BackgroundThe potential application of Ficus deltoidea and vitexin for the management of symptomatologies associated with diabetes mellitus (DM) has gained much attention. However, less firm evidence comes from data to augment our understanding of the role of F. deltoidea and vitexin in protecting pancreatic β-cells. The aim of this study was to assess histological and oxidative stress changes in the pancreas of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats following F. deltoidea extract and vitexin treatment.Methods F. deltoidea and vitexin was administrated orally to six-weeks STZ-induced diabetic rats over 8 weeks period. The glucose and insulin tolerances were assessed by intraperitoneal glucose (2 g/kg) tolerance test (IPGTT) and intraperitoneal insulin (0.65 U/kg) tolerance test (IPITT), respectively. Subsequently, insulin resistance was assessed by homeostasis assessment model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) and the insulin/triglyceride-derived McAuley index. The histological changes in the pancreas were then observed by hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining. Further, the pattern of fatty acid composition and infrared (IR) spectra of the serum and pancreas were monitored by gas chromatography (GC) method and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy.Results F. deltoidea and vitexin increased pancreatic antioxidant enzymes and promoted islet regeneration. However, a significant increase in insulin secretion was observed only in rats treated with F. deltoidea. More importantly, reduction of fasting blood glucose is consistent with reduced FT-IR peaks at 1200-1000 cm−1.ConclusionsThese results accentuate that F. deltoidea and vitexin could be a potential agent to attenuate pancreatic oxidative damage and advocate their therapeutic potential for treating DM.

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Insulin signalling in bone favours whole-body glucose homeostasis by activating osteocalcin, which is important for bone remodeling. However, diabetes causes deficient production of insulin which consequently affects the osteocalcin and bone turnover marker. The aim of this study was to explore the potential of A. excelsa to improve insulin and osteocalcin secretion, resulting in improved bone histomorphometric and bone turnover marker in STZ- induced diabetic rats. The experimental rats were divided into normal control (NC), diabetic control (DC), Metformin-treated diabetic (DMET) (positive control) and A. excelsa-treated diabetic (DAE) rats with the treatment period of eight weeks. After the treatment, the femoral bones were removed and bone morphometrical parameters  were defined using Micro-CT scan. The bones were analysed for mineral density (BMD) and trabecular parameters. The bones samples were decalcified for histological preparation and  images of the  was hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained bones were captured and analysed. The concentrations of serum insulin, osteocalcin and bone turnover marker were evaluated using specific ELISA kits. The study showed that A. excelsa caused a significant increase in insulin and osteocalcin levels. A. excelsa also represents ameliorative effects on trabecular bone of the diabetic rat. The data also demonstrated that with A. excelsa treatment, it moderately restored the balance between bone formation and bone resorption markers. These data confirmed that A. excelsa extract could attenuate the STZ-induced bone loss and reverses the deterioration of bone microarchitecture in diabetic rats. This finding indicates the osteoprotective effects presence in the A. excelsa extract.

The English language is the medium of instruction and knowledge deliverance in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). This study looks into whether or not English writing skills affect the students’ performance in answering Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) in the final examination of Molecular Biology (BIO615). The samples comprised BSc (Hons) Biology students from two consecutive semesters in two of UiTM campuses (UiTM Shah Alam and UiTM Jengka). Mean percentage between students answering the December 2015 and June 2016 final examinations in the respective campus was obtained and correlated with marks obtained in English for Academic Writing course (ELC550). The results demonstrated a weak correlation between students’ achievement in ELC550 and their ability in answering HOTS questions in BIO615 final examination in UiTM Shah Alam. In contrast, in UiTM Jengka, the moderate correlation was shown in Semester Sept-Jan 2015. The results of this study are hoped to assist biology educators in crafting appropriate and effective teaching approaches, especially in teaching complicated subjects as well as in strengthening English language proficiency.    Keywords: Higher Order Thinking Skills; Molecular Biology; English Proficiency; Bloom’s Taxonomy.    eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2020. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.   DOI:

Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) is an established analytical technique to elucidate new discriminatory biomarkers. Our previous study showed that Ficus deltoidea (Ficus: Moraceae) is capable of increasing insulin secretion and improving tissue regeneration by reducing oxidative stress in diabetic rats. However, the assessment of treatment response is limited by the paucity of biomarkers. We aimed to evaluate the potential use of FTIR for assessing the nephroprotective effects of Ficus deltoidea (Ficus: Moraceae) in diabetic rats. A rat model of diabetes was induced using a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) (60 mg/kg body weight). Methanolic extract of F. deltoidea was administered orally at a dose of 1000 mg/kg body weight for eight weeks. Fasting blood glucose, serum insulin and kidney function parameters were examined. The kidneys were subsequently subjected to FTIR and histological analyses. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) assessed the levels of oxidative stress, antioxidant, and apoptosis-related proteins in the kidney tissue. The results show, for the first time, that there is a good agreement between changes in kidney and FTIR peaks. The IR peaks (1545 cm−1 and 1511 cm-1) corresponding to amide II were restored by treatment with F. deltoidea. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the diabetic rats treated with F. deltoidea had similar clustering pattern that of the normal animals. Biochemical and histological examination further confirmed the nephroprotective effect of F. deltoidea. Thus, demonstrating how FTIR spectroscopy could be used for the diagnosis of diabetes kidney disease.