Flexibility between market-led and government-led economies

The 1997-98 East Asia financial crisis has raised doubts over the roles of two economic-systems: market-led and government-led economies. This paper deliberates on the two opposing economic systems: the choice of which are continually debated. There is a need for governments to look at economic flexibility and determine whether the countries affected by the financial crisis could reposition themselves fast enough. More specifically, this paper evaluates the performance of government-led economies such as those in Malaysia,Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia when compared to marketled economies as practised in the United Kingdom, United States, and Japan.A compilation of an index method based on Angresano (1996) consisting of the quantitative performance measure for an identified country was computed over the average period 1980-2003. The findings of this study suggest that the approaches to a market-led or government-led economy is a matter of degree and are not mutually exclusive

The impact of core job characteristics and critical psychological state on job satisfaction of the academic staff members in the SLIATE

The qualified workers are interested to do more challenging jobs. Dull and repetitive work is more frustrating. This kind of frustration can lead to the increase of less quality outputs. Therefore, it is important to fit the job to the employee in order to have both qualified and satisfied workforce. This study investigated the impact of job design on job satisfaction of the lecturers in Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education. The research conducted using job characteristic model developed by Hackman and Oldham and five hypotheses were developed. The data were analyzed through the path analysis in structural equation modeling (SEM). The outcome of the results concluded that the certain core job characteristics of ―skill variety‖ and ―task significance‖ were not able to predict the critical psychological state of ―experience meaningfulness‖, and these critical psychological states in turn were able to predict job satisfaction. Core job characteristics- ―feedback‖ and ―skill Varity‖ have the highest impact on job satisfaction. ―Experience meaningfulness‖ was determined by the core job characteristic of ―task identity‖ and ―experience responsibility‖ was determined by the core job characteristics of ―Autonomy‖ and ―feedback‖

The Right Stuff , Farming by Location

A satellite-based positioning system is being developed to determine the location of farm equipment while working in the field. A satellite receiver mounted in a moving tractor or combine calculates position coordinates based on signals received from a selection of satellites in the Department of Defense Global Positioning System (GPS). The position coordinates are retrieved from the receiver by a computer and combined in a common data base with additional information collected by the computer such as yield, soil fertility, soil moisture, temperature, implement draft, and fuel consumption. There are a number of possible applications for this system. One is the automation of position information and data collection for research purposes. Comparison of results between years can be easily made. Another application is the optimized and automated application of manure, fertilizers and chemicals. Profits can be increased and environmental damage minimized

Tuberculous meningitis masquerading as acute ischemic stroke in young adult

Tubercular meningitis (TBM) constitute 5% of all cases of extra pulmonary tuberculosis but a presentation leading to an ischemic stroke in a young adult is a rare clinical entity. In a case of TB vasculopathy, vasculitis, venous thrombosis and aneurysm may be the underlying events leading to a stroke. Stroke in TBM is seen in the tubercular zone which encompasses internal capsule, thalamus and caudate nucleus. Inflammatory mediators like TNF alpha, Interferon gamma and vascular endothelial growth factor have been implicated in the pathogenesis of arteritis. Imaging modalities like MRI show lesions which are usually bilateral in the territory of the perforating vessels. We report a case of 24 year old Asian male who presented with complaints of headache, projectile vomiting and altered sensorium. On examination his Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) was 10/15, with left oculomotor and left facial nerve palsy, and hypotonia of all 4 limbs with bilateral plantar reflexes being mute. Contrast MRI of brain showed acute infarct, meningeal enhancement and basal exudates. He was started on Anti-tubercular therapy and steroids, but had a poor clinical outcome, due to his late presentation

