Search results for: Saba A. Sulaiman

Authors: Nazmul Hussain, Saba Owais

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The paper is an effort to come across the fertility differential by religion and socio-economic characteristic by religion. Religion and Socio-economic characteristic are conceptualised as touching demography in two ways- through its theoretical content, and in terms of the socio-economic ‘characteristics’ of different religious groups. The mean number of children ever born (MCEB) is used to measure fertility. Efficient contrast of Muslims and Non-Muslims shows little difference in their theological positions on demographic issues, with the omission of their position on birth control. The present paper using data from a primary field survey of 2590 households in the Malda district of West Bengal. Older and younger cohorts of women were examined separately for assessing fertility differential. MCEB was found to be high for women with husbands employed as labourers with a low monthly income. This was true for both the cohorts, but fertility levels were much higher among the older cohort. Low MCEB was found with increasing income and for those in regular salaried jobs. The analysis shows that there is a major dissimilarity in the effects of various socio-economic aspects on the number of children-ever-born among the religious groups, suggesting that religious groups may need to be targeted differently by policy-makers in order to influence demographic decision-making.

Keywords: fertility, socio-economic differences, religion, MCEB

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Authors: Sulaiman A. Alrumman, Abd El-Latif Hesham

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Despite medical progress worldwide, dental caries are still widespread. Miswak is derived from the plant arak (Salvadora persica). It is used by Muslim people as a natural product for the cleansing of teeth, to ensure oral and dental hygiene. This study was designed to evaluate the antimicrobial effects of ethanol, methanol, and ethanol/methanol extracts of miswak against three bacterial pathogens of the oral cavity. The pathogens were isolated from the oral cavity of volunteers/patients and were identified on the basis of 16S rRNA gene amplification data. Sequence comparisons were made with 16S rRNA gene sequences available in the GenBank database. The results of sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis identified the three pathogens as being Staphylococcus aureus strain KKU-020, Enterococcus faecalis strain KKU-021 and Klebsiella pneumoniae strain KKU-022. All miswak extracts showed powerful antimicrobial activity against the three pathogens. The maximum zone of inhibition (40.67±0.88 mm) was observed against E. faecalis with ethanolic extracts whilst methanolic extracts showed the minimum zone of inhibition (10.33±0.88 mm) against K. pneumonia KKU-022. Based on the significant effects of the miswak extracts against the oral cavity pathogens in our study, we recommend that miswak is to be used as a dental hygiene method to prevent tooth caries.

Keywords: antibacterial, miswak, Salvadora persica, oral cavity pathogens

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Authors: Elham Zabetian Targhi, Niusha Fardnava, Saba Saghafi

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Urban resilience to Corona Virus has become a major concern for cities these days. Our country also has not been safe from the destructive effects of this virus in social, economic, physical, governance, and management dimensions; and according to official statistics, hundreds of thousands of people in Iran have been infected with this virus and tens of thousands have died so far. Therefore, to measure urban resilience to this pandemic, some criteria and sub-criteria were developed based on the authors’ documentary and field studies, and their significance or weights were determined using analytical-comparative research method using a questionnaire of paired or L-Saati comparisons from the viewpoint of experts in urban sciences and urban development using AHP hierarchical analysis in EXPERT CHOICE software. Then, designing a questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale, the satisfaction of Tehran residents with the extracted criteria and sub-criteria was measured and the correlation between the important criteria in each dimension was assessed using correlation tests in SPSS16 software. According to the obtained results of AHP analysis and the scores of each sub-criterion, the weight of all criteria was normal. In the next stage, according to the pairwise correlation tests between the important criteria in each dimension from the viewpoint of urban science experts and Tehran residents, it was concluded that the reliability of the correlation between the criteria is 99%. In all the cases, the P-value or the same significance level was less than 0.05, which indicated the significance of the pairwise relations between the variables.

Keywords: Urban Resilience, Pandemics, Corona Virus (Covid-19), Criteria.

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Authors: Mohammed Qutishat, Loai Abu Sharour, Kholoud Al-Damery, Ibtisam Al Harthy, Sulaiman Al-Sabei

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Background: The 2019 coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) has been declared a pandemic and has greatly affected both patients and healthcare workers. This study was conducted to explore the extent of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experiences among nurses as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan. Method: This study used a cross-sectional study design with a convenience sampling approach. A sample of 259 participants completed the study questionnaires, including a sociodemographic questionnaire and the posttraumatic stress disorder checklist for DSM‐5, between May and July 2020. Result: The prevalence of PTSD among the study participants was 37.1%. The majority of study participants who exhibited PTSD symptoms presented the lowest level of PTSD (17%). The results indicated significant differences in overall COVID-19-related PTSD according to the participant’s age (F = 14.750, P = .000), gender (F = 30.340, P = .000), level of education (F = 51.983, P =.000), years of experience (F = 52.33, P = .000), place of work (F = 19.593, P = .000), and working position (F = 11.597, P = .000), as determined by one-way ANOVA. Conclusion: Nurses must be qualified and accredited to cope with reported PTSD cases and their consequences in relation to COVID-19 outbreaks. Close collaboration with a multidisciplinary team is required to recognise, manage, and encourage safety literacy among health care professionals and individuals diagnosed with or suspected of PTSD due to COVID-19 outbreaks or any other viral outbreaks.

