Conjugation of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) to poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) renders the latter with enhanced biocompatibility and broader overall capability in biomedical application. Novel miktoarm star polymers comprising PLGA and PEG segments are of interest for their potential as drug carriers. Thus, a series of miktoarm star copolymers, PLGA-(mPEG)2, with different PLGA arm molecular weights and methoxy-PEG (mPEG) arm (2000 g/mol), were synthesised via a four-step reaction using carbodiimide chemistry with a low steric hindrance trifunctional linker aminoadipic acid (AAA) and characterised by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Results show that the miktoarm star polymers PLGA17.0-AAA(mPEG)2 and PLGA43.4-AAA(mPEG)2 formed stable nanoparticles and PLGA4.6-AAA(mPEG)2 self-assembled into stable nanomicelles. Fluorescence spectroscopy showed that the critic.....

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Background This study aimed to observe the cartilaginous matrix production in SRY (sex determining region Y)-box 9 (SOX9)- and/or telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT)-transfected chondrocytes from monolayer to three-dimensional (3D) culture. Methods The genes were transferred into chondrocytes at passage-1 (P1) via lipofection. The post-transfected chondrocytes (SOX9-, TERT- and SOX9/TERT) were analysed at P1, P2 and P3. The non-transfected group was used as control. The 3D culture was established using the chondrocytes seeded in a disc-shaped PLGA/fibrin and PLGA scaffolds. The resulting 3D “cells-scaffolds” constructs were analysed at week-1, -2 and -3. The histoarchitecture was evaluated using haematoxylin and eosin, alcian blue and safranin o stains. The quantitative sulphated glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) content was measured using biochemical assay. The cartilage-specific markers expression were analysed via real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results All monolayer cultured ch.....

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Kajian ini dijalankan untuk meneliti peranan sekolah dalam pembentukan perpaduan antara kaum dalam kalangan pelajar.Objektif kajian ini merangkumi tiga perkara iaitu mengenal pasti tahap hubungan antara kaum di sekolah, mengenal pasti isu hubungan kaum dan melihat langkah-langkah yang dilaksanakan oleh pihak sekolah dan mengenal pasti masalah yang dihadapi oleh pihak sekolah dalam membentuk perpaduan antara etnik.Kajian ini menggunakan dua teori sosiologi iaitu Teori Fungsionalisme dan Teori Pilihan Rasional.Kaedah kualitatif dengan reka bentuk kajian kes digunakan dalam kajian ini.Teknik pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui pemerhatian, analisis dokumen dan temu bual.Seramai 22 orang peserta yang terdiri daripada seorang pentadbir, tiga orang guru dan 18 orang pelajar ditemu bual dalam kajian ini.Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa tahap hubungan antara kaum berada pada tahap tidak mesra.Sekolah memainkan peranan yang penting dalam membentuk perpaduan antara etnik melalui sambutan perayaa.....

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This study aims to describe the process of the development of a creative drama module that could be used as tool for the socialization of learners with autism. Objectives of the study are to identify common socialization deficits of learners with ASD and to develop a module using drama activities.This descriptive study is conducted to investigate how drama activities could be used as tool to help learners with autism engage in social interaction. Data were collected through interviews,observations, and checklist analysis. Semi-structured questions were used in the interviews.Instruments used were interview questions, observation field notes and evaluation checklist.Descriptive analysis was used to examine thecollected data. Findings of the study show that learners with ASD share common deficits in socialization; drama activities are helpful in encouraging socialinteraction among learners with ASD and the module in creative drama could be used as a tool for the socialization. Im.....

