Business Planning : Shining Star boutique / Nur Hanisah Othman ...[et al.]

Nowadays, people would like to involve in business. Such as, many people open business to get many experience and benefits . We also want to open business like boutique. Our company name is Shining Star plan to open on December 2009 which carries the label of Shining Star. Shining Star boutique would not be a reality without the support from various parties. Shining Star boutique is a label that is reliable when it comes to design with quality and versatility. Shining Star boutique believes in the motto Versatile, New, Conceptual, and Unique. The design of Shining Star are one of a kind, individual, and full of character. Shining Star boutique caters for all type of garments ranging from bridal gowns, casual denim wear, batik, uniform to menswear and others. In our boutique, we also prepare clothes for ladies. For ladies, we prepare suits, dresses, blouse, trousers, and skirt. We also make our design for our customer. Otherwise, we also accept customer opinion to make sure customer satisfied with their design. Our task was to come up with a solution for the readers in the form of illustrations or fashion sketches that interest and expensive. The factors that we choose this business because we have knowledge about how to make a design and how to create the clothes. At Shining Star we will give the best services that we can offer to make your dreams come true. Customer’s satisfaction means everything to us. Our commitment is to bring only the best for you at Shining Star boutique. The future prospects of the Shining Star realized that there is a huge potential in market for bridal couture. Thus, Shining Star boutique make an effort to diversify their creativity and business by creating tasteful exclusive designs with exquisite details fit for a queen especially for the brides to be

Effect of extraction procedure on the yield and biological activities of hydroxychavicol from Piper betle L. leaves

Piper betle Linn is one of the most common ethnomedicinal plants with its extract being popularly used in the modern product to enhance functionality. However, extraction methods always lead to differences in biological activities. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of the extraction methods on the yield and biological activities of hydroxychavicol from P. betle L. extracts and to determine the correlation between the hydroxychavicol content and biological activities of P. betle L. extracts such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties. The purity of the hydroxychavicol and its concentration (quantitative) in the crude extracts were also evaluated using a reverse-phase HPLC while GC–MS was employed to determine other components (qualitative). The results showed that only certain extraction procedures gave high yields of hydroxychavicol as well as remarkable biological activities. The chloroform extract following boiling with water (M2) gave the highest percentage of hydroxychavicol content based on the HPLC analysis. M2 and pure hydroxychavicol actively inhibited all the five cancer cell lines studied except A549. M2 showed more effective inhibition activity against MCF 7 with an IC50 of 1.74 ug/mL. M2 extract also showed strong antibacterial activity against all the bacteria strains as well as a strong antifungal activity against Candida albicans. There was, however, a weak correlation between the hydroxychavicol content and the biological activities of P. betle L. extracts. In conclusion, extraction procedures greatly affect the yield and biological activities of hydroxychavicol from P. betle L. The designation of a single compound such as hydroxychavicol as a bioactive chemical marker compound in the P. betle L. extracts, however, is not enough to determine the biological activities of the extract

Precipitated calcium carbonate from industrial waste for paper making

In this study carbide lime waste was used as raw material to produce precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC). Carbide lime is an industrial waste from acetylene gas industry which uses limestone in its production. The use of PCC as fillers in paper making can reduce the production cost and improve the paper properties such as opacity and brightness. PCC can be produced from carbide lime waste by ionic sucrose solution method. The sucrose solution of Brix 10° was first prepared by dissolving sugar (sucrose) in water followed by dissolution of carbide lime waste in the sucrose solution. The sucrose solution which had turned milky was then filtered to obtain a clear solution known as pregnant solution. The pregnant solution that contained calcium ions was subsequently used to produce PCC by introducing CO2 gas into the pregnant solution. The process is known as carbonation. The PCC was then used as fillers in paper making. The production of PCC by using calcium hydroxide as starting material was also carried out for comparison purposes. Based on the results, PCC prepared from carbide lime had purity of 98.14% while the one prepared from calcium hydroxide had 98.66%. Meanwhile, analysis of the paper properties demonstrated that both products gave equally good results. This proves that PCC prepared from industrial waste can be used for paper making