Keywords: PTSD, nursing, coronavirus, pandemic, infectious disease

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Authors: A. A. M. Azoddein, R. M. Yunus, N. M. Sulaiman, A. B. Bustary, K. Sabar

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Microbes have been used to solve environmental problems for many years. The use microorganism to sequester, precipitate or alter the oxidation state of various heavy metals has been extensively studied. Processes by which microorganism interacts with toxic metal are very diverse. The purpose of this research is to remove the mercury using Pseudomonas putida, pure culture ATTC 49128 at optimum growth parameters such as techniques of culture, acclimatization time and speed of incubator shaker. Thus, in this study, the optimum growth parameters of P.putida were obtained to achieve the maximum of mercury removal. Based on the optimum parameters of Pseudomonas putida for specific growth rate, the removal of two different mercury concentration, 1 ppm and 4 ppm were studied. A mercury-resistant bacterial strain which is able to reduce ionic mercury to metallic mercury was used to reduce ionic mercury from mercury nitrate solution. The overall levels of mercury removal in this study were between 80% and 90%. The information obtained in this study is of fundamental for understanding of the survival of P.putida ATTC 49128 in mercury solution. Thus, microbial mercury environmental pollutants removal is a potential biological treatment for waste water treatment especially in petrochemical industries in Malaysia.

Keywords: Pseudomonas putida, growth kinetic, biosorption, mercury, petrochemical waste water

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Authors: Saba Javed, Abdul Majeed Nadeem, Imran Qaiser, Muhammad Asif Kamran, Azka Amin

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This study is designed to determine the poverty status and determinants of income diversification in rural areas of Pakistan using cross sectional data of Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) for 2010-2011. The variables used for measuring income diversification are demographic indicators, poverty status, and income of households. Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) poverty measures show that 43.1% poor and 56.9% non-poor resided in rural areas of Pakistan. A Tobit model was employed to examine the determinants of livelihood diversification among households. The result showed that age, gender, marital status, household size and province have significant impact on income diversification. The data show that non-poor and female headed household with higher family size diversify more as compared to poor, male headed household with small size of family members. The place of residence (province used as proxy for place) also plays important role for income diversification as Sindh Province was found more diversified as compared to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtoon Kha (KPK). It is recommended to improve the ways of income diversification among rural household to reduce poverty among them. This can be done by more investment in education with universal access for poor and remote localities households.

Keywords: poverty, income diversification, rural Pakistan, Tobit regression model, FGT

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Authors: Ibrahim Sani, Suleiman Mohammed., Salisu Sulaiman, Aminu Musa

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The fall army worm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) has recently become one of the major threats to maize production in the world. It is native to tropical and subtropical America and began to spread to many African and a few Asian Countries. A survey for the observation of infestation and collection of fall armyworm was conducted in field planted with maize in the northern part of Katsina state. Eggs and immature stages were collected, place in a plastic container and brought to the laboratory for observation and study of developmental stages. FAW was identified based on the morphological characteristics, i.e. the “Y” inverted shape on the head capsule and the patterns of black spots on the abdominal segments (square and trapezoidal forms). Different growing stage of maize are affected by fall armyworm, but the damage is greatest during the early growing phase of corn. Heavy infestation on the leaves also cause defoliation. Four developmental stages (eggs larvae, pupae and adults) of the FAW were studied when fed with young corn under laboratory conditions. Furthermore, effective scouting or monitoring of FAW could be practice at early stage of growth of maize.

Keywords: infestation, katsina, maize, fall armyworm

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Authors: Almalki M., Alajmi M., Qadrouh Y., Alzahrani E., Sulaiman A., Aleid M., Albaiji A., Alfaifi H., Alhadadi A., Almotairy H., Alrasheed R., Alhafedh Y.

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High-resolution marine seismic survey is a well-established technique that commonly used to characterize near-surface sediments and geological structures at shallow water. We conduct single channel seismic survey to provide high quality seismic images for near-surface sediments upto 100m depth at Jubal costal area, Arabian Gulf. Eight hydrophones streamer has been used to collect stacked seismic traces alone 5km seismic line. To reach the required depth, we have used spark system that discharges energies above 5000 J with expected frequency output span the range from 200 to 2000 Hz. A suitable processing flow implemented to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of the seismic profile. We have found that shallow sedimentary layers at the study site have complex pattern of reflectivity, which decay significantly due to amount of source energy used as well as the multiples associated to seafloor. In fact, the results reveal that single channel marine seismic at shallow water is a cost-effective technique that can be easily repeated to observe any possibly changes in the wave physical properties at the near surface layers

Keywords: shallow marine single-channel data, high resolution, frequency filtering, shallow water

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Authors: Sadaf Ilyas, Saba Riaz

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The extensive use of antibiotics has led to increases emergence of antibiotic-resistant organisms. Pseudomonas is a notorious opportunistic pathogen involoved in nosocomial infections and exhibit innate resistance to many antibiotics. The present study was conducted to assess the prevalence, levels of antimicrobial susceptibility and resistance mechanisms of Pseudomonas. A total of thirty clinical strains of Pseudomonas were isolated from different clinical sites of infection. All clinical specimens were collected from Chughtais Lahore Lab. Jail road, during 8-07-2010 to 11-01-2011. Biochemical characterization was done using routine biochemical tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by Kirby-Baeur method. The plasmids were isolated from all the strains and digested with restriction enzyme PstI and EcoRI. Transfer of Multi-resistance plasmid was checked via transformation and conjugation to confirm the plasmid mediated resistance to antibiotics. The prevalence of Pseudomonas in clinical specimens was found out to be 14% of all bacterial infections. IPM has shown to be the most effective drug against Pseudomonas followed by CES, PTB and meropenem, wheareas most of the Pseudomonas strains have developed significant resistance against Penicillins and some Cephalasporins. Antibiotic resistance determinants were carried by plasmids, as they conferred resistance to transformed K1 strains. The isolates readily undergo conjugation, transferring the resistant genes to other strains, illustrating the high rates of cross infection and nosocomial infection in the immunocompromised patients.

