Search results for: moderate Islamic values

Authors: Veronika Sharok

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Research relevance on psychological determinants of risky behaviors is caused by high prevalence of such behaviors, particularly among youth. Risky sexual behavior, including unprotected and casual sex, frequent change of sexual partners, drug and alcohol use lead to negative social consequences and contribute to the spread of HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases. Data were obtained from 302 respondents aged 15-35 which were divided into 3 empirical groups: persons prone to risky sexual behavior, drug users and alcohol users; and 3 control groups: the individuals who are not prone to risky sexual behavior, persons who do not use drugs and the respondents who do not use alcohol. For processing, we used the following methods: Qualitative method for nominative data (Chi-squared test) and quantitative methods for metric data (student's t-test, Fisher's F-test, Pearson's r correlation test). Statistical processing was performed using Statistica 6.0 software. The study identifies two groups of factors that prevent risky behaviors. Internal factors, which include the moral and value attitudes; significance of existential values: love, life, self-actualization and search for the meaning of life; understanding independence as a responsibility for the freedom and ability to get attached to someone or something up to a point when this relationship starts restricting the freedom and becomes vital; awareness of risky behaviors as dangerous for the person and for others; self-acknowledgement. External factors (prevent risky behaviors in case of absence of the internal ones): absence of risky behaviors among friends and relatives; socio-demographic characteristics (middle class, marital status); awareness about the negative consequences of risky behaviors; inaccessibility to psychoactive substances. These factors are common for proneness to each type of risky behavior, because it usually caused by the same reasons. It should be noted that if prevention of risky behavior is based only on elimination of external factors, it is not as effective as it may be if we pay more attention to internal factors. The results obtained in the study can be used to develop training programs and activities for prevention of risky behaviors, for using values preventing such behaviors and promoting healthy lifestyle.

Keywords: existential values, prevention, psychological features, risky behavior

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Authors: Hamida Y. Mostafa, Ghada E. Khedr, Dina M. Abd El-Aty

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Sulfur compound removal from petroleum fractions is a critical component of environmental protection demands. Solvent extraction, oxidative desulfurization, or hydro-treatment techniques have traditionally been used as the removal processes. While all methods were capable of eliminating sulfur compounds at moderate rates, they had some limitations. A major problem with these routes is their high running expenses, which are caused by their prolonged operation times and high energy consumption. Therefore, new methods for removing sulfur are still necessary. In the current study, a simple assisted desulfurization system for gas oil fraction has been successfully developed using acetonitrile and methanol as a solvent under microwave irradiation. The key variables affecting sulfur removal have been studied, including microwave power, irradiation time, and solvent to gas oil volume ratio. At the conclusion of the research that is being presented, promising results have been found. The results show that a microwave-assisted extractive desulfurization method had remove sulfur with a high degree of efficiency under the suitable conditions.

Keywords: extractive desulfurization, microwave assisted extraction, petroleum fractions, acetonitrile and methanol

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Authors: Ahmed A. Abd El Rahim, Andrew Anis Fakhrey Mosaad

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Background: An important psychological issue that has an impact on both mental and physical function is anxiety disorders. The general consensus is that aerobic exercise and physical activity are good for lowering anxiety and mood. Purpose: This study's goal was to look into how patients with anxiety disorders responded to aerobic exercise. Subjects: Anxiety disorders were identified in 30 individuals from the psychiatric hospital at Sohag University who were chosen based on inclusive criteria and had ages ranging from 25 to 45. Methods: Patients were split into two equal groups at random: For four weeks, three sessions per week, fifteen patients in group A (the study group), seven men and eight women, underwent medication therapy and aerobic exercise. Age (28.4 ± 2.11 years), weight (72.5 ± 10.06 kg), height (164.8 ± 9.64 cm), and BMI (26.65 ± 2.68 kg/m2) were all mean SD values. And in Group B (Control Group), only medication therapy was administered to 15 patients (9 males and 6 females). Age (29.6 ± 3.68), weight (75 ± 7.07 kg), height (166.9 ± 6.75) cm, and BMI (26.87 ± 1.11) kg/m2 were the mean SD values. Before and after the treatment, the Hamilton Anxiety Scale was used to gauge the patient's degree of anxiety. Results: Within the two groups, there were significant differences both before and after the treatment. Following therapy, there was a significant difference between the two groups; the study group displayed better improvement on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale. Conclusion: Patients with anxiety problems can benefit from aerobic activities and antianxiety drugs as effective treatments for lowering anxiety levels.

Keywords: aerobic exercises, anxiety disorders, antianxiety medications, Hamilton anxiety scale

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Authors: Gürcan D. Baysal, Ali Tanış

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In this study, samples of plant types including rose hip (Rosa canina L.), jujube (Ziziphus jujube), sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides), elderberry (Sambucus nigra), apricot (Prunus armeniaca), scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), and cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) were grown using plant supporting units called Ekobox and drip irrigation systems in the Karapınar, Konya region of Turkey to reveal the efficiency of Ekobox and drip irrigation compared against a control with no irrigation. The plant diameter, height, and survival rates were determined, compared with each other, and statistically analyzed. According to the statistical analysis of the results, Ekobox applications resulted in the highest values for survival rate, diameter, and height measurements whereas the lowest values were determined in the control groups. These results indicate that the cultivation of plants with Ekobox may help protect against the loss of fertile soils as an effective mechanism for combating erosion and desertification. These advantages may also lead to a lasting economic effect on the cultivation of plants by locals of the Karapınar, Konya province who suffer from an ever-decreasing underground water level as a result of agricultural consumption.

