Search results for: Ameen Ullah

Authors: Tahira Imtiaz, Karim Ullah

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This paper aims to incorporate the banks employees’ perspective on acceptability of Islamic banking by the customers of Peshawar. A qualitative approach is adopted for which six in-depth interviews with employees of Islamic banks are conducted. The employees were asked to share their experience regarding customers’ acceptance attitude towards acceptability of Islamic banking. Collected data was analyzed through thematic analysis technique and its synthesis with the current literature. Through data analysis a theoretical framework is developed, which highlights the factors which drive customers towards Islamic banking, as witnessed by the employees. The practical implication of analyzed data evident that a new model could be developed on the basis of four determinants of human preference namely: inner satisfaction, time, faith and market forces.

Keywords: customers’ attraction, employees’ perspective, Islamic banking, Riba

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Authors: Irfan Ullah Munir, Shen Yue, Muhammad Shahzad Ijaz, Saad Hussain, Syeda Yumna Zaidi

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Financial literacy is fundamental to every decision-making process and has received attention from researchers, regulatory bodies and policy makers in the recent past. This study is an attempt to evaluate financial literacy in an emerging economy, particularly Pakistan, and its influence on people's stock market participation. Data of this study was collected through a structured questionnaire from a sample of 300 respondents. EFA is used to check the convergent and discriminant validity. Data is analyzed using Hayes (2013) approach. A set of demographic control variables that have passed the mean difference test is used. We demonstrate that participants with financial literacy tend to invest more in the stock market. We also find that association among financial literacy and participation in stock market gets moderated by gender.

Keywords: Financial literacy, Stock market participation, Gender, PSX

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Authors: Maryam Zahedifard, Fadhil Lafta Faraj, Nazia Abdul Majid, Hapipah Mohd Ali, Mahmood Ameen Abdulla

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The new quinazoline Schiff bases have been synthesized through condensation reaction of 2-aminobenzhydrazide with 5-bromosalicylaldehyde and 3-methoxy-5-bromosalicylaldehyde. The compound was investigated for anticancer activity against MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line. It demonstrated a remarkable antiproliferative effect, with an IC50 value of 3.41±0.34, after 72 hours of treatment. Most apoptosis morphological features in treated MCF-7 cells were observed by AO/PI staining. The results of cell cycle analysis indicate that compounds did not induce S and M phase arrest in cell after 24 hours of treatment. Furthermore, MCF-7 cells treated with compound subjected to apoptosis death, as exhibited by perturbation of mitochondrial membrane potential and cytochrome C release as well as increase in ROS generation. We also found activation of caspases 3/7 and -9. Moreover, acute toxicity results demonstrated the nontoxic nature of the compounds in mice. Our results showed the selected compound significantly induce apoptosis in MCF-7 cells via intrinsic pathway, which might be considered as a potential candidate for further in vivo and clinical breast cancer studies.

Keywords: quinazoline Schiff base, apoptosis, MCF-7, caspase, cell cycle, acute toxicity

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Authors: Muhammad A. Nadeem, Shaheed Ullah

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The article reports the synthesis of Cr2O3/C nanocomposites obtained by the direct carbonization of PFA/MIL-101(Cr) bulk composite. The nanocomposites were characterized by various instrumental techniques like powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and the surface characterized were investigated via N2 adsorption/desorption analysis. TEM and SAED analysis shows that turbostatic graphitic carbon was obtained with high crystallinity. The nanocomposites were tested for electrochemical supercapacitor and the faradic and non-Faradic processes were checked through cyclic voltammetry (CV). The maximum specific capacitance calculated for Cr2O3/C 900 sample from CV measurement is 301 F g-1 at 2 mV s-1 due to its maximum charge storing capacity as confirm by frequency response analysis.

