The usage of direct and indirect learning strategies fostering interactions in group discussions / Angelina Subrayan...[et al.]

The 4IR has influenced learners in many ways and one of them is the ability to learn collectively and from each other. A large number of students have resorted to learning individually without considering the benefits of studying in groups. The purpose of this study was to examine learners’ usage of direct and indirect learning strategies when they interacted in group discussions. It added to the present degree of knowledge and understandings pertaining to the principle behind an effective group work and learning strategies in higher institutions and is centred on students’ involvements in group work that included acquiring knowledge in groups. The participants for this study comprised of students from selected English proficiency courses. They responded to a survey, and the data from the survey was then analysed using the SPSS. The result shows that students were able to develop knowledge on various content-based topics and they have also learnt to interact and improve their social skills using direct and indirect learning strategies in group work activities. The activities in the ESL classrooms incorporated group work for maximum group and social interaction. The findings for this study show positive implications for group interactions in the ESL classroom

Identification and characterization of potential useful bacteria from marine environment

Marine environment remained as largely unexplored source for researchers to discover novel properties from marine organisms which can benefits human kind. The study aims to isolate marine bacterium from various source of marine environment. Six bacterial strains were successfully isolated from marine samples from seashore of the Desaru, Malaysia and identified by 16S rRNA sequencing. The characterizations of bacterial strains were also performed based morphological tests, Gram staining, biochemical tests and antibiotic sensitivity against several antibiotics by disc diffusion method. The 16S rRNA sequence of D-2, D-4, D-7, D-15, D-31 and D-33 revealed a high identity of 97 to 99% with 16S rRNA sequence belong to genera Pseudomonas, Marinomonas, Exiquobacterium,Micrococcus, Pseudoalteromonasand Shewanella respectively. Strain D-31 exhibited higher tolerance towards antibiotic with resistance to Kanamycin, Ampicillin and Erythromycin. However, the growth of other strains was retarded by at least two of the antibiotics on their normal growth. The isolation of marine bacterial strain belongs to Marinomonas sp. and Pseudoalteromonassp. create of interest for further biological characterization as the strains from these two genera have been proven for the discovery of new antimicrobial substances, enzymes for industry application and unique secondary metabolites

Genome analysis of cellulose and hemicellulose degrading micromonospora sp. Cp22

In this study, a bacterial strain CP22 with ability to produce cellulase, xylanase and mannanase was isolated from the oil palm compost. Based on the 16S rRNA gene analysis, the strain was affiliated to genus Micromonospora. To further investigate genes that are related to cellulose and hemicellulose degradation, the genome of strain CP22 was sequenced, annotated and analyzed. The de novo assembled genome of strain CP22 featured a size of 5,856,203 bp with G + C content of 70.84%. Detailed genome analysis on lignocellulose degradation revealed a total of 60 genes consisting of 47 glycoside hydrolase domains and 16 carbohydrate esterase domains predicted to be involved in cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic deconstruction. Particularly, 20 genes encode for cellulases (8 endoglucanases, 3 exoglucanases and 9 β-glucosidases) and 40 genes encode for hemicellulases (15 endo-1,4-β-xylanase, 3 β-xylosidase, 3 α-arabinofuranosidase, 10 acetyl xylan esterase, 6 polysaccharide deacetylase, 1 β-mannanase, 1 β-mannosidase and 1 α-galactosidase). Thirty-two genes encoding carbohydrate-binding modules (CBM) from six different families (CBM2, CBM4, CBM6, CBM9, CBM13 and CBM22) were present in the genome of strain CP22. These CBMs were found in 27 cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic genes, indicating their potential role in enhancing the substrate-binding capability of the enzymes. CBM2 and CBM13 are the major CBMs present in cellulases and hemicellulases (xylanases and mannanases), respectively. Moreover, a GH10 xylanase was found to contain 3 CBMs (1 CBM9 and 2 CBM22) and these CBMs were reported to bind specifically to xylan. This genome-based analysis could facilitate the exploration of this strain for lignocellulosic biomass degradation

Isolation and characterization of bacteria from the skins of guava and apple

In recent years, cut fruit products get a warmest hit among current community. A rapid lifestyle changes among most civilizations leads them to choose a convenient way to get balanced meal and nutrients. The control of microbial growth in cut fruits is an important aspect. This study aimed to isolate and characterize the bacteria from apple and guava fruit skins. Moreover, this study also aimed to investigate the effect of temperature and antimicrobial agent in controlling the growth of bacteria from fruit skins. Six bacteria from guava and seven bacteria from apple fruit skins were successfully isolated. These bacteria were then characterized using biochemical tests. Based on Bergey’s manual, the bacteria were classified as Staphylococcus spp., Proteus spp., Micrococcus spp., Bacillus spp., Pseudomonas spp., Erwinia spp. and Enterobacter spp.. Two parameters, which were antimicrobial agent (XY-12) concentration and temperature, were optimized to control the growth of bacteria in the fruit skins. Results revealed that the optimum XY-12 concentration and temperature in retarding the growth of bacteria were 0.6 mL/L and 4°C respectively. A total of 99.4% of bacterial growth reduction was achieved when guava skins were treated with 0.6 mL/L of XY-12 and incubated at 4°C for 4 days in comparison with the control. In addition, a 100% of bacterial growth inhibition was observed when apple skins were treated under the same conditions. The antimicrobial assays (disc diffusion method) were also performed individually on the 13 isolated bacteria. At 0.6 mL/L of XY-12, largest zone of inhibition (2.70 cm) was observed in strain SA 4 after 24 hours of incubation followed by 2.60 cm (strain SG 5) and 2.46 cm (strain SA 2 and SA 3). Negative control (disc with distilled water) did not show any zone of inhibition

