Graphene Quantum Dots-Based Electrochemical Biosensing Platform for Early Detection of Acute Myocardial Infarction

Heart failure resulting from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is an important global health problem. Treatments of heart failure and AMI have improved significantly over the past two decades; however, the available diagnostic tests only give limited insights into these heterogeneous conditions at a reversible stage and are not precise enough to evaluate the status of the tissue at high risk. Innovative diagnostic tools for more accurate, more reliable, and early diagnosis of AMI are urgently needed. A promising solution is the timely identification of prognostic biomarkers, which is crucial for patients with AMI, as myocardial dysfunction and infarction lead to more severe and irreversible changes in the cardiovascular system over time. The currently available biomarkers for AMI detection include cardiac troponin I (cTnI), cardiac troponin T (cTnT), myoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein, and creatine kinase and myoglobin. Most recently, electrochemical biosensing technologies coupled with graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have emerged as a promising platform for the identification of troponin and myoglobin. The results suggest that GQDs-integrated electrochemical biosensors can provide useful prognostic information about AMI at an early, reversible, and potentially curable stage. GQDs offer several advantages over other nanomaterials that are used for the electrochemical detection of AMI such as strong interactions between cTnI and GQDs, low biomarker consumption, and reusability of the electrode; graphene-modified electrodes demonstrate excellent electrochemical responses due to the conductive nature of graphene and other features of GQDs (e.g., high specific surface area, π−π interactions with the analyte, facile electron-transfer mechanisms, size-dependent optical features, interplay between bandgap and photoluminescence, electrochemical luminescence emission capability, biocompatibility, and ease of functionalization). Other advantages include the presence of functional groups such as hydroxyl, carboxyl, carbonyl, and epoxide groups, which enhance the solubility and dispersibility of GQDs in a wide variety of solvents and biological media. In this perspective article, we consider the emerging knowledge regarding the early detection of AMI using GQDs-based electrochemical sensors and address the potential role of this sensing technology which might lead to more efficient care of patients with AMI

Model Inovasi Pengelolaan Sampah Rumah Tangga

Waste problems are endless in people\u27s lives. Increasing community consumptiveness towards household needs is an obstacle in handling household waste. Household waste can reach 500 ounces in one day. While the landfill (TPA) is increasingly ineffective in accommodating waste from various regions. Waste management in RW 01, Cemorokandang Urban Village, Malang City has not been handled properly and each of them does garbage disposal by transporting garbage cars with self-sufficiency in the community by paying contributions every month. A framework for organizational and management conception models is needed to provide an understanding of the community of housewives in handling the problem of waste into organic fertilizer through the separation of organic and non-organic waste. Organic waste has high economic value into organic liquid fertilizer if it is managed and handled applicatively. This, can increase public awareness in maintaining the environment and increase economic independence for the community groups RT 03 and RT 04 RW 01 Cemorokandang Village, and the people of Malang City in general. So that it can be used as a reference for the government to provide understanding and handling of waste nationally to improve the lives of social communities in safeguarding and preserving the environment and economic prosperity

PERAN ORANG TUA DALAM PENDIDIKAN AGAMA ISLAM DI DESA TANJUNG LALAK UTARA KECAMATAN PULAU LAUT KEPULAUAN KABUPATEN KOTABARU

The main role that parents must play is to instill religious education in children from an early age because, as previously explained, the family is the first and foremost madrasa institution that has a major influence on children until they grow up. The supporting factor needed apart from parental awareness is the willingness of the child to receive education from his parents. Tanjung Lalak Utara, Pulau Laut Archipelago District, is a village located in Kotabaru district, South Kalimantan province, where the majority of the people are Muslim. The mosque and prayer room contained therein are used for worship such as the 5 daily prayers and major Islamic events and recitations which are held about once a month. Even so, it is rare to find children and teenagers there coming to the mosque and recitation. Besides, their behavior is still far from expected. It can be seen from their daily behavior that there are many problems and many cases of complaints from parents and teachers regarding their behavior. Besides that, the environment in Tanjung Lalak is still not supportive because there are still many inhibiting factors that can threaten such as promiscuity, pornography, and narcotics that can damage the future of a child. Therefore, it is important to examine the role of Muslim parents in Tanjung Lalak regarding Islamic religious education for their children

Hukum Memakan Daging Katak (Studi Komparatif Imam Malik dan Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal)

