Search results for: Jamal Abdul Jabbar

Authors: Fayzan Ahmed, Saad Bin Saeed, Abdul Qadir Jangda

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Gafchromic™ sheet are extensively used for the QA of intensity modulated radiation therapy and other in-vivo dosimetry. Intra-sheet Non-uniformity of scanner as well as film causes undesirable fluctuations which are reflected in dosimetry The aim of this study is to define a systematic and robust method to investigate the intra-sheet uniformity of the unexposed Gafchromic Sheets and the region of interest (ROI) of the scanner. Sheets of lot No#: A05151201 were scanned before and after the expiry period with the EPSON™ XL10000 scanner in the transmission mode, landscape orientation, and 72 dpi resolution. ROI of (8’x 10’ inches) equal to the sheet dimension in the center of the scanner is used to acquire images with full transmission, block transmission and with sheets in place. 500 virtual grids, created in MATALB® are imported as a macros in ImageJ (1.49m Wayne Rasband) to analyze the images. In order to remove the edge effects, the outer 86 grids are excluded from the analysis. The standard deviation of the block transmission and full transmission are 0.38% and 0.66% confirming a higher uniformity of the scanner. Expired and non-expired sheets have standard deviations of 2.18% and 1.29%, show that uniformity decreases after expiry. The results are promising and indicate a good potential of this method to be used as a uniformity check for scanner and unexposed Gafchromic sheets.

Keywords: IMRT, film dosimetry, virtual grids, uniformity

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Authors: Abdul Qayyum, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Mamoona Hanif, Etrat Noor, Waqas Malik, Shoaib Liaqat

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Salinity is extremely serious problem that has a drastic effect on maize crop, environment and causes economic losses of country. An advance technique to overcome salinity is to develop salt tolerant geno types which require screening of huge germplasm to start a breeding program. Therefore, present study was undertaken to screen out 25 maize hybrids of different origin for salinity tolerance at seedling stage under three levels of salt stress 250 and 300 mM NaCl including one control. The existence of variation for tolerance to enhanced NaCl salinity levels at seedling stage in maize proved that hybrids had differing ability to grow under saline environment and potential variability within specie. Almost all the twenty five maize hybrids behaved varyingly in response to different salinity levels. However, the maize hybrids H6, H13, H21, H23 and H24 expressed better performance under salt stress in terms of all six characters and proved to be as highly tolerant while H22, H17 H20, H18, H4, H9, and H8 were identified as moderately tolerant. Hybrids H14, H5, H11 and H3 H12, H2, were expressed as most sensitive to salinity suggesting that screening is an effective tool to exploit genetic variation among maize hybrids and salt tolerance in maize can be enhanced through selection and breeding procedure.

Keywords: salinity, hybrids, maize, variation

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Authors: Salehah Tahkin, Norlaila Mustafa, Dayang Anita Abdul Aziz

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Knowledge of medical ethics is important to all practitioners so the best care can be delivered to all patients through safe practice. Surgeons are not exceptions to this. Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of medical ethics among paediatric surgeons and trainees in Malaysia has not been evaluated before. This study aims to determine the level of KAP regarding medical ethics among these groups. This was a cross-sectional study involving three groups of samples, i.e., paediatric surgeons (PS), paediatric surgical trainees (PST), and medical officers with a special interest in paediatric surgery (MO). A validated KAP questionnaire was used. Standard formulas were used to calculate objective indexes for measuring KAP, which were then compared for statistical significance across different sample groups; p less than 0.05 is taken as significant. The index is rated into 5 classes using a score of 0 to 10, i.e., poor (1-2.99), fair (3-4.99), good (5-6.99), very good (7-8.99), and excellent (9-10). There were 117 samples, i.e., PS n=45 (38.5%), PST n=25 (21.3%), and MO n=47 (40.2%). For knowledge, all three groups display a good index score (mean score of 5.44). For attitude, PS and MO also display an index score of good (mean score of 5.81), while the PST index score was fair (4.82). For practice, our study shows a highest score of 7.14 (very good) among PST. However, these differences were not statistically significant (p> 0.05). Conclusion: Training in paediatric surgery must continue to emphasize professionalism and medical ethics education to deliver the best health care services.

Keywords: KAP, medical ethics, paediatric, surgeons, trainees

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Authors: Jalaluddin Abdul Malek, Mohd Asruladlyi Ibrahim, Zurinah Tahir

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This paper is to reveal developments in the areas of urban technology in Malaysia. Developments occur intend to add value intelligent city development to the ubiquitous city (U-city) or smart city. The phenomenon of change is called the development of post intelligent cities. U-City development discourse is seen from the perspective of the philosophy of the virtuous city organized by al-Farabi. The prosperity and perfection of a city is mainly caused by human personality factors, as well as its relationship with material and technological aspects of the city. The question is, to what extent to which human factors are taken into account in the concept of U-City as an added value to the intelligent city concept to realize the prosperity and perfection of the city? Previously, the intelligent city concept was developed based on global change and ICT movement, while the U-city added value to the development of intelligent cities and focused more on the development of information and communications technology (ICT). Value added is defined as the use of fiber optic technology that is wired to the use of wireless technology, such as wireless broadband. In this discourse, the debate on the concept of U-City is to the symbiosis between the U-City and the importance of local human e-participation (U-Society) for prosperity. In the context of virtuous city philosophy, it supports the thought of symbiosis so the concept of U-City can achieve sustainability, prosperity and perfection of the city.

