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Abstract This study examined Sa'di's works through a descriptive-analytical lens, drawing upon contemporary expert perspectives on successful aging. Sa'di, employing a moral approach grounded in religious teachings and personal experiences, endeavored to portray successful elderly individuals. With concision and eloquence, he proposed methods to mitigate the losses associated with aging, enabling older adults to live their remaining years with greater serenity and assume new roles befitting their circumstances in society. The research findings revealed that, according to Sa'di, the key attributes of successful elderly individuals included: Accepting the realities of aging Living wisely and approaching challenges prudently Maintaining a purposeful existence Seeking meaning and transcendence Cultivating a realistic awareness of mortality Preserving hope Engaging in social roles Practicing kindness Cultivating a positive reputation Prioritizing physical and mental well-being This analysis bridged classical Persian literature with contemporary gerontological concepts, offering valuable insights into the timeless nature of successful aging strategies. Keywords: Aging, Successful Aging, Educational Literature, Old Age, Sa'di Introduction Old age represents a significant phase in the human lifespan—a period when individuals, having traversed the majority of their lives, experience a decline in certain abilities and often find themselves marginalized by societal structures. However, maintaining influence and fulfilling social roles during this stage can significantly preserve or even enhance one's quality of life. This study aimed to explore the concept of successful aging as portrayed in Sa'di's works. It sought to answer the question: What characteristics did Sa'di attribute to a successfully aging individual, taking into account the social conditions of his era? To achieve this, Sa'di's literary corpus was thoroughly examined and both his explicit statements and implicit views were meticulously described and analyzed. Materials & Methods This research employed a descriptive-analytical approach to examine the didactic works of Sa'di Shirazi, with a focus on identifying patterns of successful aging. The methodology involved: A comprehensive review of Sa'di's literary works Identification and extraction of relevant passages pertaining to aging Analysis of these passages in light of contemporary theories of successful aging Synthesis of findings to construct a cohesive picture of Sa'di's perspective on aging well By applying this rigorous methodology, the study aimed to bridge classical Persian wisdom with modern gerontological insights, potentially offering timeless strategies for navigating the challenges of advanced age.

Fuel subsidies play a vital role in mitigating inflation and lowering fuel production expenses, particularly during periods of surging global crude oil prices. The study's objectives involve a comprehensive assessment, mapping research studies to understand current trends, publication impact, research productivity in fuel subsidy studies, and identifying the most influential countries, institutions, and authors in this field. This research conducts a bibliometric analysis of fuel subsidies and their trends, utilizing data and academic literature from the Scopus database retrieved on October 4, 2022, with the keywords "fuel" and "subsidy" in the title string. Examining 168 articles spanning 1978 to 2022, quantitative data analysis employed Microsoft Excel, VOSviewer, and Harzing’s Publish or Perish. Results reveal a rising trend in article publication since 2014, peaking at 23 articles in 2017. The United States (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), and China emerge as the most productive countries in fuel subsidy studies, with the USA playing a crucial role in international collaboration. The most cited paper garnered 164 citations. Future research is encouraged to explore broader areas, linking fuel subsidies with low carbon societies, environmental policy, renewable energy, or the blue economy, given their global significance. The study's findings aim to guide researchers in planning future investigations, offering relevant literature and critical issues to address, ultimately enhancing the quality of knowledge in this domain.

Biological treatment is currently a favorable option to treat wastewater due to its environmentally friendly methods and minimal toxic by-products. The majority of biological wastewater treatment uses bacteria as treatment agents, which are known to have excellent capabilities for removing various pollutants. Researchers have extensively explored the use of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) generated by bacteria in wastewater treatment. This review focuses on the sources of EPSs, factors influencing their production, and their role in wastewater treatment. Bacterial species, nutrient availability, pH, temperatures, and the presence of toxins were mentioned to be the factors influencing EPS production by bacteria in wastewater treatment. Produced EPSs by bacteria may promote the aggregation, adsorption, decolorization, and degradation of pollutants. This review highlights the challenges of discovering new potential bacterial species and complex EPS extraction methods, as well as the importance of mass production for larger-scale applications.