Development and application of chiral analytical methods for metabolic profiling

Metabonomics utilises high resolution analytical platforms to generate spectroscopic profiles that are rich in latent biological information. At present, the two principal analytical platforms used routinely in metabonomic studies are nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS). While these analytical methods in their current state of development in the field of metabonomics give broad coverage across multiple chemical classes, none report sufficiently well, if at all, on the absolute configuration of chiral molecules. As a consequence of the stereospecificity present in biological systems, a very large number of biologically active molecules exhibit chirality. Therefore, an important aspect of the metabolome remains largely unexplored by current metabonomic analytical platforms. Current enantioselective methods exist, but these are largely unsuitable for multi-analyte measurements. The work in this thesis addresses the need for appropriate chiral analytical methods for metabolic profiling. The aim was to develop a practical, fit-for-purpose chiral analytical method that will report simultaneously on numerous endogenous metabolites by untargeted or widely targeted analysis, and importantly, could be aligned with existing analytical workflows. Initial evaluation of an NMR spectroscopic approach using chiral solvating agents concluded that additional spectral complexity and interaction-induced internal reference compound chemical shift instability would prohibit efficient chiral profiling in a metabonomics workflow. An existing targeted MS-based assay for enantioselective separation of amino acids was selected for optimisation and further development. Focused analyses were performed to characterise its performance in the differentiation of individual pairs of enantiomers, and subsequently expanded, first to cover the panel of proteinogenic amino acids, and secondly to other detectable metabolites. Each stage of assay optimisation incorporated an evaluation in a representative set of samples and was able to provide highly relevant biological information that would not be accessible using current achiral metabonomic methods. Further work to expand the number of detectable metabolites and quantitative nature of the assay are discussed.Open Acces

Investigating mitochondrial trafficking with dopaminergic neurons of the nigrostriatal pathway

PhD ThesisParkinson’s disease (PD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder affecting more than 1% of the population aged over 60 years of age. PD is characterised by the loss of dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons from the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), with mitochondrial dysfunction believed to be a contributor to this degeneration. The finding that complex I deficits can trigger Parkinsonism in the 1980s, has resulted in growing evidence of mitochondrial impairment in PD and ageing. Alongside the finding that SNpc neurons exhibit increased mtDNA deletion levels, these data suggest mitochondrial defects render them highly vulnerable in PD. These large scale mtDNA deletions have also been associated with the DAergic neuronal loss seen in normal ageing. Mitochondria are dynamic organelles, whose distribution is regulated by organelle transport to balance the energy needs of neurons. Axonal mitochondria travel long and short distances and genetic mutations in the machinery which controls these movements have been identified in early onset PD. Fundamental insight into the mitochondrial transport system has arisen from yeast and fly models, the effects however of altered mitochondrial movement on neuronal function still remain unanswered with a mammalian PD model. Hence, this study investigated mitochondrial trafficking within neurons via two disease models. The first involved the optimisation of a method to observe the movements of fluorescently tagged mitochondria within DAergic neurons in ex vivo nigrostriatal brain slices. Young and old mice were studied to understand the effects of age on these movements. Changes in these movements in the presence of PD pathology were studied in human wild type alpha-synuclein expressing mice. The second study utilised induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSCs) to compare modifications in mitochondrial trafficking in SNpc neurons from IPSCs derived from a mitochondrial disease patient harbouring a large scale mtDNA deletion. Mitochondrial movement was first observed within low and high mtDNA deletion cell lines, to ascertain the effect of mitochondrial dysfunction on the movement of these organelles. Following this initial study, the effect of mitochondrial Ca2+ extrusion into the cytoplasm was investigated, alongside how this mediated mitochondrial motility. This study successfully managed to obtain videos of mitochondrial motility, from cell body to synapse, allowing the observation of speed, directionality and membrane potential of mitochondria within neurons of these disease models. These models have collectively provided information on the movements and trafficking of mitochondria in both culture and in a mouse model, presenting a promising method to comprehend the consequences of mitochondrial dysfunction in PD