Keywords: drip irrigation, ekobox, plant diameter, plant height, plant survival rate

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Authors: Ahmet Karagoz, Irfan Karagoz

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Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is a radar mechanism that can be integrated into manned and unmanned aerial vehicles to create high-resolution images in all weather conditions, regardless of day and night. In this study, SAR images of military vehicles with different azimuth and descent angles are pre-processed at the first stage. The main purpose here is to reduce the high speckle noise found in SAR images. For this, the Wiener adaptive filter, the mean filter, and the median filters are used to reduce the amount of speckle noise in the images without causing loss of data. During the image segmentation phase, pixel values are ordered so that the target vehicle region is separated from other regions containing unnecessary information. The target image is parsed with the brightest 20% pixel value of 255 and the other pixel values of 0. In addition, by using appropriate parameters of statistical region merging algorithm, segmentation comparison is performed. In the step of feature extraction, the feature vectors belonging to the vehicles are obtained by using Gabor filters with different orientation, frequency and angle values. A number of Gabor filters are created by changing the orientation, frequency and angle parameters of the Gabor filters to extract important features of the images that form the distinctive parts. Finally, images are classified by sparse representation method. In the study, l₁ norm analysis of sparse representation is used. A joint database of the feature vectors generated by the target images of military vehicle types is obtained side by side and this database is transformed into the matrix form. In order to classify the vehicles in a similar way, the test images of each vehicle is converted to the vector form and l₁ norm analysis of the sparse representation method is applied through the existing database matrix form. As a result, correct recognition has been performed by matching the target images of military vehicles with the test images by means of the sparse representation method. 97% classification success of SAR images of different military vehicle types is obtained.

Keywords: automatic target recognition, sparse representation, image classification, SAR images

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Authors: Prabhjot Kaur, B.K. Kang, Balwinder Singh

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The tobacco caterpillar, Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is an agricultural important pest species. S. litura has a wide host range of approximately recorded 150 plant species worldwide. In Punjab, this pest attains sporadic status primarily on cauliflower, Brassica oleracea (L.). This pest destroys vegetable crop and particularly prefers the cruciferae family. However, it is also observed feeding on other crops such as arbi, Colocasia esculenta (L.), mung bean, Vigna radiata (L.), sunflower, Helianthus annuus (L.), cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (L.), castor, Ricinus communis (L.), etc. Larvae of this pest completely devour the leaves of infested plant resulting in huge crop losses which ranges from 50 to 70 per cent. Indiscriminate and continuous use of insecticides has contributed in development of insecticide resistance in insects and caused the environmental degradation as well. Moreover, a base line data regarding the toxicity of the newer insecticides would help in understanding the level of resistance developed in this pest and any possible cross-resistance there in, which could be assessed in advance. Therefore, present studies on development of resistance in S. litura against four new chemistry insecticides (emamectin benzoate, chlorantraniliprole, indoxacarb and spinosad) were carried out in the Toxicology laboratory, Department of Entomology, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India during the year 2011-12. Various stages of S. litura (eggs, larvae) were collected from four different locations (Malerkotla, Hoshiarpur, Amritsar and Samrala) of Punjab. Resistance is developed in third instars of lepidopterous pests. Therefore, larval bioassays were conducted to estimate the response of field populations of thirty third-instar larvae of S. litura under laboratory conditions at 25±2°C and 65±5 per cent relative humidity. Leaf dip bioassay technique with diluted insecticide formulations recommended by Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC) was performed in the laboratory with seven to ten treatments depending on the insecticide class, respectively. LC50 values were estimated by probit analysis after correction to record control mortality data which was used to calculate the resistance ratios (RR). The LC50 values worked out for emamectin benzoate, chlorantraniliprole, indoxacarb, spinosad are 0.081, 0.088, 0.380, 4.00 parts per million (ppm) against pest populations collected from Malerkotla; 0.051, 0.060, 0.250, 3.00 (ppm) of Amritsar; 0.002, 0.001, 0.0076, 0.10 ppm for Samrala and 0.000014, 0.00001, 0.00056, 0.003 ppm against pest population of Hoshiarpur, respectively. The LC50 values for populations collected from these four locations were in the order Malerkotla>Amritsar>Samrala>Hoshiarpur for the insecticides (emamectin benzoate, chlorantraniliprole, indoxacarb and spinosad) tested. Based on LC50 values obtained, emamectin benzoate (0.000014 ppm) was found to be the most toxic among all the tested populations, followed by chlorantraniliprole (0.00001 ppm), indoxacarb (0.00056 ppm) and spinosad (0.003 ppm), respectively. The pairwise correlation coefficients of LC50 values indicated that there was lack of cross resistance for emamectin benzoate, chlorantraniliprole, spinosad, indoxacarb in populations of S. litura from Punjab. These insecticides may prove to be promising substitutes for the effective control of insecticide resistant populations of S. litura in Punjab state, India.

Keywords: Spodoptera litura, insecticides, toxicity, resistance

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Authors: Benson Ade Eniola Afere

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This paper introduces a family of fourth-order hybrid beta polynomial kernels developed for statistical analysis. The assessment of these kernels' performance centers on two critical metrics: asymptotic mean integrated squared error (AMISE) and kernel efficiency. Through the utilization of both simulated and real-world datasets, a comprehensive evaluation was conducted, facilitating a thorough comparison with conventional fourth-order polynomial kernels. The evaluation procedure encompassed the computation of AMISE and efficiency values for both the proposed hybrid kernels and the established classical kernels. The consistently observed trend was the superior performance of the hybrid kernels when compared to their classical counterparts. This trend persisted across diverse datasets, underscoring the resilience and efficacy of the hybrid approach. By leveraging these performance metrics and conducting evaluations on both simulated and real-world data, this study furnishes compelling evidence in favour of the superiority of the proposed hybrid beta polynomial kernels. The discernible enhancement in performance, as indicated by lower AMISE values and higher efficiency scores, strongly suggests that the proposed kernels offer heightened suitability for statistical analysis tasks when compared to traditional kernels.

