The neural correlates of emotion in decision-making

Both neuroscientific and psychology methods are used to study and explain the active neurons of the individuals' brain response when exposed to external stimuli. This study analyses the relevance literature and investigates the neural correlates of emotion, rewards, and motivation in the decision-making process, the emotional interactions between children, adolescents, and ageing. It was reviewed the literature to explore if neuroscientific methods provide accurate information about the role of emotion, reward, and motivation in decision- making mechanisms. The findings showed that the amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex play a central role in processing of emotion which in turn influence decision-making process. While individuals with lesion in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex which is responsible for emotional responses toward risk, reward, and decision-making are not good decision-makers. In addition, the prefrontal cortex plays central role in approach and withdrawal motivational, whereby the right prefrontal cortex associated with withdrawal behavior and the left prefrontal cortex associated with approach behavior

Effects of Current Density and Deposition Time on Corrosion Behaviour of Nickel-based Alloy Coatings

Corrosion of fasteners is an on-going issue and stainless steel 304 (SS304) is prone to this destructive process. One method to mitigate corrosion is electrodeposition of Co-Ni-Fe nanoparticles.  This paper studied the effects of deposition time and current density on corrosion behaviour of Co-Ni-Fe coated SS304 bolt. Co-Ni-Fe ternary alloys were electrodeposited onto SS304 bolt in 15, 30, or 45 minutes by using current density of 28, 35, 42 mA/cm2. Combinations of these parameters produced 9 samples. These samples were electrochemically tested by a potentiostat using open circuit potential (OCP) and potentiodynamic polarization (PDP). The samples were also characterised in terms of surface roughness and thickness of the coatings by using 3D surface metrology system. The OCP value decreased when deposition time was increased. All sample synthesised in 30 minutes had a more stable OCP curve. PDP curves exhibited active behaviour without passivation region. The corrosion potential (Ecorr) of T15 samples was more anodic than T30 and T45 samples. The corrosion current density (Icorr) of all samples fluctuated. Sample synthesised in 30 minutes using 42 mA/cm2 had the lowest corrosion rate. It was found that the surface roughness influences the corrosion behaviour in which a lower surface roughness tends to produce coating with better corrosion performance. Current density had small effect on the thickness of coating, whereas the tendency of a thickness to increase was obvious for deposition time

Effects of Current Density and Deposition Time on Corrosion Behaviour of Nickel-based Alloy Coatings

Corrosion of fasteners is an on-going issue and stainless steel 304 (SS304) is prone to this destructive process. One method to mitigate corrosion is electrodeposition of Co-Ni-Fe nanoparticles.  This paper studied the effects of deposition time and current density on corrosion behaviour of Co-Ni-Fe coated SS304 bolt. Co-Ni-Fe ternary alloys were electrodeposited onto SS304 bolt in 15, 30, or 45 minutes by using current density of 28, 35, 42 mA/cm2. Combinations of these parameters produced 9 samples. These samples were electrochemically tested by a potentiostat using open circuit potential (OCP) and potentiodynamic polarization (PDP). The samples were also characterised in terms of surface roughness and thickness of the coatings by using 3D surface metrology system. The OCP value decreased when deposition time was increased. All sample synthesised in 30 minutes had a more stable OCP curve. PDP curves exhibited active behaviour without passivation region. The corrosion potential (Ecorr) of T15 samples was more anodic than T30 and T45 samples. The corrosion current density (Icorr) of all samples fluctuated. Sample synthesised in 30 minutes using 42 mA/cm2 had the lowest corrosion rate. It was found that the surface roughness influences the corrosion behaviour in which a lower surface roughness tends to produce coating with better corrosion performance. Current density had small effect on the thickness of coating, whereas the tendency of a thickness to increase was obvious for deposition time

Application of Genetic Algorithm to the Design Optimization of Complex Energy Saving Glass Coating Structure

Attenuation of GSM, GPS and personal communication signal leads to poor communication inside the building using regular shapes of energy saving glass coating. Thus, the transmission is very low. A brand new type of band pass frequency selective surface (FSS) for energy saving glass application is presented in this paper for one unit cell. Numerical Periodic Method of Moment approach according to a previous study has been applied to determine the new optimum design of one unit cell energy saving glass coating structure. Optimization technique based on the Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used to obtain an improved in return loss and transmission signal. The unit cell of FSS is designed and simulated using the CST Microwave Studio software at based on industrial, scientific and medical bands (ISM). A unique and irregular shape of an energy saving glass coating structure is obtained with lower return loss and improved transmission coefficient

Sustainable bio-economy that delivers the environment-food-energy-water nexus objectives: the current status in Malaysia

Biomass is a promising resource in Malaysia for energy, fuels, and high value-added products. However, regards to biomass value chains, the numerous restrictions and challenges related to the economic and environmental features must be considered. The major concerns regarding the enlargement of biomass plantation is that it requires large amounts of land and environmental resources such as water and soil that arises the danger of creating severe damages to the ecosystem (e.g. deforestation, water pollution, soil depletion etc.). Regarded concerns can be diminished when all aspects associated with palm biomass conversion and utilization linked with environment, food, energy and water (EFEW) nexus to meet the standard requirement and to consider the potential impact on the nexus as a whole. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the detail interactions between all the components in the nexus once intended to look for the best solution to exploit the great potential of biomass. This paper offers an overview regarding the present potential biomass availability for energy production, technology readiness, feasibility study on the techno-economic analyses of the biomass utilization and the impact of this nexus on value chains. The agro-biomass resources potential and land suitability for different crops has been overviewed using satellite imageries and the outcomes of the nexus interactions should be incorporated in developmental policies on biomass. The paper finally discussed an insight of digitization of the agriculture industry as future strategy to modernize agriculture in Malaysia. Hence, this paper provides holistic overview of biomass competitiveness for sustainable bio-economy in Malaysia

RNA-Seq transcriptomics and pathway analyses reveal potential regulatory genes and molecular mechanisms in high- and low-residual feed intake in Nordic dairy cattle

BACKGROUND: The selective breeding of cattle with high-feed efficiencies (FE) is an important goal of beef and dairy cattle producers. Global gene expression patterns in relevant tissues can be used to study the functions of genes that are potentially involved in regulating FE. In the present study, high-throughput RNA sequencing data of liver biopsies from 19 dairy cows were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between high- and low-FE groups of cows (based on Residual Feed Intake or RFI). Subsequently, a profile of the pathways connecting the DEGs to FE was generated, and a list of candidate genes and biomarkers was derived for their potential inclusion in breeding programmes to improve FE. RESULTS: The bovine RNA-Seq gene expression data from the liver was analysed to identify DEGs and, subsequently, identify the molecular mechanisms, pathways and possible candidate biomarkers of feed efficiency. On average, 57 million reads (short reads or short mRNA sequences < ~200 bases) were sequenced, 52 million reads were mapped, and 24,616 known transcripts were quantified according to the bovine reference genome. A comparison of the high- and low-RFI groups revealed 70 and 19 significantly DEGs in Holstein and Jersey cows, respectively. The interaction analysis (high vs. low RFI x control vs. high concentrate diet) showed no interaction effects in the Holstein cows, while two genes showed interaction effects in the Jersey cows. The analyses showed that DEGs act through certain pathways to affect or regulate FE, including steroid hormone biosynthesis, retinol metabolism, starch and sucrose metabolism, ether lipid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism and drug metabolism cytochrome P450. CONCLUSION: We used RNA-Seq-based liver transcriptomic profiling of high- and low-RFI dairy cows in two breeds and identified significantly DEGs, their molecular mechanisms, their interactions with other genes and functional enrichments of different molecular pathways. The DEGs that were identified were the CYP’s and GIMAP genes for the Holstein and Jersey cows, respectively, which are related to the primary immunodeficiency pathway and play a major role in feed utilization and the metabolism of lipids, sugars and proteins. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-017-3622-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Isoprene hotspots at the Western Coast of Antarctic Peninsula during MASEC′16

Isoprene (C5H8) plays an important role in the formation of surface ozone (O3) and the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) which contributed to the climate change. This study aims to determine hourly distribution of tropospheric isoprene over the Western Coast of Antarctic Peninsula (WCAP) during the Malaysian Antarctic Scientific Expedition Cruise 2016 (MASEC′16). In-situ measurements of isoprene were taken using a custom-built gas chromatography with photoionization detector, known as iDirac. Biological parameters such as chlorophyll a (chl-a) and particulate organic carbon (POC) were compared to the in-situ isoprene measurements. Significant positive correlation was observed between isoprene and POC concentrations (r2 = 0.67, p < 0.001), but not between isoprene and chl-a. The hotspots of isoprene over maritime Antarctic were then were investigated using NAME dispersion model reanalysis. Measurements showed that isoprene mixing ratio were the highest over region of King George Island, Deception Island and Booth Island with values of ∼5.0, ∼0.9 and ∼5.2 ppb, respectively. Backward trajectory analysis showed that air masses may have lifted the isoprene emitted by marine algae. We believe our findings provide valuable data set of isoprene estimation over the under sampled WCAP

