Solid state synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial studies of co(ii) and ni(ii) metal complexes with Schiff base derived from L-valine and vanillin

Two polynuclear metal complexes with general formula [Ni4L4(H2O)12].2H2O and [Co3L3(H2O)9].5H2O have been synthesized via solid state synthesis with Schiff base derived from vanillin and L-valine. The compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, ESI-Mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and conductivity measurements. Data from experimental results showed that the ligand binds to two metal centers in a tridentate (N O O) manner through the imine nitrogen, phenolic and carboxylic oxygen respectively. Antimicrobial activities of the ligand and its corresponding metal complexes were investigated and found active  against some selected bacterial and fungal species. Keywords: solid–state reaction, polynuclear metal complexes, mass spectrometry, thermal decomposition, antimicrobial activity

Numerical Technique for Autonomous Robot Path Planning Based on QSAOR Iterative Method Using Indoor Environment

In recent years, a significant amount of research on robot path planning problems has been devoted. The main goal of this problem is to construct a collision-free path from arbitrary start location to a specified end position in their environment. In this study, numerical technique, specifically on family of Accelerated Over-Relaxation (AOR) iterative methods will be used in attempt to solve mobile robot problem iteratively. It’s lean on the use of Laplace’s equation to constrain the generation of a potential values. By applying a finite-difference technique, the experiment shows that it is able to generate smooth path between the starting positions to specified destination. The simulation results shows the proposed methods performs faster solution and smoother path compared to the previous research

Cost-Effectiveness of Clinical Pharmacy Education on Infection Management among Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease in an Indonesian Hospital

AbstractObjectivesThis study evaluated the clinical and economic impacts of clinical pharmacy education (CPE) on infection management among patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 4 and 5 in Haji Adam Malik Hospital, Indonesia.MethodsA quasi-experimental economic evaluation comparing CPE impact on 6-month CKD mortality was conducted on the basis of payer perspective. The experimental group (n = 63) received care by health care providers who were given CPE on drug-related problems and dose adjustment. The control group (n = 80) was based on the historical cohort of patients who received care before the CPE. Measure of clinical outcome applied in this study was number of lives saved/100 patients treated. Cost-effectiveness ratios for CKD stages 4 and 5 patients without CPE and with CPE and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) for CKD stages 4 and 5 patients were analyzed.ResultsLives saved (%) in the treatment of CKD without CPE: CKD stage 4, 78.57; CKD stage 5, 57.58. Lives saved (%) in the treatment of CKD with CPE: CKD stage 4, 88.89; CKD stage 5, 65.45. Cost-effectiveness ratios for stage 4 with and without CPEs were Rp3,348,733.27 and Rp3,519,931.009, respectively. Cost-effectiveness ratios for stage 5 with and without CPEs were Rp7,137,874.93 and Rp7,871,822.27, respectively. ICERs were Rp2,045,341.22 for CKD stage 4 and Rp1,767,585.60 for CKD stage 5.ConclusionsTreatment of CKD stages 4 and 5 with CPE was more effective and cost-effective compared with treatment of CKD stages 4 and 5 without CPE. The ICERs indicated that extra costs were required to increase life saved in both stages

Synthesis and analysis of Cu(II) and Co(II) complexes of Schiff base derived from glycine and isatin

No Abstract

SOLIDIFICATION CHARACTERISTIC OF TITANIUM CARBIDE PARTICULATE REINFORCED ALUMINIUM ALLOY MATRIX COMPOSITES

In this research solidification characteristic of metal matrix composites consisted of titanium carbide particulate reinforced aluminium-11.8% silicon alloy matrix is performed. Vortex mixing and permanent casting method are used as the manufacturing method to produce the specimens. Temperature measurements during the casting process are captured and solidification graphs are plotted to represent the solidification characteristic. The results show, as volume fraction of particulate reinforcement is increased, solidification time is faster. Particulate reinforcement promotes rapid solidification which will support finer grain size of the casting specimen. Hardness test is performed and confirmed that hardness number increased as more particulate are added to the system

Effects of Telfairia occidentalis leaf extract on plasma lactate and liver glycogen in rats

Summary: Telfairia occidentalis is a green vegetable popularly consumed among the native of Africa and it is generally believed to be of medicinal and nutritional value. Studies have reported its hypoglycaemic and hyperglycaemic effects in rats. In addition to these conflicting reports, the mechanisms for its effects on blood glucose remain inconclusive. The objective of this study was to investigate the mechanism involved in the increased blood glucose following treatment with T. occidentalis. Twenty five (25) male albino rats (200-250g) were randomly divided into 5 groups (n=5/group). Rats in the control group received normal saline while rats in other groups were orally treated with 100 or 200 mg/kg body weight of the extract for either 1 or 2 weeks. At the end of the treatment, the rats were anaesthetized and blood samples were collected for the estimation of some biochemical parameters. The results showed significant decreases in plasma glucose after 1 week of treatment with 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg. However, after 2 weeks of treatment with both doses, plasma glucose levels increased significantly and were higher than those of the control and the rats treated for 1 week with both doses. There were also dose- and duration-dependent decreases in glycogen concentration in the treated rats, especially those treated for two weeks. Glucose-6-phosphatase activity and liver glycogen concentration were lower in rats treated for 2 weeks when compared with those treated for 1 week with both doses. Moreover, plasma lactate concentration was lower in the treated groups when compared with control. The results suggest that Telfairia occidentalis-induced lowering of plasma glucose after one week of treatment probably favoured lactate oxidation/gluconeogenesis and elicited breakdown of liver glycogen which resulted in increased plasma glucose after two weeks of treatment.Keywords: Blood glucose, Lactate, Liver glycogen, Glucose-6-phosphatase, Telfairia occidentalisNiger. J. Physiol. Sci. 33(December 2018) 169-17

