Design And Implementation Of Up-Conversion Mixer And Lc-Quadrature Oscillator For IEEE 802.11a WLAN Transmitter Application Utilizing 0.18 Pm CMOS Technology [TK7871.99.M44 H279 2008 f rb].

Perlumbaan implementasi litar terkamil radio, dengan kos yang rendah telah menggalakkan penggunaan teknologi CMOS. The drive for cost reduction has led to the use of CMOS technology for highly integrated radios

The discourses of doing science in English

In January 2003, Malaysia re-adopted the English language as a medium of instruction for science and mathematics. This change in the medium of instruction brings with it challenges of its own. What does it mean to 'do' science in the Malaysian context and to do so in English? How does the change in the medium of instruction from Bahasa Malaysia to English impinge upon current instructional and literacy practicesof teachers and learners? What kinds of change are required of the community that is invested in the teaching of science? This paper will address these questions by troubling some common-sense assumptions of 'doing' science in the Malaysian context in the light of findings of a qualitative case study conducted to investigate how one two teachers working in different contexts in a Malaysian school copes with the new medium of instruction and the myriad of issues that come with it

LIFE INSURANCE IN POSITIVE LAW AND ISLAMIC LAW IN INDONESIA

Life insurance is an agreement made by an insurance company to its customers that if the customer experiences a risk of death in his life whether in the form of an accident or due to illness, then the insurance company will provide compensation with a certain amount of money in accordance with the premiums paid for being a customer of the insurance company to heirs of the customer. Conventional Insurance and Syariah Insurance are both tasked to manage and cope with risk, it's just that in Syariah Insurance the management concept is carried out using a pattern of mutual risk between managers and participants (risk sharing) or called at takaful and at tadhamun. While in conventional insurance the work pattern is to transfer risk from the customer (participant) to the company (manager), which is called risk transfer. So that the risks regarding the participants will be fully borne by the manager

Determination of Transforming Growth Factor-β Signaling Targets in Activated T Cells

T lymphocytes are a critical component of the adaptive immune system and their responses in pathogenic and steady state conditions require strict regulation. One mechanism involved in this regulation is Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) signaling. TGF-β can act on activated T cells to facilitate the differentiation of TGF-β dependent T helper subsets or the suppression of T cell activation and proliferation. However, the molecular mechanism(s) by which TGF-β signaling controls T cell differentiation vs T cell suppression remain poorly understood.TGF-β signaling is propagated by initially binding to the TGF-β type II receptor, which subsequently activates TGF-β type I receptor (TGF-βRI) that phosphorylates the transcription factors Smad2/Smad3. This induces nuclear localization of Smad complexes and transcription of target genes. To understand how TGF-β signaling functions to control T cell fate, we generated TGF-βRI deficient Jurkat T cells using the CRISPR/cas9 genome editing system.Unexpectedly, TGF-βRI deficient Jurkat demonstrate a hyperactivation phenotype and showed highly elevated expression of surface antigens (CD69, CD25), and secreted significantly increased levels of IL-2 and TNF. Analysis of signaling events in TGF-βRI deficient Jurkat reveal a highly elevated and constitutive activity of the critical transcription factor, activator protein-1 (AP-1), constitutive activation of the upstream kinase for AP-1, jun-amino-terminal kinase (JNK), and increased expression of the transcriptional target for c-Jun, JUN. Similarly, in primary T cells, transient expression of a dominant negative mutant of TGF-βRI revealed elevated AP-1 activity, while a constitutively active TGF-βRI mutant reduced this activity. Further, the upstream kinase for JNK, MKK7, and critical scaffold proteins upstream of JNK activation, CARMA1 and Bcl10, are upregulated in the TGF-βRI deficient Jurkat. Correspondingly, primary T cells stimulated in the presence of TGF-β exhibit robustly reduced levels of CARMA1 and Bcl10 expression.Taken together, these data describe a novel TGF-β-mediated pathway that functions to suppress the activation of JNK by suppressing the CARMA1/Bcl10 signalosome. Because JNK signaling is involved in T cell activation, differentiation and apoptosis, the suppression of JNK activation by TGF-β signaling could serve as a mechanism used to control T cell functions

The use of visual strategies by educators at tertiary level and its influence on student teachers' development of mathematical concepts.

