Regeneration of human body parts via tissue engineering and regenerative medicine: a brief insight into the technology from Islamic perspective

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (or, T.E.R.M.) field has been progressing well during the last few decades. Most of T.E.R.M. related studies indicated promising research findings in tissue reconstruction and regeneration. Successful tissue reconstruction and regeneration requires a great balancing acts of the three T.E.R.M. elements or principles namely (1) quality cells source, (2) appropriate biomaterial scaffolds and (3) adequate signalling factors i.e. physical and/or chemical stimuli. From its theoretical framework, this multidisciplinary biomedical technology will enable us to restore, delay or even reverse the aetiology of diseases. It is anticipated that T.E.R.M. will augment current practices in tissue or organ transplantations. It would serve as a potential solution for the lack of tissues or organs donor. Taking advantage of a fully autologous system or approach, T.E.R.M. will help minimize the risk of infection and the issues of rejection (or, adverse host reaction). It is expected that millions of people would be benefited from T.E.R.M. in the near future. This initiative is worth to explore and must be given due consideration by Muslims since there are growing demands for a shari’ah compliance biomedical application. Despite much hopes and expectations, T.E.R.M. has been confronted with some questions arising from the social, cultural and/or religious implications of this new-found knowledge and technology. Based on the available literatures, most of the countries around the world support this highly technical T.E.R.M. research for it is rapidly advancing the understanding of the human tissue regeneration. Although T.E.R.M. is potentially beneficial to improve the health of people, this newly found technology can also be misused. In some cases, it is difficult to differentiate whether T.E.R.M. falls under a pure scientific research or a medical technology innovation that can be applied directly onto patient. The choice in relation to scientific or legal aspects could raise ethical dilemmas as well as religious issues. It affects various stakeholders i.e. patients, medical professionals, and public at large. In order to address the complexity, this present paper intends to explore the principles of T.E.R.M. in terms of tissue regeneration aspects in modern science and Islam, based on the two sources of knowledge i.e. the Qur’an and Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet S.A.W.). Emphasis is given on the usage of foreign materials as well as the issues of seeking best treatment and utilizing unlawful things. Refraining from giving an ultimate Islamic decree, the approach is taken to nudge or instigate a discussion on certain issues pertaining to research and application of T.E.R.M. which is still under-represented. Initiation on the foundation of the subject should be ventured further. It is also hoped that the content of this paper will be well received by the readers, and the brief discussion will be enlightening and educational for those who are interested in this important subject

The implications of ICT adoption in the Malaysian civil courts: with special reference to the legal position in England and Wales / Ani Munirah Mohamad

The ICT adoption in the Malaysian courts has been problematic and raises several implications, involving both legal and non-legal ones, such as technical, organisational and social. Previous research in Malaysia had not addressed the said implications. Within this context, the central arguments of this research are two-folds: firstly, the implementation of ICT in the Malaysian courts has impacted not only on the users and courts but also raises a variety of legal, technical, organisational and social implications. Secondly, the lack of legal sanctions to most of the existing ICT applications in the Malaysian courts suggests that law will eventually lag far behind technology and will remain so in the near future. Guided by this thesis, this study aims at examining the implications of ICT adoption in the Malaysian courts on the users and the courts; the implications of the ICT adoption on the laws in Malaysia as compared to that in England and Wales; the theories of unified acceptance and use of technology and risks perception in informing the research; and to propose for the strengthening and improving the delivery of the justice system in the Malaysian civil courts through ICT adoption. Adopting a qualitative research, this study engaged both the primary data obtained from five case studies and the secondary data obtained using the doctrinal approach. The evidence from the research is extensively reported in Chapter Five. The doctrinal analysis of the legal implications of the adoption of ICT in the courts in the United Kingdom as well as Malaysia is presented in Chapters Three and Four respectively. The research found that there are various implications of ICT adoption in the Malaysian courts, as well as the courts in England and Wales, involving both legal and non-legal implications. The research further found that the theories of UTAUT and risks perception have rightly mediated the understanding of the researcher of the benefits and risks involved in the adoption of ICT at the courts. And finally, the research also found that the existing laws in Malaysia involving the Rules of Court 2012 and the Criminal Procedure Code would need to be reviewed on the rules encouraging ICT, electronic legal service of court documents, electronic filing by e-mail, court recording, audio and video conference and proper handling of digital signatures. This study will not only contribute to the understanding of the relevant laws surrounding the ICT adoption in the courts but also, to assist the Malaysian judiciary and the Malaysian Bar Council in dealing with the risks entailing such ICT adoption. Future research is suggested to be carried out using a quantitative approach to quantify such implications, the implication of ICT at other public offices such as the prison, and a comparative study to be carried out with other jurisdictions such as Australia, United States and Singapore

Legal aspects of electronic communication involving the Malaysian courts

As government agencies increasingly adapt to the electronic medium in line with the Malaysian ICT agenda and policies, communications involving government agencies have also shifted from paperbased to paper-less. Being part of the government system, the courts have also begun resorting to electronic communication with third parties. However, scarce resources were found on the context of such electronic communication by the courts, particularly on the compliance of such communication with the legal rules. Hence, this paper deliberates on the legal aspects of electronic communication by the Malaysian courts in light of the Electronic Government Activities Act 2007 (“2007 Act”) and various practice directions of the courts. Engaging in full qualitative research, this study involved the collection of primary data in the form of interviews from four case studies conducted at multiple courts in Malaysia. The interviews were triangulated with secondary data in the form of written rules, court cases, journal articles, reports and other literary works. The study found that there are various means of online messages made by the courts, such as via electronic mail, websites, advocates portal and the case management system. Such messages are communicated to various parties, such as the Prison Department, Police Department, the Bar Council, lawyers representing the litigants, and members of the public. In essence, the electronic communication by the courts conforms to the legal provisions of the 2007 Act. Hopefully this paper would contribute to the body of knowledge on the subject matter of electronic government and electronic messages

