Rome Ⅲ survey of irritable bowel syndrome among ethnic Malays

AIM:To survey irritable bowel syndrome(IBS) using Rome Ⅲ criteria among Malays from the north-eastern region of Peninsular Malaysia.METHODS:A previously validated Malay language Rome Ⅲ IBS diagnostic questionnaire was used in the current study.A prospective sample of 232 Malay subjects(80% power) was initially screened.Using a stratified random sampling strategy,a total of 221 Malay subjects(112 subjects in a "full time job" and 109 subjects in "no full time job") were recruited.Subjects were visitors(friends and relatives) within the hospital compound and were representative of the local community.Red flags and psychosocial alarm symptoms were also assessed in the current study using previously translated and validated questionnaires.Subjects with IBS were sub-typed into constipation-predominant,diarrhea-predominant,mixed type and un-subtyped.Univariable and multivariable analyses were used to test for association between socioeconomic factors and presence of red flags and psychosocial alarm features among the Malays with IBS.RESULTS:IBS was present in 10.9%(24/221),red flags in 22.2%(49/221) and psychosocial alarm features in 9.0%(20/221).Red flags were more commonly reported in subjects with IBS(83.3%) than psychosocial alarm features(20.8%,P < 0.001).Subjects with IBS were older(mean age 41.4 years vs 36.9 years,P = 0.08),but no difference in gender was noted(P = 0.4).Using univariable analysis,IBS was significantly associated with a tertiary education,high individual income above RM1000,married status,exsmoker and the presence of red flags(all P < 0.05).In multiple logistic regression analysis,only the presence of red flags was significantly associated with IBS(odds ratio:0.02,95%CI:0.004-0.1,P < 0.001).The commonest IBS sub-type was mixed type(58.3%),followed by constipation-predominant(20.8%),diarrheapredominant(16.7%) and un-subtyped(4.2%).Four of 13 Malay females(30.8%) with IBS also had menstrual pain.Most subjects with IBS had at least one red flag(70.8%),12.5% had two red flags and 16.7% with no red flags.The commonest red flag was a bowel habit change in subjects > 50 years old and this was reported by 16.7% of subjects with IBS.CONCLUSION:Using the Rome Ⅲ criteria,IBS was common among ethnic Malays from the north-eastern region of Peninsular Malaysia.

Gastric precancerous lesions are associated with gene variants in Helicobacter pylori -susceptible ethnic Malays

AIM: To identify genes associated with gastric pre-cancerous lesions in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori )susceptible ethnic Malays. METHODS: Twenty-three Malay subjects with H. pylori infection and gastric precancerous lesions identified during endoscopy were included as "cases". Thirtyseven Malay subjects who were H. pylori negative and had no precancerous lesions were included as "controls". Venous blood was collected for genotyping with Affymetrix 50K Xba1 kit. Genotypes with call rates < 90% for autosomal single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were excluded. For each precancerous lesion, associated SNPs were identified from Manhattan plots, and only SNPs with a χ2 P value < 0.05 and Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium P value > 0.5 was considered as significant markers. RESULTS: Of the 23 H. pylori -positive subjects recruited, one sample was excluded from further analysis due to a low genotyping call rate. Of the 22 H. pylori positive samples, atrophic gastritis only was present in 50.0%, complete intestinal metaplasia was present in 18.25%, both incomplete intestinal metaplasia and dysplasia was present in 22.7%, and dysplasia only was present in 9.1%. SNPs rs9315542 (UFM1 gene), rs6878265 (THBS4 gene), rs1042194 (CYP2C19 gene) and rs10505799 (MGST1 gene) were significantly associated with atrophic gastritis, complete intestinal metaplasia, incomplete metaplasia with foci of dysplasia and dysplasia, respectively. Allele frequencies in "cases" vs "controls" for rs9315542, rs6878265, rs1042194 and rs10505799 were 0.4 vs 0.06, 0.6 vs 0.01, 0.6 vs 0.01 and 0.5 vs 0.02, respectively. CONCLUSION: Genetic variants possibly related to gastric precancerous lesions in ethnic Malays susceptible to H. pylori infection were identified for testing in subsequent trials.

Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses for Testing Validity and Reliability of the Malay Language Questionnaire for Urinary Incontinence Diagnosis (QUID)

This study examines the construct validity and reliability of the Malay language questionnaire for urinary incontinence diagnosis (QUID) in women. Study Design: Random sampling design was used in this cross-sectional survey. Materials and Methods: The Americanized English language questionnaire was translated to the Malay language and distributed to community-dwelling Malaysian women living in various locations in Selangor. The construct validity was tested using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The reliability was determined using Cronbach’s α. Results: A total of 111 women completed the Malay language QUID in this pilot study. The Keiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy of 0.675 and Bartlett’s test of sphericity (χ2 = 284.633, df = 15, p = 0.001) indicated that the EFA was possible. The total variance and the scree plot identified two factors above the initial eigenvalue of 1 while a third factor was just below it (0.758). The CFA output showed a recursive model with the solution being not admissible because two unobserved and exogenous variables had negative variance estimates. The following values of absolute fit indices showed an acceptable level of fit: 1) Chi-square test with χ2 = 4.997, df = 5, p = 0.416, indicated a smaller difference between the expected and observed covariance matrices;2) GFI = 0.986, AGFI = 0.939, RMR = 0.021 and CMIN/DF = 1.0 indicated acceptable level of fit;3) The baseline comparison values of NFI = 0.983 and CFI = 1.0 also indicated a good fit to the data;4) RMSEA = 0.000 was considered a perfect fit indicating that the hypothesized model was a good fit to the observed data. Under the hypothesis of “close fit”, the probability of getting a sample RMSEA as large as 0.000 was 0.567. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.823 indicated good reliability. Conclusion: The Malay language QUID is a valid and reliable instrument for diagnosing female urinary incontinence in the Malaysian population.

Malay盆地淡水泥质砂岩的地层评价

在Malay盆地地层评价中，地层水的化学组成是一个重要的变量，它是引起产层与含水砂岩之间电阻率差异小的主要原因。近来，由于对盐水组成分布的研究，使我们可以用一系列不同的计算方法计算盆地的不同区块的饱和度。在Malay盆地的最东部，矿化度接近海水矿化度(30，000ppm TDS)，用普通的泥质砂岩方程评价含烃饱和度，可适当地降低其不确定性。然而，一些较大的油气田位于盆地中央的淡水富集区(＜3，000ppm)，由于地层水矿化度低及粘土矿物的存在，Ro对Rw不敏感，附加电导率在各种通常使用的泥质砂岩方程中占主导作用。在这样的条件下，毛管压力法日益得到应用。在一些缺乏有足够代表性的高质量毛管压力数据的油田，合成的饱和度函数已经作为获得更可耀的流体饱和度值的一种手段。岩性资料(矿物学、泥岩分布和搜径分析)有助于在束缚状态下确定粘土及毛管束缚水的最小量。粘土束缚水可通过矿物学和对泥岩的常规岩心测量和测井来确定。毛管束缚水则利用经验的“有效”体积含水(BVWE)来估算，它是以搜径数据或模拟纯砂岩储层为基础。如果有核磁共振测井资料，可用来到度总的束缚水体积。从可操作性上来看，电阻率差异小的产层，给实时的流体类型预测造成许多限制。特别是高角度井、油基泥浆钻井的井中，很多测井方法受到限制。因此，时间推移随钻测井已被应用于识别流体类型及降低完井的不确定性。测井过程中增加电阻率测井可很好地加以界定。

A Review of the Bentong-Raub Suture vis-à-vis New Insight of the Tectonic Evolution of Malay Peninsula,South East Asia

Genesis of the so-called Bentong-Raub Suture of Malay Peninsula does not fit to the model of subduction-related collision.It has evolved from transpression tectonics resulting closure and exhumation of the inland basin which underwent extensive back-arc extension during Triassic.Crust having similar thickness（average-35 km） below entire Malay Peninsula nagate collision of two separate continental blocks rather supports single continental block that collided with South China continental block during Permo-Triassic.Westward subduction of intervening sea（Proto South China Sea） below Malay Peninsula resulted in widespread I- and S-Type granitization and volcanism in the back-arc basins during Triassic.Extensive occurrence of Permo-Triassic Pahang volcanics of predominantly rhyolitic tuff suggest its derivation from back-arc extension.Back-arc extension,basin development and sedimentation of the central belt of the peninsula continued until Cretaceous.A-Type granite of metaluminous to peraluminous character indicates their emplacement in an intraplate tectonic setting.Malay Peninsula suffered an anticlockwise rotation due to the rifting of Luconia-Dangerous Grounds from the east Asia in the Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary.Extensive ductile and brittle deformation including crustal segmentation,pull-apart fracturing and faulting occurred during the closure and exhumation of the basins developed in the peninsula during Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary.Crustal shortening in the central belt of the peninsula has been accomodated through strike-slip displacement,shearing and uplift.

