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Voltammetric-based immunosensing of Newcastle disease virus on polyethylene glycol-containing self-assembled monolayer modified gold electrode
No full textA voltammetric immunosensor for the detection of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) has been developed by employing polyclonal antibody targeting NDV (anti-NDV) as a bioreceptor. Anti-NDV was immobilized on polyethylene glycol (PEG)-containing self-assembled monolayer (SAM) which was activated with N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimidehydrochloride (EDC) and N-hydroxy succinimide (NHS) coupling on screen-printed gold electrode (SPGE). The introduction of PEG-containing SAM on the SPGE allowed the bioreceptor to covalently bound to the electrode surface whilst still providing a hydrophilic layer on the electrode which is important to greatly reduce non-specific bindings. The bioreceptor functionalized electrode was then allowed to be incubated with NDV-spiked samples. The electrode surface modification with PEG-containing SAM, immobilization of anti-NDV as bioreceptor, up to the detection of NDV were characterized electrochemically through differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) analysis in [Fe(CN)6]3- as the redox probe. Decrement of anodic current peak (Ipa) of [Fe(CN)6]3- was seen as the concentration of NDV increased from 0.156 to 20 HA μL−1 with the limit of detection (LoD) of 1.50 HA μL−1 at 3σ m−1. The detection of NDV in HA μL−1 unit in this study would ease interlaboratory interpretation as it was the same unit used in hemagglutination (HA) assay of conventional NDV diagnosis. The specificity of anti-NDV used as bioreceptor towards NDV was confirmed through western blot analysis, whilst the selectivity of the bioreceptor-functionalized electrode has been tested with allantoic fluid as the negative control in which no apparent changes of anodic peak (Ipa) has been seen. This simple, fast, and less laborious electrochemical detection method could become an alternative to the conventional method for NDV detection
Evidence from financial freedom moderating the relationship between government intervention and financial stability
No full textThis article mainly explores the moderating effect of financial freedom on the effectiveness of government intervention in financial stability. To find more effective and accurate intervention measures, this article compares government intervention from two aspects: fiscal policy, represented by government spending and monetary policy, represented by monetary freedom. Financial stability is no longer a single stability standard but an overall multi-faceted stability, from the three dimensions of household savings, credit growth rate, and macro economy which is the deviation of GDP growth rate, from micro to macro measures of financial stability. This paper explores the moderating effect of financial institution efficiency on the effectiveness of government intervention through the micro-enterprise environment level. This article selects data from 136 countries worldwide and uses the system GMM model to verify the empirical results from 2016 to 2022. The results show that the interaction between financial freedom and government spending has a positive impact on household savings, a negative effect on credit growth rate, and a positive impact on the deviation of GDP growth rate. The interaction between financial freedom and monetary freedom positively impacts household savings, credit growth, and the GDP deviation. According to the marginal effect of the moderating variable financial freedom, the moderating effect of financial freedom on monetary freedom is stronger than that of government spending. Monetary policy is more effective than fiscal policy. In countries with a higher degree of financial freedom, fiscal policy has the most significant impact on the credit market, and monetary policy has the greatest impact on household savings environment. In summary, this study compares fiscal and monetary policy and studies the effects of financial freedom, which is the autonomy and efficiency of financial institutions. Different dimensions of financial stability through regulating fiscal policy and monetary policy based on the same long-term data. It aims to find the most effective, accurate, and influential government intervention methods and provide policy references and guidance for the country to implement effective interventions
Elucidation of synbiotic diet comprising of Lactobacillus plantarum L20 and Sargassum polycystum on gastrointestinal microbiota, tissue structures and AHPND associated dysbiosis susceptibility in black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon)
