Fabrication of Nanostructured PLGA Scaffolds Using Anodic Aluminum Oxide Templates

PLGA (poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)) is one of the most used biodegradable and biocompatible materials. Nanostructured PLGA even has great application potentials in tissue engineering. In this research, a fabrication technique for nanostructured PLGA membrane was investigated and developed. In this novel fabrication approach, an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) film was use as the template ; the PLGA solution was then cast on it ; the vacuum air-extraction process was applied to transfer the nano porous pattern from the AAO membrane to the PLGA membrane and form nanostures on it. The cell culture experiments of the bovine endothelial cells demonstrated that the nanostructured PLGA membrane can double the cell growing rate. Compared to the conventional chemical-etching process, the physical fabrication method proposed in this research not only is simpler but also does not alter the characteristics of the PLGA. The nanostructure of the PLGA membrane can be well controlled by the AAO temperate.Comment: Submitted on behalf of EDA Publishing Association (http://irevues.inist.fr/handle/2042/16838

Markowitz portfolio theory and capital asset pricing model for Kuala Lumpur stock exchange: a case revisited

Capital Asset Pricing Model is widely used by investors to estimate the return or the moving behavior of the stock and Markowitz Model is employed to achieve portfolio diversification. This study examine whether CAPM is valid to forecast the behaviour of the each individual stock and its return as well as its validity in the portfolio with stocks listed in Malaysia. Second, it evaluates the suitability of Markowitz Model to evaluate the performance of the Malaysia investment portfolio. This is done within the framework of 2010 to 2014 using weekly data of 60 companies. OLS unbiased estimator, autocorrelation and heterodasticity problems are to be conducted to test the validity of the model. It is concluded that CAPM is reasonable to be the indicator of stock prices in Malaysia as well as in portfolio basket. It proves that there is linearity in CAPM but unique risk and systematic do not need to be captured. Managers can use CAPM as a proxy to estimate their stock return and diversify the portfolio to reduce the unsystematic risk to enable them to execute the right policy in their management in order to maximise profit at the same time increase shareholder wealth maximisation. Furthermore, it is suggested to apply Markowitz portfolio diversification to reduce the unsystematic risk. Overall, portfolio diversification could build up the investors’ confidence towards the investment decision and to develop a sound investment financial market in assisting Malaysia to achieve its mission to be a developed country in 2020

Application of RNA silencing to plant disease resistance

To reduce the losses caused by plant pathogens, plant biologists have adopted numerous methods to engineer resistant plants. Among them, RNA silencing-based resistance has been a powerful tool that has been used to engineer resistant crops during the last two decades. Based on this mechanism, diverse approaches were developed. In this review, we focus on the application of RNA silencing to produce plants that are resistant to plant viruses such as RNA and DNA viruses, viroids, insects, and the recent expansion to fungal pathogens

Long-term high salt intake involves reduced SK Currents and Increased Excitability of PVN Neurons with projections to the rostral ventrolateral medulla in rats

Evidence indicates that high salt (HS) intake activates presympathetic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) neurons, which contributes to sympathoexcitation of salt-sensitive hypertension. The present study determined whether 5 weeks of HS (2% NaCl) intake alters the small conductance Ca2+-activated potassium channel (SK) current in presympathetic PVN neurons and whether this change affects the neuronal excitability. In whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings, HS-treated rats had significantly decreased SK currents compared to rats with normal salt (NS, 0.4% NaCl) intake in PVN neurons. The sensitivity of PVN neuronal excitability in response to current injections was greater in HS group compared to NS controls. The SK channel blocker apamin augmented the neuronal excitability in both groups but had less effect on the sensitivity of the neuronal excitability in HS group compared to NS controls. In the HS group, the interspike interval (ISI) was significantly shorter than that in NS controls. Apamin significantly shortened the ISI in NS controls but had less effect in the HS group. This data suggests that HS intake reduces SK currents, which contributes to increased PVN neuronal excitability at least in part through a decrease in spike frequency adaptation and may be a precursor to the development of salt-sensitive hypertension

Influence of macroeconomics factors and legal stability to the insurance growth in the ASEAN-5 countries