Translation and Validation of Malay Version 5-Items Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, BIP-Q5 towards COVID-19 among Malaysian Nurses

Introduction: Currently, own individual perception is recognized as one of the important factors in the prevention of disease, including coronavirus disease, COVID-19. Given the massive impact of COVID-19 on all population’s life, including nurses as one of the main health services providers in the country, this study aims to translate and validate the Malay Version 5-Items Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, BIP-Q5 towards COVID-19 among Malaysian nurses. Materials and Methods: Forward and backward translations and pretesting of the BIP-Q5 to Malay were conducted among nurses, subject matter experts, and language professionals. The validations process was elicited through an online cross-sectional study involving 56 nurses based on a ~10:1 subject-to-items ratio sample size estimations. Results: The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed one best component with eigenvalues more than one, confirming the questionnaire’s original version. There are five items within the single component, and all are with weightage of over 43%. The scree plot supported the findings, which showed that at least one factors are suitable to be retained. The overall Cronbach’s α coefficient was 0.7 and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.659. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin was 0.655, and Bartlett’s test of sphericity p-value was Conclusion: This study showed that the translated Malay Version 5-Items Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, BIP-Q5 has a good psychometric property, and is a valid and reliable tool to be used to measure illness perceptions towards COVID-19 among Malaysian nurses.

Intercultural Communication Competence Developed by Chinese in Communicating With Malays in Bangka Island, Indonesia

This study aims to explore the cultural identity of Chinese related to their self-perception, their perception of Malays, and their communication with the Malays in Bangka Island, Indonesia, emphasizing the Chinese intercultural communication competence in terms of their self-presentation in business relationships with the Malays. The study employed an interpretive approach, more specifically the symbolic interactionlst and dramaturgical tradition. The researchers focused on intercultural communication experiences and competence as enacted by the 25 Chinese in the area of the research. The study used in-depth interviews with the Chinese as the main method with some observation of the Chinese communication with the Malays. The researchers also interviewed eight Malays as additional subjects of the research to corroborate the research findings. The study found that the Chinese in Bangka Island perceived themselves as open and willing to mingle with the Malays They are hospitable, hardworking, tenacious, frugal, and fond of maintaining long-term relationships. In contrast, in the Chinese view, the Malays are open and willing to mingle with others, obedient to the teachings of Islam, but they are lazy and are keen on being flattered, consumptive, and easily seduced. In terms of their intercultural communication competence, the Chinese are skillful in their self-presentation by employing various verbal and nonverbal tactics to adjust themselves to the interpersonal, group, and business situations where they encounter the Malays in their everyday lives

The Frequency of Y Alu Polymorphism （YAP） Indel in the Minangkabau Malays in Peninsular Malaysia

Background： Minangkabau Malays （Melayu Minangkabau） is one of the Malay sub ethnic groups in Peninsular Malaysia. During the late 17th and early 18th centuries, migration of the Minangs from West Sumatra to the state of Negeri Sembilan Darul Khusus in Peninsular Malaysia took place and their descendants now form the main sub ethnic group in this state. The genetic polymorphisms of Y chromosome at DYS 287 locus were analyzed in Minangkahau Malays. Methods： A total of 41 buccal cells from healthy unrelated individual＇s males from Minangkabau Malays were typed for the DYS 287. The PCR products were separated on 2% （w/v） agarose gel followed by visualization under UV light. Results： Three out of 41 samples （7.32%） showed insertion （YAP＋） polymorphism, while the rest of the samples （92.68%） showed deletion （YAP-） polymorphism. This is the first report concerning the YAP in Malay population at Peninsular Malysia. Conclusion： The vAluable data obtained in this study will contribute to fill in the gap in the knowledge of YAP distribution in Malaysian population and will allow continuous interpretation of the evolution of YAP.

THE ADMIRAL OF MALAY

“Driven by the motto Bahasa Jiwa Bangsa (language is the soul of a nation), Wu Zongyu has devoted his life to the promotion of the Malay language,” declared Malaysian media of Wu, a pioneer of Malay language education in China. Over the past 50 years, Wu has contributed his wisdom and passion to Malay teaching at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) and trained many students who now wield a good command of Malay.

