The illusion of untranslatability: a theoretical perspective with reference to the translation of culture-bound euphemistic expressions in the Qur'an

The present study investigates the notion of untranslatability where the concept of equivalence is reconsidered since the misconceptions, related to the said concept, inevitably lead to the emergence of untranslatability. Identifying equivalence as relative, approximate and necessary identity makes the notion of untranslatability a mere theorization. The objectives of the present study are (1) to investigate the notion of untranslatability in terms of the misconceptions associated with the concept of equivalence (2) to examine the possibility of translatability from Arabic into English focusing on culture-bound euphemistic expressions in the Quran as an area of challenge in translation. Data on the translation of culture-bound euphemistic expressions were purposively selected from the Quran and its four identified English translations. Ten examples were randomly selected and the criterion for their selection is that they are culture-bound and therefore translation-resistant. Qualitative content analysis was used to examine the source data by referring to traditional exegetical books to determine the source text intentionality. Additionally, the translated data were analyzed according to the functional equivalence proposed by Nida (1993; 2001).Findings of this study revealed that translatability is always possible and, accordingly, untranslatability is no more valid

Uses of cetyl cacaoateTM in lipstick development: sensory evaluation

The use of Cetyl CacaoateTM in lipstick formulation was evaluated by varying the porpotion of waxes mixture among carnauba wax, jojoba ester and Cetyl CacaoateTM based on Simplex centroid {3,3} experimental design. Sensory evaluation was carried out by nine trained panels using quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) method. The attributes agreed in the sensory languages development session were easy to apply, off flavor, hardness, texture, moist, appearance on lip after use, glossy, oily, comfortability after use, and long lasting. Results showed that Cetyl CacaoateTM increased the score of easy to apply but decreased the score for hardness. Cetyl CacaoateTM in the lipstick formulation increased the oily feels whereas carnauba wax gave less oily effect. No off flavor was detected for all the samples. However, the panels had different perception on comfortability after use, and long lasting. The ratio of cosmetic waxes in lipstick formulation which gave scores close to reference sample were 1/2 Cetyl CacaoateTM : 1/2 jojoba ester and 2/3 Cetyl CacaoateTM : 1/6 jojoba ester : 1/6 lilin carnauba

Do Stressed Women Have Abnormal Glucose Level?

Stress is a physical, mental and emotional response to a challenging event and is a normal part of everyone\u27s life. It has been linked to suppression of the immune system and could increase the risk of getting ill or alter the course of existing illness. Studies show that stress is associated with increased HBA1c, especially in females. Therefore the purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of stress with abnormal glucose value among the women community. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 168 residents of Mukim Sg. Pelek, Sepang, Selangor. Participants were selected through a simple random sampling and were asked to answer questionnaires provided. The Depression, Stress and Anxiety (DASS-21) scale was used to determine the prevalence of stress and random blood sugar (RBS) for measurement of the glucose level. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 and Chi-square analyses for determining the association between variables. The study found that 58.3% of the stressed women in the community have abnormal blood glucose level, which indicated that the risk of getting diabetes is slightly high. This finding has important implication for designing strategic plans for intervention program on awareness towards coping with stress positively

Pre-treatment of laundry greywater by steel slag for safe disposal

Direct discharge of laundry greywater without any water pre-treatment in the drainage system has become a common practice in Malaysia. The study aimed to utilise steel slag as an adsorbent material for commercial laundry shop runoff (CLSR) to reduce chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total phosphorus (TP). Optimisation of the pollutants removal efficiency in CSLR by steel slag used Response Surface Methodology (RSM) using independent variables; different percentages of CLSR with tap water and contact time. The highest removal efficiency obtained for COD was 54.49% at 100% CLSR with tap water and 60 minutes of contact time. TP removal efficiency was 45.45% at 10% CLSR with tap water and 90 minutes of contact time. Thus, steel slag can increase the pH value, reducing the COD and TP values from CLSR in a short period. Hence, steel slag has the potential to be included in the “pre-treatment” system for CLSR based on its performance at COD and TP removal efficiency. From RSM, the model F�value and P-value for COD and TP were 5.89 and 10.62, 0.0166 and 0.0036, respectively. These values validated that the model was significant. Therefore, the study can contribute to the safe disposal of untreated laundry greywater to minimise environmental degradation

Do Stressed Women have Abnormal Glucose Level?

Stress is a physical, mental and emotional response to a challenging event and is a normal part of everyone's life.  It has been linked to suppression of the immune system and could increase the risk of getting ill or alter the course of existing illness.  Studies show that stress is associated with increased HBA1c, especially in females.  Therefore the purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of stress with abnormal glucose value among the women community.  A cross-sectional study was conducted among 168 residents of Mukim Sg. Pelek, Sepang, Selangor.  Participants were selected through a simple random sampling and were asked to answer questionnaires provided.  The Depression, Stress and Anxiety (DASS-21) scale was used to determine the prevalence of stress and random blood sugar (RBS) for measurement of the glucose level.  Data was analyzed using Statistical Package Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 and Chi-square analyses for determining the association between variables.  The study found that 58.3% of the stressed women in the community have abnormal blood glucose level, which indicated that the risk of getting diabetes is slightly high.  This finding has important implication for designing strategic plans for intervention program on awareness towards coping with stress positively

Specific detection of fungal pathogens by 18S rRNA gene PCR in microbial keratitis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The sensitivity and specificity of 18S rRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the detection of fungal aetiology of microbial keratitis was determined in thirty patients with clinical diagnosis of microbial keratitis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Corneal scrapings from patients were used for Gram stain, culture and PCR analysis. PCR was performed with primer pairs targeted to the 18S rRNA gene. The result of the PCR was compared with conventional culture and Gram staining method. The PCR positive samples were identified by DNA sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the rRNA gene. Main outcome measures were sensitivity and specificity of PCR in the detection of fungus in corneal keratitis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Combination of microscopy and culture gave a positive result in 11 of 30 samples of microbial keratitis. PCR detected 10 of 11 samples that were positive by conventional method. One of the 19 samples that was negative by conventional method was positive by PCR. Statistical analysis revealed that the PCR to have a sensitivity of 90.9% and specificity of 94.7% in the detection of a fungal aetiology in microbial keratitis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>PCR is a rapid, sensitive and useful method to detect fungal aetiology in microbial keratitis.</p

Design of a Compact X-Band Substrate Integrated Waveguide Directional Coupler

Abstract — This paper presented the design of four-port network directional coupler at X-band frequency (8.2-12.4 GHz) by using substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technique. SIW appears few years back which provides an excellent platform in order to design millimeter-wave circuits such as filter, antenna, resonator, coupler and power divider. It offers great compensation for smaller size and can be easily integrated with other planar circuits. The fabrication process can simply be done by using standard Printed Circuit Board (PCB) process where the cost of the manufacturing process will be reduced compared to the conventional waveguide. The directional coupler basically implemented at radar, satellite and point-to-point radio. The simulations for this SIW directional coupler design shows good performances with low insertion loss, low return loss, broad operational bandwidth and have high isolation