The 'OCTAPAC' culture as a core component of HRD climate: a survey

The concept of Human Resource Development (HRD) requires a specific and congenial climate to flourish. In other words, it can be said that success of HRD in an organization depends on the existence of a favorable HRD climate. HRD climate deals with the interactions among employees within the organization from different levels using a set of techniques to achieve the objectives of the organization and to ensure the development of the employees who share similar culture that enhances productivity and spirit of innovation. This paper measures HRD culture known as “OCTAPAC culture” as first introduced by Rao and Abraham 1986. In order to understand how it can be function as a source of sustained competitive advantage, this study investigated the practices of OCTAPAC in the Ministry of Education headquarters in the Sultanate of Oman. According to Rao and Abraham model, OCTAPAC culture is determined to be a core component of HRD climate

Diffusion tensor imaging within the healthy cervical spinal cord: Within-participants reliability and measurement error

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this record Background Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a promising technique for the visualization of the cervical spinal cord (CSC) in vivo. It provides information about the tissue structure of axonal white matter, and it is thought to be more sensitive than other MR imaging techniques for the evaluation of damage to tracts in the spinal cord. Aim The purpose of this study was to determine the within-participants reliability and error magnitude of measurements of DTI metrics in healthy human CSC. Methods A total of twenty healthy controls (10 male, mean age: 33.9 ± 3.5 years, 10 females, mean age: 47.5 ± 14.4 years), with no family history of any neurological disorders or a contraindication to MRI scanning were recruited over a period of two months. Each participant was scanned twice with an MRI 3 T scanner using standard DTI sequences. Spinal Cord Toolbox (SCT) software was used for image post-processing. Data were first corrected for motion artefact, then segmented, registered to a template, and then the DTI metrics were computed. The within-participants coefficients of variation (CV%), the single and average within-participants intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman plots for WM, VC, DC and LC fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) were determined for the cervical spinal cord (between the 2nd and 5th cervical vertebrae). Results DTI metrics showed poor to excellent within-participants reliability for both single and average ICC and moderate to high reproducibility for CV%, all variation dependent on the location of the ROI. The BA plots showed good within-participants agreement between the scan-rescan values. Conclusion Results from this reliability study demonstrate that clinical trials using the DTI technique are feasible and that DTI, in particular regions of the cord is suitable for use for the monitoring of degenerative WM changes.Najran University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabi

Thermal calcination-based production of SnO2 nanopowder: an analysis of SnO2 nanoparticle characteristics and antibacterial activities

SnO2 nanoparticle production using thermal treatment with tin(II) chloride dihydrate and polyvinylpyrrolidone capping agent precursor materials for calcination was investigated. Samples were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), diffuse UV-vis reflectance spectra, photoluminescence (PL) spectra and the electron spin resonance (ESR). XRD analysis found tetragonal crystalline structures in the SnO2 nanoparticles generated through calcination. EDX and FT-IR spectroscopy phase analysis verified the derivation of the Sn and O in the SnO2 nanoparticle samples from the precursor materials. An average nanoparticle size of 4–15.5 nm was achieved by increasing calcination temperature from 500 °C to 800 °C, as confirmed through TEM. The valence state and surface composition of the resulting nanoparticle were analyzed using XPS. Diffuse UV-vis reflectance spectra were used to evaluate the optical energy gap using the Kubelka-Munk equation. Greater calcination temperature resulted in the energy band gap falling from 3.90 eV to 3.64 eV. PL spectra indicated a positive relationship between particle size and photoluminescence. Magnetic features were investigated through ESR, which revealed the presence of unpaired electrons. The magnetic field resonance decreases along with an increase of the g-factor value as the calcination temperature increased from 500 °C to 800 °C. Finally, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 Gram (–ve) and Bacillus subtilis UPMC 1175 Gram (+ve) were used for in vitro evaluation of the tin oxide nanoparticle’s antibacterial activity. This work indicated that the zone of inhibition of 22 mm has good antibacterial activity toward the Gram-positive B. subtilis UPMC 1175

Histopathological features of peripheral T-cell lymphoma in Sprague Dawley rats induced with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea

