chee keong CHIN

Dendrobium hybrids have been cultivated as commercially important ornamental plants in the floriculture industry. However, the potential of Dendrobium hybrids as a source of valuable secondary metabolites has not been fully exploited. In this study, the effect of various elicitors on the proliferation of protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) of Dendrobium Sabin Blue and the corresponding production of dendrobine and anthocyanin was investigated. Yeast extract (YE) and glutamine (both at 200 mg L −1) increased dendrobine content in PLBs by 2.7-and 6.5-fold (54.874 ± 2.553 and 894.481 ± 26.185 ng mg −1 dry weight (DW)) compared to controls (20.051 ± 0.182 and 136.956 ± 7.397 ng mg −1 DW). Glutamine (200 mg L −1) also significantly enhanced PLB biomass (0.190 ± 0.009 g) with respect to the control (0.144 ± 0.003 g). Chitosan and salicylic acid (SA) were not effective in enhancing the dendrobine and anthocyanin contents in PLBs. A combination of 4 mg L −1 NAA and 100 mg L −1 arginine increased dendrobine content by 8-fold (123.793 ± 5.446 ng mg −1 DW) compared to the control (15.554 ± 0.406 ng mg −1 DW). Anthocyanin content was increased by 1.7-fold (0.548 ± 0.019 Color Value (CV) g −1 DW) when PLBs treated with 4 mg L −1 TDZ were exposed to 1.5 h of UV irradiation as compared to those without UV treatment (0.331 ± 0.019 CV g −1 DW). Despite the low dendrobine content, PLBs as a source of dendrobine remains appealing due to its short culture duration (6 wk) compared to mother plants (2 yr). Keywords Plant growth regulators. Amino acids. Elicitors. Orchid tissue culture. Secondary metabolites Key message • To date, dendrobine and anthocyanins have not been reported in PLBs of Dendrobium species. • In this study, PLBs of Dendrobium 'Sabin Blue' were used for producing dendrobine and anthocyanin compounds. • This study aimed to establish an efficient PLB culture system of Dendrobium 'Sabin Blue' that can enhance the production of dendrobine and anthocyanin by using elicitors, amino acids, plant growth regulators (PGRs), and ultraviolet (UV) light exposure. • Dendrobine and anthocyanin contents of PLBs, in vitro, and mother plants were compared to make a preliminary assessment of the enhancement strategies.

This study was carried out to reformulate half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium, one of the standard media for orchid tissue culture for protocorm-like bodies (PLB) culture of Dendrobium Sabin Blue. Initial PLB fresh mass of 0.5 g was inoculated in various culture treatments for six weeks of culture period. Alteration of half MS medium yielded a modified medium without Fe-EDTA and containing half-strength macronutrients, double-strength micronutrients, full-strength vitamins and 30 g/L sucrose. The modified medium enhanced the proliferation of PLBs by 23% (0.299 ± 0.017 g) as compared half MS medium (0.243 ± 0.012 g) on a dry mass basis. PLB suspension culture was established using liquid medium of the revised formula for a period of 7 weeks. Supplementing the modified medium with quarter-strength of Fe-EDTA is beneficial for long-term culture of PLBs. Improvement of PLB biomass through the use of modified culture medium devoid of plant growth regulators reduces production cost for micropropagation and secondary metabolite production. Besides, it can reduce the likelihood of somaclonal variations related to the use of plant growth regulators in the culture medium.

