Search results for: Noor Aliza Binti Ahmad
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1245

Search results for: Noor Aliza Binti Ahmad

1125 Platelet Indices among the Cases of Vivax Malaria

Authors: Mirza Sultan Ahmad, Mubashra Ahmad, Ramlah Mehmood, Nazia Mahboob, Waqar Nasir

Abstract:

Objective: To ascertain the prevalence of thrombocytopenia and study changes in MPV and PDW among cases of vivax malaria. Design: Descriptive analytic study. Place and duration of study: Department of pediatrics, Fazle Omar Hospital, from January to December 2012. Methodology: All patients from birth to 16 years age, who presented in Fazle- Omar hospital, Rabwah from January to December 2012 were included in this study. Hundred patients with other febrile illnesses were taken as control. Full blood counts were checked by Madonic CA 620 analyzer. Name, age, sex, weight, platelet counts. MPV, PDW, any evidence of bleeding, outcome of cases included in this study and taken as control were recorded on data sheets. Results: One hundred and forty-two patients were included in this study. There was no incidence of death or active bleeding. Median platelet count was 109000/mm3. Thrombocytopenia was present in 108 (76.1%) patients. Severe thrombocytopenia was present in 10(7%) patients. Minimum count was 27000/mm3 and maximum was 341000/mm3. Platelet counts of control group was significantly more as compared with study group.(p<.001) Median MPV was 8.70. Minimum value was 6.40 and maximum was 11.90. MPV of study group was significantly more than control group.(p<.001) Median PDW was 11.30. Minimum value was 8.5 and maximum was 16.70. There was no difference between PDW of study and control groups (p=0.246). Conclusions: Thrombocytopenia is a common complication among pediatric cases of vivax malaria. MPV of cases of vivax malaria is higher than control group.

Keywords: malaria vivax, platelet, mean platelet volume, thrombocytopenia

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1124 Assessment of the Adoption and Distribution Pattern of Agroforestry in Faisalabad District Using GIS

Authors: Irfan Ahmad, Raza Ghafoor, Hammad Raza Ahmad, Muhammad Asif, Farrakh Nawaz, M. Tahir Siddiqui

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Due to the exploding population of Pakistan the pressure on natural forests is increasing to meet the demands of wood and wood based products. Agroforestry is being practiced throughout the world on scientific basis but unfortunately the farmers of Pakistan are reluctant in its adoption. The presents study was designed to assess the adoption of agroforestry practices in Faisalabad with respect to land holdings of farmers and future suitability by using Geographic information system (GIS). Faisalabad is the third largest city of the country and is famous due to the textile industry. A comprehensive survey from target villages of the Lyallpur town of Faisalabad district was carried out. Out of total 65 villages, 40 were selected for study. From each selected village, one farmer who was actively engaged in farming activities was selected. It was observed that medium sized farmers having 10-20 acre were more in number as compared to small and large farmers. Number of trees was found maximum in large farm lands, ratio of diseased trees was almost similar in all categories with maximum in small farmlands (24.1%). Regarding the future prospects 35% farmer were interested in agroforestry practices 65% were not interested in the promotion of trees due to the non-availability of technical guidance and proper markets. Geographic images of the study site can further help the researchers and policy makers in the promotion of agroforestry.

Keywords: agroforestry trends, adoption, Faisalabad, geographic information system (GIS)

Procedia PDF Downloads 486
1123 A Compilation of Nanotechnology in Thin Film Solar Cell Devices

Authors: Nurul Amziah Md Yunus, Izhal Abdul Halin, Nasri Sulaiman, Noor Faezah Ismail, Nik Hasniza Nik Aman

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Nanotechnology has become the world attention in various applications including the solar cells devices due to the uniqueness and benefits of achieving low cost and better performances of devices. Recently, thin film solar cells such as cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper-indium-gallium-diSelenide (CIGS), copper-zinc-tin-sulphide (CZTS), and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) enhanced by nanotechnology have attracted much attention. Thus, a compilation of nanotechnology devices giving the progress in the solar cells has been presented. It is much related to nanoparticles or nanocrystallines, carbon nanotubes, and nanowires or nanorods structures.

Keywords: nanotechnology, nanocrystalline, nanowires, carbon nanotubes, nanorods, thin film solar cells

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1122 The Relationship between Body Esteem and Self-Esteem with Sport-Confidence Students

Authors: Saeid Motevalli, Siti Fatimah Azzahrah Binti Abd Mutalib, Mohd Sahandri Ghani Hamzah, Hazalizah Hamzah

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The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between body esteem and self-esteem with sport-confidence among university students. This study was conducted by using the descriptive and correlational study design. Meanwhile, the method involved in this study was the online survey method. The population of the sample are mainly Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students only which 120 participants were selected by cluster sampling method from two faculties named Fakulti Pembangunan Manusia (FPM) and Fakulti Sains Sukan dan Kejurulatihan (FSSKJ). The instrument used in this study was The Body-Esteem Scale (BES) by Franzoi and Shields (1984), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) by Rosenberg (1965) and the Vealey’s Trait Sport-Confidence Inventory (TSCI) by (Vealey, 1986). The results of the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient showed that there was a positive and moderate correlation between students’ body-esteem and sport-confidence and a negative and low correlation between students’ self-esteem and sport-confidence. Likewise, based on the entry method used all two predictor variables were significant in explaining sport confidence among UPSI students. In conclusion, it can be said that students’ sport-confidence affected by students’ self-esteem and body-esteem.