This study described the histopathological features of peripheral T-cell lymphoma in male Sprague Dawley rats following intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) at a dose of 60 mg/kg body weight per injection, administered twice weekly for 2 consecutive weeks, and followed by a five-month’s observation period. Control rats were injected with normal saline, i.p. All the rats treated with MNU had enlargement of lymph nodes, with 30% had hepatosplenomegaly and 7% had enlarged kidneys at necropsy. Malignant lymphoma was observed in the lymph nodes, spleen, liver, lung, heart, and kidneys. The neoplastic cells were characterised as undifferentiated, and small to large size with bizarre pleomorphic nuclei. The severity was further described as mild, moderate and severe, based on the diffuseness of the lesions. Nonetheless, similar lesions were not observed in the thymus of the rats. Immunohistochemistry staining of the organs was positive for CD3 antibody, which is consistent with T-cell lymphoma

A systematic review of repeatability and reproducibility studies of diffusion tensor imaging of cervical spinal cord

This is the final version. Available on open access from the British Institute of Radiology via the DOI in this recordObjectives: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) techniques are being studied as a possible diagnostic and predictive tool for the evaluation of cervical spinal cord disease. This systematic review aims to evaluate the previous DTI studies that specifically investigated the repeatability and reproducibility of DTI in the cervical spinal cord. Methods and materials: A search in the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Ovid electronic databases was conducted for articles published between January 1990 and February 2022 that related to the repeatability and reproducibility of DTI in evaluating the cervical spinal cord using one of the following measurements: the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and/or the coefficient of variation (CV), and/or Bland-Altman (BA) differences analysis methods. DTI studies that presented full statistical analysis of repeatability and/or reproducibility tests of the cervical spinal cord in peer-reviewed full-text publications published in journals were included. Articles that included at least one of the keywords within the titles or abstracts were identified. Additional full-text papers were found by searching the citations and reference lists of related articles. This review has followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidance. Risk of bias was evaluated with 13 criteria weighted toward methodological quality of reported studies using the QuADS assessment criteria. This assessment only included full-text articles written in English. Results: A total of 11 studies were included and assessed for different characteristics, including sample size,(3–34) re-test time interval (3 months), test-retest reproducibility scores and acquisition method. Six studies used ICC which ranged from poor (ICC<0.37) to excellent reproducibility (ICC 0.91–0.99). Four studies reported an overall CV lower than 40% for all DTI metrics. Three studies reported the Bland-Altman (BA) differences and reported a minimum percentage showing no strong differences between repeated measurements. Quantitative analysis was not undertaken due to heterogeneity of methods. Repeatability and reproducibility measures were generally found to be good. Conclusion: This study revealed that the application of DTI and its related measures in a clinical setting in the assessment of cervical spinal cord changes is feasible and reproducible. However, cervical spinal cord DTI suffers from some existing limitations that prevent it from being routinely used in research and clinical settings.Najran University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabi

Detection of Bcl-2 gene in leukaemic rats using an EvaGreen real-time RT-PCT assay

Bcl-2 is an anti-apoptotic gene that is involved in the apoptosis process. Suppression of apoptosis by anti- apoptotic gene can contribute to the occurrence of diseases such as leukaemia. The objectives of this study were 2-folds: first, to compare the sensitivity of an EvaGreen quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) with a conventional RT-PCR for the amplification of the Bcl-2 gene; second, to determine the expression of the Bcl-2 gene in N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU)-induced leukaemiain rats using the EvaGreen qRT-PCR assay. A total of 32 male Sprague Dawley rats were assigned into two groups (n=16), namely, control and MNU groups. In particular, MNU was administered intraperitoneally (i.p) at a dose of 60 mg/kg body weight per injection at two times per week for 2 consecutive weeks. The rats were sacrificed after five months and blood samples were collected for RNA extraction and haemogram. The RNAs were converted into cDNA and amplified using both the EvaGreen qPCR and the conventional PCR assays. All the results were normalised with a housekeeper gene, i.e. glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GADPH). The products of amplification were run on gel electrophoresis and all the results were then compared. Based on the relative intensity of the bands, the EvaGreen qRT-PCR assay was highly sensitive compared to the conventional RT-PCR assay as the Bcl-2 gene could not be amplified using the conventional RT-PCR. Interestingly, the results in this study showed that the expression of Bcl-2 was higher in rats with marked lymphocytosis as compared to the leukaemic rats with normal to mildly increase in lymphocyte count. In conclusion, EvaGreen qRT-PCR assay is more sensitive compared to the conventional RT-PCR, and Bcl-2 gene is abundantly expressed in leukaemic rats with marked lymphocytosis compared to the leukaemic rats with normal to mildly increase in lymphocyte number

New flavan and alkyl alpha, beta-lactones from the stem bark of Horsfieldia superba.