Keywords: nanocomposites, transmission electron microscopy, non-faradic process

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Authors: Wadea Ameen, Abdulrahman Al-Ahmari, Osama Abdulhameed

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Electron beam melting (EBM) is one of the modern additive manufacturing (AM) technologies. In EBM, the electron beam melts metal powder into a fully solid part layer by layer. Since EBM is a new technology, most designers are unaware of the capabilities and the limitations of EBM technology. Also, many engineers are facing many challenges to utilize the technology because of a lack of design rules for the technology. The aim of this study is to identify the capabilities and the limitations of EBM technology in fabrication of small features and overhang structures and develop a design rules that need to be considered by designers and engineers. In order to achieve this objective, a series of experiments are conducted. Several features having varying sizes were designed, fabricated, and evaluated to determine their manufacturability limits. In general, the results showed the capabilities and limitations of the EBM technology in fabrication of the small size features and the overhang structures. In the end, the results of these investigation experiments are used to develop design rules. Also, the results showed the importance of developing design rules for AM technologies in increasing the utilization of these technologies.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, design for additive manufacturing, electron beam melting, self-supporting overhang

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Authors: M. Mohemmed Sha Mohamed Kunju, Abdalla A. Al-Ameen Abdurahman, T. Manesh Thankappan, A. Mohamed Mustaq Ahmed Hameed

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Web service composition is an effective approach to complete the web based tasks with desired quality. A single web service with limited functionality is inadequate to execute a specific task with series of action. So, it is very much required to combine multiple web services with different functionalities to reach the target. Also, it will become more and more challenging, when these services are from different providers with identical functionalities and varying QoS, so while composing the web services, the overall QoS is considered to be the major factor. Also, it is not true that the expected QoS is always attained when the task is completed. A single web service in the composed chain may affect the overall performance of the task. So care should be taken in different aspects such as functionality of the service, while composition. Dynamic and automatic service composition is one of the main option available. But to achieve the actual functionality of the task, quality of the individual web services are also important. Normally the QoS of the individual service can be evaluated by using the non-functional parameters such as response time, throughput, reliability, availability, etc. At the same time, the QoS is not needed to be at the same level for all the composed services. So this paper proposes a framework that allows composing the services in terms of QoS by setting the appropriate weight to the non-functional parameters of each individual web service involved in the task. Experimental results show that the importance given to the non-functional parameter while composition will definitely improve the performance of the web services.

Keywords: composition, non-functional parameters, quality of service, web service

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Authors: Rayan B. M. Ameen, Ian P. Jones, Yu Lung Chiu

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Single alpha-beta colony micro-pillars have been manufactured from a polycrystalline commercial Ti-6Al-4V sample using Focused Ion Beam (FIB). Each pillar contained two alpha lamellae separated by a thin fillet of beta phase. A nano-indenter was then used to conduct uniaxial micro-compression tests on Ti alloy single crystals, using a diamond flat tip as a compression platen. By controlling the crystal orientation along the micro-pillar using Electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD) different slip systems have been selectively activated. The advantage of the micro-compression method over conventional mechanical testing techniques is the ability to localize a single crystal volume which is characterizable after deformation. By matching the stress-strain relations resulting from micro-compression experiments to TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) studies of slip transmission mechanisms through the α-β interfaces, some proper constitutive material parameters such as the role of these interfaces in determining yield, strain-hardening behaviour, initial dislocation density and the critical resolved shear stress are suggested.

Keywords: α/β-Ti alloy, focused ion beam, micro-mechanical test, nano-indentation, transmission electron diffraction, plastic flow

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Authors: Siddeeq Y. Ameen, Mohammed K. Yousif

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Cooperative communication systems are considered to be a promising technology to improve the system capacity, reliability and performances over fading wireless channels. Cooperative relaying system with a single antenna will be able to reach the advantages of multiple antenna communication systems. It is ideally suitable for the distributed communication systems; the relays can cooperate and form virtual MIMO systems. Thus the paper will aim to investigate the possible enhancement of cooperated system using decode and forward protocol. On decode and forward an attempt to cancel or at least reduce the interference instead of increasing the SNR values is achieved. The latter can be achieved via the use group of relays depending on the channel status from source to relay and relay to destination respectively. In the proposed system, the transmission time has been divided into two phases to be used by decode and forward protocol. The first phase has been allocated for the source to transmit its data whereas the relays and destination nodes are in receiving mode. On the other hand, the second phase is allocated for the first and second groups of relay nodes to relay the data to the destination node. Simulations results have shown an improvement in performance is achieved compared to the conventional decode and forward in terms of BER and transmission rate.

