Abstract Figures: Symbols of Revolution and Decline

In an attempt to properly comprehend the Mediterranean as more than a Goliath that churns its constituents into uniform replicas of one another, historians have advocated for the demystification of the region by studying its parts individually. This essay argues that inhabitants of the region have undergone similar processes of mystification at the hands of admirers and critics alike. The Greek protagonists of Vassilis Vassilikos’ Z and Jules Dessin’s Never on Sunday, Z and Ilya, respectively, provide the main objects of study for this essay as they are both abstracted into ideals of freedom, degeneracy and hope by others. In order to reverse the process of abstraction and regain autonomy, Z and Ilya must exercise agency and reinforce their identities as humans of flesh and blood, independent of the opinions and ideas of others. The efficacy of the reversal hinges on the willingness of the abstracted individual and on his level of complicity in his own mystification

Assessment of electric field on hdpe-natural rubber biocomposite with sphere to sphere electrode configuration

Rapid growth of high voltage technology gives the opportunity to engineer to do a study on the environmental protection. Development of the design and manufacture of polymer insulation materials today make polymer insulation better because polymer insulators have a strength-to weight ratio which is larger than porcelain so that it can reduce manufacturing costs. This project is represented a study to analyse the electric field intensity of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) when added with 10%, 20% and 30% of different types of bio-filler such as coconut coir fibre, pineapple leaves fibre, and oil palm empty fruit bunch. This can be accomplished by creating a two-dimensional (2D) axisymmetric electrostatic model by using the Finite Element Method Magnetics (FEMM) 4.2 software. Based on the results actualize, the inclusion of bio-filler in HDPE increased the maximum electric field intensity when compared with unfilled HDPE. The electric field intensity also varied with the different percentages loading of biocomposite and their permittivity. As a result, the maximum electric field intensity was much lower for HDPE added with a 10% loading of the oil palm empty fruit bunch. Hence, oil palm empty fruit bunch was the best composition as it tends to improve the dielectric properties since it has a lower electric field intensity at the top sphere electrode as compared to other compositions

Structural Behaviour of Precast Concrete Sandwich Panels with Openings Under Axial Load

This research was conducted to study the structural behaviour of precast concrete sandwich panels with opening. Four types of sandwich panels involving panels without opening, panels with door opening, panels with window opening and panels with both door and window opening were studied. The size of the panels was 900mm x l000mm x 120mm thick. The 120mm thickness consists of two concrete layers with a sandwich insulation layer 40mm thick. The panels were tested under axial load until failure. During the experiment, the development of cracks was observed and the strain and dial gauges reading recorded. The values of experimental ultimate load for the panel without opening were compared to the theoretical ultimate load by a few researchers. For panels with opening, the experimental ultimate loads were compared to the theoretical equation for panels with opening by Saheb and Desayi. The theoretical equation used was actually meant to estimate the ultimate load of ordinary reinforced concrete walls with opening. It was used in sandwich panels with the assumption that the total thickness of the panels was equal to the thickness of the concrete layers only. From the calculations it was found that the theoretical equation by Saheb and Oesayi for the ultimate load of ordinary reinforced concrete walls with opening gave very close values to the experimental results for panels with opening. This showed that the ultimate load equation for ordinary reinforced concrete wall with opening by Saheb and Desayi could be used to estimate the ultimate load of sandwich panels with opening. Beside the ultimate load, the lateral deflection and the strain distribution in the reinforcement and concrete surface were also observed and recorded

Politics, power and ideology in American comedy late night talk shows: A critical discourse analysis

There appears to be a new trend in transferring political issues through late night talk shows (LNTSs). The President of the United States, Barack Obama, displayed different types of power relations and political ideologies during the interviews despite the comedic nature of LNTSs. Although studies have been done on the relation between LNTSs and political discourse, only a limited number of studies have looked at theportrayal of power in LNTSs. The purpose of this study is to investigate Obama's bases of power, his power relations and his use of deixis to present his political ideologies in the two American LNTSs; The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. This study focuses on Obama's portrayal of power in his political discourse (PD) using critical discourse analyses (CDA) approachthat incorporates multimodal aspects. The study analyzes Obama's linguistic and gestural variables in the transcripts collected through interviews in the two shows. The analysis of the linguistic data applies the systemic functional linguistics approach (SFL) while the analysis of the gestural ones is done inassociation with eclectic models of non-verbal behaviors.This study has revealed the different bases of power which Obama used in his PD, the influence tactics and the types of power relations which he employed in relation to the shows’ hosts; David Letterman and Jay Leno. The study has also identified the personal, temporal and spatial deixis which Obama used to present his ideologies on domestic and international politics.The study conceptualizes frameworks in which power and ideology in PD can fit into a non-traditional context such as LNTSs in order to transfer political information to a much wider audience

Design and implement a new secure prototype structure of e-commerce system

The huge development of internet technologies and the widespread of modern and advanced devices lead to an increase in the size and diversity of e-commerce system development. These developments lead to an increase in the number of people that navigate these sites asking for their services and products. Which leads to increased competition in this field. Moreover, the expansion in the size of currency traded makes transaction protection an essential issue in this field. Providing security for each online client especially for a huge number of clients at the same time, causing an overload on the system server. This problem may lead to server deadlock, especially at rush time, which reduce system performance. To solve security and performance problems, this research suggests a prototype design for agent software. This agent will play the role of broker between the clients and the electronic marketplace. This is done by providing security inside the client device and converting the client’s order into a special form which is called a record form to be sent to the commercial website. Experimental results showed that this method increase system performance in terms of page loading time, transaction processing and improves the utilization of system resources

