bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The impact of ewe lamb mating and different feeding strategies over summer–autumn on profit and risk: a case study in south-west Victoria
Authors: Tocker Jonathon , Behrendt Ralph , Raeside Margaret , Malcolm Bill
Published: June 2020

Context Mating ewe lambs at ~7 months of age is viewed as a way to increase the profit of sheep farms in south-west Victoria, Australia. For a successful mating and high reproductive rate, ewe lambs need to be of >40 kg liveweight and condition score 3 at mating. The region has a temperate Mediterranean climate, and as such, dry summer pastures do not provide adequate nutrition for the weight gain required over summer and autumn if ewe lambs are to be mated early. There is limited economic information on the whole-farm benefits and risks associated with different feeding strategies for meeting the feed requirements of mating ewe lambs. Aims The aims were to test, for a prime-lamb system, whether profit would be increased by the mating of ewe lambs and whether there would be a reduction in whole-farm business risk. We hypothesised that different forage systems would offer profit and risk advantages over current dry-pasture and supplement systems for growing out ewe lambs. Method The biophysical and economic characteristics of a prime-lamb case-study farm were modelled to examine how six different pasture and forage systems for mating ewe lambs would perform under varying seasonal, price and cost conditions. Systems 1 and 2 were based on perennial ryegrass and subterranean clover pastures. System 1 compared lambing at 2 years of age, and System 2 lambing at 1 year of age. The other four systems simulated the use of different forages on a portion of the farm to grow out the ewe lambs for lambing at 1 year of age: System 3, spring-sown forage brassica rape; System 4, spring-sown winter-type canola; and System 5, lucerne; System 6, as for System 4 but at a higher lamb marking rate. Results and conclusions Lambing at 1 year of age increased profit and reduced business risk compared with lambing at 2 years of age. Use of spring-sown canola or lucerne forage for ewe-lamb mating provided the best returns on capital relative to the risk involved. Use of spring-sown canola reduced variability of annual returns, in part because of the diversification of income received from both lamb and canola. Implications The results of this modelling study indicate that some feed systems can increase farm profit and reduce business risk.
Resistance and virulence variability in wheat–Zymoseptoria tritici interactions
Authors: Mahboubi Mojgan , Talebi Reza , Aghaee Sarbarzeh Mostafa , Naji Amir Mohammad , Mehrabi Rahim
Published: June 2020

Septoria tritici blotch (STB), caused by Zymoseptoria tritici, is an important disease of wheat worldwide. This study was performed to investigate the efficacy of Stb genes against 10 isolates of Z. tritici and to elucidate the resistance response pattern of 185 wheat genotypes to STB. The 10 isolates showed different virulence patterns on the Stb differentials. Effectiveness determination showed that most Stb genes (particularly Stb1–Stb9) were ineffective against the 10 isolates, whereas Kavkaz-K4500 (possessing Stb10, Stb12), Arina and Riband (possessing Stb15), and M3 (possessing Stb16 and Stb17) were resistant to all isolates tested. Of the 185 wheat genotypes, 72% were susceptible to all isolates, indicating that these genotypes lacked any effective resistance genes at the seedling stage against the isolates used. The remaining 51 genotypes showed specific resistance to one or more isolates, suggesting that they contain at least one effective resistance gene. Six genotypes were resistant to all isolates, indicating that they may possess broad-spectrum resistance gene(s) or a combination of diverse uncharacterised Stb genes that could be effectively used in breeding programs.
Endothelial cell‐derived extracellular vesicles alter vascular smooth muscle cell phenotype through high‐mobility group box proteins
Authors: Boyer Michael J. , Kimura Yayoi , Akiyama Tomoko , Baggett Ariele Y. , Preston Kyle J. , Scalia Rosario , Eguchi Satoru , Rizzo Victor
Published: June 2020

The vascular endothelium and smooth muscle form adjacent cellular layers that comprise part of the vascular wall. Each cell type can regulate the other's structure and function through a variety of paracrine effectors. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are released from and transit between cells constituting a novel means of cell–cell communication. Here, we characterized the proteome of EVs released from each vascular cell type and examined the extent to which these vesicles participate in endothelial‐vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) communication. EVs were collected by ultracentrifugation from media of rat aortic endothelial and smooth muscle cells cultured under serum‐free conditions. Vesicle morphology, size and concentration were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis. Western blot as well as shot gun proteomic analyses revealed sets of proteins common to both endothelial‐ and smooth muscle‐derived EVs as well as proteins unique to each vascular cell type. Functionally, endothelial‐derived EVs stimulated vascular cell adhesion molecule‐1 (VCAM‐1) expression and enhanced leukocyte adhesion in VSMCs while smooth muscle EVs did not elicit similar effects in endothelial cells (ECs). EVs from ECs also induced protein synthesis and senescence in VSMCs. Proteomic analysis of VSMCs following exposure to EC‐derived EVs revealed upregulation of several proteins including pro‐inflammatory molecules, high‐mobility group box (HMGB) 1 and HMGB2. Pharmacological blockade HMGB1 and HMGB2 and siRNA depletion of HMGB1 in smooth muscle cells attenuated VCAM‐1 expression and leukocyte adhesion induced by EC EVs. These data suggest that EC‐derived EVs can enhance signalling pathways which influence smooth muscle cell phenotype.
Anti-plane problem of nano-cracks emanating from a regular hexagonal nano-hole in one-dimensional hexagonal piezoelectric quasicrystals*
Authors: Yang Dongsheng , Liu Guanting
Published: June 2020

