Acrylamide based nearly mono-disperse polymer microgels including poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) and Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-acrylic acid-acrylamide) with different feed compositions were synthesized using precipitation polymerization in aqueous medium. These microgels were used as micro-reactors to fabricate silver nanoparticles by chemical reduction of silver ions inside the polymer network. The pure and hybrid microgels were characterized by using Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), UV Visible spectroscopy (UV Vis), Dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX),Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Ag contents in the hybrid system were determined by ICP-OES. Results revealed that spherical silver nanoparticles having diameter of 10-20 nm were successfully fabricated within the microgels with hydrodynamic diameter of 250±50 nm. The uniformly loaded silver nanoparticles were found to be stable for long time due to donor-acceptor interaction between amide groups of polymer network and silver nanoparticles. Catalytic activity of the hybrid systems was initially tested by choosing catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol as a model reaction under various conditions of catalyst dose and concentration of NaBH4 at room temperature in aqueous medium to explore the insights of catalysis process. The progress of the reaction was monitored by UV Visible Spectrophotometry. The pseudo first order kinetic model was employed to evaluate the apparent rate constant of the reaction. It was found that the value of apparent constant increases with increase of catalyst dose due to increase of surface area as a result of increase of number of nanoparticles. The Ag- poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) hybrid microgels were found to be temperature sensitive and Ag-Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-acrylic acid-acrylamide) hybrid microgels both temperature and pH sensitive in aqueous medium. Ag-Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-acrylic acid-acrylamide) hybrid microgels have long term stability under various conditions of pH of the medium. The hybrid microgels were used as catalysts for simultaneous reduction of various nitro compounds in aqueous medium. Nitroarenes like o-nitroaniline (o-NA), p-nitroaniline (p-NA), p-nitrophenol (p-NP) and nitrobenzene (NB) were individually and simultaneously reduced to corresponding amino-aromatic compounds by sodium borohydride in the presence of Ag-Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-acrylic acid-acrylamide) hybrid microgels catalyst. Catalytic activity of the hybrid microgels for individual and simultaneous reduction of nitroarenes was compared with each other. The retardation in catalytic reduction of each nitroarene in the presence of other nitroarenes was explained on the basis of simultaneous adsorption. Various factors affecting the catalytic reduction of p-nitroaniline (p-NA) like catalyst dose and pH of the medium were also investigated. Rate of reduction of p-nitroaniline was found to be increased with increase of catalyst dose and pH of the medium. Various nitroarenes were successfully converted into their respective aromatic amines with good to excellent yields (ranging from 75% to 97%) under mild reaction conditions in the presence of Ag-Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-acrylic acid-acrylamide) and Pd-Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-acrylic acid-acrylamide) hybrid microgels. The catalyst has ability to successfully convert substituted nitroarenes into desired products keeping many functionalities intact. Pd-Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-acrylic acid-acrylamide) hybrid microgels were also found to active for a variety of Suzuki coupling reaction. The catalyst can be stored for long time without any sign of aggregation and can be used multiple times without any significant loss in its catalytic activity.
The day to day interaction amongst people plav a key role in shaping of a person's social character and persona. Indeed Qur’an and Hadith have treasured guidance regarding the social life of man - as to groom and equip mankind to lead a positive and constructive social life in an Islamic society sociology as a discipline of knowledge borrows its roots and furnishing from the five pillars of Islam. They strengthen a man's character inwardly and outwardly - so as to allow a man to lead a peaceful and prosperous life. Islam and the principles of Qur’an advocate a social life that keeps its balance between the material and the spiritual aspect of life. It furnishes man with such qualities that he is not only successful in this life but in hereafter as well. This article is an effort to probe the sociological perspective of Islamic teachings - and its impact upon a man's social life
This study aims to explore the implementation of accelerated learning program (ALP) curriculum in the context of a primary school in Kabul, Afghanistan. The ALP has come to be seen as one of the possible solutions to catch-up with the lost time/opportunities for the Afghan youth who missed out on education due to wars and related force migrations. For the purpose of the said inquiry, qualitative research paradigm was selected within which case-study research strategy was the main methodology. In this regard, the data was collected through document analysis, semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. Findings of the study reveal that the ALP curriculum was rationalized and designed to provide appropriate education to the disadvantaged children of the country. Implementation of the ALP curriculum was reported to have contributed towards providing educational opportunities to disadvantaged children. The ALP curriculum basically was found to be extracted from the national curriculum (which was designed for the regular schooling), and hence was made-up of some selected portions of the regular curriculum. These curricular selections were arranged in a manner to complete the primary level in 2 and half years, instead of six years (normal). The pedagogies used in the classrooms were mainly: activity-based teaching, role play, and writing skills development. The ALP implementation also faced certain challenges. One of the main challenges toward implementation of the ALP was the selection of its content from the national curriculum which was originally designed for regular schooling. Given the ALP timelines (shorter relatively), the content selected seemed difficult to 'fit' within the ALP schedule. Similarly, the pedagogies used in classroom settings, had their origins in the national curriculum, and therefore there was some misfit with the overall ALP learning goals. The study recommends that there is a need to design an alternative/separate (tailor-made) curriculum for the ALP classes that could effectively meet the needs of the ALP curriculum. The study further suggests that the Ministry of Education could consider the ALPs as alternative programs to achieve the missed educational opportunities of the nation's youth. The study also encourages the Aga Khan Education Service, Afghanistan, to include awareness of the challenges and possibilities regarding the ALP, as reported in the study, to inform the development of the ALP for their settings.