Penulisan skripsi ini berdasarkan latar belakang bahwa memakan katak itu haram di kalangan masyarakat muslim, yang disebabkan oleh beberapa faktor, misalnya karena jorok, beracun dan berbagai alasan lainnya. Yang kemudian hal ini menjadi pikiran turun menurun di tengah masyarakat, dikarenakan kurang tahunya pengetahuan tantang hukum memakan daging katak. Dalam hal ini Imam Malik berpendapat bahwa memakan Katak di bolehkan memakannya dengan artian halal hukumnya dimakan bagi kaum muslimin. Sementara itu dari pendapat Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal berpendapat bahwa memakan katak tidak dibolehkan dengan artian haram hukumnya di makan bagi kaum muslimin. Berdasarkan rumusan masalah dalam penelitian ini, maka tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetauhi pendapat Imam Malik dan Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal tentang hukum memakan daging katak, serta bagaimana istinbath hukum yang digunakan Imam Malik dan Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal dalam menetapkan hukumnya. Jenis Penelitian ini adalah penelitian perpustakaan (library research) bersifat kualitatif, dengan menelaah literature yang berhubungan dengan pembahasan ini. Adapun sumber data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah sumber primer dan sekunder yaitu kitab-kitab fiqh Imam Malik dan Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian yang penulis lakukan menurut Imam Malik bahwa halal hukumnya memakan daging katak. Pendapat Imam Malik tersebut berdasarkan atsar sahabat. Sedangkan menurut Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal haram hukumnya memakan daging katak. Pendapat Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal ini berdasarkan hadist Rasulullah yang diriwayatkan oleh Abu Dawud dan an-Nasa’i

A Study of the Scaling and Advanced Functionality Potential of Phase Change Memory Devices

As traditional volatile and non-volatile data storage and memory technologies such as SRAM, DRAM, Flash and HDD face fundamental scaling challenges, scientists and engineers are forced to search for and develop alternative technologies for future electronic and computing systems that are relatively free from scaling issues, have lower power consumptions, higher storage densities, faster speeds, and can be easily integrated on-chip with microprocessor cores. This thesis focuses on the scaling and advanced functionality potential of one such memory technology i.e. Phase Change Memory (PCM), which is a leading contender to complement or even replace the above mentioned traditional technologies. In the first part of the thesis, a physically-realistic Multiphysics Cellular Automata PCM device modelling approach was used to study the scaling potential of conventional and commercially-viable PCM devices. It was demonstrated that mushroom-type and patterned probe PCM devices can indeed be scaled down to ultrasmall (single-nanometer) dimensions, and in doing so, ultralow programming currents (sub-20 μA) and ultrahigh storage densities (~10 Tb/in2) can be achieved via such a scaling process. Our sophisticated modelling approach also provided a detailed insight into some key PCM device characteristics, such as amorphization (Reset) and crystallization (Set) kinetics, thermal confinement, and the important resistance window i.e. difference in resistances between the Reset and Set states. In the second part of the thesis, the aforementioned modelling approach was used to assess the feasibility of some advanced functionalities of PCM devices, such as neuromorphic computing and phase change metadevices. It was demonstrated that by utilizing the accumulation mode of operation inherent to phase change materials, we can combine a physical PCM device with an external comparator-type circuit to deliver a ‘self-resetting spiking phase change neuron’, which when combined with phase change synapses can potentially open a new route for the realization of all-phase change neuromorphic computers. It was further shown that it is indeed feasible to design and ‘electrically’ switch practicable phase change metadevices (for absorber and modulator applications, and suited to operation in the technologically important near-infrared range of the spectrum). Finally, it was demonstrated that the Gillespie Cellular Automata (GCA) phase change model is capable of exhibiting ‘non-Arrhenius kinetics of crystallization’, which were found to be in good agreement with reported experimental studies

Testing the Existence of Hedonic Adaptation and Inertia to Income with implications for Islamic economics: a case of Pakistan

The fact that happiness does not increase as income increases (Easterlin Paradox) has puzzled a number of scholars for a number of decades. The latest research on this topic concludes that happiness increases with an increment in income in the short term but it adapts to this income increment in the long term. What is the Islamic economics explanation for hedonic adaptation to income? It is argued that Islamic economics should predict a non-existence of hedonic adaptation to income for a society completely following Islamic code of life since it, fully or partially, delinks happiness from income. Testing the existence of hedonic adaptation to income is, therefore, an indirect way to assess whether a society pursing a materialistic goals or following a life enjoin in Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). The first objective of this research is to test whether happiness adapts to income increase in the short run using two-period panel survey in Pakistan. The second objective is to formulate happiness function by incorporating dimensions of zakat and remembrance of Allah (zikr) to highlight possibility of sustain happiness without adaptation to income in the light of Islamic teachings. The paper applies Random Effect Ordered Probit model to investigate the hedonic adaptation effect using various formulations used in the happiness literature. The results show that there is no adaptation to income in Pakistan given the time period. The result is consistent with the studies that show no adaptation during a short period. However, the models used here are not controlled for zakat and zikr due to data unavailability. Hence, Islamic economics implications are derived only theoretically. The significance of the present research lies in the fact that it is the first study in Pakistan that tests the hedonic adaptation to income and hence contributes to the evidence on happiness dynamics. Moreover, it is also the first study that formulates a happiness function from Islamic perspective and highlights happiness dimension of zakat. These are important contributions in Islamic economics literature

