Mengembalikan Hak Umat: Pengalaman Nahdliyyin Center Pekalongan dalam Membangun dan Memberdayakan Komunitas

Peran Nahdlatul Ulama menjadi sangat penting melakukan advokasi, mendampingi umat mengakses layanan publik dan memberi kontrol kepada umara (pemerintah) yang ada. Gerakan yang diusung oleh Nahdliyyin Center Kota Pekalongan merupakan salah satu inovasi untuk mengembalikan NU menjadi “pejuang rakyat” yang sesungguhnya. Yaitu sebuah gerakan yang langsung bersentuhan dengan umat kaum mustadl\u27afin. Kerja NU sesungguhnya adalah kerja sosial yang tidak bisa dilakukan secara individual. Tapi kerja yang harus dilakukan secara kolektif (jama\u27ah), yaitu membimbing umat dalam berbangsa, bernegara, membangun ekonomi umat, kesehatan dan pendidikan. Satu hal yang harus dipahami, keberadaan jam\u27iyyah (organisasi) hanya mungkin bila ada warga (jama\u27ah). Warga adalah salah satu dari sendi jam\u27iyyah selain imam (pengurus), tujuan bersama, dan aturan main

Polymorphism in the Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha promoter region and its Influence on Colorectal Cancer Predispositiom risk in Malaysian Population

Objective: A case control study was designed to investigate the TNF-,1 -308 G>A polymorphism allele frequencies and to determine the influence of the polymorphic gcnot.ype on sporadic CRC susceptibility risk in Malaysian population. Material. and Method!: Peripheral blood samples of 164 normal controls and 161 clinically and histopathologically con­firmed CRC patients were genotyped for TNF-u -308 G>A polymorphism employing allele specific PCR. The relative associa­tions of various genotypes with CRC susceptibility risk was determined by calculating Odds Ratios. Corresponding chi-square tests on the CRC patients and controls were carried out and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were determined using Fisher e,acts tests. Results: On comparing the frequencies of genotypes of patients and controls, the homozygous ,·ariant AA was significantly higher in CRC patients (p = 0.030) compared to controls. On investigating the association of the polymorphic genotypes with CRC susceptibility risk, the homozygous variant TNF-a -308 AA showed significantly increased risk with OR 2.5842. Conclusion: Our results suggest that, pol) morphic genotJpe of inflammation response gene TNF-a is significantly associat­ed with CRC susceptibility risk and could be considered as a high risk variant for CRC predisposition

Thermal performance of waste materials as aggregate replacement in asphalt pavement

The high surface temperature of the conventional asphalt pavement due to high solar energy absorption could contribute to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon. Concurrent with this phenomenon, rapid urbanization and industrial development have led to a large quantity of waste products available for disposal or recycling. Therefore, this study investigates the thermal performance of selected waste materials that could potentially be used as aggregate in asphalt pavement to combat the problem of increased pavement surface temperature. A number of waste materials were selected for the thermal performance measurement and compared to granite as conventional aggregate. The cylindrical and slab samples of AC14 dense graded asphalt were prepared for the different selected aggregate types. The samples were then measured for solar reflectance using Spectroradiometer. In addition, the surface and internal temperature profiles of the samples were monitored using infrared camera and thermocouples, respectively, in exposed environments. Based on the results, it is possible to use some of the waste materials as an aggregate replacement in order to reduce the UHI impact

Genetic Polymorphism of Inflammation Response Genes TNF-α -308G > A and IL-8 -251 T>A and their Influence on Colorectal Cancer Predisposition Risk in Malaysian Population.

Introduction Genes encoding xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes especially CYP1A2 play an important role in determining the out come of carcinogen exposure and Colorectal Cancer susceptibility risk. Functional polymorphisms of G3860A, T739G and C729T of CYP1A2 gene have been identified