Financial Disintermediation in the 1990s : Implications on Monetary Policy in Malaysia

The increased financial disintermediation that characterizes the Malaysia's financial system since the early 1990s has contributed towards changes in the dynamics of monetary transmission mechanism. Using quarterly data from 1980: 1 to 2005: 4, we found a greater effectiveness of monetary policy during the pre-1990:3 period, but the post-1990:3 period poses much difficulty for the conduct of monetary policy. Innovations in the financial market appeared to have led to lower output variability. Further, when the real interest rate is made a function of financial disintermediation, the real interest rate appeared to have lost its significance in influencing real variables in the post-1990: 3 period. This study did not, however, find evidence in support of the significance of the real interest rate in affecting real variables through the direct financing channel via the capital market.bank lending channel, capital market, cointegration, VAR

Biological properties of TW01 cells expressing latent membrane protein-1 gene of EBV-derived from nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells at different stages of malignancy

Background and Aim: Epstein—Barr virus (EBV), a human gammaherpesvirus is intimately associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), with the incidence of the virus detected in malignant tissues being close to 100% in NPC endemic areas. The viral latent gene, latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), has all the typical characteristics of an oncogene and extensive studies have shown beyond doubt its abilities in cellular transformation giving rise to malignant phenotypes. The present study compares the gene sequence and biological properties of LMP1 gene derived from two patients with different stages of NPC – one presented with dysplastic, pre-malignant lesion and the other with malignant lesion. Methods: The sequences of the LMP1 genes derived from pre-malignant (NORLMP1) and malignant (NPCLMP1) tissues were compared. NORLMP1 and NPCLMP1 were expressed in TW01 cells and their biological properties conferred were assessed in terms of in vitro invasion capability, ability to resist apoptosis and regulation of E-cadherin (CDH1) expression. Results: NORLMP1 and NPCLMP1, possessed numerous amino acid changes with respect to the wild-type B95.8 LMP1. Both LMP1 variants demonstrated distinct biological properties when expressed in TW01 cells. NORLMP1-expressing TW01 cells exhibited more aggressive phenotypes than the NPCLMP1-expressing counterpart in terms of invasive ability, resistance to stimuli-induces apoptosis and regulation of CDH1 expression. Conclusion: It could be inferred from the present study that LMP1 genes derived from two patients with different stages of NPC differed in their gene sequences that manifested in distinct biological properties.Обоснование и цель: вирус Эпштейна—Барр (ВЭБ), герпесвирус человека, ассоциирован с развитием рака носоглотки (РНГ): вирус выявляют в малигнизированной ткани практически в 100% случаев.  Ген, кодирующий латентный мембранный белок 1 (LMP , обладает типичными характеристиками онкогена; в ряде исследований продемонстрирована его способность вызывать трансформацию клеток и развитие злокачественного фенотипа. В данной работе проведено сравнение нуклеотидной последовательности генов LMP , выделенных из ткани РНГ двух больных (с дисплазией/предраком и РНГ ІІ стадии соответственно) и биологических свойств клеток, трансфецированных этими генами. Методы: сравнивали нуклеотидные последовательности генов LMP из образцов предраковой (NORLMP и опухолевой (NPCLMP тканей и соответственно аминокислотные последовательности кодируемых ими белков. Гены NORLMP и NPCLMP встраивали в клетки ВЭБ-отрицательной линии TW01 и исслеовали иологические свойства трансфецированных клеток, в частности их способность к инвазивному росту in, устойчивость к апоптозу и экспрессии Е-кадгерина (CDH1). Результаты: оба белка — NORLMP1 и NPCLMP1 — значительно отличались по аминокислотной послеовательности от елка LMP1 дикого типа (B95,8), и клетки линии TW01, в которых они кспрессировались, различались по иологическим свойствам. Клетки TW01, экспрессирующие NORLMP1, обладали более злокачественным фенотипом, чем таковые, экспрессирующие NPCLMP1, по показателям инвазивной спосоности, устойчивости к апоптозу и регуляции кспрессии CDH1. Выводы: полученные данные свидетельствуют о том, что гены LMP , выделенные из образцов биопсии двух больных с различными стадиями РНГ, отличаются по нуклеотидной последовательности, что проявляется в различиях биологических свойств клеток, трансфецированных соотвествующими генами

Is the high cu tolerance of trichoderma atroviride isolated from the cu-polluted sediment due to adaptation?: an in vitro toxicological study

The tolerance of Cu by Trichoderma atroviride, a tolerant fungus isolated from the drainage surface sediment of the Serdang Industrial Area was investigated under in vitro conditions. Only this fungus species can tolerate up to 600 mg/L of Cu on solid medium Potato Dextrose Agar based on the isolation of the most tolerant fungus from the polluted sediment. Toxicity test performed on T. atroviride, showed a maximum tolerance at 300 mg/L of Cu concentration when grown in liquid medium Potato Dextrose Broth (PDB). The EC50 value of the isolate was 287.73 mg/L of Cu concentration in PDB. The Cu concentration in the drainage surface sediment, where the T. atroviride was isolated from, was 347.64 μg/g while the geochemical distributions of the non-resistant and resistant fractions of Cu were 99.6 and 0.4%, respectively. The sediment data indicated that the drainage had greatly received anthropogenic Cu from the nearby industries which are involved in the manufacturing of plastics and electronic products. The present findings indicate that the high Cu tolerance showed by T. atroviride could be due to the well adaptation of the fungus to the Cu polluted sediment. Therefore, T. atroviride could be a potential bioremediator of Cu pollution in the freshwater ecosystem

