Further accelerating cell Line development and CMC timeline: The journey from COVID to non-COVID programs

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A simple, rapid method to isolate salt glands for three-dimensional visualization, fluorescence imaging and cytological studies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Some plants inhabiting saline environment remove salts via the salt glands embedded in the epidermal tissues. Cytological studies of salt glands will provide valuable information to our understanding of the secretory process. Previous studies on salt gland histology relied mainly on two-dimensional microscopic observations of microtome sections. Optical sectioning properties of confocal laser scanning microscope offer alternative approach for obtaining three-dimensional structural information of salt glands. Difficulty in light penetration through intact leaves and interference from neighbouring leaf cells, however, impede the acquiring of good optical salt gland sections and limit its applications in salt gland imaging. Freeing the glands from adjacent leaf tissues will allow better manipulations for three-dimensional imaging through confocal laser scanning microscopy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here, we present a simple and fast method for the isolation of individual salt glands released from the interference of neighbouring cells. About 100-200 salt glands could be isolated from just one cm²of <it>Avicennia </it><it>officinalis </it>leaf within hours and microscopic visualization of isolated salt glands was made possible within a day. Using these isolated glands, confocal laser scanning microscopic techniques could be applied and better resolution salt gland images could be achieved. By making use of their intrinsic fluorescent properties, optical sections of the gland cells could be acquired without the use of fluorescent probes and the corresponding three-dimensional images constructed. Useful cytological information of the salt gland cells could also be obtained through the applications of fluorescent dyes (e.g., LysoTracker^®Red, FM^®4-64, Texas Red^®).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The study of salt glands directly at the glandular level are made possible with the successful isolation of these specialized structures. Preparation of materials for subsequent microscopic observations of salt glands could be achieved within a day. Potential applications of confocal fluorescence microscopic techniques could also be performed using these isolated glands. Experiments designed and targeted directly at the salt glands were explored and cytological information obtained herein could be further incorporated towards the understanding of the mechanism underlying secretion in plant salt glands.</p

Evaluating KBSM forms four and five sports science in secondary schools in Malaysia / Wee Eng Hoe, Kee Kang Mea and Nadiah Diyana Tan Abdullah

This study was designed to evaluate the implementation of the Form 4 and 5 Sports Science Curriculum in the Malaysian schools. A questionnaire which was formulated by the researchers was administered to 94 Sports Science teachers in Malaysia. Majority of the Sports Science teachers were males and were below 40 years of age. Majority were trained in Sports Science and Physical Education. About half of the teachers were teaching between 5-14 years and majority taught 4-8 periods of Sport Science per week. Majority of the teachers have attended Sports Science related courses, Physical Education related courses and sports related courses. However only about 70% of the Sports Science teachers had attended Sports Science Orientation Course. Inadequate facilities is considered to be a very serious problem. Sports Science teachers felt that financial allocation is inadequate, teaching aids are scarce, reference books are inadequate and emphasized that they need a Sports Science text book and teachers' guide book. In term of teaching, male teachers and teachers with 3 years Sports Science experience are more capable in managing students and in conducting activities/experiments. However, they agreed that administrators consulted them before assigning them to teach but they failed to discuss factors affecting the teaching and learning of Sports Science. For further research, it is recommended that perceptions of students on Sports Science subject and its implementation should be undertaken

ACHIKO-M Database for high myopia analysis and its evaluation

Myopia is the leading public health concern with high prevalence in developed countries. In this paper, we present the ACHIKO-M fundus image database with both myopic and emmetropic cases for high myopia study. The database contains 705 myopic subjects and 151 normal subjects with both left eye and right eye images for each subject. In addition, various clinical data is also available, allowing correlation study of different risk factors. We evaluated two state-of-the-art automated myopia detection algorithms on this database to show how it can be used. Both methods achieve more than 90% accuracy for myopia diagnosis. We will also discuss how ACHIKO-M can be a good database for both scientific and clinical research of myopia

A common variant near TGFBR3 is associated with primary open angle glaucoma

Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), a major cause of blindness worldwide, is a complex disease with a significant genetic contribution. We performed Exome Array (Illumina) analysis on 3504 POAG cases and 9746 controls with replication of the most significant findings in 9173 POAG cases and 26 780 controls across 18 collections of Asian, African and European descent. Apart from confirming strong evidence of association at CDKN2B-AS1 (rs2157719 [G], odds ratio [OR] = 0.71, P = 2.81 × 10−33), we observed one SNP showing significant association to POAG (CDC7–TGFBR3 rs1192415, ORG-allele = 1.13, Pmeta = 1.60 × 10−8). This particular SNP has previously been shown to be strongly associated with optic disc area and vertical cup-to-disc ratio, which are regarded as glaucoma-related quantitative traits. Our study now extends this by directly implicating it in POAG disease pathogenesis

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Abstract Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), a major cause of blindness worldwide, is a complex disease with a significant genetic contribution. We performed Exome Array ), we observed one SNP showing significant association to POAG (CDC7-TGFBR3 rs1192415, OR G-allele = 1.13, P meta = 1.60 × 10 −8 ). This particular SNP has previously been shown to be strongly associated with optic disc area and vertical cup-to-disc ratio, which are regarded as glaucoma-related quantitative traits. Our study now extends this by directly implicating it in POAG disease pathogenesis

AN OBJECT-ORIENTED MODELING ENVIRONMENT FOR DESIGN, ANALYSIS AND CONCURRENCY IN THE BOUNDARY ELEMENT METHOD

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Investigation of container traffic through Singapore

Examines the historical trends in the container traffic through Singapore and identifies the existing and potential port competitors that Singapore is facing. A comparison of Singapore with two other international seaports - Rotterdam and Long Beach, was attempted and possible factors that would affect the future container traffic through Singapore were identified and analysed.Master of Science (Logistics