Immigration Policy Recommendations for the Malaysian Government

Although migrant workers in Malaysia account for a large proportion of the workforce, the Malaysian government is criticised as facilitators of their abuse. This has placed a significant strain on the Malaysian government’s relationships with migrant workers’ origin countries. In order to improve these important political relationships and retain migrant workers, the Malaysian government should consider immigration policy reforms that will improve the treatment of migrant workers. One key recommendation includes providing an impartial data source on migrant workers by creating a new migrant research subdivision in the Department of Statistics. The current Migration Survey Report is irregular and insufficient and Malaysian media is generally prejudiced against migrant workers. Another useful recommendation is to provide migrant workers with leaflets (in different languages and in simple terms) on their labour rights. This should be distributed at the border as well as online to ensure that migrant workers are entering the country aware of their rights and how to enforce them. This would help prevent common exploitative practices like passport retention. Foreign domestic workers should be provided with a separate guidebook as their labour situation is significantly different from typical migrant workers and more vulnerable. Nevertheless, exploitation often begins prior to arrival through recruitment agencies via debt bondage and forced labour situations. The Malaysian government should seek to diversify away from these agencies towards memorandum of understandings: a cheaper and better regulated alternative to ensure migrant workers’ safety

Anthropogenic noise reduces avian feeding efficiency and increases vigilance along an urban–rural gradient regardless of species’ tolerances to urbanisation

Anthropogenic noise can adversely impact urban bird populations by interfering with vocal communication. Less research has addressed if anthropogenic noise masks the adventitious sounds that birds use to aid predator detection, which may lead to increased vigilance and reduced feeding efficiency. We test this hypothesis using a controlled playback experiment along an urban–rural gradient in Sheffield (UK). We also test the related predictions that anthropogenic noise has the greatest impacts on vigilance and feeding efficiency in rural populations, and on species that are more sensitive to urbanisation. We focus on six passerines, in order from most to least urbanised (based on how urbanisation influences population densities): blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus, robin Erithacus rubeculla, great tit Parus major, chaffinch Fringilla coelebs, coal tit Periparus ater and nuthatch Sitta europaea. We used play‐back of anthropogenic urban noise and a control treatment at 46 feeding stations located along the urban–rural gradient. We assess impacts on willingness to visit feeders, feeding and vigilance rates. Exposure to anthropogenic noise reduced visit rates to supplementary feeding stations, reduced feeding rates and increased vigilance. Birds at more urban sites exhibit less marked treatment induced reductions in feeding rates, suggesting that urban populations may be partially habituated or adapted to noisy environments. There was no evidence, however, that more urbanised species were less sensitive to the impacts of noise on any response variable. Our results support the adventitious sound masking hypothesis. Urban noise may thus interfere with the ability of birds to detect predators, reducing their willingness to use food rich environments and increase vigilance rates resulting in reduced feeding rates. These adverse impacts may compromise the quality of otherwise suitable foraging habitats in noisy urban areas. They are likely to be widespread as they arise in a range of species including common urban birds

Cell Proliferation and Glucose Transport: The Intracellular Signal Transduction Pathways that Mediate the Early Phase of Growth Factor-Stimulated Glucose Transport

