Community development organisations employ group approach arguing that it strengthens the empowering capacity of local communities. Drawing on the experiences of two major NGOs in Bangladesh, this study argues that in community development greater attention usually is paid to the effects of ‘empowering’ inputs such as microcredit, while lesser

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) leaf extract (OPLE) possesses good ex vivo vasodilation and antioxidant properties. This study evaluated the catechin-rich OPLE antioxidant, antihypertensive, and cardiovascular effects in normal and nitric oxide (NO)–deficient hypertensive rats. OPLE was administered orally (500 mg=kg of body weight=day) to normotens

This study was conducted to examine the differences in depression, anxiety, and stress between low-and high-achieving students. 120 undergraduate students of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) were involved in this study. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) was used to measure the depression, anxiety, and stress among stude

A study on water quality based on physico-chemical parameters and toxic heavy metals were carried out from October 2010 and January 2011 at Kuantan River, Pahang, Malaysia. Three stations were expected to be polluted was chosen to be studied in this project. The three chosen stations were area near to fish landing jetty, adjacent to the Hospital Ku

Using simulation tools save the construction cost of the wireless system. It is not necessary to establish the system and test whether it is working properly or not. Therefore, simulation tools are required to be accurate, simple and with the minimum time. From the accuracy perspective, the stacked femtocells built in most available simulators in t

This paper presents an optimization technique for microstrip antennas, designed for ambient electro-magnetic energy (AEME) harvesting application, using particle swarm optimization (PSO). Here PSO is applied in multiple levels. Using PSO, two new stripes based microstrip antennas for AEME harvesting application are designed without prior knowledge

The application of Zinc-based alloy in giftware industry instead of tin is interesting since its price is less expensive. However, the use of zinc has some limitations such as mechanical properties. Machining, rolling and soldering are the most common manufacturing process in giftware. Therefore, modifying the properties of zinc based alloy is need

A preparation and modification of activated carbon from oil-palm shell has been investigated in this paper. A pretreatment method has been established to avoid partial fusion and swelling in the carbonization stage. Carbonization has been studied at different temperatures and the structure of the microporous chars has been characterized. Activated

Polyphenols have been proven, both in animal and human studies to be beneficial as vascular protective agents. The effect is claimed to be related to the compound antioxidative properties. This effectively blunts the vasoconstriction process, reported to be due to the excessive generation of reactive oxygen species, as observed in many in vitro stu

This study uses econometric models to evaluate the economic performance of clients participating in the microcredit program of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM). Several proxies are used for the economic performance variable (dependent variables), such as level of earnings/income, ratio of spending to income and value of assets. The regressors (indepen