User friendly system for the visually impaired in learning Al-Quran

This study presents a method to enable the visually impaired Muslim to learn and read the Al-Quran using Braille Display with software help. The system reads the database which contains all verses of Al-Quran and user will need to select the verse and ayah to read. Besides that, this system can be used in a class to teach visually impaired students to learn Al-Quran. Every word or character typed by the instructor in the main Braille Panel will be transmitted to the sub Braille Panel that is connected to the main Braille Panel. The selected verse of Al-Quran and ayah will also generate an index before being transmitted to the Braille Panel. The index will be transmitted to the Braille Display for people to touch and read the display. A user friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) will be used to fulfill the ergonomics for the visually impaired user's physical capabilities. Several approaches are used to design and implement the interface for the visually impaired like speech or sound output and Braille display. The Braille codes can be displayed using the Braille panel. The design interface and structure of the system for the visually impaired users in learning Al-Quran is presented

Effect of calcination temperature on structure of mesoporous borosilicate bioglass

Recently, most researchers have been focusing on the development of the mesoporous bioactive glasses for medical application. These materials are capable for bone tissue (soft and hard) regeneration and the delivery of bio-responsive active therapeutic molecules such as drug, proteins, nucleic acids, and peptides. However, the structure properties of the mesoporous bioactive glass are easily been controlled with a small change of calcination temperature during the sample preparation. In this perception, a series of mesoporous borosilicate bioactive glasses (MBBGs) with the composition of 10B2O -70SiO2 -15CaO- 5P2O5 were prepared using the combination of sol-gel and evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) and characterised. The calcination temperature of the bioactive glass preparation was controlled with varied temperature of 400 C, 500 C, 600 C and 700 C. The amorphous nature of the prepared samples were confirmed using XRD pattern. The EDX and FTIR spectra shows a small amount of carbon trapping inside the sample is increases with the increased of calcination temperature. All MBBGs samples show a ratio of Si-O-NBO and Si-O-Si (sym) bigger than 1. It is established that the structure of the mesoporous borosilicate bioactive glass can be tailored by controlling the calcination temperature

The effect of N550 carbon black in polyester resin for fire-retardant application in marine composite

This paper presents the experimental investigation on the influence of N550 carbon black (CBN550) series in polyester resin (wax and non -wax type). The CBN550 was added into polyester resin at different weight percentages with a curing agent. The investigation is mainlyto study the effect on fire retardance application in marine composite structure. The fire-resistant structural composites samples of 1000 mm by 1000 mm prepared which consist of 10 of composite mats layer in combination of CSM 450 g/m2 and Woven Roving 600 g/m2. The carbon black (CB) volume fraction range from/with 0% to 20% volume fractions. Optical observation revealed the most suitable fraction of CBN550 in wax polyester resin is at 10% and non-wax polyester resin is also at 10%. The fire resistance behavior of this CBN550 - CSM 450 g/m2 - Woven Roving 600 g/m2 composite (polyester wax) and polyester non wax was investigated by Fire Test Procedure Code-Resolution A.653 [1]. Though smaller filler size escalates the rheological behavior and values outstandingly at initial reading compare to large particles but it slow down the curing processdue to its small particle size, large surface area and high dispersion rate. Experimental data showed the retardance level has been increased up to 56.66% in non-wax type polyester resin (10%/CBN550) and 30.14% in wax polyester resin (10%/CBN550). The improvement in fire resistance points are due to the presence of CBN550 which acts as a positive additive in both polyester resin wax and non-wax. Filling CBN550 in polyester resin also reduces the cost of theend products.The preliminary results suggested that CBN550should attend to next level of experiment investigation such as oxygen content, TG value, microstructure as well as mechanical destructive test. The CBN550 could be a suitable candidate for fire retardance application in marine composite structure.In conclusion, crystallinity of polyester resin increases with additional of CB particles

Assessing the bond strength of hot mix asphalt pavement for wearing and binder courses

This study investigated the use of a shear box device to measure the bond condition between two layers of hot mix asphalt pavement: the wearing course and the binder course. The wearing course analysed was a Malaysian dense-graded asphaltic concrete mixture of nominal maximum aggregate 10 mm in size (AC10), which was applied over the binder course of another dense-graded asphaltic concrete mixture, AC28. A range of bond conditions was investigated by selecting various asphalt emulsions, application rates, and wearing course thicknesses based on the Malaysian standards of specification. Test results showed that interface shear strength increased as tack coat application rates and wearing course thicknesses increased. Among the tested asphalt emulsion types, a modified asphalt emulsion called RS2KL provided the highest shear resistance. Findings also show that a binder's complex shear modulus elastic portion (G*/sinδ) can affect interface shear strength for thin mixes at low rates of tack coat application

Technical and economic feasibility study of solar powered air conditioners in Brunei Darussalam

