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We present the largest testicular tumour that first ever reported in Malaysia and we believed first reported in Southeast Asia. A 21 years old Malay gentleman presented to us with painless large scrotal swelling. After the initial workup and investigations were done and followed by a CT scan which yield a multiple paraaortic lymph nodes, the patient was scheduled listed in the earliest list for high ligation right orchidectomy with an inguinal approach. The patient seeks treatment at that point because he can't bear the embarrassment and fear of the treatment.

Priapism is an uncommon urology emergency. However, if detected late and not classified correctly and treatment not appropriately given can cause necrosis and fibrosis of penis. This will lead to permanent erectile dysfunction and can be devastating to patient. Literature of Spinal Cord Injury with priapism is rare and not many reported. We have a case of young gentleman with priapism secondary to spinal cord injury. It was detected early and treated promptly and patient had good outcome with no evidence of permanent erectile dysfunction.

Occipitocervical fusion is performed to address craniocervical and atlantoaxial instability. A screw of at least 8mm is needed for biomechanical stability. Occipital thickness of Malay ethnicity is unknown, and this study presents the optimal screw placement positions for occiput screw in this population. This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of 100 Malays who underwent computed tomography (CT) scan for brain assessment. To measure the occipital bone thickness of Malay ethnicity at the area of common screw placement for occipitocervical fusion. The subject's data was obtained from the institutional database with consent from the administrations and the patients. None of the patients had any head and neck pathology.The subject's data was obtained from the institutional database with consent from the administrations and the patients. None of the patients had any head and neck pathology. Computed tomography (CT) of 100 Malay patients who underwent head and neck CT were analysed, based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria. Measurements were taken using a specialised viewer software where 55 points were measured, followed a grid with 10mm distance using external occipital protuberance (EOP) as the reference point.There were 57 males and 43 females of Malay ethnicity with a mean age of 36.7 years analysed in this study. The EOP was the thickest bone of the occiput which measured 16.15mm. There was an area of at least 8mm thickness up to 20mm on either side of the EOP, and at level 10mm inferior to the EOP. There is thickness of at least 8mm, up to 30mm inferior to the EOP at the midline. The males have significantly thicker bone especially along the midline compared to females.Screws of at least 8mm can be safely inserted in the Malay population at 20mm on either side of the EOP at the level 10mm inferior to the EOP and up to 30mm inferior to the EOP at the midline.

The research study was carried out for the safety of highway maintenance workers in order to avoid incidents or hazards in the direct emergency lane on the highway through the implementation of a danger sensor device which known as Signal Warning Detector (SWAD). The distance sensor detected the object at a certain distance and sent the signal to the output via the siren device and emergency light. The device sensor was mounted on the highway worker vehicle. It also sent signal to the receiver to alert employee by giving early signal of danger detected. The receiver alerted employee by vibrating the vibrator motor that was attached at highway worker’s arm. The main objective of the SWAD was to increase the safety procedure and precaution for maintenance highway workers that currently doing their job at the emergency lane of the highway. The Signal Warning Detector (SWAD) had successfully implemented by detecting the vehicle or danger from behind in 70 meter maximum distance at straight emergency lane. The SWAD was effective to be used on highway worker vehicles for additional safety by giving early danger signal.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has been shown to cause venous migration in the inferior vena cava (IVC). It is very important for preoperative imaging to be carried out, which will decide the surgical approach for the patient. Duplication of IVC is an uncommon anomaly. We report a case of RCC with duplication of IVC.

Renal cell carcinoma accounts 2 % of global cancer diagnoses and death. In Malaysia, its occurrence is found in 1.9 in 100,000 patients and more predominantly in male with ratio male to female of 2.75:1 in 2006. Radical nephrectomy has been proven to give the best chance of cure and long term survival. Throughout the years, conventional open surgery has evolved to single port laparoscopic surgery. It has its own advantages, difficulties and cases selections criteria. We report a successful case of Laparoscopic single port surgery in a renal cell carcinoma patient with underlying prostate carcinoma.

