Tasyakuran-Tainan Dragon Boat Festival 2009

Pocketing someone's words who promised to treat us a lunch, we (me, DTT, Eti and Wahid) were heading to Tainan happily. After arrived at the "headquarter", we were surprised because Neta, Tri, Lisa and Pak Feri were already there. Hehehe...we thought it's just an ordinary lunch. But it happened to be a birthday celebration (read : tasyakuran^^V). I'm getting surprised when Galuh, Bu DWW and Mbak Dhini were also come (*just a "regular" surprised, not "irregular" surprised shown when somebody worried her/his lunch portion will be taken ;p).

Ni dia yang milad..Mbak Rini^^

Ckckckkk...ga ada sungkan2nya klo udah ngadepin makanan (*semua pake rumus "H.A.J.A.R!")

After eat as much as our stomach could bore, we continued our journey to Anping, of course to see the Dragon Boat Festival. Anping is one of the district in Tainan. From the Train Station, took almost 30 minutes to get there (*not to mention that we also have to wait for the bus for almost 30 minutes. Whew!).

Btw, i just know that among the four of us, only me who's already been to Anping. Ehmmm, but actually, when i went there, it was with my Taiwanese friend, riding her car. So (*hehehe), we were (almost) knew nothing about the routes. But, whatever^^. After a series of Confused-Wandered around-Asked someone nearby-Strolled, we finally arrived at the DBF Area. Alhamdulillah...^o^

While enjoying the DBF, we bumped into...Edo (*bored_mode_on ;p). Hehehe. He was there to cheer up STUT Team. Anas was on that team too (*see his action on the pictures below).

Lintasan Tainan DBF 2009

Rameeee...(*itu yang kaya orang ilang siapa ya (*kaya' kenal*)? Hihihi)

Warming up dulu dong

Go Go Go Tim STUT (*Anas ke-3 dari depan di tim yang berbaju merah)

Seru banget^^ (*tereak2!)

Tim Srikandi ga mau kalah dong^^

Lanjuuuuuttt!

Eduunnnn...R.A.M.E !

Time to go home^^

You've Gotta Be Kidding Me !

I had enough with Taiwanese youngsters! They're getting on my nerves! *grumbling_cursing*

Just before, my favorite spot in the library was taken by the couple who was doing something so intimate. Astaghfirullahal'adziim...33x. Since i arrived here, this is the 983th times i've catch red-handed a couple doing filthy-PDA (*mostly in front of the dormitory). I know exactly that this is a free whatsoever country. But please...do it in the more secret place (*seems like i'm suggesting someone to do so here *guilty*).

OK, here's the story. As i walked out from the library's elevator, i turned to the left and left again and...yes...just "on the perfect angle" of seeing something...they were there. Doing that. On my favorite spot. Shocked was all i have. They suddenly stopped after they saw me. I haven't fully believed what's just happened while trying to walk further to find another spot to sit. But all of the sudden...i feel like needed to go to the restroom. Then, i turned around and...saw them DOING THAT AGAIN. Masya Alloh...33x.

Seems like i took it very seriously, rite? Why? Because, once i considered a place as a "sacred place" for my getaways, i always treasure it well. So, this "accident" i've encountered is definitely RUINING my precious one. *bloody upset*

*start to think about finding a new spot*

Conflict is a Fact of Life

No matter where we go, we will face people who piss us off. It's kind of "natural". I don't know why but day by day, that kind of annoying people are getting plenty. DREADFUL.

I always want to put this "I won't let them bother me to begin with" on my head, but sometimes it's not that simple. Took me some time before i can overcome it. Besides, i'm not kind of person who can let problem just flew like that. I think about it deeply. Yeah, i know it will cost me a bunch of energy...but, somehow it's worth it, makes me feel better. The old me was more wise, actually. I used to throw myself in people's shoes, putting myself in other's position...try not to be blind-sided in the situation i've faced. Hmmm...but now, i feel like "bored" doing that. Too complicated. *sigh*

Someone said that “Holding a grudge against someone is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” The only person we hurt is ourselves. When we react to negativity, we are creating pain within ourselves. But i don't know why, i tend to do this stupidity. Yeah...another "homework" for me to do. *sighing again*

Mabok Duren (*Bukan Duda Keren)

Ade Susanti : Beli duren yuk

Mulyani & Hana : Ayuuuuukkkkkk...!