Tekanan terhadap sistem sokongan kehidupan di bumi akibat perubahan cuaca dan jurang sosial yang semakin meruncing mendesak peranan pendidikan guru supaya lebih proaktif ke arah masa depan yang lebih lestari. Kepentingan pendidikan untuk pembangunan lestari dicerminkan dalam 'Pendidikan Berkualiti', salah satu daripada 17 Matlamat Pembangunan Lestari (Sustainable Development Goals, SDG). Kajian ini bertujuan meninjau pertimbangan siswa guru dalam pemilihan SDG yang dianggap paling kritikal. Analisis dokumen dalam talian dilakukan terhadap hujah 44 orang siswa guru melalui soalan perbincangan yang dikemukakan dalam Google Classroom. SDG paling kritikal yang popular dipilih siswa guru ialah SDG1, SDG2, SDG4 dan SDG 6, manakala SDG yang kurang mendapat perhatian siswa guru ialah SDG9, SDG10, SDG11, SDG14 dan SDG17. Pemilihan SDG paling kritikal yang popular adalah didorong oleh semangat nasionalisme, keperluan kesihatan dan kepentingan alam sekitar. Hasil dapatan memberikan implikasi bahawa pengetahuan dan kesedaran tentang SDG haruslah dijelmakan secara eksplisit dalam pendidikan guru sementelahan siswa guru perlu peka dengan isu dan perkembangan dunia semasa.

Oncidium orchid has high demand and economic value especially in floriculture industry. This study aimed to optimize a suitable medium for rapid proliferation of protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) of Oncidium Golden Anniversary orchid. Results from this study confirmed that ½ MS semi-solid medium displayed the highest growth index and total numbers of PLBs. Inclusion of 20g/L sucrose and 1mg/L BAP produced the highest PLB proliferation rate, while adding charcoal gave no significant effect. Half-moon PLB size contributes to the highest growth rate on using a thin cell layer (TCL) system. Hence, the best medium for Oncidium Golden Anniversary PLB proliferation was ½ MS semi-solid media supplemented with 20 g/L sucrose and 1 mg/L BAP.

This study was carried out to reformulate half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium, one of the standard media for orchid tissue culture for protocorm-like bodies (PLB) culture of Dendrobium Sabin Blue. Initial PLB fresh mass of 0.5 g was inoculated in various culture treatments for six weeks of culture period. Alteration of half MS medium yielded a modified medium without Fe-EDTA and containing half-strength macronutrients, double-strength micronutrients, full-strength vitamins and 30 g/L sucrose. The modified medium enhanced the proliferation of PLBs by 23% (0.299 ± 0.017 g) as compared half MS medium (0.243 ± 0.012 g) on a dry mass basis. PLB suspension culture was established using liquid medium of the revised formula for a period of 7 weeks. Supplementing the modified medium with quarter-strength of Fe-EDTA is beneficial for longterm culture of PLBs. Improvement of PLB biomass through the use of modified culture medium devoid of plant growth regulators reduces production cost for micropropagation and secondary metabolite production. Besides, it can reduce the likelihood of somaclonal variations related to the use of plant growth regulators in the culture medium.

Teacher education programme can be capitalised to raise awareness of teachers to have a positive environmental worldview to serve the purpose of teaching environmental education across different subjects. 'Biological Diversity' is a compulsory course for pre-service teachers whose major is Science in the Malaysian teacher education institute. This course was conducted in blended learning mode in which Facebook was used to complement face-to-face interactions between lecturers and pre-service teachers. This article elaborates on the structure and objectives of a technology-enhanced 'Biological Diversity' course in raising environmental worldview of pre-service teachers and evaluation of Facebook as a learning tool. New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) survey items were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the course to improve pre-service teachers' environmental worldview. Qualitative framework analysis was performed on respondents' open-ended responses in a pen-and-paper survey, and posts on Facebook, a social media platform to interpret pre-service teachers' feedback on the use of Facebook for blended learning. The change in the mean scores of the NEP scale before and after the course revealed improvement in the pre-service teachers' pro-environmental worldview. Their response posted on Facebook also indicated that the 'Biological Diversity' course had made them more environmental conscious. However Facebook was not found to be a favourable learning tool for this course. The findings in this study provide insight on embedded environmental education in teacher training programmes and the use of online learning platform in supporting environmental education.

