Short-term therapy with rosiglitatzone, a PPAR-¿ agonist improves metabolic profile and vascular function in non-obese lean wistar rats

A number of preclinical and clinical studies have reported blood-pressure-lowering benefits of thiazolidinediones in diabetic subjects and animal models of diabetes. This study was designed to further elucidate vascular effects of rosiglitazone, on healthy nonobese, lean animals. Adult male Wistar rats were randomized and assigned to control and rosiglitazone-treated groups and were dosed daily with either vehicle or rosiglitazone (10 mg kg(−1) day(−1)) by oral gavage for 5 days. Compared with control group, rosiglitazone treatment significantly reduced plasma levels of triglycerides (>240%) and nonesterified free fatty acids (>268%) (both, P < 0.001). There were no changes in vascular contractility to KCl or noradrenaline between two groups. However, rosiglitazone therapy improved carbamylcholine-induced vasorelaxation (93 ± 3 % versus control 78 ± 2, P < 0.01) an effect which was abolished by L-NAME. There was no difference in sodium nitroprusside-induced vasorelaxation between the control and rosiglitazone-treated animals. These results indicate that short-term rosiglitazone therapy improves both metabolic profile and vascular function in lean rats. The vascular effect of rosiglitazone appears to be mediated by alteration in NO production possibly by activation of endothelial PPARγ. This increased NO production together with improved lipid profile may explain mechanism(s) of blood-pressure-lowering effects of thiazolidinediones on both human and experimental animals

Effect of diet-induced obesity on protein expression in insulin signalling pathways of skeletal muscle in male Wistar rats

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of diet-induced obesity is increasing globally, and posing significant health problems for millions of people worldwide. Diet-induced obesity is a major contributor to the global pandemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The reduced ability of muscle tissue to regulate glucose homeostasis plays a major role in the development and prognosis of type 2 diabetes. In this study, an animal model of diet-induced obesity was used to elucidate changes in skeletal muscle insulin signaling in obesity-induced diabetes. METHODS: Adult male Wistar rats were randomized and assigned to either a control group or to a test group. Controls were fed a standard laboratory pellet diet (chow-fed), while the test group had free access to a highly palatable diet (diet-fed). After 8 weeks, the diet-fed animals were subdivided into three subgroups and their diets were altered as follows: diet-to-chow, diet-fed with addition of fenofibrate given by oral gavage for a further 7 weeks, or diet-fed with vehicle given by oral gavage for a further 7 weeks, respectively. RESULTS: Untreated diet-fed animals had a significantly higher body weight and metabolic profile than the control chow-fed animals. Intramuscular triacylglyceride levels in the untreated obese animals were significantly higher than those in the control chow-fed group. Expression of protein kinase C beta, phosphatidylinositol 3, Shc, insulin receptor substrate 1, ERK1/2, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase was significantly increased by dietary obesity, while that of insulin receptor beta, insulin receptor substrate 1, and protein kinase B (Akt) were not affected by obesity. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that diet-induced obesity affects insulin signaling mechanisms, leading to insulin resistance in muscle

Auditees’ Perception on Accountability Index: A Study in a Malaysian Public University

Studies have shown that success implementation of a system could affect users’ perception towards the system and in turn influence their acceptance or reluctance towards the system. This study examines auditees’ perception toward Accountability Index, an audit rating system. This study also examines whether auditees’ demographic profile influences their perception on the audit rating system. A questionnaire survey was adopted on 116 top and middle management staff in a Malaysian public university. The results show that auditees were receptive towards the idea of the Internal Audit Department to implement Accountability Index. The results also show that three demographic profile, namely, position, service years in the current department and the university contributed towards the variation in auditees’ perception on Accountability Index. The findings in this study provide further understanding on the importance of an audit rating system for organisational success. Keywords: Accountability Index; Internal Audit Department; Auditees; Perception; MalaysiaRésumé: Des études ont montré que la mise en œuvre réussie d'un système pouvait affecter la perception des utilisateurs envers le système et influence, à son tour, leur acceptation ou réticence envers ce système. Cette étude examine la perception des auditeurs de l'indice de la responsabilisation, un système de notation de l'audit. Elle examine également si le profile démographique des auditeurs influe sur leur perception du système de notation de l'audit. Une enquête par questionnaire a été appliquée sur 116 personnel de direction de haut niveau et de niveau moyen dans une université publique malaisienne. Les résultats montrent que les auditeurs étaient réceptifs à l'idée d'un département de l'Audit Interne pour mettre en oeuvre l'indice de responsabilisation. Les résultats montrent également que trois profil démographiques, à savoir la position, les années de service l'actuel département et l'université ont contribué à la variation dans la perception des auditeurs de l'indice de la responsabilisation. Les conclusions de cette étude permettent de comprendre davantage l'importance d'un système de notation de l'audit pour la réussite organisationnelle. Mots-clés: indice de responsabilisation; département de l'audit interne; auditeurs; perception; Malaisi

Anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities of the ethanolic extract of Pluchea indica (L) less leaf

Ethanolic extract of Pluchea indica leaf (PIL) was used to investigate its anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities by using carrageenan - induced oedema model and acetic acid induced writhing test. PIL exhibited significant and dose-dependent anti-inflammatory activity at a dose of 300 mg/kg when administered orally. It is also demonstrated that the i.p administration of PIL at a dose of 10, 30, 100 and 300 mg/kg produced significant inhibition of abdominal constriction induced with 0.6% (v/v) acetic acid in dose dependent manner. These results indicate that PIL exhibits significant anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects

Personalized Mobile System Application: A Case Study

This paper presents an overview of the components, approaches and techniques which are used to build a mobile phone- application that uses short messaging service (SMS) text messages to improve interaction, information distribution and communication of stakeholders in a university setting. The proposed application is built upon a multiple compatible mobile phone menu-based subscription management application that is also customizable.  Since SMS has the potential to fill significant connectivity and service gaps, this application can provide support for them to become more ubiquitous. Event-based approach towards context-aware personalized notification service is adopted, i.e. user will receive relevant immediate SMS to his/her mobile phone based on his/her subscription for preferred notifications. A trigger enables event management system to send out (semi-) automated personalized notification. Notification services that understand the context within which their users operate, i.e. identity, activity and time are derived based on a set of predetermined rules. This will benefit the stakeholders in terms of getting up-to-date notifications via the delivery system which implements SysMan TellMe V8.04 as the delivery protocol and SMS server

Exploring the role of religious motivation towards tourist satisfaction: a proposed Islamic tourism model from a Malaysian perspective

The purpose of the study is to identify factors influencing tourist satisfaction of Islamic tour destination under the Islamic tourism concept. The study is conceptual in nature.It develops a Tourist Satisfaction Model derived from the comprehensive literature review and prior empirical findings where the relationships among Religious Motivation, Destination Selection, Destination Image, Perceived Value, Service Quality and Tourist Satisfaction are depicted. The theoretical supports of this research provides justifiable evidence that the proposed Tourist Satisfaction Model is acceptable. The research indicates that Malaysia as an Islamic tourism Destination haswide acceptance to the Muslim tourists all around the world. A further study can be addressed to test the model empirically and configure relative importance of the causing factors behind the tourist satisfaction. The proposed model may give the practitioners a way to develop their destination as an Islamic tourism center while academician can find a comprehensive model to test for the specific destination. Key words: Tourist Satisfaction, factor influencing, Islamic Tourism and Malaysi

An In Vivo Study Of A Locally-Manufactured Hydroxyapatite -Based Material As Bone Replacement Material.

Synthetic HA has excellent biocompatibility, but it has limited application due to its low toughness and flexural strength. In order to improve the mechanical properties (impact resistance, and tensile strength), metals and other elements were added to HA

9-Aminoacridin-10-ium 4-aminobenzoate dihydrate

The asymmetric unit of the title hydrated salt, C13H11N2 +.-C7H6NO2-.2H2O, consists of two independent 9-aminoacridinium cations, two 4-aminobenzoate anions and four water molecules. Both 9-aminoacridinium cations are essentially planar, with maximum deviations of 0.034 (1) and 0.025 (2) A ° , and are protonated at the pyridine N atoms. The 4-aminobenzoate anions are approximately planar, with dihedral angles of 9.16 (19) and 5.4 (2)° between the benzene ring and the carboxylate group. In the crystal, the two independent anions are connected by N—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming a layer parallel to (100). The layers are connected through the cations by N—H...N and N—H...O hydrogen bonds. The water molecules, which form O—H...O hydrogen-bonded chains along the b-axis direction, connect the anions and the cations by O—H...O, N—H...O and C— H...O hydrogen bonds. The crystal structure also features n–n interactions [centroid–centroid distances = 3.6343 (9)– 3.8366 (10) A °] and a C—H...n interaction

Left Ventricular Torsion Deformation in Atrial Septal Defect Patients Undergoing Transcatheter Device Closure

Introduction: Atrial septal defects (ASD) considered being one of the known congenital heart diseases. ASD causes increased volume overload of the right heart. The purpose of this study was to evaluate left ventricular (LV) torsion deformation in ASD patients undergoing transcatheter device closure.Methods: All adult patients who underwent transcatheter device closure with ostium secundum ASD were included in the study. We assessed LV torsion in ostium secundum ASD patient’s pre and post device closure by using speckle tracking echocardiography.Results: A total of 37 patients (22 females and 15 males) were included in this study. The average age was 28 ± 19 years. LV peak basal rotation improved significantly (P = 0.028) in post transcatheter closure. LV torsion (2.88 ± 0.99˚/cm before vs. 3.40 ± 1.41˚/cm after closure, P = 0.009) and twisting (15.12 ± 4.69˚ before vs. 17.95 ± 6.21˚ after closure, P = 0.005) were statistically significant in post transcatheter closure. Volumetric assessment of LV including end-diastolic volume and systolic volume showed significant improvement (P = 0.02, P &lt; 0.01) post device closure.Conclusions: The increased peak LV twisting and torsion was mainly attributed to the improved peak systolic clockwise rotation after ASD device closure. The LV twisting at a younger age was improved after the closure of ASD

Evaluation of BIM Education for Quantity Surveying: A Review of Teaching Approaches

Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology has become increasingly well-known among construction industry players throughout the world. It is known as a process that offers numerous benefits by the implementation in the industry. Almost 50% of practitioners in construction industry is using BIM. Quantity Surveyors (QS) are one of the important main professionals in construction industry who should have an adequate and sufficient BIM knowledge and skills. Equivalent to this, based on the educational perspective it is clear that there is a growing need for universities to provide their graduates with appropriate BIM-related skills. Although the educational frameworks that have been established for academic purposes in Malaysia, still, it is in doubt whether this framework is parallel with industry’s demand and also whether the knowledge and skills provided sufficient with industry’s requirements. It is crucial to recognize the applicable teaching approach for BIM educations in order to ensure students capable in applying BIM tools and meet the expectation of industry. This paper reviews the BIM teaching approaches and the BIM module applied in QS undergraduate program. &nbsp; Keywords: BIM, quantity surveyors, QS education, teaching approach, Malaysi