Effects of prenatal stress on the rat hippocampal neurogenesis and the influence of pyramid environment: a morphological and biochemical study

Stress is necessary and inevitable, but in excess is deleterious to the physical and mental well-being of any animal species. Stressful experiences during pregnancy lead to development of Impairments that become evident in prepubertal as well as adult stages. Pyramid models constructed with the same base to height ratio as the Great Pyramid of Giza, when aligned on a true north-south axis, is believed to generate, transform and transmit energy which has beneficial effects. The present study was carried out to assess the effects of housing pregnant Sprague Dawley rats subjected to restraint-stress outside (RC) and under the pyramid (RP) as compared to unstressed normal controls (NC) and its effects on the offspring morphometric and physical development, plasma corticosterone levels and hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neuron arborisation. The results showed a delay of one day In the fur appearance, pinna detachment, ear and eye opening In RC which was significant when compared to NC, while there was no such delay In the RP offspring. Significant decrease In head, body and tail length along with decrease in body and brain weight in RC group was also seen when compared to NC, but not In the RP offspring. Significant hypertrophy of adrenal gland and increase in plasma corticosterone was seen in the stressed mothers. The results were similar to those we found In our earlier work on adult rats and mice. Similar hypertrophy of adrenal glands and Increase in plasma corticosterone was also seen at PND 10, 21, 40 and 60 of the offspring's born to the stressed mothers, indicating presence the of stress induced In the HPA axis of the foetus. RC group showed significant decrease at PND 10, 21, 40 and 60 in both the apical and basal dendritic arborisation when compared to NC and RP offspring. The effects were more significant at PND 10 and 21 which Is just before weaning, and the effect became lesser after they were being weaned from the mothers and until adulthood. Thus, the geometric shape of the pyramid and the energy generated within helps reduce the effects of stress probably by suppressing the HPA axis. This study suggests the therapeutic potential of the geometric shape of buildings that could be used to reduce stress and stress related mental diseases. This study prompts us to explore the rehabilitation effects of previously stressed animals under the pyramid in the future

Environmental Sustainability Drivers: A Study on Malaysian Palm Oil Industry

Industrial practitioners and policy makers in the Malaysian palm oil industry are now focusing on understanding the factors that influence sustainability of palm oil supply chain network involving the fundamental principle of triple bottom line of social, environmental, and economic performance impacts of supply chain network design. In order to achieve sustainable products, an interpretive structural modelling approach method was used to better understand the drivers related to environmental sustainability reporting in the supply chain network related to the Malaysian palm oil industry. This paper has identified nine (9) environmental sustainability drivers (environmental management, life cycle assessment, green labelling, GHG emissions, climate change, energy efficiency, renewable resources, water, soil and air quality and lastly waste management) and the relationships between them. The findings from the environmental sustainability reporting drivers of this study can be furthered use to explore the potential impacts of supply chain network design on sustainability using the Malaysian palm oil industry as a reference. The novelty of this research is that it identifies the significance of environmental sustainability reporting based on the analyzed drivers and provides evaluation of environmental sustainability criteria’s. This paper has provided a structural model of environmental sustainability and its associated method was developed by using the interpretive structural modeling model to determine the potential drivers in environmental sustainability reporting

Export, Economic Integration and Exchange Rate Volatility in Turkey and Malaysia

Using annual data (1970-2004), this study re-examined the hypothesis that exchange rate volatility may dampen export demand in Malaysia and Turkey. In particular, this study attempts to investigate the impact of exchange rate volatility on exports after taking into consideration the presence of regional economic integration. In addition, the role of regional economic integration in promoting export is also of concern to this study. The empirical evidence demonstrates that despite the significant, minimal impact of membership to regional economic integration for both economies, regional integration remains an important and valid approach for future economic development for both economies. Meanwhile, similar to the findings of previous studies the impact of exchange rate volatility on exports is consistently negative. However, it is no longer significant in the case of Turkey

Exploring audit quality at the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia

Audit quality at the Inland Revenue Board Malaysia (IRBM) is a crucial element in the audit process to ensure no violation of tax reporting by the taxpayers. Hence, it is important to understand whether tax auditors perceive audit quality equally. Furthermore, recognizing the level of audit quality is also important to assist the tax authority in strategizing their efforts. This triggers researchers to embark on this exploratory study through document review and interviews. Data gathered were analysed using descriptive and thematic analysis. Results indicate that there is different perception of audit quality among tax officers, namely competency to detect the amount of audit settlement, audit settlement within the time frame and the achievement of the given key performance indicators (KPIs). The findings further indicate that the level of audit quality is quite alarming particularly with reference to the number of aging cases. The findings from this study provide an insight to the IRBM in their effort to streamline the direction of the tax auditors in improving audit quality

Coating performance in high speed micro machining of H13 tool steel

The development and application of Titanium Aluminium Nitrate (TiAlN) coatings for cutting tools has led to dramatic tool life extension and the realisation of high speed machining for hardened materials. This results in longer tool life and makes it possible to employ higher cutting speeds and feed rates. In this study, a series of different TiAlN based coatings on micro grains solid carbides were tested on H13 Tool Steel. These advanced coatings are commercially available by coating manufacturer which are trade marks of Balzers UK. The aim of this experiment was to investigate the performance of micro tools coated with these coatings and compare with uncoated tools. The results will be used to determine whether coatings for micro tools will have any impact on the performance of the tools such as reducing cutting forces or improving machining quality. This will be achieved by means of analysing the cutting force data and 3-D surface roughness respectively. Result obtained shows that different coating had different performance, hence can be applied to specifically targeted machining operation. The results also highlight some of the differences in wear mechanism of micro tools