Keywords: cooperative systems, decode and forward, interference cancellation, virtual MIMO

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Authors: Arman Ameen, Mathias Cehlin

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The use of Building Energy Simulation (BES) software has increased in the last two decades, parallel to the development of increased computing power and easy to use software applications. This type of software is primarily used to simulate the energy use and the indoor environment for a building. The rapid development of these types of software has raised their level of user-friendliness, better parameter input options and the increased possibility of analysis, both for a single building component or an entire building. This, in turn, has led to many researchers utilizing BES software in their research in various degrees. The aim of this paper is to carry out a literature review concerning the use of the BES software IDA Indoor Climate and Energy (IDA ICE) in the scientific community. The focus of this paper will be specifically the use of the software for whole building energy simulation, number and types of articles and publications dates, the area of application, types of parameters used, the location of the studied building, type of building, type of analysis and solution methodology. Another aspect that is examined, which is of great interest, is the method of validations regarding the simulation results. The results show that there is an upgoing trend in the use of IDA ICE and that researchers use the software in their research in various degrees depending on case and aim of their research. The satisfactory level of validation of the simulations carried out in these articles varies depending on the type of article and type of analysis.

Keywords: building simulation, IDA ICE, literature review, validation

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Authors: Muhammad Bilal Ameen, M. Zubair Akbar Qureshi

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The current investigation of two-dimensional hybrid nanofluid flows with two coaxial parallel disks has been presented. Consider the hybrid nanofluid has been taken as steady-state. Consider the coaxial disks that have been porous. Consider the heat equation to examine joule heating and viscous dissipation effects. Nonlinear partial differential equations have been solved numerically. For shear stress and heat transfer, results are tabulated. Hybrid nanoparticles and Eckert numbers are increasing for heat transfer. Entropy generation is expanded with radiation parameters Eckert, Reynold, Prandtl, and Peclet numbers. A set of ordinary differential equations is obtained to utilize the capable transformation variables. The numerical solution of the continuity, momentum, energy, and entropy generation equations is obtaining using the command bvp4c of Matlab as a solver. To explore the impact of main parameters like suction/infusion, Prandtl, Reynold, Eckert, Peclet number, and volume fraction parameters, various graphs have been plotted and examined. It is concluded that a convectional nanofluid is highly compared by entropy generation with the boundary layer of hybrid nanofluid.

Keywords: entropy generation, hybrid nano fluid, heat transfer, porous disks

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Authors: Ijaz Ahmed Khan, Zaheen Ullah, Rahamdad, Gul Hassan

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A field experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Station Ahmad Wala, Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province during rabi season of 2010-011 to study the effect of different weed management practices on weed control in chickpea under field conditions. The results revealed that treatments showed significant influence on weed density, seed yield kg ha-1 and other growth parameters. Significantly lower weed density (98 m-2) was recorded with the application of Isoproturon 500 EW as compared to control plots having 368.3 weeds m-2. Moreover, significantly highest seed yield (1583.3 kg ha-1) was produced in the plots assigned with Isoproturon 500 EW followed by Eucalyptus extract that produce seed yield of 1416.7 kg ha-1. It was concluded from the study that Isoproturon 500 EW is the best option for controlling weeds and increase the seed yield kg ha-1 of chickpea.