By constructing a new conformal mapping function, we study the surface effects on six edge nano-cracks emanating from a regular hexagonal nano-hole in one-dimensional (1D) hexagonal piezoelectric quasicrystals under anti-plane shear. Based on the Gurtin–Murdoch surface/interface model and complex potential theory, the exact solutions of phonon field, phason field and electric field are obtained. The analytical solutions of the stress intensity factor of the phonon field, the stress intensity factor of the phason field, the electric displacement intensity factor and the energy release rate are given. The interaction effects of the nano-cracks and nano-hole on the stress intensity factor of the phonon field, the stress intensity factor of the phason field and the electric displacement intensity factor are discussed in numerical examples. It can be seen that the surface effect leads to the coupling of phonon field, phason field and electric field. With the decrease of cavity size, the influence of surface effect is more obvious.
Zone plate design for generating annular-focused beams*
Authors: Chen Yong , Wei Lai , Zhang Qiang-Qiang , Fan Quan-Ping , Yang Zu-Hua , Cao Lei-Feng
Published: June 2020

Annular-focused beams have attracted attention because of their novel properties and applications in optical trapping, high resolution microscopy, and laser-induced periodic surface structuring. Generation of this beam is very important and necessary. In this article, a novel design of zone plate for forming the annular-focused beams is proposed. The design principle is introduced, and the characteristics of zone plate are analyzed by numerical simulation. The result shows that the zone plate can form a monochromatic ring-shaped intensity distribution in the focal plane. And the design method is also generally suitable for designing the other optical elements to generate the annular-focused beams.
Enhanced gated-diode-triggered silicon-controlled rectifier for robust electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection applications*
Authors: Song Wenqiang , Hou Fei , Du Feibo , Liu Zhiwei , Liou Juin J.
Published: June 2020

A robust electron device called the enhanced gated-diode-triggered silicon-controlled rectifier (EGDTSCR) for electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection applications has been proposed and implemented in a 0.18-μm 5-V/24-V BCD process. The proposed EGDTSCR is constructed by adding two gated diodes into a conventional ESD device called the modified lateral silicon-controlled rectifier (MLSCR). With the shunting effect of the surface gated diode path, the proposed EGDTSCR, with a width of 50 μm, exhibits a higher failure current (i.e., 3.82 A) as well as a higher holding voltage (i.e., 10.21 V) than the MLSCR.
Dependence of interferogram phase on incident wavenumber and phase stability of Doppler asymmetric spatial heterodyne spectroscopy*
Authors: Zhang Ya-Fei , Feng Yu-Tao , Fu Di , Wang Peng-Chong , Sun Jian , Bai Qing-Lan
Published: June 2020

Instrument drifts introduce additional phase errors into atmospheric wind measurement of Doppler asymmetric spatial heterodyne spectroscopy (DASH). Aiming at the phase sensitivity of DASH to instrument drifts, in this paper we calculate the optical path difference (OPD) and present an accurate formula of DASH interferogram. By controlling variables in computational ray-tracing simulations and laboratory experiments, it is indicated that initial phase is directly determined by incident wavenumber, OPD offset and field of view (FOV). Accordingly, it is indicated that retrieved phase of DASH is sensitive to slight structural change caused by instrument drift, which provides the proof of necessary-to-track and -correct phase errors from instrument drifts.
Novel two-directional grid multi-scroll chaotic attractors based on the Jerk system
Authors: Ding Peng-Fei , Feng Xiao-Yi , Wu Cheng-Mao
Published: June 2020

A new method is presented to generate two-directional (2D) grid multi-scroll chaotic attractors via a specific form of the sine function and sign function series, which are applied to increase saddle points of index 2. The scroll number in the x-direction is modified easily through changing the thresholds of the specific form of the sine function, while the scroll number in the y-direction is controlled by the sign function series. Some basic dynamical properties, such as equilibrium points, bifurcation diagram, phase portraits, and Lyapunov exponents spectrum are studied. Furthermore, the electronic circuit of the system is designed and its simulation results are given by Multisim 10.
Some experimental schemes to identify quantum spin liquids*
Authors: Gao Yonghao , Chen Gang
Published: June 2020

Despite the apparent ubiquity and variety of quantum spin liquids in theory, experimental confirmation of spin liquids remains to be a huge challenge. Motivated by the recent surge of evidences for spin liquids in a series of candidate materials, we highlight the experimental schemes, involving the thermal Hall transport and spectrum measurements, that can result in smoking-gun signatures of spin liquids beyond the usual ones. For clarity, we investigate the square lattice spin liquids and theoretically predict the possible phenomena that may emerge in the corresponding spin liquids candidates. The mechanisms for these signatures can be traced back to either the intrinsic characters of spin liquids or the external field-driven behaviors. Our conclusion does not depend on the geometry of lattices and can broadly apply to other relevant spin liquids.
An ultrafast and low-power slow light tuning mechanism for compact aperture-coupled disk resonators*
Authors: Wang Bo-Yun , Zhu Yue-Hong , Zhang Jing , Zeng Qing-Dong , Du Jun , Wang Tao , Yu Hua-Qing
Published: June 2020