Clinacanthus nutans (Burm. f.) Lindau is a medicinal plant that is widely used in traditional treatments for skin inflammation, skin lesions, viral infection and snake bites. This study investigates the effects of different concentrations of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) on the induction of callus from Clinacanthus nutans leaves. Young and mature leaves of Clinacanthus nutans were placed on MS media supplemented with ten concentrations of 2,4-D (0 to 10mg/L). The percentage of callus formation, callus fresh weight and callus morphology were recorded followed by histological analysis on callus from young leaves and mature leaves. The highest mean of fresh weight of callus was obtained from young leaf explants in MS media supplemented with 0.5 mg/L 2,4-D whereas the highest mean of callus fresh weight from mature leaf explants was achieved in MS media supplemented with 0.25 mg/L 2,4-D. Histological analysis indicated potential formation of somatic embryos from callus of young...

Research in science learning revealed that learners and teachers need highly interactive conversational environments around media-rich artifacts to provide common grounds for fostering learning communications. In this third series of the article, on exemplary practices in SEARCH for youth researchers through blended learning, elaboration will be made on another sub-portal of SEARCH, entitled ‘Science Project/problem/programme-based Activities inCorporating Experiment MANagement’ (SP 3 ACEMAN) [http://sp3aceman.net]. The programme was founded in 2004 with off-line resources and incorporated with blended learning activities since 2009. Workshops were also conducted in 2011 and 2012 to replicate some of the activities adapted from previous research findings. Some main features of SP 3 ACEMAN that promote student-centred learning supported by ICT with threaded discussion topics related to science and mathematics learning are highlighted. Educational implications of Web 2.0 to promote an...

Public awareness on environmental issues is the prerequisite of the behavioural changes towards environmental-friendly activities. People who are concern about preserving the environment for present and future generations are more prone to engage in pro-environment lifestyles. In this study, the modified New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale was used to gauge 348 students’ pro-environmental concern. Based on 1 to 5 Likert scale response, students’ pro-environmental values was found to be high (mean=3.66, SD=0.59). Data analysis showed no difference in students’ belief system across gender and between students in Penang and Perak states. However, there was variation in pro-environmental concern between schools. It was also revealed that students’ science achievement in school is a moderate-effect predictor of their pro-environmental concern.

Pengalaman pembelajaran sains yang menyeronokkan dan bermakna adalah penting untuk melahirkan generasi akan datang yang meminati kerjaya sains dan teknologi. Artikel ini melaporkan amalan pedagogi terbaik oleh seorang guru sains di sebuah sekolah rendah di Bukit Mertajam. Pemerhatian sesi PdPc yang berlangsung selama satu jam telah mengenalpasti empat aspek amalan pedagogi terbaik, iaitu penyusunan bilik darjah abad 21, penggunaan teknologi maklumat, aktiviti membina model fasa bulan dan kuiz menyusun abjad. Sesi PdPc yang ditinjau didapati melibatkan tangan, minda dan hati murid (hands-on, minds-on, hearts-on). Temubual dengan rakan sekerja guru yang ditinjau mendapati amalan bimbingan rakan sebaya oleh guru yang berpengalaman dapat membantu guru yang baru mengajar Sains. Pengenalan Strategi pendidikan yang sesuai dengan generasi abad ke-21 telah banyak diperkatakan dan banyak bahan penulisan yang mengulas mengenai pendidikan yang mampu memenuhi harapan dan keperluan pendidikan masa kini dan masa hadapan. Secara umum, pakar pendidikan mendapati kaedah pengajaran konvensional seperti "chalk and talk" semata-mata kurang berhasil menarik minat murid. Sebaliknya kaedah yang lebih dinamik, kreatif dan relevan dengan kandungan pengajaran harus digunakan. Menyedari kepentingan guru memahami dan bersedia melakukan perubahan dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran sesuai dengan pembelajaran abad ke-21, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia telah melancarkan inisiatif pembelajaran abad ke-21 secara rintis pada tahun 2014 dan meluaskan pelaksanaan ke seluruh negara mulai tahun 2015. Pedagogi abad ke-21 yang sedang giat dikembangkan ke seluruh negara perlu mempunyai unsur pembelajaran yang menyentuh tangan, hati dan minda murid (hands-on, hearts-on, minds-on) supaya murid terlibat dalam pembelajaran bermakna yang aktif dan menyeronokkan. Dalam usaha negara kita melahirkan generasi yang saintifik dan progresif yang dapat berperanan sebagai penyumbang kepada dunia sains dan teknologi dan bukan sebagai pengguna sains dan teknologi semata-mata, pengalaman murid sekolah dalam pembelajaran sains perlulah positif dan menarik minat supaya mereka melahirkan hasrat untuk menceburkan diri dalam profesion sains dan teknologi. Dari segi pengaruh penentuan kerjaya berteraskan sains dan teknologi, kajian seawal tahun 1960-an telah menunjukkan pelajar universiti dalam sains dan kejuruteraan telah membuat keputusan pilihan kerjaya sejak umur 12 tahun dan kekal komited dalam keputusan yang telah dibuat (Musgrove & Batcock, 1969). Kajian Reid (2013) juga mendapati pendidikan sains di sekolah rendah adalah penting dalam perkembangan minat dan sikap murid terhadap sains, dan kerjaya sains dan teknologi.