Masters Degree, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Abstract available in pdf

The production, collaboration, and citations of high quality publications on Urban Sprawl

The present study explores the characteristics of the literature on urban sprawl published during the last three decades, based on the Web of Science database and its implications by using scientometric techniques. The results of this study shows that the urban sprawl has grown exponentially during this period reaching 3272 papers in total. The United States was the largest contributor in global urban sprawl research, as the USA produced most independent and collaborative papers. University of California System, USA is the largest institutional contributor publishing 3.39% of the papers. Salvati, L (Council for Agricultural Research & Economics, Italy) is the most productive author with 77 publications and 903 citations. Landscape and Urban Planning is the most publishing journals whilst, Environmental Sciences and Ecology are the most published subject areas. The total number of citations are of 62,211, with a ratio for the average citations per publication as 19.01 and “H-index” as 112. The number of cited papers is 38284 and the proportion of cited papers to the total is 1.17. This study provides researchers and practitioners with an extensive understanding of the salient research themes, trends and pattern of urban sprawl research worldwide

Exploring and Supporting Expert and Novice Reasoning in a Complex and Uncertain Domain: Resolving Labour Disputes.

This research aimed to explore and support the reason-based decision making processes of experts and novices in a complex and uncertain domain: resolving labour disputes. Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) has investigated the role of expertise in complex and uncertain domains that are often time pressured. NDM models typically focus on fast decisions while explaining the reasoning processes behind slower decisions less well. There is much research on expertise, experts’ reasoning on complex problems is less well understood. Therefore, this research aimed to look at experts’ reasoning in slower, reason-based decisions. The first empirical chapter examined how complex labour judgements were made by testing a Mental Model Theory (MMT) of probabilistic reasoning. This was followed by a second empirical chapter, in which participants’ (labour officers) thought processes were elicited using a think aloud protocol. Based on these findings, the thesis then progressed to develop a reasoning aid to support reasoning followed by an evaluation of any changes in reasoning processes and outcomes in the third empirical chapter. The final empirical chapter validated the efficiency of the reasoning aid. Six scenarios were developed to replicate typical labour cases and used in studies to assess reasoning processes on a realistic task. Participants for each study numbered 42, 22, 28 and 82 respectively. The data for Study 1 and 4 were analysed quantitatively, and the verbal protocols for Study 2 and 3 were analysed qualitatively. Verbal protocols were recorded and transcribed, then transcripts were coded based on participants’ reasoning processes. Differences between experienced and less-experienced officers were also tested. Study 1 provided mixed evidence of reasoning according to MMT, finding that experienced and less-experienced officers were not significantly different. In Study 2 the data were analysed using six higher-order codes proposed by Toulmin et al. (1979) and each protocol was drawn into an argument map. This showed that experienced officers drew more accurate conclusions, omitted less evidence and offered more justifications than less-experienced officers. The reasoning aid used in Study 3 improved less-experience officers’ reasoning such that conclusion accuracy was the same as that of experienced officers. However, Study 4 revealed that, while the reasoning aid had no impact on the reasoning processes, the level of experience had a significant effect. This research provides a good description of participants’ reason-based decision making. Toulmin's argument analysis approach provides a unique contribution to understanding reasoning in this realistic and complex task. Although, the reasoning aid reduces the differences between experienced and less-experienced officers, experience still plays a crucial role in ensuring correct outcomes

Epidemiology Of Influenza A Viruses In The Avian And Swine Populations In Peninsular Malaysia