Keywords: AMISE, efficiency, fourth-order Kernels, hybrid Kernels, Kernel density estimation

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Authors: Teten Masduki

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Indonesia is a unitary state which has a wide range of cultures, local languages, religions, ethnicity, race, traditions, and beliefs held by people who are scattered in several islands Indonesia. But with such diversity has the potential to cause various problems in society. Because one of the characteristics of diversity is the difference. Unresolved differences could develop into conflicts or contradictions in society. Pancasila as the philosophy and ideology of the nation was stated in the opening of the 1945 Constitution as an alternative solution to the conflict that occurred in Indonesia. Because the ideology of Pancasila role as a nation and also as an integral tool that upholds humanity, justice, unity, harmony, and balance on the belt by the five precepts. If the values contained in Pancasila can be applied and lived by the public of Indonesia, it will be the creation of a just, peaceful and peace. However, the lack of public awareness in implementing pancsila can lead to conflict within the community itself, such as the existence of separatist movements in Papua who gathered in the Organisasi Papua Merdeka (OPM) with the active movement that has a lot of casualties. This paper raised the topic of which offer solutions revitalization (reviving) the values of Pancasila as an alternative solution to the conflict in Indonesia is based on a case study of separatist movements in Papua. This paper will also discuss the implementation of strategic steps in the implementation of solutions which are summarized in the conclusions of this paper.

Keywords: Pancasila, separatism, revitalization, democracy

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Authors: Golaleh Ghaffari

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A basin sediment yield refers to the amount of sediment exported by a basin over a period of time, which will enter a reservoir located at the downstream limit of the basin. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT, 2008) was used to hydrology and sediment transport modeling at daily and monthly time steps within the Gheshlagh dam basin in north-west of Iran. The SWAT model and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques were applied to evaluate basin hydrology and sediment yield using historical flow and sediment data and to identify and prioritize critical sub-basins based on sediment transport. The results of this study indicated that simulated daily discharge and sediment values matched the observed values satisfactorily. The model predicted that mean annual basin precipitation for the total study period (413 mm) was partitioned in to evapotranspiration (36%), percolation/groundwater recharge (21%) and stream water (25%), yielding 18% surface runoff. Potential source areas of erosion were also identified with the model. The range of the annual contributing erosive zones varied spatially from 0.1 to 103 t/ha according to the slope and land use at the basin scale. Also the fifteen sub basins create the 60% of the total sediment yield between the all (102) sub basins. The results of the study indicated that SWAT can be a useful tool for assessing hydrology and sediment yield response of the watersheds in the region.

Keywords: erosion, Gheshlagh dam, sediment yield, SWAT

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Authors: Daniele Losanno, Giorgio Serino

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This paper focuses on parametric analysis of reinforced concrete structures equipped with supplemental damping braces. Practitioners still luck sufficient data for current design of damper added structures and often reduce the real model to a pure damper braced structure even if this assumption is neither realistic nor conservative. In the present study, the damping brace is modelled as made by a linear supporting brace connected in series with the viscous/hysteretic damper. Deformation capacity of existing structures is usually not adequate to undergo the design earthquake. In spite of this, additional dampers could be introduced strongly limiting structural damage to acceptable values, or in some cases, reducing frame response to elastic behavior. This work is aimed at providing useful considerations for retrofit of existing buildings by means of supplemental damping braces. The study explicitly takes into consideration variability of (a) relative frame to supporting brace stiffness, (b) dampers’ coefficient (viscous coefficient or yielding force) and (c) non-linear frame behavior. Non-linear time history analysis has been run to account for both dampers’ behavior and non-linear plastic hinges modelled by Pivot hysteretic type. Parametric analysis based on previous studies on SDOF or MDOF linear frames provide reference values for nearly optimal damping systems design. With respect to bare frame configuration, seismic response of the damper-added frame is strongly improved, limiting deformations to acceptable values far below ultimate capacity. Results of the analysis also demonstrated the beneficial effect of stiffer supporting braces, thus highlighting inadequacy of simplified pure damper models. At the same time, the effect of variable damping coefficient and yielding force has to be treated as an optimization problem.

Keywords: brace stiffness, dissipative braces, non-linear analysis, plastic hinges, reinforced concrete frames

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Authors: M. Aboudalle, Le Btth, M. Sari, F. Meftah

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In parallel with the appearance of new materials, brick masonry had and still has an essential part of the construction market today, with new technical challenges in designing bricks to meet additional requirements. Being used in structural applications, predicting the performance of clay brick masonry allows a significant cost reduction, in terms of practical experimentation. The behavior of masonry walls depends on the behavior of their elementary components, such as bricks, joints, and coatings. Therefore, it is necessary to consider it at different scales (from the scale of the intrinsic material to the real scale of the wall) and then to develop appropriate models, using numerical simulations. The work presented in this paper focuses on the mechanical characterization of the terracotta material at ambient temperature. As a result, the static Young’s modulus obtained from the flexural test shows different values in comparison with the compression test, as well as with the dynamic Young’s modulus obtained from the Impulse excitation of vibration test. Moreover, the Young's modulus varies according to the direction in which samples are extracted, where the values in the extrusion direction diverge from the ones in the orthogonal directions. Based on these results, hollow bricks can be considered as transversely isotropic bimodulus material.