This paper examines the influence of legal stability and macroeconomics factor to the non-life insurance development. In light of the growing significance of foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade that stimulate insurance sector, and the stress placed on legal stability of the countries, investigating the role of legal stability is crucial to sustain a country’s financial development. This study employs a panel data analysis spanning 20 years in the selected developing countries. The findings suggest that higher trade, higher income, higher stock market trading activities and higher availability of finance credit will enhance the non-life insurance development. Legal stability such as enhancement on the property right and government integrity will improve the non-life insurance development. When the legal environments in emerging countries are more stable, the FDI and stocks market will become more encouraging and stimulate non-life insurance development. The policy makers should improve the legal stability in emerging countries to improve the financial development for minimizing the gap with developed countries. This study includes the institutional factors components in addition to the macroeconomics factors could provide a complete picture towards the improvement of non-life insurance development in emerging and transition countries

Charmless two-body BB meson decays in perturbative QCD factorization approach

The perturbative QCD (PQCD) approach based on $k_T$ factorization has made a great achievement for the QCD calculation of the hadronic B decays. Regulating the endpoint divergence by the transverse momentum of quarks in the propagators, one can do the perturbation calculation for kinds of diagrams including the annihilation type diagrams. In this paper, we review the current status of PQCD factorization calculation of two-body charmless $B\to PP, PV, VV$ decays up to the next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD corrections. two new power suppressed terms in decaying amplitudes are also taken into account. By using the universal input (non-perturbative) parameters, we collected the branching ratios and ${\bf CP}$ asymmetry parameters for all the charmless two body $B$ decays, calculated in the PQCD approach up to the NLO, including some power suppressed terms in decaying amplitudes. The results are compared with the ones from QCD factorization approach, soft-collinear effective theory approach and the current experimental measurements. For most considered B meson decays, the PQCD results for branching ratios agree well with other approaches and the experimental data. The PQCD predictions for the ${\bf CP}$ asymmetry parameters for many of the decay channels do not agree with other approaches, but have a better agreement with the experimental data. The longstanding $K \pi$ puzzle about the pattern of the direct CP asymmetries of the penguin-dominated $B \to K \pi$ decays can be understood after the inclusion of the NLO contributions in PQCD. The NLO corrections and power suppressed terms play an important role in the color suppressed and pure annihilation type $B$ decay modes. These rare decays are more sensitive to different types of corrections, providing opportunity to examine the factorization approach with the more precise experimental measurements.Comment: 51 pages, 4 figures, 11 tables, references added, typos remove

2-Amino-4-[1-(2-chloro­phen­yl)-5-methyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl]-6-(4-methyl­phen­yl)benzene-1,3-dicarbonitrile

In the title compound, C24H17ClN6, the dihedral angles between the triazolyl ring and its adjacent chlorobenzene and trisubstituted benzene rings are 90.6 (2) and 55.7 (3)°, respectively. The dihedral angle between the trisubstituted ring and the attached tolyl ring of the biphenyl unit is 45.9 (3)°. Intra- and intermolecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds are present

Impacts of risk based capital regulation in Malaysian Islamic insurers (Takaful)

Risk Based Capital framework for Takaful operators (RBCT) is enforced by the Central Bank of Malaysia with the aim to ensure that Takaful operators have adequate capital to provide sound financial service. The objectives of this article is to examine the impacts of RBCT on efficiency, productivity and competitiveness level of Family Takaful Operators (FTO) and the relationship between efficiency and competitiveness in FTO in Malaysia. This study employs three methods namely Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) and Panzar Rosse (PR) to investigate the impacts of RBC on the efficiency, productivity and competitiveness of FTO in Malaysia. The efficiency results indicate that after RBCT comes into effect, the cost efficiency has achieved higher efficient level. Although the productivity efficiency are improving, the technological systems of FTO are yet to achieve a reasonable level. From competitiveness results, the FTO are less competitive prior the implementation of RBCT, but has become more competitive after the regulation of RBCT framework. Furthermore, the more efficient of a Takaful market, the more competitive the market is. The implication of this study is that regulators need to impose prudent risk based capital regulation because it will improve the efficiency and competitiveness of Islamic insurers