Determining The Black-Box Component's Failure.

Many papers propose different approaches to evaluate the reliability of black-box components based on component's success. This paper determines or evaluates component's reliability based on its failure. Since even reliable components might fail, we argue that component's acquirer should evaluate the component's reliability based on its failure and not on its success- In this paper we propose a new approach towards determining the component's failure. Both the operational profile and the appropriate test cases are needed to support our approach

Larvicidal Properties of the Essential Oils of Some Malaysian Plants on Three Vector Mosquitoes

The toxicity of the essential oils of eighteen Malaysian plants on the 4thinstar larvae of three vector mosquitoes (Anopheles maculatus, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquejasciatus) was studied. The leaf oil of Litsea elliptica was the most effective, exhibiting LCso of 13.61 f-lg mr! for An. maculatus, 16.01 f-lg ml for Ae. aegypti and 14.63 f-lg ml for C. quinquejasciatus. The essential oils from the other species were also toxic with LCso ofl6.58 - 161.12 f-lg ml

The Oestrogenis and Cytotoxic Effects of the Extracts of Labisia pumila var. alata and Labisia pumila var. pumila In Vitro

Aqueous, acid hydrolysed and ethanolic extracts of the roots and leaves of Labisia pumila var. alata and Labisia pumila var. alata and Labisia pumila var. pumila were investigated for their oestrogenic and cytotoxic effects using Ishikawa cell line by performing an in vitro Ishikawa alkaline phosphatase assay and an in vitro protein assay, respectively. Among them, only the ethanol extract of the root of L. pumila var. alata exhibited a weak oestrogenic activity at 10-50 mg/ml. The samples that exhibited significant cytotoxic effect were the ethanol extract of the roots of L. pumila var. alata (IC50 433 mg/ml), and the aqueous extracts of the roots of L. pumila var. alata (IC50 433 mg/ml) and the leaves of L. pumila var. pumila (IC50 458 mg/ml)

Knockdown of Annexin A1 induces apoptosis, causing G2/M arrest and facilitating phagocytosis activity in human leukemia cell lines

Annexin A1 (ANXA1) is an endogenous protein involved in the control of proliferation, cell cycle, phagocytosis, and apoptosis in several types of cancer. To investigate the effects of ANXA1 knockdown in leukemia cells, transfection with specific ANXA1 siRNA was performed. Cell cycle and apoptosis were analyzed using flow cytometry and a mechanism involving caspases and Bcl-2 was quantified using Western blotting. Phagocytosis activity was evaluated using hematoxylin & eosin staining. The ANXA1 expression was significantly downregulated after the knockdown and apoptosis was induced in tested cells. The expression of caspase-9 and -3 increased in U937 and Jurkat cells respectively. Bcl-2 expression was downregulated in K562 and Jurkat cells while upregulated in U937. The number of leukemic cells arrested at the G2/M phase and the phagocytosis index were significantly increased in transfected cells. This suggests that ANXA1 knockdown might be a potential approach in the therapeutic strategy for leukemia

Ficus carica

This paper describes the botanical features of Ficus carica L. (Moraceae), its wide variety of chemical constituents, its use in traditional medicine as remedies for many health problems, and its biological activities. The plant has been used traditionally to treat various ailments such as gastric problems, inflammation, and cancer. Phytochemical studies on the leaves and fruits of the plant have shown that they are rich in phenolics, organic acids, and volatile compounds. However, there is little information on the phytochemicals present in the stem and root. Reports on the biological activities of the plant are mainly on its crude extracts which have been proven to possess many biological activities. Some of the most interesting therapeutic effects include anticancer, hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, and antimicrobial activities. Thus, studies related to identification of the bioactive compounds and correlating them to their biological activities are very useful for further research to explore the potential of F. carica as a source of therapeutic agents