Keywords: bimodulus material, hollow clay brick, ımpulse excitation of vibration, transversely isotropic material, young’s modulus

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Authors: K. S. Sruthi

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Antennas are one of the most important parts of a communication chain. They are used for both communication and calibration purposes. New developments in probe technologies have enabled near-field probes with much larger bandwidth. The objective of this paper is to design, simulate and fabricate a dual polarized wide band inverted quad ridged shape horn antenna which can be used as measurement probe for near field measurements. The inverted quad-ridged horn antenna probe not only provides measurement in the much wider range but also provides dual-polarization measurement thus enabling antenna developers to measure UWB, UHF, VHF antennas more precisely and at lower cost. The antenna is designed to meet the characteristics such as high gain, light weight, linearly polarized with suppressed side lobes for near-field measurement applications. The proposed antenna is simulated with commercially available packages such as Ansoft HFSS. The antenna gives a moderate gain over operating range while delivering a wide bandwidth.

Keywords: near-field antenna measurement, inverted quad-ridge horn antenna, wideband Antennas, dual polarized antennas, ansoft HFSS

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Authors: Huilan Yao, Huaixin Zhang

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Simulations of the transition flow of model propellers are important for predicting hydrodynamic performance and studying scale effects. In this paper, the transition flow of a model propeller under different loadings are simulated using a transition model provided by STAR-CCM+, and the influence of turbulence intensity (TI) on the transition, especially friction and pressure components of propeller performance, was studied. Before that, the transition model was applied to simulate the transition flow of a flat plate and an airfoil. Predicted transitions agree well with experimental results. Then, the transition model was applied for propeller simulations in open water, and the influence of TI was studied. Under the heavy and moderate loadings, thrust and torque of the propeller predicted by the transition model (different TI) and two turbulence models are very close and agree well with measurements. However, under the light loading, only the transition model with low TI predicts the most accurate results. Above all, the friction components of propeller performance predicted by the transition model with different TI have obvious difference.

Keywords: transition flow, model propellers, hydrodynamic performance, numerical simulation

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Authors: S. Obregon-Cano, R. Moreno-Rojas, E. Cartea-Gonzalez, A. De Haro-Bailon

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The potential of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for screening the total glucosinolate (t-GSL) content, and also, the aliphatic glucosinolates gluconapin (GNA), progoitrin (PRO) and glucobrassicanapin (GBN) in turnip greens and turnip tops was assessed. This crop is grown for edible leaves and stems for human consumption. The reference values for glucosinolates, as they were obtained by high performance liquid chromatography on the vegetable samples, were regressed against different spectral transformations by modified partial least-squares (MPLS) regression (calibration set of samples n= 350). The resulting models were satisfactory, with calibration coefficient values from 0.72 (GBN) to 0.98 (tGSL). The predictive ability of the equations obtained was tested using a set of samples (n=70) independent of the calibration set. The determination coefficients and prediction errors (SEP) obtained in the external validation were: GNA=0.94 (SEP=3.49); PRO=0.41 (SEP=1.08); GBN=0.55 (SEP=0.60); tGSL=0.96 (SEP=3.28). These results show that the equations developed for total glucosinolates, as well as for gluconapin can be used for screening these compounds in the leaves and stems of this species. In addition, the progoitrin and glucobrassicanapin equations obtained can be used to identify those samples with high, medium and low contents. The calibration equations obtained were accurate enough for a fast, non-destructive and reliable analysis of the content in GNA and tGSL directly from NIR spectra. The equations for PRO and GBN can be employed to identify samples with high, medium and low contents.

Keywords: brassica rapa, glucosinolates, gluconapin, NIRS, turnip greens

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Authors: Ibrahim Abdulla Labib, Medhat Mohamed Morsy, Gamal Hosny, Hanan Dawood Yassa, Gaber Hassan

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Amiodarone is a very effective drug, widely used for arrhythmia. Unfortunately it has many side effects involving many organs especially thyroid gland. The current work was conducted to elucidate the effect of amiodarone on the thyroid gland and the possible protective role of vitamin E. Fifty adult male albino rats weighed 200 – 250 grams were divided into five groups; ten rats each. Group I (Control): Five rats were sacrificed after three weeks and five rats were sacrificed after six weeks. Group II (Sham control): Each rat received sunflower oil orally; the solvent of vitamin E for three weeks. Group III (Amiodarone-treated): each rat received an oral dose of amiodarone; 150 mg/kg/day for three weeks. Group IV (Recovery): Each rat received amiodarone as group III then the drug was stopped for three weeks to evaluate recovery. Group V (Amiodarone + Vitamin E-treated): Each rat received amiodarone as group III followed by 100 mg/kg/day vitamin E orally for three weeks. Thyroid gland of the sacrificed animals were dissected out and prepared for light and electron microscopic studies. Amiodarone administration resulted in loss of normal follicular architecture as many follicles appeared either shrunken, empty or contained scanty pale colloid. Some follicles appeared lined by more than one layer of cells while others showed interruption of their membrane. Masson's Trichrome stained sections showed increased collagen fibers in between the thyroid follicles. Ultrastructurally, the apical border of the follicular cells showed few irregular detached microvilli. The nuclei of the follicular cells were almost irregular with chromatin condensation. The cytoplasm of most follicular cells revealed numerous dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum with numerous lysosomes. After three weeks of stopping amiodarone, the follicles were nearly regular in outline. Some follicles were filled with homogenous eosinophilic colloid and others had shrunken pale colloid or were empty. Some few follicles showed exfoliated cells in their lumina and others were still lined by more than one layer of follicular cells. Moderate amounts of collagen fibers were observed in-between thyroid follicles. Ultrastructurally, many follicular cells had rounded euchromatic nucleui, moderate number of lysosomes and moderately dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum. However, few follicular cells still showing irregular nucleui, dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum and many cytoplasmic vacuoles. Administration of vitamin E with amiodarone for three weeks resulted in obvious structural improvement. Most of the follicles were lined by a single layer of cuboidal cells and the lumina were filled with homogenous eosinophilic colloid with very few vacuolations. The majority of follicular cells had rounded nuclei with occasional detection of ballooned cells and dark nuclei. Scanty collagen fibers were detected among thyroid follicles. Ultrastructurally, most follicular cells exhibited rounded euchromatic nuclei with few short microvilli were projecting into the colloid. Few lysosomes were also noticed. It was concluded that amiodarone administration leads to many adverse histological changes in the thyroid gland. Some of these changes are reversible during the recovery period however concomitant vitamin E administration with amiodarone has a major protective role in preventing many of these changes.