The significance of drug induced DNA damage of telomeres in human tumour cells

PhD ThesisTelomere shortening is a major mechanism to induce telomere uncapping and thus to signal growth arrest and/ or apoptosis and can be caused by different mechanisms, one of which is damage to DNA, to which telomeres appear to be particularly sensitive. Contradictory data exists on the relationship between conventionally used chemotherapeutic drugs and the telomere/ telomerase complex. The aim of the work described in this thesis was to determine whether or not damage to telomeres played a significant role in the cytotoxic action of the anti-cancer drugs cisplatin and etoposide. Two cell lines were used with either short (neuroblastorna cell line SHSY5Y) or long (lymphoblastic T cell line 1301) telomeres. Cytotoxic effects of the drugs were assessed by growth inhibition assays and measurement of apoptosis and cell cycle progression by flow cytometry. Etoposide caused readily detectable DNA strand breakage and led to formation of nuclear foci of phosphorylated histone y-H2A. X. Cisplatin treatment did not induce strand breaks after initial drug exposure but strand breaks and DNA damage foci were detected after further incubation. For cells with either long or short telomeres, no detectable changes in total telomere length or overhang length were observed before apoptosis became manifest. Preferential occurrences of single strand breaks in the G-rich strand of telorneres were not found. Through the development of a dual staining method it was established that drug-induced histone H2A. X foci did not colocalise to the telomeres. Telomerase was transiently activated by lower concentrations of etoposide and its activity decreased only after onset of apoptosis. Taken together, the results show no indication that telorneres and/ or telomeric damage play any preferential role as signal transducers towards apoptosis and/ or growth arrest in either of these cell lines. Also, the protective function of telornerase &-I - seems to be telomere independent. The data are consistent with a model of druginduced growth arrest and apoptosis being triggered by damage elsewhere in the genome.Cancer Research UK

Preparation and characterization of zirconium based magnetic particles

In this study, zirconium based magnetic particles have been fabricated by co-precipitation method. Relationship between controllable input parameters (pre-stirring duration, stirring temperature, and post-stirring duration) and obtained response surfaces (zero point charge, pHZPC) for the fabrication of the magnetic particles is modelled through response surface methodology by using Box-Behnken design. The proposed model is: y=7.35295-0.00130x-0.02992x-0.01023x-0.00006x+ 0.00020X+0.00022x=0.00002x+0.00025-0.00009x where y is the pHZPC,x is the pre-stirring duration,x is the stirring temperature and x is the post-stirring duration. The magnetic particles are analysed by potentiometric titration, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and observed under microscope. Potentiometric titration determines the point of zero charge (pHZPC) of the magnetic particles. FTIR reveals the chemical bonding of the particles while microscope observation shows the surface morphology of the magnetic particles

Gender and ethnicity differences in tax compliance

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether gender and ethnicity differences occur in relation to tax compliance attitude and behavior.Prior studies on tax compliance have focused little on gender as a predictor of compliance. In Malaysia, ethnic background of a taxpayer could be a major determinant of tax compliance. A personal interview approach is used to obtain information from taxpayers in urban towns. A t-test suggests that males and females were found to have similar compliant attitude. As for ethnicity, a similar result was observed. Results of a regression analysis indicate that gender, academic qualification, and the person preparing tax return were statistically significant as determinants of non-compliant attitude.In terms of compliant behavior, a regression analysis revealed that "attitude towards non-compliance" and "receipt of cash income" were two significant explanatory variables of tax non-compliance behavior of understating income knowingly. The findings of this study are useful for policy implications in identifying groups that require additional attention to increase voluntary tax compliance

Automated Wrapping of Silverware in a Napkin

This Study investigates the wrapping of silverware in commercial dishwashing applications. The purpose of this research is to design and implement an automated silverware wrapping device that is capable of automatically picking cloth napkins from a napkin bin and wrapping the napkin in an appealing manner with a set of silverware comprised of a knife, fork and spoon. The major challenges encountered were in identifying the right techniques used to handle napkins and wrap napkins to get an appealing wrap. The method was primarily experimental. New and innovative techniques were used to singulate napkins from a stack and napkins, place silverware in the napkin and roll the napkin in an appealing manner. An effective control unit, used to control the entire device was implemented. The sliding friction between the napkins in a napkin stack was found to affect the performance of the entire device. Experimental results established a processing efficiency of 68% and a processing efficiency of 100% when napkins were fed manually.Mechanical & Aerospace Engineerin