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Emphasizing only on intellectual intelligence without stressing on feelings and emotions could negatively affect an individual’s emotional development. Development of stable emotion regulation strategies is important for an individual to function appropriately in different contexts. Although there are many scales developed to measure emotional intelligence (EI), there is a dearth of instruments to measure EI in preschool children. One instrument that taps EI in preschool children is The Sullivan Emotional Intelligent Scale for Children (EISC). EISC was developed for use in the United States and there is no such instrument available in Malaysian context (to the best of our knowledge).The aim of the current study was to adapt EISC to measure Malaysian preschool children’s emotional intelligence. EISC was translated into Malay Language and the reliability value of the instrument was then tested using the Rasch Model. There are 50 respondents (preschool children) was random sel.....

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Arabic language has long been established in the Republic of China along with the entrance of Islam. Among the regions in which the Arabic language teaching is available in China is the Ningxia region. Even though the Arabic language in the Ningxia region has begun for a long time, the Arabic language pass rate is still recording low percentage. Therefore, this study was conducted using a descriptive analysis pertaining to the problems of Arabic language learning among students at Ningxia University. In addition, the objective of this study was to identify the factors that caused the Arabic language learning problems among students at Ningxia University. The inductive method was used in the process of collecting information with regard to the Arabic language learning activities at Ningxia University. The quantitative approach in this study used a questionnaire instrument as the main instrument. The sample selection was carried out by means of a purposeful sampling involving.....

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Students in higher learning institutes in Malaysia face some difficulties in expressing themselves in English language and show lack of competency in speech.They perform poorly in the English language during examination held in the university and also interviews. Based on the problems encountered by the weak students, it was deemed necessary to provide some form of guidance to enable the ESL students to speak confidently. The guidance comes in the form of a cooperative interactive learning module for teaching speaking to weak ESL students. The purpose of the study is to develop a cooperative interactive learning module as a teaching approach that could benefit ESL students at the university. This study also investigates the attitudes of the students before and after using the cooperative interactive learning module concerning speaking.The research comprises of two stages namely instructional design, ADDIE model (to develop the module). A quasi-experimental design was carried�.....

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the social and communication skills difficulties among identified learners with ASD in the Philippines.Objectives of the study are to identify what are the social and communication characteristics of the children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and to identify the effect of their social and communication difficulties in the learning process. The case study was conducted at Jose Fabella Memorial School (JFMS), Mandaluyong City, Philippines and participants were selected purposively involving six learners with ADS, their parents and their teachers. The data collection period is for five months. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and checklist analysis. The research instruments used were checklist, interview questions and field notes. Data were analyzed using descriptive methods. Inter-rater checklist results were used for document analysis. Thematic analysis was used to examine the collected data from the interv.....

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This study aimed to investigate Philippine indigenous learners’ speaking difficulties in English Semantics.The objectives was to identify indicators of poor vocabulary, processing and expressing of information. It was a qualitative research through case studies of five Grade 2 Indigenous Peoples (IP) learners in Echague, Isabela, Philippines. Data collection was done through observation and oral assessments activities. Instruments include checklist of speaking difficulties signified by inadequacy in English vocabulary; and constructed oral assessment activities in English. Data gathered were qualitatively analysed. Findings revealed that all the five indigenous learner-participants demonstrated English vocabulary deficiency to name depicted objects in the surroundings. They had struggles in reciting week-days, months and in citing common Philippine events. They had difficulty in conveying illustrated antonyms and synonyms. These findings denote a language intervention to im.....

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Seri Rama is a protagonist character in the  repertoire of Hikayat Seri Rama which is performed in Wayang  Kulit  Kelantan.  However,  this  protagonist  character  is  a  fine  character  that holds  high feminine attributes. Therefore, to characterize these feminine attributes, gender schema theory is used as a reference by utilizing Bem Sex-Role Inventory as the quantifying measurement tool. There are three assessment techniques to analyze the feminine attributes, however this research analyses the feminine attributes of Seri Rama through the movements conducted by the dalang (puppeteer) during the performance. The movements of gambalan (puppets) have distinct differencesmbetween each gambalan and this shows that every characters has its own identity.These observed feminine attributes shows that a ruler like Seri Rama holds feminine traits...

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