Keywords: amiodarone, recovery, ultrastructure, vitamin E.

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Authors: Ahmed K. Sharaby, Ahmed S. El-Gendy

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Phenolic compounds (PCs) exist in the wastewater effluents of some industries such as oil refinery, pharmaceutical and cosmetics. Phenolic compounds are extremely hazardous pollutants that can cause severe problems to the aquatic life and human beings if disposed of without treatment. One of the most efficient treatment methods of PCs is photocatalytic degradation. The current work studies the performance of composite nanomaterial of titanium dioxide with magnetite as a photo-catalyst in the degradation of PCs. The current work aims at optimizing the synthesized photocatalyst dosage and contact time as part of the operational parameters at different initial concentrations of PCs and pH values in the wastewater. The study was performed in a lab-scale batch reactor under fixed conditions of light intensity and aeration rate. The initial concentrations of PCs and the pH values were in the range of (10-200 mg/l) and (3-9), respectively. Results of the study indicate that the dosage of the catalyst and contact time for total mineralization is proportional to the initial concentrations of PCs, while the optimum pH conditions for highly efficient degradation is at pH 3. Exceeding the concentration levels of the catalyst beyond certain limits leads to the decrease in the degradation efficiency due to the dissipation of light. The performance of the catalyst for degradation was also investigated in comparison to the pure TiO2 Degussa (P-25). The dosage required for the synthesized catalyst for photocatalytic degradation was approximately 1.5 times that needed from the pure titania.

Keywords: industrial, optimization, phenolic compounds, photocatalysis, wastewater

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Authors: F. Zamani Ashni, P. Gerber

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In today's religious and political climate, Muslims find themselves the focus of much attention, often in the form of discrimination and vilification. There is a widely held belief that Islam and terrorism are inextricably intertwined. An anti-Muslim narrative has been shaping policy around the world for some time now. This study, which focuses on the experience of Muslims in Australia, provides guidance on legislative and other steps that can be taken by Australia to help address Islamophobia. This study provides a doctrinal analysis of the state, territory, and federal anti-discrimination laws in Australia. Using principles of statutory interpretation along aside an analysis of relevant jurisprudence, this study concludes that Australian anti-discrimination laws are ill-equipped to address modern-day Islamophobia. The study also finds that laws alone are insufficient to combat Islamophobia, and a more holistic approach is required. Six strategies are identified, which can, in combination, help to successfully respond to Islamophobia. In addition to legislative initiatives, combating Islamophobia requires Australia to promote inclusive human rights education, fair media coverage, strong leadership, integration of the Islamic community, and comprehensive documentation of anti-Muslim attacks.

Keywords: Australia, discrimination, Islamophobia, Muslim

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Authors: Ankur P. Sati, Manju Mohan

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The hazardous combination of smoke and pollutant gases, smog, is harmful for health. There are strong evidences that the Agricultural waste burning (AWB) in the Northern India leads to adverse air quality in Delhi and its surrounding regions. A severe smog episode was observed over Delhi, India during November 2012 which resulted in very low visibility and various respiratory problems. Very high values of pollutants (PM10 as high as 989 µg m-3, PM2.5 as high as 585 µg m-3 an NO2 as high as 540 µg m-3) were measured all over Delhi during the smog episode. Ultra Violet Aerosol Index (UVAI) from Aura satellite and Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) are used in the present study along with the output trajectories from HYSPLIT model and the in-situ data. Satellite data also reveal that AOD, UVAI are always at its highest during the farmfires duration in Punjab region of India and the extent of these farmfires may be increasing. It is observed that during the smog episode all the AOD, UVAI, PM2.5 and PM10 values surpassed those of the Diwali period (one of the most polluted events in the city) by a considerable amount at all stations across Delhi. The parameters used from the remote sensing data and the ground based observations at various stations across Delhi are very well in agreement about the intensity of Smog episode. The analysis clearly shows that regional pollution can have greater contributions in deteriorating the air quality than the local under adverse meteorological conditions.