Mechanical and optical properties of CaCO3 lumen-loaded paper: effect of polyethylenimine and alum

Precipitated calcium carbonate fillers were loaded into the lumen of bleached mixed tropical hardwood pulp using polyethylenimine (PEI) and alum. Our results indicated that the addition of (PEI) increased the degree of loading of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) into the lumen of fibers. The degree of loading also increased with the addition of alum together with PEI. The mechanical strengths of the produced lumen loaded paper increased with the addition of PEI and alum. Meanwhile the mechanical strength without alum had slightly increased the mechanical strengths of the paper. Electron micrographs revealed that the PCC fillers were successfully loaded into the lumen of the fibers

Why did the elephant cross the road? The complex response of wild elephants to a major road in Peninsular Malaysia

Roads cause negative impacts on wildlife by directly and indirectly facilitating habitat destruction and wildlife mortality. We used GPS telemetry to study the movements of 17 wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) and a mechanistic modelling framework to analyse elephant response to a road bisecting their habitat in Belum-Temengor, northern Peninsular Malaysia. Our objectives were to (1) describe patterns of road crossing, (2) quantify road effects on movement patterns and habitat preference, and (3) quantify individual variation in elephant responses to the road. Elephants crossed the road on average 3.9 +/- 0.6 times a month, mostly (81% of times) at night, and crossing was not evenly distributed in space. The road caused a strong and consistent barrier effect for elephants, reducing permeability an average of 79.5%. Elephants, however, were attracted to the proximity to the road, where secondary forest and open habitats are more abundant and contain more food resources for elephants. Although the road acts as a strong barrier to movement (a direct effect), local changes to vegetation communities near roads attract elephants (an indirect effect). Given that risk of mortality (from poaching and vehicle collisions) increases near roads, roads may, therefore, create attractive sinks for elephants. To mitigate the impact of this road we recommend avoiding further road expansion, reducing and enforcing speed limits, limiting traffic volume at night, managing habitat near the road and, importantly, enhancing patrolling and other anti-poaching efforts. Our results are relevant for landscapes throughout Asia and Africa, where existing or planned roads fragment elephant habitats

Plagioneurin B, a potent isolated compound induces apoptotic signalling pathways and cell cycle arrest in ovarian cancer cells

Plagioneurin B belongs to acetogenin group has well-established class of compounds. Acetogenin group has attracted worldwide attention in the past few years due their biological abilities as inhibitors for several types of tumour cells. Plagioneurin B was isolated via conventional chromatography and tested for thorough mechanistic apoptosis activity on human ovarian cancer cells (CAOV-3). Its structure was also docked at several possible targets using Autodock tools software. Our findings showed that plagioneurin B successfully inhibits the growth of CAOV-3 cells at IC 50 of 0.62 µM. The existence of apoptotic bodies, cell membrane blebbing and chromatin condensation indicated the hallmark of apoptosis. Increase of Annexin V-FITC bound to phosphatidylserine confirmed the apoptosis induction in the cells. The apoptosis event was triggered through the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways via activation of caspases 8 and 9, respectively. Stimulation of caspase 3 and the presence of DNA ladder suggested downstream apoptotic signalling were initiated. Further confirmation of apoptosis was conducted at the molecular levels where up-regulation in Bax, as well as down-regulation of Bcl-2, Hsp-70 and survivin were observed. Plagioneurin B was also seen to arrest CAOV-3 cells cycle at the G2/M phase. Docking simulation of plagioneurin B with CD95 demonstrated that the high binding affinity and hydrogen bonds formation may explain the capability of plagioneurin B to trigger apoptosis. This study is therefore importance in finding the effective compound that may offer an alternative drug for ovarian cancer treatment