Keywords: pseudomonas, antibiotics, drug resistance, horizontal gene transfer

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Authors: Sulaiman Yunus

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The need for modeling response to urban fire disaster cannot be over emphasized, as recurrent fire outbreaks have gutted most cities of the world. This necessitated the need for a prompt and efficient response system in order to mitigate the impact of the disaster. Promptness, as a function of time, is seen to be the fundamental determinant for efficiency of a response system and magnitude of a fire disaster. Delay, as a result of several factors, is one of the major determinants of promptgness of a response system and also the magnitude of a fire disaster. Response Delay Model (RDM) intends to bridge the gap in urban fire disaster response system through incorporating and synchronizing the delay moments in measuring the overall efficiency of a response system and determining the magnitude of a fire disaster. The model identified two delay moments (pre-notification and Intra-reflex sequence delay) that can be elastic and collectively plays a significant role in influencing the efficiency of a response system. Due to variation in the elasticity of the delay moments, the model provides for measuring the length of delays in order to arrive at a standard average delay moment for different parts of the world, putting into consideration geographic location, level of preparedness and awareness, technological advancement, socio-economic and environmental factors. It is recommended that participatory researches should be embarked on locally and globally to determine standard average delay moments within each phase of the system so as to enable determining the efficiency of response systems and predicting fire disaster magnitudes.

Keywords: delay moment, fire disaster, reflex sequence, response, response delay moment

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Authors: Donatella Cimini, Sergio D’ambrosio, Saba Sadiq, Chiara Schiraldi

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Chondroitin sulfate (CS), as well as modified CS, and unsulfated chondroitin, are largely applied in research today. CS is a linear glycosaminoglycan normally present in cartilage-rich tissues and bones in the form of proteoglycans decorated with sulfate groups in different positions. CS is used as an effective non-pharmacological alternative for the treatment of osteoarthritis, and other potential applications in the biomedical field are being investigated. Some bacteria, such as E. coli K4, produce a polysaccharide that is a precursor of CS (unsulfated chondroitin). This work focused on the construction of integrative E. coli K4 recombinant strains overexpressing genes (kfoA, kfoF, pgm and galU in different combinations) involved in the biosynthesis of the nucleotide sugars necessary for polysaccharide synthesis. Strain growth and polymer production were evaluated using renewable waste materials as substrates in shake flasks and small-scale batch fermentation processes. Results demonstrated the potential to replace pure sugars with cheaper medium components to establish environmentally sustainable and cost-effective production routes for potential industrial development. In fact, although excellent fermentation results have been described so far by employing strains that naturally produce chondroitin-like polysaccharides on semi-defined media, there is still the need to reduce manufacturing costs by providing a cost-effective biotechnological alternative to currently used animal-based extraction procedures.

Keywords: E. coli K4, chondroitin, microbial cell factories, glycosaminoglycans, renewable resources

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Authors: Muhammad B. Ibrahim, Muhammad S. Sulaiman, Sadiq Sani

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Neem leaves were studied as plant wastes derived adsorbents for detoxification of Congo Red (CR) and Methyl Orange (MO) from aqueous solutions using batch adsorption technique. The objectives involved determining the effects of the basic adsorption parameters are namely, agitation time, adsorbent dosage, adsorbents particle size, adsorbate loading concentrations and initial pH, on the adsorption process as well as characterizing the adsorbents by determining their physicochemical properties, functional groups responsible for the adsorption process using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and surface morphology using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersion X – ray spectroscopy (EDS). The adsorption behaviours of the materials were tested against Langmuir, Freundlich, etc. isotherm models. Percent adsorption increased with increase in agitation time (5 – 240 minutes), adsorbent dosage (100-500mg), initial concentration (100-300mg/L), and with decrease in particle size (≥75μm to ≤300μm) of the adsorbents. Both processes are dye pH-dependent, increasing or decreasing percent adsorption in acidic (2-6) or alkaline (8-12) range over the studied pH (2-12) range. From the experimental data the Langmuir’s separation factor (RL) suggests unfavourable adsorption for all processes, Freundlich constant (nF) indicates unfavourable process for CR and MO adsorption; while the mean free energy of adsorption

Keywords: adsorption, congo red, methyl orange, neem leave

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Authors: Shiza Shahid, Saba Shahid, Kenji Noguchi, Raegan Bishop, Elena Stepanova

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According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2020, in the United States, women who worked full-time earned only 82 cents for every dollar earned by men who worked full-time, year-round. This study examined how personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness to experience) interacts with ambivalent sexism to influence acceptance of gender income inequality. Using a quantitative method approach, this study collected data from a sample of N=150 students from Social Science Online Subject Pool (SONA). The study predicted that (a) extraversion and openness to experience would be positively related to acceptance of gender income inequality, while emotional stability and agreeableness would be negatively related to acceptance of gender income inequality, (b) Individuals who scored higher on measures of hostile sexism would show greater acceptance of gender income inequality than individuals who score higher on measures of benevolent sexism. The results were reported according to the predictions for the study. This study broadens the importance of addressing the underlying factors contributing to attitudes towards gender income inequality and contributes to ongoing efforts to achieve gender equality, which is important for promoting economic well-being.

