Spatial pattern of Japanese manufacturing industry in four ASEAN countries

Foreign investment by means of equity participation of foreign firms in local firms contributes to local industrial development through transfer of technology and through leveraging capital requirements. During the last two decades the nature of foreign equity participation in firms and the location of FDI in four ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines, referred to hereafter as the ASEAN-4 countries) has undergone a significant transition. From 1980-1994, the Japanese manufacturing industry was the major foreign industrial investor in the ASEAN-4 countries. The spatial pattern of equity investment and employment generation has been very different among regions in the ASEAN-4 countries. Using the Theil index we estimate disparity in employment generation and equity investment within and between regions of Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines in the context of each country's socio-economic geography and economic development characteristics.Received: 21 May 2002, Accepted: 14 May 2003, JEL Classification: F21, N950, R12The authors would like to thank two anonymous referees for their valuable comments on an earlier draft of this research note.     

Stability of chloramphenicol residues in shrimp subjected to heat processing treatments

The stability of chloramphenicol residues in white shrimp (Penaeus indicus) subjected to cooking (100 degrees C) for 10, 20 and 30 min (C1, C2 and C3) as well as retorting (121 degrees C) for 10 and 15 min (R1 and R2) was studied by a microbial assay method using Photobacterium leiognathi as the test organism. The microbial assay method was found to have a good sensitivity of 1 microg/ml the loss of chloramphenicol in shrimp subjected to cooking for 10, 20 and 30 min was 6%, 12% and 29%, respectively. Similarly, the loss was 9% and 16% from the shrimp subjected to retorting for 10 and 15 min, respectively. The loss of chloramphenicol was found to increase with increase in temperature and duration of heating. This study showed that chloramphenicol is an unstable aquaculture drug that is destroyed or degrades during heat processing treatments.     

Induction of osteoblast differentiation in human adipose derived stem cells by lanthanum ions

Adipose derived stem cells represent a readily available source of adult stem cells for various biomedical applications. In this study, the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation potential of lanthanum nitrate（La3＋） on human adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells（hADSCs） were investigated for the first time and compared with that of dexamethasone（Dex）. Our results provided evidence that La3＋ at 50 μmol/L concentration promoted proliferation of hADSCs upto 2.4 fold when treated for 21 d in DMEM medium. Treatment of hADSCs with La3＋ containing osteogenic induction medium（α-MEM with ascorbic acid and β-glycerophosphate） for 7 d resulted in higher calcium deposition than that in the presence of Dex（0.1 μmol/L） as shown by Alizarin red S and von Kossa staining. Scanning electron micrographs also showed more extracellular matrix mineralization in the presence of La3＋. After 7 d of treatment with La3＋（10 μmol/L） the expression of RunX2, osteopontin（OP） and osteocalcin（OC） increased 3.4, 5.5 and 2.7 fold respectively. Our results provided evidence that in the presence of La3＋ osteogenic differentiation occurred earlier than that in the presence of Dex.     

Interaction of the properties of individual cotton fibres in a blend

Yarn engineering plays an important role in producing fabric for particular use. It is a common practice that yarn properties are predicted from constituent fibre properties. Cotton properties being highly variable in nature attracted various scientists from all over the world to derive prediction equations. More than 200 articles have been published in this area. Most of these predictions are based on single cotton, whereas in practice, more than one cotton is mixed together to optimise cost and quality. This study reports the accuracy of using weighted average method to determine the properties of blended cottons. Also, a set of prediction equations, derived for single cotton, tried to predict the properties of blended cotton yarns. To increase the accuracy of predictions, a new set of equations have been derived for binary cotton-blended yarns.     