Keywords: smog, farmfires, AOD, remote sensing

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Authors: Cheng-Chen Hsu

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Background: The ratio of the length of the second finger (index finger, 2D) to the fourth finger (ring finger, 4D) (2D:4D) is a putative marker of prenatal hormones. A low 2D:4D ratio is related to high prenatal testosterone (PT) levels. Physiological research has suggested that a low 2D:4D ratio is correlated with high sports ability. Aim: To examine the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and 2D:4D. Methods: Assessment of 2D:4D; Images of hands were collected from participants using a computer scanner. Hands were placed lightly on the surface of the plate. Image analysis was performed using Image-Pro Plus 5.0 software. Feature points were marked at the tip of the finger and at the center of the proximal crease on the second and fourth digits. Actual measurement was carried out automatically, 2D:4D was calculated by dividing 2nd by 4th digit length. YMCA 3-min Step Test; The test involves stepping up and down at a rate of 24 steps/min for 3 min; a tape recording of the correct cadence (96 beats/min) is played to assist the participant in keeping the correct pace. Following the step test, the participant immediately sits down and, within 5 s, the tester starts counting the pulse for 1 min. The score for the test, the total 1-min postexercise heart rate, reflects the heart’s ability to recover quickly. Statistical Analysis ; Pearson’s correlation (r) was used for assessing the relationship between age, physical measurements, one-minute heart rate after YMCA 3-minute step test (HR) and 2D:4D. An independent-sample t-test was used for determining possible differences in HR between subjects with low and high values of 2D:4D. All statistical analyses were carried out with SPSS 18 for Window. All P-values were two-tailed at P = 0.05, if not reported otherwise. Results: A median split by 2D:4D was applied, resulting in a high and a low group. One-minute heart rate after YMCA 3-minute step test was significantly difference between groups of male right-hand 2D:4D (p = 0.024). However, no difference in left-hand 2D:4D values between groups in male, and no digit ratio difference between groups in female. Conclusion: The results showed that cardiopulmonary fitness is related to right 2D:4D, only in men. We argue that prenatal testosterone may have an effect on cardiorespiratory fitness in male but not in female.

Keywords: college students, digit ratio, finger, step test, fitness

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Authors: Kyi Pyar Zaw, Zin Mar Kyu

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Character recognition is the process of converting a text image file into editable and searchable text file. Feature Extraction is the heart of any character recognition system. The character recognition rate may be low or high depending on the extracted features. In the proposed paper, 25 features for one character are used in character recognition. Basically, there are three steps of character recognition such as character segmentation, feature extraction and classification. In segmentation step, horizontal cropping method is used for line segmentation and vertical cropping method is used for character segmentation. In the Feature extraction step, features are extracted in two ways. The first way is that the 8 features are extracted from the entire input character using eight direction chain code frequency extraction. The second way is that the input character is divided into 16 blocks. For each block, although 8 feature values are obtained through eight-direction chain code frequency extraction method, we define the sum of these 8 feature values as a feature for one block. Therefore, 16 features are extracted from that 16 blocks in the second way. We use the number of holes feature to cluster the similar characters. We can recognize the almost Myanmar common characters with various font sizes by using these features. All these 25 features are used in both training part and testing part. In the classification step, the characters are classified by matching the all features of input character with already trained features of characters.

Keywords: chain code frequency, character recognition, feature extraction, features matching, segmentation

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Authors: Siti Raihana Hamzah

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This paper elaborates risk shifting in debt financing system as the ultimate cause of the global financial crisis. In contrast, risk sharing in equity financing like sukuk helps the economic system to be better sustained. Nevertheless, some types of sukuk are haunted by the issue of imitation with bonds. The critics on the imitation issue not only have raised doubt on the ability of sukuk to diminish risk shifting behavior but also the ability of this Islamic financial instrument to ensure better future financial stability. Through that, this paper provides discussion on the possibility of sukuk to induce risk shifting and how equity financing may help sukuk to be free from risk shifting. This paper is important in the sense that sukuk receives a significant demand from investors throughout the world. For this instrument to be supportive in the future economic stability, the issue of imitation needs to be identified and addressed. Furthermore, critics cannot be focused on debts and its ability to gauge the financial flux but also to sukuk due to their structures similarity.

Keywords: global financial crisis, debt, risk-shifting, risk sharing, equity, sukuk, bonds

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Authors: Ibrahim Alshalan

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The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the greatest and most powerful countries, not only in the Arabian Gulf but in the entire Middle East region. However, the Iranian regime, which came to power as a result of the 1979 revolution that resulted in overthrowing the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, has been the biggest source of threat to the stability of the Middle East since the revolution until this day. It has ambitions to dominate the neighboring Arab countries, especially Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Bahrain. Iran has bad relationships with countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain. The main objective of this paper is to shed light on the deteriorating political relations between the Iranian regime on one hand and the GCC on the other, especially Saudi Arabia which is witnessing more challenges as a result of Iran's determination to develop its nuclear program. Another important objective of this paper is to identify the Iranian role in the creation of the hotbeds of conflict in addition to its responsibility for some of the region's problems. It also aims to answer the question; why does Iran insist on developing its controversial nuclear program?

Keywords: Iran, GCC, Gulf, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Merina Islam

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In this paper, an attempt is made to draw out the contemporary relevance of philosophy in school education of India. This paper attempt is made to inquire into the importance of philosophy for schoolchildren in the Indian cultural context. As education in philosophy for children is useful for teaching the acquisition of knowledge from the information provided, for questioning of rules in different contexts, and for the analysis of facts encountered in daily life. Ethical attitudes can neither be derived from the information provided about the moral rules, nor do they result from a practice of unquestioning obedience It includes some studies done in this field and also reports on philosophy. Many European countries emphasise on the above said theme. There are lots of work and research done by many philosophers on philosophy for children. Indian values system is different from the West and more important than others. Education has become a tool to achieve efficiency in all walks of human life whether social, political, religious or philosophical. Every nation started developing its own specific set of educational values. For India it is very necessary to increase philosophical thinking study and research. Philosophy could make significant contribution, particularly in relation to children's moral development because the Indian curriculum currently neglects this aim. A teacher can play an important role in promoting this discussion because a teacher has the capacity to influence students with their thoughts and personality and engages them in these activities. Philosophy needs to be included in the curriculum and have demonstrated cognitive and social gains in children who were explored to philosophy in their schooling.

