Abstract: This study examined the toxicological effects and
safety of polypeptide k isolated from the seeds of Momordica
charantia in laboratory rats. 30 male Sprague Dawley rats (12 weeks
old, bodyweight 180-200 g) were randomly divided into 3 groups
(1000 mg/kg, 500 mg and 0 mg/kg). Rats were acclimatized to
laboratory conditions for 7 days and at day 8 rats were dosed orally
with polypeptide k (in 2% DMSO/normal saline) and the controls
received the dosed vehicle only. Rats were then observed for 72
hours before sacrificed. Rats were anaesthetized by pentobarbital
(50 mg/kg ip) and 2-3.0 mL of blood was taken by cardiac puncture
and rats were scarified by anaesthetic overdose. Immediately, organs
(heart, lungs, liver, kidneys) were weigh and taken for histology.
Organ sections were then evaluated by a histopathologist. Serum
samples were assayed for liver functions (ALT and γ-GT) and kidney
functions (BUN and creatinine). All rats showed normal behavior
after the dosing and no statistical changes were observed in all blood
parameters and organ weight. Histological examinations revealed
normal organ structures. In conclusion, dosing of rats up to 1000
mg/kg did not have any effects on the rat behavior, liver or kidney
functions nor histology of the selected organs.
Abstract: Multimedia courseware has been accepted as a tool
that can support teaching and learning process. 'Li2D' courseware
was developed to assist student-s visualization on the topic of Loci in
Two Dimension. This paper describes an evaluation on the
effectiveness and usability of a 'Li2D' courseware. The quasi
experiment was used for the effectiveness evaluation. Usability
evaluation was accomplished based on four constructs of usability,
namely: efficiency, learnability, screen design and satisfaction. An
evaluation on the multimedia elements was also conducted. A total of
63 students of Form Two are involved in the study. The students are
divided into two groups: control and experimental. The experimental
group had to interact with 'Li2D' courseware as part of the learning
activities while the control group used the conventional learning
methods. The results indicate that the experimental group performed
better than the control group in understanding the Loci in Two
Dimensions topic. In terms of usability, the results showed that the
students agreed on the usability in multimedia elements in the 'Li2D'
courseware.
Abstract: Demolitions of buildings have created a lot of waste
and one of it is clay bricks. The waste clay bricks were ground to
roughly cement fineness and used to partially replaced cement at
10%, 20% and 30% with w/b ratio of 0.6 and tested at 7, 28, 60, 90
and 120 days. The result shows that the compressive strength of GCB
concrete increases over age however, decreases as the level of
replacements increases. It was also found that 10% replacement of
GCB gave the highest compressive strength, however for optimum
replacement, 30% was chosen as it still attained strength of grade 30
concrete. In terms of durability performances, results show that GCB
replacement up to 30% was found to be efficient in reducing water
absorption as well as water permeability. These studies show that
GCB has the potential to be used as partial cement replacement in
making concrete.