Laman web Pusat Penjagaan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Rita / Sundarajarajoo Thevarajoo

Pengwujudan laman web untuk badan kebajikan seperti Pusat Penjagaan Kanak-Kanak Cacat Rita mempunyai kepentingan ataupun objektif yang tersendiri bukan sahaja kepada pusat kebajikan yang berkaitan tetapi juga berguna kepada masyarakat umum. Laman web ini diwujudkan untuk memberi kemudahan kepada pencapaian maklumat-maklumat seperti carta organisasi, pentadbiran, fungsi, peranan, visi, tanggungjawab, program, projek dan aktiviti-aktiviti yang sedang dan yang akan dijalankan. Model Air Terjun yang dibangunakan dengan konsep HCI sebagai metadologi pembangunan bagi pembangunan sistem laman web ini. Proses perancangan dan perlaksanaan mangambil masa selama dua semester. Dalam masa yang sama, proses dokumentasi turut berjalan. Dengan adanya laman web seperti ini lebih banyak lagi pusat kebajikan akan tampil kehadapan untuk memperkenalkan pusat-pusat kebajikan masing-masing. Ini adalah kerana dengan wujudnya laman web seperti ini, lebih ramai masyarakat terutamanya masyarakat berbilang bangsa rakyat Malaysia yang kaya dengan sikap perihatin mereka tampil kehadapan untuk membantu pusat-pusat ini dengan apa jua bantuan yang dapat mereka hulurkan untuk meringankan beban bagi pihak yang menguruskan pusat kebajikan ini

Draft genome sequence of Vitellibacter aquimaris D-24(T) isolated from seawater

Vitellibacter aquimaris D-24T (=KCTC 42708T = DSM 101732T), a halophilic marine bacterium, was isolated from seawater collected from Desaru beach, Malaysia. Here, we present the draft genome sequence of D-24T with a genome size of approximately 3.1 Mbp and G + C content of 39.93%. The genome of D-24T contains genes involved in reducing a potent greenhouse gas (N2O) in the environment and the degradation of proteinaceous compounds. Genome availability will provide insights into potential biotechnological and environmental applications of this bacterium

Genomic analyses of five Roseivirga species: Insights into marine adaptation

To date, the genus Roseivirga consists of six species with one subspecies and is one of the least-studied genera among the family Flammeovirgaceae. In order to further explore this genus, the genome sequences of five Roseivirga spp. were compared and described in this study. The Roseivirga genomes have similar sizes in the range of 4.08–4.47 Mb with an average of 4.22 Mb. Several key proteins related to osmotic stress adaptation were identified in Roseivirga spp. including betaine transporter, choline dehydrogenase, and glutamate synthases. Significant amount of proteins associated with amino acid transport and metabolism were also present in Roseivirga genome. All five Roseivirga spp. were able to grow in medium contained casamino acids (mixture of amino acids) as sole carbon or nitrogen sources. Taken together, these findings suggested the potential role of Roseivirga in decomposing organic nitrogen matter in marine environment

Draft genome sequence of Vitellibacter vladivostokensis KMM 3516T: a protease-producing bacterium

Type strain Vitellibacter vladivostokensis KMM 3516T (= NBRC 16718T) belongs to the phylum Cytophaga–Flavobacterium–Bacteroides. To date, no genomes of the Vitellibacter spp. have been reported, and their metabolic pathways are unknown. This study reports the draft genome sequence of V. vladivostokensis. Moreover, mining of genes associated with proteolytic enzymes was performed to provide insights for further enzyme characterization

Proposal to reclassify roseivirga ehrenbergii (Nedashkovskaya et al., 2008) as roseivirga seohaensis comb. nov., description of roseivirga seohaensis subsp. aquiponti subsp. nov. and emendation of the genus Roseivirga

The genus Roseivirga currently includes five species: Roseivirga ehrenbergii, R. echinicomitans, R. spongicola, R. marina and R. maritima. Marinicola seohaensis SW-152T was renamed as Roseivirga seohaensis SW-152T and then reclassified again as a later heterotypic synonym of R. ehrenbergii KMM 6017T. In this study, based on average nucleotide identity and digital DNA– DNA hybridization values obtained from in silico methods, together with fatty acid analyses and biochemical tests, we propose to reclassify R. ehrenbergii SW-152 as Roseivirga seohaensis comb. nov. (type strain SW-152T=KCTC 1231T=JCM 12600T). In this work, a Gram-negative, rod-shaped, aerobic and pink-pigmented strain designated as D-25T was isolated from seawater (Desaru Beach, Johor, Malaysia). The 16S rRNA gene analysis revealed that strain D-25T was related to the genus Roseivirga. Strain D-25T was found most closely related to R. seohaensis SW-152T based on average nucleotide identity and digital DNA–DNA hybridization values, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic analyses, indicating that these strains belong to the same species. Thus, it is proposed to split the species R.oseivirga seohaensis into two novel subspecies, Roseivirga seohaensis subsp. seohaensis subsp. nov. (type strain SW-152T=KCTC 12312T=JCM 12600T) and Roseivirga seohaensis subsp. aquiponti subsp. nov. (type strain D-25T=KCTC 42709T=DSM 101709T) and to emend the description of the genus Roseivirga