______________________________________________________

Hahahaaa...yeah. That's how "mabok-duren" nite was started. I'm still staying at Sinta and DTT's dorm until now. FYI, whenever with them, there's always bunch of "ridiculous" things happen. Well, just like our conversation above^^. Since we are very RESPONSIVE...then usually things that's just come up will become true in no time.^^

Because today DTT has to go to her Chinese tutoring class, me and Sinta are the ones who have to go to Carrefour to buy Durio zibethinus. After we arrived there, the durian piles have waiting. Grab. Observe. Shake. Smell. OK, we bought two durians^^.

Speaking of choosing a good durian, there's some steps or techniques you need to know (*and do, of course) if you want to get a good durian. See here, here and here for details. Go buy some if you are a durian lover. It's very cheap right now (*only 42 NTD per 600 grams). Hehehe.

Here's our durian pics :

*Sin, what's wrong with your camera? Today is 18th May, rite?*^^

Off the record :

Ade Susanti : Is there any health benefits of durian ?

Hana Mustansyir : Check this article out, Sin^^.

WARNING! :

Durian contains high levels of the amino acid tryptophan, known to alleviate anxiety, depression, and insomnia, and create feelings of euphoria, by raising levels of serotonin in the brain.

Bunga was F.I.N.E

Two days ago, English Competition Week of Life Science College was opened. Finally, this kind of competition was held in NCYU, which i can describe as campus with "poor-English-speaking-environment". Well, at least my campus has an effort to increase their undergrads' ability to speak, perform and do presentation in English.

Speaking of this kind of competition, i know that int'l students always be a "star" (read : trigger) to initiate or promote this kinda event. And, yeah...i ended up being the trigger (*of course after all of Indonesian students in NCYU was cruelly made me do the presentation. *still_grumbling*). Although it's only "College of Life Science"'s scope, but i never forget that I COMPLETELY HATE standing in front of people. Besides, Prof. Chiou (-Dean of The Life Science College) and the rest of the "important" people in Life Science College will attending the event. (*doki2 suru)

Before, i got an information from Mrs. Yang (-int'l students officer) that the competition will be held in Life Science Hall (*OMG...it's quite BIG). Then, D-2, she told me that the competition was moved to The AUDITORIUM (*WHAT??? It's even bigger!). Yeah...yeah...Mrs. Yang...i'm F.I.N.E (Freak Out.Insecure.Neurotic.Emotional).

I didn't know how, but i managed to pass one of the the most neurotic moments of my life (*relieved).

Well, in the end, i'm quite happy after seeing Mrs. Yang's bright smiles. Because actually, at first, she's planning to make all of the representatives from every country to do the presentations (*but in the end, only Indonesian students that hand in the PPT file to her). So, somehow, we were succeeded in "saving her face" ^^.

Influenza Virus - Genetic Infos Exchange

INFLUENZA VIRUS

Influenza, which has been recognized as a human disease for centuries, is notable because it causes a typical acute infection and elicits a strong immune response but continues to occur regularly. Influenza can occur in many nations almost simultaneously (pandemics) with serious consequences. After more than 65 years of research, we now have some reasonable ideas about why this virus causes epidemics annually and pandemics at frequent intervals. Influenza virus not only infects humans, but also infects several other animals in a complex cycle of dissemination. Epidemiologists can classify a given influenza A virus by its antigenic composition, usually by serologic testing of the two envelope proteins hemagglutinin (HA or H) and neuraminidase (NA or N). A common simplification in nomenclature is to refer to combinations of H and N as HxNy (currently x ranges from 1 to 15, and y ranges from 1 to 9), e.g., H1N1 or H5N2. At least 15 subtypes of viral hemagglutinin are known in viruses that infect birds. Three of these subtypes are present in viruses that can infect humans (H1N1, H2N2 and H3N2), and at least two can infect pigs, horses and aquatic mammals. For the past 25 years, H3N2 and H1N1 viruses have cocirculated in humans. In 1997 and 1999, the avian viruses H5N1 and H9N2, respectively, were transmitted directly to humans. The contribution of these serotypes to human disease is under close scrutiny. Viruses can be transmitted to completely new host species that have not experienced any prior infection. Usually host defenses stop the new infection before any replication and adaptation can take place. On rare occasions, a novel population of viruses arises in the new host. Past interspecies infections can occasionally be detected by sequence analysis. The data provide a glimpse of the rather amazing and unpredictable paths of virus evolutions.

