Islam and Tradition in Nanga Jajang: Social and Religious Practices Of the Malay Community

Islam basically brings noble values in managing human relationship with God (hablumminallah). With these noble values, Islam teaches the way for humans to worship God. Meanwhile, traditions which are the rituals and customs of a society, is also an attempt to build a relationship with something other than human. Therefore, it is clear that Islam and traditions that are present in people’s behavior also bring certain values that are different from each other. In the Malay community of Nanga Jajang, Islam as a religion and religious rituals are inseparable from the traditional rituals. In fact, there are no clear boundaries between traditions and religious rituals in practice, as seen in ma`syiral jum`atan, acara begunting rambut (hair cutting ceremony), sunatan (circumcision), barobat kampung (traditional healing), etc. In social traditions, religion practices also run simultaneously such as reading the Qur’an and shalawat to the prophet. On the other hand, religious practices are also incorporated into elements of local traditions such as the hair cutting ceremony for infants, circumcision, etc., with a set of materials that are also found in social traditions. Similarly, the prayer used in the traditional healing appears to have the process of completion, even accommodation of Islamic values and traditions in the practice of the life the Malay community in Nanga Jajang

ETHNIC RELATIONS IN THE CITY OF PONTIANAK (A STUDY OF INTER-ETHNIC RELATIONS AT GANG DAMAI, KOTA BARU, PONTIANAK)

Peace and harmony in life is one of the goals of the communities at Gang Damai in their social relations. This condition becomes very special when, in other places at the same time, conflicts and hostilities often occurred in the history of inter-ethnic relations in this region. This is the underlying reason of the naming of the place of this research i.e. “Gang Damai” (peaceful alley). This study found four key factors underlying the harmony and good relations between the ethnic groups; first, a positive outlook on the ethnic communities; second, distinctive efforts undertaken by the community members in order to continue to maintain good social relations, security, peace and harmony; third, awareness practiced by all communities in an effort to build and maintain social relations in the spirit of solidarity; fourth, different ethnic communities manage to minimize all forms of issues that could potentially become a trigger for conflicts by building intensive communication and social relations among themselves. In addition, unique social relation patterns built and inter-ethnic marriages have also become a model in building peaceful ethnic relations at Gang Damai until today. Keywords: Peace, Harmony, Social Relations, Ethnicit

Construction of Association Scheme Using Some (123)-avoiding Class of Aunu Patterns

This paper presents some backgrounds research on association scheme using a class of (123)-avoiding pattern of Aunu numbers as an application area. It also attempts to highlight some further applications in other set structures. The finding in this research has shown that there is some interrelationship between the succession scheme used in generating Aunu numbers and the concept of association scheme. This research also shows us that the Aunu patterns can be used in design theory

Removal of Congo Red Dye from Aqueous Solution using Sugarcane Bagasse and Bambara Groundnut Shell

A methodology involving sugarcane bagasse (SB) and Bambara groundnut shell (BGS) as adsorbents was developed in order to remove the carcinogenic Congo red dye from aqueous medium. The effect of contact time, sorbent dosage, initial concentration and pΗ were investigated. The results showed high efficiency of ≈ 93% and 75% using 4.5g of SB and BGS respectively. The results also indicated that the % removal increases with increase in dye loading concentration, while it decreased with an increase in pΗ of the solution from 4 to 10. From the results, it is possible to conclude that sugarcane bagasse and Bambara groundnut shell are good adsorbents for dye effluent treatment.Keywords: Bambara groundnut shell, Congo red, Sugarcane Bagasse, % Dye Removal

Hygrothermal performance of building envelopes in the tropics under operative conditions : condensation and mould growth risk appraisal

Poor indoor hygrothermal performance increases the risk of indoor moisture problems and deterioration due to mould growth, corrosion and damage to archival materials. Hence, proper control of indoor thermohygric intensity abates indoor moisture and its associated problems. This paper presents the results of envelopes hygrothermal performance assessments in a hot and humid climate building with varying operational profile between adjacent spaces. The case-studied building runs on 24hrs cooling mode in one part against natural and/or mechanical supply-exhaust fan means on the other. In-situ experiments were combined with hygrothermal analytical methods to assess the envelope thermal quality together with the operative conditions against condensation and mould growth risks. The results show that the building is overcooled leading to poor envelope hygrothermal performance with associated condensation and mould growth problems on non-airconditioned sides of the envelopes