An ultrafast and low-power slow light tuning mechanism based on plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) for two disk cavities aperture-coupled to a metal-dielectric-metal plasmonic waveguide system is investigated numerically and analytically. The optical Kerr effect is enhanced by the local electromagnetic field of surface plasmon polaritons, slow light, and graphene–Ag composite material structures with a large effective Kerr nonlinear coefficient. Through the dynamic adjustment of the frequency of the disk nanocavity, the group velocity is controlled between c/53.2 and c/15.1 with the pump light intensity increased from 0.41 MW/cm2 to 2.05 MW/cm2. Alternatively, through the dynamic adjustment of the propagation phase of the plasmonic waveguide, the group velocity is controlled between c/2.8 and c/14.8 with the pump light intensity increased from 5.88 MW/cm2 to 11.76 MW/cm2. The phase shift multiplication of the PIT effect is observed. Calculation results indicate that the entire structure is ultracompact and has a footprint of less than 0.8 μm2. An ultrafast responsive time in the order of 1 ps is reached due to the ultrafast carrier relaxation dynamics of graphene. All findings are comprehensively analyzed through finite-difference time-domain simulations and with a coupling-mode equation system. The results can serve as a reference for the design and fabrication of nanoscale integration photonic devices with low power consumption and ultrafast nonlinear responses.
Performance analysis of NOMA in pedestrian and vehicular environments
Authors: Ahmad Hasyimah , Mohd Ali Darmawaty , Norsyafizan Wan Muhamad Wan , Syarhan Idris Mohd
Published: June 2020

The ability to serve many users with high-speed transmission has made 5G as the promising candidate for the future generation of the wireless communication system. LTE could no longer support future demand with its current transmission rates. Various multiple access schemes have been proposed for 5G and NOMA as one of the candidates. Thus, this study has analysed the performance of NOMA in comparison to OMA in pedestrian and vehicular environments. To assure the Quality of Service (QoS), the metric of throughput is evaluated. The simulation was done using The Vienna 5G Link Level Simulator (LLS) and the result shows that NOMA cell centred user performed 50% better than OMA. Meanwhile, OMA outperformed NOMA in terms of cell edge user by 56%. The finding is in line with the characteristics of NOMA and OMA where NOMA users have to be in pair and share the same subcarrier while OMA users have their dedicated subcarrier for transmission.
Qualitative-based QoS performance study using hybrid ACO and PSO algorithm routing in MANET
Authors: Wong Yoon Khang Adam , Elias Shamsul J. , Zulkifli Nadiatulhuda , Adiyansyah Indra Win , Abedalrahim Jamil Alsayaydeh Jamil , Manap Zahariah , Akbar Mohamat Gani Johar
Published: June 2020

In today’s accelerated growth of mobile device technology, resource utilization in access network will continue to draw more attention to the increasing mobile user devices and applications. The main objective is to address the issue of QoS resource utilization efficiency. This paper combines the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm and the Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm to provide the optimum routing and to improve the QoS resource utilization efficiency. This proposed hybrid ACO-PSO algorithm uses the IEEE 802.11 DCF standard with multi-antenna scheme (MIMO) of Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) to apply into integrated wireless (MANET) optical (PON network) based in Software Defined Network (SDN) with cloud computing. IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) gives the opportunity to its users to practice the wireless environment and full functionality of “anything, anytime, anywhere” concept. The proposed work is implemented using the OMNeT++ software where it investigates the QoS performance. These metrics include all nodes throughput, bandwidth, and load balance, routing and control overhead improvement with reduction. They also comprise of RSSI, end to end delay, Packet Delivery Ratio, network capacity, packet loss probability, as well as power consumption in all wireless nodes and energy consumption from wireless domain to wired domain.
Pulse Position Modulation characterization for indoor visible light communication system
Authors: Zaiton AM , Eng CH , Jasman F
Published: June 2020

Visible light communication (VLC) systems which employ visible light for communication is one of a promising technology for 5G due to its high bandwidth, efficient power consumption and higher security. In VLC, typically LEDs are used as a light source for transmitting information and providing illumination simultaneously. The intensity of the light is modulated at a very fast speed which is undetectable by human eyes. This paper explores the performance of two types of single-carrier modulation schemes suitable for VLC, namely OOK and PPM based on power, path-loss and data rates. The performance of unmodulated signal is also included for comparison purposes. The maximum distance achievable for each modulation schemes are recorded. It is shown that PPM has a superior performance compared to OOK in terms of the transmission distance and path loss, while OOK was excellent choice for highest data rates.
Phantom development for In-Vitro measurements of MICS band telemetry antenna
Authors: Sulaiman N H , Samsuri N A , Rahim M K A , Inam M , Seman F C , Othman N
Published: June 2020