Scrotoschisis is a rare congenital anomaly affecting the scrotum and testes, characterized clinically by a defect in the scrotal wall and extrusion of testicular tissue. This literature review is based on reports gathered from PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar using relevant keywords to explore the underlying basic science of this rare condition. The etiology and mechanism of scrotoschisis development remain largely unknown, with only theoretical explanations and a lack of empirical evidence regarding its pathogenesis, which is thought to be linked to embryological abnormalities during scrotal formation. Diagnosing scrotoschisis typically involves a straightforward visual examination of the extruded testes immediately after birth, although clinical presentations may vary, being either unilateral or bilateral. Surgical intervention, primarily through orchidopexy, is generally beneficial for repositioning the testes, closing defects, and preventing potential complications. The prognosis for individuals with this anomaly is generally favorable, although long-term testicular function has been inadequately documented. Further research, including additional clinical reports and investigations involving animal models or embryological studies, is warranted to enhance our understanding of this condition.

ABSTRAK Latar Belakang. Indonesia kaya akan keanekaragaman hayati terutama di bidang pertanian, yang menyebabkan tingginya angka pemanfaatan herbal untuk pengobatan tradisional. Praktik tersebut dipengaruhi oleh banyak faktor terutama faktor sosio-demografis, ekonomi, pendidikan dan lainnya.Tujuan. Untuk menganalisis jumlah dan tipe-tipe dari pengobatan herbal di Puskesmas Pekan labuhan dan juga faktor yang memengaruhi penggunaan obat-obatan herbal.Metode.Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian deskriptif dan analitik observasional dengan desain potong lintang, pada 119 pasien dewasa di Puskesmas Pekan Labuhan pada rentang waktu penelitian. Sampel diambil dengan metode purposive sampling pada pasien yang datang ke puskesmas. data dikumpulkan menggunakan kuesioner. Data di analisis secara univariat dan bivariat menggunakan tes pearson χ2 atau Fischer's Exact test menggunakan Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) versi ke-21 untuk windows pada interval kepercayaan 95%.Hasil. Penggunaan pengobatan herbal pada masyarakat sekitar Puskesmas Pekan Labuhan sebesar 49%. Umumnya pengobatan herbal digunakan sebagai obat komplementer, dengan jamu sebesar 39% dan pil ekstrak 23.7%. Penggunaan pengobatan herbal tersebar merata diantara kelompok demografis dan faktor pengobatan. Terdapat 2 faktor yang paling memengaruhi yaitu kepercayaan terhadap keamanan dari pengobatan herbal (PR 3.58, p

The ability of mixed neem, cassava, and wild betel plant leaves to act as plant-based coagulants was tested in real aquaculture wastewater through the coagulation-flocculation process. The performance of plant-based coagulant (PBC) was compared with that of chemical coagulant (alum) to observe the removal efficiency of turbidity, TSS, color, and COD. Ratio, as a new approach, was used by selecting TSS as an indicator or index to substitute for the dosage term and calculated based on a simplified equation. The extracted medium for these coagulants was prepared by using water extraction. Initial characterizations showed that the PBC had some carbon and amine groups (as also confirmed by LC-MS) with an average zeta potential of –22.83 ± 0.62 mV. Results indicated both coagulants (plant-based and chemical coagulants) successfully removed the measured polluted parameters of turbidity (85.17 %), TSS (80.28 %), color (59.42 %), and COD (54.63 %) for PBC with dosage of 0.79 mg/L and coagulant mass of 3.94 mg, while alum gained a higher removal with turbidity (99.08 %), TSS (98.71 %), color (97.29 %), and COD (75.31 %) with dosage and coagulant mass of 698.4 mg/L and 349.2 mg, respectively. This signaled that alum still acted as the best coagulant, but PBC showed a promising opportunity as a potential substitute for chemical coagulant.

