bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Processing of Cu-Cr alloy for combined high strength and high conductivity
Authors: Olofinjanaa A.O , Tan K. S.
Published: December 2017

High strength and high conductivity (HSHC) are two intrinsic properties difficult to combine in metallic alloy design because; almost all strengthening mechanisms also lead to reduced conductivity. Precipitation hardening by nano-sized precipitates had proven to be the most adequate way to achieve the optimum combination of strength and conductivity in copper based alloys. However, established precipitation strengthened Cu- alloys are limited to very dilute concentration of solutes thereby limiting the volume proportion hardening precipitates. In this work, we report the investigation of the reprocessing of higher Cr concentration Cu- based alloys via rapid solidification. It is found that the rapid solidification in the as-cast ribbon imposed combined solution extension and ultra-refinement of Cr rich phases. X-ray diffraction evidences suggest that the solid solution extension was up to 6wt%Cr.Lattice parameters determined confirmed the many folds extension of solid solution of Cr in Cu.  Thermal aging studies of the cast ribbons indicated that peak aging treatments occurred in about twenty minutes. Peak aged hardness ranged from about 200 to well over 300Hv. The maximum peak aged hardness of 380Hv was obtained for alloy containing 6wt.%Cr but with conductivity of about 50%IACS. The best combined strength/conductivity was obtained for 4wt.%Cr  alloy with hardness of 350HV and conductivity of 80% IACS. The high strengths observed are attributed to the increased volume proportion of semi-coherent Cr rich nano-sized precipitates that evolved from the supersaturated solid solution of Cu-Cr that was achieved from the high cooling rates imposed by the ribbon casting process. The rapid overaging of the high Cr concentration Cu-Cr alloy is still a cause for concern in optimising the process for reaching peak HSHC properties. It is still important to investigate a microstructural design to slow or severely restrict the overaging process. The optimum HSHC property reported here is a rare combination of high strength (>350Hv ~ 900MPa) and conductivity (50 – 80% IACS) found in metallic alloys.
FLEXURAL STRESS ANALYSIS OF RIGID PAVEMENTS USING AXI-SYMMETRIC AND PLANE STRAIN FEM
Authors: Sawant V.A. , Norazzlina M.S.
Published: December 2017

The design of pavement involves a study of soils and paving materials, their response under load for different climatic conditions. In the present study, an attempt has been made to compare stresses predicted using two finite element analyses. First analysis is based on the twodimensional plane strain assumption where as in second approach axi-symmetric condition is assumed to consider three-dimensional behavior of rigid pavement. The results are compared with flexural stresses obtained from conventional Portland Cement Association method. The computed flexural stresses obtained from axi-symmetric condition are found to be in close agreement with PCA method. Results of plane strain analysis show a fair agreement after application of an appropriate multiplication factor
SYNTHESIS OF FERRITE NANOPARTICLES WITH PROTEIN MOLECULES IMMOBILLIZED ON THEIR SURFACES
Authors: Hai Tran Hoang , Phuc Le Hong , Dung Doan Thi Kim , Huyen Nguyen Thi Le , Long Bui Duc , Thang Nguyen Tien , Do Vu Van , Quynh Nguyen Thi Nhu , Abe Masanori
Published: December 2017

The ferrite (a Fe3O4 – gFe2O3 mixed solution) fine particles, ~8 nm in size were synthesized from an aqueous solution. Trypsin, a proteolytic enzyme or a protein, was immobilized onto the surfaces of those particles during the synthesis process. The process was performed in the open air at a temperature as low as 4°C and on near-neutral condition of pH = 9, which is compatible with most of the bioactive molecules as well as trypsin. Therefore this technique is advantageous for preparing magnetite particles having biomolecules immobilized on their surfaces, which will be used for biomedical applications utilizing magnetic separation technique.
CAUSES OF TRACTOR BREAKDOWNS AND REQUISITE SOLUTIONS A CASE STUDY OF SMALL TRACTOR USE IN RIAU PROVINCE, INDONESIA
Authors: Paman Ujang , Uchida S. , Inaba S. , Kojima T.
Published: December 2017

A survey has been undertaken to look into the causes of tractor breakdowns on field operations and the main constraints associated with repair and maintenance, and to recommend a solution to the problems in Riau Province. The owners of sixty-two small tractors were interviewed, from three regencies chosen of the Province in 2003.  As a result, the working capacity of the tractors was relatively high and the average annual use was relatively low compared to the national average.  Most tractor operators did not have sufficient skill to operate tractors.  The tractor breakdowns resulted from operators’ mistakes, fuel and oil defilement, rough field conditions, poor maintenance, intense use, and factory design.  Inadequate repair shops, a lack of spare parts, and a shortage of mechanics in the local vicinity were the main factors curbing tractor repair. It was also found that inadequate finances led many farmers to ignore tractor maintenance. These suggest that tractor operators should be well trained and tractor-supporting facilities should be provided in rural areas. A mechanical extension officer and credit options should be made available for farmers.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENT SYSTEM FOR MEASUREMENT OF HARMONIC POWERS
Authors: Jerome Jovitha , Vinoth P.
Published: December 2017

