Educating the educators: Incorporating bioinformatics into biological science education in Malaysia

Bioinformatics can be defined as a fusion of computational and biological sciences. The urgency to process and analyse the deluge of data created by proteomics and genomics studies has caused bioinformatics to gain prominence and importance. However, its multidisciplinary nature has created a unique demand for specialist trained in both biology and computing. In this review, we described the components that constitute the bioinformatics field and distinctive education criteria that are required to produce individuals with bioinformatics training. This paper will also provide an introduction and overview of bioinformatics in Malaysia. The existing bioinformatics scenario in Malaysia was surveyed to gauge its advancement and to plan for future bioinformatics education strategies. For comparison, we surveyed methods and strategies used in education by other countries so that lessons can be learnt to further improve the implementation of bioinformatics in Malaysia. It is believed that accurate and sufficient steerage from the academia and industry will enable Malaysia to produce quality bioinformaticians in the future

Users' perception towards selected recreational forest landscape maintenance in Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Landscape maintenance plays an important role in ensuring the landscape sustainability of recreational forest. Proper landscape maintenance can enhance park's quality as well as increase user experience in the park. As new recreational forests are developed, the need for good landscape maintenance and management geared towards sustainability is crucial. The goal of this study is to understand users' perception towards recreational forest landscape maintenance and management. The objective of this study is to analyze users' perception towards landscape maintenance of recreational forests in relation to their existing management programs, and to discuss implications of maintenance and management of recreational forest towards sustainability. The study is conducted at three selected recreational forests in Selangor, namely Sungai Tekala Recreational Forest, Sungai Chongkak Recreational Forest and Templer Recreational Forest. A total of 533 respondents participated in this study. Results indicate that the present landscape maintenance standards of these sites are low reflecting weaknesses in the management system. Therefore, the management team of these recreational forests must improve their landscape maintenance and management approaches for sustainability including improving users' convenience, safety and experience

A comparison of gender preference for tropical recreational rain forest in Malaysia

Malaysia’s recreational rainforests attract a significant number of visitors and they are an important tourism asset. Visitors are attracted by the scenic views of the forests as well as the biodiversity experiences of the forest ecosystems. These recreational forests are equipped with supporting facilities to attract visitors. This study investigates gender preferences of recreational rainforest landscape in Malaysia. The study objective is to compare gender preferences regarding recreational rainforest landscapes in relation to the efforts and commitments of managing the park by the responsible authority. Sg. Chongkak Recreational Forest in Selangor, Malaysia was selected as a case study. A photo-questionnaire survey was used to gather data from 119 expert participants. Results indicate that there is a statistically significant difference between male and female preferences for facilities (p=0.038) where a greater number of female (31.09%) rated the facilities in the study sites as good compared to their male counterparts (15.97%). Thus, gender preferences, in particularly women preferences, must be taken into account when developing landscape management plan for the park

Visual Assessment of The Quality Of Landscape Design in Paya Indah Wetlands, Malaysia

Visual quality of landscape is becoming an important element in em-friendly design for nature-based tourism areas in Malaysia. However, the majority of the man-made landscape elements of nature-based tourism areas such as buildings do not harmonize with the natural environment and are considered as not em-friendly in design. A study was conducted in Paya Indah Wetlands aimed at assessing visual rating and perception of the man-made landscape using expert judgment technique. This study used selected photographs of the man-made landscape elements in Paya Indah Wetlands representing different types of buildings, park furniture, parking features, pedestrian facilities, drainage and signage. The scoring scheme for visual quality and landscape features was valued using the six basic design elements, namely, form, line, colour, texture, shape and space. Data were gathered from 100 experts using a structured questionnaire with surrogated photos, distributed equally among landscape architects and architects. The results revealed that the visual quality of Paya Indah Wetlands were categorized as moderate in quality, and some of the elements were considered as of poor quality. The results of regression analysis revealed that the visual rating was affected significantly by the respondents' age, sector of employment and professional memberships in certified bodies. The Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis test revealed that the differences in visual rating differed with regards to the education background, sector of employment and professional membership. From the results, the basic design elements (form, line, colour, texture, shape and space) shouId be taken into consideration at the early stage in the design process to lend a higher visual quality to the wetland landscape of Paya Indah Wetlands

Prey Selection by Larval Micromus tas'lnQ,niae Walker (Neuroptera: Hemerobiidae)

The brown lacewing, Micromus tasmaniae, is the most common predator of potato aphids in South Australia. The probability of capture and prey preference of larval M. tasmaniae were measured for each instar of Myzus persicae Sulzer (the green peach aphid) at constant 15°e, 20° and 25°e. The probabiUty of capture of M. persicae by larval M. tasmaniae increased after each moult and declined just before moulting, especially at 15°e. Except for very small and young larvae, the predator larvae were able to capture efficiently both small and large prey. Young larval predators showed some preference for smaller prey~ whereas older larvae exhibited little or no preference. The effectiveness of M. tasmaniae larvae may vary considerably between seasons and climates

A Heat Method of Extracting Myzus persicae Sulzer (Homoptera: Aphididae) from Potato Leaves.