Optimized fuzzy control for natural trajectory based FES-swinging motion

The use of electrical signals to restore the function of paralyzed muscles is called functional electrical stimulation (FES). FES is a promising ethod to restore mobility to individuals paralyzed due to spinal cord injury (SCI). A crucial issue of FES is the control of motor function by the artificial activation of paralyzed muscles due to the various characteristics of the underlying physiological/biomechanical system. Muscle response characteristics are nonlinear and time-varying. After developing a nonlinear model describing the dynamic behavior of the knee joint and muscles, a closed-loop approach of control strategy to track the reference trajectory is assessed in computer simulations. Then, the controller was validated through experimental work. In this approach only the quadriceps muscle is stimulated to perform the swinging motion by controlling the amount of stimulation pulsewidth. An approach of fuzzy trajectory tracking control of swinging motion optimized with genetic algorithm is presented. The results show the effectiveness of the approach in controlling FES-induced swinging motion in the simulation as well as in the practical environment

“MAKNA” DALAM KOMUNIKASI

Sebagai makhluk sosial, setiap manusia sememangnya mempunyai kemampuan dasar berkomunikasi antar sesama. Akan tetapi setiap manusia akan senantiasa memiliki perbedaan kemampuan dalam berkomunikasi, terutama menyangkut bahasa sebagai pilihan simbol dalam menyampaikan pesan, dan makna pesan yang hendak dipertukarkan melalui simbol-simbol komunikasi. Hal ini menyebabkan tidak semua komunikasi yang dibangun memperoleh hasil yang sama efektif. Dalam banyak contoh, kita gagal membangun komunikasi dengan baik, sesuai harapan dan maksud yang diinginkan. Bahkan tidak jarang kita terjebak dalam perangkap perbedaan simbol/lambang komunikasinya saja, substansi yang hendak dipertukarkan justru terlupakan. Substansi inilah sebenarnya yang disebut dengan makna (mean-meaning), yakni suatu pesan yang diperoleh dari proses interaksi, dan itulah sesungguhnya yang dicari sebagai “makna” dalam komunikasi

NOVEL SMART pH SENSITIVE CHITOSAN GRAFTED ALGINATE HYDROGEL MICROCAPSULES FOR ORAL PROTEIN DELIVERY: II. EVALUATION OF THE SWELLING BEHAVIOR

Objective: The main objective of this study is to evaluate the swelling behavior of pH sensitive chitosan (CS) grafted alginate (ALG) hydrogel microcapsules and compared with a simple alginate-chitosan mixed polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) to show the benefits of the used covalently grafting technique. In addition, the behavior of the swelling process under physiological conditions to stimulate gastric, colonic and intestinal medium for grafted PEC microcapsules will be investigated as well.Methods: The new pH sensitive hydrogel microcapsules were prepared using grafting to†technique. Swelling studies were conducted in buffer saline solutions with different pHs using wet beads. In addition; the sensitivity of the grafted microcapsules to the change of pH in the simulated gastric fluid (SGF; pH 1.2), (SIF; pH 6.8) and (SCF; pH 7.4) was investigated.Results: It was observed from the swelling studies that sharp phase transition was recognized between pH 3–4. While this transition became broader and recognized between pH 3.0-7.4, where the maximum value of the equilibrium swelling degree was varied depending on the variation of CS concentration from 0.1% to 0.5%, both grafted and mixed microcapsules exhibit higher swelling degree at high pH 6.8 (120%, 100%) respectively.Conclusion: It was clear from all swelling studies that the grafting technique may be a suitable way for large-scale production of pH sensitive alginate–chitosan microcapsules as a potential system for site-specific oral delivery of protein drugs to different regions of the intestinal tract.Â

NOVEL SMART pH SENSITIVE CHITOSAN GRAFTED ALGINATE HYDROGEL MICROCAPSULES FOR ORAL PROTEIN DELIVERY: I. PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION

Objectives: Preparation and characterization of a new pH sensitive chitosan (CS) grafted alginate (ALG) hydrogel microcapsules for the oral delivery of protein.Methods: The pH sensitive hydrogel microcapsules were prepared for the first time using grafting to†technique. Firstly, alginate was activated using Ï-Benzoquinone (PBQ) as a coupling agent to graft Chitosan chains later on. Both of activated and grafted alginate microcapsules were characterized by Fourier transform-Infra red spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and the morphological structures were investigated using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination.Results: It was found that the optimum conditions affecting the activation process and also the swelling degree of the prepared hydrogel microcapsules were 2% ALG, 0.04M PBQ pH10, 45 °C for 2h. In addition, the grafting process depends on the attached amount of PBQ and CS concentration. Maximum grafting efficiency (GE %) and chitosan add-on percentage were 98.6% and 14.8% respectively using 0.3% CS at 40 °C for 3h.Conclusions: Novel pH sensitive hydrogel microcapsules were prepared via grafting of chitosan molecules on to activated alginate backbone. The formulated microcapsules can be applied as a new pH sensitive carrier for protein drugs. Â