The Effectiveness of Inquiry Teaching in Enhancing Students’ Critical Thinking

AbstractThis quasi-experimental study examined the effectiveness of inquiry teaching in improving students’ critical thinking in History. 41 Form 4 students were chosen as the treatment class while another 42 students were in the control class. Experiments related to inquiry teaching were carried out for eight weeks. Pre and post tests were performed on both groups. Results showed a significant difference of 0.05 between the treatment and control groups. Findings found the treatment group showed a higher increase in critical thinking than the control group. The findings indicated that inquiry teaching is effective and should be emphasized in schools

Modification of carbon black using polyethylenimine (PEI) for aspirin removal

Aspirin is the most common drug consumed by humans and animals, so there must be high demand on the production of this drug. Aspirin may bring adverse impact to humans and the environment even at low concentrations. This study was conducted to modify the carbon black by polyethylenimine (PEI) and characterize the modified carbon black (TC-PEI), to study the effect of various parameters during the adsorption process; as well as to analyse isotherm, kinetics, and thermodynamic behaviour of the adsorption. The carbon black obtained from the pyrolysis of tire waste provides an incentive to be used as a precursor to low-cost adsorbents due to its high carbon content. At first, the carbon black was treated by nitric acid to remove ash or sulphur content. Then, the impregnation of treated carbon black in PEI was done by varying the impregnation ratio, impregnation temperature and impregnation time. The best impregnation conditions are with one to two weight ratios of carbon black and PEI at 4 hours and 50°C. Next, the TC-PEI was used for adsorption studies. The TC-PEI was characterized in terms of surface morphology, surface area and functional group using field emission scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and point of zero charge, respectively. The kinetic, isotherm and thermodynamic studies were also performed. The adsorption process was seen fitted to the pseudo second-order and Langmuir isotherms. For thermodynamic studies, the adsorption gave an exothermic reaction, an increase in randomness and a spontaneous reaction. The regeneration study suggested two cycles for the adsorption of TC-PEI onto aspirin with 40% removal. From the results obtained, it gave the maximum capacity at 29.40 mg/g, which contributed to 60% aspirin removal within 120 minutes, at room temperature with pH 3 and 0.1 g of TC-PEI. In conclusion, the modified of TC by PEI can be used as an adsorbent for aspirin removal from pharmaceutical effluents

Effect of Ageing on Physico-Chemical Properties Of Non-Dairy Ice Cream Mix

The rheological characteristics of ice cream mix prepared from palm oil (PO), palm kernel oils (PKO) and their blends with anhydrous milk fat (AMF) at 30:70, 5030 and 70:30 ratios during ageing were studied. The experimental ice cream mixes were compared with a control sample prepared from Ah4F. Ice cream mix containing 33.44% total solids including 10% fat, 11.09% milk solid-non fat (MSNF), 12% sugar, 0.35% commercial blend of emulsifier/stabiliser and water. The rheological properties such as the flow behaviour, Newtonian viscosity (q,) and compliance (J,) were measured after ageing at 4OC for 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5,2 and 24 hr and determined using a controlled stress rheometer (Haake RS 100). The Power Law and Casson equation was employed to estimate the yield stress (z,) of an ice cream mixes. The correlation coefficients (r) for the regression analyses of the square root of the shear stress-shear rate data were represented well by the Casson model (r > 0.99) for all the samples, indicating goodness of fitted. The shapes of the curves of consistency coefficients &) were quite similar for all the experimental samples. The flow behaviour index (n) of the ice cream mixes prepared with palm fi-action (PO and PKO) and their blends were less than 1.0 (range 0.04-0.08) indicating that the mixes were pseudoplastic fluid. The q, at shear rate 20-' indicated that the degree of viscosity in the control sample was highe

STUDY OF MOTION RESPONSES OF THE H-TYPE FLOATING BREAKWATER

This study focuses on the hydrodynamics behavior of a floating breakwater with taut leg mooring configuration. The aim of the study is to understand the motion responses of the H-type floating breakwater and the effects of the mooring system on the motion responses of the floating breakwater. This study focuses only on the heave, surge and pitch movements, whilst the other motion responses were restricted. In order to quantify the motion responses of the floating breakwater, the Response Amplitude Operator (RAO) was utilized in the study. The RAO values for heave, surge and pitch obtained in the study will provide an insight on the extent of the movement of the H-type floating breakwater subjected to various wave conditions. The results show that the motion responses of the floating breakwater are heavily affected by the breakwater’s drafts and the wave period. The recorded RAO values show that the motion responses of heave and surge decreased with an increase of the breakwater draft. However, as for the case of pitch RAOs, no specific pattern can be recorded; a clear indication that the pitch responses are less significant as far as changing the drafts is concerned. All of the RAO values of the heave, surge and pitch are rather sensitive to the change of wave period, as the RAOs vary significantly with the increasing wave period. The motion responses for all the heave, surge and pitch also show significant differences when subjected to different wave steepness, with lower RAO values recorded milder wave steepness (H/L = 0.04). However, the RAOs are less sensitive at higher wave steepness (H/L = 0.06 and H/L = 0.08) and the effect are rather scarce. The RAO’s patterns for both regular and random waves are almost identical; with the RAOs for regular waves tend to produce larger values as compared to random waves

Data-Driven Prioritization and Empirical Predictions for Bridge Scour in Nebraska