This following picture will show how Influenza A Virus do the replication process :

GENETIC INFORMATION EXCHANGE

Genetic information is exchanged by recombination or by reassortment of genome segments. In one step, recombination creates new combinations of many mutations that may be essential for survival under selective pressures. This process allows the constructions of viable genomes from debilitated ones and avoids Muller's ratchet. Recombination occurs when the polymerase changes templates (copy choice) during replication or when nucleic acid segments are broken or rejoined. The former mechanism is common among RNA viruses, whereas the latter is more typical of double-stranded DNA virus recombination. Another mechanism for exchange of genetic information is reassortment among genomic segments when cells are coinfected with segmented RNA viruses. Viral infections occur as host defenses are modulated or bypassed. Those infections that actively suppress the immune response have a marked effect upon concurrent or subsequent infections of the same host by very different viruses.

Conversely, activation of host defenses by one viral infection can impair subsequent infection by a different virus. The existence of such multifactorial interchange among diverse viruses reinforces the idea that selection acts not only on one population of viruses, but also on interacting populations of different viruses.

ADDITIONAL INFOS about GENETIC MUTATIONS :

Reassortment

Reassortment is when gene segments from two different viruses get mixed and repackaged into the same virion. This is possible when two different viruses infect the same cell at the same time. This can occur in all three types of influenza but will not occur between the different types.

Antigenic Shift

Antigenic shift is a specific kind of reassortment where the HA or NA gene segment from two different strains are switched. This typically happens when an avian strain and human strain infect the same pig cell.

Antigenic Drift

Antigenic drift refers to point mutations (single mutations) in the genome and can lead to changes in the HA or NA proteins. The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase is not as accurate as DNA-dependent RNA polymerase, so these mutations occur often.

SOURCES :

• Gibbs, M.J., and G.F. Weiller. 1999. Evidence that a plant virus switched hosts to infect a vertebratae and then recombined with a vertebrate-infecting virus. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 96:8022-8027.
• Dimmock, N.J. et al. 2007. Introduction to modern virology, 6th ed. Blackwell Publishing.

FURTHER READING :

• VIRAL GENETICS
• All About Viruses
• Consequences of Genetic Variation and Selection in Viruses
• Immune System

Dreams in Islamic Perspective

stp7stp : dalam Islam mimpi itu gimana, Bung?

bung2kong : mimpi = bunga tidur

mimpi merupakan "pengejawantahan" dr keinginan alam bawah sadar kita, Nyu.

stp7stp : ho'oh, kan ada do'anya tuh kalo dpt mimpi baik & mimpi buruk

bung2kong : klo deep down inside kita pengen sesuatu (*terutama strong desires), bisa jadi nantinya masuk ke mimpi kita

stp7stp : tp kan katanya itu jg bisa sbg pesan......

________________________________________________________

Let's roll, Nyu^^.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Dreams are of three types: a dream from Allah, a dream which causes distress and which comes from the Shaytaan, and a dream which comes from what a person thinks about when he is awake, and he sees it when he is asleep.” (al-Bukhaari, 6499; Muslim, 4200)

Dreams can be classified into two, which are the true and the false.

The true dreams are the one that happens when someone is on a stable physicological conditions. They never initiated with the thoughts and desires in something that later on hoped can be seen in the dreams. While the false dreams are occur by the desires, passions and strong hopes. That kinda dreams cannot be interpreted.

According to Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar, dreams are either of two types :

1. True dreams. These are the dreams of the Prophets and of the righteous people who follow them. They may also happen to other people, but this is very rare, such as the dream of the kaafir king which was interpreted for him by Yusuf (peace be upon him). True dreams are those which come true in real life as they were seen in the dream.

2. Mixed up false dreams, which warn of something. These are of different types:

• Games of the Shaytaan to make a person distressed, such as when he sees his head cut off and he is following it, or he sees himself falling into a crisis and cannot find anyone to save him from it, and so on.
• When he sees some of the angels telling him to do something forbidden, or other things that cannot possibly make sense.
• When he sees something that happens to him in real life, or he wishes it would happen, and he sees it very realistically in his dream; or he see what usually happens to him when he is awake or what reflects his mood. These dreams usually speak of the future or the present, rarely of the past. See: Fath al-Baari , 12/352-354
  
  

So, what are the signs of a "good"/"real" dream?

1. it has to be freed from the empty-meaningless dreams, and the scary-anxious hazy things.
2. it can be understood once we wake up.
3. we have a "high-quality" sleep. Clear minds, not burdened by any problems.
4. it can be interpreted as in Lauh Mahfuz.
   
   

(Khalid al-Anbari)

How far we can believe our dreams?