The importance of the electric power quality (PQ) demands new methodologies and measurement tools in the power industry for the analysis and measurement of the basic electric magnitudes necessary. This paper presents a new measurement procedure based on neural networks for the estimation of harmonic amplitudes of current/voltage and respective harmonic powers. The measurement scheme is built with two neural network modules. The first module is an adaptive linear neuron (ADALINE) that is the kernel part of estimation of complex harmonic coefficients of the current/voltage. The second module is feedforward neural network that obtains the harmonic active/reactive powers. In order to perform digital simulation the Feedforward and Adaline neural network tools were developed in LabVIEW. This measurement algorithm was tested for the practical cases and found to be robust, computationally fast and efficient.
STUDY ON STRUCTURE AND CRYSTALLIZATION OF POLYPROPYLENE GRAFTED MALEIC ANHYDRIDE/NANOCLAY COMPOSITE
Authors: Chuong Bui , Hung Dang Viet
Published: December 2017

Nanocomposite from polypropylene grafted maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA) and nanoclay were prepared by melt proccessing in Brabender extruder. XRD analysis shows the formation of nanostructure (intercalated and exfoliated) of nanocomposite with interlayer space (d-space) increasing from 26.3Å to 30.9Å. These structures, however, do not affect the microcrystalline structure of polymer part of nanocomposite in whole. The study on nonisothermal crystallization shows the development in 3-dimentional direction of crystallites, that means spherulite form of crystalline structure.
STUDIES OF MONOMER IMPREGNATION AND POLYMERIZED “IN-SITU” IN WOOD USING DYNAMIC MECHANICAL THERMAL ANALYZER (DMTA)
Authors: Hamdan S. , Liew Y.L. , Talib Z.A.
Published: December 2017

Some tropical hardwoods (acacia mangium, madhuca utilis, dacrydium spp., dipterocarpus spp.,dyera costulata, shorea spp., shorea gibbosa, shorea macrophylla, endospermum diadenum, cratoxylum arborescens) are selected and impregnated with methyl methacrylate (MMA) and polymerized “in-situ” by using catalyst-heat technique. Treatability of the wood as determinedfrom the fractional volumetric retentions of monomer i.e. fraction of voids filled by the impregnant showed that the mean retention range from 15.03% (acacia mangium) to 56.59% (cratoxylum arborescens). The penetration of monomer evaluated using ultrasonic wave showed that the treated wood had higher velocities which indicate significant increase in density. This paper deals with the viscoelastic relaxation of polymerized treated wood. The efficiency of monomer as a plasticizer is studied through the temperature dependence of the storage modulus (E´) and loss tangent (tan d) of treated and untreated wood by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) over a temperature of -100 to 200ºC. E´ decrease with temperature, and as the maximum mechanical damping develop, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of plasticized wood decrease with the plasticizer content.
A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF NOISE AND VIBRATION ON OPERATORS’ READABILITY TASK PERFORMANCE IN A MOBILE DRIVING ENVIRONMENT
Authors: Khan Iqbal Ahmed , Mallick Z. , Khan Zahid A.
Published: December 2017

This paper presents a study in which the effect of noise and vibration on the task performance in a mobile driving environment is experimentally investigated. A readability kind of task, where a reading material was presented to the operators on a laptop screen was considered and the operators performed the task in a sitting posture without their back supported with the backrest of the seat. The task performance was measured in terms of mean number of characters read per minute by the operators, which served as data for statistical analysis. Results of the study showed that noise and vibration were statistically significant. The interaction between gender and vibration was also found to be significant. The presence of noise and vibration in a mobile environment decreased the operators’ task performance. The results of the simple main effect analysis indicated that the gender was statistically significant for the last two levels of vibration. However the equivalent acceleration of vibration was found statistically significant for males and females. The findings are in line with previous researches that showed negative significant effect of noise and vibration on operators’ task performance.
FAULT LOCATION ON A DISTRIBUTION FEEDER USING FAULT GENERATED HIGH FREQUENCY CURRENT SIGNATURES
Authors: Hizam Hashim , Crossley P.A.
Published: December 2017

This paper describes how the fault generated travelling waves detected in the current signals at a single location on a distribution feeder can be used for fault location. The method identifies the fault section and the probable location of the fault by comparing the relative distance of each “peak” in the high frequency current signals to the known reflection points in the distribution feeder. The probable fault location is then used within a transient power system simulator that models the actual network. The resulting simulated current waveforms are then cross-correlated against the original signal. If the estimated fault location is correct, the high frequency signatures in the simulated waveform will be similar to those of the measured waveforms and the cross-correlation value will be a high positive value. If the signatures differ, the cross correlation value  will be negative or small. The simulation and correlation process is repeated with the next “most likely” fault location until a high degree of correlation is obtained. Simulation studies using PSCAD/EMTDC and analysis using cross-correlation suggest that this method can accurately locate a fault on a distribution feeder using measurements at a single location.
CHARACTERISTICS OF LITHIUM LANTHANUM TITANATE THIN FILMS MADE BY ELECTRON BEAM EVAPORATION FROM NANOSTRUCTURED La0.67-xLi 3xTiO3 TARGET
Authors: Dinh Nguyen Nang , Trong Le Dinh , Long Pham Duy
Published: December 2017

