Mosque architecture in Malaysia : classification of styles and possible influence

The main purpose of the research is to set up an initial framework of architectural description of Muslim architecture in Malaysia within the context of the architectural concern of ‘style’. The main concern is to elucidate clearly the different architectural styles of Muslim architecture and suggest hypotheses for future studies in relation to the forces which might have been instrumental in the conception of these styles. The research is important in order to project the message that much of what we understand as ‘Islamic Architecture’ in the present literature comes from various artistic and political agendas that have questionable merits compared to an analytical approach of Islamic architecture from the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The research is also important for practicing architects to understand that the present syntax of ‘Islamic Architecture’ with its references in Middle Eastern, Mid Asian and African models are not necessarily the best precedence to project the architectural message of Islam. As opposed to the three classification of Traditional, Colonial and Modern styles of mosque architecture, the research has identified seven main styles with a suggestion of the rationale and influences of those styles

Variations in performances in Chinese small and medium enterprises

Malaysia, like many developing countries, is encouraging local businesses to take greater role in the management of its economy. While incentives and deregulation measures are offered, variations in performances still persist. Researchers have long been interested in explaining the variance in fi rm performance, as even those firms operating in the same industry and in the same business environment show diff erences in performance outcomes. Numerous paradigms in the literature have been employed to explain the variance in business performance, including the Classical Industry Organisation, the Revisionist school, the New Industrial Organisation school, the PIMS paradigm,the Austrian school, and the Resource-based school. This paper investigates the combined effects of managerial characteristics of owners/managers and business strategy on the firm performance of Chinese small and medium enterprises(SMEs) in Malaysia. Using multivariate relationship, the results of the study did not show any significant correlation between the managerial characteristics of the owners/managers and firm performance outcomes among the Chinese entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, a significant amount of variance in performance outcomes can be explained by firm strategy. Furthermore, several significant correlations were found between managerial characteristics and business strategy

Work flow improvement at Kenny Leather (M) Sdn. Bhd.

Kenny Leather who was located at Merlimau Industrial Estate, Melaka driving force in the manufactures of leather. The company supply its product internationally and the product are well known globally due to their product’s quality and their commitment to give their best to the customer. Former world number one player of golf, Tiger Wood is among the user of hand glove that were made by this company. Kenny Leather has 200 workers and all of their workers are Malaysian. The managing director is Mr. Tadashi Fujisawa and main share partner is Kenny Co. Ltd. The company motto is ‘one for all and all for one’. Kenny Leather (M) Sdn Bhd is the factory processed all the material consists of leather. The nature of business is manufacturing leather gloves (for gloves), betting gloves, dress leather, cut leather and dyed sheep/goat skin leather. This factory is one of the biggest suppliers for leather material. In fact the former number one golfer in the world which is, Mr. Eldrick Tont Woods, known as Tiger Woods is using leather products made by the Kenny Leather. One company known as FootJoy which is the main company that sponsor Tiger Wood accessories for golfing is almost 80% was supplied by Kenny Leather