Keywords: chickpea, herbicides, weed control, weeds extracts

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Authors: Muhammad Usman Ghani

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Religious tolerance is essential for the establishment of peace in the world. In the system created by Almighty Allah where a lot of diversity is found, still, this world holds unity itself. In today's world, human beings have been divided into clashes of civilizations or divided on the basis of religions or lingual differences. A religious scholar of Indo- Pak subcontinent describes four ethics, on the basis of which all religions of the world can unite. He says in his philosophy of religion that, there is a number of elements common in all religions but four are very common and they are: cleanliness, nobel deeds, relation to Almighty (existence of Almighty) and justice. He says that this universe also holds its integrity in itself. All humans are different in their attributes but to be a human being is common in them. Similarly, all species of the universe are different in their nature, but to be the creature of God is commonly shared by all of them.

Keywords: inter-religious relation, peace and harmony, unity, four common ethics/virtues

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Authors: Yameen Ahmed, Jamshid Hussain, Farman Ullah, Sohaib Asif

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The investigation aims at the synthesis of copper oxide and cobalt oxide nanoparticles using Spinacia oleracea leaf extract. These nanoparticles have many properties and applications. They possess antimicrobial catalytic properties and also they can be used in energy storage materials, gas sensors, etc. The Spinacia oleracea leaf extract behaves as a reducing agent in nanoparticle synthesis. The plant extract was first prepared and then treated with copper and cobalt salt solutions to get the precipitate. The salt solutions used for this purpose are copper sulfate pentahydrate (CuSO₄.5H₂O) and cobalt chloride hexahydrate (CoCl₂.6H₂O). The UV-Vis, XRD, EDX, and SEM techniques are used to find the optical, structural, and morphological properties of copper oxide and cobalt oxide nanoparticles. The UV absorption peaks are at 326 nm and 506 nm for copper oxide and cobalt oxide nanoparticles.

Keywords: cobalt oxide, copper oxide, green synthesis, nanoparticles

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Authors: Sajid Ali Khan, Karim Ullah, Usman Ghani

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Community participation is the collaboration of project beneficiaries; voluntarily or because of some incentives or persuasion agree to put effort and work with development projects. Sustainability of projects is the ability to maintain its services, operations, and other benefits during its anticipated time. This study investigated the dynamics of community participation and its contribution to the sustainability of projects. In multiple case-study designs with semi-structured questionnaires and interviews, this study analyzes community participation with the help of individual case analysis followed by cross-case analysis in the RAHA & CDLD developmental project. Finally, the study outcomes are linked with the specified literature in order to comprehend the phenomena. The findings of the study suggest an Analytical framework developed by the current study covering different barriers and enablers to community participation and its implications.

Keywords: community participation, enablers, barriers, project sustainability

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Authors: Shafqat Ullah Khan, Ammar Nasir

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Using planar antenna array (PAA) in radars, Broadcasting, satellite antennas, and sonar for the detection of targets, Helps provide instant beam pattern control. High flexibility and Adaptability are achieved by multiple beam steering by using a Planar array and are particularly needed in real-life Sanrio’s where the need arises for several high-directivity beams. Faulty sensors in planar arrays generate asymmetry, which leads to service degradation, radiation pattern distortion, and increased levels of sidelobe. The POA, a nature-inspired optimization algorithm, accurately determines faulty sensors within an array, enhancing the reliability and performance of planar array antennas through extensive simulations and experiments. The analysis was done for different types of faults in 7 x 7 and 8 x 8 planar arrays in MATLAB.

Keywords: Planar antenna array, , Pelican optimisation Algorithm, , Faculty sensor, Antenna arrays

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Authors: Sajidullah Khan, Najeeb Ullah, Wang Yin Chai, Chai Soo See

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In this paper, we propose an approach to remove impulse and Poisson noise from X-ray images. Many filters have been used for impulse noise removal from color and gray scale images with their own strengths and weaknesses but X-ray images contain Poisson noise and unfortunately there is no intelligent filter which can detect impulse and Poisson noise from X-ray images. Our proposed filter uses the upgraded layer discrimination approach to detect both Impulse and Poisson noise corrupted pixels in X-ray images and then restores only those detected pixels with a simple efficient and reliable one line equation. Our Proposed algorithms are very effective and much more efficient than all existing filters used only for Impulse noise removal. The proposed method uses a new powerful and efficient noise detection method to determine whether the pixel under observation is corrupted or noise free. Results from computer simulations are used to demonstrate pleasing performance of our proposed method.