Bulk nanostructured perovskites of La0.67-xLi3xTiO3 (LLTO) were prepared by using thermally ball-grinding from compounds of La2O3, Li2CO3 and TiO2. From XRD analysis, it was found that LTTO materials were crystallized with nano-size grains of an average size of 30 nm. The bulk ionic conductivity was found strongly dependent on the Li+ composition, the samples with x = 0.11 (corresponding to a La0.56Li0.33TiO3 compound) have the best ionic conductivity, which is ca. 3.2 x 10-3 S/cm at room temperature. The LLTO amorphous films were made by electron beam deposition. At room temperature the smooth films have ionic conductivity of 3.5 x 10-5  S/cm and transmittance of 80%. The optical bandgap of the films was found to be of 2.3 eV. The results have shown that the perovskite La0.56Li0.33TiO3  thin films can be used for a transparent solid electrolyte in ionic battery and in all-solid-state electrochromic devices, in particular.
ELECTROCHEMICAL PERFORMANCES AND CORROSION INHIBITION OF AA6061 IN TROPICAL SEAWATER
Authors: Rosliza R. , Senin H.B. , Wan Nik W.B.
Published: December 2017

The corrosion performances of AA6061 aluminum alloy in tropical seawater was investigated using potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and their morphology was characterized by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the presence of sodium benzoate as an inhibitor significantly decrease the corrosion current densities (i corr ), corrosion rates and double layer capacitance (C dl ), whilst increasing the polarization resistance (R p ). The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images indicated that the mechanism of charge transfer and the formation of thin film have been taken place on the specimens.
Influence of Temperature on the Performance of Photovoltaic Polycrystalline Silicon Module in the Bruneian Climate
Authors: Malik A. Q. , Ming Lim Chee , Sheng Tan Kha , Blundell M.
Published: December 2017

The influence of working temperature for  a  polysilicon module has been investigated in Brunei Darussalam for a period of two years.  The rise in temperature produces thermal agitation which not only increases the dark current but also enhances the losses of free carriers in a polycrystalline module. The efficiency and the output power decreases with an increase in the working temperature. A maximum decline in the output power of 97% has been measured under a dominated diffused radiation environment. The temperature coefficients have been obtained and equations are developed to evaluate the change in the rating of module at any working temperature with reference to their values at STC.
AFFINE-INVARIANT FOURIER DESCRIPTORS AND THEIR APPLICATION IN A NUMBER PLATE RECOGNIZING SYSTEM
Authors: Hai Nguyen Thanh , Long Pham The , Dinh Nguyen Cong
Published: December 2017

This paper introduces a method for describing partial shapes that are affine-invariant. The proposed method facilitates the extraction of descriptors, which is effective for opened-curves and invariant to different viewpoints. This method helps to improve the performance and quality of real world object image recognizing systems. The proposed method was tested in a number plate recognition system.
THE EVIDENCE OF NON N-GLYCAN LINKED MANNOSE IN EXOCHITINASE (42 kDa) FROM Trichoderma harzianum BIO10671 GLYCOSYLATION
Authors: Mustafa Muskhazli , Zaman Faridah Qamaruz , Ramli Salfarina , Tohfah Nor Farizan , Ithnin Nalisha , Wallis Greg
Published: December 2017

Chitinase 42 kDa produced by Trichoderma harzianum has been proven as a prime compound to be excreted onto the hyphae of the pathogen causing localised cell wall lysis at the point of interaction. This finally initiate the process of the host cell becomes empty of cytoplasm, disintegrates and shows a rapid collapse. This study investigates the existence of N-glycan linked mannose in chitinase 42 kDa produced by the Malaysian T. harzianum strain BIO10671.  The chitinase 42 kDa from T. harzianum BIO10671 was initially purified using anion exchange chromatography prior to a series of experiments such as immunoblotting against the chitinase 42 kDa antibody, lectin staining for detecting any terminal linked mannose, and galactofuranose detection to determine the presence of galatofuranose components in glycoproteins. The enzyme purification harvested about 12-fold of chitinase 42 kDa from T. harzianum BIO10671 with strong indication of the presence chitinase 42 kDa presence on SDS-Page. This was confirmed by immunoblotting with a strong response around 42 kDa after overnight incubation in chitinase 42 kDa antibody suggesting that the gene for chitinase 42 kDa was greatly expressed in this strain. There are no intervation of galatofuranose on any of the terminal mannose in chitinase 42 kDa as shown by negative results on samples treated with or without endoglycosidase-H and lectin staining. Therefore, it can be concludeed that glycosylation occurred in the chitinase 42 kDa from T. harzianum 42 kDa was not in the form of N-glycan linked mannose as expected.
STUDIES ON A NOVEL RECOMBINANT LIPASE A FROM BACILLUS SUBTILIS FS2
Authors: Nguyet Phung Thu , Thanh Nguyen Hong , Hai Truong Nam , Janson Jan-Christer
Published: December 2017