Keywords: education, ethical attitude, moral value, philosophy

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Authors: Ana Rahma Yuniarti, Ki Moo Lim

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Slowed myocardial conduction velocity (CV) and shortened action potential duration (APD) due to some reason are associated with an increased risk of re-entrant excitation, predisposing to cardiac arrhythmia. That is because both of CV reduction and APD shortening induces shortening of wavelength. In this study, we investigated quantitatively the cardiac mechanical responses under various CV and APD using multi-scale computational model of the heart. The model consisted of electrical model coupled with the mechanical contraction model together with a lumped model of the circulatory system. The electrical model consisted of 149.344 numbers of nodes and 183.993 numbers of elements of tetrahedral mesh, whereas the mechanical model consisted of 356 numbers of nodes and 172 numbers of elements of hexahedral mesh with hermite basis. We performed the electrical simulation with two scenarios: 1) by varying the CV values with constant APD and 2) by varying the APD values with constant CV. Then, we compared the electrical and mechanical responses for both scenarios. Our simulation showed that faster CV and longer APD induced largest resultants wavelength and generated better cardiac pumping efficacy by increasing the cardiac output and consuming less energy. This is due to the long wave propagation and faster conduction generated more synchronous contraction of whole ventricle.

Keywords: conduction velocity, action potential duration, mechanical contraction model, circulatory model

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Authors: Patria Yunita

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Kuznets’ environmental curve analysis suggests sacrificing economic development to reduce environmental problems. However, we hope to achieve sustainable economic development. In this case, Islamic social finance, especially that of waqf in Indonesia, can be used as a solution to bridge the problem of environmental damage to the sustainability of economic development. The Panel Logit Regression method was used to analyze the probability of increasing economic growth and the role of waqf in the environmental impact of CO₂ emissions. This study uses panel data from 33 Indonesian provinces. The data used were the National Waqf Index, Forest Area, Waqf Land Area, Growth Rate of Regional Gross Domestic Product (YoY), and CO₂ Emissions for 2018-2022. Data were obtained from the Indonesian Waqf Board, Climate World Data, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Bank of Indonesia. The results prove that CO₂ emissions have a negative effect on regional economic growth and that waqf governance in the waqf index has a positive effect on regional economic growth in 33 provinces.

Keywords: waqf, CO₂ emissions, panel logit analysis, sustainable economic development

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Authors: Ursula D. C. Resende, Fabiano S. Bicalho, Sandro T. M. Gonçalves

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The growing demand for cheap and clean energy sources have been motivated by the study and development of distinct technologies and devices able to provide different amounts of energy. In order to supply energy for small loads, the energy from the electromagnetic spectrum can be harvested. This possibility is particularly interesting because this kind of energy is constantly available in the environment and the number of radiofrequency sources is permanently increasing, due to advances in telecommunications services. A rectenna, which is a combination of an antenna and a rectifier circuit, is an equipment that can efficiently perform the electromagnetic energy harvesting. However, since the amount of electromagnetic energy available in the environment is very small, limited values of power can be harvested by the rectenna. Therefore, several technical strategies have been investigated in order to increase this amount of power. In this work, a metamaterial electromagnetic lens is used to improve the electromagnetic energy harvesting. The rectenna investigated was designed and optimized to charge a Li-Ion battery using the electromagnetic energy from an internet Wi-Fi commercial router model TL-WR841HP operating in 2.45 GHz with maximal output power equal to 18 dBm. The rectenna consists of a high directive antenna, a double voltage rectifier circuit and a metamaterial lens. The printed antenna, constituted of two rectangular radiator elements, was projected and optimized by using the Computer Simulation Software (CST) in order to obtain high directivities and values of S11 parameter below -10 dB in 2.45 GHz. The antenna was printed over a double-sided copper fiberglass substrate, FR4, with characterized relative electric permittivity εr = 4.3 and tangent of losses δ = 0.01. The rectifier circuit, which incorporates a circuit for impedance matching and uses the Schottky diode HSMS-2852, was projected and optimized by using Advanced Design Software (ADS) and built over the same FR4 substrate. The metamaterial cell is composed of two Square Split Ring Resonator (S-SRR) and a thin wire in order to operate with negative values of εr and relative magnetic permeability in 2.45 GHz. In order to evaluate the performance of the purposed rectenna two experimental charging tests were performed, one without and other with the metamaterial lens. The result obtained demonstrate that the electromagnetic lens was able to significantly increase the levels of electric current delivered to the battery, approximately 44%.

Keywords: electromagnetic energy harvesting, electromagnetic lens, metamaterial, rectenna

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Authors: Raisibe V. Mathabatha, Phatu W. Mashela, Nehemiah M. Mokgalong

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Occasional incidence of phytotoxicity in Nemarioc-BL and Nemafric-AL phytonematicides to crops raises credibility challenges that could negate their registration as commercial products. Responses of plants to phytonematicides are characterized by the existence of stimulation, neutral and inhibition phases, with the mid-point of the former being referred to as the Mean Concentration Stimulation Point (MSCP = Dm + Rh/2). The objective of this study was to determine the MCSP and the overall sensitivity (∑k) of Nemarioc-AL and Nemafric-BL phytonematicides to rough lemon seedling rootstocks using the Curve-fitting Allelochemical Response Dosage (CARD) computer-based model. Two parallel greenhouse experiments were initiated, with seven dilutions of each phytonematicide arranged in a randomised complete block design, replicated nine times. Six-month-old rough lemon seedlings were transplanted into 20-cm-diameter plastic pots, filled with steam-pasteurised river sand (300°C for 3 h) and Hygromix-T growing mixture. Treatments at 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 164% dilutions were applied weekly at 300 ml/plant. At 84 days after the treatments, analysis of variance-significant plant variables was subjected to the CARD model to generate appropriate biological indices. Computed MCSP values for Nemarioc-AL and Nemafric-BL phytonematicides on rough lemon were 29 and 38%, respectively, whereas ∑k values were 1 and 0, respectively. At the applied concentrations, rough lemon seedlings were highly sensitive to Nemarioc-AL and Nemafric-BL phytonematicides.