Keywords: body esteem, self-esteem, sport-confidence, students

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1121 E-Government Continuance Intention of Media Psychology: Some Insights from Psychographic Characteristics

Authors: Azlina Binti Abu Bakar, Fahmi Zaidi Bin Abdul Razak, Wan Salihin Wong Abdullah

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Psychographic is a psychological study of values, attitudes, interests and it is used mostly in prediction, opinion research and social research. This study predicts the influence of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating condition on e-government acceptance among Malaysian citizens. The survey responses of 543 e-government users have been validated and analyzed by means of covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling. The findings indicate that e-government acceptance among Malaysian citizens are mainly influenced by performance expectancy (β = 0.66, t = 11.53, p < 0.01) and social influence (β = 0.20, t = 4.23, p < 0.01). Surprisingly, there is no significant effect of facilitating condition and effort expectancy on e-government continuance intention (β = 0.01, t = 0.27, p > 0.05; β = -0.01, t = -0.40, p > 0.05). This study offers government and vendors a frame of reference to analyze citizen’s situation before initiating new innovations. In case of Malaysian e-government technology, adoption strategies should be built around fostering level of citizens’ technological expectation and social influence on e-government usage.

Keywords: continuance intention, Malaysian citizen, media psychology, structural equation modeling

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1120 Hydroxyapatite from Biowaste for the Reinforcement of Polymer

Authors: John O. Akindoyo, M. D. H. Beg, Suriati Binti Ghazali, Nitthiyah Jeyaratnam

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Regeneration of bone due to the many health challenges arising from traumatic effects of bone loss, bone tumours and other bone infections is fast becoming indispensable. Over the period of time, some approaches have been undertaken to mitigate this challenge. This includes but not limited to xenografts, allografts, autografts as well as artificial substitutions like bioceramics, synthetic cements and metals. However, most of these techniques often come along with peculiar limitation and problems such as morbidity, availability, disease transmission, collateral site damage or absolute rejection by the body as the case may be. Hydroxyapatite (HA) is very compatible and suitable for this application. However, most of the common methods for HA synthesis are expensive and environmentally unfriendly. Extraction of HA from bio-wastes have been perceived not only to be cost effective, but also environment-friendly. In this research, HA was produced from bio-waste: namely bovine bones through a combination of hydrothermal chemical processes and ordinary calcination techniques. Structure and property of the HA was carried out through different characterization techniques (such as TGA, FTIR, DSC, XRD and BET). The synthesized HA was found to possess similar properties to stoichiometric HA with highly desirable thermal, degradation, structural and porous properties. This material is unique for its potential minimal cost, environmental friendliness and property controllability. It is also perceived to be suitable for tissue and bone engineering applications.

Keywords: biomaterial, biopolymer, bone, hydroxyapatite

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1119 Vocational Teaching Method: A Conceptual Model in Teaching Automotive Practical Work

Authors: Adnan Ahmad, Yusri Kamin, Asnol Dahar Minghat, Mohd. Khir Nordin, Dayana Farzeha, Ahmad Nabil

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The purpose of this study is to identify the teaching method practices of the practical work subject in Vocational Secondary School. This study examined the practice of Vocational Teaching Method in Automotive Practical Work. The quantitative method used the sets of the questionnaire. 283 students and 63 teachers involved from ten VSS involved in this research. Research finding showed in conducting the introduction session teachers prefer used the demonstration method and questioning technique. While in deliver the content of practical task, teachers applied group monitoring and problem-solving approach. To conclude the task of automotive practical work, teachers choose re-explain and report writing to make sure students really understand all the process of teaching. VTM-APW also involved the competency-based concept to embed in the model. Derived from factors investigated, research produced the combination of elements in teaching skills and vocational skills which could be used as the best teaching method in automotive practical work for school level. As conclusion this study has concluded that the VTM-APW model is able to apply in teaching to make an improvement with current practices in Vocational Secondary School. Hence, teachers are suggested to use this method to enhance student's knowledge in Automotive and teachers will deliver skills to the current and future workforce relevant with the required competency skilled in workplace.