In the present study phytochemical investigation of the methanol extract of the stem bark of Horsfieldia superba led to the isolation of twenty compounds (1-20), of which three (1-3) were new. However, compounds 2 and 3 were previously reported as synthetic alpha,beta-lactones. The compounds were characterized as (-)-3,4',7-trihydroxy-3'-methoxyflavan (1), (-)-5,6-dihydro-6-undecyl-2H-pyran-2-one (2), and (-)-5,6-dihydro-6-tridecyl-2H-pyran-2-one (3). Seventeen other known compounds were also isolated and identified as (-)-viridiflorol (4), hexacosanoic acid (5), beta-sitosterol (6), methyl 2,4-dihydroxy-6-methylbenzoate (methylorsellinate) (7), methyl 2,4-dihydroxy-3,6-dimethylbenzoate (8), (-)-4'-hydroxy-7-methoxyflavan (9), (-)-4',7-dihydroxyflavan (10), (-)-4',7-dihydroxy-3'-methoxyflavan (11), (+)-3,4',7-trihydroxyflavan (12), (-)-catechin (13), (-)-epicatechin (14), (-)-7-hydroxy-3',4'-methylenedioxyflavan (15), 2',3,4-trihydroxy-4'-methoxydihydrochalcone (16), 3',4',7-trihydroxyflavone (17), (+)-4'-hydroxy-7-methoxyflavanone (18), hexadecanoic acid (palmitic acid) (19) and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid (20). The structures of the compounds were fully characterized by various physical methods (melting point, optical rotation), spectral (UV, IR, ID and 2D NMR) and mass spectrometric techniques. In vitro assay of compounds 2 and 3 demonstrated moderate cytotoxic activities against human prostate (PC-3), colon (HCT-116) and breast (MCF-7) cancer cells, while the chloroform and ethyl acetate fractions of H. superba were found to exhibit moderate AChE inhibitory activity (IC50 72 and 60 microg/mL)

Governance of Non-Profit Organizations: A Case of Zakat Institutions in Malaysia

Malaysia, like any other Muslim country, considers the zakat institutions as one of the important contributors to economic development and society in the country.However, there are unresolved issues surrounding zakat institution.Among them is the issue of the inefficiency of the institutions in managing zakat collections.Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine three aspects of the zakat management in Malaysia, namely the collection and distribution of zakat fund performance, zakat governance and zakat collection and distribution innovation.The data were obtained through secondary sources and 14 zakat institutions were selected as a sample.The result of the study shows that the governance of zakat institution was not reached at optimum level where there is a significant surplus of non-distributed zakat funds and less innovation have been done to improve its collection and distribution. The study establishes the need for zakat institutions to improve their governance aspect in term of the performance and innovation towards the collection and distribution of the fund

Investigation of enhanced double weight code in point to point access networks

© 2020 Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. In this paper, an investigation and evaluation to enhanced double weight (EDW) code is performed, a new technique for code structuring and building using modified arithmetical model has been given for the code in place of employing previous technique based on Trial Inspections. Innovative design has been employed for the code into P2P networks using diverse weighted EDW code to be fitting into optical CDMA relevance applications. A new developed relation for EDW code is presented, the relation is based on studying and experimenting the effect of input transmission power with code weight, and the relation developed using numerical analysis method. This relation makes the estimation for the system input power needed more efficient. The results of the code has been explained by eye diagram and parametric illustrations from the simulated results. The result shows a magnificent performance of the code during high number of users and weight. On the other hand, the relation developed for power measurement helps to prevent power loss and consumption

The influence of calcination temperature on the formation of zinc oxide nanoparticles by thermal-treatment

Zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by the thermal-treatment method. Polyvinyl pyrrolidone was used as capping agent and Zinc nitrate was used as a precursor. The samples were calcined at 500 and 550°C for removal of the organic compounds. The structural characteristics of the calcined samples were examined by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The results show that the average particle size increases with increase in calcination temperature. The optical properties were characterized at room temperature using a UV–Vis spectrophotometer in the wavelength range between 200–800 nm and the band gap energy was calculated from reflectance spectra using kubalka munk function and the results indicated that the band gap energy decreased from 3.23 eV at 500 oC to 3.21 eV at 600 °C due to an increase of particle size. This simple thermal-treatment method has advantages of the pure nanoparticles formation as no additional chemicals were required, a lack of by-product effluents, and environmentally friendly process