Archives-December  

Table of contents for the month of October 2016

Medical tourism is developing a new dimension in Malaysian healthcare system and its diversifying the national economy. In order to be competitive in this emerging industry, Malaysia needs to identify and implement competitive strategies based on the needs of medical tourists globally and the availability of its resources in the country. Literature review shows the study on medical tourism is focusing on wide variety of issues ranging from cost, promotion, barriers and cultural aspects. This conceptual paper would like to propose the extension of Porter model and Peng Y model of internationalization in medical tourism research. Porter model usually used in manufacturing and service oriented research. Whereas Peng Y model usually used in the international business studies. As medical tourism is moving forward to be a competitive industry and it is happening globally, it is wise to extend or associate those two models in the medical tourism research. Therefore, this paper is focused on competitive strategies, institutional based strategies, industry based strategies and resource based strategies that the health care centers need to adopt based on the both models. A theoretical framework is proposed to research emphasizing on the above four strategies in medical tourism.

If the initial temperature is an even power function, then the heat transform with the source solution as the kernel gives the heat polynomials. We discuss various properties of the heat polynomial and its Appell type transform. Also, we give series representation of the heat transform when the initial temperature is a power function.

The paper is to lay special emphasis on study to design new management system into current information management in order to expand a method such as a library management information system. Studying data resources on hand and a new system model for information service management have been formed and realized, and at the same time problems of the hidden dangers of data redundancy get solved. The new system is called as a post-information management and the current system called as a pre-information management system. Whole information management system (IMS) consists of two systems, PrIMS and PoIMS. PoIMS is main foundations of statistics and analysis data. We offer a post-information management system which focuses on design system at data statistics and analysis with formulas. It is applied the retrieval combined models under multi-restrictive conditions and theories to the lending book rates in a library with PoIMS.

This paper reviews the importance of physical urban form and urban design in directing citizens’ behavioral patterns. It is of great interest for new urbanism theoreticians. Due to growing internal travels in the cities, their environmental repercussions, reaching stable travel patterns and travel demands’ management, urban design tools can be used in the neighborhoods of the city. previous studies in this focus on the key roles of residential density, professional density, accessibility, physical design of the neighbourhood, and etc. Neighbourhood design in dense form with mixed applications and visual and space quality for walking can be effective in reducing car travels and the amount of crossed distance by the citizens. The extent to which physical design of the neighbourhood and urban design affects citizens’ behavioral patterns is the concern of this paper.

Drying seeds and maintaining low seed moisture content is critical in hot and humid climatic conditions. In this study Zeolite beads which are inert adsorbent materials have been used for drying tomato and onion seeds. Response Surface Methodology was employed to optimize the parameters of drying in central composite experimental design. The seeds of tomato cv. Pusa Ruby and onion cv. Nasik Dark Red with initial moisture content of 8.6 to 15.4% dry weight basis (d.b.), were dried at five levels of residence time (1.3, 4, 8, 12, 14.7 h) and five levels of seed bead ratio (1:0.33, 1:0.5, 1:0.75, 1:1, 1:1.17). Second degree polynomial models were found significant for each response viz. germinability, vigour and final moisture content. The optimum values of process variables was found to be 1:0.5, 10.8 hours and 11.84 %, seed bead ratio, residence time and initial moisture content, respectively in case of tomato seed. Seed bead ratio, residence time and initial moisture content of 1:0.62, 6.52 and 13.62, respectively were found optimum for onion seed.

Spiders belong to the group of arthropods, they are found in the terrestrial habitat. Spider venoms are an incredible source of biologically active substances which selectively target a variety of vital physiological functions in both insects and mammals. Venom of spiders are heterogeneous not only between the species but also within the species. They are made up of complex mixtures of biologically active enzymatic and non enzymatic components. Many toxins isolated from spider venom have been valuable in helping to determine the role diversity of neuronal ion channels and the process of exocytosis.

Easier access to botanicals and the return to traditional means of pest control have cast a new spell on botanicals. Botanicals are cheap, efficient and not prone to induce resistance in the pest. Among the studied botanicals used as pesticides worldwide, the neem tree and the tobacco plant have proved to be the richest in active compounds and are some of the potent sources of natural biocides. Bioassays were carried out on the gall wasp Leptocybe invasa on Eucalyptus grandis using neem, tobacco and neem/tobacco mixture each at concentrations of 5, 10 and 15g/l and observations on oviposition, gall development and adult emergence were made at two week intervals for a period of 12 weeks. Results showed that tobacco had the highest insecticidal effects in reducing oviposition rate, whilst the mixture of neem/tobacco reduced gall formation. Neem was potent at reducing adult emergence and for all extracts, an increase in concentration led to a decrease in oviposition, gall formation and adult emergence. Results from this study point to the feasibility of using these extracts in the control of L. invasa on Eucalyptus from the devastation of this pest.

A novel and selective method for the fast determination of trace amounts of Co(II)ions in water samples has been developed.  The first organic-solution-processable functionalized-Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) (SPFMWNTs) hybrid material with porphyrins. porphyrin–Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)  nanohybrid, 5-4 (aminophenyl)-10, 15, 20-triphenyl porphyrin and its photophysical properties including optical (TPP) and grapheme oxide molecules covalently bonded together via an amide bond (TPP-NHCO- SPFMWNTs )were used as absorbent for extraction of Co(II)   ions by solid phase extraction method. The complexes were eluted with HNO₃ (2M)10% V.V^-1 mthanol in acetone and determined the analyte by flame atomic absorption spectrometry.  The procedure is based on the selective formation of Co(II)  at optimum pH by elution with organic eluents and determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry.The method is based on complex formation on the surface of the ENVI-18 DISK^TM disks modified porphyrin–Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)  nanohybrid, 5-4 (aminophenyl)-10, 15, 20-triphenyl porphyrin (TPP) and grapheme oxide molecules covalently bonded together via an amide bond (TPP-NHCO- SPFMWNTs ) followed by stripping of the retained species by minimum amounts of appropriate organic solvents. The elution is efficient and quantitative. The effect of potential interfering ions, pH, TPP-NHCO- SPFMWNTs, amount, stripping solvent, and sample flow rate were also investigated. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the break-through volume was found to about 1000mL providing a preconcentration factor of 600. The maximum capacity of the disks was found to be 568± 3 µg for Co²⁺. The limit of detection of the proposed method is 5ng per 1000mL.The method was applied to the extraction and recovery of Co in different water samples.

This study was designed to determine the predictors of literacy skills among Chinese preschoolers. There were 136 preschoolers aged ranged between three to six years old with their parents and teachers recruited in this study using a Multi-Stage Cluster sampling technique. Home-based learning activities were measured using Home Learning Environment Questionnaire (Lonigan & Farver, 2002). Meanwhile, children’s literacy skills were respectively assessed using Test of Early Reading Ability Third Edition (Reid, Hresko, & Hammill, 2001). This study found that preschoolers with higher level of literacy skills were came from families who practiced more home-based learning activities, and have highly educated parents and high family monthly income. Besides that, findings revealed that older children perform high level of literacy skills. The findings of this study imply that home learning was the most significant unique predictor of child’s literacy skills within all tested variables.