Juru River is one of the most polluted rivers in Malaysia. A dye-degrading bacterial consortium has been isolated from the river's sediment. This consortium JR3 consists of Pseudomonas aeruginosa MM01, Enterobacter sp. MM05 and Serratia marcescens MM06, which were able to decolorize up to 700 ppm of the Reactive Red 120 (RR120) dye under optimal conditions with limited substrate available. Substrate inhibition kinetics were investigated, and, based on the best model, Aiba, the maximum growth rate was 0.795 h–1, while the saturation constant and inhibitory constant were 0.185% and 0.14%, respectively. In addition, the influence of various metal ions on the growth and decolorization rate of this bacterial consortium on RR120 was investigated. Chromium showed the weakest effect on the decolorization of 200 ppm RR120, with 73.5% removal and bacterial growth of 11.461 log CFU mL–1. Zinc yielded the second weakest effect, followed by silver and lead, with percentages of RR120 decolorization of 63.8%, 54.6% and 50.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, cadmium, arsenic and copper reduced the decolorization of RR120 in consortium JR3 by half. Mercury strongly inhibited decolorization by 32.5%. Based on the least inhibited heavy metal in RR120 decolorization activity of consortium JR3, the best inhibitory kinetic model was Levenspiel, with a maximum growth rate of 0.632 h–1, while the saturation constant and inhibitory constants were 15.08% and 0.5783%, respectively. The metal-tolerant azo dye-degrading bacterial consortium will be very useful in dye remediation in metal-laden polluted environments.

Abstract Higher education students are frequently required to assess lecturers with a convenient, fast, and anonymous learning management system. Following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak, Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia (UiTM) adopted a remote teaching and learning approach. This study examined how lecturers’ professionalism, course impression, and facilitating conditions at UiTM affected undergraduate and graduate students’ remote learning pre- and mid-pandemic. The higher prediction accuracy of the model demonstrated that students’ remote learning activities were highly related to lecturers’ professionalism, course impression, and facilitating conditions. The structural model demonstrated that the t-statistics of all measurement variables were significant at 1%. The strongest predictor of students’ enjoyment of remote learning pre- and mid-pandemic was lecturers’ professionalism. In the importance-performance matrix, lecturers’ professionalism was in the quadrant for ‘keep up the good work’. Facilitating conditions and course impression did not require further improvement even during the pandemic. The influence of remote learning was demonstrated in the students’ graduation rates and grades. The results also presented theoretical and practical implications for the UiTM hybrid learning plan post-pandemic.

Supply-side fiscal policy holds that the growth of the country is stimulated through fiscal expansion designed to foster increased production. Subsidies given by the government to producers save many essential industries from higher cost of production thus encouraging them to increase supply of goods and services. On the other hand, subsidies provided to the public have benefitted them from paying higher prices for consumer products thus enhancing their welfare. However, these subsidies and incentives may promote overproduction and encourage overconsumption since cost of production becomes much cheaper after being subsidized. This has consequences on the consumer environmental awareness (CEA) as excessive use of certain products e.g. fuel, may result in environmental pollution. Using a systematic literature review, we explore subsidy and environmental awareness among consumers. We focus on environmental awareness as an interesting issue to bring forward in this research and our study contributes to the existing literature. The results of our study imply that the provision of subsidies on fuels resulted in excessive use of self-transport which has an impact on climate change. However, in other cases, green subsidies do benefit society in general. High environmental awareness can be decisive in influencing green purchasing behaviour, resulting in high demand for green products.

Supporting digital technology used in teaching and learning, video has opened a new opportunity for bringing a traditional learning environment to enhance learning. The use of video through mobile applications has changed the methods and techniques of acquiring knowledge in the education field in almost all subjects such as language, science and mathematics. This changing technique offers innovative opportunities for both teachers and students to enhance language learning through technology. Previous literature has shown a respectable number of studies related to the use of video in mobile applications applied in various subjects, resulting in enormous advantages to the learners at school. Thus, the goal of this preliminary study is to identify the teaching and learning in Arabic language and to examine what is teachers done to increase in mastering Arabic vocabulary among students. This study also aimed to see teachers’ perception toward the use of video through mobile application in teaching and learning for Arabic language that can be used as guide developing an application product for the subject of the Arabic language. An online interview had been conducted among teachers from two different religious secondary schools in Penang for data collection. Findings showed that the teachers still use conventional teaching in class and only use the technology during online class. Most teachers agreed that the use of video through mobile applications can be used to improve learners’ language learning and it is most suitable to apply in the learning of the Arabic language for a secondary school in Malaysia.