An elderly man was treated for severe acute scrotum pain with centesis. We report the diagnosis, underlying causes and management, and discuss the procedure. Centesis is performed rarely, but could be undertaken more often given the added benefits.

This paper highlights the effects of the additions of two rare earth elements (Ce and Er) on microstructure and to investigate the characteristic temperatures during solidification to five modified alloy. Al-7Si alloys with xEr + xCe additions (x = 0.15, 0.25, 0.4, 0.5 and 0.75) were produced by casting technique via the solidification parameters examined using computer-aided cooling curve thermal analysis (CA-CCTA). The thermal analysis tests were carried out for each one by using a thermal analysis system that includes (K-type Thermocouple, EPAD2-TH8-K, EPAD-Baes and Laptop with Dewesoft-7.5-Lt). To estimate the change in microstructure and solidification as a result of adding (Ce + Er) additions the obtained result showed that the growth TGAl-Phase and nucleation TNAl-Phase temperatures decreased to lower temperatures 614.7 °C and 615.5 °C respectively as the amount Ce, Er increased. A high amount of Ce, Er (1.5%) addition reduces the size of the platelet Si-intermetallic to very fine form.

Duplex renal systems is a common anomalies. Incidence rate of 0.8% in healthy adult population and 2-4% in patients investigated for urinary tract symptoms. Urolithiasis management for patients with anomalies is complex and require proper imaging and planning. We have a patient with a partial duplex collecting system presented with a right renal calculus in a non-functioning lower moiety and multiple distal ureteric calculi. Preoperative planning done and surgery performed with good outcome without any early and late complications.

Rice (Oryza sativa) is a staple food for most of the world's populations, particularly in Asia (Gumma et al. 2011). The rice sector provides Malaysians with a food supply, food sufficiency, and income for growers (Man et al. 2009). From January to February 2022, panicle samples showing symptoms of bacterial panicle blight (BPB) disease, including reddish-brown, linear lesions with indistinct margins on flag-leaf sheaths and blighted, upright, grayish straw-colored florets with sterile and aborted grains on panicles were collected in granary areas in Sekinchan, Selangor, Malaysia with 90% disease incidence in fields. Surface-sterilization of infected leaf tissue was performed using 75% ethanol and 1% sodium hypochlorite, followed by rinsing three times in sterilized water. Leaf tissue was macerated in sterilized water and aliquots were spread on King's B agar medium, then cultured for 24 h to 48 h at 35 °C. All isolated bacteria were Gram-negative rods, positive for catalase and gelatinase but negative for indole, oxidase and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and utilized sucrose, inositol, mannitol, glucose, and citrate. Colonies were circular and smooth-margined, producing a diffusible yellowish-green pigment on King's B agar medium, which are characteristics of Burkholderia species (Keith et al. 2005). Five representative isolates (UPMBG7, UPMBG8, UPMBG9, UPMBG15, UPMBG17) were selected for molecular and pathogenicity tests. PCR using specific primers targeting the gyrB gene for molecular characterization was performed, and the ∼470 bp amplicons were sequenced (Maeda et al. 2006) and deposited in GenBank (OM824438 to OM824442). A BLASTn analysis revealed that the five isolates were 99% identical to the B. gladioli reference strains MAFF 302533, GRBB15041, and LMG19584 in GenBank (AB190628, KX638432, and AB220898). A phylogenetic tree using Maximum-likelihood analysis of the gyrB gene sequences showed that the five isolates were 99% identical to B. gladioli reference strains (AB190628, KX638432, and AB220898). To verify the identification of these isolates, the 16S rDNA gene was amplified using 16SF/16SR primers (Ramachandran et al. 2021), producing ~1,400 bp amplicons. The resulting sequences of the five isolates (OM869953 to OM869957) were 98% identical to the reference strains of B. gladioli (NR113629 and NR117553). To confirm pathogenicity, 10 ml suspensions of the five isolates at of 108 CFU/ml were inoculated into the panicles and crowns of 75-day-old rice seedlings of local rice varieties MR269 and MR219 grown in a glasshouse with temperatures ranging from 37 °C to 41 °C (Nandakumar et al. 2009). Control rice seedlings were inoculated with sterilized water. All isolates produced BPB disease symptoms like those originally found in the rice fields at four weeks after inoculation. Control seedlings remained asymptomatic. To fulfill Koch's postulates, the bacteria were reisolated from symptomatic panicles and were confirmed as B. gladioli by sequence analysis of the gyrB and 16S rDNA genes. To our knowledge, this is the first report of B. gladioli causing BPB disease of rice in Malaysia. Since BPB disease causes a significant threat to the rice industry, it is crucial to investigate the diversity of this destructive pathogen for effective disease management strategies in Malaysia.