Chemical Constituents of the Essential Oils of Cinnamomum sinrok, Blume

The leaf, bark and wood oils of Cinnamomum sintok were isolated in 0.87, 1.63 and 0.29% yields, respectively, by water distillation. The components of the oils were identified by co-chromatography with authentic samples on two different capillary columns, Kovats retention index and gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric(GC-MS) analysis. Sesquiterpenoids accounted for more than 80% of the oil. However, the most abundant component was linalool which constituted 17.4% of the oil. The constituents of the bark and wood oils were similar, but the concentrations differed. The major component of the bark and wood oils was eugenol which constituted 87.5 and 72.6% of the oils respectively

Screening of Antibacterial and Anticancer Activity of Soft Corals from Togean Islands, Indonesia

Soft corals (Octocorallia, Alcyonaceae) have been reported to possess diverse biological activities and unique structural chemistry. This study aims to screen the potential antibacterial and anticancer activity of some soft corals collected from Togean Islands, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. They were Lobophytum sp, Sarcophyton sp, Sinularia sp 1, and Sinularia sp 2. All dried coral materials were extracted for 3 x 24 h by maceration method using methanol and then evaporated by rotary evaporator to obtain viscous extracts. The determination of antibacterial activity had been performed by well agar diffusion method against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Meanwhile, the cytotoxic activity was performed by MTT method, followed by apoptosis annexin V-FTIC assay agains. Identification for the presence of terpenoids was performed by vacuum p-anisaldehyde-sulphuric acid spraying reagent on thin layer chromatography (TLC). Sinularia sp2 extract have strongly inhibited S. aureus and E.coli with the diameter of inhibition range from 12.76mm and 17.86mm, respectively. Moreover, Sinularia sp2 extract possessed also cytotoxic activity against human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) and colorectal carcinoma (HCT-116) with the IC50 of 46.807 and 47.186 μg/mL, respectively.  Extract Sinularia sp 1 was found to have strongest cytotoxicity on human colon colorectal carcinoma (HCT-116) with the IC50 of < 1.505 μg/mL. Annexin V-FTIC assay clearly exhibited that the apoptosis mechanism is proposed by the extracts of Sinularia sp1 and Sinularia sp 2. Terpenoids were identified on both  extracts suggesting for further purification and isolation for the bioactive terpenoid compounds.

Inhibition of the chemiluminescence and chemotactic activity of phagocytes for selected Ficus species extract and their lipoxygenase and xanthine oxidase enzyme inhibitory

The effects of crude methanol from seven Ficus species on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were evaluated using luminol based chemiluminescence assay and their inhibition of PMNs chemotaxis was investigated using Boyden chamber technique. Crude methanol of F. aurantiaca, F. parietalis, and F. annulata showed strong activity against PMN chemotaxis with IC 50 values of 1.4, 0.3 and 2.2 µg/mL, respectively, while crude methanol from F. aurantiaca and F. parietalis on whole blood and ROS production of PMNs exhibited high inhibitory activity for luminol enhanced chemiluminescence with IC 50 values of 1.4, 0.9, and 1.0, 0.4 µg/mL, respectively. In xanthine oxidase inhibition assay, crude methanol from F. aurantiaca (stem), F. parietalis (stem), and F. annulata (leaf) exhibited greater than 92% inhibition at concentration of 100 µg/mL (with IC50 values of 0.9, 1.0 and 8.9 µg/mL, respectively) while some extracts of other species showed more than 60% inhibitions at this concentration. In soybean lipoxygenase (SBL) assay, the methanolic extracts of these 3 species showed potent SBL inhibition with IC50 values of 0.3, 0.7, and 6.3 µg/mL, respectively. The overall results suggest that F. parietalis, F. annulata, and F. aurantiaca might be a prospective source of anti-inflammatory mediators and as a source of new immunomodulatory agents

THE INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF HUMAN CAPITAL, STRUCTURAL CAPITAL AND SOCIAL CAPITAL ON FIRM PERFORMANCE

ABSTRAC