Strategic factors on interpreting remanufacturing quality- Certifying framework to address warranty aftermarket for Malaysian industry

While the concept of remanufacturing is gaining popularity globally, literature and theory on strategic decision-making on certifying for warranty in this area remain limited. A strategic and establish concept flow is developed based on extensive literature review and surveys with experienced experts who are dealing with remanufactured, reconditioned, rebuilt and reused components. The remanufacturing research on evaluating quality assurance of remanufactured component targets macro-level parameters and the indicators which must be confirmed for evaluation. The strategic remanufacturing factors identified from the literature review are discussed in a brainstorming session with a number of remanufacturing researchers and academic experts. The study is further broadened by industrial surveys and case studies to justify the inputs on developing a framework to certify remanufactured components. Preliminary results have established the key factors of remanufacturing quality control that might lead to the strict quality assurance of remanufactured components. Later, the developed framework can be used as a benchmarking tool to certify remanufactured components and warranty issuance. The findings serve as the foundation for further research concerning Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) or Original Equipment Remanufacturer (OER) and Independent Equipment Remanufacturer (IER) in the Malaysian Remanufacturing Industry

Attitudes and practices of community pharmacists and barriers to their participation in public health activities in Yemen: Mind the gap

Background: Patients in Yemen commonly visit community pharmacies to obtain consultation or treatment for common ailments. Community pharmacists have an opportunity to optimize medication use and improve patient outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the attitudes and practices of community pharmacists regarding their participation in public health activities and barriers to their participation in these activities. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among community pharmacists working in pharmacies located in urban areas of the Aden governorate of Yemen from March to June 2017 using a self-administered questionnaire. We selected pharmacies from a line list using proportional sampling according to the number of pharmacies in the urban areas of each district. The questionnaire contained four sections: demographic characteristics, attitudes, practices, and barriers encountered. Data were analyzed descriptively, and the Chi-square test was used for analyzing the association of variables (alpha = 0.05). Results: The questionnaire was distributed to 200 community pharmacists working in community pharmacies. Of the 200 respondents, 62% (n = 124) were male. Overall, the mean age (sd) was 30.0 years (8.6) with the number of years of work experience between 2 and 9.9 years (n = 158, 79%). On average, 62.3% of the pharmacists had a positive attitude toward participation in public health activities. Providing education to stop tobacco chewing, smoking, alcohol drinking and improve oral hygiene was an important activity of the community pharmacists. Blood pressure measurements (86%, n = 172) and glucose tests (45%, n = 90) were commonly conducted for clients. Lack of time (71%, n = 142) and lack of teamwork (70%, n = 140) were mentioned as common barriers to participation in public health activities. Conclusions: Community pharmacists had a positive attitude toward public health activities. Health education and routine health tests were important practices of the community pharmacists. Barriers need to be overcome to enable more active participation by community pharmacists in public health activities by consulting with all stakeholders, assessing the situation, considering alternatives and taking action.Scopu

Camel Milk and the Prevention of Glucose Cataract, an Organ Culture Study

Purpose: To test if camel milk affects glucose-induced opacity in organ cultured rat and human lenses.Methods: Whole human and rat lenses were cultured in various media containing either 55 mM glucose, camel milk, or a combination of both glucose and milk. Some lenses were cultured in a media containing neither moiety to establish a control. Absorbance spectra of human and rat lenses were measured daily using a visible/ultraviolet light spectrometer. Lens opacities were graded by a blinded grader from photographs taken daily. Aldose reductase activity, catalase activity, glutathione and receptor for advanced glycation end products levels were assayed.Results: The optical density and light scattering intensity of human lenses cultured with glucose were higher after two to four days in organ culture compared with lenses cultured without glucose. Camel milk in the culture media attenuated the glucose-induced increase in optical density, light scattering intensity and opacity grade after two to four days for both human and rat lenses. Aldose reductase activity, catalase activity and glutathione levels were restored but the receptor for advanced glycation end products was similar in rat lenses cultured with glucose compared with those cultured with glucose and camel milk. There were no differences between the assayed moieties in human lenses cultured with glucose or glucose plus milk. Since camel milk restored rat lens glutathione levels, it is possible that camel milk may protect the lens from oxidation and significantly reduce the glucose-induced increase in light scattering of human lenses. Structurally and physiologically, rat lenses are distinct from human lenses, therefore, the rat lens data was highly variable when compared with the human lens data, highlighting the importance of using human lenses in future studies.Conclusions: Camel milk present in the organ culture medium inhibited the glucose-induced opacity in human lenses and restored the amount of glutathione to the same levels of lenses not cultured in glucose. The positive results of the current study leads to future studies to determine the moieties in camel milk that are responsible for cataract inhibition and in vivo studies involving camel milk