The paper presents the development of a liquid phantom and In-Vitro testing of Compact Meander Line Telemetry Antenna (CMLTA) by using the developed phantom at 402.5 MHz. A liquid phantom for 402.5 MHz has been developed, and the dielectric properties of the developed liquid phantom have been characterized for verification by using an open-ended probe method. Various composite samples of the solution are developed to characterize material properties for comparison with the theoretical properties at 402.5 MHz (εr= 58.2, σ = 0.82). The comparison between simulated and theoretical permittivity as well as tangent loss is presented. The measured dielectric properties are verified by using open-ended coaxial dielectric kit. Simulated and measured results can be observed in terms of frequency and return loss performance with a deviation of 0.004 MHz and 2.7 dB, respectively.
Water ageing effect on wearable antenna made of medical-friendly and transdermal material at 2.4 GHz
Authors: Othman N. , Samsuri N. A. , Rahim M. K. A. , Sulaiman N. H.
Published: June 2020

This paper presents the feasibility investigation of a flexible antenna made of medical material as the substrate for medical application. A 2.4 GHz antenna is designed on three different medical-friendly materials: cotton-crepe bandage, artificial cotton patch and semi-transparent silicone patch. Water ageing test is conducted to explore the ability of the proposed flexible substrate materials to cope with the wetness issue. The antenna performance in four conditions (original, fully wet, damp and fully dry) are measured and compared. The water-aged antennas’ physical condition are observed and the results show that the flexible antenna made of artificial cotton patch retains its radiation performance. Only a minor shift of approximately 40 MHz of resonant frequency is found for the flexible antenna made of cotton-crepe patch. The work presented here has profound effect on the future development of wearable antenna suitable for health monitoring applications.
A multiband antenna for biomedical telemetry and treatments
Authors: Xin Oh Zi , Ho Yeap Kim , Shen Voon Chow , Chun Lai Koon , Chiong Teh Peh
Published: June 2020

This paper presents the design of a tri-band adhesive antenna for biomedical telemetry. Since human body is lossy in nature, the signal transmitted from an implantable medical device is usually very weak. The adhesive antenna acts like a repeater which increases the strength of the signal. This allows the signal to be sent effectively to the base station. The antenna is designed to resonate at 375 MHz, 2.525 GHz and 5.625 GHz. The measurement results show that the antenna has 10 dB impedance bandwidths of 400 MHz (175 – 575 MHz), 950 MHz (2.125 – 3.075 GHz) and 1.5 GHz (5.125 – 6.625 GHz) to cover the MICS, ISM and IEEE 802.11 WLAN bands, respectively. The proposed antenna is printed on a flexible Rogers RT/duroid 5880 epoxy substrate with a volume of 70 mm × 80 mm × 1 mm. The simulated and measured performance of the antenna confirms its omnidirectional radiation patterns and dual-band operation with high return losses.
Investigations on europium aluminum incorporated polymer composite optical waveguide amplifier
Authors: Najahatul Huda Saris Nur , Hamzah Azura , Sabri Sabrina , Ambran Sumiaty , Mikami Osamu , Ishigure Takaaki
Published: June 2020

The gain performance of 50-iun core diameter graded-index (GI) multimode europium aluminum benzyl methacrylate (Eu-Al/BzMA) waveguide was investigated by numerically solving rate and propagation equations using MATLAB. At a fixed waveguide length of 10 cm and gain medium concentration of 13 wt.%, optical gain was found to be dependent on pump power and input signal power. This paper utilized a 532 nm wavelength pump with power varied from 100 mW to 500 mW, together with low (-30 dBm) and high (0 dBm) input signal powers, within the amplification range of 580 to 640 nm wavelength. With the highest pumping power of 500 mW and the lowest input signal power of -30 dBm, a 29-dB optical gain with wavelength of 617 nm was observed from forward pumping amplification. For comparison, an identical waveguide in terms of properties was fabricated through an innovative fabrication method for polymer waveguide—the Mosquito method. The fabricated waveguide was then experimentally tested for -30 dBm input signal power with 200 mW pump power in the attempt to realize future real-world applications of short reach networks such as in Local Area Network (LAN) and in-vehicle optical interconnects.
IoT based water quality monitoring system for aquaponics
Authors: Farhan Mohd Pu’ad Muhamad , Azami Sidek Khairul , Mel Maizirwan
Published: June 2020

Most tasks can be done remotely nowadays with the help of the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT can also be applied in the agriculture sector such as aquaponics where water quality is crucial to be kept track at all time to avoid loss of resources. Personnel used for water quality checking on-site is becoming less practical for the technologies available today. Remote monitoring system using IoT is essential for water quality monitoring. However, the lack of attention was given by local farmers for applying it in aquaponics. In this study, an IoT based water quality monitoring system for aquaponics was developed to shift from monitoring water quality on-site to remote monitoring via the Internet. Several open-source software was used in developing the monitoring system. The system covers a web server which is accessible via the Internet for user convenience today. Several tests were carried out on aquaponics in the Malaysian Institute of Sustainable Agriculture (MISA). The result shows that the system can display measurements over time and alert users via the dashboard. Other than that, observation indicates that the reporting system is stable and reliable to be used in an aquaponics system.
Automated aquaponics maintenance system
Authors: Farhan Mohd Pu’ad Muhamad , Azami Sidek Khairul , Mel Maizirwan
Published: June 2020

