Self-Efficacy and Engagement of Islamic Religious Education Students in Online Learning : A Qualitative Approach at Indonesian Higher Education

No studies have determined the factors that affected students' engagement and self-efficacy in online learning at Indonesian higher education institutions

Organ Donation: Demand and Supply

With its widening indications, the need for organ transplantation is growing globally. Currently, there is a crisis of organ shortage and a dire need to adopt ways and means to overcome it to save lives and improve the quality of life of patients with end-stage organ failure. In this regard, on the one hand, efforts should be made to eliminate the barriers to organ donation, such as people’s ignorance about organ donation and ethical and religious concerns. On the other hand, strategies should be implemented to enhance organ donation, which in the case of deceased donors, include accelerating the donation process, instituting a policy of presumed or mandated consent, and utilizing extended criteria for donors. In the case of living donors, these include accepting the paired donation and removing disincentives to donation. Organ donation can also be boosted by allowing restricted compensation or reward. Using social media platforms to educate people, facilitate contacts, and match with unspecified donors is also worthwhile. In the future, xenotransplantation is also showing some promise

Response of crop plants under sulphur stress tolerance: A holistic approach

Sulphur (S) is a part of every living cell and is a constituent of two of the 20 amino acids which form proteins. Of all the macronutrient, S is perhaps the nutrient which has attracted the most attention in soil science and plant nutrition due to its potential defensive characteristics to pests, good nutritive potentiality to crops and its relative immobility in the soil- plant system. The benefits from S fertilisation of crops can be traced to its role in protein development, to improvement of nitrogen use, etc. However, the availability of S needed for profitable crop production continues to decline. This review highlights the prominent effects of S in plants (i.e. growth retardation, alternations of photosynthesis, stomatal movement, enzymatic activities, protein synthesis, interferences with various stress conditions, membrane functioning etc.) but also includes the mechanism of uptake and translocation. Moreover, it also throws new insights, have led us to revisit the hypothesis of S chelation

OCCURRENCE, BIOSYNTHESIS AND POTENTIALITIES OF ASCORBIC ACID IN PLANTS

ABSTRACT :Ascorbic acid (AA) is found in all eukaryotes including animals and plants and lacks completely in prokaryotes except cyanobacteria, have been reported to have a small amount of AA. It is an antioxidant and, in association with other components of the antioxidant system, protects plants from oxidative damage resulting from aerobic metabolism, photosynthesis and a range of pollutants like ozone, heavy metal and saline stress. In addition, it is not only an antioxidant; it also appears as a co-factor for several metabolic enzymes involved in the fundamental developmental process of plants and a well known cellular reductant with an intimate and comprehensive role in the response to environmental stress. Also, some studies suggests that the endogenous AA has been implicated in the promotion of plant growth and development by involving in a complex array of phytohormone-mediated signaling network that ties together different environment stress. Indeed, in addition to acting simply as an antioxidant and cellular reductant, AA influences transition from the vegetative to the reproductive phase and the final stage of development, senescence. Since the biosynthetic pathway of AA in plants has not been identified and evidence for the proposed pathway is reviewed slightly in this review. Therefore, there are a need to increase our understanding of this enigmatic molecule since, it could be involved in a wide range of developmental phenomenon's as well as works against actual stress in order to regulate better growth and development

Mucinous carcinoma of breast: A rare tumour with favorable prognosis - 10 years experience from a single center

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the biological behaviour of mucinous breast carcinoma (MBC) regarding their clinical presentations, pathological features, prognosis and survival.Methodology: We conducted this retrospective study from 2006 to 2015 (10-year duration) and included all the patients who presented with mucinous carcinoma of the breast at any age. We excluded all the patients who presented with invasive ductal carcinoma or other rare breast tumours. Each patient with mucinous carcinoma breast was categorised in terms of diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy and outcome. For categorical variables, Chi-square test was used. Kaplan–Meier curves were used to determine estimated overall survival. Data analysis was carried out using the SPSS 20.Results: In total, 8841 patients with breast carcinoma presented during the study period. Of these, 74 patients were diagnosed as cases of MBC, constituting <1%. Family history of breast carcinoma was positive in 20% of patients. Most of the women were postmenopausal (66.2%) falling in BIRADS Category 4 and 5 (32.4% each). Considering laterality tumours had almost equal distribution between the right and left side. Breast-conserving surgery was performed in 47.3% of women as compare to modified radicle mastectomy in 52.7% of women. Most of the patients had pathological T2 (51.4%), N0 (81.1%) and moderately differentiated (69%) mucinous carcinoma. ER was positive in 85% of patients, PR in 80% and H2N in 74.6% of patients. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy was given to 20 patients (27%) and adjuvant chemoradiotherapy was given to 51 patients (69%). Metastasis occurred in 12 (16.2%) of our patients while 62 (83.8%) were metastasis free on long-term follow-up, with bones being the most common site of metastasis, occurring in 6 patients (8.1%) followed by lungs, occurring in 4 patients (5.4%). A total of 32 (43.2%) patients are alive, and on regular follow-up, 3 (4.1%) died during the course of follow-up and 39 (52.7%) are lost to follow-up with a median survival of 60 months and an overall 5-year survival rate of >95%.Conclusion: Mucinous carcinoma is a rare breast carcinoma with a good prognosis.Key words: Breast cancer, mucinous carcinoma, prognosi

Assessment of radiographic morphology of mandibular condyles: a radiographic study

Background: Panoramic radiographs are the most common radiographic tool used by the dental clinicians to evaluate teeth, mandible and other related structures of the jaws. Mandibular condyle is an important anatomical landmark for facial growth, expressed in an upward and backward direction. The presentation of mandibular condyle differs widely among different group of ages and individuals. Materials and methods: The retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from Nov 2018 to March 2019 at Dow International Dental College (DIDC) Karachi that includes radiographic evaluation of 500 mandibular condyles. All retrievable OPGs were obtained and data were extracted regarding age, gender and condylar morphology. Results: The morphological appearances of mandibular condyle have great variation among different age groups and subjects. Normally we recognize five basic shapes i.e. Oval, Bird beak, crooked finger, diamond and mixed. Out of 250 pair of condylar heads that were evaluated, 50% were oval, 40% bird beak, 4.8% crooked finger and diamond 4.8%. Conclusions: All four morphological types of mandibular condyles were observed and the oval shape condyles were most prevalent among both genders and all age groups. In future studies, the inclusion of other parameters and large sample size may provide unique information

Hydrogen production from methane cracking in dielectric barrier discharge catalytic plasma reactor using a nanocatalyst

The study experimentally investigated a novel approach for producing hydrogen from methane cracking in dielectric barrier discharge catalytic plasma reactor using a nanocatalyst. Plasma-catalytic methane (CH4) cracking was undertaken in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) catalytic plasma reactor using Ni/MgAl2O4. The Ni/MgAl2O4 was synthesised through co-precipitation followed customised hydrothermal method. The physicochemical properties of the catalyst were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy—energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDX) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The Ni/MgAl2O4 shows a porous structure spinel MgAl2O4 and thermal stability. In the catalytic-plasma methane cracking, the Ni/MgAl2O4 shows 80% of the maximum conversion of CH4 with H2 selectivity 75%. Furthermore, the stability of the catalyst was encouraging 16 h with CH4 conversion above 75%, and the selectivity of H2 was above 70%. This is attributed to the synergistic effect of the catalyst and plasma. The plasma-catalytic CH4 cracking is a promising technology for the simultaneous H2 and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) production for energy storage applications