Pharmacokinetics and antiangiogenic studies of potassium koetjapate in rats

© 2020 Purpose: Koetjapic acid is an active compound of a traditional medicinal plant, Sandoricum koetjape. Although koetjapic acid has a promising anticancer potential, yet it is highly insoluble in aqueous solutions. To increase aqueous solubility of koetjapic acid, we have previously reported a chemical modification of koetjapic acid to potassium koetjapate (KKA). However, pharmacokinetics of KKA has not been studied. In this study, pharmacokinetics and antiangiogenic efficacy of KKA are investigated. Methods: Pharmacokinetics of KKA was studied after intravenous and oral administration in SD rats using HPLC. Anti-angiogenic efficacy of KKA was investigated in rat aorta, human endothelial cells (EA.hy926) and nude mice implanted with matrigel. Results: Pharmacokinetic study revealed that KKA was readily absorbed into blood and stayed for a long time in the body with Tmax 2.89 ± 0.12 h, Cmax 7.24 ± 0.36 μg/mL and T1/2 1.46 ± 0.03 h. The pharmacological results showed that KKA significantly suppressed sprouting of microvessels in rat aorta with IC50 18.4 ± 4.2 μM and demonstrated remarkable inhibition of major endothelial functions such as migration, differentiation and VEGF expression in endothelial cells. Further, KKA significantly inhibited vascularization in matrigel plugs implanted in nude mice. Conclusions: The results indicate that bioabsorption of KKA from oral route was considerably efficient with longer retention in body than compared to that of the intravenous route. Further, improved antiangiogenic activity of KKA was recorded which could probably be due to its increased solubility and bioavailability. The results revealed that KKA inhibits angiogenesis by suppressing endothelial functions and expression of VEGF

The Effect of Nicotine Dependence on Psychopathology in Patients with Schizophrenia

Introduction. Our study aims to determine the prevalence of nicotine dependence and investigate the effect of nicotine dependence on psychopathology among schizophrenia patients. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out in an outpatient psychiatric clinic at a general hospital in Malaysia. 180 recruited subjects were administered the Malay version of Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI), the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS), and the Malay version of Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND-M) questionnaires. Results. The prevalence of nicotine dependence among the subjects was 38.1% () and they were mainly composed of male gender, Malay ethnicity, being treated with atypical antipsychotics, and taking other illicit drugs or alcohol. Subjects with severe nicotine dependence scored less in the negative subscale of PANSS compared with the nonsmokers (). On performing the hierarchy multiple regressions, dependence status still significantly predicted negative scores after adjusting the confounders (, ). Conclusion. The rate of nicotine use disorder among schizophrenia patients in this study is higher than that of the general population in Malaysia. The significant association between nicotine dependence and negative psychopathology symptoms will help the healthcare practitioners in their management of nicotine dependence among schizophrenia patients

Genetic characterization of wild-type measles viruses circulating in suburban Khartoum, 1997-2000

Measles remains endemic in many East African countries, where it is often associated with high morbidity and mortality. We collected clinical specimens from Sudanese measles patients between July 1997 and July 2000. Sequencing of the 3' 456 nucleotides of the nucleoprotein gene from 33 measles virus (MV) isolates and 8 RNA samples extracted from clinical specimens demonstrated the presence of a single endemic MV strain with little sequence variation over time (overall nucleotide divergence of 0 to 1.3%). This was confirmed by sequencing of the complete H gene of two isolates from 1997 and two from 2000, in which the overall divergence ranged between 0 and 0.5%. Comparison with MV reference strains demonstrated that the viruses belonged to clade B, genotype B3, and were most closely related to a set of viruses recently isolated in Nigeria. Our study demonstrates a remarkable genetic stability of an endemically circulating MV strain

Crossing borders: new teachers co-constructing professional identity in performative times

This paper draws on a range of theoretical perspectives on the construction of new teachers’ professional identity. It focuses particularly on the impact of the development in many national education systems of a performative culture of the management and regulation of teachers’ work. Whilst the role of interactions with professional colleagues and school managers in the performative school has been extensively researched, less attention has been paid to new teachers’ interactions with students. This paper highlights the need for further research focusing on the process of identity co-construction with students. A key theoretical concept employed is that of liminality, the space within which identities are in transition as teachers adjust to the culture of a new professional workplace, and the nature of the engagement of new teachers, or teachers who change schools, with students. The authors argue that an investigation into the processes of this co-construction of identity offers scope for new insights into the extent to which teachers might construct either a teacher identity at odds with their personal and professional values, or a more ‘authentic’ identity that counters performative discourses. These insights will in turn add to our understanding of the complex range of factors impacting on teacher resilience and motivation