Immuno Magnetic Thermosensitive Liposomes For Cancer Therapy

The present work describes the encapsulation of the drug doxorubicin (DOX) in immuno paramagnetic thermosensitive liposomes. DOX is the most common chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of a variety of carcinomas. However, the pure drug has high cytotoxicity and therefore requires a targeted and biocompatible delivery system. The introduction includes concepts, modalities, and functionalities of the project. First, a detailed description of the cell type (triple-negative breast cancer) is given. Furthermore, the importance of liposomal doxorubicin is explained and the current state of research is shown. The importance of modification to achieve thermosensitive properties and the procedure for co-encapsulation with Gd chelate to achieve paramagnetic properties is also discussed. In addition, the first part describes the surface modification with ADAM8 antibodies, which leads to improved targeting. The second part of the thesis covers the different materials and methods used in this paper. The production of the liposomes LipTS, LipTS-GD, LipTS-GD-CY, LipTS-GD-CY-MAB and the loading of DOX using an ammonium sulfate gradient method were described in detail. The results part deals with the physicochemical characterization using dynamic light scattering and laser Doppler velocimetry, which confirmed a uniform monodisperse distribution of the liposomes. These properties facilitate the approach of liposomes to target cancer cells. The influence of lipid composition of liposomes, co-encapsulation with Gd chelate and surface modification of liposomes was evaluated and described accordingly. The size and structure of the individual liposomal formulations were determined by atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Morphological examination of the liposomes confirmed agreement with the sizes obtained by dynamic light scattering. Temperature-dependent AFM images showed an intact liposome structure at 37 °C, whereas heating by UHF-MRI led to a lipid film indicating the destruction of the lipid bilayer. Furthermore, TEM images showed the morphological properties of the liposomes and gave a more precise indication of how Gd-chelate accumulates within the liposomes. Liposomes with Gd-chelate showed well-separated vesicles, suggesting that Gd- chelate is deposited in the lipid bilayer of the liposomes. Gd was encapsulated in the hydrophilic core whereas chelate was extended into the lipid bilayer. By differential scanning calorimetry and drug release, the heat-sensitive functionality of the liposomes could be determined. Liposomes showed a beginning of phase transition temperature at about 38 °C, which can be achieved by UHF-MRI exposure. The maximum phase transition temperature in the case of LipTS-GD and LipTS-GD-CY-MAB was 42 °C and 40 °C, respectively. A proof of concept study for the thermosensitive properties of liposomes and a time-dependent DOX release profile in hyperthermia was performed. Gd-chelate is encapsulated in both LipTS-GD and LipTS-GD-CY-MAB and led to paramagnetic properties of the liposomes. This facilitates imaging mediated DOX delivery and diagnosis of the solid tumor and metastatic cells. The change in relaxation rate R1 of liposomes was quantified before and after heating above Tm (T> Tm). The relaxivity of the liposomes was obtained from the adapted slope of the relaxation rate against the Gd concentration. Remarkably, the relaxation rate and relaxivity increased after heating the liposomes above Tm (T> Tm), suggesting that the liposomes opened, released Gd chelate, and the exchange of water molecules became faster and more practicable. Toxicity studies describe the different mechanisms for induced DOX toxicity. The increased cytotoxic effect at elevated temperatures showed that the induced toxicity is thermally dependent, i.e. DOX was released from the liposomes. The high viability of the cells at 37 °C indicates that the liposomes were intact at normal physiological temperatures. Under UHF-MRI treatment, cell toxicity due to elevated temperature was observed. The cellular uptake of liposomes under UHF-MRI was followed by a confocal laser scanning microscope. An increase in fluorescence intensity was observed after UHF-MRI exposure. The study of the uptake pathway showed that the majority of liposomes were mainly uptake by clathrin-mediated endocytosis. In addition, the liposomes were modified with anti-ADAM8 antibodies (MAB 1031) to allow targeted delivery. The cellular binding capabilities of surface-modified and non-modified liposomes were tested on cells that had ADAM8 overexpression and on ADAM8 knockdown cells. Surface-modified liposomes showed a significant increase in binding ability, indicating significant targeting against cells that overexpress ADAM8 on their surface. In addition, cells with knockdown ADAM8 could not bind a significant amount of modified liposomes. The biocompatibility of liposomes was assessed using a hemolysis test, which showed neglected hemolytic potential and an activated thromboplastin time (aPTT), where liposomes showed minimal interference with blood clotting. Hemocompatibility studies may help to understand the correlation between in vitro and in vivo. The chorioallantois model was used in ovo to evaluate systematic biocompatibility in an alternative animal model. In the toxicity test, liposomes were injected intravenously into the chicken embryo. The liposomes showed a neglectable harmful effect on embryo survival. While free DOX has a detrimental effect on the survival of chicken embryos, this confirms the safety profile of liposomes compared to free DOX. LipTS-GD-CY-MAB were injected into the vascular system of the chicken embryo on egg development day 11 and scanned under UHF-MRI to evaluate the magnetic properties of the liposomes in a biological system with T2-weighted images (3D). The liposomal formulation had distinct magnetic properties under UHF MRI and the chick survived the scan. In summary, immunomagnetic heat-sensitive liposomes are a novel drug for the treatment of TNBC. It is used both for the diagnosis and therapy of solid and metastasizing tumors without side effects on the neighboring tissue. Furthermore, a tumor in the CAM model will be established. Thereafter, the selective targeting of the liposomes will be visualized and quantitated using fluorescence and UHF-MRI. Liposomes are yet to be tested on mice as a xenograft triple-negative breast cancer model, in which further investigation on the effect of DOX-LipTS-GD-CY-MAB is evaluated. On one hand, the liposomes will be evaluated regarding their targetability and their selective binding. On the other hand, the triggered release of DOX from the liposomes after UHF-MRI exposure will be quantitated, as well as evaluate the DOX-Liposomes therapeutic effect on the tumor

