PENINGKATAN KEMAMPUAN PEMAHAMAN MATEMATIS SISWA KELAS VIII SMP PASUNDAN 9 BANDUNG PADA MATERI PERSAMAAN GARIS LURUS DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN PENDEKATAN KONSTEKTUAL

This research is a classroom action research with descriptive qualitative method, which aims to ilustrate how improved students mathematical understanding abilities when using Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) approach to the material of straight line equations. The subjects of this study is 32 students of class VIII-C Junior High School Pasundan 9 Bandung. The instruments used in this study is 5 essay questions that referref to indicators of mathematical understanding ability that is given at the beginning of learning and the end of learning, which is then analyzed by calculating the average of each question indicator. The result of this study indicate that students mathematical understanding ability can be improved using a contextual teaching and learning approach

Social Religious Relations of the NU and Muhammadiyah Islamic Communities in the Multicultural Era

This research aims to find out how Nu and Muhammadiyah community organizations form and maintain social relations in the current multicultural era. The method used in this research is a descriptive research method. The data collection technique in this research uses library research. The data collection technique for this research is by searching for data, reading data, marking data, and narrating data related to information contained in books, journals, proceedings, print media and online media. The results of this research state that Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah have a very important role in maintaining and strengthening social relations in the multicultural era in Indonesia. Nu and Muhammadiyah provide education and character development to various educational institutions, emphasizing tolerance and moderation through Islam Nusantara. Nu and Muhammadiyah through their education and lectures often include instilling inclusive national values, respecting diversity as the nation's wealth. Through these various approaches, Nu and Muhammadiyah have succeeded in maintaining and strengthening social relations in the multicultural era in Indonesia. They play an important role in building a more inclusive, tolerant and harmonious society, and respect cultural, religious and ethnic differences as wealth that must be protected and respected

Tribological investigation of graphene as lubricant additive in vegetable oil

In this study, the tribological behaviours of graphene nanoparticles as lubricant additive in vegetable oil were investigated as a function of nanoparticle concentration. Graphene nanoparticles were added at 25 ppm, 50 ppm and 100 ppm as additive into vegetable oil as lubricant through hydrodynamic and acoustic cavitation as homogenising mechanism. The tribological properties of each homogenised solution were tested using a four-ball machine according to ASTM D4172. Wear scar diameter and friction coefficient were the determining parameters in this study. The results showed that 50 ppm is the optimum concentration that recorded the lowest wear scar diameter and friction coefficient as compared to control sample

Functional and clinical studies reveal pathophysiological complexity of CLCN4-related neurodevelopmental condition

Missense and truncating variants in the X-chromosome-linked CLCN4 gene, resulting in reduced or complete loss-of-function (LOF) of the encoded chloride/proton exchanger ClC-4, were recently demonstrated to cause a neurocognitive phenotype in both males and females. Through international clinical matchmaking and interrogation of public variant databases we assembled a database of 90 rare CLCN4 missense variants in 90 families: 41 unique and 18 recurrent variants in 49 families. For 43 families, including 22 males and 33 females, we collated detailed clinical and segregation data. To confirm causality of variants and to obtain insight into disease mechanisms, we investigated the effect on electrophysiological properties of 59 of the variants in Xenopus oocytes using extended voltage and pH ranges. Detailed analyses revealed new pathophysiological mechanisms: 25% (15/59) of variants demonstrated LOF, characterized by a “shift” of the voltage-dependent activation to more positive voltages, and nine variants resulted in a toxic gain-of-function, associated with a disrupted gate allowing inward transport at negative voltages. Functional results were not always in line with in silico pathogenicity scores, highlighting the complexity of pathogenicity assessment for accurate genetic counselling. The complex neurocognitive and psychiatric manifestations of this condition, and hitherto under-recognized impacts on growth, gastrointestinal function, and motor control are discussed. Including published cases, we summarize features in 122 individuals from 67 families with CLCN4-related neurodevelopmental condition and suggest future research directions with the aim of improving the integrated care for individuals with this diagnosis

SHV Lactamase Engineering Database: a reconciliation tool for SHV β-lactamases in public databases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>SHV β-lactamases confer resistance to a broad range of antibiotics by accumulating mutations. The number of SHV variants is steadily increasing. 117 SHV variants have been assigned in the SHV mutation table (<url>http://www.lahey.org/Studies/</url>). Besides, information about SHV β-lactamases can be found in the rapidly growing NCBI protein database. The SHV β-Lactamase Engineering Database (SHVED) has been developed to collect the SHV β-lactamase sequences from the NCBI protein database and the SHV mutation table. It serves as a tool for the detection and reconciliation of inconsistencies, and for the identification of new SHV variants and amino acid substitutions.</p> <p>Description</p> <p>The SHVED contains 200 protein entries with distinct sequences and 20 crystal structures. 83 protein sequences are included in the both the SHV mutation table and the NCBI protein database, while 35 and 82 protein sequences are only in the SHV mutation table and the NCBI protein database, respectively. Of these 82 sequences, 41 originate from microbial sources, and 22 of them are full-length sequences that harbour a mutation profile which has not been classified yet in the SHV mutation table. 27 protein entries from the NCBI protein database were found to have an inconsistency in SHV name identification. These inconsistencies were reconciled using information from the SHV mutation table and stored in the SHVED.</p> <p>The SHVED is accessible at <url>http://www.LacED.uni-stuttgart.de/classA/SHVED/</url>. It provides sequences, structures, and a multisequence alignment of SHV β-lactamases with the corrected annotation. Amino acid substitutions at each position are also provided. The SHVED is updated monthly and supplies all data for download.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The SHV β-Lactamase Engineering Database (SHVED) contains information about SHV variants with reconciled annotation. It serves as a tool for detection of inconsistencies in the NCBI protein database, helps to identify new mutations resulting in new SHV variants, and thus supports the investigation of sequence-function relationships of SHV β-lactamases.</p

Direct Visualization of Laser-Driven Electron Multiple Scattering and Tunneling Distance in Strong-Field Ionization

Using a simple model of strong-field ionization of atoms that generalizes the well-known 3-step model from 1D to 3D, we show that the experimental photoelectron angular distributions resulting from laser ionization of xenon and argon display prominent structures that correspond to electrons that pass by their parent ion more than once before strongly scattering. The shape of these structures can be associated with the specific number of times the electron is driven past its parent ion in the laser field before scattering. Furthermore, a careful analysis of the cutoff energy of the structures allows us to experimentally measure the distance between the electron and ion at the moment of tunnel ionization. This work provides new physical insight into how atoms ionize in strong laser fields and has implications for further efforts to extract atomic and molecular dynamics from strong-field physics