USING ATLAS.TI 7 FOR RESEARCHING THE SOCIO-LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF ICT ADOPTION IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM OF THE HIGH COURTS OF MALAYSIA Using ATLAS.ti 7 For Researching The Socio-Legal Implications Of ICT Adoption In The Justice System Of The High Courts Of Ma

Abstract The paper describes the use of ATLAS.ti 7 in the research undertaken to examine the socio-legal implications of the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the justice system of the High Courts of Malaysia. Engaging a qualitative method, the research comprises of the collection of secondary data involving library-based re search, and primary data generated from a case study of four High Courts of West and East Malaysia. The paper dis cusses steps in preparing the data, coding the data and finally analysing the data. In deriving the findings of the re search, the ATLAS.ti was used throughout the research process to manage both the secondary and primary data, properly build up the code list inductively and deductively, track the relevant quotations from time to time, explore the data using the built-in feature Query Tool, connect ideas and notes to the existing objects and visually arrange the objects to iteratively make sense of the data

The effectiveness of co-curricular activities by integrated living skills unit in enhancing students’ soft skills

Co-curriculum is a vital part of an education system that helps students to build their soft skills. Co-curricular activity is activities that usually complement regular co-curriculum. In order to produce holistic students, students need to have excellent interpersonal skills that can be developed through co-curricular activities in their college. Therefore, this paper aims to determine the effectiveness of Co-Curricular activities in enhancing students’ soft skills. This study was conducted on students who enrolled in the third and fourth semester of Co-curricular in Integrated Living Skills unit at University Utara Malaysia and the data were obtained through the dissemination of survey questionnaire with randomly selected students. The primary data involve a large population of students about 510 students and the co-curricular unit have been group into four groups that are Scout, Outrec, Kor Siskor and Basic of Car Maintenance. The data were analyzed using Gap Analysis, Paired Independence T-test, t-test and Chi-Square. The data were collected using Stratified Random Sampling where the strata are the four stated co-curricular activities and the respondent are randomly selected. A gap analysis was used to examine the different level of students’ soft skill before and after co-curricular activities that compulsory to all the students before graduation. Generally, the result shows that the students’ level of soft skills is improving after they attend the co-curricular activities and the widest gap was in interpersonal skills, especially the skills of the ability to work and contribute to the group. However, critical research should be done in order to identify the overall co-curriculum unit on the effectiveness of students’ soft skills

An embedded 5(4) explicit Runge-Kutta-Nyström method with dissipation of high order

A new 5(4) embedded explicit Runge-Kutta-Nystrom (RKN) method with dissipation of high order is developed to solve integration of initial-value problems for second-order ordinary differential equations possessing oscillating solutions. The fifth order formula has dispersive order eight and dissipative order nine. The fourth-order embedded formula is obtained to control the local truncation errors. Numerical experiments indicate that the new method is more efficient than the existing embedded explicit RKN methods

A fifth order phase-fitted Runge-Kutta-Nyström method for periodic initial value problems

A new Runge-Kutta-Nyström (RKN) method with phase-lag of order infinity for solving second order periodic initial value problems possessing oscillating solutions is derived in this paper. The derivation of phase-fitted four stage explicit RKN method with algebraic order five is discussed. The numerical results show that the new method is much more efficient than the existing methods in the literature

In vitro and in vivo gene expression studies of cartilage-like tissue engineered construct using a combination of transiently transfected human osteoarthritic chondrocytes and tissue engineering technique

Purpose: To evaluate the formation of cartilage-like tissue engineered constructs (TECs) using human osteoarthritic chondrocytes overexpressed with SOX9 gene seeded on poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) with and without fibrin scaffolds through cartilaginous genes expression analysis. Methods: Upon approval by the IREC18; NMRR-12-1383-14531 and IIUM/IACUCApproval/2015/[5][22], six cartilage samples were obtained from consented patients after joint replacement surgery. The cells were isolated, cultured and transfected with pcDNA3-SOX9 using Lipofectamine 2000™. Prefabricated disc-shaped porous PLGA with and without fibrin were used as scaffolds. The ‘cells-scaffolds’ TECs were formed and cultured for 3-week and implanted subcutaneously at the dorsum of athymic mice for 4-week. Collagens I, II, IX, X, XI, SOX9 and aggrecan expression were evaluated using a qualitative two-step reverse-transcriptase PCR. GAPDH and β-actin genes were used as internal controls. Results: Presence of cartilaginous markers can be detected in all TECs with various expression intensity. Collagen II, the cartilage-specific marker was down-regulated in vitro but re-expressed in vivo. Collagen I, X, SOX9 and aggrecan were steadily expressed in all TECs. Although collagen IX and XI are closely associated with collagen II, their expressions were almost untraceable except for few cases. Presence of GAPDH and β-actin genes indicated the reliability of the analysis. Conclusion: Cartilage-like TECs have been successfully formed based on genes expression analysis

Transformation of pressurized water reactor AP1000 to fuzzy graph

Pressurized water reactor (PWR) type AP1000 is a third generation of a nuclear power plant. The primary system of PWR using uranium dioxide to generate heat energy via fission process. The process influences temperature, pressure and pH value of water chemistry of the PWR. The aim of this paper is to transform the primary system of PWR using fuzzy autocatalytic set (FACS). In this work, the background of primary system of PWR and the properties of the model are provided. The simulation result, namely dynamic concentration of PWR is verified against published data