Investigating antecedents and consequences of corporate communication management

This paper analyses the influences of managerial communication, marketing communication and organizational communication on corporate communication. In addition, this paper shows how corporate communication management influences organizational performance. This research also investigates the role of corporate leadership in moderating the relationship between corporate communication and organizational performance. Three categories of antecedents, namely, management communication, marketing communication and organizational communication are gathered from the literature. Direct consequences and indirect consequences through relevant mediators are identified. Future research directions are also offered. The compendium of antecedents and consequences of Corporate Communication Management (CCM) can be used by corporate communication practitioners for their segmentation and target stakeholders

Call option on the maximum of the interest rate in the one factor affine model

We determine an explicit formula for the Laplace transform of the price of an option on a maximal interest rate when the instantaneous rate satisfies Cox-Ingersoll-Ross's model. This generalizes considerably one result of Leblanc-Scaillet

Penggunaan modul pembelajaran elektronik (MPE) pengenalan pelancongan H 111 : tinjauan terhadap pensyarah dan pelajar Diploma Pengurusan Pelancongan, Politeknik Johor Bahru

Era Teknologi Maklumat dan Komunikasi (ICT) telah melihat perkembangan penggunaan komputer sebagai alat berpotensi untuk meningkatkan proses pengajaran dan pembelajaran. Oleh itu, kajian ini meninjau Penggunaan Modul Pembelajaran Elektronik (MPE) dalam mata pelajaran Pengenalan Pelancongan H 111 di kalangan pensyarah dan pelajar semester satu Diploma Pengurusan Pelancongan, Politeknik Johor Bahru. Seramai 40 responden yang terdiri daripada pelajar dan tiga orang pensyarah telah dipilih bagi menjawab tiga persoalan kajian yang dinyatakan. Maklum balas melalui soal selidik pelajar telah dianalisis menggunakan perisian Sran'sf/caV Package /or <Sbc;'a/ Aaence (SPSS) versi 11.0, manakala maklum balas soalan terbuka pensyarah pula dipersembahkan dalam bentuk jadual serta penerangan. Dalam persoalan kajian pertama, skor min keseluruhan yang diperolehi terhadap penerimaan pelajar ke atas MPE Pengenalan Pelancongan H i l l yang dihasilkan adalah di tahap baik iaitu 3.74. Manakala persoaian kajian kedua, pelajar turut bersetuju bahawa isi kandungan MPE Pengenalan Pelancongan H i l l dapat meningkatkan tahap pemahaman mereka (skor min keseluruhan 3.654). Seterusnya dalam persoalan kajian ketiga, skor min keseluruhan yang diperolehi adalah 3.634 menunjukkan satu dapatan keputusan yang baik terhadap penggunaan MPE dalam membantu proses pembelajaran yang berkesan. Begitu juga dengan hasil dapatan yang diterima dari pensyarah, mendapati keputusan ketiga-tiga persoalan kajian berada di tahap setuju atau baik. Di akhir bab kajian ini, beberapa pandangan telah dikemukakan untuk mempertingkatkan lagi kecekapan MPE melalui pembangunan perisian yang lebih mantap di masa hadapan