Keywords: smart city, ubiquitous city, u-society, e-participation, prosperity

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Authors: Abdul Matin, Salik Nawaz, Suk-Yul Jung

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Balamuthia mandrillaris is well known to cause fatal Balamuthia amoebic encephalitis (BAE). Amoebic transmission into the central nervous system (CNS), haematogenous spread is thought to be the prime step, followed by blood-brain barrier (BBB) dissemination. Macrophages are considered to be the foremost line of defense and present in excessive numbers during amoebic infections. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the effects of macrophages alone or primed with cytokines on the biological characteristics of Balamuthia in vitro. Using human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC), which constitutes the BBB, we have shown that Balamuthia demonstrated > 90% binding and > 70% cytotoxicity to host cells. However, macrophages further increased amoebic binding and Balamuthia-mediated cell cytotoxicity. Furthermore, macrophages exhibited no amoebicidal effect against Balamuthia. Zymography assay demonstrated that macrophages exhibited no inhibitory effect on proteolytic activity of Balamuthia. Overall, to our best knowledge, we have shown for the first time macrophages has no inhibitory effects on the biological properties of Balamuthia in vitro. This also strengthened the concept that how and why Balamuthia can cause infections in both immuno-competent and immuno-compromised individuals.

Keywords: Balamuthia mandrillaris, macrophages, cytokines, human brain microvascular endothelial cells, Balamuthia amoebic encephalitis

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Authors: Zuhaina Zakaria, Noraliza Hamzah, Siti Halijjah Shariff, Noor Aizah Abdul Karim

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The residential sector in Malaysia has become the single largest energy sector accounting for 21% of the entire energy usage of the country. In the past 10 years, a number of energy efficiency initiatives in the residential sector had been undertaken by the government including. However, there is no clear evidence that the total residential energy consumption has been reduced substantially via these strategies. Household electrical appliances such as air conditioners, refrigerators, lighting and televisions are used depending on the consumers’ activities. The behavior of household occupants played an important role in energy consumption and influenced the operation of the physical devices. Therefore, in order to ensure success in energy efficiency program, it requires not only the technological aspect but also the consumers’ behaviors component. This paper focuses on the challenges and opportunities in modelling residential consumer behavior in Malaysia. A field survey to residential consumers was carried out and responses from the survey were analyzed to determine the consumers’ level of knowledge and awareness on energy efficiency. The analyses will be used in determining a right framework to explain household energy use intentions and behavior. These findings will be beneficial to power utility company and energy regulator in addressing energy efficiency related issues.

Keywords: consumer behavior theories, energy efficiency, household occupants, residential consumer

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Authors: Abdul Wahab Rahimi

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This research examines the role of discursive strategies in the politics of self-censorship in Afghanistan, where political pressure, press freedom, and independent media work together, and language plays a vital role in implementing these strategies. Critical Discourse Analysis was conducted to describe the connection between language usage and the exercise of power by analyzing news stories related to women’s rights. This research focuses on 11 months of chronologically collected data from two mainstream television channels in Afghanistan: Tolo News and Ariana News. The findings show that Tolo News sustains and justifies juxtaposition and political critics’ discursive strategies to address women’s rights issues, criticize government policies, and deal with political pressure. At the same time, Ariana News follows the factual narrative strategy, practices self-censorship, and skips or partially focuses on the objective reporting of sensitive issues. The research concludes that the domestic media in Afghanistan follows the media policy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan by covering sensitive issues and marginalizing women's rights issues in the media discourse.

Keywords: discursive strategies, Taliban, TV Channel, news stories, self-censorship, women's rights.

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Authors: Sophia C. Alih, Mohammadreza Vafaei, Farnoud Rahimi Mansour, Nur Hajarul Falahi Abdul Halim

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Built-up columns have been widely employed by practice engineers in the design and construction of buildings and bridges. However, failures have been observed in this type of columns in previous seismic events. This study analyses the performance of built-up columns with different configurations of battens when it is subjected to seismic loads. Four columns with different size of battens were simulated and subjected to three different intensities of axial load along with a lateral cyclic load. Results indicate that the size of battens influences significantly the seismic behavior of columns. Lower shear capacity of battens results in higher ultimate strength and ductility for built-up columns. It is observed that intensity of axial load has a significant effect on the ultimate strength of columns, but it is less influential on the yield strength. For a given drift value, the stress level in the centroid of smaller size battens is significantly more than that of larger size battens signifying damage concentration in battens rather than chords. It is concluded that design of battens for shear demand lower than code specified values only slightly reduces initial stiffness of columns; however, it improves seismic performance of battened columns.