A strain of Bacillus subtilis FS2 isolated from a traditional fish source in Vietnam has been shown to produce an enzyme possessing both a gelatinase and a lipase A (LipA) activity when tested on agar plates containing 0.1% tributyrin and 0.3% gelatine. A gene encoding LipA  was isolated and expressed in E. coli BL21 (DE3). The enzyme has got an apparent Mr of 24 kDa, a pI of 9.2 and was purified to electrophoretical homogeneity by affinity chromatography. Both the lipase and the gelatinase showed optimum activity at pH 10 and at 30 0 C, with highest activity in the range 25-37°C. The metal ions Fe++, Co++, and Mn++ at 10 mM had strong inhibitory effect on both activities whereas Ca++ had no effect and Zn++  had a slight enhancing effect. The specific enzymatic activities obtained were 19814 U/mg for the lipase and 1245 U/mg for the gelatinase.
STUDY ON SOME PROPERTIES AND MORPHOLOGY OF COMPOSITES BASED ON POLYETHYLENE GRAFTED ACRYLIC ACID/ETHYLENE-VINYL ACETATE COPOLYMER/CALCIUM CARBONATE
Authors: Hoang Thai , Cong Do Van
Published: December 2017

Composites based on polyethylene grafted acrylic acid (PE-g-AAc)/ethylene-co-vinylacetate copolymer (EVA)/calcium carbonate (CaCO3) were prepared by melt mixing. Relative melt viscosity, morphology, mechanical properties and thermostability of the composites were studied. The experimental results show that the presence of (CaCO3) activated by stearic acid (10-20 wt.%) changes lightly stable torque of polymer blend of PE-g-AAc/EVA. Use of modified PE improves compatibility of PE and EVA as well as makes the components disperse into each other better than in blends using unmodified PE. Tensile strength and elongation at break of both polymer blends decrease with presence of CaCO3. However, tensile strength of the composites of PE-g-AAc/EVA/CaCO3 is higher than that of composites of PE/EVA/CaCO3. Beside that, the composites of PE-g-AAc/EVA/CaCO3 have thermostability higher than the composites of PE/EVA/CaCO3.
POTASSIUM PERMANGANATE AS OXIDANT IN THE COD TEST FOR SALINE WATER SAMPLES
Authors: Goh Chin-Ping , Lim Poh-Eng
Published: December 2017

The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of applying potassium permanganate (KMnO4) as the oxidant in the COD test for highly saline water samples. Initially, the COD values of various glucose standard solutions were determined by three methods, namely the standard closed reflux dichromate (CODCr), the acidic permanganate (CODMn) and the alkaline permanganate (CODOH) methods. The results showed that at COD values lower than 20 mg/L, the standard dichromate method was not applicable due to its poor precision (RSD > 10%). The CODOH method was less effective compared to the CODMn  method as the recoveries were 0.71 and 0.89, respectively. The determination of CODOH for the standard solutions of glucose in the presence of Cl- and Br-, respectively, or both Cl-  and Br-  ions were conducted. The results showed that the COD values only increased 5.1% with the increase in chloride concentrations up to 35000 mg Cl-/L. This shows that the CODOHmethod is a suitable method for determining the COD of highly saline water samples such as estuarine and coastal waters. The COD test was conducted for river, estuarine and coastal water samples. The results indicated that the CODOH test correlates well with the CODCr test (R2  > 0.98). The results also indicated that this CODOH test can be applied in determining the pollution trends for estuarine and coastal waters.
APPLICATION OF NMR IN THE INVESTIGATION OF DYNAMIC TAUTOMERISM OF 4(3H)-QUINAZOLINONE SYSTEM
Authors: My Pham Thi Thanh , Kinh Chu Dinh , Thuy Thanh Thi Thu , Vinh Nguyen Ngoc , Chi Nguyen Thi Phuong
Published: December 2017

Tautomerism of 4(3H)-quinazolinone system with [(2-hydroxyphenyl)methylene]-2-(4oxoquinazolin-3(4H)-yl)acetohydrazide and N’-[(1E)-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)methylene]-2-(4-oxoquinazolin-3(4H)-yl)acetohydrazide as two representative compounds was investigated on the basis of 1H NMR method at coalescence with the help of line formprogramme. The dynamic parameters such as k, Ea, DG*, DH*, DS* were fully calculated with high reliability.
SOIL-STRUCTURE INTERACTION ANALYSES OF PILE SUPPORTED BUILDING FRAME
Authors: Chore H.S. , Ingle R.K.
Published: December 2017

The effect of the soil-structure interaction on the simple single storeyed and two bayed space frame resting on pile group of two piles with flexible cap is examined in this paper by resorting to more rational approach and realistic assumptions. Initially, 3-D FEA is carried out independently for the frame on the premised of fixed column bases. Later, pile foundation is worked out separately. The stiffness so obtained for foundation is used in the interactive analysis of frame to quantify the effect of soil- structure interaction on the response of the superstructure. For modeling the foundation system two approaches of finite element analysis are used. In the first approach complete three dimensional finite element analysis is resorted to wherein pile, pile cap along with the soil are discretized into 20 noded isoparametric continnum elements and interface between pile and soil is idealized as  6 noded isoparametric interface elements. In the second approach simplified finite element analysis procedure is used wherein beam element, plate element and spring elements are used to model pile, pile cap and soil respectively.  The salient feature of the investigation is that the interaction between pile cap and soil underlying it is considered. In the parametric study presented here, effect of pile spacing and pile configuration is evaluated on the response of superstructure in the form top displacement in frame and bending moment at top as well as bottom of the superstructure columns. Results obtained by either analysis are compared.
Dominant atmospheric pollutants in malaysia
Authors: Poh S. C. , Tso C. P.
Published: December 2017