The batik industry has been one of the main family businesses in most of the east-coast region of the Malaysian peninsula for many years. However, appropriate water treatment is still a major challenge for this industry. Stringent laws introduced by the Malaysian authorities and the intention to protect the environment are factors that drive researchers to search for suitable, appropriate, affordable and efficient treatment of batik wastewater. Treatment research on batik wastewater is still lacking and coagulation-flocculation treatment using alum was introduced and chosen as a stepping stone toward the selection of green coagulants. This study aimed to determine the best conditions for alum flocculation-coagulation using a standard jar test method. Four main factors were investigated: alum dosage (0.1–3.5 g/L), pH (4–11), settling time (0.5–24 h) and rapid mixing rate (100–300 rpm). Results obtained were further analysed statistically using SPSS software prior to determining the significant effect of variable changes. From this study, the best conditions for batik wastewater treatment using the flocculation-coagulation process were found to be at alum dosage of 1.5 g/L, pH 8, 4 h settling time and a rapid mixing rate of 100 rpm. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity, colour and total suspended solids (TSS) were removed by 70.7, 92.2, 88.4 and 100%, respectively, under these conditions. This study showed that batik wastewater can be treated by the coagulation-flocculation process using chemical means of alum. This indicates the need for forthcoming developments in natural-based-coagulant-flocculants toward the sustainability of the batik industry.

Scrotoschisis is an uncommon congenital urogenital anomaly with a defect in the scrotum causing protrusion of testis through the scrotal wall. This is the 20th case reported and 1st from Indonesia. A male newborn admitted with a complaint mass protruding from his left hemiscrotum. Mass was described with spherical shaped, red base, yellowish membrane, smooth and firm boundaries with no sign of testicular torsion. Patient was diagnosed with left unilateral scrotoschisis. Patient was managed with surgical debridement, scrotal exploration and orchidopexy. The patient was managed with drain insertion to monitor signs of infections. Patient was stable and discharged, hence testicular function monitoring was planned in line with further growth assessment.

Urban industrialization has caused a ubiquity of microplastics in the environment. A large percentage of plastic waste originated from Southeast Asian countries. Microplastics arising from the primary sources of personal care items and industrial uses and the fragmentation of larger plastics have recently garnered attention due to their ubiquity. Due to the rising level of plastic waste in the environment, the bioaccumulation and biomagnification of plastics threaten aquatic and human life. Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents are one of the major sources of these plastic fragments. WWTPs in Southeast Asia contribute largely to microplastic pollution in the marine environment, and thus, further technological improvements are required to ensure the complete and efficient removal of microplastics. Coagulation is a significant process in removing microplastics, and natural coagulants are far superior to their chemical equivalents due to their non-toxicity and cost-effectiveness. A focused literature search was conducted on journal repository platforms, mainly ScienceDirect and Elsevier, and on scientific databases such as Google Scholar using the keywords Wastewater Treatment Plant, Coagulation, Microplastics, Marine Environment and Southeast Asia. The contents and results of numerous papers and research articles were reviewed, and the relevant papers were selected. The relevant findings and research data are summarized in this paper. The paper reviews (1) natural coagulants for microplastic removal and their effectiveness in removing microplastics and (2) the potential use of natural coagulants in Southeast Asian wastewater treatment plants as the abundance of natural materials readily available in the region makes it a feasible option for microplastic removal.

A pressing concern of issues such as climate change has drawn main attention in the world. The burning of fossil fuels by human due to increasing energy demand in various sectors is one of the main factors that influence the climate change. This has resulted in the introduction of many renewable energy sources as alternatives to fossil fuels. Biogas is one type of renewable energy that has numerous advantages. The present review covers the recent challenges of biogas production and its conversion to electrical energy. This includes the substrates used, the operating parameters, and the pre-treatment used, which can be implemented to maximise the biogas yield. The challenges and potential of the generation of electricity from biogas were also discussed in this review. The results obtained in this review emphasise that biogas is a good renewable energy, as it solves multiple problems and at the same brings benefits to human beings in many ways.