Keywords: battened column, built-up column, cyclic behavior, seismic design, steel column

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Authors: Muhamad Ammar Bin Mohd Asri, Muhammad Hamizan Bin Yusof, Muhammad Haziq Bin Abdul Khalil, Esman Hanief Bin Khairul Anuar, Muhammad Fikri Bin Ishak, Amril Azim Bin Mohd Norrahim, Muhammad Danial Fakhri Bin Fakhruddin, Muhammad Khairul Nizam in Hosnodin, Muhammad Ezzat Hariz Bin Norhisam

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Ergonomics is the science of creating and arranging workplaces, products, and systems to increase human performance, comfort, and safety. This study researched ergonomics as a solution for preventing workplace injuries, specifically musculoskeletal disorders, among employers and employees. The method will be used in this project is a literature review which means conducting a study about ergonomics with peer-reviewed journal articles and books. It focuses on employees and employers who are in one company on other departments under the protection of Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA). These solutions include ergonomic assessments, workplace design improvements, effective training and education, and the use of ergonomic tools and equipment. Employers can build workplaces that are safer and more productive by putting these solutions in place, and employees can work comfortably and prevent accidents from bad ergonomics. Overall, the paper highlights how crucial it is to take injury prevention measures and consider ergonomics at work.

Keywords: occupational safety and health, musculoskeletal disorders, ergonomic, ergonomic risk

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Authors: Mohamed Izzharif Abdul Halim, Niamh Nic Daeid

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Determining the source of pen inks used on a variety of documents is impartial for forensic document examiners. The examination of inks is often performed to differentiate between inks in order to evaluate the authenticity of a document. A ballpoint pen ink consists of synthetic dyes in (acidic and/or basic), pigments (organic and/or inorganic) and a range of additives. Inks of similar color may consist of different composition and are frequently the subjects of forensic examinations. This study emphasizes on blue ballpoint pen inks available in the market because it is reported that approximately 80% of questioned documents analysis involving ballpoint pen ink. Analytical techniques such as thin layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, UV-vis spectroscopy, luminescence spectroscopy and infrared spectroscopy have been used in the analysis of ink samples. In this study, application of Diamond Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) FTIR is straightforward but preferable in forensic science as it offers no sample preparation and minimal analysis time. The data obtained from these techniques were further analyzed using multivariate chemometric methods which enable extraction of more information based on the similarities and differences among samples in a dataset. It was indicated that some pens from the same manufactures can be similar in composition, however, discrete types can be significantly different.

Keywords: ATR FTIR, ballpoint, multivariate chemometric, PCA

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Authors: Abdul Rahman M. Chamseddine, Mahmoud El-ashiri

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In the field of language teaching, communication skills are essential for the learner to achieve, however, these skills, in general, might not support the comprehension of some texts of literary or artistic nature like poetry. Understanding sentences and expressions is not enough to understand a poem; other skills are needed in order to understand the special structure of a text which literary meaning is inapprehensible even when the lingual meaning is well comprehended. And then there is the need for many other components that surpass one text to other similar texts that can be understood through solid traditions, which do not form an obstacle in the face of change and progress. This is not exclusive to texts that are classified as a literary but it is also the same with some daily short phrases and indicatively charged expressions that can be classified as literary or bear a taste of literary nature.. it can be found in Newpapers’ titles, TV news reports, and maybe football commentaries… the need to understand this special lingual use – described as literary – is highly important to understand this discourse that can be generally classified as very far from literature. This work will try to explore the role of the literary text in the language class and the way it is being covered or dealt with throughout all levels of acquiring proficiency. It will also attempt to survery the position of the literary text in some of the most important books for teaching Arabic around the world. The same way grammar is needed to understand the language, another (literary) grammar is also needed for understanding literature.

Keywords: language teaching, Arabic, literature, pedagogy, language proficiency

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Authors: Mohd Radzi Hilmi, Mohd Zulfaezal Che Azemin, Khairidzan Mohd Kamal, Azrin Esmady Ariffin, Mohd Izzuddin Mohd Tamrin, Norfazrina Abdul Gaffur, Tengku Mohd Tengku Sembok

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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to predict optical quality changes after pterygium surgery using tissue redness grading. Methods: Sixty-eight primary pterygium participants were selected from patients who visited an ophthalmology clinic. We developed a semi-automated computer program to measure the pterygium fibrovascular redness from digital pterygium images. The outcome of this software is a continuous scale grading of 1 (minimum redness) to 3 (maximum redness). The region of interest (ROI) was selected manually using the software. Reliability was determined by repeat grading of all 68 images and its association with contrast sensitivity function (CSF) and visual acuity (VA) was examined. Results: The mean and standard deviation of redness of the pterygium fibrovascular images was 1.88 ± 0.55. Intra- and inter-grader reliability estimates were high with intraclass correlation ranging from 0.97 to 0.98. The new grading was positively associated with CSF (p<0.01) and VA (p<0.01). The redness grading was able to predict 25% and 23% of the variance in the CSF and the VA respectively. Conclusions: The new grading of pterygium fibrovascular redness can be reliably measured from digital images and show a good correlation with CSF and VA. The redness grading can be used in addition to the existing pterygium grading.