Testing the Existence of Hedonic Adaptation and Inertia to Income with implications for Islamic economics: a case of Pakistan

The fact that happiness does not increase as income increases (Easterlin Paradox) has puzzled a number of scholars for a number of decades. The latest research on this topic concludes that happiness increases with an increment in income in the short term but it adapts to this income increment in the long term. What is the Islamic economics explanation for hedonic adaptation to income? It is argued that Islamic economics should predict a non-existence of hedonic adaptation to income for a society completely following Islamic code of life since it, fully or partially, delinks happiness from income. Testing the existence of hedonic adaptation to income is, therefore, an indirect way to assess whether a society pursing a materialistic goals or following a life enjoin in Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him). The first objective of this research is to test whether happiness adapts to income increase in the short run using two-period panel survey in Pakistan. The second objective is to formulate happiness function by incorporating dimensions of zakat and remembrance of Allah (zikr) to highlight possibility of sustain happiness without adaptation to income in the light of Islamic teachings. The paper applies Random Effect Ordered Probit model to investigate the hedonic adaptation effect using various formulations used in the happiness literature. The results show that there is no adaptation to income in Pakistan given the time period. The result is consistent with the studies that show no adaptation during a short period. However, the models used here are not controlled for zakat and zikr due to data unavailability. Hence, Islamic economics implications are derived only theoretically. The significance of the present research lies in the fact that it is the first study in Pakistan that tests the hedonic adaptation to income and hence contributes to the evidence on happiness dynamics. Moreover, it is also the first study that formulates a happiness function from Islamic perspective and highlights happiness dimension of zakat. These are important contributions in Islamic economics literature

A Hybrid Evolutionary Approach to Solve University Course Allocation Problem

This paper discusses various types of constraints, difficulties and solutions to overcome the challenges regarding university course allocation problem. A hybrid evolutionary algorithm has been defined combining Local Repair Algorithm and Modified Genetic Algorithm to generate the best course assignment. After analyzing the collected dataset, all the necessary constraints were formulated. These constraints manage to cover the aspects needed to be kept in mind while preparing clash free and efficient class schedules for every faculty member. The goal is to generate an optimized solution which will fulfill those constraints while maintaining time efficiency and also reduce the workload of handling this task manually. The proposed algorithm was compared with some base level optimization algorithms to show the better efficiency in terms of accuracy and time

Frequency of G6PD mediterranean in individuals with and without malaria in southern Pakistan

Background: Pakistan has an estimated annual burden of 1.5 million malaria cases. The current situation calls for an efective malaria control and eradication programme in this country. Currently, primaquine is an attractive option for eliminating reservoirs of Plasmodium vivax hypnozoites and killing gametocytes of Plasmodium falciparum. However, this drug causes haemolysis in individuals who are glucose-6-phosphate (G6PD) defcient. It is important to map G6PD defciency and malaria distribution in Pakistan to design an efective malaria eradication regimen. Frequency of G6PD defciency (G6PDd) in malaria patients has not been reported from Pakistan in any meaningful way. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the frequency of G6PD c.563C\u3eT (G6PD Mediterranean) in male individuals with and without falciparum malaria.Methods: Two hundred and ten archived DNA samples from males (110 from falciparum malaria patients and 100 from healthy individuals) were utilized in this study. Healthy blood donors were selected based on stringent predefned criteria. Patients were confrmed for malaria parasites on microscopy and or immune chromatographic assay detecting P. falciparum histidine-rich protein 2. Parasitaemia was also computed. DNA samples were tested for G6PD c.563C\u3eT mutation through PCR–RFLP according to the previously defned protocol and its allelic frequency was computed.Results: G6PD c.563C\u3eT was observed in four of 110 patients with falciparum malaria and in two of 100 healthy donors. Mean (± SD) haemoglobin, median (IQR) platelet and median (IQR) parasite count in G6PD-defcient malariapatients were 8.9 ± 0.9 g/dL, 124 × 109/L (IQR 32, 171) and 57,920/μL of blood (IQR 12,920, 540,000) respectively.Conclusions: Cumulative allelic frequency for G6PD 563c.C\u3eT was 0.0285 detected in 6 of 210 X-chromosomes in Southern Pakistan. Frequency for this G6PD allele was 0.0364 in malaria-patients and 0.0200 in healthy individuals. Large studies including females are needed to elucidate the true burden of G6PDd in malaria-endemic areas. The information will enable local health policy makers to design efective strategies for eliminating malaria form this region