This Article presents a  Brief of the various types of Pollutants that are contributing to the problem of air pollution in Malaysia, As well as the mention of some episodes in air pollution that have given rise to concern here
New Approach of Highly Efficient Fermentation Process for Bioethanol using Xylose as Agriculture Residues
Authors: Ahmed Abu Saleh , Watanabe Seiya , Hamdan Sinin , Kodaki Tsutomu , Makino Keisuke
Published: December 2017

Agricultural waste biomass has already been transferred to bioethanol and used as energy related products, although many issues such as efficiency and productivity still exist to be overcome. In this study, the protein engineering was applied to generate enzymes with completely reversed coenzyme specificity and developed recombinant yeasts containing those engineered enzymes for construction of an efficient biomass-ethanol conversion system. Recombinant yeasts were constructed with the genes encoding a wild type xylose reductase (XR) and the protein engineered xylitol dehydrogenase (XDH) (with NADP) of Pichia stipitis.  These recombinant yeasts were characterized based on the enzyme activity and fermentation ability of xylose to ethanol. The protein engineered enzymes were expressed significantly in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as judged by the enzyme activity in vitro. Ethanol fermentation was measured in batch culture under anaerobic conditions. The significant enhancement was found in Y-ARS strain, in which NADP+-dependent XDH was expressed; 85% decrease of unfavorable xylitol excretion with 26% increased ethanol production, when compared with the reference strain expressing the wild–type XDH.
Studies on the phase transitions and properties of tungsten (VI) oxide nanoparticles by X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and thermal analysis
Authors: Abdullah S.F. , Radiman S. , Hamid M.A. Abdul , Ibrahim N.B,
Published: December 2017

Tungsten (VI) oxide, WO3 nanoparticles were synthesized by colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs) technique.  The resultant WO3 nanoparticles were characterized by thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) measurements in order to determine the phase transitions, the crystallinity and the size of the WO3 nanoparticles. As a comparison, transmission electron microscope (TEM) was used to investigate the size of the WO3 nanoparticles.  The result from XRD and DTA show that the formation of  polymorphs WO3 nanoparticles have the following sequence: orthorhombic (bWO3) ® monoclinic (g-WO3) ® triclinic (d-WO3) ® monoclinic (e-WO3) with respect to the calcination temperature of 400, 500, 600 and 700°C.  No diffraction  peaks were found in the X-Ray diffraction measurements for the sample heat treated at 300°C (as-prepared), suggesting that an amorphous structure was  obtained at this temperature whereas the crystallinity had been obtained by the other samples of the WO3 nanoparticles at the calcination temperatures of 400, 500, 600 and 700°C.  It is also found that the X-Ray diffraction measurements produced an average diameter of (30 ± 5), (50 ± 5), (150 ± 10) and (200 ± 10) nm at calcination temperatures of 400, 500, 600 and 700°C respectively by using  Debye-Scherrer formula.  The TG curve revealed that the WO3 nanoparticles is purely anhydrous since the weight loss is insignificant (0.3 – 1.4) % from 30 until  600°C for the WO3 nanoparticles calcined at 400°C.  Finally, the composition and the purity of the WO3 nanoparticles have been examined by X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).  The results indicate no significant changes to the composition and the purity of the WO3 nanoparticles produced due to the  temperature variations.
Mixed-mode Operating System for Real-time Performance
Authors: Hasan M.M. , Sultana S. , Foo C.K.
Published: December 2017

The purpose of the mixed-mode system research is to handle devices with the accuracy of real-time systems and at the same time, having all the benefits and facilities of a matured Graphic User Interface (GUI) operating system which is typically nonreal-time. This mixed-mode operating system comprising of a real-time portion and a non-real-time portion was studied and implemented to identify the feasibilities and performances in practical applications (in the context of scheduled the real-time events). In this research an i8751 microcontroller-based hardware was used to measure the performance of the system in real-time-only as well as non-real-time-only configurations. The real-time portion is an 486DX-40 IBM PC system running under DOS-based realtime kernel and the non-real-time portion is a Pentium III based system running under Windows NT. It was found that mixed-mode systems performed as good as a typical realtime system and in fact, gave many additional benefits such as simplified/modular programming and load tolerance.
Deformation of wood in compression during moisture movement
Authors: Hamdan Sinin , Hasan Mahbub , Yew Chew Meng
Published: December 2017

This work presents the phenomenon of mechano-sorptive strain in the deformation of wood during moisture content (MC) changes. A series of experiments were designed to demonstrate the greatly enhanced deformation due to the mechano- sorptive effect. The purpose of this work is to show the magnitude of mechano-sorptive creep compared to the ordinary viscoelastic creep with applied compressive load. In order to do this, the moisture movement with MC change, moisture movement without MC change and conditions without moisture movement were induced. The unique patterns of strains of various conditions induced in the experiments were observed. The characteristics shown in results were evaluated logically and compared to existing theories to confirm their validity. With the presence of mechano-sorptive, the maximumstrains of Jelutong (dyera costulata) wood specimens loaded at 200N is 0.433x10-3. The severest deformation is caused by the increasing MC in the wood specimen, attributed to the mechano-sorptive (MS) effect.
Processing of Cu-Cr alloy for combined high strength and high conductivity
Authors: Olofinjana A.O , K. S. Tan A. and
Published: December 2017