Nowadays, automation has become an essential feature in various applications. Agriculture is a crucial sector in which human being heavily depends on. Aquaponics is one of the efficient approaches in agriculture. Human resource allocated for aquaponics maintenance is very inefficient in terms of workload as compared to the time spent especially with the advanced technology we have today. It is necessary to include automation in aquaponics to reduce manpower involvement. However, a lack of attention has been given by local farmers to automate their aquaponics using technology. In this study, an automated aquaponics maintenance system was developed as a prototype to reduce human involvement in the activity. The system covers water level and light-emitting diode (LED) power switch maintenance. Furthermore, the automation system can be controlled via Telegram for user convenient. Moreover, it also measures the pH level of the water as an additional feature. Numerous tests were conducted on aquaponics to observe the reliability of the system at the Malaysian Institute of Sustainable Agriculture (MISA), a non-profit organization focusing on urban farming. Positive results were obtained from the tests which suggested that the system is self-dependent. Therefore, the system is suitable to be used in aquaponics.
Driver drowsiness detection using different classification algorithms
Authors: Nor Shahrudin N. S. , Sidek K.A.
Published: June 2020

Capability of electrocardiogram (ECG) signal in contributing to the daily application keeps developing days by days. As technology advances, ECG marks the possibility as a potential mechanism towards the drowsiness detection system. Driver drowsiness is a state between sleeping and being awake due to body fatigue while driving. This condition has become a common issue that leads to road accidents and death. It is proven in previous studies that biological signals are closely related to a person’s reaction. Electrocardiogram (ECG) is an electrical indicator of the heart, provides such criteria as it reflects the heart activity that can detect changes in human response which relates to our emotions and reactions. Thus, this study proposed a non-intrusive detector to detect driver drowsiness by using the ECG. This study obtained ECG data from the ULg multimodality drowsiness database to simulate the different stages of sleep, which are PVT1 as early sleep while PVT2 as deep sleep. The signals are later processed in MATLAB using Savitzky-Golay filter to remove artifacts in the signal. Then, QRS complexes are extracted from the acquired ECG signal. The process was followed by classifying the ECG signal using Machine Learning (ML) tools. The classification techniques that include Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), k-Nearest Neighbour (IBk) and Bayes Network (BN) algorithms proved to support the argument made in both PVT1 and PVT2 to measure the accuracy of the data acquired. As a result, PVT1 and PVT2 are correctly classified as the result shown with higher percentage accuracy on each PVTs. Hence, this paper present and prove the reliability of ECG signal for drowsiness detection in classifying high accuracy ECG data using different classification algorithms.
Home automation monitoring system based on Internet-of-Things application
Authors: Ali N. A. , Syafeeza A.R. , Ja’afar A. S. , Abdul Hamid Norihan , Mohamad Saleh Ts Saleha binti
Published: June 2020

The design of a smart green environment of home automation for appliances monitoring systems is developed based on an IoT(Internet of Things) application. The smart home concept represents a motivating platform for innovation of information technology services to produce more operative house devices and system that can improve the standard of life. This project aims at controlling home appliances via Smartphone using Wi-Fi as a communication protocol and the Raspberry Pi as a server system. The user here can move directly with the system through a web-based interface over the net. The designed system not solely monitors the sensor data but also actuates a process according to the need. Therefore, globally accessible automation of electronic appliances is created attainable with the utilization of a Raspberry Pi micro-controller board, a web affiliation and relay switches in a user-friendly way for the users to regulate home electronic appliances with high flexibility and security.
Optimization of process parameter variations for 16nm DG-FinFET using Response Surface Methodology-Central Composite Design
Authors: Roslan Ameer F , Salehuddin F , Zain A S M , Kaharudin K E , Ahmad I , Hazura H , Hanim A R , Idris S K , Hamid Afifah Maheran A
Published: June 2020

A 16 nm double-gate FinFET (DG-FinFET) designed are optimized with a mathematical modelling using a response surface method-central composite design (RSM-CCD), with the relationship between parameters and output responses are investigated and examined. The threshold voltage (VTH), drive current (ION), leakage current (IOFF) and subthreshold swing (SS) ramifications towards the adjustment of six process parameter that integrates polysilicon doping dose, polysilicon doping tilt, Source/Drain doping dose, Source/Drain doping tilt, VTH doping dose and VTH doping tilt is studied using the RSM-CCD using half-factorial of 86 experimental runs, which totals to 52 runs, consisting of 8 centre points, 12 axial points, and 32 factorials. Ultimately, the VTH after the result is optimized with RSM-CCD showcased an improvement at 0.1785 V, with IOFF achieved at 958.71 pA/μm despite performing less favourably after optimized. That said, an improvement towards ION/IOFF ratio at 2.049×106 compared to 1.666×106 proves that both optimization techniques have met the predictions of International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) 2013.
Materialized view selection problem using genetic algorithm for manufacturing execution system
Authors: Mohd Yusoh Z I , Gan K B , Emran N A
Published: June 2020