Biological treatment is currently a favorable option to treat wastewater due to its environmentally friendly methods and minimal toxic by-products. The majority of biological wastewater treatment uses bacteria as treatment agents, which are known to have excellent capabilities for removing various pollutants. Researchers have extensively explored the use of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) generated by bacteria in wastewater treatment. This review focuses on the sources of EPSs, factors influencing their production, and their role in wastewater treatment. Bacterial species, nutrient availability, pH, temperatures, and the presence of toxins were mentioned to be the factors influencing EPS production by bacteria in wastewater treatment. Produced EPSs by bacteria may promote the aggregation, adsorption, decolorization, and degradation of pollutants. This review highlights the challenges of discovering new potential bacterial species and complex EPS extraction methods, as well as the importance of mass production for larger-scale applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Dengue is a significant public health issue that is caused by Aedes spp. mosquitoes. The current vector control methods are unable to effectively reduce Aedes populations and thus fail to decrease dengue transmission. Hence, there is an urgent need for new tools and strategies to reduce dengue transmission in a wide range of settings. In this study, the Mosquito Home System (MHS) and Mosquito Home Aqua (MHAQ) formulations were assessed as commercial autodissemination traps in laboratory and small-scale field trials. Method Multiple series of laboratory and small-scale field trials were performed to assess the efficacy of MHS and MHAQ exposed to Ae. aegypti. In the laboratory trials, various parameters such as fecundity, fertility, wing size, oviposition preferences, residual effects, and MHAQ transference to other containers through controlled experiments were tested. For small-scale field trials, the efficacy of the MHS and MHAQ approaches was determined to ascertain whether wild mosquitoes could transfer the MHAQ formulation from MHS stations to ovitraps. Results The data revealed that Ae. aegypti was highly susceptible to low concentrations of MHAQ formulations and had a residual effect of up to 3 months, with MHAQ exposure affecting fecundity, fertility, and mosquito wing size. In the oviposition studies, gravid females strongly preferred the hay infusion compared to tap water and MHAQ during egg-laying in the laboratory. Nevertheless, the use of commercial MHAQ by MHS was highly attractive in field settings compared to conventional ovitraps among local Aedes spp. mosquitoes. In addition, MHAQ horizontal transfer activities in the laboratory and small-scale field trials were demonstrated through larval bioassays. These findings demonstrated the potential of MHAQ to be transferred to new containers in each study site. Conclusion This study provided proof of principle for the autodissemination of MHAQ. Through further refinement, this technique and device could become an effective oviposition trap and offer an alternative preventive tool for vector control management. Graphical abstract

Cinema is a modern art which has combined former arts and knowledge and has presented this to the audience with abundant attraction. Reflected thoughts in the past of eastern countries and especially classical literature of our country enjoy a spiritual theme. Reflection of mystical themes of classical literature in cinema works can be a means for linking thought with national art. In this research, in addition to presenting a historical-conceptual division, there is an abridged survey on mystical and spiritual thoughts of directors in our country and presented proposals for strengthening the relationship between cinema and classic literature. This study shows that there is no complementary and extraterrestrial linkage between spiritual thoughts of our past mystical literature and the art of cinema. Various factors influence this issue. The most important points are: suspicious look at politics to Sufism in iran،existence of different and controversial attitudes towards the thoughts and lives of mystics, attitudes of mystical concepts towards the mentality and their evasion from evidence, instrumental weakness of Iranian cinema for the plausible making of fantastic works and the opposition of classical and intellectual spectrums of the critics of Iranian cinema by making mystical works.

Bioaugmentation, the addition of cultured microorganisms to enhance the currently existing microbial community, is an option to remediate contaminated areas. Several studies reported the success of the bioaugmentation method in treating heavy metal contaminated soil, but concerns related to the applicability of this method in real-scale application were raised. A comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms of heavy metal treatment by microbes (especially bacteria) and the concerns related to the possible application in the real scale were juxtaposed to show the weakness of the claim. This review proposes the use of bioaugmentation-assisted phytoremediation in treating heavy metal contaminated soil. The performance of bioaugmentation-assisted phytoremediation in treating heavy metal contaminated soil as well as the mechanisms of removal and interactions between plants and microbes are also discussed in detail. Bioaugmentation-assisted phytoremediation shows greater efficiencies and performs complete metal removal from soil compared with only bioaugmentation. Research related to selection of hyperaccumulator species, potential microbial species, analysis of interaction mechanisms, and potential usage of treating plant biomass after treatment are suggested as future research directions to enhance this currently proposed topic.