Evaluation of the Literacy and Numeracy Screening Program in Three Types of National Primary Schools in Malaysia

Literacy and numeracy screening(LINUS)is a program implemented by the Malaysia Ministry of Education in primary schools nationwide to increase literacy skills of students in year 1–3.This study aimed at assessing the LINUS program implemented since 2010.Model of Critical Literacy by Freebody and Luke(1990)was applied in this study.Reading and writing tests for Malay language subject were developed from the module of LINUS program and conducted on 120 students from three different types of schools,namely national schools,national-type Chinese schools,and national-type Tamil schools.The results showed that the level of reading and writing of students was average.One-way analysis of variance tests showed significant differences between ethnic and type of schools with the reading and writing proficiency of the students;students of national schools scored the highest in reading test whereas the students of national-type Chinese school performed the best in writing test.In contrast,family socioeconomic status of the students did not influence their reading and writing proficiency.Therefore,teachers should take into account ethnic and type of schools in implementing the LINUS program as the main factors determining the level of literacy,achievement,and success of the LINUS program.

Augmented Reality Book for Preserving Malay Traditional Dances:A Case Study

Malaysia is known throughout the world for its multiculturalism.As a multiple ethnic country,many countries are looking on Malaysia as a great example of peaceful co-existence races and belief where all the ethnic groups in Malaysia live together in harmony and enrich the country's cultural lifestyle.Within that,Malaysia also consists of a collective blend of food,traditions,clothing and customs.Towards that,traditional dance is the treasure of art and culture.Therefore,with modern era and technology nowadays,it has led the younger generation care less about traditional dance.Beside,a printed media such as bunting,banners and pamphlets are less effective in promoting the traditional dance.By concerning this,this research study aims to preserving the traditional dance among young generation towards new media technology.In explaining the issues,a case study through quantitative approaches of questionnaires survey and interviews was used in studied the uniqueness of traditional Malay dance and further proposes a new approach for preserving the traditional Malay dance awareness among the young generation.The research significantly impacts the publics particularly on the new generation towards uniqueness of traditional dance in Malaysia.It is also contributes to the National Heritage Department and the National Arts and Culture Department where the documentation could be used as a collection of cultural and heritage books in the form of new media technology for young generation.

Chemical weathering in Malay Peninsula and North Borneo:Clay mineralogy and element geochemistry of river surface sediments

Weathering products of silicate rocks are particularly useful for evaluating the continental chemical weathering on the Earth's surface and its mechanism.Clay mineralogy and major-element geochemistry of surface sediment samples collected in major rivers of Malay Peninsula and North Borneo in the tropical Southeast Asian region are used to study the present chemical weathering process and its controlling factors of tropical regions.The results indicate that the clay mineral assemblage in Malay Peninsula consists dominantly of kaolinite(average 80%) and minor illite(average 17%),almost without chlorite and smectite,whereas in North Borneo it consists mainly of illite and chlorite,with minor amounts of kaolinite(average 14%) and no smectite.Total contents of illite and chlorite in both Northwest and Northeast Borneo are 84% and 87%,respectively.Major-element geochemical results of both bulk and clay-fraction sediments show intensive chemical weathering degree for both areas.Relatively,the chemical weathering degree is gradually strengthened from Northeast Borneo,Northwest Borneo,to Malay Peninsula,and it is extremely intensive in Malay Peninsula.Our results indicate that,in the tropical Southeast Asian region exampled by Malay Peninsula and Borneo,climatic condition of tropical warm temperature and East Asian monsoon rainfall is the first-order controlling factor on the chemical weathering,resulting in intensive chemical weathering throughout tropical areas,and tectonic activity and lithology of parent rocks are subordinate factors,which still have an important impact on the weathering products,forming completely different clay mineral assemblages between Malay Peninsula and Borneo.

Late Eocene–early Miocene provenance evolution of the Crocker Fan in the southern South China Sea

There are many large-scale Cenozoic sedimentary basins with plentiful river deltas,deep-water fans and carbonate platforms in the southern South China Sea.The Crocker Fan was deposited as a typical submarine fan during the late Eocene–early Miocene,and stretches extensively across the entire Sarawak–Sabah of the northern Borneo area.However,systematic analyses are still lacking regarding its sediment composition and potential source suppliers.No consensus has been reached yet on the provenance evolution and sedimentary infilling processes,which seriously impeded the oil-and-gas exploration undertakings.By combining with sedimentaryfacies identification,heavy mineral assemblages,elemental geochemistry and detrital zircon U-Pb dating,this paper aims to generalize an integrated analysis on the potential provenance terranes and restore source-to-sink pathways of the Crocker Fan.In general,the Crocker Fan was initially formed over the Cretaceous–lower/middle Eocene Rajang Group by an angular Rajang unconformity.The continual southward subduction of the protoSouth China Sea resulted in magmatic activities and subsequent regional deformation and thrusting along the Lupar Line in the northern Borneo.The lowermost Crocker sequence is featured by a thick conglomerate layer sourced from in-situ or adjacent paleo-uplifts.From the late Eocene to the early Miocene,the Crocker Fan was constantly delivered with voluminous detritus from the Malay Peninsula of the western Sundaland.The Zengmu Basin was widely deposited with delta plain and neritic facies sediments,while the Brunei-Sabah Basin,to the farther east,was ubiquitously characterized by turbiditic sequences.The Crocker Fan successions are overall thick layers of modest-grained sandstones,which formed high-quality reservoirs in the southern South China Sea region.