Nowadays, a lot of equipment and machines in factories generating a high volume of production data at high speed which are then stored in a data warehouse. These data are used for analytic reporting purposes, to assist the decision-maker in strategizing their business. To speed up the report generation queries, materialized views (MVs) are used. An MV is a database object that contains the results of a query. However, each MV has different query time and maintenance cost. Therefore, it is crucial to select the best set of MVs in order to generate the report while minimizing the incurred cost. Genetic Algorithm is proposed to find the best set of MVs with minimum cost and time, and at the same time maximizing the number MVs selected. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed GA delivered better solutions compared to the conventional approach
Beyond Nernst Sensitivity of Ion Sensitive Field Effect Transistor based on Ultra-Thin Body Box FDSOI
Authors: Zain A S M , Dinar Ahmed M. , Salehuddin F , Hazura H , Hanim A R , Idris S K , Hamid Afifah Maheran A
Published: June 2020

This paper reports an ultrahigh-sensitive ISFET sensor that is developed using TCAD model of the industrial 22-nm ultrathin body and buried oxide (UTBB) fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) transistors. The modeling method is exploited by changing the potential surface charge depending on the electrolyte pH change and investigating how will it cause the threshold voltage shift of ISFET device and other transfer characteristic parameters. The properties of a user-defined material offered by Silvaco are exploited to simulate the electrolyte behavior. The parameters of silicon semiconductor material (i.e., energy bandgap, permittivity, affinity, and density of states) are set to reconstruct an electrolyte solution. The electrostatic solution of the electrolyte area is investigated by giving a numerical solution for the semiconductor equation inside this area. On the other hand, the strong electrostatic coupling between the front gate and the back gate of FDSOI devices provide an intrinsic signal amplification feature for sensing applications. Utilizing a layer deposited Titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a pH sensing film, pH sensors having a sensitivity ∼1250 mV/pH is reported. The small sensing area and the FDSOI-based technology of the device make the sensors ideal for the IoT market.
Unhealthy skin analyzer for mobile platform using Canny Edge Detection and Similarity Score
Authors: Zulhelmi Z , Zulfikar Z , Arif T Y , Afdhal A , Syawaldi P N
Published: June 2020

The increasing use of mobile platforms for detecting a disease challenge the researcher for designing a more efficient application than previously. Skin diseases can be recognized visually by an expert. However, the diseases are often ignored, especially by they who live in the remote area. For this reason, it requires a system worked solely independent of medic expert through a simple device like a smartphone. The study designs a system for detecting the healthiness of skin through its image. The proposed design is the improved model of the previously published work. The system requires suspected unhealthy and reference images. Both images will be compared after passing the edge process. The result is displayed on the platform containing a suggestion for the user to have medical treatment. For detecting the skin diseases accurately, an adjustment in the edge process and comparing process (similarity check) is required. Based on the experiment, a suitable threshold for edge detection are 0 for low and 50 for high. Regarding the edge process, a suitable similarity threshold will be estimated. The similarity threshold that suits to the designed application is 6. Lastly, the decision making to determine the healthiness of an image is 45.35%.
Used of Motion Graphics to Create Awareness on Handling Stress
Authors: Azahari Nur Azila , Ali Wan NorAshiqin Wan , Yaakob Tengku Kastriafuddin Shah Tengku , Manaf Abdul Rahman Abdul , Yusoff Nur Ilya Khairanis Mohamed
Published: June 2020

The development of the interactive motion graphic is to spread awareness to the people about the correct ways to handle stress. This is because many people face stress in daily life, but they do not know the correct way to manage stress. An interactive motion graphic is used as the medium because it is easy to understand and can attract the viewers’ attention. The model used to help develop this product is Alessi and Trollip Model. The model contains 3 phases which are planning, design and development phase. Alpha test is conducted to test the effectiveness of the product and to make sure that the objectives of the project are achieved. The test is conducted by interviewing a multimedia expert, a content expert and 5 users which are students that reside at KolejKediamanTuankuFauziah (PFi2). The results obtained from conducting this test were positive as the feedback from the users suggests that the information given in this video is relevant and useful thus, help them to manage their stress. In conclusion, the development of this product can help people manage their stress.
The Effects of Focus Attention Instructions on the Movement Kinetics, Muscle Activation and Performance during Resistance Exercise
Authors: Nadzalan Ali Md , Lee Jeffrey Low Fook , Mohamad Nur Ikhwan , Azzfar Mohamad Shahrul , Malek Nor Fazila Abd , Waqqash Ebby
Published: June 2020