Keywords: vocational teaching method, practical task, teacher preferences, student preferences

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1118 A Systematic Review on The Usage of CRISPR-Cas System in The Treatment of Osteoarthritis(OA)

Authors: Atiqah Binti Ab Aziz

Abstract:

Background: It has been estimated that about 250 million people all over the world suffer from osteoarthritis (OA). Thus, OA is a major health problem in urgent need of better treatment. Problem statement: Current therapies for OA can temporarily relieve clinical symptoms and for pain management, rather than preventing or curing OA. Total knee replacement performed at the end stage of the disease is considered the only cure available. Objectives: This article aimed to explore the potential of treating osteoarthritis via the CRISPR Cas system. Methods: Articles that relate to the application of the CRISPR Cas system in osteoarthritis were extracted, categorized, and reviewed through the PRISMA method using PubMed, an engine published from November 2016 to November 2021. Results: There were 30 articles screened. Articles that fall under the categories of non-English articles, full articles that were not available, articles that were not an original articles were excluded. Ultimately, 13 articles were reviewed. Discussion: This review provides an information on the introduction of CRISPR and discussed on their mechanism of actions in extracted studies for OA treatment. Conclusions: It can be seen that not many medical research utilize the CRISPR Cas system as part of the method in the treatment of OA. Hence exploring the extent of the usage of the CRISPR Cas system in OA treatment is important to determine the research gap and point out at which of the research is needed further investigation to avoid redundancy of existing research and ensure the novelty of the research.

Keywords: osteoarthritis, treatment, CRISPR, review, therapy

Procedia PDF Downloads 156
1117 Self-Determination among Individuals with Intellectual Disability: An Experiment

Authors: Wasim Ahmad, Bir Singh Chavan, Nazli Ahmad

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Objectives: The present investigation is an attempt to find out the efficacy of training the special educators on promoting self-determination among individuals with intellectual disability. Methods: The study equipped the special educators with necessary skills and knowledge to train individuals with the intellectual disability for practicing self-determination. Subjects: Special educators (N=25) were selected for training on self-determination among individuals with intellectual disability. After receiving the training, (N=50) individuals with an intellectual disability were selected and intervened by the trained special educators. Tool: Self-Determination Scale for Adults with Mild Mental Retardation (SDSAMR) developed by Keshwal and Thressiakutty (2010) has been used. It’s a reliable and valid tool used by many researchers. It has 36 items distributed in five domains namely: personal management, community participation, recreation and leisure time, choice making and problem solving. Analysis: The collected data was analyzed using the statistical techniques such as t-test, ANCOVA, and Posthoc Tuckey test. Results: The findings of the study reveal that there is a significant difference at 1% level in the pre and post tests mean scores (t-15.56) of self-determination concepts among the special educators. This indicates that the training enhanced the performance of special educators on the concept of self-determination among individuals with intellectual disability. The study also reveals that the training received on transition planning by the special educators found to be effective because they were able to practice the concept by imparting and training the individuals with intellectual disability to if determined. The results show that there was a significant difference at 1% level in the pre and post tests mean scores (t-16.61) of self-determination among individuals with intellectual disability. Conclusion: To conclude it can be said that the training has a remarkable impact on the performance of the individuals with intellectual disability on self-determination.

Keywords: experiment, individuals with intellectual disability, self-determination, special educators

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1116 Silage for Dairy Production: A Case Study of Pakistan

Authors: Noor-ul-Ain, Muhammad Thair Khan, Adeela Ajmal, Hamid Mustafa

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Pakistan is an agricultural country and livestock only share 11.8 percent to national GDP during 2015-16. Pakistan is a 3rd largest milk producing country having 41.2, 35.6, 29.4, 68.4 and 1.0 million head cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat and camel, respectively. Modern urbanization and shortage of feed resources for livestock species in a country is an alarming threat. The introduction of new technology and advanced techniques solve this issue. This includes drought feeding, increase production, aid to crop management, balance nutrition and easily storaged of wet feed products. It is therefore clear that silage has important role in animal feed and feeding. Financial model of this study clear the effectiveness of silage. Therefore, it is revealed from this study that silage is a cost-effective option for a profitable dairy farming in Pakistan.

Keywords: feed, silage, dairy, production, Pakistan

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1115 A Practical Approach and Implementation of Digital Library Towards Best Practice in Malaysian Academic Library

Authors: Zainab Ajab Mohideen, Kiran Kaur, A. Basheer Ahamadhu, Noor Azlinda Wan Jan, Sukmawati Muhammad

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The corpus in the digital library is to provide an overview and evidence from library automation that can be used to justify the needs of the digital library. This paper disperses the approach and implementation of the digital library as part of best practices by the Automation Division at Hamzah Sendut Library of the University Science Malaysia (USM). The implemented digital library model emphasizes on the entire library collections, technical perspective, and automation solution. This model served as a foundation for digital library services as part of information delivery in the USM digital library. The approach to digital library includes discussion on key factors, design, architecture, and pragmatic model that has been collected, captured, and identified during the implementation stages. At present, the USM digital library has achieved the status of an Institutional Repository (IR).