High strength and high conductivity (HSHC) are two intrinsic properties difficult to combine in metallic alloy design because; almost all strengthening mechanisms also lead to reduced conductivity. Precipitation hardening by nano-sized precipitates had proven to be the most adequate way to achieve the optimum combination of strength and conductivity in copper based alloys. However, established precipitation strengthened Cu- alloys are limited to very dilute concentration of solutes thereby limiting the volume proportion hardening precipitates. In this work, we report the investigation of the reprocessing of higher Cr concentration Cu- based alloys via rapid solidification. It is found that the rapid solidification in the as-cast ribbon imposed combined solution extension and ultra-refinement of Cr rich phases. X-ray diffraction evidences suggest that the solid solution extension was up to 6wt%Cr. Lattice parameters determined confirmed the many folds extension of solid solution of Cr in Cu. Thermal aging studies of the cast ribbons indicated that peak aging treatments occurred in about twenty minutes. Peak aged hardness ranged from about 200 to well over 300Hv. The maximum peak aged hardness of 380Hv was obtained for alloy containing 6wt.%Cr but with conductivity of about 50%IACS. The best combined strength/conductivity was obtained for 4wt.%Cr alloy with hardness of 350HV and conductivity of 80% IACS. The high strengths observed are attributed to the increased volume proportion of semi-coherent Cr rich nano-sized precipitates that evolved from the supersaturated solid solution of Cu-Cr that was achieved from the high cooling rates imposed by the ribbon casting process. The rapid overaging of the high Cr concentration Cu-Cr alloy is still a cause for concern in optimising the process for reaching peak HSHC properties. It is still important to investigate a microstructural design to slow or severely restrict the overaging process. The optimum HSHC property reported here is a rare combination of high strength (>350Hv ~ 900MPa) and conductivity (50 – 80% IACS) found in metallic alloys.
Genetic algorithm based solution in pwm converter switching for voltage source inverter feeding an induction motor drive
Authors: Jegathesan V.
Published: December 2017

This paper presents an efficient and reliable Genetic Algorithm based solution for Selective Harmonic Elimination (SHE) switching pattern. This method eliminates considerable amount of lower order line voltage harmonics in Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) inverter. Determination of pulse pattern for the elimination of some lower order harmonics of a PWM inverter necessitates solving a system of nonlinear transcendental equations. Genetic Algorithm is used to solve nonlinear transcendental equations for PWM-SHE. Many methods are available to eliminate the higher order harmonics and it can be easily removed. But the greatest challenge is to eliminate the lower order harmonics and this is successfully achieved using Genetic Algorithm without using Dual transformer. Simulations using MATLABTM and Powersim with experimental results are carried out to validate the solution. The experimental results show that the harmonics up to 13th were totally eliminated.
USING CRUDE PALM OIL (CPO) AS DIESEL ENGINE FUEL
Authors: Lim T.H. , Bari S. , Yu C.W.
Published: December 2017

In this study, heating was used to lower the viscosity of CPO to an acceptable level. 60°C was found to be the optimum heating temperature for CPO to ensure smooth flow in the fuel system, but heating further up to 100°C did not improve the engine performance. A comparison between CPO and diesel in terms of engine performance, combustion characteristics and emission showed that the brake specific fuel consumprion (bsfc) for CPO was 13% higher at 400 kPa brake mean effective pressure (bmep), and the highest bmep achieved was 13.5% lower. However, CPO fuel gave a brake thermal efficiency. Combustion analyses indicated that CPO combustion produced a 7% higher peak pressure, a 3.3-degree earlier ignition and an 11.6-degree longer burning duration, but a 26% lower peak heat release rate. After 500 hours of  running CPO, performance and power of the engine dropped even while running with diesel. With a 26% higher bsfc and a 20% lowe maximum bmep. Visual inspection of the dismantled engine parts discovered heavy carbon deposits but normal wear. Overhaul of the engine restored the power and performance.
GIANT MAGNETORESISTANCE (GMR): SPINNING FROM RESEARCH TO ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
Authors: Kok K.Y. , Ng I.K.
Published: December 2017

In this paper, we aim to examine the research and development of materials demonstrating the giant magnetoresistance (GMR) property, a novel material property that has revolutionalised the advances of magnetic sensor and mass-memory technology today. A comprehensive outline for the fundamental materials aspects as well as the physics of the underlying mechanisms behind the GMR property is given. Recent development of GMR materials in data storage industry and other potential technological applications exploiting the GMR property are also discussed.
FACTORS AFFECTING REFRIGERATOR-FREEZERS ENERGY CONSUMPTION
Authors: Saidur R. Saidur , Masjuki H.H. , Mahlia T.M.I. , Nasrudin A.R.
Published: December 2017

Two frost-free household refrigerator-freezers, one with 492 liter capacity and one with 460 liter capacity were tested in the laboratory to determine the sensitivity of several variables those influence consumption refrigerator-freezers energy consumption greatly. The effects of single variables such as room temperature, thermostat setting positions, and door openings on the energy  consumption were investigated. Using Response Surface Methodology (RSM), a mathematical model has been developed to investigate the combined effect of room temperature, thermostat setting positions, and door opening on the energy consumption of refrigerator-freezers. From the mathematical model, it has been observed that room-temperature has the highest effect on the energy consumption followed by the thermostat setting position. The door opening has lowest on the energy consumption. More detailed tests were performed under different room temperature, thermostat setting positions, and door opening conditions and presented in this paper.
PERFORMANCE OF MEMBRANES CROSSLINKED WITH GLUTARALDEHYDE IN PERVAPORATION SEPARATION
Authors: Tan S.H. , Ahmad A.L. , Nawawi M.G. Mohd. , Hassan H.
Published: December 2017

