Pridonosi li polimorfizam gena GSTP1 oštećenju genoma uzrokovanom starenjem i profesionalnom izloženosti?

The aim of our study was to see the effects of GSTP1 polymorphism on biomarkers of ageing, including micronuclei (MN), comet tail length, and relative telomere length in automobile repair workers, who are exposed to a broad spectrum of potential mutagens. The analysis was performed on buccal cells collected from occupationally exposed and non-exposed (control) subjects. Samples were analysed using cytogenetic and molecular methods, including restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), MN test, comet assay, and real-time PCR. The results confi rmed the DNA damaging effects of substances used in the mechanical workshops, but did not confirm the infl uence of GSTP1 gene polymorphism on DNA damage. However, further studies on both occupationally exposed and control populations are needed to understand the relationship between GSTP1 polymorphism and genome damage.Na populaciji radnika zaposlenih u radionicama za popravak automobila koji su svakodnevno izloženi različitim vrstama potencijalnih mutagena istražili smo utjecaj polimorfizma gena GSTP1 na vrijednosti biomarkera starenja, ključujući pojavu mikronukleusa (MN), dužinu repa kometa te relativnu dužinu telomera. Analize su provedene na stanicama bukalne sluznice, skupljenim od izloženih ispitanika i odgovarajuće neizložene (kontrolne) populacije. Uzorci su analizirani primjenom citogenetičkih i molekularnobioloških metoda, uključujući polimorfi zam restrikcijskih fragmenata na osnovi njihove duljine (engl. restriction fragment length polymorphism, RFLP), MN-test, komet-test, i lančanu reakciju polimerazom u stvarnom vremenu (engl. real-time PCR). Dobiveni nalazi potvrđuju da izloženost radnika mutagenima oštećuje njihovu DNA, ali nisu pokazali da polimorfi zam gena GSTP1 značajno utječe na razinu oštećenja DNA. Zbog malog broja ispitanika uključenog u ovo istraživanje za bolje razumijevanje odnosa između polimorfi zma gena GSTP1 i oštećenja DNA potrebna su daljnja istraživanja, i na profesionalno izloženim ispitanicima i na ispitanicima kontrolne populacije

Preventive effect of Nigella sativa on metabolic syndrome in menopause induced rats.

In women facing menopause, end of menstrual activity is accompanied by lower levels of estrogen and gradual weight gain. Postmenopausal weight gain sounds an alarm for women’s health and may lead to hyperlipidemia, a lipid increase and glucose intolerance. These phenomena are connected to lifestyle-related diseases such as hypertension, type II diabetes mellitus, arteriosclerosis and metabolic syndrome, making it essential to prevent weight gain in women. This study was conducted using an ovariectomized rat model to determine the metabolic impact of Nigella sativa in experimental menopause induced rats.Forty ovariectomized Sprague Dawley rats, weighting 250 to 350 g were used in the study and randomly allotted into one of five experimental groups. Animals were given either different doses of N. sativa (300, 600, 1200 mg/kg/day) as treatment groups or distilled water (1 ml) and conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) (200 μg/kg/day) by intra-gastric gavage as negative and positive control group respectively for 21 days. Food and water intake were measured daily and body weight and biochemical parameters were measured at baseline, 11th day and at the end of experiment. The treatment groups showed significant (P < 0.05) improvement with reference to daily body weight gain, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and blood glucose (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between groups in serum triglyceride concentration. These results suggested that treatment with N. sativa exert a therapeutic and protective effect by modifying weight gain, improving lipid profile and blood glucose as well as hormonal level which is believed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome during menopause

Metabolic impact of nigella sativa extracts on experimental menopause induced rats.

The aim of current study was to investigate the effects of different extracts of Nigella sativa on metabolic profile of ovariectomized rats. Forty ovariectomized Sprague Dawley rats were used in the study and randomly allotted into one of five experimental groups: treated with Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE), Methanol Extract and Hexane Extract of N.S (300mg/kg/day) compared to vehicle control (Olive oil 1ml) and estrogen group (0.2mg/kg Conjugated Equine Estrogen) by intra-gastric gavage as negative and positive control group respectively for 21 days. Food and water intake were measured daily and body weight and biochemical parameters were measured at baseline, 11th day and at the end of experiment. The treatment groups showed significant (P < 0.05) improvement with reference to low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and blood glucose (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between groups in total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein and serum triglyceride concentration. These results suggested that treatment with Nigella sativa extracts exert a therapeutic and protective effect by modifying weight gain, improving lipid profile and blood glucose as well as hormonal level which is believed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome during menopause

A Case Study on Challenges of Students' Willingness to Orally Respond in English during Class Sessions in Sabah

Students’ willingness to respond in class is an important factor to ensure language usage and language acquisition. Literature reviews reveal that learners' levels of anxiety and self-confidence are predictors of students’ willingness to communicate in class. However, there has been a lack of studies conducted in the local context regarding anxiety as a predictor of willingness to respond in English. This study looked into students’ anxiety levels while communicating in English during Occupational Purpose class and the reasons for not being willing to respond in the online class orally. The class consisted of students from Malaysia and China studying in a local Malaysian university. During class, the instructor had to call out names to get students to answer questions asked. Classes were entirely conducted online and the assessments cover both written and oral aspects. Horwitz’s Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was adapted and Baharuddin’s three levels of anxiety mean measurement was used in this study. The FLCAS scale included 33 items of a five-point Likert scale which in this study was reversed with 1 “Strongly disagree” to 5 “Strongly agree” to measure the level of anxiety. The data obtained were analysed using descriptive analysis to include percentages and mean. The finding indicates that level of anxiety is not a predictor of WTC

