UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF SFRP1 AND RSPONDIN2 IN REGULATING KELOID PATHOGENESIS THROUGH THE CANONICAL WNT SIGNALLING PATHWAY

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

The development of a network security suite for windows-based servers

Master'sMASTER OF ENGINEERIN

PRE-TREATMENT TEMPERATURE AND MULTI-RESPONSE SURFACE OPTIMISATION OF ULTRASOUND-ASSISTED EXTRACTION OF ANTIOXIDANTS FROM RED DATES

Ziziphus jujube known as red dates are natural flora, are a rich source of antioxidant bioactive compounds and are widely used in making Chinese traditional medicine. However, the optimization of extraction conditions and demonstration of extraction kinetics of red dates remains a gap. Therefore, the main objective of this research was to enhance the antioxidant activity via DPPH, crude extract yield, and TPC by response surface methodology (RSM). Also, mathematical modeling of the TPC extraction kinetics was performed. Single-factor experiments were adopted to identify the preliminary RSM ranges of four extraction parameters such as liquid-solid ratio (10, 20, and 30 ml/g), extraction temperature (50, 60 and 70°C), time (40, 50 and 60min), and ultrasonic power (70, 80 and 90%). The extraction kinetics based on RSM optimized conditions were modeled into six extraction kinetic models. As result, the highest crude extract yield (4.56 g), highest TPC (0.023 g GAE/g extract), and highest antioxidant activity (85.88%) were obtained at 60ºC. The optimum values were liquid-solid ratio 30ml/g, extraction temperature 60°C, time 60 min, and ultrasonic power 70%. The antioxidant activity of red dates after optimization (90.59%) was higher than that of synthetic antioxidants, Butylated Hydroxytoluene (84.71%), and Butylated Hydroxyanisole (77.73%). Furthermore, the best-fitted kinetic model was the second-order kinetic model due to its coefficient of determination (R2) at 0.9849, being the closest to 1 and its root mean square error (RMSE) was the lowest, 0.001028 among other models

A Dynamic Model for the Forward Curve

This paper develops and estimates a dynamic arbitrage-free model that models the current forward curve as the sum of (i) an unconditional component, (ii) a maturity-specific component and (iii) a date-specific component. The model combines features of the Preferred Habitat model, the Expectations Hypothesis and affine yield curve models. We show how to construct alternative parametric examples of the three components from a sum of exponential functions, verify that the resulting forward curves satisfy the Heath-Jarrow-Morton conditions, and derive the risk-neutral dynamics for the purpose of pricing interest rate derivatives. We select a model from alternative affine examples that are fitted to the Fama-Bliss Treasury data over an initial training period and use it to generate out-of-sample forecasts for forward rates and yields. For forecast horizons of 6-months or longer, the forecasts of this model significantly outperform forecasts from common benchmark models

Defensins knowledgebase: a manually curated database and information source focused on the defensins family of antimicrobial peptides

The defensins knowledgebase is a manually curated database and information source focused on the defensin family of antimicrobial peptides. The current version of the database holds a comprehensive collection of over 350 defensin records each containing sequence, structure and activity information. A web-based interface provides access to the information and allows for text-based searching on the data fields. In addition, the website presents information on patents, grants, research laboratories and scientists, clinical studies and commercial entities pertaining to defensins. With the rapidly increasing interest in defensins, we hope that the knowledgebase will prove to be a valuable resource in the field of antimicrobial peptide research. The defensins knowledgebase is available at

Isolation, structure elucidation, identification and quantitative analysis of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) from the roots of Chlorophytum boriviliuanum (safed musli)

Chlorophytum borivilianum (safed musli) is a traditional herbaceous medicinal plant belonging to family Liliaceae. Its roots are being employed in folk medicine. The crude extract of C. borivilianum has been consumed due to its versatile therapeutic uses. The scientific studies related to the important pharmacological properties are widely conducted and the remarkable bioactivities of C. borivilianum are proven in literatures. So far, the isolated chemical compounds are mainly saponins. In this research, the isolation was focused on compounds other than saponins and bis(2-ethylhexyl) benzene-1,2-dicarboxylate was isolated for the first time from the roots of C. borivilianum. The structure was identified based on the spectral data of 1H NMR, 13C NMR, DEPT, COSY, HMBC, HMQC and also based on the comparison with the previous literature data. This is the first report regarding the presence of this compound in C. borivilianum as well as its genus. A high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with photodiode array detection was established to identify and quantify bis(2-ethylhexyl) benzene-1,2-dicarboxylate

2245G/A polymorphism of the receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) gene is associated with diabetic retinopathy in the Malaysian population

Background/aims The receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic microvascular complications. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between 2245G/A gene polymorphism of the RAGE gene and retinopathy in Malaysian type 2 diabetic patients. Methods 342 unrelated type 2 diabetic patients (171 with retinopathy (DR), 171 without retinopathy (DNR)) and 235 unrelated healthy subjects from all over Malaysia were recruited for this study. Genomic DNA was isolated from 3�ml samples of whole blood using a modified conventional DNA extraction method. The genotype and allele frequencies of 2245G/A were studied using the polymerase chain reaction�restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Results A statistically significant difference in 2245A minor allele frequency was found between control (5.5) and DR groups (15.2) (p0.05). Conclusions This is the first study that shows an association between the 2245A allele of the RAGE gene and development of diabetic retinopathy in the Malaysian population

Design of PI controller with input constraint: application on blending process

Because of their simplicity, reliability and effectiveness, proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controllers remain the most widely used controllers in the process industries. Actuator saturation is among the most common and significant problem in control systems design. Normal PID controller does not take this into consideration. Normally, an anti‐windup compensator is employed in the system to overcome the problem. In this contribution, a new set of controller tuning relations is developed to tune the PI controller when the system is under saturation. The blending process was described as first order plus time delay (FOPTD) process and an expression is developed for saturation level, U as a function of controller gain, Kc with the range of R 0.4–2 (ratio of time delay to time constant). The proposed tuning rule relate the parameters of the controller to the parameters of a FOPTD model of the plant to a step change in the set point. The proposed method was applied to PI controller and tested on the process of blending system of sweetened condensed milk. The performance of the controller with various tuning formulae incorporated with classical anti‐windup strategies has been compared. The simulation results showed that the proposed method could give satisfactory performance in controlling the process