Keywords: academic digital library, digital information system, digital library best practice, digital library model

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1114 Alignment between Understanding and Assessment Practice among Secondary School Teachers

Authors: Eftah Bte Moh, Hj Abdullah Izazol Binti Idris, Abd. Aziz Bin Abd. Shukor

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This study aimed to identify the alignment of understanding and assessment practices among secondary school teachers. The study was carried out using quantitative descriptive study. The sample consisted of 164 teachers who taught Form 1 and 2 from 11 secondary schools in the district of North Kinta, Perak, Malaysia. Data were obtained from 164 respondents who answered Expectation Alignment Understanding and Practices of School Assessment (PEKDAPS) questionnaire. The data were analysed using SPSS 17.0 +. The Cronbach alpha value obtained through PEKDAPS questionnaire pilot study was 0.86. The results showed that teachers' performance in PEKDAPS based on the mean value was less than 3, which means that perfect alignment does not occur between the understanding and practices of school assessment. Two major PEKDAPS sub-constructs of articulation across grade and age and usability of the system were higher than the moderate alignment of the understanding and practices of school assessment (Min=2.0). The content was focused on PEKDAPs sub-constructs which showed lower than the moderate alignment of the understanding and practices of school assessment (Min=2.0). Another two PEKDAPS sub-constructs of transparency and fairness and the pedagogical implications showed moderate alignment (2.0). The implications of the study is that teachers need to fully understand the importance of alignment among components of assessment, learning and teaching and learning objectives as strategies to achieve quality assessment process.

Keywords: school based assessment, alignment, understanding, assessment practices

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1113 Structural Evidence of the Conversion of Nitric Oxide (NO) to Nitrite Ion (NO2‾) by Lactoperoxidase (LPO): Structure of the Complex of LPO with NO2‾ at 1.89å Resolution

Authors: V. Viswanathan, Md. Irshad Ahmad, Prashant K. Singh, Nayeem Ahmad, Pradeep Sharma, Sujata Sharma, Tej P Singh

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Lactoperoxidase (LPO) is a heme containing mammalian enzyme which uses hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to catalyze the conversion of substrates into oxidized products. LPO is found in body fluids and tissues such as milk, saliva, tears, mucosa and other body secretions. The previous structural studies have shown that LPO converts substrates, thiocyanate (SCN‾) and iodide (I‾) ions into oxidized products, hypothiocyanite (OSCN‾) and hypoiodite (IO‾) ions, respectively. We report here a new structure of the complex of LPO with an oxidized product, nitrite (NO2‾). This product was generated from NO using the two step reaction of LPO by adding hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the solution of LPO in 0.1M phosphate buffer at pH 6.8 as the first step. In the second step, NO gas was added to the above mixture. This was crystallized using 20% (w/v) PEG-3350 and 0.2M ammonium iodide at pH 6.8. The structure determination showed the presence of NO2‾ ion in the distal heme cavity of the substrate binding site of LPO. The structure also showed that the propionate group, which is linked to pyrrole ring D of the heme moiety, was disordered. Similarly, the side chain of Asp108, which is covalently linked to heme moiety, was also split into two components. As a result of these changes, the conformation of the side chain of Arg255 was altered, allowing it to form new interactions with the disordered carboxylic group of propionate moiety. These structural changes are indicative of an intermediate state in the catalytic reaction pathway of LPO.

Keywords: lactoperoxidase, structure, nitric oxide, nitrite ion, intermediate, complex

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1112 Property Rights and Trade Specialization

Authors: Sarma Binti Aralas

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The relationship between property rights and trade specialization is examined for developing and developed countries using panel data analysis. Property rights is measured using the international property rights index while trade specialization is measured using the comparative advantage index. Cross country differences in property rights are hypothesized to lead to differences in trade specialization. Based on the argument that a weak protection of natural resources implies greater trade in resource-intensive goods, developing countries with less defined property rights are hypothesized to have a comparative advantage in resource-based exports while countries with more defined property rights will not have an advantage in resource-intensive goods. Evidence suggests that developing countries with weaker environmental protection index but are rich in natural resources do specialize in the trade of resource-intensive goods. The finding suggests that institutional frameworks to increase the stringency of environmental protection of resources may be needed to diversify exports away from the trade of resource-intensive goods.

Keywords: environmental protection, panel data, renewable resources, trade specialization

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1111 Synthesis of Ethoxylated Amide as Bactericide to Enhance the Storage Period of Diesel Fuel Nanoemulsions

Authors: S. M. Abd-Altwab, M. R. Noor El-Din

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This paper aims to the synthesis of new ethoxylated amide as bactericides to prevent the growth of Gram +ve and –ve bacteria of water-in-diesel fuel nanoemulsions over a long period of time as three months. To realize it, eight kinetically stable water-in-diesel fuel nanoemulsions differing in surfactant concentrations and water contents ranging from 4 to 8 and 5 to 8 wt.,wt.,% of total weight of the nanoemulsions, respectively were formed at a temperature of 20 °C. The performance of this ethoxylated amide as bactericides agents against two strains of Gram-negative bacteria, namely, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli, and two strains of Gram-positive bacteria namely, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis, were evaluated as antimicrobial agents. The maximum and minimum antimicrobial activities were 85 and 71 % against S. aureus and E. coli, respectively, at a concentration of 5 mg/l, pH 7, and 37 °C.

