identify the patterns of Marzano HOTS usage based on Kolb learning styles. The design of this study was descriptive with a quantitative approach. A total of 163 technical students from Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) were random cluster selected as samples. The Kolb Learning Styles Inventory and assessment rubric were used as research instruments. The findings indicated that the most dominant learning style among technical students is Doer and followed by Feeler, Thinker and Watcher. The patterns of learning styles based on demographic factors are the same. The findings showed that the most widely used Marzano HOTS by all four types of Kolb Learning Styles are comparison and induction. Besides that, the findings revealed that there is no statistically significant difference in Kolb Learning Styles on the usage of Marzano HOTS. Therefore, the differences in learning styles do not affect the usage of HOTS. The implication of the integration of Kolb's learning styles and HOTS Marzano have the potential to bring two simultaneous benefits to students in terms of achievement of ideas generation