Teacher education programme can be capitalised to raise awareness of teachers to have a positive environmental worldview to serve the purpose of teaching environmental education across different subjects. 'Biological Diversity' is a compulsory course for pre-service teachers whose major is Science in the Malaysian teacher education institute. This course was conducted in blended learning mode in which Facebook was used to complement face-to-face interactions between lecturers and pre-service teachers. This article elaborates on the structure and objectives of a technology-enhanced 'Biological Diversity' course in raising environmental worldview of pre-service teachers and evaluation of Facebook as a learning tool. New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) survey items were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the course to improve pre-service teachers' environmental worldview. Qualitative framework analysis was performed on respondents' open-ended responses in a pen-and-paper survey, and posts on Facebook, a social media platform to interpret pre-service teachers' feedback on the use of Facebook for blended learning. The change in the mean scores of the NEP scale before and after the course revealed improvement in the pre-service teachers' pro-environmental worldview. Their response posted on Facebook also indicated that the 'Biological Diversity' course had made them more environmental conscious. However Facebook was not found to be a favourable learning tool for this course. The findings in this study provide insight on embedded environmental education in teacher training programmes and the use of online learning platform in supporting environmental education.

Solanum melongena L. commonly known as the eggplant or brinjal comes from
the family of Solanaceae, sharing the same ancestor with the tomato and potato. It is an
economically important crop worldwide, being well studied for its medicinal properties,
nutritional values and its role as an alternative model plant. The eggplant fruit has been previously used for treatments of various diseases such as bronchitis, asthma, arthritis
and diabetes as well as its nutritive properties that are beneficial to the human diet. Plant
transformation studies on the eggplant have been widely done for the production of
transgenic eggplants harbouring genes that are beneficial for optimal plant growth and fruit
production. Shoot induction is an essential step required for the successful regeneration
of transformed plant tissues and therefore is an essential pre-requisite in Agrobacteriummediated
transformation. The local eggplant cv. Bulat Putih is a local cultivar of eggplant
in Malaysia with white and round fruits making it a potential model plant colour pigment
accumulation studies in fruit crops. The current work aims to investigate the shoot induction
potential of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and Kinetin from cotyledon explants of eggplant cv.
Bulat Putih. Results indicated that both BAP and Kinetin were able to induce the regeneration
of callus from cotyledon explants. On the other hand, Kinetin at the concentration of
2.0 mg/L successfully induced shoots at the value of 1.50 ± 0.22 shoots per explant,
whereas BAP alone did not trigger any formation of shoots. This study indicated that kinetin
alone is sufficient to induce shoots in eggplant cv. Bulat Putih without the presence of BAP.