Keywords: nanoemulsion, bacteriocide, diesel fuel, emulsifier

Procedia PDF Downloads 349
1110 The Moderating Effect of Intellectual Capital on the Relationship of Innovation Practices in SME’s Performance

Authors: Hussen Nasir, Mohd Fitri Mansor, Noor Hidayah Abu

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Liberation of the SME market led to a dynamic competitive business environment. SMEs are considered as an engine for economic growth of most nations. SMEs must be willing to adopt the latest technology and incorporate innovation as part of their business strategies. The aim of this study is to examine the innovation practices (innovation strategy and innovation culture) towards sustaining SME’s performance and the moderating effect of intellectual capital on the relationship of innovation practices on SME’s performance. The study will identify the strongest variables that influence the SMEs performance and proposed several hypothesis toward innovation and intellectual capital. Finally, the study will propose a theoretical framework. The current study will contribute to the knowledge of important on the element of intellectual capital as well as innovation practices in the SMEs performance.

Keywords: intellectual capital, innovation practices, SMEs, performance, innovation strategy, innovation culture

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1109 Production of Banana Milk Powder Using Spray and Freeze Dryer

Authors: Siti Noor Suzila Maqsood-Ul-Haque, Ummi Kalthum Ibrahim, Norekanadirah Abdul Rahman

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Banana are rich in vitamins, potassium and carbohydrate.The objective for this research work is to produce banana milk powder that can help children that suffers from constipation. Two types of the most common dryers used for this purpose are the spray and freeze dryer. The effects of the type of dryers, pump feed speed in the spray dryer and the ratio proportion of the banana milk powder were investigated in the study. The result indicate that increasing proportion ratio of the banana milk powder produce lower yield of the powder.From the result it is also concluded that speed 2 is more suitable in the production of the banana milk powder since the value of the moisture content is lower.

Keywords: freeze dryer, spray dryer, moisture content, dissolution, banana, milk

Procedia PDF Downloads 478
1108 Contribution of Upper Body Kinematics on Tennis Serve Performance

Authors: Ikram Hussain, Fuzail Ahmad, Tawseef Ahmad Bhat

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Tennis serve is characterized as one of the most prominent techniques pertaining to the success of winning a point. The study was aimed to explore the contributions of the upper body kinematics on the tennis performance during Davis Cup (Oceania Group). Four Indian International tennis players who participated in the Davis Cup held at Indore, India were inducted as the subjects for this study, with mean age 27 ± 4.79 Years, mean weight 186 ± 6.03 cm, mean weight 81.25 ± 7.41kg, respectively. The tennis serve was bifurcated into three phases viz, preparatory phase, force generation phase and follow through phase. The kinematic data for the study was recorded through the high speed canon camcorder having a shuttle speed of 1/2000, at a frame rate of 50 Hz. The data was analysed with the motion analysis software. The descriptive statistics and F-test was employed through SPSS version 17.0 for the determination of the undertaken kinematic parameters of the study, and was computed at a 0.05 level of significance with 46 degrees of freedom. Mean, standard deviation and correlation coefficient also employed to find out the relationship among the upper body kinematic parameter and performance. In the preparatory phase, the analysis revealed that no significant difference exists among the kinematic parameters of the players on the performance. However, in force generation phase, wrist velocity (r= 0.47), torso velocity (r= -0.53), racket velocity r= 0.60), and in follow through phase, torso acceleration r= 0.43), elbow angle (r= -0.48) play a significant role on the performance of the tennis serve. Therefore, players should ponder upon the velocities of the above segments at the time of preparation for the competitions.

Keywords: Davis Cup, kinematics, motion analysis, tennis serve

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1107 Energy Budgeting, Carbon and Water Footprints Under Conventional and Conservation Tillage Practices of Rice-Wheat Double Cropping System

Authors: Ahmad Latif Virk, Naeem Ahmad, Muhammad Ishaq Asif Rehmani

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Amid the present environmental crises, developing environment-resilient and cost-effective conservation agriculture strategies to feed the world's ever-growing population is pertinent. Therefore, a field study was conducted to test the hypothesis that residue retention under no-till (NTR) would enhance energy productivity (EP) and energy use efficiency (EUE) while offsetting the carbon footprints (CF), water footprints (WF) and greenhouse gases emissions (GHGs) in rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) double cropping system. Two tillage systems viz., conventional tillage (CT) and conservation tillage (no-till; NT), with or without residue retention, were combined into four treatments as CT0 (puddled rice, conventional wheat - residue); CTR (puddled rice, conventional wheat + residue); NT0 (direct rice seeding, zero-tilled wheat - residue); NTR (direct rice seeding, zero-tilled wheat + residue) were evaluated. Overall, results showed that the NT system had 34.2% lower energy consumption, 1.2 times more EP than CT system. Moreover, NTR had 19.8% higher EUE than CT0. The overall system grain yield ranged from 7.8 to 9.3 Mg ha−1 under NT0 and CTR, respectively. The NTR had 56.6% and 17.9% lesser CF and WF, respectively, than CT0. The net GHGs emissions (CO2-eq kg ha−1) under CT0 were the highest, while NTR had the lowest emissions. The NTR enhanced carbon sequestration in soil that can offset half of the system's CO2 emissions. The findings of this study might help develop a suitable strategy for resource/energy conservation and higher productivity while offsetting GHGs emissions in the Indo-Gangetic Plains.