Avian influenza (AI) that has emerged from animal reservoirs represents one of the greatest concerns to public health. To date, 16 hemagglutination subtypes and nine neuraminidase subtypes are found in many different combinations. The general objective of this study is to describe the epidemiology of influenza A viruses in the animal population in Malaysia. The specific objectives of the study are to describe the pattern and geographical distribution occurrence of the various AI strains in the avian species in Peninsular Malaysia based on retrospective examination of records and data from disease surveillance conducted in previous years, to identify, describe and determine the risk factors of the influenza strains circulating in the pig populations, and detect and isolate the influenza virus in the pigs, and molecularly characterised the strains that were isolated. A descriptive analysis was performed on the AI data based on the surveillance that was conducted by the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) between 2000 to ii 2005. A three-page questionaire was developed and administered to the participating states. Only Kedah, Perak, Pulau Pinang, Johor, Negeri Sembilan and Pahang responded to the questionnaire. Data that were collected were compared to the total number of poultry farms and avian related establishments in each state. The sample size for each state was calculated using the formula given by Dahoo et al (2003) and using FreeCalc software. Using the assumptions of 0.5% prevalence and confidence level of 95%, neither highly pathogenic AI nor low pathogenic AI has been detected in samples.A cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of H1N1 and H3N2 swine influenza virus (SIV) and the risk factors of SIV in the pig population. Between May and August 2005, 41 randomly selected farms were visited where a total of 727 serum samples from 4 to 6-months-old pigs were collected. Each subtypes of H1N1 and H3N2 were detected at 17 farms (41.4%). Eight-nine animals (12.2%) and 88 animals (12.1%) were seropositive for H1N1 and H3N2 respectively. Using binary logistic regression, four common risk factors were identified for SI H1N1 and H3N2: Farm size, farms that import pigs or purchase pigs from elsewhere, farms where animals such as cats were observed and farms that were closely located to another pig farm. The study proceeds with virus detection and isolation from randomly selected samples that were seropositive for H1N1 or H3N2. Allantoic fluids were collected from inoculated eggs and tested using hemagglutination test, One-Step Real time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RRT-PCR) and Conventional Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). All samples were tested negative using HA and RRT-PCR. The failure to isolate the H1N1 and H3N2 viruses was possibly due to pigs that were not in the acute phase of the disease during the period when samples were collected, thus they did not shed the virus. The study found that a high percentage of pigs in Peninsular Malaysia were seropositive for H1N1 and H3N2. However, no isolates could be obtained to further characterise the virus to determine whether the virus strain was avian or human-related. This study revealed some of the deficiencies and issues with the existing disease surveillance that must be addressed to face the potential global influenza pandemic

“Humans not ScienceBots” – the need for acknowledging other ways of knowing in STEM higher education

STEM graduates operate in workplaces and societies reshaped by advancements in AI, interdisciplinary demands, globalisation, sustainability, diversity and inclusion, virtual collaboration, and a constantly evolving ethical and social context. It is evident that in this climate, STEM graduates require not just core technical knowledge and ability, but also wider competencies in cultural and social skills, an appreciation of different knowledge systems, global awareness and an open but critical mindset. This presentation will “trouble” STEM educators with a call to move beyond the boundaries of disciplinary content in preparing future graduates for the evolving world of the 21st century. The notion of troubling originates from Kumashiro (2002) and refers to “looking beyond the theories and methods that we already know” (p. 9). Most of us who are trained in STEM disciplines are generally socialised into a postpositivist paradigm (Harding, 2006; Boiselle, 2016). Postpositivism assumes that objectivity is possible if one is guided by the scientific method. STEM subjects are dominated by the belief that the Eurocentric scientific method is above all other ways of knowing because it is considered to be objective and neutral (Bhambra et.al., 2018). We argue that for our STEM graduates to function in workplaces and social contexts of ever-increasing complexity, they need a level of understanding of other knowledge systems alongside the   dominant Eurocentric scientific method. While students need to understand and apply the scientific method in their work, they equally need to embrace other ways of knowing to successfully navigate the context of that work, ethically and with cultural and social competency. Introducing this knowledge and the corresponding critical thinking skills requires us as STEM educators to be open to explore other epistemologies with our students. At present, many of these skills and ideas may be taught in our courses, but students and staff often perceive them as external to the business of doing science. We advocate for reform, with these approaches becoming an integral component of all STEM courses and, as such, articulated as a Threshold Learning Outcome for Australian STEM higher education. REFERENCES Bhambra, G. K., Gebrial, D., & Nisancioglu, K. (2018). Decolonising the university. Pluto Press. Boisselle, L. N. (2016). Decolonizing Science and Science Education in a postcolonial space (Trinidad, a developing Caribbean nation, illustrates). SAGE Open, 6(1), 215824401663525. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244016635257 Harding, S. (2006). Science and social inequality: Feminist and postcolonial issues. University of Illinois Press.    Kumashiro, K. K. (2002). Troubling education: Queer activism and antioppressive education. RoutledgeFalmer