The aim of this study was to compare kinetics, muscle activation and performance during resistance exercises between internal focus attention instructions, external focus attention instructions and control condition. Thirty (n = 30, mean age = 21.40 ± 0.93 years old) healthy men were recruited as participants and were asked to perform resistance exercises in three conditions; i) internal focus, ii) external focus and iii) control (no focus attention instruction). Participants performed 10RM squat and deadlift assessment in which kinetics, muscle activation and number of repetitions completed were recorded and analyzed during the exercises. Findings of this study revealed that external focus attention instruction produced greater force production and number of repetitions completed while at the same time lower muscle activity compared to the internal focus conditions. To conclude, external focus attention instructions were suggested to be adopted during resistance training due to its effectiveness to make movement more economic while producing greater performance in which will be more advantages for future adaptations.
Effects of Nitrogen Ion Implantation on Microhardness and Surface Roughness of Ti-6al-4v Eli Medical Alloy
Authors: Abdul Jamil M.M. , Abd Wahab M.H. , Soon C.F. , Pasko K. , Youseffi M.
Published: June 2020

Total Knee Replacement has been under development for over 50 years. Its primary objectives are for normal articulation of a diseased joint, to relieve pain and restore function. Over the years three main surgical types of alloys have been used: 316L stainless steel, titanium and cobalt-chrome based alloys. Titanium, despite its superior biocompatibility, closest to bone’s Young’s modulus and lack of nickel in its composition, has poor resistance to wear. This major disadvantage of titanium alloys is the reason for which their use in load bearing prostheses is limited. Various methods of surface modifications have been investigated in order to improve wear performance by improving mechanical and tribological properties of medical grade titanium alloys. In this work, the effect of nitrogen ion implantation on micro- and nano-hardness and surface roughness of medical grade titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V ELI) has been investigated, and compared to those of unimplanted Ti6Al4V ELI, cast and wrought CoCrMo alloys. Due to the formation of a smooth and hard nitride layer on the surface of the ion implanted Ti6Al4V ELI alloy significant improvement in micro- and nano-hardness was achieved. This hardened layer is thought to improve the wear resistance of Ti-based alloys and hence can maximise their use for more demanding prosthetic applications.
The effects of exercise order during resistance training on muscular strength
Authors: Japilus Siti Jameelah Md , Kassim Ahmad Fikri , Mansor Siti Hannariah , Amir Nurul Hidayah , Karim Zulakbal Abd , Nadzalan Ali Md
Published: June 2020

The objective of this study was to compare the muscular strength adaptation during resistance training performed through two methods of exercise order. Thirty recreationally active, resistance untrained men were recruited as research participants and were divided into three groups based on their specific tasks to be performed during six weeks training intervention; i) order A (multi-joint followed by single-joint exercises) ii) order B (single-joint followed by multi-joint exercises) and iii) control group. Bench press was performed as multijoint while chest fly was performed as single-joint exercises. 1RM value for bench press and chest fly exercises were measured pre and post training intervention as an indicator for muscular strength adaptation. Repeated measure analysis of variances (ANOVA) was conducted to determine the effects of training intervention in each groups. The percentages of 1RM score changes during the post test was compared between all groups using one way ANOVA. Results showed that both order A and order B groups improved their 1RM value for both exercises. Bench press 1RM was found to be greater in order A group. Findings of this study suggested that performing a multi-joint exercise first promote greater gain for the multijoint exercise while performing single-joint exercise first lead to no differences in single joint exercise strength gain.
The effects of stance width on muscle activation and performance during Romanian deadlift exercise
Authors: Koderi Khalila Liyana , Tan Kevin , Azzfar Mohamad Shahrul , Malek Nor Fazila Abd , Mohamad Nur Ikhwan , Nadzalan Ali Md
Published: June 2020

This study was conducted to determine the effect of different stance-width; i) narrow, ii) shoulder and iii) wide, on muscle activation and performance during Romanian deadlift (RDL) exercise. Thirty recreationally resistance trained men aged of 19-23 years old (22.20±1.13) were involved in this study. The participants need to perform RDL with 80% of their 1RM in three sessions with three difference stances in randomized order. To measure the muscle activation level during performing the exercise, the electromyogram (EMG) marker was placed on vastus lateralis, biceps femoris, gluteus maximus and multifidus muscles. The number of repetitions completed during each sets was recorded as indicator for performance. The mean EMG value during concentric and eccentric movement along with the number of repetitions completed were analysed using one way repeated measure analysis of variances (ANOVA). The result showed no significant differences were found on EMG reading of vastus lateralis and bicep femoris during eccentric and concentric phase of RDL when three different stances were used. However, when wide stances were used, a significant difference was observed on gluteus maximus whilst significant differences on multifidus were obviously seen when narrow stance were used. Higher number of repetition completed was significantly found when wide and shoulder width stances were used compared to narrow stance. The results of this study revealed the importance to choose correct stance width (depending on training objective) while performing RDL due to its effects on the muscle activation and performance.
Analysis of Energy Conservation Intention of Residential Consumer in Malaysia
Authors: Suraya N , Zakaria Z , Halijjah S
Published: June 2020

The residential sector displays complicated energy consumption patterns owing to the household’s human and physical features. Using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework, this suggested study focuses on researching the intention of residential consumers in Malaysia to conserve household energy but adding expertise measured by the highest level of academic qualification. The objective of this study is to analyze the correlation between attitude, subjective norm, belief and awareness towards consumers’ intention on performing energy conservation behavior. This research shows that Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) was an appropriate technique for defining energy-related behavior drivers. The result of this study shows that there is a favorable connection between attitude, subjective norm belief and awareness and intention of consumers towards conservation of household energy. The research also discovered that only attitude and subjective norm contribute more to the intention of consumers to conduct the conservation of household energy.
Shrinkage test of concrete: Methodology and variation of strain
Authors: Ibrahim N
Published: June 2020