Keywords: contrast sensitivity, pterygium, redness, visual acuity

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Authors: Abdul Salim Amin

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This paper focuses on how judiciaries in post-conflict society gain legitimacy through reformation. Legitimacy plays a pivotal role in shaping peoples’ behavior to submit to the law and verifies the rightfulness of an organ for taking binding decisions. Among various dynamics, judicial independence, access to justice and behavioral changes of the judicial officials broadly contribute in legitimation of judiciary in general, and the court in particular. Increasing the independence of judiciary through reform limits the interference of governmental branches in judicial issues and protects basic rights of the citizens. Judicial independence does not only matter in institutional terms, individual independence also influences the impartiality and integrity of judges, which can be increased through education and better administration of justice. Finally, access to justice as an intertwined concept both at the legal and moral spectrum of judicial reform avails justice to the citizen and increases the level of public trust and confidence. Efficient legal decisions on fostering such elements through holistic reform create a rule of law atmosphere. Citizens do not accept illegitimate judiciary and do not trust its decisions. Lack of such tolerance and confidence deters the rule of law and, thus, undermines the democratic development of a society.

Keywords: legitimacy, judicial reform, judicial independence, access to justice, legal training, informal justice, rule of law

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Authors: Waheed Ahmad Safi, Shunichi Nakamura, Abdul Habib Ghaforzai

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Steel and concrete composite bridge with concrete filled steel I-girder (CFIG) was proposed and FEM and laboratory tests were conducted to analysis bending and shear behavior. The proposed form of structural steel I-section is mainly used at the intermediate support zone by placing infilled concrete into the top and bottom flanges of steel I-section to resist negative bending moment. The bending and shear tests were carried out to find out the significance of CFIG section. The result for test showing that the bending and shear capacity of proposed CFIG is at least 3 times and 2 times greater than conventional steel I-section (IG) respectively. Finite element study was also carried out to ensure the result for laboratory tests due to bending and shear behavior and load transfer behavior of proposed structural form. Finite element result result agreed the test result. A design example was carried out for a four-span continuous highway bridge and design method was established.

Keywords: bending strength, concrete filled steel I-girder, steel I-girder, FEM, limit states design and shear strength

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Authors: Faiz N. K. Yusufi, Aquil Ahmed, Jamal Ahmad

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Predicting the risk of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Indian type 2 diabetes patients is immensely necessary. India, being the second largest country after China in terms of a number of diabetic patients, to the best of our knowledge not a single risk score for complications has ever been investigated. Diabetic retinopathy is a serious complication and is the topmost reason for visual impairment across countries. Any type or form of DR has been taken as the event of interest, be it mild, back, grade I, II, III, and IV DR. A sample was determined and randomly collected from the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology, J.N.M.C., A.M.U., Aligarh, India. Collected variables include patients data such as sex, age, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), blood sugar fasting (BSF), post prandial sugar (PP), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), smoking, alcohol habits, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), physical activity, duration of diabetes, diet control, history of antihypertensive drug treatment, family history of diabetes, waist circumference, hip circumference, medications, central obesity and history of DR. Cox proportional hazard regression is used to design risk scores for the prediction of retinopathy. Model calibration and discrimination are assessed from Hosmer Lemeshow and area under receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Overfitting and underfitting of the model are checked by applying regularization techniques and best method is selected between ridge, lasso and elastic net regression. Optimal cut off point is chosen by Youden’s index. Five-year probability of DR is predicted by both survival function, and Markov chain two state model and the better technique is concluded. The risk scores developed can be applied by doctors and patients themselves for self evaluation. Furthermore, the five-year probabilities can be applied as well to forecast and maintain the condition of patients. This provides immense benefit in real application of DR prediction in T2DM.

Keywords: Cox proportional hazard regression, diabetic retinopathy, ROC curve, type 2 diabetes mellitus

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Authors: Tayyab Hassan, Talha Rehman, Qasim Abdul Aziz, Ahmad Salman

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The constant monitoring of blood glucose level is necessary for maintaining health of patients and to alert medical specialists to take preemptive measures before the onset of any complication as a result of diabetes. The current clinical monitoring of blood glucose uses invasive methods repeatedly which are uncomfortable and may result in infections in diabetic patients. Several attempts have been made to develop non-invasive techniques for blood glucose measurement. In this regard, the existing methods are not reliable and are less accurate. Other approaches claiming high accuracy have not been tested on extended dataset, and thus, results are not statistically significant. It is a well-known fact that acetone concentration in breath has a direct relation with blood glucose level. In this paper, we have developed the first of its kind, reliable and high accuracy breath analyzer for non-invasive blood glucose measurement. The acetone concentration in breath was measured using MQ 138 sensor in the samples collected from local hospitals in Pakistan involving one hundred patients. The blood glucose levels of these patients are determined using conventional invasive clinical method. We propose a linear regression classifier that is trained to map breath acetone level to the collected blood glucose level achieving high accuracy.