This paper presents a study on hybrid optimization technique for optimal distributed generation (DG) capacity and operational strategy in distribution system. In this study, hybrid method namely Artificial Immune System-Firefly Algorithm (AISFA) is developed to determine the optimal size of the schemes respectively in the distribution system. The Firefly Algorithm (FA) which is a type of meta-heuristic algorithm is inspired by the blinking or flashing behaviour of fireflies that is embedded into Artificial Immune System (AIS) algorithm. The aim of this study is to develop the AISFA algorithm in order to improve the voltage profile and minimize losses of distribution system between the different operational strategy and types of DG. The types of DG include DG type 1, DG type 2, and DG type 3. The proposed technique was verified on IEEE 69-bus test system and the program was developed using the MATLAB programming software. The results showed a significant loss reduction in the line losses and voltage profile improvement has been obtained for optimal DG capacity and operational strategy in distribution system. From the simulation, the results were recorded in terms of the total losses and minimum voltage for the system. The results of the optimisation process of DG are utilized for the assistance of power system operators and planners. The power system planner can adopt the suitable sizes and locations from the obtained result for the planning of utility in term of economic and geographical consideration.

In the current-assisted sintering technique, graphite is mainly used to fabricate die and other components (such as electrodes and spacers) because of its excellent thermoelectric properties, high melting point and high ratio of the tensile strength to the compressive strength. As widely known, graphite is one of the brittle materials, and the failure is difficult to be anticipated before it happens. Besides, there is a lack of information about the effects of sintering process, environment and impurity on the graphite structure of the furnace, especially the die, which is the weakest part of the graphite structure. Therefore, the effects of electrical field and oxidation on the graphite die of microwave-current assisted sintering apparatus were investigated at a high temperature of 600�1900°C based on physical characteristics and mechanical strength. In this article, the spark discharge phenomenon was experimentally proved during the sintering process of nonconductive material. The tensile strength of the upper punch after the sintering process was 20.2 higher than the pristine one because of the transforming of micro-graphite to carbon nanotubes which increased with increasing the temperature. On the other hand, the tensile strengths of graphite lower punch and sleeve were slightly dropped. While, the oxidation of GW-6S graphite in the air caused a mass loss that led to the reduction in tensile and compressive strengths. © The Authors 2021. Published by Penerbit UMP. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.

A first-order ordinary differential equation (ODE) is a function with two variables defined in the xy-axis of a field. Various numerical methods, such as the Euler method, Runge-Kutta method, Heun’s method and others, are used to solve ODEs, with varying computational costs and accuracy. The Euler method can only solve the first derivative equation with the simplest implementation at the lowest cost of computation, but it produces less accurate results. This research focuses on improving the Euler method to increase its accuracy. A new scheme called Centroidal-Polygon (CP) is used in this study. The CP scheme is tested on the Resistor-Capacitor (RC) circuit equation to ensure that it can be used in fields other than mathematics and computation. The RC circuit equation is used to compute maximum error and assess the accuracy of the CP scheme and its counterparts. The circuit equation’s accuracy in the RC circuit equation is determined by the time constant (τ). This research used Scilab 6.0 software to analyze the maximum error. The performance of the CP scheme was compared to the Polygon, Harmonic-Polygon, and Cube-Polygon schemes, which are all enhanced Euler methods. The results show that the CP scheme achieves higher accuracy while requiring less computing time. In future studies, the CP scheme will be applied to the RCL circuit equation and second-order ODE to ensure the CP scheme can be used in all applications.

Endothelial cells (ECs) play a role in the optimal function of blood vessels. When endothelial function becomes dysregulated, the risk of developing atherosclerosis increases. Specifically, upregulation of adhesion molecule expression on ECs promotes the movement of leukocytes, particularly monocytes, into the vessel wall. Here, monocytes differentiate into macrophages and may become foam cells, contributing to the initiation and progression of an atherosclerotic plaque. The ability of omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) to influence the expression of adhesion molecules by ECs and to modulate leukocyte-endothelial adhesion has been studied in cell culture using various types of ECs, in animal feeding studies and in human trials; the latter have tended to evaluate soluble forms of adhesion molecules that circulate in the bloodstream. These studies indicate that n-3 PUFAs (both eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) can decrease the expression of key adhesion molecules, such as vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, by ECs and that this results in decreased adhesive interactions between leukocytes and ECs. These findings suggest that n-3 PUFAs may lower leukocyte infiltration into the vascular wall, which could contribute to reduced atherosclerosis and lowered risk of cardiovascular disease.

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by bacteria of the genus Leptospira and most often acquired through contact with environments contaminated with leptospires shed in the urine of infected mammals. In urban environment, rodents are well-known as the main carriers of this bacteria, however there were no intensive study on the population structure of these animals, and how it associated with this disease. Hence, we use a case study from an outbreak in a residential area in Selangor, Malaysia, to investigate how community structure of small mammals, associated with the prevalence of Leptospira. One hundred cage traps were placed randomly in and around these houses in five phases with two months interval for a year. Community structures (species, sex, and age) were assigned for each individual, prior to screening for pathogenic Leptospira, using a partial lipL32 gene from the kidney samples. 185 small mammals from four species were captured, Rattus norvegicus (74.5%, N=138), R. rattus (20%, N=37), Tupaia glis (5%, N=9), and Suncus murinus (0.5%, N=1). From this number, 29 individuals were found PCR positive for pathogenic Leptospira (R. norvegicus, N=20; R. rattus, N=6; T. glis, N=2; S. murinus, N=1). The study shows that Leptospira occurrence in the small mammals were significantly correlated to age category and sampling phases, with Spearman Correlation (r

A distance sensor system was used as wireless danger signal detector system controlled by Arduino programming that was detected any potential danger coming in target range. The system operated by sending signals based on the sensor reading. The purpose of the safety system was to increase the safety procedure and precaution for maintenance workers that currently doing their job at the emergency lane of the highway. In certain range of radar sensor detection, when the potential danger or accident was detected to approach, the sensor send the signal to the system and carried out the duty as medium of sending alarm caution in three ways, which were through sound, vibration and visual.

Todays, there are various of alternative materials that have been studied by many researchers in order to find the appropriate combination of brake pad manufacturing in the automotive industry. Some of the alternative materials that has being used including palm slag, banana peels, nutshell and others. This provide more economical benefit and also environmental preservation by utilizing the waste of natural fiber. In this study, geo-polymer brake pad has been prepare using the waste product which is barren soil. Barren soil is chosen as an alternative brake pad material candidate from natural resources as it consists of deserts, dry salt flats, beaches, sand dunes, exposed rock, strip mines, quaries, and gravel pits. This barren soil are mixed with another candidates such as binder, reinforcement, abrasives and lubricant following the standard formulation of brake pad manufacturing. In this works, three type of samples have been used. The elemental composition for sample 1, 2 and 3 are main content with 10%, 5%, 15% alumina and 10%, 15%, 5% graphite respectively. The physical properties of geo-polymer brake pads studied including hardness test and its morphology structure. Sample has been characterized based on two main parameters which are hardness test and morphology analysis. From the analysis, it was found that a prototype from sample 3 exhibit the highest hardness index compare to sample 1 and 2. Sample 3 hardness also much better compare to the conventional brake pad with 64% of the hardness increment. This finding also support by the morphological analysis, whereby the surface of sample 3 show a compact and flat surface with less cracking and porosity. From both parameter, it can be concluded that sample 3 has a great potential to become a suitable geo-polymer brake pad. Here, the composition of a combination alumina and graphite in all sample play as important role in enhance the hardness parameter for the potential brake pad prototype.