Keywords: X-ray image de-noising, impulse noise, poisson noise, PRWF

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Authors: Beenish Urooj, Ubaid Ullah, Sidra Riasat

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National Testing Service-Pakistan (NTS) is an agency in Pakistan that conducts student success appraisal examinations. In this research paper, we must present a security model for the NTS organization. The security model will depict certain security countermeasures for a better defense against certain types of breaches and system malware. We will provide a security roadmap, which will help the company to execute its further goals to maintain security standards and policies. We also covered multiple aspects in securing the environment of the organization. We introduced the processes, architecture, data classification, auditing approaches, survey responses, data handling, and also training and awareness of risk for the company. The primary contribution is the Risk Survey, based on the maturity model meant to assess and examine employee training and knowledge of risks in the company's activities.

Keywords: NTS, risk assessment, threat factors, security, services

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Authors: Sirajoddeen Al-Ameen

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Researchers seek to introduce development leading to technologies that address environmental problems and learn how to interact with stakeholders, managers, and policymakers for appropriate actions. One of the greatest strategies that African countries need to consider in realizing sustainable development is effective, efficient, credible, and lasting environmental sustainability and ensuring that future generations have access to natural resources to live in a better way. Therefore the coordinated set of participatory and continuously improving processes of analysis, capacity, planning, and investment seeks to integrate the social and environmental objectives of society, and this is not given priority in Nigeria. Environmental sustainability is a field where people can understand the natural environment and public works for sustainable development. Sustainable development requires shifts from ordinary ways of doing things to modern ways of executing activities ranging from low to high productivity, the creation and adoption of new strategies, new skills, and knowledge. It ensures a developed world with a secure and healthy environment for all; human beings, animals, and plants alike. This paper is to carry out a review of various literature sources to ascertain the potential strategy of environment and sustainable development reform using the content analysis method to discuss the environmental strategies towards sustainable development in Nigeria. The objective of this paper is to enable Nigerians to understand and have an orientation on how to manage environmental resources and avoid environmental impact on the ecosystem, and also to find sustainable solutions for environmental issues without compromising economic development.

Keywords: development, environment, strategies, sustainable

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Authors: Naser Ojaroudi Parchin, Atta Ullah, Haleh Jahanbakhsh Basherlou, Raed A. Abd-Alhameed, Peter S. Excell

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A design of beam-steerable antenna array for the future cellular communication (5G) is presented. The proposed design contains eight elements of compact end-fire antennas arranged on the top edge of smartphone printed circuit board (PCB). Configuration of the antenna element consists of the conductive patterns on the top and bottom copper foil layers and a substrate layer with a via-hole. The simulated results including input-impedance and also fundamental radiation properties have been presented and discussed. The impedance bandwidth (S₁₁ ≤ -10 dB) of the antenna spans from 17.5 to 21 GHz (more than 3 GHz bandwidth) with a resonance at 19 GHz. The antenna exhibits end-fire (directional) radiation beams with wide-angle scanning property and could be used for the future 5G beam-forming. Furthermore, the characteristics of the array design in the vicinity of user-hand are studied.

Keywords: beam-steering, end-fire radiation mode, mobile-phone antenna, phased array

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Authors: Mohammad Anwar, Hamid Ullah Khan, Shah Waliullah

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Recently, environmental education is an essential element in avoiding environmental degradation around the globe that needs new articles and policymakers’ emphasis. Hence, the present article examines the impact of environmental education on environmental knowledge, environmental behavior, and environmental attitudes in Indonesia. The present research also investigated the moderating role of government support in environmental education, environmental knowledge, environmental behavior, and environmental attitude in Indonesia. A questionnaire was used as the primary data collection method. The smart PLS was utilized to test the association among variables and the hypotheses of the study. The results revealed that environmental education had a significant and positive linkage with environmental knowledge, environmental behavior, and environmental attitude in Indonesia. The findings also exposed that government support significantly moderated environmental education, environmental knowledge, and environmental behavior in Indonesia. The findings of this research would provide help to the policymakers in establishing the policies related to environmental education and reducing environmental degradation.