Keywords: blood glucose level, breath acetone concentration, diabetes, linear regression

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Authors: Abdul Wahid

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Inner speech, also known as verbal thinking, self-talk or private speech, is characterized by the subjective language experience in the absence of overt or audible speech. It is a psychological form of verbal activity which is being rehearsed without the articulation of any sound wave. In Psychology, self-limiting speech means the type of speech which contains information that inhibits the development of the self. People, in most cases, experience inner speech in their first language. It is very frequent in Bangladesh where the Bangla (L1) speaking students lose track of speech during their presentations in English (L2). This paper investigates into the long pauses (more than 0.4 seconds long) in English (L2) presentations by Bangla speaking students (18-21 year old) and finds the intervention of Bangla (L1) inner speech as one of its causes. The overt speeches of the presenters are placed on Audacity Audio Editing software where the length of pauses are measured in milliseconds. Varieties of inner speech questionnaire (VISQ) have been conducted randomly amongst the participants out of whom 20 were selected who have similar phenomenology of inner speech. They have been interviewed to describe the type and content of the voices that went on in their head during the long pauses. The qualitative interview data are then codified and converted into quantitative data. It was observed that in more than 80% cases students experience self-limiting inner speech/self-talk during their unwanted pauses in L2 presentations.

Keywords: Bangla-English Bilinguals, inner speech, L1 intervention in bilingualism, motor schema, pauses, phonological loop, phonological store, working memory

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Authors: Salwana Hassan, Rashidah Abdul Rahman

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Poverty in rural Malaysia remains unresolved and contribute 7.8% to the whole poverty figure in Malaysia. Among the rural folks, 50% is women. Thus, women, as the significant human capital to fight the long lost battle of poverty , is indispensable. This will also serve as an equal opportunity for women to play active and positive roles to develop the society that has been the tasks for men all this while. More importantly rural women folks have the potential to offer better quality of life for their family by providing extra income and monetary support whenever their husbands are not able to work. The reality in this, however, cannot be solved easily as there are many factors that stand in the way and prevent the resolutions to be observed.In this regard, this paper describes a model that has been used to resolve such issues in rural Malaysia. The model utilizes a synergetic effort between an academic institution, an NGO that govern the rural women folks and a private trading company that sell the finished product. The project was conducted in rural area of Selangor and has been in operations since the end of 2013. It shows positive outcome and could be used in other rural areas of Malaysia. The project captures the influence of the NGO programs upon rural women entrepreneurship and how a private trading company can facilitate to help develop a community. As a result the project reveals that self-income generating activities by entrepreneurship are the important contributing factor to empowering rural women folks in Malaysia.

Keywords: poverty, empowerment, rural, entrepreneurship, community

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Authors: Jalal Sharib@Sarip, Dainee nor Fardzila Ahmad Tugi, Mohd Tarmizi Ishak, Mohd Izwan Abdul Adziz

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This research paper aims to determine the rate of soil erosion and sedimentation by using Cesium-137,137Cs as a medium-term tracer in the Sembrong catchment, Malaysia, over two different study seasons. The results of the analysis show that rates of soil erosion and sedimentation for both seasons were variable. This can be clearly seen where the dry season only gives the value of the rate of soil erosion. Meanwhile, the wet season has given both soil erosion and sedimentation rate values. The dry season had rates of soil erosion between 5.09 t/ha/y to 51.03 t/ha/y. The wet season had soil erosion and sedimentation rates between 8.02 t/ha/y to 39.78 t/ha/y and -4.81 t/ha/y to - 50.81 t/ha/y, each, respectively. rubber and oil palm plantations referring to Station 17 and station 4/6, located near Semberong Lake and Sembrong River, had the highest rates of soil erosion and sedimentation at 51.03 t/ha/y and -50.81 t/ha/y, respectively. Various factors must also be taken into account, such as soil types, the total volume of rainfall received for both seasons, as well as differences in land use at the study stations. In conclusion, 137Cs as a medium-term tracer was successfully used to determine rates of soil erosion and sedimentation in two different seasons for the Sembrong catchment area. The data on soil erosion and sedimentation rates for this study will be very useful for present, and future land and water management in the Sembrong catchment area and may be compared with other similar catchments in Malaysia.