The effect of scour at the bridge substructure results in an increase in the vulnerability of the overall bridge stability. Previous studies have found that current guidelines are often overly-conservative with respect to scour. This project aims to provide guidance on hydraulic modeling parameters and reasonable scour estimates specific to Nebraska conditions. This will enable engineers to assess bridge sites for scour more precisely for efficient and effective design and countermeasures. Four sites were surveyed for scour changes between the period of December 9, 2020, to April 20, 2021. At these four sites, overland and bathymetry survey data were collected. The data collected were fused to create a high spatial resolution point cloud data of each bridge site. The point cloud datasets were used to analyze and quantify scour changes in the field using a change detection method. Erosion tests were also conducted at each site to classify the soil properties and determine the equivalent grain size parameters. The fused point cloud data and soil parameters were subsequently inputted in hydraulic modeling software, HEC-RAS, to predict bridge scour and to compare changes over time at each of the field sites. The scour analysis data was directly compared with the quantified changes from the point cloud analysis. The project shows that high-resolution geometry and equivalent grain size parameters yield more reasonable scour estimates compared to current guidelines. Advisor: Richard L. Woo

Evaluation of the role of T follicular cells in grass pollen-induced seasonal allergic rhinitis and following allergen-specific immunotherapy

T follicular helper (TFH) cells are a subset of CD4+ T cells that produce IL-4 and IL-21 and drive B cell maturation and clonal expansion into antibody-secreting plasma cells, the key to IgE-mediated allergic responses. TFH and B cell interactions are regulated by T follicular regulatory (TFR) cells. Although effective in grass pollen allergics (GPA), allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT), administered subcutaneously (SCIT) or sublingually (SLIT) is associated with adverse events. Thus, warranting the need for alternative approaches. This thesis aims to evaluate the role of and enumerate circulating CXCR5+PD-1+ TFH cells and TFR cells in GPA, non-atopic healthy controls (NAC) and AIT-treated patients. Isolated naïve and memory B cells were stimulated with IL-4 and IL-21 to investigate their effect on germinal centre (GC) reactions, B cell class-switching and differentiation. TFH cells were shown to be distinct from TH2 and TH2A cells and capable of secreting IL-4 and IL-21. IL-4 alone promotes GC responses and B cell class-switching; and drives plasma cell differentiation and IgE+ cells in the presence of IL-21. Enumeration of TFH cell subsets in a cross-sectional study demonstrated high TFH cells in GPA compared to NAC, which was lower in SCIT and SLIT. Furthermore, TFR cells were induced in SCIT and SLIT and differential chromatin accessibility was observed in TFH and TFR cells from all groups. In a separate RDBPC study, the administration of short-course peptide immunotherapy attenuated proportion of TFH cell subsets and induced TFR cells, which persisted until the end of the grass pollen season. Additionally, in vitro stimulation study of depigmented (DPG Phl p) and DPG-polymerised (DPG-POL Phl p) depigoids, demonstrated a lower proliferation of TFH cell subsets in response to DPG-POL Phl p compared to the native protein and DPG Phl p. Collectively, these findings demonstrated the role of TFH cells in the pathomechanism of seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) and TFR cells induction following SCIT and SLIT, underscored by changes in the chromatin landscape. Peptide immunotherapy and polymerised depigoids are associated with modulation of TFH and TFR cells, highlighting their potential use that is safe and effective.Open Acces

Abang Yusuf Puteh, 1935-2009: Nasionalis Sarawak era pasca kolonial

Sarawak telah mencapai kemerdekaan daripada Kolonial British melalui Pembentukan Malaysia. Selepas peristiwa berdarah dengan pembunuhan Duncan Steward oleh pejuang anti penyerahan (anti-Cession) iaitu Rosli Dhobi, 1949 dan sebelum Sarawak memperoleh kebebasan sepenuhnya bersama-sama dalam pembentukan Malaysia pada 16 September 1963, pelbagai masalah wujud dalam kalangan masyarakat Melayu yang masih berpecah ketika itu.Perpecahan masyarakat Melayu Sarawak terserlah apabila terdapat dua puak iaitu puak yang menyokong penyerahan Sarawak dan puak yang menentang penyerahan yang dikenali sebagai anti penyerahan.Kesan daripada keadaan tersebut membawa kepada pelbagai tindakan yang diambil oleh golongan Melayu terutamanya golongan perabangan ketika itu yang memainkan peranan utama dalam menyatukan masyarakat Melayu di Sarawak.Antara pemimpin Melayu Perabangan Sarawakyang memainkan peranan penting kepada nasib orang Melayu ialahAbang Yusuf Puteh.Justeru, kertas kerja ini akan menjelaskan tentang ketokohan Abang Yusuf Puteh, seorang pejuang Melayu yang kurang ditonjolkan lantaran perjuangannya yang penting muncul pada era pasca kolonial. Kebitaraan Abang Yusuf Puteh dalam perjuangan masyarakat Melayu Sarawak lebih terserlah selepas Sarawak wujud dalam pembentukan Malaysia. Di samping itu, akan turut dibincangkan mengenai perjuangan beliau dalam mempertahankan budaya masyarakat Melayu di Sarawak. Perjuangan beliau bukan bersifat penentangan terus terhadap penjajah tetapi lebih bersifat sederhana sebagai nasionalis pasca kolonial.Perjuangan ini dapat dilihat melalui pemikiran yang sering dipaparkan menerusi tulisan-tulisan beliau dari pelbagai aspek kehidupan masyarakat Sarawak.Terutamanya perjuangan beliau dalam membangunkan kesedaran orang-orang Melayu Sarawak dari segi pendidikan sebagai salah satu aspek terpenting dalam menghapuskan kemiskinan masyarakatMelayu di Sarawak.Oleh yang demikian,kertas kerja ini akan memaparkan tentang ketokohan Abang Yusuf Puteh dan merungkai pemikirannya pada era pasca kolonial