Combinational domain encryption for still visual data

Image data has distinct regions of different importance. This property of image data has extensively been used to develop partial encryption techniques, but it is still unnoticed for total encryption. Providing similar security level to data of varied significance consumes more computational resources. This necessitates the development of an encryption framework that considers data significance while implementing total encryption. This article proposes a new framework of combinational domain encryption that encrypts significant data in spatial domain and insignificant data in wavelet domain. Experiments have been performed to analyze the effect of proposed framework as compared to encryption technique in a single domain. Significant reduction in computational time has been observed without compromising on the security. Medical applications or security applications requiring fast computation would be benefitted by implementation of the proposed technique.     

Embedding of hypercubes into necklace,windmill and snake graphs

Graph embedding problems have gained importance in the field of interconnection networks for parallel computer architectures. In this paper, we determine the exact wirelength of embedding hypercubes into necklace, windmill and snake graphs.     

Colorimetric method for determining Pb2+ ions in water enhanced with non-precious-metal nanoparticles

Sulfur anions and their derivatives have long been recognized for their high selectivity and reactivity toward Pb(2+) ions and formation of highly absorptive yet water-insoluble compounds with both acid and base media. This phenomenon has been used for qualitative analysis of lead ions in water. We demonstrate a new method to quantitatively determine the Pb(2+) concentration in the range of 0.5-500 ppm in water using colorimetric measurement, based on forming "soluble" lead sulfide in water enhanced with non-precious-metal nanoparticles. This method has inherent high selectivity for lead over other alkali-metal and alkaline-earth-metal ions. The colorimetric measurements of the absorptive solutions provide accurate determination of the lead concentration in water comparable to that measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. To our knowledge, this is the simplest, lowest cost, and easiest-to-use method for detecting and determining the lead concentration in water.     

Preparation and characterization of CdS–Bi2S3 nanocomposite thin film by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method

CdS, Bi₂S₃ and CdS–Bi₂S₃ nanocomposite thin films were grown by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method (SILAR) onto the glass substrates at room temperature. These films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electrical measurement systems. A comparative study was made between CdS, Bi₂S₃ and CdS–Bi₂S₃ nanocomposite thin films. The XRD patterns reveal that CdS, Bi₂S₃ and CdS–Bi₂S₃ nanocomposite thin film have hexagonal, orthorhombic and mixed phase of hexagonal CdS and orthorhombic Bi₂S₃ crystal structure, respectively. SEM images showed uniform deposition of the material over the entire glass substrate. The energy band gap for CdS, Bi₂S₃ and CdS–Bi₂S₃ thin films were revealed from the optical studies and were found to be 2.4, 1.6 and 1.69 eV, respectively. The thermoemf measurements of CdS–Bi₂S₃ nanocomposite thin film revealed n-type electrical conductivity, while the I–V measurement of CdS, Bi₂S₃ and CdS–Bi₂S₃ nanocomposite thin film under dark and illumination condition (100 mW/cm²) exhibited photoconductivity phenomena suggesting its applicability in photosensors devices.     

In vitro assessment of antimicrobial efficacy of the D-tagatose and lactobacilli-based synbiotic preparations against the pathogenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium

The study aimed to investigate the utilisation of prebiotic D-tagatose by probiotic lactobacilli (L. rhamnosus GG, L. casei, L. acidophilus and L. fermentum) and enteric pathogens (E. coli and S. typhimurium) to determine synbiotic potential of D-tagatose and lactobacilli combination. The antimicrobial efficacy of the synbiotic preparations (D-tagatose with lactobacillus) was assessed against selected pathogens in co-culture assays. Evidently, D-tagatose supported growth of selected lactobacilli, especially the L. rhamnosus GG and L. casei, but not the enteric pathogens. The tested synbiotic preparations completely inhibited growth of both the pathogens, even in the presence of D-glucose in co-cultures. The well-diffusion assay demonstrated the presence of antimicrobial activity as recorded by drop of culture pH. The study substantiated that D-tagatose could be an effective prebiotic component for formulation of potential synbiotic combinations with L. rhamnosus GG or L. casei that can be used as an alternative to antibiotics against enteric pathogens.