Keywords: gender income ineqaulity, ambivalent sexism, personality traits, sustainable development goals

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Authors: Saba Atefyekta

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Aim: Control of bacterial bioburden in wounds is an important step for minimizing the risk of wound infection. An antimicrobial hydrogel wound dressing is developed out of soft polymeric hydrogels that contain antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Such wound dressings can bind and kill all types of bacteria, even the resistance types at the wound site. Methods: AMPs are permanently bonded onto a soft nanostructured polymer via covalent attachment and physical entanglement. This improves stability, rapid antibacterial activity, and, most importantly, prevents the leaching of AMPs. Major Findings: Antimicrobial analysis of antimicrobial hydrogels using in-vitro wound models confirmed >99% killing efficiency against multiple bacterial trains, including MRSA, MDR, E. Coli. Furthermore, the hydrogel retained its antibacterial activity for up to 4 days when exposed to human serum. Tests confirmed no release of AMPs, and it was proven non-toxic to mammalian cells. An in-vivo study on human intact skin showed a significant reduction of bacteria for part of the subject’s skin treated with antibacterial hydrogels. A similar result was detected through a qualitative study in veterinary trials on different types of surgery wounds in cats, dogs, and horses. Conclusions: Antimicrobial hydrogels wound dressings developed by permanent attachment of AMPs can effectively and rapidly kill bacteria in contact. Such antibacterial hydrogel wound dressings are non-toxic and do not release any substances into the wound.

Keywords: antibacterial wound dressing, antimicrobial peptides, post-surgical wounds, infection

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Authors: Khairul Bariah Sulaiman, Tajul Aris Yang

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Fermentation is well known as an essential process in cocoa beans. Besides to develop the precursor of cocoa flavour, it also induce the colour changes in the beans.The fermentation process is reported to be influenced by duration of pod storage and fermentation. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate colour of Malaysian cocoa beans and how the pods storage and fermentation duration using shallow box technique will effect on it characteristics. There are two factors being studied ie duration of cocoa pod storage (0, 2, 4, and 6 days) and duration of cocoa fermentation (0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 days). The experiment is arranged in 4 x 6 factorial design with 24 treatments and arrangement is in a Completely Randomised Design (CRD). The produced beans is inspected for colour changes under artificial light during cut test and divided into four groups of colour namely fully brown, purple brown, fully purple and slaty. Cut tests indicated that cocoa beans which are directly dried without undergone fermentation has the highest slaty percentage. However, application of pods storage before fermentation process is found to decrease the slaty percentage. In contrast, the percentages of fully brown beans start to dominate after two days of fermentation, especially from four and six days of pods storage batch. Whereas, almost all batch have percentage of fully purple less than 20%. Interestingly, the percentage of purple brown beans are scattered in the entire beans batch regardless any specific trend. Meanwhile, statistical analysis using General Linear Model showed that the pods storage has a significant effect on the colour characteristic of the Malaysian dried beans compared to fermentation duration.

Keywords: cocoa beans, colour, fermentation, shallow box

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Authors: Ammar Ali Saleh Jaber, Amer Hayat Khan, Syed Azhar Syed Sulaiman

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Tuberculosis (TB) is considered as a major disease that affects daily activities and impairs health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The impact of TB on HRQoL can affect treatment outcome and may lead to treatment defaulting. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the HRQoL of TB treatment lost to follow-up during and after treatment in Yemen. For this aim, this prospective study enrolled a total of 399 TB lost to follow-up patients between January 2011 and December 2015. By applying HRQoL criteria, only 136 fill the survey during treatment. Moreover, 96 were traced and fill out the HRQoL survey. All eight HRQol domains were categorized into the physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS), which were calculated using QM scoring software. Results show that all lost to follow-up TB patients reported a score less than 47 for all eight domains, except general health (67.3) during their treatment period. Low scores of 27.9 and 29.8 were reported for emotional role limitation (RE) and mental health (MH), respectively. Moreover, the mental component score (MCS) was found to be only 28.9. The trace lost follow-up shows a significant improvement in all eight domains and a mental component score of 43.1. The low scores of 27.9 and 29.8 for role emotion and mental health, respectively, in addition to the MCS score of 28.9, show that severe emotional condition and reflect the higher depression during treatment period that can result to lost to follow-up. The low MH, RE, and MCS can be used as a clue for predicting future TB treatment lost to follow-up.