Pooled analysis of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results Of 12 296 patients included from 76 countries, 4843 underwent emergency laparotomy. After adjusting for patient and disease factors, checklist use before emergency laparotomy was more common in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) (2455 of 2741, 89.6 per cent) compared with that in countries with a middle (753 of 1242, 60.6 per cent; odds ratio (OR) 0.17, 95 per cent c.i. 0.14 to 0.21, P <0001) or low (363 of 860, 422 per cent; OR 008, 007 to 010, P <0.001) HDI. Checklist use was less common in elective surgery than for emergency laparotomy in high-HDI countries (risk difference -94 (95 per cent c.i. -11.9 to -6.9) per cent; P <0001), but the relationship was reversed in low-HDI countries (+121 (+7.0 to +173) per cent; P <0001). In multivariable models, checklist use was associated with a lower 30-day perioperative mortality (OR 0.60, 0.50 to 073; P <0.001). The greatest absolute benefit was seen for emergency surgery in low- and middle-HDI countries. Conclusion Checklist use in emergency laparotomy was associated with a significantly lower perioperative mortality rate. Checklist use in low-HDI countries was half that in high-HDI countries.Peer reviewe

Global variation in anastomosis and end colostomy formation following left-sided colorectal resection

Background End colostomy rates following colorectal resection vary across institutions in high-income settings, being influenced by patient, disease, surgeon and system factors. This study aimed to assess global variation in end colostomy rates after left-sided colorectal resection. Methods This study comprised an analysis of GlobalSurg-1 and -2 international, prospective, observational cohort studies (2014, 2016), including consecutive adult patients undergoing elective or emergency left-sided colorectal resection within discrete 2-week windows. Countries were grouped into high-, middle- and low-income tertiles according to the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). Factors associated with colostomy formation versus primary anastomosis were explored using a multilevel, multivariable logistic regression model. Results In total, 1635 patients from 242 hospitals in 57 countries undergoing left-sided colorectal resection were included: 113 (6·9 per cent) from low-HDI, 254 (15·5 per cent) from middle-HDI and 1268 (77·6 per cent) from high-HDI countries. There was a higher proportion of patients with perforated disease (57·5, 40·9 and 35·4 per cent; P < 0·001) and subsequent use of end colostomy (52·2, 24·8 and 18·9 per cent; P < 0·001) in low- compared with middle- and high-HDI settings. The association with colostomy use in low-HDI settings persisted (odds ratio (OR) 3·20, 95 per cent c.i. 1·35 to 7·57; P = 0·008) after risk adjustment for malignant disease (OR 2·34, 1·65 to 3·32; P < 0·001), emergency surgery (OR 4·08, 2·73 to 6·10; P < 0·001), time to operation at least 48 h (OR 1·99, 1·28 to 3·09; P = 0·002) and disease perforation (OR 4·00, 2·81 to 5·69; P < 0·001). Conclusion Global differences existed in the proportion of patients receiving end stomas after left-sided colorectal resection based on income, which went beyond case mix alone

Exploring challenges in providing muslim friendly tourism services in northern Japan: a case studyin akita prefecture

This study attempts to explore the challenges and hurdles in providing Muslim friendly facilities in a non-Muslim tourist destination with special attention given to Akita Prefecture, Japan. Every challenge is identified and carefully examined. This study adopts a qualitative approach where the conceptual authoritative literature in the related field is utilized based on content analysis. Also, it employs semi-structured expert interviews to gather views from the supply side of tourism activities at Akita Prefecture using purposive sampling technique. This study further reveals that, several difficulties including the language barrier, missing link between tour companies in destination and origin countries and lack of information on Muslim tourist needs are amongst the major obstacles to develop Akita Prefecture as Muslim friendly tourist destination and thus recommends further viable reforms and action plan could be taken to overcome this hindrance