Keywords: environmental education, environmental knowledge, environmental behavior, environmental attitude, government support

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Authors: Saeed Ullah Jan, Shafaq, Sumbul

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Anxiety is one of the most common emotions and is a normal reaction to danger or a threat. It is a normal reaction to stress and can be beneficial in some situations. It can alert us to dangers and help us prepare and pay attention. The prime aim of this study was to examine the level of anxiety of Library and Information Science students at the Department of Library and Information Science, Khushal Khan Khattak University Karak. A survey method was used for the completion of this study. The response of male respondents was better than female LIS students at the Department of Library and Information Science, Khushal Khan Khattak University Karak. The librarians should have to focus on the information needs of the university students. Special training needs to be arranged for female students to improve their library usage and readership rate.

Keywords: library-anxiety, library anxiety-students, library anxiety -students-Pakistan, stress

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Authors: Hizb Ullah Sajid, Muhammad Ashraf, Naveed Ahmad Qaisar Ali, Sikandar Hayat Sajid

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This research study investigates experimentally the effects of flanges (transverse walls) on the lateral in-plane response of brick masonry walls. The experimental work included lateral in-plane quasi-static cyclic tests on full-scale walls (both with & without flanges). The flanges were introduced at both ends of the in-plane wall. In particular the damage mechanism, lateral in-plane stiffness & strength, deformability and energy dissipation of the two classes of walls are compared and the differences are quantified to help understand the effects of flanges on the in-plane response of masonry walls. The available analytical models for the in-plane shear strength & deformation evaluation of masonry walls are critically analyzed. Recommendations are made for the lateral in-plane capacity assessment of brick masonry walls including the contribution of transverse walls.

Keywords: brick masonry, damage mechanism, flanges effects, in-plane response

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Authors: Kiran Shehzadi, Yasmeen Akhtar, Mujahid Ameen, Tabinda Ijaz, Shoukat Siddique

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Nanoparticles, due to their different sizes and morphologies, are employed in various fields such as the medical field, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, textile industry as well as in paints, adhesives, and electronics. Metal nanoparticles exhibit excellent antimicrobial activity, dye degradation and can be used as anti-cancerous drug loading agents. In this study, sZilver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) were synthesized employing doxycycline (antibiotic) as a reducing and capping agent (biological/green synthesis). Produced Ag-NPS were characterized using UV/VIS spectrophotometry, XRD, SEM, and FTIR. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of silver nanoparticles was observed at 411nm with 90nm size with homogenized spherical shape. These particles revealed good inhibition zones for Fungi such as Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis. In this study, toxic properties of Ag-NPs were monitored by allowing them to penetrate in the cell, causing an abrupt increase in oxidative stress, which resulted ultimately in cell death. Histopathological analysis of mice organs was performed by administering definite concentrations of silver nanoparticles orally to mice for 14 days. Toxic properties were determined, and it was revealed that the toxicity of silver nanoparticles mainly depends on the size. Silver nanoparticles of this work presented mild toxicity for different organs (liver, kidney, spleen, heart, and stomach) of mice.

Keywords: metal nanoparticles, green/biological methods, toxicity, Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis

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Authors: Kaleem Ullah, Abd Halid Bin Abdullah

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This study examines previous literature on cost overrun in construction projects with the specific aim of determining the frequently observed causes of cost overruns in Malaysian construction projects. Cost overrun is one of the major problems in construction projects. Cost overrun is frequently observed in almost every construction projects. This cost overrun in construction projects occurs due to various reasons and many researchers have carried out various studies to identify the cause factors of this issue. The causes of construction cost overrun could vary from country to country because of the difference in political, economic, social and environmental conditions. Likewise, other countries construction projects in Malaysia have also the issue of cost overrun. The concept of cost overrun in construction projects has attracted much attention in recent years and researches are trying to understand the causes of these overruns and their effects to the construction industry as whole. This paper review various research studies carried out in Malaysia which surveyed the cost performance and cause factors of cost overruns in construction projects in Malaysia.

