Hypoxic Culture Conditions as a Solution for Mesenchymal Stem Cell Based Regenerative Therapy

Cell-based regenerative therapies, based on in vitro propagation of stem cells, offer tremendous hope to many individuals suffering from degenerative diseases that were previously deemed untreatable. Due to the self-renewal capacity, multilineage potential, and immunosuppressive property, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are considered as an attractive source of stem cells for regenerative therapies. However, poor growth kinetics, early senescence, and genetic instability during in vitro expansion and poor engraftment after transplantation are considered to be among the major disadvantages of MSC-based regenerative therapies. A number of complex inter-and intracellular interactive signaling systems control growth, multiplication, and differentiation of MSCs in their niche. Common laboratory conditions for stem cell culture involve ambient O-2 concentration (20%) in contrast to their niche where they usually reside in 2-9% O-2. Notably, O-2 plays an important role in maintaining stem cell fate in terms of proliferation and differentiation, by regulating hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) mediated expression of different genes. This paper aims to describe and compare the role of normoxia (20% O-2) and hypoxia (2-9% O-2) on the biology of MSCs. Finally it is concluded that a hypoxic environment can greatly improve growth kinetics, genetic stability, and expression of chemokine receptors during in vitro expansion and eventually can increase efficiency of MSC-based regenerative therapies.Article Link: http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2013/632972

Public Perception of Vocational Education

Public perception of vocational education aims to provide a research-based assessment of vocational education. The research method used is a quantitative approach with data collection techniques through questionnaires and literature study. The analytical method used is univariate analysis. The results showed that the perception of the community—in this case, the perception of parents/students of grade 3 SMAN 2 Cibinong—about vocational education is good. The perception of students of the vocational program (diploma) is good. And the perception of Human Resources Manager/Supervisor of the organizations where the Vocational UI Program students completed their apprenticeship is also good.     Keywords: vocational education, public perceptio

Perspektif Konstitusional Kedudukan Negara Dan Swasta Dalam Pengelolaan Sumber Daya Air Menurut UUD 1945

This research discusses the constitutional perspective of water resources management and its relation to the position of the state and the private sector in the management of water resources. This research examines the decision of the Constitutional Court in the judicial review of Law No. 7 of 2004 on Water Resources. There are two issues discussed in these studies namely (i) what is the constitutional perspective of water resource management and (ii) what is the position of the state and the private sector in water resources management? This research uses normative law research. The results showed that there are two constitutional perspectives in water resources management which are the perspective of control by the state under Article 33 paragraph (3) and the perspective of Human Rights perspective based on Article 28H of the 1945 Constitution. Based on the perspective of control by the state, management of water resources should be controlled by the state from upstream to downstream. The state should take control of water resources and establish distribution channels to meet the needs of the citizens on the water. From a human rights perspective, the state is obliged to protect, promote and fulfill the right to water. This obligation cannot be left to the private sector especially in water management based on its primary function. Therefore, the overall water management should be done by the state through the State Owned Enterprises or Regional Owned Enterprises. In fact, the monopoly of water management is a policy option that can be taken by the state. On the other hand, the private sector can take a part to commercialize water based on the use of water in its secondary function for industrial use through licensing mechanism. The study concluded that the state has an obligation to meet the citizens' rights to water in order to meet the needs of a decent life based on primary functions of water. Secondary functions can be operated by private sectors

Fishery, growth, yield per recruit and stock assessment of Sphyraena obtusata Cuvier off Tuticorin, Gulf of Mannar

Annual average catch of 612.2 t of barracudas were landed at the catch rate of 17.1 kg/unit which constituted 3.9% in the total catch landed by trawlers during 1987 - '89 at Tuticorin. Higher effort input during certain months did not coincide with better abundance of barracudas. Sphyraena obtusata Cuvier constituted on an average 69.6% of the total catch of barracudas. Based on the length-frequency data, the growth {^ameters have been estimated to be L 470.0 mm, K 1.0364/year and t^ -0.0098 ye. The natural mortality coefficient (M) is 1.591, the average annual total mortality coefficient (Z) is 2.8317 and the average exploitation rate (U) is 0.4123. The average standing stock is estimated to be 343.2 t and average annual stock 1,032.71. Yield per recruit studies indicate that S. obtusata is not exposed to higher fishing pressure as the average fishing mortality coefficient (F), 1.2407, for the prevailing age at first capture, 0.4709 ye is lower than the respective F,^which can yield the Y,^ in both the M/K ratios 1.0 and 1.535. There is scope for increasing the effort of trawl net with a view to increase the catch of this species at the prevailing conditions

Extensification of Excise on Goods and Its Comparison with Other ASEAN Countries

The purpose of extending the object of goods subject to excise is to raise government revenues and regulate the circulation of goods that have negative impacts on the environment, health and society. The research method used is descriptive qualitative approach. Data obtained is the secondary data that can be used as a review and foundation by researchers to analyze the existing problems. The results of research and analysis are the basic consideration of extending the goods subject to excise through identification of feasible excise commodities and supply chain management, analysis of negative externalities and the purpose of the collection, and constraints analysis and multiplier effect. Goods subject to excise in Indonesia compared to the ASEAN countries are included in the limited form excise systems.     Keywords: excise, extensificatio

A rule-based semantic approach for automated regulatory compliance in the construction sector

A key concern for professionals in any industry is ensuring regulatory compliance. Regulations are often complex and require in depth technical knowledge of the domain in which they operate. The level of technical detail and complexity in regulations is a barrier to their automation due to extensive software development time and costs that are involved. In this paper we present a rule-based semantic approach formulated as a methodology to overcome these issues by allowing domain experts to specify their own regulatory compliance systems without the need for extensive software development. Our methodology is based on the key idea that three semantic contexts are needed to fully understand the regulations being automated: the semantics of the target domain, the specific semantics of regulations being considered, and the semantics of the data format that is to be checked for compliance. This approach allows domain experts to create and maintain their own regulatory compliance systems, within a semantic domain that is familiar to them. At the same time, our approach allows for the often diverse nature of semantics within a particular domain by decoupling the specific semantics of regulations from the semantics of the domain itself. This paper demonstrates how our methodology has been validated using a series of regulations automated by professionals within the construction domain. The regulations that have been developed are then in turn validated on real building data stored in an industry specific format (the IFCs). The adoption of this methodology has greatly advanced the process of automating these complex sets of construction regulations, allowing the full automation of the regulation scheme within 18 months. We believe that these positive results show that, by adopting our methodology, the barriers to the building of regulatory compliance systems will be greatly lowered and the adoption of three semantic domains proposed by our methodology provides tangible benefits