Penilaian kepatuhan syariat islam dalam merekabentuk tanah perkuburan islam berkonsepkan taman teknologi

Tanah Perkuburan Islam di Malaysia telah mencapai banyak pembaharuan. Antaranya pembinaan Raudhatul Sakinah iaitu tanah perkuburan dalam taman. Pada peringkat awal, dua tanah perkuburan telah dijadikan tapak pembinaan iaitu Tanah Perkuburan Islam KL-Karak dan Tanah Perkuburan Islam Bukit Kiara yang diuruskan oleh Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (JAWI). Lanjutan dari itu sekumpulan penyelidik dari UTHM melakukan penambahbaikan melalui usaha merekabentuk Tanah Perkuburan Islam Berkonsepkan Taman Teknologi menggunakan dengan aplikasi Geographical Information System (GIS) sebagai nilaitambah dalam dalam proses pembinaan tanah perkuburan Islam yang lebih sistematik. Lokasi kajian ini terletak di Tanah Perkuburan Islam, Parit Raja, Batu Pahat. Perkembangan ini memerlukan memerlukan satu garis panduan yang jelas agar usaha yang dilakukan berada dalam ruang lingkup kepatuhan syariat Islam. Justeru kertas kerja ini dihasilkan bagi menilai kepa rekabentuk tanah perkuburan Islam berkonsepkan taman teknologi ini adalah selari dengan ketetapan syariat Islam. Pendekatan kajian ini menggunakan kaedah temubual, permerhatian dan kajian perpustakaan. Hasil dari analisis kajian, terdapat tiga aspek yang perlu diambilkira semasa merekabentuk tanah perkuburan berkonsepkan taman teknologi iaitu tujuan mengkebumikan jenazah, tujuan menziarahi kubur dan bentuk binaan di atas tapak perkuburan. Dapatan daripada kajian ini akan menjadikan rekabentuk Tanah Perkuburan berkonsepkan Taman Teknologi menepati syariat Islam, diterima serta dimanafaatkan oleh seluruh masyarakat Islam di Malaysia

All fibre Q-switched Thulium-doped fibre laser incorporating Thulium–Holmium co-doped fibre as a saturable absorber

A novel all fibre Q-switched Thulium-doped fibre laser (TDFL) is reported which includes a short length of a Thulium–Holmiumco-doped fibre (THDF) as a saturable absorber. A high repetition rate (27.26 kHz) coupled with a low pulse width (19.06μs) is obtained for single wavelength Q-switched pulse operation at an output wavelength of 1911.5 nm using a pump power of 200 mW. Increasing the pump power from 200 mW to 700 mW results in the repetition rate increasing from 27.26 kHz to 99.67 kHz and the pulse width decreasing from 19.06μs to 920 ns. The centre wavelength of the single Q-switched pulse was also red shifted from 1911.5 nm to 1932.5 nm with increasing the pump power. A 45 m length single-mode fibre (SMF-28) provided dispersion compensation, and effectively an SMF-THDF-SMF structure is inserted in the cavity which operates in a similar manner to an SMF-MMF-SMF structure, providing a strong multimode interference effect which supports dual-wavelength operation. A stable dual-wavelength Q-switched pulse was achieved at a threshold pump power of 213 mW. The dual-wavelength Q-switched pulse operation was generated at 1911.5 nm and 1914.5 nm with a repetition rate of 8.45 kHz and pulse width of 20.02μs. The dual-wavelength spacing of this pulse operation was 3 nm, which was in good agreement with calculations based on the multimode interference effect induced by the THDF. The repetition rate increased from 8.45 kHz to 70.65 kHz and the pulse width decreased from 20.02μs to 870 ns with increasing pump power. At the maximum pump power of 700 mW, the maximum output power was measured as 27.4 mW. The experimental results confirm that the THDF can be utilized as a SA to generate a stable and tunable single-wavelength Q-switched pulse output as well as dual-wavelength Q-switched pulse in the 2.0μm wavelength region

Linear and Non-Linear Predictive Models in Predicting Motor Assessment Scale of Stroke Patients Using Non-Motorized Rehabilitation Device

Various predictive models, both linear and non-linear, such as Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), Partial Least Squares (PLS), and Artificial Neural Network (ANN), were frequently employed for predicting the clinical scores of stroke patients. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of these predictive models is somewhat impacted by how features are selected from the data to serve as inputs for the model. Hence, it's crucial to explore an ideal feature selection method to attain the most accurate prediction performance. This study primarily aims to evaluate the performance of two non-motorized three-degree-of-freedom devices, namely iRest and ReHAD using MLR, PLS and ANN predictive models and to examine the usefulness of including a hand grip function with the assessment device. The results reveal that ReHAD coupled with non-linear model (i.e. ANN) has a better prediction performance compared to iRest and at once proving that by including the hand grip function into the assessment device may increase the prediction accuracy in predicting Motor Assessment Scale (MAS) score of stroke subjects. Furthermore, these findings imply that there is a substantial association between kinematic variables and MAS scores, and as such the ANN model with a feature selection of twelve kinematic variables can predict stroke patients' MAS scores