Keywords: residue, yield, indirect emissions, energy use efficiency, carbon sequestration

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1106 The Role of Human Beings as Caliphs in Preserving Nature

Authors: Firdaus Khairi Abdul Kadir, Nazihah Rusli, Noor Aisyah Abdul Aziz

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Islam is a comprehensive religion encompassing all aspects of society’s life such as social, economic, political, cultural and environmental. The environment is part of the manifestation of God’s greatness which has pearls of wisdom, bestowed upon human beings to make them realize that everything is in the hands of God (Allah SWT). However, the equilibrium of nature could be disturbed from the excessive exploitation by humans’ hands. As a caliph on this earth, it is the responsibility of human beings to look after the environment proactively. Besides, Islam calls for the execution of accountable development and respecting the principles of sustainability. Therefore, this study focuses on the role of human beings as caliphs on this earth who are responsible for nature and their acts in conserving and preserving the environment based on the approach of religious education. This study also used the research method of the survey library.

Keywords: environment, human beings, caliph, tauhid, Allah SWT

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1105 Demographic Factors Influence on Awareness of Islamic Financing among Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Entrepreneurs in the North East Region of Nigeria

Authors: Bashir Ahmad, Daneji, Hamidu Aminu, Ahmad, Aliyu Mukhtar, Daneji, Haruna Mohammed

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It has been established and universally agreed that vibrant Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) play significant roles in economic growth and development. In Nigeria, MSMEs are not playing the expected roles. Notable among the plethora of reasons is lack of prompt and sufficient finance. Government and other stakeholders attempted in several ways at different times to provide the required finance to MSMEs but the results were not encouraging and consequently, many failed. In recent past, Islamic financing emerged world over as promising alternative source of financing. However, its awareness among MSMEs entrepreneurs in north east region of Nigeria stands to be questioned. This study explored the 'Demographic Factors Influence on Awareness of Islamic Financing among MSMEs entrepreneurs in the North East Region of Nigeria'. The primary data used in this study were collected through questionnaire. In analyzing the collected data, the study used frequency, percentages, Pearson correlation, ANOVA and test of homogeneity test (Levene’s test) parameters generated from SPSS (version 15). The findings of the study revealed that entrepreneurs’ age, state of origin, religion and educational level influence their MSMEs awareness of Islamic Financing in the north east region of Nigeria. The study recommended that Islamic Financing institutions, government and relevant agencies should do more to enhance the awareness of Islamic financing among MSMEs entrepreneurs in the north east region of Nigeria.

Keywords: awareness, demographic factors, entrepreneurs, Islamic financing

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1104 Predictive Modeling of Flank Wear in Hard Turning Using the Taguchi Method

Authors: Suha K. Shihab, Zahid A. Khan, Aas Mohammad, Arshad Noor Siddiquee

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This paper presents the influence of cutting parameters (cutting speed, feed and depth of cut) on flank wear (VB) in turning of 52100 hard alloy steel using multilayer coated carbide insert under dry condition. Nine experiments were performed based on Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal array. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the effects of the cutting parameters on flank wear. The results of the study revealed that the cutting speed (A) and feed rate (B) are the dominant factors affecting flank wear, while the depth of cut (C) has not a significant effect. The optimal combination of the cutting parameters for flank wear is found to be A1B1C1. The mathematical model for flank wear is found to be statistically significant. The predicted and measured values of flank wear are found to be very close to each other.

Keywords: flank wear, hard turning, Taguchi approach, optimization

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1103 Assessing Flood Risk and Mapping Inundation Zones in the Kelantan River Basin: A Hydrodynamic Modeling Approach

Authors: Fatemehsadat Mortazavizadeh, Amin Dehghani, Majid Mirzaei, Nurulhuda Binti Mohammad Ramli, Adnan Dehghani

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Flood is Malaysia's most common and serious natural disaster. Kelantan River Basin is a tropical basin that experiences a rainy season during North-East Monsoon from November to March. It is also one of the hardest hit areas in Peninsular Malaysia during the heavy monsoon rainfall. Considering the consequences of the flood events, it is essential to develop the flood inundation map as part of the mitigation approach. In this study, the delineation of flood inundation zone in the area of Kelantan River basin using a hydrodynamic model is done by HEC-RAS, QGIS and ArcMap. The streamflow data has been generated with the weather generator based on the observation data. Then, the data is statistically analyzed with the Extreme Value (EV1) method for 2-, 5-, 25-, 50- and 100-year return periods. The minimum depth, maximum depth, mean depth, and the standard deviation of all the scenarios, including the OBS, are observed and analyzed. Based on the results, generally, the value of the data increases with the return period for all the scenarios. However, there are certain scenarios that have different results, which not all the data obtained are increasing with the return period. Besides, OBS data resulted in the middle range within Scenario 1 to Scenario 40.