Keywords: Yemen, tuberculosis, health-related quality of life, Khat

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Authors: Maruf Yinka Kolawole, Jacob Olayiwola Aweda, Farasat Iqbal, Asif Ali, Sulaiman Abdulkareem

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Zinc is a non-ferrous metal with potential application in orthopaedic implant materials. However, its poor mechanical properties were major challenge to its application. Therefore, this paper studies the mechanical properties of biodegradable Zn-based alloy for biomedical application. Pure zinc powder with varying (0, 1, 2, 3 & 6) wt% of magnesium powders were ball milled using ball-to-powder ratio (B:P) of 10:1 at 350 rpm for 4 hours. The resulting milled powders were compacted and sintered at 300 MPa and 350 °C respectively. Microstructural, phase and mechanical properties analyses were performed following American standard of testing and measurement. The results show that magnesium has influence on the mechanical properties of zinc. The compressive strength, hardness and elastic modulus of 210 ± 8.878 MPa, 76 ± 5.707 HV and 45 ± 11.616 GPa respectively as obtained in Zn-2Mg alloy were optimum and meet the minimum requirement of biodegradable metal for orthopaedics application. These results indicate an increase of 111, 93 and 93% in compressive strength, hardness and elastic modulus respectively as compared to pure zinc. The increase in mechanical properties was adduced to effectiveness of compaction pressure and intermetallic phase formation within the matrix resulting in high dislocation density for improving strength. The study concluded that, Zn-2Mg alloy with optimum mechanical properties can therefore be considered a potential candidate for orthopaedic application.

Keywords: Biodegradable metal, Biomedical application, Mechanical properties, Powder Metallurgy, Zinc

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Authors: Mohamed Fadzlee Sulaiman, Zainurrasyid Abdullah, Mohd Zabri Adil Talib, Aswami Fadillah Mohd Ariffin

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In common digital forensics cases, investigation may rely on the analysis conducted on specific and relevant exhibits involved. Usually the investigation officer may define and advise digital forensic analyst about the goals and objectives to be achieved in reconstructing the trail of evidence while maintaining the specific scope of investigation. With the technology growth, people are starting to realize the importance of cyber security to their organization and this new perspective creates awareness that digital forensics auditing must come in place in order to measure possible threat or attack to their cyber-infrastructure. Instead of performing investigation on incident basis, auditing may broaden the scope of investigation to the level of anomaly detection in daily operation of organization’s cyber space. While handling a huge amount of data such as log files, performing digital forensics audit for large organization proven to be onerous task for the analyst either to analyze the huge files or to translate the findings in a way where the stakeholder can clearly understand. Data visualization can be emphasized in conducting digital forensic audit and investigation to resolve both needs. This study will identify the important factors that should be considered to perform data visualization techniques in order to detect anomaly that meet the digital forensic audit and investigation objectives.

Keywords: digital forensic, data visualization, anomaly detection , log analysis, forensic audit, visualization techniques

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Authors: Khairul Bariah Sulaiman, Tajul Aris Yang

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Malaysian dried cocoa beans have been reported to have low quality flavour and are often sold at discounted prices. Various efforts have been made to improve the Malaysian beans quality. Among these efforts is introduction of the shallow box fermentation technique and pulp preconditioned through pods storage. However, after nearly four decades of the effort was done, Malaysian cocoa farmers still received lower prices for their beans. So, this study was carried out in order to assess the flavour quality of dried cocoa beans produced by shallow box fermentation techniques, combination of shallow box fermentation with pods storage and compared to dried cocoa beans obtained from Ghana. A total of eight samples of dried cocoa was used in this study, which one of the samples was Ghanaian beans (coded with no.8), while the rest were Malaysian cocoa beans with different post-harvest processing (coded with no. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7). Cocoa liquor was prepared from all samples in the prescribed techniques and sensory evaluation was carried out using Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) Method with 0-10 scale by Malaysian Cocoa Board trained panelist. Sensory evaluation showed that cocoa attributes for all cocoa liquors ranging from 3.5 to 5.3, whereas bitterness was ranging from 3.4 to 4.6 and astringent attribute ranging from 3.9 to 5.5, respectively. Meanwhile, all cocoa liquors were having acid or sourness attribute ranging from 1.6 to 3.6, respectively. In general cocoa liquor prepared from sample coded no 4 has almost similar flavour profile and no significantly different at p < 0.05 with Ghana, in term of most flavour attributes as compared to the other six samples.

Keywords: cocoa beans, flavour, fermentation, shallow box, pods storage

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Authors: Saba Gachpaz, Hamid Reza Heidari

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The sharp increase in population growth leads to more pressure on agricultural areas to satisfy the food supply. To achieve this, more resources should be consumed and, besides other environmental concerns, highlight sustainable agricultural development. Land-use management is a crucial factor in obtaining optimum productivity. Machine learning is a widely used technique in the agricultural sector, from yield prediction to customer behavior. This method focuses on learning and provides patterns and correlations from our data set. In this study, nine physical control factors, namely, soil classification, electrical conductivity, normalized difference water index (NDWI), groundwater level, elevation, annual precipitation, pH of water, annual mean temperature, and slope in the alluvial plain in Khuzestan (an agricultural hotspot in Iran) are used to decide the best agricultural land use for both rainfed and irrigated agriculture for ten different crops. For this purpose, each variable was imported into Arc GIS, and a raster layer was obtained. In the next level, by using training samples, all layers were imported into the python environment. A random forest model was applied, and the weight of each variable was specified. In the final step, results were visualized using a digital elevation model, and the importance of all factors for each one of the crops was obtained. Our results show that despite 62% of the study area being allocated to agricultural purposes, only 42.9% of these areas can be defined as a suitable class for cultivation purposes.