Hemocyanin Subunit IIIA is believed to possess antimicrobial properties, but its efficacy against microbial pathogens is still unclarified. Thus, this study aimed to determine antimicrobial activities of hemocyanin subunit IIIA and to identify the best activator of this protein.The hemocyanin was partially purified using spin column affinity, its fraction was applied to Hi-Prep Sephacryl Exclusion 26/60 2-200 HR column, followed by Hi-Prep 26/10 Desalting Column on fast protein liquid chromatography. The purity of hemocyanin was validated by Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight/Mass Spectrometry. The antimicrobial activity was performed by Disc Diffusion Test.Purified hemocyanin subunit IIIA was identified to have a molecular weight of 72.9 kDa. SDS was found to be the best activator of hemocyanin, as indicated by elevated level of phenoloxidase. As for antimicrobial activity, hemocyanin was minimally inhibited by all bacteria strains tested (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae), with relatively lower Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) at 0.005 g mL-1, than recorded MIC for fungal test strains. Two fungal strains (Penicillium sp. and A. niger) show susceptible response to phenoloxidase using MgSO4 as inducer. Whereas, lysate-treated CaCl2 induced susceptibility only to A. niger.Hemocyanin shows better antimicrobial activity than phenoloxidase because of its broad-spectrum activity against bacterial and fungal strains tested. Hence, the hemocyanin may potentially become a new antimicrobial candidate to be discovered for a future use in treatment of resistant bacteria.

Alkali-germanate glass composed of xLi2O-(100 − x)[0.65GeO2·0.35PbO] (x = 0 mol% to 40 mol%) were prepared using the melt-quenching method. The increase in density to a maximum at x = 10 mol% before decreasing indicates presence of the germanate anomaly. Both longitudinal and shear velocities, as well as both independent longitudinal (CL) and shear (μ) moduli, also showed similar non-linear behaviors, with maximum values at x = 10 mol%. The increase in independent moduli at x 20 mol% is suggested to be due to weakening of the glass network by progressive depolymerization of three-membered GeO4 rings in the germanate network through formation of non-bridging oxygen. In addition, bulk modulus, Ke, Young's modulus, and Debye temperature also showed similar behaviors as CL and μ. Analysis using bulk compression and ring deformation models showed the ratio of theoretical Ke over experimental Kbc and average ring size were also affected by the germanate anomaly, and the closest to ideal isotropic compression was at x = 10 mol%.

This paper concerns with the use of simulation as a pedagogical tool for a physics teaching strategy. This action research was conducted to investigate the scientific skills as a result of modelling learnt using PhET simulation. The cycle of action research involved in this study is planning, acting, observing and reflection. Through combining physics simulation with Science Process Skills (SPS) and Manipulative Skills (MS) to deliver real experimenting experience, the discussion is further to make connection with students’ achievement in Physics. One physics class involved in this study consist of 36 matriculation college students. Prior the study, students were briefed on the procedures for conducting the Harmonic Motion experiment using the PhET Simulations. Following this, students must completed the practical report for analysis, data interpretation and discussion. At the end of the teaching, a set of formative test was used to evaluate students’ mastery of Physics concepts after conducting the Simple Harmonic Motion simulation experiment. The results showed an increase in the percentage of frequency of study participants practicing Science Process Skills and Manipulative Skills (Conducting Experiments). In the Formative Test, the study participants showed a high average score of 13.9 marks, which is 93%. This study is able to develop the advantage of multimedia for physics laboratory works and explore its potential to strengthen scientific skills.