Keywords: soil erosion, sedimentation, cesium-137, catchment management

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Authors: Ghazi Faisal Najmuldeen, Ali Abdul Rahman–Al Ezzi, Tharmathas A/L Alagappan

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The aim of this investigation was to produce biofuel from castor oil through microwave assisted thermal cracking with zeolite ZSM-5 as catalyst. The obtained results showed that microwave assisted thermal cracking of castor oil with Zeolite ZSM-5 as catalyst generates products consisting of alcohol, methyl esters and fatty acids. The products obtained from this experimental procedure by the cracking of castor oil are components of biodiesel. Samples of cracked castor oil containing 1, 3 and 5wt % catalyst was analyzed, however, only the sample containing the 5wt % catalyst showed significant presence of condensate. FTIR and GCMS studies show that the condensate obtained is an unsaturated fatty acid, is 9, 12-octadecadienoic acid, suitable for biofuel use. 9, 12-octadecadienoic acid is an unsaturated fatty acid with a molecular weight of 280.445 g/mol. Characterization of the sample demonstrates that functional group for the products from the three samples display a similar peak in the FTIR graph analysis at 1700 cm-1 and 3600 cm-1. The result obtained from GCMS shows that there are 16 peaks obtained from the sample. The compound with the highest peak area is 9, 12-octadecadienoic acid with a retention time of 9.941 and 24.65 peak areas. All these compounds are organic material and can be characterized as biofuel and biodiesel.

Keywords: castor oil, biofuel, biodiesel, thermal cracking, microwave

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Authors: Ahmed Bahieldin, Ahmed Atef, Jamal S. M. Sabir, Nour O. Gadalla, Sherif Edris, Ahmed M. Alzohairy, Nezar A. Radhwan, Mohammed N. Baeshen, Ahmed M. Ramadan, Hala F. Eissa, Sabah M. Hassan, Nabih A. Baeshen, Osama Abuzinadah, Magdy A. Al-Kordy, Fotouh M. El-Domyati, Robert K. Jansen

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Wild salt-tolerant barley (Hordeum spontaneum) is the ancestor of cultivated barley (Hordeum vulgare or H. vulgare). Although the cultivated barley genome is well studied, little is known about genome structure and function of its wild ancestor. In the present study, RNA-Seq analysis was performed on young leaves of wild barley treated with salt (500 mM NaCl) at four different time intervals. Transcriptome sequencing yielded 103 to 115 million reads for all replicates of each treatment, corresponding to over 10 billion nucleotides per sample. Of the total reads, between 74.8 and 80.3% could be mapped and 77.4 to 81.7% of the transcripts were found in the H. vulgare unigene database (unigene-mapped). The unmapped wild barley reads for all treatments and replicates were assembled de novo and the resulting contigs were used as a new reference genome. This resultedin94.3 to 95.3%oftheunmapped reads mapping to the new reference. The number of differentially expressed transcripts was 9277, 3861 of which were uni gene-mapped. The annotated unigene- and de novo-mapped transcripts (5100) were utilized to generate expression clusters across time of salt stress treatment. Two-dimensional hierarchical clustering classified differential expression profiles into nine expression clusters, four of which were selected for further analysis. Differentially expressed transcripts were assigned to the main functional categories. The most important groups were ‘response to external stimulus’ and ‘electron-carrier activity’. Highly expressed transcripts are involved in several biological processes, including electron transport and exchanger mechanisms, flavonoid biosynthesis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging, ethylene production, signaling network and protein refolding. The comparisons demonstrated that mRNA-Seq is an efficient method for the analysis of differentially expressed genes and biological processes under salt stress.

Keywords: electron transport, flavonoid biosynthesis, reactive oxygen species, rnaseq

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Authors: Abdul Razzaq Azad, Muhammad Asad Razzaq

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The current study reveals that Muslim society losing their basics concepts of courtesy which are the part of Islam. It is known that Muslims played a key role for providing piece in society throughout the history. Humanities always accept the changes through time, ideologies, ethics and traditions, various religious changes, culture, social behaviors and social problems, attitudes, political situations, literature, historical stress, economic clashes, wars and daily routine’s life. It also observed that religious people have their mind set due to their different religious teachings. All the religions have their different religious teachings which have different approaches for their followers. All the religions have same lesson of peace and prosperity. After 09/11 the entire scenario changed, even tried to connect terrorism and extremism with Islam and Muslims. It created a gap among religions and there was not attempt to use for reducing that gap. There were many meetings called at different places of religious scholars in different countries, but not able to get acceptable results. It also created a gap within the country in different religious sects. In the last 15 years there were14000 people have been killed from different religious incidents and even in different sects’ activities. The current study based on survey from 25 Imams and 10 Khatibs from South Punjab. The results show that they knew the word interfaith harmony and the role of Imams and Khatibs for peace in the inter-religious societies.