Keywords: land suitability, machine learning, random forest, sustainable agriculture

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Authors: Emmanuel Kamal Aziz Saba

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Aim of the work: This study proposed to assess the role of the median versus ulnar medial thenar motor (MTM) recording in supporting the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Patients and methods: The present study included 130 hands (70 CTS and 60 controls). Clinical examination was done for all patients. The following tests were done (using surface electrodes recording) for patients and control: (1) sensory nerve conduction studies: median nerve, ulnar nerve and median versus ulnar digit four sensory study; (2) motor nerve conduction studies: median nerve, ulnar nerve, median (second lumbrical) versus ulnar (interosseous) (2-LINT) motor study and median versus ulnar (MTM) study. Results: The tests with higher sensitivity in diagnosing CTS were median versus ulnar (2-LINT) motor latency difference (87.1%), median versus ulnar (MTM) motor latency difference (80%) and median versus ulnar digit four sensory latency differences (91.4%). There was no statistically significant difference between median versus ulnar (MTM) motor latency difference with both median versus ulnar (2-LINT) motor latency difference and median versus ulnar digit four sensory latency difference (P > 0.05) as regards the confirmation of CTS. Conclusions: Median versus ulnar (MTM) motor latency difference has high sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of CTS as for both median versus ulnar (2-LINT) motor latency difference and median versus ulnar digit four sensory latency differences. It can be considered a useful neurophysiological test to be used in combination with another median versus ulnar comparative tests for confirming the diagnosis of CTS beside other well-known electrophysiological tests.

Keywords: carpal tunnel syndrome, medial thenar motor, median nerve, ulnar nerve

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Authors: Saba Goudarzi Dehrizifar, Aysan Afradi

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The utilization of ozone treatment as a potential technique for storage pest control has gained significant attention. This approach presents an alternative to traditional chemical methods. In the current study, the mortality rates of Plodia interpunctella as a primary pest found in stored products particularly nuts, were examined after being exposed to different O3 concentration (minimum, half, and maximum) in three replicates and within 24 hours. As the concentration of O3 increased, the mortality rates of P. interpunctella also experienced a dramatic growth. A 20-member panel (men and women in different ages), formed from the society community, was selected for sensory evaluation. The pumpkin seeds samples were coded and presented randomly in identical containers. The panelists were asked to evaluate their degree of liking or disliking on a seven-point hedonic scale using descriptive categories, ranging 1-7 (1: extremely dislike, 2: very dislike, 3: dislike, 4: no difference, 5: like, 6: very like, and 7: extremely like). The results obtained from experiments on the qualitative characteristics of the studied dates through the sensory test revealed that O3 concentration did not affect their color, crispness, firmness, and overall acceptance and the half concentration of ozone on pumpkin seed had the highest consumption interest. Moreover, minimal alterations were observed in the aroma of the pumpkin seeds, which could be resolved with a short period of air exposure. Therefore, it could be concluded that the atmospheric O3 gas provided a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way for controlling the insect pests in pumpkin seeds, besides preserving their sensory and quality properties.

Keywords: zone, control, pumpkin seeds, qualitative characteristics

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Authors: Hanifa Taher, Sulaiman Al-Zuhair, Ali H. Al-Marzouqi, Yousef Haik, Mohammed Farid

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Biodiesel, as an alternative renewable fuel, has been receiving increasing attention due to the limited supply of fossil fuels and the increasing need for energy. Microalgae is a promising source for lipids, which can be converted to biodiesel. The biodiesel production from microalgae lipids using lipase catalyzed reaction in supercritical CO2 medium has several advantages over conventional production processes. However, identifying the optimum microalgae lipid extraction and transesterification conditions is still a challenge. In this study, the lipids extracted from Scenedesmus sp. and their enzymatic transesterification using supercritical carbon dioxide have been investigated. The effect of extraction variables (temperature, pressure and solvent flow rate) and reaction variables (enzyme loading, incubation time, methanol to lipids molar ratio and temperature) were considered. Process parameters and their effects were studied using a full factorial analysis of both. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) and was used to determine the optimum conditions for the extraction and reaction steps. For extraction, the optimum conditions were 53 °C and 500 bar, whereas for the reaction the optimum conditions were 35% enzyme loading, 4 h reaction, 9:1 molar ratio and 50 oC. At these optimum conditions, the highest biodiesel production yield was found to be 82 %. The fuel properties of the produced biodiesel, at optimum reaction condition, were determined and compared to ASTM standards. The properties were found to comply with the limits, and showed a low glycerol content, without any separation step.

Keywords: biodiesel, lipase, supercritical CO2, standards

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Authors: Su Sin Chong, Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman, Sulaiman Wadi Harun, Hamzah Arof

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Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) plays a vital role determination of an appropriate strategy for wastewater treatment including the control of the quality of an effluent. In this study, a new sensing method was introduced for the first time and developed to investigate chemical oxygen demand (COD) using a Mach-Zehner Interferometer (MZI)-based dye sensor. The sensor is constructed by bridging two single mode fibres (SMF1 and SMF2) with a short section (~20 mm) of multimode fibre (MMF) and was formed by tapering the MMF to generate evanescent field which is sensitive to perturbation of sensing medium. When the COD concentration increase takes effect will induce changes in output intensity and effective refractive index between the microfiber and the sensing medium. The adequacy of decisions based on COD values relies on the quality of the measurements. Therefore, the dual output response can be applied to the analytical procedure enhance measurement quality. This work presents a detailed assessment of the determination of COD values in synthetic wastewaters. Detailed models of the measurement performance, including sensitivity, reversibility, stability, and uncertainty were successfully validated by proficiency tests where supported on sound and objective criteria. Comparison of the standard method with the new proposed method was also conducted. This proposed sensor is compact, reliable and feasible to investigate the COD value.