Keywords: cause of cost overrun, cost overrun, construction industry in Malaysia, effects of cost overrun

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Authors: Maryam Zahedifard, Fadhil Lafta Faraj, Maryam Hajrezaie, Nazia Abdul Majid, Mahmood Ameen Abdulla, Hapipah Mohd Ali

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In the current study, we prepared two new quinazoline schiff bases through condensation reaction of 2-aminobenzhydrazide with 5-bromosalicylaldehyde and 3-methoxy-5-bromosalicylaldehyde. The chemical structures of both newly synthesized compounds (1 and 2) were confirmed by FT-IR and X-ray crystallography studies. The cytotoxic effect of compounds was investigated against MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. MTT results showed that (1) and (2) decreased the viability of MCF-7 cells in a time-dependent manner, exhibiting an IC50 value of 3.23 ± 0.28 µg/mL and 3.41 ± 0.34 µg/mL, respectively, after a 72-hours treatment period. In contrast, they did not show significant anti-proliferative effect towards MCF-10A normal breast cells and WRL-68 normal liver cells. We found a perturbation in mitochondrial membrane potential and increased cytochrome c release from the mitochondria to the cytosol, suggesting an activation of apoptosis by compounds, which was confirmed by activation of the initiator caspase-9 and the executioner caspases-3/7. (1) was also able to trigger extrinsic pathway via activation of caspase-8 and inhibition of NF-κB translocation. The acute toxicity test showed no toxicity effect of the compounds in rats. Our results showed that the selected synthesized compounds are highly potent to induce apoptosis in MCF-7 cells via either intrinsic or extrinsic mitochondrial pathway.

Keywords: Quinazoline Schiff base, apoptosis, MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line, caspase, NF-κB translocation

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Authors: Shakir Ullah

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This article reviews social science understanding to explore the challenges megaprojects face before and after implementation. It also sheds light on the problems directly and indirectly caused by mega development projects in the project implemented areas. By Using a qualitative approach such as thematic analysis, the article uses recent literature such as published articles, government reports, and books to cite examples of different mega projects worldwide. The study report that mega development projects are a necessary element of the modern-day infrastructural development process as they represent the perfect example of urban socioeconomic development. They are introduced and implemented by multinational companies with the support of state authorities to produce the common good. However, they are not devoid of their critical challenges and bring implicit and explicit problems to the targeted localities. The article takes insights from social science research for suggestions on how to reduce the challenges faced by project implementers and problems received by local people due to the fault lines of such projects.

Keywords: development, mega-projects, challenges, problems

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Authors: M. Nazim, S. Ameen, H. K. Seo, H. S. Shin

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Energy is the basis of life and strong attention has been growing for the cost-effective energy production. Recently, solution-processed small molecule organic solar cells (SMOSCs) have grown much attention due to the wages such as well-defined molecular structures, definite molecular weight, easy synthesis and easy purification techniques. In particular, the size of donor (D) and acceptor (A) unit is a crucial factor for the exciton-diffusion towards D-A interface and then charge-separation for the effective charge-transport to the electrodes. Furan-bridged materials are more electron-rich, high fluorescence, with better molecular-packing, and greater rigidity and greater solubility than their thiophene-counterparts In this work, a furan-bridged thiazolo[5,4-d]thiazole based organic small molecule (RFTzR) was formulated and applied for BHJ organic solar cells (OSCs). The introduction of furan spacer with two terminal alkyl units improved its absorption and solubility in the common organic solvents, significantly. RFTzR exhibited a HOMO and LUMO energy levels of -5.36 eV and -3.14 eV, respectively. The fabricated solar cell devices of RFTzR (donor) with PC60BM (acceptor) as photoactive materials showed high performance of 2.72% (RFTzR:PC60BM, 2:1, w/w) ratio with open-circuit voltage of 0.756 V and high photocurrent density of 10.13 mA/cm².

