Timber industries and licensing system in Malaysia

This paper discusses the licensing system of Malaysia's sawmilling and plywood industries which has grown in tandem with the massive land development program begun in the 1960s. Since then, the industry has contributed a significant amount of government revenue, employment opportunities and foreign exchange. Progressive development of the sector has been underpinned by various governmental policies and regulations to nurture legal timber supplies for down-stream processing as well as developing secondary and tertiary processing industries. Policies provide various incentives to modernize the industries in order to upgrade processing efficiency, diversification into value-added and quality products and reduction of processing residues. This includes wider use of the under-utilized timber species as part of an effort to attain a rational balance between national processing capacity and resource availability. Various strategies have been targeted to enhance efficient utilization of all forms of forest products from legal sources. In addition, timber production and licensing are now closely monitored and regulated throughout the supply chain management

Intraparenchymal pneumocephalus caused by ethmoid sinus osteoma

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系We report a 57-year-old man with intraparenchymal pneumocephalus caused by ethmoid sinus osteoma. He had a history of severe allergic rhinitis, which caused him to frequently blow his nose, and he was referred to our hospital with headache and mild left hemiparesis. CT scans revealed a large volume of intraparenchymal air entrapped in the right frontal lobe related to an osteoma in the ethmoid sinus. The osteoma eroded the upper wall of the sinus and extended into the anterior cranial fossa. At operation, we observed that the osteoma had protruded intracranially through the skull base, disrupted the dura and extended into the frontal lobe. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a patient with intraparenchymal pneumocephalus caused by an ethmoid sinus osteoma. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The Distinctive Effects of Glucose-Derived Carbon on the Performance of Ni-Based Catalysts in Methane Dry Reforming

International audienceThis study aimed to investigate the effect of carbon derived from glucose (C) on the physicochemical characteristics and catalytic activity of Ni, supported over SiO2, ZSM-5, and TiO2 in methane dry reforming. Among the Ni catalysts without C, Ni/SiO2 exhibited the highest CH4-CO2 conversion and stability at all experimented temperatures. On the other hand, the C-incorporated catalysts prepared by glucose impregnation, followed by pyrolysis, showed dissimilar performances. C improved the stability of Ni/SiO2 in the reforming at 650 °C and 750 °C and increased the CH4 and CO2 conversion to the level close to the thermodynamic equilibrium at 850 °C. However, this element did not substantially affect the activity of Ni/ZSM-5 and exerted a retarding effect on Ni/TiO2. Characterizations with H2-TPD, XRD, EXAFS, and STEM-EDS revealed that the different influences of C by the supports were attributed to the extent of metal dispersion and metal-support interaction

Uncommon co-localization of pituitary adenoma and parasellar cavernous angioma

We encountered a 49-year-old female presenting with left oculomotor palsy who was found to be co-localized cavernous sinus cavernous angioma (CA) and pituitary adenoma. Although CA originated from parasellar regions are not so rare, on neuroimaging studies, the characteristics of CA may be difficult to differentiate from those of pituitary adenomas. The co-localization of these two tumors was identified by preoperative dynamic MRI study. As intraoperative histological examination confirmed our preoperative diagnosis, we performed biopsy of the CA only to avoid uncontrollable intraoperative hemorrhage. © 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved