<span>The emergent of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education in Malaysia has embarked challenges in higher education system. Conventional teaching methods often cause lower learning gain, fear and bad perceptions among students. The old initiative may also be the cause of students’ demotivation, lower interest in learning a subject or even dropouts. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of an inverted classroom by using the problem-based method in Biology subject among science foundation students. Students were divided into two groups; experimental (EG) and control (CG) group. A topic in Biology had been selected, and an assessment paper was given to both groups before and after the intervention session. The EG would experience self-learning through given materials and asked to conduct a problem-based learning study case. Meanwhile, the CG would obey the conventional teaching method before given a similar study case. The result reported significant improvement in assessment marks for EG group compared to the CG group. The students’ comparison between the pre- and post-test implies that they have shown positive improvement in understanding the content of the subject tested. This finding will serve as a primary platform to improvise and enhance teaching and learning methodology in biology subject for foundation level.</span>

This paper provides a brief enumeration of 22 species of plants and four species of fungi as wild edibles, and 13 species of plants that have been used for medicinal purposes by Dusun people of Kampung Pinolobu, Kadamaian, Kota Belud, Sabah. Seven informants were selected using snowball sampling technique, and data on edibles and medicinal plants were collected using semi structured interviews. This study reveals how Dusun people of Kampung Pinolobu used 13 species of medicinal plants to treat ailments and diseases like fever, high blood pressure, flatulence, rheumatism, cold, cough, and gastric pain. The flower of Carica papaya and fruit of Passiflora foetida are used for high blood pressure treatment, leaves of Manihot esculenta serve two purposes, as traditional vegetables and also consumed to avoid flatulence. Decoction made from the root of Ficus septica was given to women during postpartum recovery as they believed that it would help to keep the body warm, treat headache, and stomach pain. Paste made from leaves of Melastoma malabathricum is used to treat wounds. Meanwhile crushed leaves of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, root decoction of Imperata cylindrica, sap from Calamus sp. are used to treat high fever, crushed leaves of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is also used to subside carbuncle.  Decoction of young leaves of Psidium gujava and Leucosyke capitella are used to treat stomach pain. Meanwhile decoction of crushed tuber of Curcuma longa is used to treat gastric pain.

Sexual dimorphism in immune response is widely recognized, but few human studies have observed this distinction. Food with endo-immunomodulatory potential may reveal novel sex-biased in vivo interactions. Immunomodulatory effects of Carica papaya were compared between healthy male and female individuals. Volunteers were given fixed meals supplemented with papaya for 2 days. Changes in blood immune profiles and hormone levels were determined. In females, total natural killer (NK) cell percentages decreased (12.7 ± 4.4 vs 14.6 ± 5.8%, p = 0.018, n = 18) while B cells increased (15.2 ± 5.5 vs 14.5 ± 5.0, p = 0.037, n = 18) after papaya consumption. Increased 17β-estradiol (511.1 ± 579.7 vs 282.7 ± 165.0 pmol/l, p = 0.036, n = 9) observed in females may be crucial to this change. Differentiation markers (CD45RA, CD69, CD25) analyzed on lymphocytes showed naïve (CD45RA+) non-CD4+ lymphocytes were reduced in females (40.7 ± 8.1 vs 46.8 ± 5.4%, p = 0.012, n = 8) but not males. A general suppressive effect of papaya on CD69+ cells, and higher percentage of CD69+ populations in females and non-CD4 lymphocytes, may be relevant. CD107a+ NK cells were significantly increased in males (16.8 ± 7.0 vs 14.7 ± 4.8, p = 0.038, n = 9) but not females. Effect in females may be disrupted by the action of progesterone, which was significantly correlated with this population (R = 0.771, p = 0.025, n = 8) after papaya consumption. In males, total T helper cells were increased (33.4 ± 6.4 vs 32.4 ± 6.1%, p = 0.040, n = 15). Strong significant negative correlation between testosterone and CD25+CD4+ lymphocytes, may play a role in the lower total CD4+ T cells reported in males. Thus, dissimilar immune profiles were elicited in the sexes after papaya consumption and may have sex hormone influence.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women worldwide and is the type of cancer with the most frequent high mortality rate for women in 110 countries. Treatment methods offered can have both short-and long-term effects on mobility, function, and quality of life. Improvement in treatment is essential to increase the survival rate and life expectancy. Macrophages in the breast cancer tumor microenvironment (TME) are known as tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and are the most common leukocyte population in mammary cancer. TAMs exhibit a phenotype similar to that of M2-like macrophages and secrete a variety of chemokines, cytokines, and growth factors, such as CCL2, CCL18, IL-10, VEGF, and PDGF, which are involved in cancer progression and metastasis and trigger drug resistance during cancer therapies. Hence, high infiltration of TAMs in breast cancer patients is closely associated with a poor clinical prognosis. Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) have been demonstrated by various studies to modulate immunomodulatory responses and reprogramming of TAMs to M1-like macrophages. MSCs skew naïve macrophages to a proinflammatory M1-like polarized state, which can alter the TME landscape. Hence, reprogramming TAMS to an M1-like phenotype with MSCs is a good strategy to enhance commonly used immunotherapies for the improvement of clinical outcomes among cancer patients. This present review discusses the potential of targeting TAMs by reprogramming macrophages using MSCs to increase antitumor responses in breast cancer.