On daily basis, a huge amount of fossil fuel is being burnt which results in a substantial amount of greenhouse gasses being released into the atmosphere. Air conditioners are becoming more common and are a major strain on energy demands especially in tropical climate countries like Brunei Darussalam. The photovoltaic electricity is a clean and sustainable. In this paper, we present a techno-economic feasibility study for solar powered air conditioning system in Brunei Darussalam. Four alternatives are investigated, 1) the PV system supplies 50% of the loads, 2) the PV system supplies 75% of the loads, 3) the PV system supplies 100% of the loads, and finally 4) the PV system supplies 125% of the loads. Where in the last two case the excess electricity is sold to the grid. With 0.3$ feed-in tariff. The best alternative is the grid-connected PV system with 125% capacity factor which was chosen due to its short payback time period as well as high profit rate over the lifetime of the project

Acceptance of shari?ah-compliant precious metal-backed cryptocurrency as an alternative currency: an empirical validation of adoption of innovation theory

In the crypto world, there is a proverbial (and literal) gold rush now occurring. Currently, more than 37 gold-backed cryptocurrency companies have now emerged. Interestingly, some of them also claim to be Sharīʿah-compliant. Introducing precious metal-backed cryptocurrencies is perceived to be an innovation among global payment systems, hampered in part by lack of supporting empirical evidence. Therefore, this research investigates potential users' tendency to adopt a Sharīʿah-compliant precious metal-backed cryptocurrency. As such, this study adopts an extended adoption model, which consists of eight factors. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis was conducted on data elicited from economic active residents in Klang Valley from questionnaires. Overall, it was found six out of the eight constructs specified to influence the adoption of precious metal-backed cryptocurrency were statistically significant where 54.5% of the variation in adoption of PMBC can be explained by the structure model provided by this research. It was also found 63.55% of the respondents are willing to adopt precious metal-backed cryptocurrency in their future transactions

Anticancer activity of a sub-fraction of dichloromethane extract of Strobilanthes crispus on human breast and prostate cancer cells in vitro

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The leaves of <it>Strobilanthes crispus </it>(<it>S. crispus</it>) which is native to the regions of Madagascar to the Malay Archipelago, are used in folk medicine for their antidiabetic, diuretic, anticancer and blood pressure lowering properties. Crude extracts of this plant have been found to be cytotoxic to human cancer cell lines and protective against chemically-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in rats. In this study, the cytotoxicity of various sub-fractions of dichloromethane extract isolated from the leaves of <it>S. crispus </it>was determined and the anticancer activity of one of the bioactive sub-fractions, SC/D-F9, was further analysed in breast and prostate cancer cell lines.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The dichloromethane extract of <it>S. crispus </it>was chromatographed on silica gel by flash column chromatography. The ability of the various sub-fractions obtained to induce cell death of MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, PC-3 and DU-145 cell lines was determined using the LDH assay. The dose-response effect and the EC₅₀values of the active sub-fraction, SC/D-F9, were determined. Apoptosis was detected using Annexin V antibody and propidium iodide staining and analysed by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry, while caspase 3/7 activity was detected using FLICA caspase inhibitor and analysed by fluorescence microscopy.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Selected sub-fractions of the dichloromethane extract induced death of MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, PC-3 and DU-145 cells. The sub-fraction SC/D-F9, consistently killed breast and prostate cancer cell lines with low EC₅₀values but is non-cytotoxic to the normal breast epithelial cell line, MCF-10A. SC/D-F9 displayed relatively higher cytotoxicity compared to tamoxifen, paclitaxel, docetaxel and doxorubicin. Cell death induced by SC/D-F9 occurred via apoptosis with the involvement of caspase 3 and/or 7.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A dichloromethane sub-fraction of <it>S. crispus </it>displayed potent anticancer activities <it>in vitro </it>that can be further exploited for the development of a potential therapeutic anticancer agent.</p

Diminishing benefits of urban living for children and adolescents’ growth and development

Optimal growth and development in childhood and adolescence is crucial for lifelong health and well-being1–6. Here we used data from 2,325 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight from 71 million participants, to report the height and body-mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents aged 5–19 years on the basis of rural and urban place of residence in 200 countries and territories from 1990 to 2020. In 1990, children and adolescents residing in cities were taller than their rural counterparts in all but a few high-income&nbsp;countries. By 2020, the urban height advantage became smaller in most countries, and in many high-income western countries it reversed into a small urban-based disadvantage. The exception was for boys in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in some countries in Oceania, south Asia and the region of central Asia, Middle East and north Africa. In these countries, successive cohorts of boys from rural places either did not gain height or possibly became shorter, and hence fell further behind their urban peers. The difference between the age-standardized mean BMI of children in urban and rural areas was &lt;1.1 kg m–2 in the vast majority of&nbsp;countries. Within this small range, BMI increased slightly more in cities than in rural areas, except in south Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and some countries in central and eastern Europe. Our results show that in much of the world, the growth and developmental advantages of living in cities have diminished in the twenty-first century, whereas in much of sub-Saharan Africa they have amplified