Synergistic and antagonistic effects of Zinc Bioaccumulation with lead and antioxidant activities in centella asiatica

This study was carried out by using Centella asiatica grown using a hydroponic system under laboratory conditions to study synergistic and antagonistic effects of Zn bioaccumulation with added Pb and the changes in antioxidant activities in leaves and roots of C. asiatica. The antioxidant activities included superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and guaiacol peroxidase (GPX). The treatments Zn (2 ppm) + Pb (0.4 ppm) and Zn (4 ppm) + Pb (0.6 ppm) increased the accumulation of Zn in leaves by 14.06 and 16.84%, respectively, but decreased by 7.36% uptake in roots (Zn 4 ppm + Pb 0.6 ppm). This showed that Pb and Zn acted synergistically to Zn accumulation in leaves but antagonistically in roots. CAT and SOD activities in leaves were increased when Zn was added together with Pb. In roots, CAT, APX and SOD activities were increased but GPX was decreased. Owing to their sensitivities to Zn with Pb, SOD and CAT could be used as biomarkers to monitor the toxicity of Pb and Zn exposure in the leaves and roots of C. asiatica

Class D amplifier power stage with PWM feedback loop

This paper presents a Second-Order Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) feedback loop to improve Power Supply Rejection (PSR) of any open-loop PWM Class-D amplifiers (CDAs). PSR of the audio amplifier has always been a key parameter in mobile phone applications. In contrast to Class AB amplifiers, the poor PSR performance has always been the major drawback for CDAs with half-bridge connected power stage. The proposed PWM feedback loop is fabricated using GLOBALFOUNDRIES' (GF’s) 0.18 µm CMOS process technology. The measured PSR is more than 80 dB and the measured Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) is less than 0.04% with a 1 kHz input sinusoidal test tone

Outcome of Percutaneous Nephrostomy for the Management of Pyonephrosis

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) drainage for the interim management of pyonephrosis.MethodsNinety-two consecutive patients (29 men, 63 women; mean age, 57 years; range, 23-88) who underwent PCN for the treatment of pyonephrosis from 1996 to 1999 were evaluated retrospectively. The clinical presentation, bacteriology and patient outcomes were analyzed.ResultsThe majority (77%) of patients had underlying obstructing urinary calculi. Other causes of obstruction included strictures (9%), papillary necrosis (7%), pelvi-ureteric junction obstruction (4%) and malignant stricture (3%). The microorganisms cultured were Escherichia coli (30%), Klebsiella (19%), Proteus (8%), Pseudomonas (5%), Enterococcus (5%), and Candida spp (5%). The microorganisms were sensitive to gentamicin (79%), ceftriaxone (71%), cephalexin (54%), nitrofurantoin (40%), cotrimoxazole (35%), nalidixic acid (32%) and ampicillin (29%). Only 30% of bladder urine cultures were positive for microorganisms; the addition of PCN cultures improved this yield to 58%. The antibiotic regimen was revised according to the PCN culture whenever there was a discrepancy. After PCN, 69% of patients underwent minimally invasive procedures as definitive treatment of the obstructing lesion. Only 14% of patients required open surgery. There was low procedure-related morbidity (14%) and low overall mortality (2%).ConclusionsPCN cultures yield important bacteriological information. The procedure is associated with minimal morbidity, facilitates definitive treatment and provides therapeutic benefit. (Asian J Surg 2002;25(3):215-9

Effects of metal-contaminated soils on the accumulation of heavy metals in different parts of centella asiatica: a laboratory study

Centella asiatica is widely used as a medicinal plant in Malaysia and other parts of the world. In the present study, the growth and uptake of heavy metal by C. asiatica were determined based on the plant exposure to different treatment of metal-contaminated soils under laboratory conditions. Heavy metals uptake in different parts of the plants namely roots, stems and leaves were determined. In general, it was found that the metal uptake capacity followed the order: roots > stems > leaves. Since a close positive relationship was established between the concentrations of metal accumulated in different parts of the plant and the metal levels in the most contaminated soil, C. asiatica has the potential of being used as a biomonitoring plant for heavy metal pollution in the polluted soils

Further improvement of fluidized bed models by incorporating zone method with Aspen Plus interface

While providing a fast and accurate tool of simulating fluidized beds, the major limitation of classical zero-dimensional ideal reactor models used in process simulators, such as models built into commercial software (e.g. Aspen Plus®), has been the difficulties of involving thermal reciprocity between each reactor model and incorporating heat absorption by the water wall and super-heaters which is usually specified as model inputs rather than predicted by the models themselves. This aspect is of particular importance to the geometry design and evaluation of operating conditions and flexibility of fluidized beds. This paper proposes a novel modelling approach to resolve this limitation by incorporating an external model that marries the advantages of zone method and Aspen Plus in a robust manner. The improved model has a relatively modest computing demand and hence may be incorporated feasibly into dynamic simulations of a whole power plant

Electrical Characteristics And Thermal Stability Of Ti Contact To p-Gan.

Wide band gap GaN semiconductor has a variety of applications in optoelectronic devices such as lightemitting diodes and laser diodes