Bichronous online learning l2 learners’ perceptions

English educators worldwide have been implementing multifarious online learning tools to teach students English, especially since the Covid-19 arrival. Researches on and adoption of online learning have vigorously increased since then to explore the effectiveness of umpteen online learning tools to ensure students get the best of education. With this regard, this paper looked into L2 learners’ perceptions towards bichronous online learning - a mixed mode of online learning in tertiary education and employed a quantitative method via questionnaire focusing on eliciting respondents’ perceptions on bichronous online learning, the challenges they faced while learning bichronously and the suggestions they proposed to improve bichronous online learning. The respondents involved were 30 first-year students taking the Essential Communication Skills course at Universiti Malaysia Sabah. In recapitulation, the findings portrayed positive perceptions of L2 learners towards bichronous online learning. It was also highlighted that poor internet connection, poor time management and lack of motivation were the core challenges of the blended mode while suggestions to enhance it were mainly on the use of multitudinous learning methods, more interactive platforms and creation of a conducive learning environment. These findings served as a foundation for devising suitable bichronous online learning materials for learning English effectively

Students' Online Learning Readiness Amid the Covid 19 Outbreak: MCO Phase 1

Teaching on digital platforms has now become the trend, and whether it is language apps, virtual tutoring, or video conferencing tools, there has been a significant rise in usage since the Covid-19 outbreak. In this regard, the study investigated students’ readiness towards online learning during the Malaysia Movement Control Order (MCO) Phase 1. 120 students were asked to respond to a questionnaire. However, only 98 students had responded to the questionnaire. In general, the finding shows that the students were not fully ready for online learning mainly due to the limited access to the internet, and because of this limitation, they prefer to have downloadable videos and lecture presentation slides that they can access at any time asynchronously. This study has implications on identifying students’ learning needs for the digital language classroom as the base for designing the learning materials

Comparative assessment of self-sampling device and gynecologist sampling for cytology and HPV DNA detection in rural and low resource setting: Malaysian experience

Purpose: This study was conducted to assess the agreement and differences between cervical self-sampling with a Kato device (KSSD) and gynecologist sampling for Pap cytology and human papillomavirus DNA (HPV DNA) detection. Materials and methods: Women underwent self-sampling followed by gynecologist sampling during screening at two primary health clinics. Pap cytology of cervical specimens was evaluated for specimen adequacy, presence of endocervical cells or transformation zone cells and cytological interpretation for cells abnormalities. Cervical specimens were also extracted and tested for HPV DNA detection. Positive HPV smears underwent gene sequencing and HPV genotyping by referring to the online NCBI gene bank. Results were compared between samplings by Kappa agreement and McNemar test. Results: For Pap specimen adequacy, KSSD showed 100% agreement with gynecologist sampling but had only 32.3% agreement for presence of endocervical cells. Both sampling showed 100% agreement with only 1 case detected HSIL favouring CIN2 for cytology result. HPV DNA detection showed 86.2%agreement (K=0.64, 95% CI 0.524-0.756, p=0.001) between samplings. KSSD and gynaecologist sampling identified high risk HPV in 17.3% and 23.9% respectively (p= 0.014). Conclusion: The self-sampling using Kato device can serve as a tool in Pap cytology and HPV DNA detection in low resource settings in Malaysia. Self-sampling devices such as KSSD can be used as an alternative technique to gynaecologist sampling for cervical cancer screening among rural populations in Malaysia

Assessment of the reliability of a novel self-sampling device for performing cervical sampling in Malaysia

Background: The participation of women in cervical cancer screening in Malaysia is low. Self-sampling might be able to overcome this problem. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of self-sampling for cervical smear in our country. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 258 community dwelling women from urban and rural settings who participated in health campaigns. In order to reduce the sampling bias, half of the study population performed the self-sampling prior to the physician sampling while the other half performed the self-sampling after the physician sampling, randomly. Acquired samples were assessed for cytological changes as well as HPV DNA detection. Results: The mean age of the subjects was 40.4±11.3 years. The prevalence of abnormal cervical changes was 2.7%. High risk and low risk HPV genotypes were found in 4.0% and 2.7% of the subjects, respectively. A substantial agreement was observed between self-sampling and the physician obtained sampling in cytological diagnosis (k=0.62, 95%CI=0.50, 0.74), micro-organism detection (k=0.77, 95%CI=0.66, 0.88) and detection of hormonal status (k=0.75, 95%CI=0.65, 0.85) as well as detection of high risk (k=0.77, 95%CI=0.4, 0.98) and low risk (K=0.77, 95%CI=0.50, 0.92) HPV. Menopausal state was found to be related with 8.39 times more adequate cell specimens for cytology but 0.13 times less adequate cell specimens for virological assessment. Conclusions: This study revealed that self-sampling has a good agreement with physician sampling in detecting HPV genotypes. Self-sampling can serve as a tool in HPV screening while it may be useful in detecting cytological abnormalities in Malaysia

Linear algebra

Buku ini mengandungi beberapa bab iaitu kandungan, sistem linear dan penghapusan gauss, algebra matriks, penentu, ruang-ruang vektor, ruang-ruang hasil darab terkedalam, penjelmaan linear, nilai eigen dan vektor eigen, pengaturcaraan linear