Keywords: Islam, peace religion, terrorism, extremism, freedom, peace, prosperity and society

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Authors: K. Abdul Halim, E. L. Yong

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Palm oil industry is a major revenue earner in Malaysia, despite the growth of the industry is synonymous with a massive production of agro-industrial wastewater. Through the oil extraction processes, palm oil mill effluent (POME) contributes to the largest liquid wastes generated. Due to the high amount of organic compound, POME can cause inland water pollution if discharged untreated into the water course as well as affect the aquatic ecosystem. For more than 20 years, Malaysia adopted the conventional biological treatment known as lagoon system that apply biological treatment. Besides having difficulties in complying with the standard, a large build up area is needed and retention time is higher. Although anaerobic digester is more favorable, this process comes along with enormous volumes of sludge and methane gas, demanding attention from the mill operators. In order to reduce the sludge production, denitrifiers are to be removed first. Sulfate reducing bacteria has shown the capability to inhibit the growth of methanogens. This is expected to substantially reduce both the sludge and methane production in anaerobic digesters. In this paper, the effectiveness of sulfate reducing bacteria in minimizing sludge and methane will be examined.

Keywords: methane reduction, palm oil mill effluent, sludge minimization, sulfate reducing bacteria, sulfate reduction

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Authors: Ahmad Aroziki Abdul Aziz, Sakinah Mohd Alauddin, Ruzitah Mohd Salleh, Mohammed Iqbal Shueb

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This paper illustrates the effect of nano Magnesium Hydroxide (MH) loading on the thermal properties of Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)/ Poly (ethylene-co vinyl acetate)(EVA) nano composite. Thermal studies were conducted, as it understanding is vital for preliminary development of new polymeric systems. Thermal analysis of nano composite was conducted using thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Major finding of TGA indicated two main stages of degradation process found at (350 ± 25 oC) and (480 ± 25 oC) respectively. Nano metal filler expressed better fire resistance as it stand over high degree of temperature. Furthermore, DSC analysis provided a stable glass temperature around 51 (±1 oC) and captured double melting point at 84 (±2 oC) and 108 (±2 oC). This binary melting point reflects the modification of nano filler to the polymer matrix forming melting crystals of folded and extended chain. The percent crystallinity of the samples grew vividly with increasing filler content. Overall, increasing the filler loading improved the degradation temperature and weight loss evidently and a better process and phase stability was captured in DSC.

Keywords: thermal properties, nano MH, nano particles, cable and wire, LDPE/EVA

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Authors: Sami Ibrahim Jafar, Israa Abud Alkadir, Samah Abdul Kareem Khashin

Abstract:

The aim of this work is to assess the influence of tensile pre-stresses on the microstructure and corrosion behavior of the AISI304 stainless steel in 1N H2SO4 austenitic stainless steel. Samples of this stainless steel either with pre-stresses, corresponding to [255, 305, 355, 405, 455, 505, 555, 605 and σf] MPa induced by tensile tests, or without pre-stresses (as received), were characterized regarding their microstructure to investigate the pre-tensile stress effects on the corrosion behavior. The results showed that the corrosion rate of elastic pre-stresses 304 stainless steel was very little increased compared with that of as received specimens. The corrosion rate increases after applying pre-stress between (σ255 - σ 455) MPa. The microstructure showed that the austenitic grains begin to deform in the direction of applied pre-stresses. The maximum hardness at this region was (229.2) Hv, but at higher pre-stress (σ455 – σ 605) MPa unanticipated occurrence, the corrosion rate decreases. The microstructure inspection shows the deformed austenitic grain and ά-martensitic phase needle are appeared inside austenitic grains and the hardness reached the maximum value (332.433) Hv. The results showed that the corrosion rate increases at the values of pre-stresses between (σ605 – σf) MPa., which is inspected the result. The necking of gauge length of specimens occurs in specimens and this leads to deterioration in original properties and the corrosion rate reaches the maximum value.

Keywords: tensile pre-stresses, corrosion rate, austenitic stainless steel, hardness

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Authors: Zuhairah Abdul Hadi, Mohd Nazir bin Md. Zabit, Zuriadah Ismail

Abstract:

Metacognitive has been empirically evidenced to be one important element influencing learning outcomes. Expert learners engage in metacognition by monitoring and controlling their thinking, and listing, considering and selecting the best strategies to achieve desired goals. Studies also found that good critical thinkers engage in more metacognition and people tend to activate more metacognition when solving complex problems. This study extends past studies by performing a qualitative analysis to understand metacognitive patterns among two high and two low performing groups by carefully examining video and audio records taken during Problem-based learning activities. High performing groups are groups with majority members scored well in Watson Glaser II Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA II) and academic achievement tests. Low performing groups are groups with majority members fail to perform in the two tests. Audio records are transcribed and analyzed using schemas adopted from past studies. Metacognitive statements are analyzed using three stages model and patterns of metacognitive are described by contexts, components, and levels for each high and low performing groups.