Hmmm...some dreams really have meanings and contain some information. But some merely our mixed thoughts or strong desires that end up as a dream. The true dreams can only be read and understood by the "dreams interpreter".

What can we do to avoid ourselves from having the false dreams?

Remember that in order to get ourselves dreaming, we have to sleep first. Hehehe (*of course^^). And in Islam, there's sleeping etiquette. Well, as long as we keep that etiquette, Insya Alloh we will not gonna encountering false dreams.

Here some explanations about sleeping etiquette by dunno who^^.

The state of the mind before going to bed and the cleanness of the sleeping surroundings may have effect on the kind of the dream one will have. Our beloved prophet Muhammad (PBUH) taught Muslims sleeping etiquette, which include lying down on the right side and praying while on bed before sleeping. It is a medical fact that the heart is closer to the left hand side of the body. So, lying on the left side may obstruct breathing. In Islam, sleep is considered as a temporary death.

For the complete etiquette, check out here.

All in all, dreams can be the "signs" from Alloh to us, as a matter of good news or bad news. But dreams also can come from shaytaan. So, be careful in "understanding" it.

NOTE : read here, here and here also for the details.

Ames Test

Ames test is a widely used test for determining if a chemical is a mutagen. In other words, it is a test used to see whether certain thing caused mutations. The test was developed in 1975 by Bruce Ames and his colleagues at the University of California at Berkeley. The Ames test is based on the assumption that substances that are mutagenic for a strain of bacterium (Salmonella typhimurium) might also be carcinogenic in man. Some substances that cause cancer in laboratory a animals (e.g. dioxin) do not give a positive Ames test (and vice versa). But However, the test is rather cheap and easily performed, and has proved extremely useful in rapidly screening substances in our environment for possible carcinogenicity.

The bacterium used in Ames test carries a gene mutation making it unable to synthesize the essential acid histidine from the culture medium. However, this mutation can be reversed, a back mutation, with the gene regaining its function. These revertants are able to grow on a medium lacking histidine. If cultures of these bacteria are exposed to mutagenic chemicals then increased numbers of bacteria might regain the ability to grow without histidine, forming visible colonies (above those spontaneously reverting in control dishes). Many chemicals are not mutagenic (or carcinogenic) by themselves, but become converted into mutagens (and carcinogens) as they are metabolized by the body. In this reason the Ames test includes a mixture of liver enzymes. The Ames test yield a number, specifically the number of growing bacterial colonies, which is a measure of the mutagenic activity (potency) of a treatment chemical. This value is often expressed as the number of revertants per microgram of a pure chemical (mutagen) or per gram of food containing that mutagen.

Btw, in some Ames assays an S-9 mix is added. The S-9 mix contains liver enzymes, generally from a rat. These enzymes can metabolize the agent being tested in order to predict the mutagenic properties within a living system, specifically the source of the S-9 enzymes.

Here's the standard procedures of Ames Test :

Read this journal for the details of Ames test.

Read here also for some additional infos/procedures about Ames test : 1, 2, 3.

An application for the usage of Ames test can be seen (read : explained) in this video.

"Unless they're mutated, they wouldn't survive". (they refers to: bacteria grown on petridishes)

"If you eat natural foods do it because you like the flavor, don't do it because you think you're avoiding carcinogens, if anything it's just the opposite."

Anyhow, there's also some cons regarding to the application of Ames test, especially in the usage of Salmonella. Some people think that Salmonella is not a perfect model for human body. So, some also developed another test using animals as their object. Read here for details.

Whew! DJing…..

Yesterday, I was vaguely asking my father whether today he can spare me some time on our regular-private online class or not (*read : “todong”-style^^). Then, he said that would be great doing it by the morning. But all of the sudden, i have an idea to “broaden" our private online class. Hmmm…why don’t try to make it as Radio FORMMIT Selatan PaSerSan (Pagi Serius Santai) ^^?! Well, it ended up like that….

Today is my first time being a DJ. Well, this is not my first attempt actually. Before, I have tried a few times to run a radio. But still....hehehe. Having my father as a narasumber, made my job easier. Yet, because this is my first broadcasting on FORMMIT Radio, nervous is all I have.

The hardest part of being a moderator on your father's lecture is to keep your mouth so you wouldn’t call him “Dad…”. Hehehe. Well, for me, it sounds awkward to call my father by his name. “Ya, Pak Rizal…terima kasih…”. Hahaha, even just think about it makes me giggling.

All in all, i have to learn even harder to be a good DJ and moderator. I'm sure some other time, i'll end up doing this thingy again. So...better be prepared :).