Evaluation of shrinkage strain in long concrete structures such as prestressed concrete box girder bridges is very important for the design of such structures. A wrong evaluation may contribute to loss of prestressing force, excessive deflections, cambers and cracking of the structure. It may also affect the durability and serviceability of the structure. The value of shrinkage strain is required during design, far before the construction process. However, realistic evaluation is still a difficult problem because shrinkage strain is influenced by the concrete composition and environmental factors such as humidity and temperature. Therefore, to gain the best evaluation, an experimental program was conducted to measure the shrinkage strain of concrete versus concrete age. Several concrete specimens were collected during pouring of several box girder segments of Tauranga Harbour Link, New Zealand. Variation of shrinkage strain versus concrete age for almost two years of data collection was plotted.
Bacterial Degradation of Azo Dye Congo Red by Bacillus sp.
Authors: Hanis K Khairun ‘Aqilah , Muhammad Nasri A R , Wan Farahiyah W K , Mohd Rabani M Y
Published: June 2020

In recent decades, azo dyes are more popularly used as synthetic dye for colorants compared to natural dye. The demand for dye colorants by industries is getting higher and this really gives negative effects on human health and ecology. Textile dyes are a major source of environmental pollution, aesthetic pollution, eutrophication, and problems in aquatic ecosystems. Biological treatment has come to be considered as cheaper than the physiochemical method and it is also environmentally eco-friendly. The broadly used synthetic azo dye is Congo red, as the target of textile effluent in wastewater. This study is to investigate the efficient degradation of bacteria against azo dyes by using biological treatment under aerobic condition by Bacillus sp bacteria. The highest percentage of efficiency of degradation at different condition was 83.12 % at 25 ppm with in 5 days at pH 7.55 and 30 °C, whereas the lowest percentage of efficiency of degradation at two different conditions is 9.00 % at 5 ppm within 1 day at pH 9.40 and 26 °C. As the conclusion, the effectiveness by degradation of Congo red dye Bacillus bacteria was within 5 days in 25 ppm. Thus by this present study, Bacillus could be used as a good microbial source for wastewater treatment, specifically in biological degradation of textile dye effluent in aerobic condition.
Knowledge Sharing in Online Community: A Review
Authors: Salleh Suzila Mat , Yusof Hani Sakina Mohamed , Mohammed Noor Hafiza , Zahari Ahmad Suffian Mohd , Hamzah Siti Fatimah Mardiah
Published: June 2020

Rapid advancement of technology is unstoppable, spiralling at an exponential rate with new breakthrough almost everyday. In one area, social media has positively evolved into a platform for information and knowledge sharing among people whom eagerly willing and at times competing in sharing knowledge and experiences within these knowledge seeking audiences. Attractive attributes such as photo, audio and video have developed a new culture of sharing knowledge and experience into something very pleasant and satisfying. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to review previous research papers related to knowledge sharing in virtual communities. Seven research papers were selected to be reviewed based on its elements, methods and findings used by these researchers. There were several outcome differences that can be deduced from these papers. Most of the papers focus on attitudes, knowledge sharing, technologies intention to use, community participation, satisfaction level, identification, trust, culture sharing and knowledge content. No doubt that sharing information is important in disseminating information to people, but the easiness of sharing and obtaining information and experience from one’s own fingertip has upwardly propelled our living standards.
Performance Analysis of Plasma Antenna with Different Shapes of Plasma Tube
Authors: Ja’afar H , Khair NANM , Dagang AN
Published: June 2020

This paper investigates analysis of a novel antenna design using plasma element instead of using metallic element as a conducting medium in transmit signal of radio frequency (RF). The main objective in this paper is to analyse the performance of plasma antenna using with different shapes of plasma tube. In this research, the simulation for four different designs (single tube, double tube, triple tube, and U-tube) with fixed gas (neon) and pressure (10 Torr) were conducted. Four different design tubes with constant length (160 mm) and diameter (10 mm), attached with coupling sleeve (copper) were used to analyze the electrical characteristic of electromagnetic wave propagation. Computer Simulation Technology (CST) was used to design the four custom made tubes and calculate the antenna parameters in terms of gain, return loss, directivity and radiation pattern. Plasma parameters were calculated by the CST software with frequency was set starting from 1 to 10 GHz for simulation based on the most effective range to get the best result. The results revealed that the triple tube has the highest gain of 3.247 dB with plasma frequency 1.22x109 rad/s and collision frequency 6.0985x108 collision/s. The three arrays on the triple tube gave the ability to transmit the input power into radiation in a specific magnitude is high. Although high gain obtained from the triple tube, U-tube shape gave the lowest Return Loss, S11 value which is -15.706934 dB. The results show the ability of plasma antenna to transmit and receive a signal which is a basic part of an antenna.