Characterization of lime plaster of Ipoh Royal Club for conservation purpose / Farah Reeza Abdul Razak and Siti Norlizaiha Harun

This study addresses the defects and performance of lime mortar and plaster due to dampness which is one of the most severe occurrences that leads heritage building to decay and deteriorate. Acting as main component of building’s historic fabric, lime mortar and plaster are significantly affected by environmental factors and thus demand further proper conservation and repair works. The lack of understanding on the evolution of the material characteristics and wrong decision making on the new composition of lime has further resulted in the recurrence of decay and deterioration of the material. The purpose of this study intends to investigate andidentify the lead source of dampness in the walls ofthis heritage building in Ipoh. The detail study sought to determine and analyse scientifically theoriginalmortar and plaster characteristics in terms of their moisture content, strength and composition which is affected by dampness. The knowledge of the decay progressions and its contributing elements with the studied characteristics of the material will allow a better understanding on the usage of this materialas well as proper training to interpret clues on techniques in order to succeed in future conservation works

Profil pengekspresan gen mengekod delta 6 dan delta 12-asid lemak desaturase Cunninghamella bainieri semasa biosintesis asid gamma-linolenik

Delta 6-asid lemak desaturase dan delta 12-asid lemak desaturase merupakan enzim yang diperlukan bagi langkah desaturasi semasa proses biosintesis asid gamma-linolenik (GLA) oleh kulat oleaginus. Objektif kajian ini ialah untuk menganalisis profil pengekspresan gen mengekod enzim delta 6-asid lemak desaturase (des6) dan delta 12-asid lemak desaturase (des12) kulat oleaginus Cunninghamella bainieri semasa penghasilan GLA. Jujukan gen separa bersaiz 1372 pb bagi des6 dan 1008 pb bagi des12 telah dipencil daripada C. bainieri. Analisis pengekspresan gen menggunakan kaedah tindak balas berantai polimerase kuantitatif masa sebenar (RT-qPCR) menunjukkan perubahan kadar pengekspresan des6 adalah lebih tinggi berbanding kadar pengekspresan des12 semasa penghasilan GLA. Pengekspresan des6 adalah tertinggi selepas 24 jam dikultur dalam medium penghasilan GLA. Namun, kadar pengekspresannya menurun hingga jam ke-96 pertumbuhan tetapi meningkat semula pada jam ke-120. Bagi des12, kadar pengekspresannya adalah lebih sekata dengan pengekspresan tertinggi dikesan pada jam ke-120. Analisis penghasilan GLA menunjukkan jumlah GLA dalam sel berkolerasi dengan kadar pengekspresan des6. Hasil kajian mencadangkan bahawa aras pengekspresan des6 adalah penting dalam menentukan aras GLA dalam C. bainieri

Is electroconvulsive therapy safe for patient with very low BMI? a case report

A case of rapid stabilization using electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) for a major depressive disordered (MDD) patient with life-threatening low body mass index (BMI) is reported. This case report focuses on a 55-year-old Malay housewife with underlying hyperthyroidism in a euthyroid state who presented with MDD with mood congruent psychotic features, which were precipitated by the death of her husband. Her BMI was only 11 kg/m2 due to severe anorexia, and she was highly suicidal. Peripheral total parenteral nutrition was started and ECT was commenced for rapid stabilization on top of tablet escitalopram 15 mg nocte. Full remission was achieved after nine ECTs and steady healthy weight gain was achieved throughout admission. The patient was discharged at BMI of 13 kg/m2 with good appetite. ECT was safe for very low BMI MDD patient

Design and comparison of printed antennas using meander line technique

The interest for compact antennas in wireless communication increase due to the portability and mobility of the communication devices. Generally, an antenna at low frequency exhibits in large physical size. This project investigates the design of an antenna at 400 MHz. The simulation of the antenna has been performed using CST MWS. Since medical applications are dealing with low frequency, it will lead to large size of antenna which brings a challenge for wireless personal area network (WPAN). It is well known that the antenna performance decreases (according to Chu’s equation) as the size of antenna decreases. Therefore, antenna miniaturization using Meander Line (ML) will be taking place to overcome the challenges. Thus, this paper presents a comparison between i) printed dipole antenna without meander line technique, ii) printed dipole with meander line technique and iii) printed monopole antenna with meander line technique. The results show that an estimation of reduction size by 50% can be achieved using Meander Line technique

Effect of tea and coffee consumption on the blood pressure, pulse wave velocity and aortic pressures in young healthy individuals: Effect of tea and coffee on CVS

Caffeine present in tea and coffee, the most commonly used beverages, has been implicated to have long term effects on cardiovascular system. The aim of this study was to document the acute and chronic effects of tea and coffee consumption on blood pressure, pulse wave velocity and aortic pressures in young, healthy individuals. This observational study was conducted on 86 healthy MBBS student volunteers of both genders between the age group of 18-27 years. Cardiovascular parameters (heart rate, peripheral blood pressure, central blood pressure, pulse wave velocity, augmentation pressure) were measured using PeriScope™. Participants were divided into 3 groups based on their history of consuming tea/coffee/both/none. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS 17.0. ANOVA or Welsh test of equality of means was used for knowing the differences for scale variables. Paired sample t test was used to know the acute effect of coffee consumption among group 1 participants in a before-after design. In regular tea consumers, the bilateral brachial SBP, DBP and MAP were significantly higher than individuals who did not consume tea regularly; similar results in these parameters were also observed in regular coffee drinkers. However the lower limb arterial parameters were not markedly differently in tea/coffee group compared to non-drinkers. In both tea and coffee group, AoSP and AoDP were significantly higher than non-drinkers. Additionally, coffee drinking has acute stimulatory effects on CVS as evident by increase in peripheral and central vascular parameters