Identity is a phenomenon that is created in the course of social communication by establishing a boundary between the self and the other. The significance of this concept during adolescence calls for a rethinking of it in the field of literature. By borrowing Western concepts and values and combining them with Eastern identity characteristics, Jamila Gavin depicts the identity-making and acceptance of immigrants in The Eye of the Horse. It is the purpose of this paper to answer the following questions: how do the identity-making elements of the West challenge and change the identity of immigrants? What role do factors such as otherness, bilingualism, etc. play in shaping an individual's identity? The novel The Eye of the Horse consequently examines the relationship between the characters as symbols of the East and the West, as well as the suspension and consolidation of their identities in a Western-dominant environment. Based on the results of this study, the author has constructed an intermediate space in the novel that integrates both the decentered and the centered attitudes of East and West toward each other, as well as justifying the superiority of the West through the creation of linked subjects that constitute the identity of the teenage characters. As an introduction to the civilized world and globalization, he has also emphasized the naturalization and diminution of indigenous identities.

Attar’s Mantiq al-Tair, a classical Persian literature heritage, has transcended the local geography and has been considered at worldwide level. One of the fiction books published under the influence of Attar's Mantiq al-Tair is The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sis, the Czech writer, illustrator, and filmmaker. The book was recreated and illustrated by Sis for children, adolescents, and adults in 2011 and after it he won Hans Christian Andersen Award or the biennial Little Nobel Prize–the most prestigious literary and artistic award in the field of children's literature. Zohreh Ghaeini, a writer and researcher of children's literature, translated this book into Persian in 2016. Next year, she was selected as one of the nominees for the sixth period of receiving Golden and Silver Flying Turtle Award for adolescents at domestic festivals. Adopting descriptive-analytic method, intertextuality approach, and specifically Gérard Genett's theory of transtextuality with a critical look, this article attempts to describe and analyze the transtextual relationship between The Conference of the Birds and Attar's Mantiq al-Tair. Intertextuality has long engaged researchers with the premise that texts interact with each other. Intertextual method has roots in the works of Russian critic, Mikhail Bakhtin. All the theorists have presented their own view of dialogism. Among others, Genette proposed and completed his model of “transtextuality" in the twentieth century based on Bakhtin's dialogism principles. His theory of transtextuality includes five types of relations including "intertextuality", "hypertextuality", "paratextuality", "metatextuality", and "architextuality". In the following, these relations are described and analyzed in The Conference of the Birds. Paratextuality includes intra-textual and extra-textual paratexts that are the gateways to enter or exit the text. It is considered an influential element that affects the audience mind and perception. Examples of intra-paratexts are title, second title, book size, cover design, and the like. Extra-paratexts can be divided into two categories of paratexts created by the author and publisher to attract the audience, and paratexts created by other people, including critics or reporters and other authors to promote or critique the text. The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sis is an adaptation of Attar's Mantiq al-Tair based on paratextual sources and documents. The author's explanations concerning the book's connection to Attar’s and his announcement of copyright permission granted to Research Institute of Children's and Adolescents’ Literatureare examples of intra-paratexts. Extra-paratexts can also be seen on Persian and English sites and some media. Intertextuality is the interconnection and relationship between two texts, which includes explicit (verbal), non-explicit, and implicit relations. Implicitly, the essence of Mantiq al-Tair is reflected in the main and general plot of The Conference of the Birds by Sis. From the beginning, through paratexts and references to Attar's metamorphosis to Hudhud, Sis acknowledges that this work is a rewriting of Mantiq al-Tair and with these references he avoids using quotes in the text. Examples of intertextuality are the birds being called by Hudhud to seek the king and set out on a journey to Mount Qaf; the birds bringing pretexts for not going on the trip; the seven valleys (Haft Wadi); and reaching Simorgh. Metatextuality is the explicit or implicit critical commentary of one text on another. In The Conference of the Birds, which is itself an adaptation of Mantiq al-Tair, the effects of conforming to Mantiq al-Tair’s atmosphere in the general formation of the new work cannot be neglected. During the transfer, Mantiq al-Tair’s atmosphere, which is mystical-didactic, has been reduced to a moral-didactic one in The Conference of the Birds; a kind of description and confirmation that the author has adopted in recreating that great classic work taking into account the target audience and the circumstances. Thus, metatextual relations between The Conference of the Birds and Mantiq al-Tair are formed based on the main story. Architextuality is the relationship between a work and the generic category to which it belongs. The genre of Mantiq al-Tair and The Conference of the Birds can be viewed from two perspectives: one is the genre of mystical epic, and the other is the sub-genre of Risalat al-Tair, a branch of didactic genre. The epic genre has indeed been transferred to The Conference of the Birds and has turned it to a didactic epic; however, the format of the new work has changed from a poetic story to a prose one. This part is one of the aspects that Genette's transtextuality considers it to be weak in terms of architextual relationship. Hypertextuality is a relationship based on the adaptation of text B from text A; which is divided into two types of transformation or imitation. From imitation view, the plot and structure of the work can be considered an imitation of the original plot and style of Attar's Mantiq al-Tair. This imitative plot, which forms the plot of Mantiq al-Tair, has been rewritten for children and adolescent audience. Reducing the volume, adding imaginative illustrations, and reducing the mystical dimension could be considered as instances of transformation. Accordingly, by exploring Genette's transtextuality, different dimensions of textual relationships can be examined which have even been created at various geographical boundaries and over different times; though some criticisms are leveled against this model by reader-oriented and systematic analysis approaches.