Urban Residents Preferences on Urban Environmental Elements

This study seeks to find the relative importance of environmental elements attributes such as green space and waterbody facility benefits that home buyers consider in residential areas. This is descriptive research in which a structured form of survey was distributed to selected housing schemes under Johor Bharu city council. It was administered to collect data from the respondents. The main preferences attributes of urban environmental elements by homebuyers’ decisions were found to be waterbody. The variable could be grouped into 3 main categories that consist of benefits, physical and value of the urban green elements. This study was the first to include both attributes from elements of green space and water body. The selection of the case study only covers residential properties owners in Johor Bharu. This study could provide best indicators for purchase decisions that could be embedded in the design of future residential development. Stakeholders and policy makers could also provide incentive, recognition and take actions to increase awareness related to allocation for these elements (green space and water body) area to internalise the medium- and long-term goals of high quality of life among urban citizens. The public inclusion and preferences for residential development could likely create a greater demand for sustainable development of residential properties in the future. This could further facilitate more interest in providing a healthy and sustainable residential property development and investment in the future

considerations on developing urban underground land in Malaysia: a review

More than half of the world population nowadays lives in urban areas and it is not impossible this figure will reach 70% in 2050. The rapid growth of world civilization will have a significant impact on the way humans live in the future. The impact of that, more countries demand a higher standard of living, the world must provide more food and greater energy and mineral resources to sustain this growth. Moreover, the needs of space are highly demanded with the great pressure especially on housing and infrastructure. Many urban problems occur due to the higher demand than supply such as traffic congestion, air pollution and lack of green space for development. As a result of these circumstances, the other considerations are using non-other than going to the third dimension of the city as a final frontier in urban development. Looking on positively for the underground development for infrastructure, it’s important for Malaysia move one step forward by considering expanding the usage of underground space into many categories. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to investigate the present and future uses of underground land in Malaysia. In order to achieve it, it will identify the current uses of underground land and examined the potential planning for the development. This investigation attempt to explore the future of underground land in wider aspect in order to develop sustainable underground land

Solving Continuous Trajectory and Forward Kinematics Simultaneously Based on ANN

Robot movement can be predicted by incorporating Forward Kinematics(FK) and trajectory planning techniques. However, the calculations will becomecomplicated and hard to be solved if the number of specific via points is increased.Thus, back-propagation artificial neural network is proposed in this paper to overcomethis drawback due to its ability in learning pattern solutions. A virtual 4-degreeof freedom manipulator is exploited as an example and the theoretical results arecompared with the proposed method

Simulating bio-composite cycling helmet performance through FEA and CFD approaches

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis were performed in this work in order to obtain the best design for safety and aerodynamic performance of the bicycle cycling helmet. FEA analysis was computed on two different helmet designs to determine the critical area subjected to impact. A pressure load was applied on the helmets’ outer surface to simulate oblique loading. The critical areas of the helmets were then highlighted and identified, enabling design improvements to be made on both designs. CFD analysis was then executed in order to obtain the lowest drag coefficient number in reducing the air resistance induced by both of the helmet designs, inherently increasing cyclist performance and ensuring competition success

A novel mycobacterial Hsp70-containing fusion protein targeting mesothelin augments antitumor immunity and prolongs survival in murine models of ovarian cancer and mesothelioma

Background: Although dendritic cell (DC) vaccines are considered to be promising treatments for advanced cancer, their production and administration is costly and labor-intensive. We developed a novel immunotherapeutic agent that links a single-chain antibody variable fragment (scFv) targeting mesothelin (MSLN), which is overexpressed on ovarian cancer and mesothelioma cells, to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70), which is a potent immune activator that stimulates monocytes and DCs, enhances DC aggregation and maturation and improves cross-priming of T cells mediated by DCs. Methods: Binding of this fusion protein with MSLN on the surface of tumor cells was measured by flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy. The therapeutic efficacy of this fusion protein was evaluated in syngeneic and orthotopic mouse models of papillary ovarian cancer and malignant mesothelioma. Mice received 4 intraperitoneal (i.p.) treatments with experimental or control proteins post i.p. injection of tumor cells. Ascites-free and overall survival time was measured. For the investigation of anti-tumor T-cell responses, a time-matched study was performed. Splenocytes were stimulated with peptides, and IFNγ- or Granzyme B- generating CD3+CD8+ T cells were detected by flow cytometry. To examine the role of CD8+ T cells in the antitumor effect, we performed in vivo CD8+ cell depletion. We further determined if the fusion protein increases DC maturation and improves antigen presentation as well as cross-presentation by DCs. Results: We demonstrated in vitro that the scFvMTBHsp70 fusion protein bound to the tumor cells used in this study through the interaction of scFv with MSLN on the surface of these cells, and induced maturation of bone marrow-derived DCs. Use of this bifunctional fusion protein in both mouse models significantly enhanced survival and slowed tumor growth while augmenting tumor-specific CD8+ T-cell dependent immune responses. We also demonstrated in vitro and in vivo that the fusion protein enhanced antigen presentation and cross-presentation by targeting tumor antigens towards DCs. Conclusions: This new cancer immunotherapy has the potential to be cost-effective and broadly applicable to tumors that overexpress mesothelin