Keywords: academic achievement, critical thinking, metacognitive, problem-based learning

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Authors: Muhammad Waqar Aziz, Syed Abdul Baqi Shah

Abstract:

The execution time analysis is fundamental to the successful design and execution of real-time embedded software. In such analysis, the Worst-Case Execution Time (WCET) of a program is a key measure, on the basis of which system tasks are scheduled. The WCET analysis of embedded software is also needed for system understanding and to guarantee its behavior. WCET analysis can be performed statically (without executing the program) or dynamically (through measurement). Traditionally, research on the WCET analysis assumes sequential code running on single-core platforms. However, as computation is steadily moving towards using a combination of parallel programs and multi-core hardware, new challenges in WCET analysis need to be addressed. In this article, we report our experiences of performing the WCET analysis of Parallel Embedded Software (PES) running on multi-core platform. The primary purpose was to investigate how WCET estimates of PES can be computed statically, and how they can be derived dynamically. Our experiences, as reported in this article, include the challenges we faced, possible suggestions to these challenges and the workarounds that were developed. This article also provides observations on the benefits and drawbacks of deriving the WCET estimates using the said methods and provides useful recommendations for further research in this area.

Keywords: embedded software, worst-case execution-time analysis, static flow analysis, measurement-based analysis, parallel computing

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Authors: Fatin H. Mohamad, Jia H. Wong, Muhammad Bilal, Abdul A. Mohamed Yusoff, Jafri M. Abdullah, Jingli Zhang

Abstract:

Kv1.4 is a Shaker-related member of voltage-gated potassium channel which can be associated with cardiac action potential but can also be found in Schaffer collateral and dentate gyrus. It has two inactivation mechanisms; the fast N-type and slow C-type. Kv1.4 produces rapid current inactivation. This A type potential of Kv1.4 makes it as a target in antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) selection. In this study, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, which can be naturally found in bamboo shoots, were tested on its enhancement effect on potassium current of Kv1.4 channel expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes using the two-microelectrode voltage clamp method. Current obtained were recorded and analyzed with pClamp software whereas statistical analysis were done by student t-test. The ratio of final / peak amplitude is an index of the activity of the Kv1.4 channel. The less the ratio, the greater the function of Kv1.4. The decrease of ratio of which by 1µM 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (n= 7), compared with 0.1% DMSO (vehicle), was mean= 47.62%, SE= 13.76%, P= 0.026 (statistically significant). It indicated more opening of Kv1.4 channels under 4-hydroxybenzoic acid. In conclusion, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid can enhance the function of Kv1.4 potassium channels, which is regarded as one of the mechanisms of antiepileptic treatment.

Keywords: antiepileptic, Kv1.4 potassium channel, two-microelectrode voltage clamp, Xenopus laevis oocytes, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid

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Authors: Steffy Maria Joseph, Abdu Rahiman V, Abdul Hameed K. M.

Abstract:

Online handwritten character recognition is a challenging field in Artificial Intelligence. The classification success rate of current techniques decreases when the dataset involves similarity and complexity in stroke styles, number of strokes and stroke characteristics variations. Malayalam is a complex south indian language spoken by about 35 million people especially in Kerala and Lakshadweep islands. In this paper, we consider the significant feature extraction for the similar stroke styles of Malayalam. This extracted feature set are suitable for the recognition of other handwritten south indian languages like Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. A classification scheme based on support vector machines (SVM) is proposed to improve the accuracy in classification and recognition of online malayalam handwritten characters. SVM Classifiers are the best for real world applications. The contribution of various features towards the accuracy in recognition is analysed. Performance for different kernels of SVM are also studied. A graphical user interface has developed for reading and displaying the character. Different writing styles are taken for each of the 44 alphabets. Various features are extracted and used for classification after the preprocessing of input data samples. Highest recognition accuracy of 97% is obtained experimentally at the best feature combination with polynomial kernel in SVM.

Keywords: SVM, matlab, malayalam, South Indian scripts, onlinehandwritten character recognition

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Authors: Raees Khan, Sheikh Z. Ul Abidin, Abdul S. Mumtaz, Jie Liu

Abstract:

The present study is intended to assess gymnosperms pollen flora of Pakistan using Light Microscope (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for its taxonomic significance in identification of gymnosperms. Pollens of 35 gymnosperm species (12 genera and five families) were collected from its various distributional sites of gymnosperms in Pakistan. LM and SEM were used to investigate different palyno-morphological characteristics. Five pollen types (i.e., Inaperturate, Monolete, Monoporate, Vesiculate-bisaccate, and Polyplicate) were observed. In equatorial view seven types of pollens were observed, in which ten species were sub-angular, nine species were triangular, six species were perprolate, three species were rhomboidal, three species were semi-angular, two species were rectangular and two species were prolate. While five types of pollen were observed in polar view, in which ten species were spheroidal, nine species were angular, eight were interlobate, six species were circular, and two species were elliptic. Eighteen species have rugulate and 17 species has faveolate ornamentation. Eighteen species have verrucate and 17 have gemmate type sculpturing. The data was analysed through cluster analysis. The study showed that these palyno-morphological features have significance value in classification and identification of gymnosperms. Based on these different palyno-morphological features, a taxonomic key was proposed for the accurate and fast identifications of gymnosperms from Pakistan.

Keywords: gymnosperms, palynology, Pakistan, taxonomy

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