Keywords: chromophore, organic solar cells, photoactive materials, small molecule

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Authors: N. Ullah, A. Haddad, F. Van Der Linde

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This paper investigates the effects of breaks in bonds, breaks in the earthing system and breaks in earth wire on the rise of the earth potential (EPR) in a substation and at the transmission tower bases using various models of an L6 tower. Different approaches were adopted to examine the integrity of the earthing system and the terminal towers. These effects were investigated to see the associated difference in the EPR magnitudes with respect to a healthy system at various locations. Comparisons of the computed EPR magnitudes were then made between the healthy and unhealthy system to detect any difference. The studies were conducted at power frequency for a uniform soil with different soil resistivities. It was found that full breaks in the double bond of the terminal towers increase the EPR significantly at the fault location, while they reduce EPR at the terminal tower bases. A fault on the isolated section of the grid can result in EPR values up to 8 times of those on a healthy system at higher soil resistivities, provided that the extended earthing system stays connected to the grid.

Keywords: bonding, earthing, EPR, integrity, system

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Authors: Fuad Ameen, Ali A. Al-Homaidan

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Biochar can be used in numerous biotechnological applications due to its properties to adsorb beneficial nutrients and harmful pollutants. Objectives: We aimed to treat heavy metal polluted organic wastes using vermicomposting process and produce a fertilizer that can be used in agriculture. We improved the process by adding biochar as well as microbial inoculum and biomass into household waste or sewage sludge before vermicomposting. The earthworm Eisenia fetida used in vermicomposting was included to accumulate heavy metals, biochar to adsorb heavy metals, and the microalga Navicula sp. or the mangrove fungus Acrophialophora sp. to promote plant growth in the final product used as a seedbed for Solanaceae vegetables. We carried out vermicomposting treatments to see the effect of different amendments. Final compost quality was analyzed for maturity. The earthworms were studied for their vitality, heavy metal accumulation, and metallothionein protein content to verify their role in the process. The compost was used as a seedbed for vegetables that were inoculated with a phytopathogen Pythium sp. known to cause root rot and destroy seeds. Compost as seedbed promoted plant growth and reduced disease symptoms in leaves. In the treatment where E. fetida, 6% biochar, and Navicula sp. had been added, 90% of the seeds germinated, while less than 20% germinated in the control treatment. The experimental plants had acquired resistance against Pythium sp. The metagenomic profile of microbial communities will be reported.

Keywords: organic wastes, vermicomposting process, biochar, mangrove fungus

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Authors: Maryam Hajrezaie, Mahmood Ameen Abdulla, Nazia AbdulMajid, Maryam Zahedifard

Abstract:

Colon cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in the world. Cancer chemoprevention is defined as the use of natural or synthetic compounds capable of inducing biological mechanisms necessary to preserve genomic fidelity. New schiff based compounds are reported to exhibit a wide spectrum of biological activities of therapeutic importance. To evaluate inhibitory properties of CdCl2(C14H21N3O2) complex on colonic aberrant crypt foci, five groups of 7-week-old male rats were used. Control group was fed with 10% Tween 20 once a day, cancer control group was intra-peritoneally injected with 15 mg/kg Azoxymethan, drug control group was injected with 15 mg/kg azoxymethan and 5-Flourouracil, experimental groups were fed with 2.5 and 5 mg/kg CdCl2(C14H21N3O2) compound each once a day. Administration of compound were found to be effectively chemoprotective. Andrographolide suppressed total colonic ACF formation up to 72% to 74%, respectively, when compared with control group. The results also showed a significant increase in glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase activities and a decrease in malondialdehyde level. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated down-regulation of PCNA protein. According to the Western blot comparison analysis, COX-2 and Bcl2 is up-regulated whilst the Bax is down-regulated. according to these data, this compound plays promising chemoprotective activity, in a model of AOM-induced in ACF.

Keywords: chemopreventive, Schiff based compound, aberrant crypt foci (ACF), immunohistochemical staining

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