Keywords: chemical oxygen demand, environmental sensing, Mach-Zehnder interferometer sensor, online monitoring

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Authors: Mohamed A. Hammad, Dzul Azri Mohamed Noor, Syed Azhar Syed Sulaiman, Majed Ahmed Al-Mansoub, Muhammad Qamar

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There is a progressive increase in the prevalence of early onset Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Early detection of Type 2 diabetes enhances the length and/or quality of life which might result from a reduction in the severity, frequency or prevent or delay of its long-term complications. The study aims to determine the onset age for the first diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. A retrospective study conducted in the endocrine clinic at Hospital Pulau Pinang in Penang, Malaysia, January- December 2016. Records of 519 patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus were screened to collect demographic data and determine the age of first-time diabetes mellitus diagnosis. Patients classified according to the age of diagnosis, gender, and ethnicity. The study included 519 patients with age (55.6±13.7) years, female 265 (51.1%) and male 254 (48.9%). The ethnicity distribution was Malay 191 (36.8%), Chinese 189 (36.4%) and Indian 139 (26.8%). The age of Type 2 diabetes diagnosis was (42±14.8) years. The female onset of diabetes mellitus was at age (41.5±13.7) years, while male (42.6±13.7) years. Distribution of diabetic onset by ethnicity was Malay at age (40.7±13.7) years, Chinese (43.2±13.7) years and Indian (42.3±13.7) years. Diabetic onset was classified by age as follow; ≤20 years’ cohort was 33 (6.4%) cases. Group >20- ≤40 years was 190 (36.6%) patients, and category >40- ≤60 years was 270 (52%) subjects. On the other hand, the group >60 years was 22 (4.2%) patients. The range of diagnosis was between 10 and 73 years old. Conclusion: Malay and female have an earlier onset of diabetes than Indian, Chinese and male. More than half of the patients had diabetes between 40 and 60 years old. Diabetes mellitus is becoming more common in younger age <40 years. The age at diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus has decreased with time.

Keywords: age of onset, diabetes diagnosis, diabetes mellitus, Malaysia, outpatients, type 2 diabetes, retrospective study

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Authors: Ann D. Christy, Beenish Saba

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The Microbial fuel Cell (MFC) is a successful integrated technology for power production and wastewater treatment. MFCs are recognized for their dual function, but research in this field is still ongoing to increase efficiency and power output. One such effort is successful integration of phototrophic and autotrophic microorganisms to create bacterio-algal MFCs for sustainable electricity production along with wastewater treatment and algal biomass production. An MFC is typically configured with an anaerobic anodic chamber containing exoelectrogenic microorganisms separated by a cation exchange membrane from an adjacent aerobic cathodic chamber. The two electrodes are connected by an external circuit. This conventional MFC can be converted into a phototrophic MFC by introducing photosynthetic microorganisms into the cathode chamber. This study examines adding a third desalination chamber to a two-chamber bacterio-algal MFC. Successful results have been observed from these three-chamber MFCs demonstrating wastewater treatment in the anodic chamber, phototrophic algal growth in the cathodic chamber, and desalination in the middle chamber. The present article will summarize successful results of the bacterio-algal fuel cells and offer insights about the mechanisms involved. Tables summarizing the input substrate along with optimized operational conditions and output performance in terms of power production and efficiencies of water and wastewater treatment will be presented. The negative impacts and challenges will be discussed, along with possible future research directions. Results suggest that the three chamber bacterio-algal desalination cell has potential as a feasible technology for power production, wastewater treatment and desalination, but it needs further investigation under optimized conditions.

Keywords: bacterio-algal MFC, three chamber, microbial fuel cell, wastewater treatment and desalination

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Authors: I. Agboola Julius, Christopher A. Kumolu-Johnson, O. Kolade Rafiu, A. Saba Abdulwakil

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This work elucidates on mangrove diversity, trends of change, factors responsible for loss over the years and implications for sustainable livelihoods of locals in four villages (Ajido (L1), Tarkwa bay (L2), University of Lagos (L3), and Ikosi (L4)) along the coast of Lagos, Nigeria. Primary data were collected through field survey, questionnaires, interviews, and review of existing literature. Field observation and data analysis reveals mangrove diversity as low and varied on a spatial scale, where Margalef’s Diversity Index (D) was 0.368, 0.269, 0.326, and 0.333, respectively for L1, L2, L3, and L4. Shannon Weiner’s Index (H) was estimated to be 1.003, 1.460, 1.160, 1.046, and Specie Richness (E) 0.913, 0.907, 0.858, and 0.015, respectively, for the four villages. Also, The Simpson’s index of diversity was analyzed to be 0.632, 0. 731, 0.647, 0.667, and Simpson’s reciprocal index 2.717, 3.717, 3.060, and 3.003, respectively, for the four villages. Chi-square test was used to analyze the impact of mangrove loss on the sustainable livelihood of coastal communities. Calculated Chi-square (X2) value (5) was higher than tabulated value (4.30), suggesting that loss of mangrove wetlands impacted on local communities’ livelihood at the four villages. Analyses of causes and trends of mangrove wetland loss over the years suggest that urbanization, fuel wood and agricultural activities are major causes. Current degradation observed in mangrove wetlands on the Lagos coast suggest a reduction in mangroves biodiversity and associated fauna with potential cascading effects on higher trophic levels such as fisheries. Low yield in fish catch, reduction in income and increasing cases of natural disaster has culminated in threats to sustainable livelihoods of local communities along the coast of Lagos.