Keywords: crude extracts, cucurbitacins, effective microbes, fruit extracts

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Authors: Hina Abdul Majeed

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The story has a powerful impact on the human mind of all age groups. There are various ways to tell stories; one of the forms is digital storytelling. Digital storytelling is getting popular nowadays; it mainly catalyzes a child's holistic development in the early years. Thus, this study's primary purpose is to explore parents' perception of the impact of digital storytelling on developing children's moral values and the change that occurs in child's moral behavior and attitude using the digital storytelling tool. Literature was reviewed by exploring the recent studies on digital stories and their impact on child's development. This study was based on a mixed-method approach, considering qualitative and quantitative research designs. The population for this study included parents of early years children who resided in Karachi. However, parents of two to six years old children were targeted as samples by selecting using a purposive sample method. Thus, 100 parents were chosen for the quantitative survey, and five parents were interviewed to collect qualitative data. Questionnaires were developed for collecting data from parents through surveys and interviews. The SPSS was used to analyze the quantitative data, and the parents' responses collected during discussions were presented in narrative form. The findings show that the impact of digital storytelling, in most parents' opinion, is positive in inculcating moral values in their children. Moreover, parents also endorse the changes in child's behavior and attitude due to digital stories.

Keywords: digital storytelling, moral development, early years, parents

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Authors: Ravi J. Shah

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The present study deals with the synthesis of novel spiro[azetidine-2, 3’-indole]-2’, 4(1’H)-dione derivative from the reactions of 3-(phenylimino)-1,3-dihydro-2H-indol-2-one derivatives with chloracetyl chloride in presence of triethyl amine (TEA). All the compounds were characterized using IR, 1H NMR, MS and elemental analysis. They were screened for their antibacterial and antifungal activities. Results revealed that, compounds (7a), (7b), (7c), (7d) and (7e) showed very good activity with MIC value of 6.25-12.5 μg/ml against three evaluated bacterial strains and the remaining compounds showed good to moderate activity comparable to standard drugs as antibacterial agents. Compounds (7c) and (7h) displayed equipotent antifungal activity in comparison to standard drugs. Structure-activity relationship study of the compounds showed that the presence of electron withdrawing group substitution at 5’ and 7’ positions of indoline ring and on ortho or para position of phenyl ring increases both antibacterial and antifungal activity of the compound. Henceforth, our findings will have a good impact on chemists and biochemists for further investigations in search of bromine containing spiro fused antimicrobial agents.

Keywords: antibacterial activity, antifungal activity, 2-Azetidinone, indoline

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Authors: Xianghong Lu, Yuejun Wang, Chengshi Gan, Xin Qian

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The North Sulawesi Arc, located on the east of Indonesia and to the south of the Celebes Sea, is the north part of the K-shape of Sulawesi Island and has a complex tectonic history since the Cenozoic due to the convergence of three plates (Eurasia, India-Australia and Pacific plates). Published rock records contain less precise chronology, mostly using K-Ar dating, and rare geochemistry data, which limit the understanding of the regional tectonic setting. This study presents detailed zircon U-Pb geochronological and Hf-O isotope and whole-rock geochemical analyses for the Na-rich granites from the North Sulawesi Arc. Zircon U-Pb geochronological analyses of three representative samples yield weighted mean ages of 30.4 ± 0.4 Ma, 29.5 ± 0.2 Ma, and 27.3 ± 0.4 Ma, respectively, revealing the Oligocene magmatism in the North Sulawesi Arc. The samples have high Na₂O and low K₂O contents with high Na₂O/K₂O ratios, belonging to Low-K tholeiitic Na-rich granites. The Na-rich granites are characterized by high SiO₂ contents (75.05-79.38 wt.%) and low MgO contents (0.07-0.91 wt.%) and show arc-like trace elemental signatures. They have low (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)i ratios (0.7044-0.7046), high εNd(t) values (from +5.1 to +6.6), high zircon εHf(t) values (from +10.1 to +18.8) and low zircon δ18O values (3.65-5.02). They show an Indian-Ocean affinity of Pb isotopic compositions with ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratio of 18.16-18.37, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratio of 15.56-15.62, and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratio of 38.20-38.66. These geochemical signatures suggest that the Oligocene Na-rich granites from the North Sulawesi Arc formed by partial melting of the juvenile oceanic crust with sediment-derived fluid-related metasomatism in a subducting setting and support an intra-oceanic arc origin. Combined with the published study, the emergence of extensive calc-alkaline felsic arc magmatism can be traced back to the Early Oligocene period, subsequent to the Eocene back-arc basalts (BAB) that share similarity with the Celebes Sea basement. Since the opening of the Celebes Sea started from the Eocene (42~47 Ma) and stopped by the Early Oligocene (~32 Ma), the geodynamical mechanism of the formation of the Na-rich granites from the North Sulawesi Arc during the Oligocene might relate to the subduction of the Indian Ocean.

Keywords: North Sulawesi Arc, oligocene, Na-rich granites, in-situ zircon Hf–O analysis, intra-oceanic origin

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