Chitosan membranes crosslinked with glutaraldehyde (GA) were prepared through a solution method, where the dry homogeneous chitosan membranes were immersed into the reaction solutions containing 1.25 x 10-3 wt. % of glutaraldehyde (GA). The extent of the crosslinking was controlled by varying the crosslinking time from 1 to 5 minutes. The prepared crosslinked membranes were used for pervaporation dehydration of isopropanol-water mixtures. The influence of feed composition on the separation characteristics has been investigated. The 2-minute-crosslinked-membrane yields the highest water concentrations in the permeate with moderate flux at 50 wt. % of isopropanol in the feed solution. The overall pervaporation results for the homogeneous and crosslinked membranes are compared in term of pervaporation separation index (PSI). The crosslinked membranes showed higher pervaporation separation index (PSI) than that of uncrosslinked membranes especially for isopropanol in feed solution below 78 wt. %.
IMMOBILIZATION OF INVERTASE ON CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE PREPARED FROM NATA DE COCO FOR THE INVERSION OF SUCROSE
Authors: Fundador E.O.V. , Fundador V.C. Sabularse , Revilleza M.A.J.R.
Published: December 2017

Nata de coco, the cellulose produced by Acetobacter aceti with coconut water as substrate, was used as starting material in the synthesis of carboxymethylcellulose after treatment with NaOH and monochloroacetic acid. The product, referred to as carboxymethyl-“nata” (CMN), had a degree of substitution of 0.76, a higher value than those previously reported. This was used in the immobilization of invertase via ionic interaction and adsorptive forces, which produced a viscous colloidal suspension. Agar was incorporated to facilitate pellet formation. Interactions between the agar and the CMN-invertase may have resulted from ionic interactions as well as H-bonding. The immobilized enzyme retained 71% of its initial activity and exhibited optimum pH of 4.5 and an optimum temperature of 55°C. It was more sensitive to pH and temperature changes. The Michaelis constant, Km, was 107.43 mM for the immobilized enzyme, and 71.42 mM for the free enzyme. The Vmax values were 89.28 µmole min-1 and 82.64 µmole min for the free and immobilized enzyme, respectively. Statistical analyses showed that V values did not vary significantly. The higher K of the immobilized enzyme may be attributed to diffusional effects, steric hindrance and conformational modifications of the enzyme. The immobilized enzyme has potential for further applications because of its stability with storage, repeated and continuous use.
REMOVAL OF SULFUR DIOXIDE FROM FLUE GAS USING ABSORBENT PREPARED BY WATER AND STEAM HYDRATION
Authors: Teong Lee Keat , Mohamed Abdul Rahman , Bhatia Subhash
Published: December 2017

Active absorbent for flue gas desulfurization was prepared from coal fly ash, calcium oxide (CaO) and calcium sulfate (CaSO4 ) by hydro-thermal process; steam and water hydration. The absorbents were examined and compared for its micro-structural properties. The experiments were conducted based on Design of Experiments (DOE) according to 24 factorial design. The effect of various absorbent preparation variables such as hydration period (Factor A), ratio of CaO to fly ash (Factor B), amount of calcium sulfate used (Factor C) and drying temperature (Factor D) towards the BET surface area of the absorbent were studied. The BET surface area of the absorbent was in the range of 12.9-169.3 m2/g. Fisher’s test showed that there is a strong influence of factor A, B and D towards the absorbent surface area, while its dependence on factor C is negligible. Comparison between absorbents prepared from water and steam hydration showed that the BET surface area of absorbents prepared from water hydration gives a higher surface area, but at a lower rate. The optimum BET surface area for the prepared absorbent 169.3 m 2 /g, was obtained at the following absorbent preparation variables using water hydration; hydration period of 24 hours, ratio of CaO to fly ash of 1:2, CaSO4 amount of 3 g and drying temperature of 200°C.
STABILITY AND STABILIZATION OF NONLINEAR DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS
Authors: Sattayatham P. , Saelim R. , Sujitjorn S.
Published: December 2017

Exponential and asymptotic stability for a class of nonlinear dynamical systems with uncertainties is investigated.  Based on the stability of the nominal system, a class of bounded continuous feedback controllers is constructed.  By such a class of controllers, the results guarantee exponential and asymptotic stability of uncertain nonlinear dynamical system.  A numerical example is also given to demonstrate the use of the main result.
APPLICATION OF BACK PROPAGATION NEURAL NETWORK IN PREDICTING PALM OIL MILL EMISSION
Authors: Azid I.A. , Yusoff A.R. , Seetharamu K.N. , Ahmad A.L.
Published: December 2017