Growth factors stimulate glucose transport; the increase in the rate is biphasic, with the early phase occurring immediately and lasting up to two hours. 3T3-L1 fibroblasts are a murine cell line which express a single facilitative monosaccharide transporter, Glut1. Insulin and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) stimulate cell proliferation in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts. These growth factors and the tumour promoter, 4beta-phorbol 12-myristate, 13-acetate (PMA), all stimulate 2-deoxyglucose uptake, in a similar manner. These effects are not additive, so the effects of these ligands on the rate of glucose transport may be mediated by a similar signal transduction pathway. The role of sn-1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) and protein kinase C (PKC) in the early phase of insulin-, PDGF- and PMA-stimulated glucose transport was examined in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts. Insulin has no effect on either DAG accumulation or PKC activity, so neither DAG nor PKC is necessary for insulin-stimulated glucose transport. PDGF stimulates both DAG accumulation and PKC activity; however, PDGF-stimulated glucose transport is unaffected by the down-regulation or the inhibition of PKC, so PKC is not necessary for PDGF-stimulated glucose transport. PMA also stimulates both DAG accumulation and PKC activity, and PMA-stimulated glucose transport is abolished by the down-regulation and the inhibition of PKC, so PKC is necessary for PMA-stimulated glucose transport. Thus, a signal transduction pathway involving PKC is not necessary for the early phase of insulin- or PDGF-stimulated glucose transport, but it is necessary for the early phase of PMA-stimulated glucose transport. The role of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MARK) in the early phase of insulin-, PDGF- and PMA-stimulated glucose transport was also examined in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts. Insulin, PDGF and PMA stimulate MAPK activity with the same dependancy on PKC as for the increase in the rate of glucose transport. In addition, insulin-, PDGF- and PMA-stimulated activation of MAPK precedes the increase in the rate of glucose transport. Therefore, given that the activation of MAPK and the increase in the rate of glucose transport have the same dependency on PKC, and that the activation of MAPK precedes the increase in the rate of glucose transport, it is possible that the early phase of growth factor-stimulated glucose transport is mediated by a signal transduction pathway involving MAPK in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts. Xenopus laevis oocytes also only express Glut1. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) stimulates both glucose transport and MAPK activity in X. laevis oocytes. Again, the activation of MAPK precedes the increase in the rate of glucose transport. In addition, the microinjection into X laevis oocytes of recombinant p42mapk, purified MAPK kinase (MAPKK) or p39mos fusion protein, results in an increase in the rate of glucose transport. Since p39mos activates MAPKK, which in turn activates MAPK, it seems that components of a signal transduction pathway involving MAPK are able to stimulate glucose transport in X. laevis oocytes. Furthermore, IGF-I-stimulated glucose transport is inhibited by the microinjection of CLIOO, a protein tyrosine/ threonine phosphatase that is specific for MAPK. Therefore, given that IGF-I stimulates both glucose transport and MAPK activity, that components of a signal transduction pathway involving MAPK also stimulate glucose transport, and that inhibition of MAPK activity abolishes IGF-I-stimulated glucose transport, it is likely that IGF-I-stimulated glucose transport is mediated by a signal transduction pathway involving MAPK in X. laevis oocytes. The insulin and IGF-I receptors are tyrosine protein kinases of a similar structure, and either ligand can bind to either receptor, so it is likely that insulin- and IGF-I- stimulated glucose transport are mediated by a similar signal transduction pathway. Therefore, given that it is possible that the early phase of growth factor-stimulated glucose transport is mediated by a signal transduction pathway involving MAPK in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts, that it is likely that IGF-I-stimulated glucose transport is mediated by a signal transduction pathway involving MAPK in X. laevis oocytes, and that it is likely that insulin- and IGF-I-stimulated glucose transport are mediated by a similar signal transduction pathway, it seems that the early phase of insulin-stimulated glucose transport in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts is, in fact, mediated by a pathway involving MAPK. Furthermore, PDGF, which also binds to a tyrosine protein kinase receptor, has similar effects to insulin on the rate of glucose transport and the activation of MAPK in 3T3-L1 fibroblasts. Therefore, it is also likely that the early phase of PDGF-stimulated glucose transport is also mediated by a signal transduction pathway involving MAPK. This thesis concludes that the early phase of growth factor-stimulated glucose transport is mediated by a signal transduction pathway involving MAPK

Criminal Sentencing by Preferred Numbers

Criminal sentencing is a complex cognitive activity often performed by the unaided mind under suboptimal conditions. As such, sentencers may not behave according to policy, guidelines and training. We analyzed the distribution of sentences meted out in one year in two different jurisdictions (i.e., England and Wales, and New South Wales, Australia). We reveal that sentencers prefer certain numbers when meting out sentence lengths (in custody and community service) and amounts (for fines/compensation). These ‘common doses’ accounted for over 90% of sentences in each jurisdiction. The size of these doses increased as sentences became more severe, and doses followed a logarithmic pattern. Our findings are compatible with psychological research on preferred numbers and are reminiscent of Weber’s and Fechner’s laws. The findings run contrary to arguments against efforts to reduce judicial discretion, and potentially undermine the notion of individualized justice, as well as raise questions about the (cost) effectiveness of sentencing

Evaluating the impact of a national naloxone programme on ambulance attendance at overdose incidents: a controlled time-series analysis

Background and Aims: It has been suggested that distributing naloxone to people who inject drugs (PWID) will lead to fewer attendances by emergency medical services at opioid-related overdose incidents if peer administration of naloxone was perceived to have resuscitated the overdose victim successfully. This study evaluated the impact of a national naloxone programme (NNP) on ambulance attendance at opioid-related overdose incidents throughout Scotland. Specifically, we aimed to answer the following research questions: is there evidence of an association between ambulance call-outs to opioid-related overdose incidents and the cumulative number of ‘take-home naloxone’ (THN) kits in issue; and is there evidence of an association between ambulance call-outs to opioid-related overdose incidents in early adopter (pilot) or later adopting (non-pilot) regions and the cumulative number of THN kits issued in those areas? Design: Controlled time–series analysis. Setting: Scotland, UK, 2008–15. Participants: Pre-NNP implementation period for the evaluation was defined as 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2011 and the post-implementation period as 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2015. In total, 3721 ambulance attendances at opioid-related overdose were recorded for the pre-NNP implementation period across 158 weeks (mean 23.6 attendances per week) and 5258 attendances across 212 weeks in the post-implementation period (mean 24.8 attendances per week). Intervention: Scotland's NNP; formally implemented on 1 April 2011. Measurements: Primary outcome measure was weekly incidence (counts) of call-outs to opioid-related overdoses at national and regional Health Board level. Data were acquired from the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS). Models were adjusted for opioid replacement therapy using data acquired from the Information Services Division on monthly sums of all dispensed methadone and buprenorphine in the study period. Models were adjusted further for a control group: weekly incidence (counts) of call-outs to heroin-related overdose in the London Borough area acquired from the London Ambulance Service. Findings: There was no significant association between SAS call-outs to opioid-related overdose incidents and THN kits in issue for Scotland as a whole (coefficient 0.009, 95% confidence intervals = −0.01, 0.03, P = 0.39). In addition, the magnitude of association between THN kits and SAS call-outs did not differ significantly between pilot and non-pilot regions (interaction test, P = 0.62). Conclusions: The supply of take-home naloxone kits through a National Naloxone Programme in Scotland was not associated clearly with a decrease in ambulance attendance at opioid-related overdose incidents in the 4-year period after it was implemented in April 2011

Energy ejection in the collapse of a cold spherical self-gravitating cloud

When an open system of classical point particles interacting by Newtonian gravity collapses and relaxes violently, an arbitrary amount of energy may in principle be carried away by particles which escape to infinity. We investigate here, using numerical simulations, how this released energy and other related quantities (notably the binding energy and size of the virialized structure) depends on the initial conditions, for the one parameter family of starting configurations given by randomly distributing N cold particles in a spherical volume. Previous studies have established that the minimal size reached by the system scales approximately as N^{-1/3}, a behaviour which follows trivially when the growth of perturbations (which regularize the singularity of the cold collapse in the infinite N limit) are assumed to be unaffected by the boundaries. Our study shows that the energy ejected grows approximately in proportion to N^{1/3}, while the fraction of the initial mass ejected grows only very slowly with N, approximately logarithmically, in the range of N simulated. We examine in detail the mechanism of this mass and energy ejection, showing explicitly that it arises from the interplay of the growth of perturbations with the finite size of the system. A net lag of particles compared to their uniform spherical collapse trajectories develops first at the boundaries and then propagates into the volume during the collapse. Particles in the outer shells are then ejected as they scatter through the time dependent potential of an already re-expanding central core. Using modified initial configurations we explore the importance of fluctuations at different scales, and discreteness (i.e. non-Vlasov) effects in the dynamics.Comment: 20 pages, 27 figures; revised version with small changes and corrections, to appear in MNRA