Keywords: flood inundation, kelantan river basin, hydrodynamic model, extreme value analysis

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1102 Trichoderma spp Consortium and Its Efficacy as Biological Control Agent of Ganoderma Disease of Oil Palm (Elaies guineensis Jacquin)

Authors: Habu Musa, Nusaibah Binti Syd Ali

Abstract:

Oil palm industries particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia are being devastated by Ganoderma disease caused by Ganoderma spp. To date, this disease has been causing serious oil palm yield losses and collapse of oil palm trees, thus affecting its contribution to the producer’s economy. Research on sustainable and eco-friendly remedy to counter Ganoderma disease is on the upsurge to avoid the current control measures via synthetic fungicides. Trichoderma species have been the most studied and valued microbes as biological control agents in an effort to combat a wide range of plant diseases sustainably. Therefore, in this current study, the potential of Trichoderma spp. (Trichoderma asperellum, Trichoderma harzianum, and Trichoderma virens) as a consortium approach was evaluated as biological control agents against Ganoderma disease on oil palm. The consortium of Trichoderma spp. applied found to be the most effective treatment in suppressing Ganoderma disease with 83.03% and 89.16% from the foliar and bole symptoms respectively. Besides, it exhibited tremendous enhancement in the oil palm seedling vegetative growth parameters. Also, it had highly induced significant activity of peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase and total phenolic content was recorded in the consortium treatment compared to the control treatment. Disease development was slower in the seedlings treated with consortium of Trichoderma spp. compared to the positive control, which exhibited with the highest percentage of disease severity.

Keywords: biological control, ganoderma disease, trichoderma, disease severity

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1101 Modelling the Spread of HIV/AIDS Epidemic with Condom Campaign and Treatment

Authors: Marsudi, Noor Hidayat, Ratno Bagus Edy Wibowo

Abstract:

This paper considers a deterministic model for the transmission dynamics of HIV/AIDS in which condom campaign and treatment are both important for the disease management. In modelling of the spread of AIDS, the population is divided into six subpopulations, namely susceptible population, susceptible population who change their behavior due to education condom campaign, infected population, pre-AIDS population, treated population and full-blown AIDS population. We calculate the effective reproduction number using the next generation matrix method and investigate the existence and stability of the equilibrium points. A sensitivity analysis discovers parameters that have a high impact on effective reproduction number and should be targeted by intervention strategies. Numerical simulations are given to illustrate and verify our analytic results.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, condom campaign, antiretroviral treatment, effective reproduction number, stability and sensitivity analysis

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1100 Design and Implementation of Active Radio Frequency Identification on Wireless Sensor Network-Based System

Authors: Che Z. Zulkifli, Nursyahida M. Noor, Siti N. Semunab, Shafawati A. Malek

Abstract:

Wireless sensors, also known as wireless sensor nodes, have been making a significant impact on human daily life. The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) are two complementary technologies; hence, an integrated implementation of these technologies expands the overall functionality in obtaining long-range and real-time information on the location and properties of objects and people. An approach for integrating ZigBee and RFID networks is proposed in this paper, to create an energy-efficient network improved by the benefits of combining ZigBee and RFID architecture. Furthermore, the compatibility and requirements of the ZigBee device and communication links in the typical RFID system which is presented with the real world experiment on the capabilities of the proposed RFID system.

Keywords: mesh network, RFID, wireless sensor network, zigbee

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1099 SWOT Analysis of the Industrial Sector in Kuwait

Authors: Abdullah Al-Alaian, Ahmad Al-Enzi, Hasan Al-Herz, Ahmad Bakri, Shant Tatorian, Amr Nounou

Abstract:

Kuwait is a country that has an imbalanced economy since most of its national outcome comes from the oil trade. It is so risky for a country to be dependent on a single source for income, and this increases the need to diversify its economy. In addition, according to the Public Authority for Industry, the contribution of the industrial sector to the current Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Kuwait is low which is about 4.33%. Therefore, the development of the industrial sector can be one of the means to diversify the economy and increase the industry's contribution to the national outcome. This is in accordance with Kuwait’s vision of 2035 which aims at increasing the contribution of the industrial sector to the GDP to 12%. In order to do so, this study aims at proposing a strategic plan that will accomplish certain objectives when implemented. It is based on analyzing the industrial sectors in Kuwait taking into consideration studying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing them. At the same time, it tends to gain from the experience of leading models and neighboring countries regarding the development of the industrial sector. In this study, the SWOT analysis technique will be conducted on all industrial sectors based on evaluation criteria in which it is determined whether any of them has a potential for improvement or not. In other words, it is determined whether the sectors are able to compete locally, regionally, or globally. Based on the results of the SWOT analysis, certain sectors will be chosen, assessed based on an assessment scheme, and their potentials for improvement will be aligned with the overall objectives. To ensure the achievement of the study’s objectives, an action plan will be proposed regarding recommendations for the related authorities, and for entrepreneurs. In addition, monitoring tools are going to be provided for the purpose of periodically checking the progress made in the implementation of the plan.