The paper presents an approach to investigate and monitor the air pollution caused by the palm oil mill. A concept of dealing with the problem from its causes is used where the sources of pollution from the stack gases were examined. The main causes were from the combustion of shell fibre and of the palm oil. However, in the boiler itself, several parameters like steam load and pressure, fuel capacity and temperature also contribute to the pollution. The study uses Neural Network (NN) to simulate the process of combustion and stack gases. This neural network was trained by using the data on emission and combustion bed taken from local palm oil plant in Perak, Malaysia. The trained data by NN agrees well with the measured data, i.e. almost within 8% error for pollutants like CO, SO2, NO and particulate matters.
Simulation and Study of Multilevel Inverter System Fed By Photovoltaic Source
Authors: Jasim Ali Abdulrazzak
Published: December 2017

This paper proposes a simulation of Photovoltaic energy used to supply an induction motor with acomparison of two types of inverters.In general, the greater number of motorswhich"are used incommercial and industrial applicationsare"induction motors. To use PV source to run the induction motor, an interface circuits are used which are a dc-dc"converter and an inverter, the PV cell has nonlinear behavior,"adc-dc converter is used along with Maximum Power Point Tracker controllerto improve theefficiency by boosting the output voltage of the PV module and to match the load demand."The dc output voltage of PV modulethen"converted to AC, two types of inverter are presented, A conventional Voltage Source Inverter system and multilevel inverter system which employselective harmonic eliminationmethod fed three phase induction motor, these two types of inverters are simulated using Matlab/Simulink and their results are presented. The FFT spectrum is presented of the output currents to analyze the harmonics reduction, which shows that the"multilevel inverter is better than VSI system"according to harmonics reduction and increment in output voltage and power.
Peer Review: A Strategy to Improve Students’ Academic Essay Writings
Authors: Polisda Yen
Published: December 2017

The purpose of this article is to describe the importance of peer review on students’ argumentative essay due to problems faced by students and teachers in producing students’ good argumentative essay. Students have problems in making use of the feedback given by teachers. Like students, teachers have problems in giving feedback due the large class and time constraint. The research hypothesis was tested by applying t-test. From the calculation of t-test, tobserved yielded 2.94. The total case degree of freedom was 55 ((27-1) + (30-1)). Ttable at the .05p level and 60 degree of freedom (the closest df) results in a figure of 2.00. This calculation reveals that t-observed could exceed the ttable. It means that the research hypothesis was statistically accepted, and null hypothesis was rejected. This means that the students treated by peer review had higher scores than those treated by teacher review on argumentative essay. Therefore, peer review gives better effect on students’ argumentative essay than the teacher review.

Keywords: peer review, argumentative essay writing.
Konparasi Syarat Keabsahan “Sebab Yang Halal” Dalam Perjanjian Konvensional Dan Perjanjian Syariah
Authors: Santoso Lukman , Lestari Tri Wahyu Surya
Published: December 2017

As social beings, social relations are fundamental and inseparable. Social interaction that has many differences requires the existence of a specific guidance or law adopted by the community. The law is for the sake of realizing a sense of security and assured in establishing community relations, as well as to realize a good social relationship, harmonious and without having to harm others. A specific form of guidance in society is the agreement. Indonesia has three sub-systems of law that are broadly divided into namely western law, customary law, and Islamic law. The procurement of agreements in order to increase security and certainty is already inevitable in the modern era, which is rapidly growing as it is today. Therefore, before entering into an agreement, it is necessary to comply with all conditions of the validity of the agreement in order for the agreement to become valid as a law so that the purpose of the agreement can be reached. One of the terms of the validity of the treaty that is "lawful cause" is an important thing to be studied deeply by the parties who make the contract because of the difference of the legal system in its environment (Indonesia) is mainly the conventional agreement system which is used as the standard of legislation in Indonesia and the system Islamic agreement or sharia that is used as the guidance of the majority of Indonesian people who are Muslims, so that there are no things that do not want inflicted in the future
Analisis Tentang Kewajiban Nafkah Keluarga Dalam Pemberlakuan Harta Bersama
Authors: Nelli Jumni
Published: December 2017

In Islam, a nafkah is the responsibility of a husband. As in Indonesia family lawappliesthat nafkahis the responsibility of a husband and also it imposes joint property. The obligation of a husband to feed raises an issue regarding the implementation of obligations of a husband that can lead to a legal loophole that could undermine the principle of legal certainty and justice community. It is important to be discussed about nafkah and the concept of joint property in Islamic law and KHI, as well as the obligations to provide nafkah for her husband. Based on this research, understandably ifjoint property was appliedthen it becomes the collective responsibility of husband and wife. It also brings the consequence that all the household duties can beduties in together. Thus Islam adheres to the principle of balance and fairness in the relationship of husband and wife.
Golongan Putih (GolputT) Menurut Hukum Islam (analisis terhadap Al-Qur’an dan Hadits)
Authors: Nasution Muhammad Arsad
Published: December 2017

Islam is very important leadership inexistence. This is evident from the many verses of the Koran and the hadith that explains about leadership. Beside that politically Islamic law can not be applied to the surface of the earth when there is no power to compelen forcement. That power is the master that made Islamic law as the supreme law governing the country. The existence of Islamic law would not be important if he had only beenon the writings of scholars of Islamic law. Islamic law new significanceseen when he practiced and carried out by human beings. Thus Islamic law requires the authorities wh oimplement it. The appointment of rulers who are committed to the enforcement of Islamic law chosen by democratic ballot. Suffrage some one will be very significant in determining the leadership. Therefore abstentions are not justified under Islamic law.