A simple and rapid method of extracting the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae Sulzer from potato (Solanum tuberosum) leaves by heat was developed. In this method, each aphid-infested potato leaf was placed directly into a paper bag and sealed in the field itself, On arrival at the laboratory, the bags were heated in the oven at the specified temperature and duration. Four temperatures (40, 45, 50 and 55°C) and five durations of exposure (4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 minutes) were tested. The results showed that either the combinations of 50° C and 32 or 64 minutes or 55°C and 8 or 16 minutes exposure gave more or less the same high percentage of extraction (P>0.05 by LSD) without causing severe discoloration and burning of aphids. The method was found to be practical, simple and time-saving especially when a large number of leaves were involved during the peak infestation of aphids

A Method of Collecting Eggs of Micromus tas'l1Wniae Walker (Neuroptera: Hemerobiidae)

A method of collecting the eggs of Micromus tasmaniae, an insect predator of the potato aphid attacking the potato plant is described. The method was adopted for use in the mass production of the eggs needed for field release trials. Prior tests conducted in the laboratory showed that a solution of sodium hypochlorite (NaC10) at either 0.75% or 1.00% concentration did not have detrimental effects on egg hatch after immersing th.em jor 6 or 10 minutes, respect~·vely. Seventy five percent (75%) of the eggs were removed from the cloth substrate and 95% of them hatched, Sodium hypochloride at 5% concentration caused the failure of all the eggs to hatch but all of the eggs were easily removed from the substrate. This method has reduced egg damage and collection time as compared to the conventional method whereby each egg is collected one by one

Nutritional Requirements for Reproduction of Micromus tasmaniae Walker

A laboratory experiment was conducted to determine whether it is males or females of Micromus tasmaniae Walker that require nutrients other than sugar to mate and promote egg development. Four categories of diets were tested on newly emerged adults. The treatments were differentiated based on whether or not male or female or both sexes were deprived of live prey (Myzue persicae Sulzer) before pa~ring. Egg. counts indicated that opposition occurred mainly when females had access to aphids prior to pairing. Depriwing the males of aphids did not alter the incidence of oviposition. It is necessary to provide females with live aphids prior to mating to be able to rear them

Environmental consequences of agro - pesticides necessary for rural development

The Malaysian government's strategy for economic development is sustaining rapid industrial growth and focussing its development programmes on the rural population in an all out effort to redress rural poverty. The rural poverty level, inspite of expected rapid development, is forcasted to be still around 50% by 1990. The rural scenario in Malaysia is no different. Agriculture is still dominated by the small farmers of the rural areas which remain as a dominant poverty trap. The idealized transition of agriculture into a modern sector, developed and reorganized into efficient industry supplying the food requirements of the country is yet to materialize. It is, thus, not suprising for agricultural development (synonymous to rural development) to have received top priority. The poor farmers of the rural sector are yet to benefit much from modern agriculture which certainly needs the essential modern inputs and technology. One of the modern tools of agricultural modernization is chemical pesticides (agro-pesticides). Agro-pesticides remains, inspite of their adverse publicity, our most powerful tool in the management of crop pests which are still causing heavy crop losses annually. Are agropesticides really necessary? This will be one of questions that will be answered in this paper. The paper will largely examine in some details the Malaysian version of the environmental consequences resulted from the long usage and overreliance upon toxic agropesticides relative to environmental pollution, ecological imbalances and disruptions~ problems of pesticide-resistance pests added to the environment~ recurrent pest and disease outbreaks~ adverse effects on human health and future generations and finally the exclusion of traditional pest control technologies. Results of a recent survey on small farmers to understand their perception of the impact of agropesticides on the environment and their confidence on non-chemical method to control pests are presented. The paper finally discussed an appropriate immediate measures to be taken and our future strategies in protecting the rural environment

Recreational forest landscape development: a strategy for managing forest resources in sustainable manner in Malaysia

Natural forests have unique and beautiful landscape that meets recreation and ecotourism needs. They provide places for people to carry out activities such as recreation and nature appreciation. Many governments in the world have established Recreational Forests as a strategy to conserve and manage the areas concerned. However, how much the forest parks have been developed in a sustainable manner is still argued. Objective of this study is to understand the sustainability of recreational forest landscape and to analyze the current development towards sustainability. Approach of the study was based on literature review and case study. This study shows that the development of recreational forest landscape meets the concept of conservation, but fails to fulfill the concept of sustainability. Thus, knowledge and understanding on the concept of forest landscape sustainability need to be improved in recreational forest landscape development process for the sake of our fragile forest environment and future generation