Keywords: Mangroves, lagos coast, fisheries, management

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Authors: Saba Rahman, Arvind K. Jain, S. D. Bharti, T. K. Datta

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The present study compares the semi-empirical wake-oscillator models that are used to predict vortex-induced vibration of structures. These models include those proposed by Facchinetti, Farshidian, and Dolatabadi, and Skop and Griffin. These models combine a wake oscillator model resembling the Van der Pol oscillator model and a single degree of freedom oscillation model. In order to use these models for estimating the top displacement of chimneys, the first mode vibration of the chimneys is only considered. The modal equation of the chimney constitutes the single degree of freedom model (SDOF). The equations of the wake oscillator model and the SDOF are simultaneously solved using an iterative procedure. The empirical parameters used in the wake-oscillator models are estimated using a newly developed approach, and response is compared with experimental data, which appeared comparable. For carrying out the iterative solution, the ode solver of MATLAB is used. To carry out the comparative study, a tall concrete chimney of height 210m has been chosen with the base diameter as 28m, top diameter as 20m, and thickness as 0.3m. The responses of the chimney are also determined using the linear model proposed by E. Simiu and the deterministic model given in Eurocode. It is observed from the comparative study that the responses predicted by the Facchinetti model and the model proposed by Skop and Griffin are nearly the same, while the model proposed by Fashidian and Dolatabadi predicts a higher response. The linear model without considering the aero-elastic phenomenon provides a less response as compared to the non-linear models. Further, for large damping, the prediction of the response by the Euro code is relatively well compared to those of non-linear models.

Keywords: chimney, deterministic model, van der pol, vortex-induced vibration

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Authors: Ali H.Alyami, Hussam Darraj, Faisal Hakami, Mohammed Awaf, Sulaiman Hamdi, Nawaf Bakri, Abdulaziz Saber, Khalid Hakami, Almuhanad Alyami, Mohammed khashab

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Introduction: Adolescents frequently self-report pain, according to epidemiological research. The knee is one of the sites where the pain is most common. One of the main factors contributing to the number of years people spend disabled and having substantial personal, societal, and economic burdens globally are musculoskeletal disorders. Adolescents may have knee pain due to an abrupt, traumatic injury or an insidious, slowly building onset that neither the adolescent nor the parent is aware of. Objectives: The present study’s authors aimed to estimate the prevalence of knee pain in Saudi adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional survey, carried out from June to November 2022, included 676 adolescents ages 10 to 18. Data are presented as frequencies and percentages for categorical variables. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare means between groups, while the chi-square test was used for the comparison of categorical variables. Statistical significance was set at P< 0.05.Result: Adolescents were invited to take part in the study. 57.5% were girls, and 42.5% were males,68.8% were 676 aged between 15 and 18. The prevalence of knee pain was considerably high among females (26%), while it was 19.2% among males. Moreover, age was a significant predictor for knee pain; also BMI was significant for knee pain. Conclusion: Our study noted a high rate of knee pain among adolescents, so we need to raise awareness about risk factors. Adolescent knee pain can be prevented with conservative methods and some minor lifestyle/activity modifications.

Keywords: knee pain, prevalence of knee pain, exercise training, physical activity

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Authors: Emmanuel Kamal Aziz Saba, Hussein Al-Moghazy Sultan

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The aim of this study was to evaluate clinically and electro physiologically the autonomic nervous system changes associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The present study included 25 patients with RA [22 women (88%)] and 30 apparently healthy control subjects [27 women (90%)]. A thorough clinical examination was carried out. Disease activity and functional disability were assessed. Tests for assessment of autonomic functions include active and passive orthostatic stress tests, and sympathetic skin response (SSR). The presence of abnormality in 2 tests or more was a clue for the presence of autonomic neuropathy (AN). Sural sensory nerve conduction study and posterior tibial motor nerve conduction study were done. There was a statistically significant decrease in standing systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) components of the active orthostatic stress test and SSR amplitude as well as statistically significant prolongation of SSR latency of RA patients when compared to control. Three patients (12%) had clinical symptoms suggestive of AN; increased to 14 patients (56 %) when orthostatic stress tests and SSR were utilized. There were no statistically significant differences between patients with different disease activity score 28 with 4 variables grades of RA activity and SSR latency and amplitude. There were no statistically significant differences between patients with different Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index grades of RA functional disability and SSR latency and amplitude. In conclusion, autonomic neuropathy is a common extra-articular manifestation of RA affecting sympathetic and parasympathetic fibers.

Keywords: autonomic neuropathy, orthostatic stress test, rheumatoid arthritis, sympathetic skin response

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