A confined space is a fully or partially enclosed space that is not primarily designed which has limited entrance or exit, or a configuration that can complicate first aid, rescue, evacuation, or other emergency response activities. The confined space can represent a risk for the health and safety of anyone who enters, due to one or more of the following factors like design, construction, location, the material or substances in it, work activities being carried out in it or the mechanical process and safety hazards present. Therefore, the objective of this research is to study additional safety mechanical structures for safety shoe by using the SolidWork software. SolidWork software analysis is popular among researchers as an alternative for experimental method to investigate the mechanical structure of the part and component. In this present paper, an additional safety mechanism is considered to stimulate the safety shoe designed for confining space. From the preliminary result, maximum yield strength and displacement that applied at the additional safety structure of safety shoe are 5.067e + 08 N/m2 and 3.895 e-02 mm respectively. The design is chosen which follows the safety shoes classes and standard. The result obtained in this study will prevent the workers from the hazard in confined space because of poor safety procedure during work.

Introduction: Large wounds in the leg require combination of local flaps or free flap for wound coverage. Gastrocnemius musculocutaneous flap (GMCF) allows a large wound to be covered by a single local flap. However, the conventional GMCF is often associated with donor site morbidity where the exposed soleus raphe causes poor uptake of the skin graft. Islanding the skin on the muscles allows the donor site to be closed primarily, thus avoiding the donor site morbidity. Materials and Methods: Medical records of twelve patients who underwent islanded GMCF surgery from 2004 till 2018 were reviewed retrospectively. Results: The mean age was 31 years old. Eight cases were with open fracture of the tibia, two degloving injury exposing the patella, one open fracture of patella and necrotising soft tissue infection. The wound size ranged from 12cm2 to 120cm2. All flaps survived. Three patients required skin grafting at the donor site while in the rest the donor sites were able to be closed primarily. Four patients developed deep infection, one healed after vacuum dressing, one after bone transport and one after split thickness skin graft. One patient ended up with below knee amputation after developing chronic osteomyelitis of the tibia. Conclusion: Islanded gastrocnemius musculocutaneous flap is an effective simple alternative for coverage of large soft tissue defects from the knee to half of the leg distally with minimal donor site morbidity. Aggressive debridement of unhealthy tissue is necessary to prevent infection following wound coverage with this flap.

The main factor affecting the fatty acid (FA) profile of ruminant-derived products is diet composition. In order to determine the effect of pre-treated oil palm frond (OPF) on FA profiles of muscle tissues and subcutaneous fat, twenty crossbred male Boer goats were used for the animal feed trial. Five treatment diets were dietary control consisted of Napier grass (CON); Napier grass with non-treated OPF (NON); Napier grass and physically pre-treated OPF (PHY); Napier grass and biologically pre-treated OPF (BIO) and Napier grass and combined pre-treated OPF (COM). All groups were supplemented with 30% commercial goat pellet. The animals were slaughtered for sampling meat tissues after 130 days of feeding. The saturated fatty acid (SFA) (% of the total in FA) the longissimus dorsi muscle and subcutaneous fat of the CON group were significantly (pbiceps femoris muscle. In biceps femoris, stearic acid (C18:0) was higher in CON and NON groups than PHY, BIO and COM (plongissimus dorsi, C18:0 was found higher in NON (pbiceps femoris, longissimus dorsi and subcutaneous fat had higher UFA in BIO and COM groups (pGanoderma lucidum effectively enhances the nutritional value of OPF promoting the UFA in meat.

Coated peanut which known as Kacang Bersalut Istimewa Deqyoung is a product made from groundnut mix with flour and special spices. Currently, there are some issues with the product that slow down the production process. The groundnut is sticking and become like a ping pong size ball and the time consuming to fry is longer. Coated peanut separator and frying skillet machine can overcome the problems and able to increase the production. Furthermore, the machine aim to facilitate workers to carry out their duties and to assist small and medium industries (SMEs) in Malaysia. The design convenient, determination of the material selection and the main components that help to operate the machine are the main aspects have been considered. Design analysis helps to identify the capability of the machine when the forces act at some main parts of the machine. The comparison between manual method and semi-automatic method shows that the production increase. By using semi-automatic method of production, the increment shows almost 84 percent of production compares to manual method.