Keywords: industrial sector, SWOT analysis, productivity, competitiveness, GDP, Kuwait, economy

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1098 Impact of Unusual Dust Event on Regional Climate in India

Authors: Kanika Taneja, V. K. Soni, Kafeel Ahmad, Shamshad Ahmad

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A severe dust storm generated from a western disturbance over north Pakistan and adjoining Afghanistan affected the north-west region of India between May 28 and 31, 2014, resulting in significant reductions in air quality and visibility. The air quality of the affected region degraded drastically. PM10 concentration peaked at a very high value of around 1018 μgm-3 during dust storm hours of May 30, 2014 at New Delhi. The present study depicts aerosol optical properties monitored during the dust days using ground based multi-wavelength Sky radiometer over the National Capital Region of India. High Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) at 500 nm was observed as 1.356 ± 0.19 at New Delhi while Angstrom exponent (Alpha) dropped to 0.287 on May 30, 2014. The variation in the Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) and real n(λ) and imaginary k(λ) parts of the refractive index indicated that the dust event influences the optical state to be more absorbing. The single scattering albedo, refractive index, volume size distribution and asymmetry parameter (ASY) values suggested that dust aerosols were predominant over the anthropogenic aerosols in the urban environment of New Delhi. The large reduction in the radiative flux at the surface level caused significant cooling at the surface. Direct Aerosol Radiative Forcing (DARF) was calculated using a radiative transfer model during the dust period. A consistent increase in surface cooling was evident, ranging from -31 Wm-2 to -82 Wm-2 and an increase in heating of the atmosphere from 15 Wm-2 to 92 Wm-2 and -2 Wm-2 to 10 Wm-2 at top of the atmosphere.

Keywords: aerosol optical properties, dust storm, radiative transfer model, sky radiometer

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1097 Zeolite Supported Iron-Sensitized TIO₂ for Tetracycline Photocatalytic ‎Degradation under Visible Light: A Comparison between Doping and Ion ‎Exchange ‎

Authors: Ghadeer Jalloul, Nour Hijazi, Cassia Boyadjian, Hussein Awala, Mohammad N. Ahmad, ‎Ahmad Albadarin

Abstract:

In this study, we applied Fe-sensitized TiO₂ supported over embryonic Beta zeolite (BEA) zeolite ‎for the photocatalytic degradation of Tetracycline (TC) antibiotic under visible light. Four different ‎samples having 20, 40, 60, and 100% w/w as a ratio of TiO₂/BEA were prepared. The ‎immobilization of solgel TiO₂ (33 m²/g) over BEA (390 m²/g) increased its surface area to (227 ‎m²/g) and enhanced its adsorption capacity from 8% to 19%. To expand the activity of TiO₂ ‎photocatalyst towards the visible light region (λ>380 nm), we explored two different metal ‎sensitization techniques with Iron ions (Fe³⁺). In the ion-exchange method, the substitutional cations ‎in the zeolite in TiO₂/BEA were exchanged with (Fe³⁺) in an aqueous solution of FeCl₃. In the ‎doping technique, solgel TiO₂ was doped with (Fe³⁺) from FeCl₃ precursor during its synthesis and ‎before its immobilization over BEA. (Fe-TiO₂/BEA) catalysts were characterized using SEM, XRD, ‎BET, UV-VIS DRS, and FTIR. After testing the performance of the various ion-exchanged catalysts ‎under blue and white lights, only (Fe-TiO₂/BEA 60%) showed better activity as compared to pure ‎TiO₂ under white light with 100 ppm initial catalyst concentration and 20 ppm TC concentration. As ‎compared to ion-exchanged (Fe-TiO₂/BEA), doped (Fe-TiO₂/BEA) resulted in higher photocatalytic ‎efficiencies under blue and white lights. The 3%-Fe-doped TiO₂/BEA removed 92% of TC ‎compared to 54% by TiO₂ under white light. The catalysts were also tested under real solar ‎irradiations. This improvement in the photocatalytic performance of TiO₂ was due to its higher ‎adsorption capacity due to BEA support combined with the presence of Iron ions that enhance the ‎visible light absorption and minimize the recombination effect by the charge carriers. ‎

Keywords: Tetracycline, photocatalytic degradation, immobilized TiO₂, zeolite, iron-doped TiO₂, ion-exchange

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1096 Estimation of Leachate Generation from Municipal Solid Waste Landfills in Selangor

Authors: Tengku Nilam Baizura, Noor Zalina Mahmood

Abstract:

In Malaysia, landfilling is the most preferred method and most of it does not have the proper leachate treatment system which can cause environmental problems. Leachate is the major factor to river water pollution since most landfills are located near the river which is the main water resource for the country. The study aimed to estimate leachate production from landfills in Selangor. A simple mathematical modelling was used for the calculation of annual leachate volume. The estimate of identified landfill area (A) using Google Earth was multiplied by the annual rainfall (R). The product is expressed as volume (V). The data indicate that the leachate production is high even it is fully closed. It is important to design the efficient landfill and proper leachate treatment processes especially for the old/closed landfill. Extensive monitoring will be required to predict future impact.

Keywords: landfill, leachate, municipal solid waste management, waste disposal

Procedia PDF Downloads 354