Compatibilizers effect on recycled acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBRr) with polypropylene (PP) and sugarcane bagasse (SCB) composite for mechanical properties is evaluated. Trans-Polyoctylene Rubber (TOR) and Bisphenol a Diglycidyl Ether (DGEBA) are used as compatibilizers in this study. Three (3) different composites (80/20/15, 60/40/15, and 40/60/15), with fixed filler (15 phr) and compatibilizers (10 phr) content, were carried out. These composites were arranged via melt mixing technique utilizing a heated two-roll mill at a temperature of 180°C for 9 minutes employing a 15-rpm rotor speed. Tensile and morphological properties were evaluated. The result shown average tensile strength dropped by 48.50% as the recycle NBR content rises 20 phr. Nevertheless, subsequent compatibilization reveals that the composites’ tensile properties were all greater than control composites. The morphology discovered validates the tensile properties, indicating a stronger interaction between the PP/SCB and recycle NBR composites with the addition of compatibilizer DGEBA.

This present research work was conducted to determine the phytotoxic effects on tropical native plants, Ludwigia octovalvis, in order to assess its application for phytoremediation of crude oil sludge in contaminated sand. For this purpose of study, L. octavalvis plants were planted in containers containing different proportion of spiked real crude oil sludge in sand (10%, 50%, and 100% (v/v)). Degradation of crude oil sludge by L. octovalvis was measured in terms of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and was compared with TPH degradation inside control crates without plants. The findings indicated that the average TPH removal after a prolonged 42-day exposure period was high. The degrees of TPH degradation were 67.0, 42.4 and 46.2% in sand spiked with real crude oil sludge at 10, 50 and 100% respectively, whereas the degradation was only 34.7, 29.1 and 20.5% for the unplanted containers at the same respective proportions of crude oil sludge in sand. These findings give evidence that L. octovalvis has the capability to degrade hydrocarbons in crude oil sludge.

Southeast Asian tropical rainforests are shrinking at an alarming rate largely due to anthropogenic activities such as logging and agricultural expansion. The loss of tropical rainforests from human exploitations caused devastating and irreversible impacts on avian biodiversity. The establishment of protected areas is an effective tool to mitigate further forest biodiversity loss. However, the ability of degraded rainforest to support avian biodiversity is still remain little known. Here, we assessed bird assemblages in a hill dipterocarp forest in Peninsular Malaysia which was selectively logged almost three decades ago. We examined the effects of site-level attributes, particularly vegetation structure on bird community composition, species richness and abundance of selected feeding guild groups (i.e. insectivorous, carnivorous, and frugivorous). Generally, we found that a selectively logged hill dipterocarp forest can still support a large proportion of forest birds, including those species with high conservation values. Our data also revealed that avian biodiversity was positively related to the number of fallen snags, number of standing snags, number of shrubs, number of trees with DBH