The polymer technologies have evolved due to the vast applications of polymer nanocomposites with improved properties such as mechanical and thermal stability to replace the conventional materials. The aim of this study is to develop low density polyethylene (LDPE) / graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) with enhanced thermal properties. Different loadings of GNP (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 wt%) were incorporated into the LDPE through melt mixing technique using a twin-screw extruder with the screw speed at 50 rpm to produce LDPE/GNP polymer nanocomposites. The degradation behavior of LDPE/GNP was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), while the melting temperature (Tm), recrystallization temperature (Tc) and crystallinity (Xc) of polymer composite were analyzed by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The results exhibited that Tc decreased by the incorporation of GNP as compared to the pure LDPE. Degree of crystallinity of LDPE/GNP composites was observed to be lower than the pure LDPE. However, the thermal stability of LDPE was slightly increased with the increased loadings of GNP. The overall test showed the increase thermal properties of LDPE/GNP polymer nanocomposite.

In this study, hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanostructure were prepared in Schott vials on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate using the sonicated immersion method in aqueous solution with ferric chloride FeCl3⋅6H2O as a precursor and urea NH2−CONH2 as a stabilizer. The samples were characterized for different level of humidity conditions within range 40% to 90% RH. Based on the results obtained, the hematite nanostructure exhibited good optical properties and virtuous sensor response with high sensitivity. The fabricated hematite nanostructure has revealed a good potential for humidity sensor application based on the results obtained under different levels of humidity.In this study, hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanostructure were prepared in Schott vials on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrate using the sonicated immersion method in aqueous solution with ferric chloride FeCl3⋅6H2O as a precursor and urea NH2−CONH2 as a stabilizer. The samples were characterized for different level of humidity conditions within range 40% to 90% RH. Based on the results obtained, the hematite nanostructure exhibited good optical properties and virtuous sensor response with high sensitivity. The fabricated hematite nanostructure has revealed a good potential for humidity sensor application based on the results obtained under different levels of humidity.

Roll to roll process is one of the famous printing techniques that are possible to create graphic and electronic device on variable substrate by using conductive ink. Graphene is an example of material that can be used as printing ink which usually used in producing micro-scale electronic devices. Here, it is proposed that extending roll to roll printing technique into the multiple micro-scale printing fine solid line onto substrate by using graphene as a printing ink. Flexography is a high speed roll to roll printing technique commonly used in paper printing industry. And this study elaborates the feasibility of graphene as a printing ink use in combination of flexography and micro-contact or micro-flexo printing for micro fine solid line. This paper will illustrates the review of graphene in producing multiple micro-solid lines printing capability for the application of printing electronic, graphic and bio-medical.

Cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter is among the most preferred topology in solar systems. While traditional asymmetric cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter is easy to achieve higher number of output voltage levels compared to traditional symmetric cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter, charge balancing between the voltage sources remains a challenge for asymmetric cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter. This drawback results in unsteady DC voltage levels due to unbalanced power drawn from each voltage sources. Besides that, in battery powered applications, unbalanced power drawn results in unequal discharged in the batteries. In this paper, two three-phase asymmetric cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter topologies are proposed which offer easier in terms of modularity while maintaining the ease in charge balancing control. The performance of these two proposed topologies with charge balance control has been evaluated using PSIM software.

Polymer nanocomposites (PNC) have emerged as new materials which can show significantly enhanced mechanical properties over other polymer based materials through the addition of relatively small amounts of nanoscale additives. Rapid prototyping is impacting biomedical in several important ways. This research aims to investigate the potential of using new polymer nanocomposites (PNC) as a raw material for fused deposition modelling machine (FDM). Here, PNCs materials containing a polyamide (PA) and nanoparticles (

The purpose of this paper is to study a ink surface morphology, quantify the chemical composition involved in processing of graphite ink printed by flexographic printing. The methodology is to use surface sensitive technique, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). As a finding we successfully achieved 25 micron lines array using PDMS printing plate. The Originality and value of this work is surface sensitive techniques like XPS, AFM and FESEM were exclusively used in order to characterize graphite inks printed by flexographic method, using PDMS printing plate.