伊朗扎格罗斯碰撞造山带马拉耶尔-伊斯法罕碳酸盐岩容矿铅锌成矿带——矿床基本特征与成因类型

伊朗马拉耶尔-伊斯法罕碳酸盐岩容矿铅锌成矿带,地处扎格罗斯碰撞造山带内陆的萨南达杰-锡尔詹中生代岩浆变质带构造转换区,带内发育丰富的碳酸盐岩容矿铅锌矿床,是伊朗境内重要的铅锌产出基地。综合分析表明,该带内的铅锌矿床形成于新生代古近纪早期,发育在阿拉伯板块-欧亚大陆板块碰撞造山阶段,其形成和区域上逆冲-走滑断层、走滑拉分盆地等压扭性构造密切相关。成矿带各矿区矿体多发育在区域逆冲断层上下盘,赋存于下白垩统碳酸盐岩内,受与逆断层相关的次级断层、岩性分界面等要素控制,总体以层控形式产出。矿种组合以Zn-Pb为主,少量矿区出现Cu。硫化物主体为闪锌矿、方铅矿、黄铁矿,出现少量黄铜矿和黝铜矿,非硫化物以石英、白云石、方解石、重晶石为主。矿化以脉体充填或热液矿物交代充填为主要形式,脉状、浸染状、块状为主要矿石构造,强硅化和白云石化为主要蚀变特征。热液矿物仅发育两相盐水包裹体,成矿流体温度介于90~257℃,盐度介于0%~24%NaCl eq.,总体反映了中低温高盐度盆地卤水来源和另一种具中低温中低盐度特征的流体来源。不同矿区硫同位素组合差异较大,其中IranKuh矿区硫化物硫同位素为负值,介于-10‰^-3‰,重晶石硫同位素为正值,介于14‰~19‰,Emarat矿区硫化物硫同位素为正值,介于2‰~15‰,总体反映了生物还原或有机质热还原赋矿碳酸盐岩地层封存水中溶解的早白垩世海相硫酸盐为主要还原硫来源。方铅矿铅同位素组成在带内各矿区差别不大(206Pb/204Pb介于18.389~18.471,207Pb/204Pb介于15.628~15.659,208Pb/204Pb介于38.470~38.650),推测成矿金属物质来自区域整套的上地壳地层。该矿带碳酸盐岩容矿铅锌矿床为一套与岩浆作用无关的后生铅锌矿床,以世界上的矿床类型划分可在大范畴上归入MVT铅锌矿床,但是,这些矿床形成于大陆碰撞造山带内部,受控于区域压扭性构造,矿物组合中富石英的存在,这些特点并不能被已建立的MVT铅锌成矿模式所涵盖,彰显出了其独特的成矿特征,故暂视为一套类MVT铅锌矿床。这些矿床的成矿过程和其东邻的"三江"成矿带铅锌成矿发育相似,可初步归纳为:斜向碰撞、压扭性构造发育、盆地卤水下渗—流体汇聚,圈闭、有机质、细菌准备—硫酸盐被还原、还原硫形成,应力松弛—流体排泄,流体混合—金属沉淀,区域富岩浆岩地层准备、成矿流体温度快速下降—富硅矿物组合形成。

A recent review on phytochemical constituents and medicinal properties of kesum(Polygonum minus Huds.)

Medicinal plants and herbal preparations are gaining renowned interest in scientific communities nowadays due to their reliable pharmacological actions and affordability to common people which makes them effective in control of various diseases.Polygonum minus(Polygonaceae)locally known as kesuni is an aromatic plant commonly used in Malay delicacies.The plant is having potential applications due to its high volatile oil constituents in perfumes and powerful antioxidant activity.It has been used traditionally to treat various ailments including dandruff.The research has been carried out by various researchers using different in vitro and in vivo models for biological evaluations to support these claims.This review paper may help upcoming research activities on Polygonum minus by giving up to date information on the phytochemical constituents and medicinal properties of kesum to a possible extent with relevant data.

WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF

(July 16-31, 1993) The third annual Ibero-American summit meeting in Salvador, Brazil, closed on July 16. It called for freer, fairer trade. The leaders critized the US trade embargo against Cuba and called for greater support from rich nations in a final draft of the Ibero-American summit declaration. The Salvador declaration was signed by more than 20 heads of state.

马来传统音乐引论

[译者前言:本文译自马来西亚学者格豪斯·纳苏鲁汀英文版《马来传统音乐》(The Malay Traditional Music·吉隆坡·1992)一书的“导论”部分。原书共有六章,论述了马来传统音乐的文化背景,历史与现状,涉及乐器、乐律、乐调,乐俗等诸多方面,并配以大量黑白和彩色图片以及乐谱,堪称一部严肃的学术著作。不足的是,此书对中国文化对马来音乐的影响方面极少涉及,而这是不可忽视的。 作者格豪斯·纳苏鲁汀生于马来西亚的槟洲,(?)为马来亚大学的地理专业毕业生,因对马来艺术和文化有浓厚的兴趣而改弦易辙,后进入美国印第安那大学专攻戏剧。

完形填空 Good Manners(英文)

In the history, there was a famous Englishman, Sir WalterRaleigh, who lived four hundred years ago. Once he laidhis cloak over a puddle of water so that Queen Elizabeth would notget her feet wet. This pleased the Queen at the time but no onewould do this nowadays. You would look silly if you did this foryour teacher. --Manners change as time goes by. If you want toknow more about manners, please fulfil the following parts

Pinpointing the Short-tandem Repeats Alleles for Ethnic Inferencing in Forensic Identification by K-medoids Approach

Background:The role of DNA analysis for ethnicity inferencing is a topic that attracts much interest from researchers in forensic identification,especially for identifying unknown bodies and trace evidence.So far,the approaches considered effective for ethnic inferencing are autosomal single-nucleotide polymorphisms,Y-chromosome short-tandem repeats(STRs),and mitochondrial DNA haplotyping,which successfully demonstrates the association of specific nucleotides or patterns with population groups.Ethnic inferencing based on autosomal STRs is complex due to the nature of recombination in gamete formation.Aim:This study attempts to use clustering analysis to associate alleles and loci of autosomal STRs with population groups.Materials and Methods:We examined the allele frequency data from 19 STRs loci from the Malay Indonesian population(n=470)to compare with other populations,namely,Chinese Indonesian(n=133)and four reference populations(Malay Malaysian,Filipino,Chinese,and Caucasian).K-Medoids clustering analysis was carried out to pinpoint alleles and loci affecting the population clustering process.Results:The first stage of clustering results placed Malay Indonesians and four other Asian populations,namely,Chinese Indonesian,Malay Malaysian,Filipino,and Chinese,in Cluster 1,whereas the Caucasian group was in Cluster 2.It indicates that the CSF1PO,D5S818,and D8S1179 loci significantly distinguished the five Asian population groups from the Caucasian group,whereas D2S441,D8S1179,and D22S1045 were the three loci that significantly influenced the separation between Malay Indonesians and other groups.Conclusions:We conclude that K-medoids clustering analysis has the potential to play a role in ethnicity estimation by pinpointing specific STRs alleles.

信仰为界——19世纪妈祖崇拜与马来半岛南洋华人群体认同变迁

Lasting until this day,Matsu culture has occupied its unique position in the long river of history with its endless vitality.The lengthy historical development of Matsu culture is accompanied by the immigration waves of Chinese,and their awakening of awareness for modern country and ethnicity;and the 19th century is the period for Matsu believers in Nanyang to transit from a group with shared business,dialect,and geological position to an ethnicity group with shared culture identity.This article explores the dynamic transition of the boundary of Matsu believers in Nanyang Chinese society by analyzing a variety of materials,including memoirs written by missionaries of London Missionary Society who went to Nanyang for preaching in the early 19th century as well as periodicals they founded there,remains of inscriptions written in Chinese dating back from middle to late 19th century,and Nanyang newspapers and publications written in Chinese at the end of 19th century.It finds that during that process,the transition of Matsu worship is closely linked to the transition of Nanyang Chinese society and corresponds to the gradual formation of awareness of country and ethnicity among Nanyang Chinese.