SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION, CONTROLLED RELEASE AND CYTOTOXIC EFFECT OF ANTHRANILIC ACID-LOADED CHITOSAN AND POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL- MAGNETIC NANOPARTICLES ON MURINE MACROPHAGE RAW 264.7 CELLS

SAMER HASAN HUSSEIN-AL-ALI,Palanisamy Arulselvan,Sharida Fakurazi,Maznah Ismail,DENA DORNIANI,MOHD ZOBIR HUSSEIN 성균관대학교(자연과학캠퍼스) 성균나노과학기술원 2014 NANO Vol.9 No.2

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were prepared by the coprecipitation method using a molar ratioof Fe 3 þ:Fe 2 þof 2:1. The surface of MNP was coated with chitosan (CS) and polyethylene glycol(PEG) to form CS – MNP and PEG – MNP nanoparticles, respectively. Anthranilic acid (AA) wasloaded on the surface of the resulting nanoparticles to form AA – CS – MNP and AA – PEG – MNPnanocomposites, respectively. The nanocomposites obtained were characterized using powderX-ray di®raction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetryanalysis (TGA), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD results showed that the as-synthesized nanocomposites are pure magnetite. FTIRresults analysis indicated the existence of two polymers on the particle surface of the MNP andthe presence of loaded AA on the surface of CS – MNP and PEG – MNP nanoparticles. Anthranilicacid loading and the release pro¯les of AA – CS – MNP and AA – PEG – MNP nanocompositesshowed that up to 8.8% and 5.5% of the adsorbed drug were released in 670 min and 771 min,respectively. Anthranilic acid release pro¯les followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic controlledprocess. The cytotoxicity of the as-synthesized anthranilic acid nanocomposities were determinedusing MTT assay using murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. MTT results showed that thecytotoxic e®ects of AA – CS – MNP were higher than AA – PEG – MNP against the tested cells ascompared to free anthranilic acid. In this manner, this study introduces novel anthranilic acidnanocomposites that can be used on-demand for biomedical applications.

The effect of microfinance on women’s empowerment : Evidence from Malaysia

Sayed Samer Ali AL-SHAMI,Muhammad M. RAZALI,Izaidin MAJID,Ahmed ROZELAN,Nurulizwa RASHID 이화여자대학교 아시아여성학센터 2016 Asian Journal of Women's Studies(AJWS) Vol.22 No.3

Microfinance is widely known as a financial development tool for those deprived of access to financial services, especially women. However, the literature provides conflicting evidence and shows that women’s empowerment may not, or may only be partially achieved through microcredit, especially in Muslim societies. This study seeks to scrutinize the effect of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), a microcredit institution, on Malay Muslim women in an urban area. A quasi-experimental method was used to conduct a cross sectional survey of 500 old and new clients. Informal semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 current clients who had received microcredit two years earlier. The findings show that AIM microcredit empowered the women and enhanced gender equality. It enabled women to access financial capital, form their micro- and smallbusinesses and obtain an income which helped them to contribute to household expenditure. Even though the effect of microcredit was partial, it provided them bargaining power for decision-making and controlling of resources and enhanced their self-esteem in their households and communities. Pembiayaan mikro secara meluasnya dikenali sebagai kaedah membangunkan mereka yang tidak diberi peluang akses perkhidmatan kewangan lain, khasnya di kalangan golongan wanita. Walau bagaimanapun, literatur kajian lampau telah mengemukakan bukti yang bercanggah di mana pembiayaan mikro kepada golongan wanita terutamanya mereka dalam masyarakat Islam mungkin tidak langsung atau mungkin sebahagiannya sahaja memberi kesan terhadap kejayaan mereka. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk meneliti kesan Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) iaitu sebuah institusi pembiayaan mikro, di kalangan wanita Melayu Islam di kawasan bandar. Satu kaedah kuasieksperimen telah digunakan untuk menjalankan kajian terhadap 500 pelanggan lama dan baru pembiayaan mikro. Temubual informal separa berstruktur telah dijalankan bersama 20 pelanggan yang sedang menerima pembiayaan mikro dalam tempoh dua tahun sebelumnya. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa pembiayaan mikro AIM menjadikan wanita bertambah berjaya dan dapat menyumbang terhadap kesamarataan antara gender. Ia membolehkan mereka memperolehi modal, membentuk perniagaan mikro atau kecil dan seterusnya memperolehi pendapatan yang dapat membantu mereka untuk menyumbang kepada perbelanjaan isi rumah. Walaupun kesan pembiayaan mikro ini menyumbang kepada sebahagian sahaja peningkatan ini, namun ia dapat menyediakan mereka kuasa tawar-menawar untuk membuat keputusan, kawalan ke atas sumber dan meningkatkan keyakinan diri golongan ini.

The Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure on Market Performance: Evidence from Jordan

Omar ZRAQAT,Qasim ZUREIGAT,Hani Ali AL-RAWASHDEH,Samer Mohammed OKOUR,Lina Fuad HUSSIEN,Atef Aqeel AL-BAWAB 한국유통과학회 2021 The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Busine Vol.8 No.8

The current study aims to investigate the relationship between CSRD and firm performance, as an indicator for corporate socially responsible behavior, and corporate market performance of listed companies on the Amman stock exchange (ASE). The study adopts a quantitative methodology and utilizes pooled data sets that was collected following content analysis approach of the annual reports for the period 2014 to 2019. The study sample consists of 42 listed companies. The study ran a multiple regression model in order to capture the relationship between the independent variable CSRD and the dependent variable that is Firm performance which was measured using Tobin’s Q. The study also utilized five control variables in order to control the hypothesized relationship between CSRD and Firm Performance. The results indicate a negative but significant relationship between CSRD and corporate market performance measured by Tobin’s Q. The results stand against the notion of the business case for CSR, and indicate the opposite position, so, the higher CSRD, the lower will be Tobin’s Q. Such results support the notion of the institutional theory, and provide an initial evidence for legitimacy seeking behavior in Jordanian companies. However, the results indicate a lower level of awareness of CSR across investors and market players, which support arguments of the difference in market perceptions towards CSR.

EFFECT OF UNDERHOOD ARCHITECTURE ON AERODYNAMIC DRAG – SUGGESTION OF NEW CONCEPTS FOR FUEL CONSUMPTION REDUCTION

Jalal Faraj,Elias Harika,Mohamed Ramadan,Samer Ali,Fabien Harambat,Mahmoud Khaled 한국자동차공학회 2020 International journal of automotive technology Vol.21 No.3

The present work concerns an experimental study of the aerodynamic drag on a simplified vehicle body in relation to the underhood architecture, especially the engine block and cooling module positions. To proceed, measurements are carried out in wind tunnel for different geometric configurations. The simplified body includes a real cooling module and a simplified engine block. The measured coefficients concern the aerodynamic drag, the cooling drag and the lift in relation. It was shown that the aerodynamic drag can be reduced up to 1.4 % when the spacing in the vehicle length between the engine block and cooling module is well regulated. According to the results obtained, it was noticed that new configurations could reduce the fuel consumption by up to 0.177 L/100 kms.

Investigation of thin-film composite hollow fiber forward osmosis membrane for osmotic concentration: A pilot-scale study

Rem Jalab,Abdelrahman Mohammed Awad,Mustafa Saleh Nasser,Ibnelwaleed Ali Hussein,Fares Almomani,Joel Minier-Matar,Samer Adham 한국화학공학회 2022 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.39 No.1

The current study applied the forward osmosis (FO) based osmotic concentration (OC) process at the pilot-scale for concentrating synthetic feed solution (FS). The process water (PW) salinity represents effluents from the gas industry, while the draw solution (DS) mimics seawater. Besides, the performance of a hollow fiber (HF) membrane manufactured from polyamide thin film composite (PA-TFC) was evaluated. The effect of operation with various feed recovery rates, flowrates and temperatures on the OC performance was examined. Outcomes reveal that the tested membrane succeeded in recovering up to 90% of FS at water flux of 6.40 LMH. The stability of OC plant was successfully demonstrated for 48 hours long-term run at 75% feed recovery as an optimum condition, where the TFC membrane achieved average water flux of 6.00 LMH, respectively. Higher DS flowrate improved the OC performance by inducing higher water permeation and FS recovery; however, it increased the undesirable reverse solute diffusion. Lastly, the permeability coefficient of the HF membrane was estimated by 2.69LMH/bar at 25 oC, which significantly enhanced at higher temperatures.