Adhesive property can be described as an interchangeably with some ink and substance which was applied to one surface of two separate items that bonded together. Lanthanum oxide (La2O3) has been used as a rare earth metal candidate as depositing agent or printing ink. This metal deposit was embedded on Silica (Si) wafer and glass substrate using Magnetron Sputtering technique. The choose of Lanthanum oxide as a target is due to its wide application in producing electronic devices such as thin film battery and printed circuit board. The La2O3 deposited on the surface of Si wafer and glass substrate was then analyzed using Angle Resolve X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (ARXPS). The position for each synthetic component in the narrow scan of Lanthanum (La) 3d and O 1s are referred to the electron binding energy (eV). This research will focus on 3 narrow scan regions which are C 1s, O 1s and La 3d. Further discussion of the spectrum evaluation will be discussed in detail. Here, it is proposed that from the adhesive and surface chemical properties of La is the best on glass substrate which suitable as an alternative medium for micro-flexography printing technique in printing multiple fine solid lines at nano scale. Hence, this paper will describe the capability of this particular metal as rare earth metal in a practice of micro-flexography printing.

Silicon Carbide is a semiconductor material that is becoming popular because of its special characteristic. However, the application of this material is limited due to the difficulty of its machining process. This paper discusses the influence of machining parameters in WEDM of Siliconized Silicon Carbide (SiSiC). Using 2-level full factorial design of experiment, the effect of pulse on-time, pulse off-time, peak current and servo voltage on material removal rate, surface roughness, sparking gap and wire lag were studied. For predicting the machining performance and to represent the relationship, a mathematical model for individual response was developed and validated through a conformation test.

A leaking water pipe bursting high pressure water jet in the soil will create slurry erosion which will eventually erode the adjacent natural gas pipe, thus causing its failure. The standard 300 mm safety distance used to place natural gas pipe away from water pipeline facilities needs to be reviewed to consider accidental damage and provide safety cushion to the natural gas pipe. This paper presents a study on underground natural gas pipeline safety distance via experimental and numerical approaches. The pressure–distance characteristic curve obtained from this experimental study showed that the pressure was inversely proportional to the square of the separation distance. Experimental testing using water-to-water pipeline system environment was used to represent the worst case environment, and could be used as a guide to estimate appropriate safety distance. Dynamic pressures obtained from the experimental measurement and simulation prediction mutually agreed along the high-pressure water jetting path. From the experimental and simulation exercises, zero effect distance for water-to-water medium was obtained at an estimated horizontal distance at a minimum of 1500 mm, while for the water-to-sand medium, the distance was estimated at a minimum of 1200 mm.

This study is about the development of a control system design using Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) system which gives food to the fish with a blower method. To perform fish feeding system automatically the control system will include PLC system, touch screen, emergency button, terminal block, speed controller, relay NY-2N, and power supply 240V. The component of the input systems are autonics sensor includes counter clockwise sensor, clockwise sensor and distance pulse sensor. While the components of the output systems are forward/reverse motor and blower. The overall system and its components are tested with the reliability test to check the components’ performance. The result of reliability system shows that all LED components emits light signal when both direct connection circuit and PLC system is interfaced. The feeding time need to be increased as the fish weight increased.Keywords: [PLC system, feeding rate, fish pond ]

Nowadays the usage of polymer on articular replacement (arthropasty) is common because of their known usage in orthopedic surgery and biocompatibility. The polymeric material such as polyethylene and polyacetal are common materials used in surgical repair of joint due to the arthritic or dysfunctional joint surface. The surgical repair is done by replacing the damage part with something better or remodeling or realigning the joint by osteotomy procedures. In this case, for both hip and knee replacement, chrome-cobalt and polymer are commonly used. According to Jennifer Brown, the cost for knee replacement is approximate to USD$15,000 per procedure with the estimation of total knee replacement is 600,000 annually in United States. Currently, the aggregate of annual cost for total knee replacement is about USD$9 billion. The usage of chrome-cobalt and polymer is very common and save but the cost is very expensive. The other disadvantage is it usually last only for 10 years for hip and knee replacement.