In the advent of digital era, the integration of technology-enhanced teacher education has been given emphasis along with raising awareness on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). This article reports two case exemplars on the delivery of blended-mode curriculum to promote ‘Education for Sustainable Development’ (ESD) through training courses incorporating different strategies with the intention of providing students with more varieties of experiences related to learning science and mathematics. Facebook and Edmodo were used independently in different learning contexts. Students in the first case exemplar developed critical thinking skill as they justified their opinions in issues raised on Facebook. For hands-on experience, students planned and implemented various sustainability projects in primary schools. Students reported that the revised curriculum delivery strategies based on existing curriculum content helped to prepare them to teach sustainability in the future. In the second case exemplar, teachers were trained in Mathematics digital tools for teaching mathematics and subsequently employed critical thinking when they tried to make origami paper cups with the largest possible volume. In conclusion, technology-enhanced courses on sustainability should be integrated more regularly in both pre- and in-service teacher education to reaffirm the role of teacher as a vehicle of social change in sustainable development.

Plant tissue culture technology offers the potential of producing medicinally important secondary metabolites
such as anti-malarial artemisinin from Artemisia annua. In this study, callus induction of three different varieties
of A.annua, namely T1, T2 and Hi varieties was carried out using leaf explants on Murashige & Skoog (MS) and
Litvay (LV) media with three different supplementations. MS medium added with 0.5 mg/L BA, 0.5 mg/L NAA
and 0.5 g/L of casein hydrolysate (CH) induced the highest yield of callus biomass compared to the effect of picloram- or 2,4-enriched MS medium. T2 variety was found to be the highest yielding variety in this medium.
Picloram-enriched MS medium induced better callus in term of callus biomass and friability than 2,4-enriched
medium. Hi variety induced in MS medium added with 0.5 mg/L picloram produced highest callus biomass among the three varieties. Callus formed on 0.5 mg/L picloram was also much more easily dispersed than callus of all three varieties cultured in the other two MS medium. LV-based medium was generally shown to be poor in inducing callogenic response from leaf explants. Therefore Hi callus sourced from MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L picloram was selected to initiate liquid cell culture of A. annua which can further be explored for production of artemisinin, an anti-malarial compound.

Kaedah intervensi 'WOW' diperkenalkan untuk mendorong murid bertanya soalan 'apa' (what) dan 'mengapa' (why) tentang gambar dan video yang ditonton oleh mereka. Dalam kajian tindakan ini, gambar dan video yang menunjukkan haiwan yang pelik telah digunakan bagi meningkatkan minat 56 orang murid tahun dua. Kajian tindakan dijalankan dalam dua sesi dan data dikumpul melalui pemerhatian tingkah laku, temu bual dan kekerapan penyoalan oleh murid. Peningkatan tingkah laku positif dalam kalangan murid kelas 2J adalah sebanyak 48% dan 40% pada sesi pertama dan sesi kedua masing, manakala murid kelas 2P menunjukkan peningkatan sebannyak 44% dan 45%. Pada sesi pertama, bilangan soalan yang ditanya oleh murid kelas 2J meningkat sebanyak 25 soalan dan kelas 2P meningkata sebanyak 42 soalan. Pada sesi kedua pula, kelas 2J menunjukkan peningkatan 53 soalan, dan kelas 2P sebanyak 37 soalan. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan gambar dan video yang digunakan dapat meningkatkan tingkah laku positif dan minat murid dalam pembelajaran Sains.

This chapter discusses class control strategies as determinant for a smooth and effective teaching and facilitation at Sekolah Kebangsaan Tunku Abdul Malik, Kulim. Continuous discussion and collaboration with school science teacher has resulted in three-pronged strategies comprising class rules, reward system and cooperative learning groups to control the behaviour of pupils in the weakest class of Year 5 and thus involve pupils actively in learning.