No full textThis study investigates the effect of a synbiotic combination comprising of Lactobacillus plantarum L20 and Sargassum polycystum on gastrointestinal microbiota, tissue structures and AHPND infection in black tiger shrimp, P. monodon. The shrimp were randomly distributed into synbiotic (feed that was incorporated with 108 CFU/g of L. plantarum L20 and 2% S. polycystum) and control group (feed that was incorporated with PBS). After 35 days of feeding trial, all groups were subjected to an AHPND-causing V. parahaemolyticus S2–4 immersion challenge at 6 × 105 CFU/mL. The shrimp gastrointestinal tract from both groups were collected from the feeding trial and challenge test and subjected to high throughput 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and histopathological analysis. Following 35th day of feeding trial, there were growth enhancement in shrimp, but no significant differences (p > 0.05) in alpha and beta diversities in gastrointestinal microbiota for both groups. However, synbiotic group exhibited a differential abundance of beneficial bacteria, including Lactobacillaceae and Lactiplantibacillus, which were not observed in the control group. Following 60 h post-challenge, there was improvement in shrimp survival in synbiotic group, with slightly significant differences (p 0.05) were observed in beta diversity. Synbiotic group demonstrated negative correlation between the gastrointestinal microbiota with Vibrionaceae, enriched potential metabolic pathway of energy generation and microbiota proliferation, and protected gastrointestinal tract structure during the study. The findings suggest that synbiotic diet comprising of L. plantarum L20 and S. polycystum improve growth performance, disease resistance and gastrointestinal structure protection through enhancement of few beneficial bacteria group abundance, despite insignificantly changes of gastrointestinal microbiota with control diet in the shrimp
Effects of educational technology intervention on creative thinking in educational settings: a meta-analysis
No full textPurpose: This study aims to meta-analytically investigate the impact of educational technology interventions on the development of creative thinking in educational settings. In recent years, the debate among researchers has persisted regarding the impact of various educational technologies, including interactive learning environments, digital instruction and platforms, and educational games and robotics, on students' creative thinking in diverse educational settings due to inconsistent findings. Design/methodology/approach: This study, conducting a meta-analysis by synthesizing 35 relevant empirical studies with 2,776 participants, aims to investigate the association between educational technology interventions and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) and its subscales (fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration). Findings: No evident publication bias was found. From a general perspective, the results demonstrate a moderate level of influence of educational technology on the overall TTCT scale, with high heterogeneity attributed to the adopted instruments, mixed methods and target outcomes. Additionally, the results indicate that only three of the TTCT subscales (fluency, flexibility and originality) are influenced by educational technologies. Among the interventions, interactive learning environments yielded medium to the largest mean effect size. Furthermore, moderator analyses suggest that the effects of interventions on two subscales of TTCT (flexibility and originality) are moderated by school types, research design and the duration of intervention. The conclusion drawn is that interventions promoting students' creative thinking in different educational settings are efficacious. Originality/value: Despite the low homogeneity of the results, which might have influenced the findings, the large fail-safe N suggests that these findings are robust. The study examined potential causes of heterogeneity and emphasized the importance of further research in this area
DNA metabarcoding elucidates fish larval diversity in multi-ecosystem Setiu Wetlands, Malaysia
No full textComplementary larval and adult fish data allows a comprehensive ichthyological diversity assessment of an ecosystem. Identifying fish larvae only by morphology, however, is a tough challenge, even with standard conventional DNA barcoding. Thus, DNA metabarcoding was employed to analyse the richness and diversity of fish larvae in Setiu Wetlands. Fish larvae were collected during the dry season (June to August), across four sampling events. Each event involved two consecutive days of sampling at eight stations representing five distinct ecosystem types: freshwater river, peat swamp, mangrove swamp, mudflat, and estuary. Pooled larval DNA was amplified using universal COI primers and sequenced on the Illumina MiSeq platform. The meta- barcoding assay detected 76 species from 54 genera and 38 families were detected, with Ambassis vachellii, Chanda sp. (Ambassidae), Butis butis (Butidae), Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (Ephinephelidae) and Redigobius biko- lanus (Oxudercidae) among the most common species. The lower diversity compared to previous adult fish surveys (138 species) likely reflects seasonal sampling constraints (dry season only), differences in sampling effort, and methodological limitations of the metabarcoding approach. This study demonstrates that meta- barcoding of larval fish communities can reveal distinct diversity patterns across ecosystem types, identifying important nursery habitats and previously undetected species. The approach provides valuable complementary data to traditional surveys, enhancing our understanding of multi-ecosystem wetland biodiversity and informing targeted conservation strategies