An improved design of a fully automated multiple output micropotentiometer

This paper describes in details a new design of a fully automated multiple output micropotentiometer (?pot). A prototype has been built at the National Institute for Standards (NIS), Egypt to establish this highly improved AC voltage source in the millivolt range. The new device offers three different outputs covering a wide frequency range from only one outlet. This valuably supports the precise sourcing ranges of low AC voltage at NIS. The design and the operation theory of this prototype have been discussed in details. An automatic calibration technique has been introduced through specially designed software using the LabVIEW program to enhance the calibration technique and to reduce the uncertainty contributions. Relative small AC-DC differences of our prototype in the three output ranges are fairly verified. The expanded uncertainties of the calibration results for the three output ranges have been faithfully estimated. However, further work is needed to achieve the optimum performance of this new device

Temperature effects on the electrical performance of large area multicrystalline silicon solar cells using the current shunt measuring technique

The temperature effects on the electrical performance of a large area multicrystalline silicon solar cell with back-contact technology have been studied in a desert area under ambient conditions using the current shunt measuring technique. Therefore, most of the problems encountered with traditional measuring techniques are avoided. The temperature dependency of the current shunt from 5ºC up to 50ºC has been investigated. Its temperature coefficient proves to be negligible which means that the temperature dependency of the solar cell is completely independent of the current shunt. The solar module installed in a tilted position at the optimum angle of the location, has been tested in two different seasons (winter and summer). The obtained solar cell short circuit current, open circuit voltage and output power are correlated with the measured incident radiation in both seasons and all results are discussed

Experimental Analysis on Double Layer Kapton Material using Peltier Thermoelectric Device

Kapton is one of the flexible materials used in the development of microwave components for the telecommunications system. The electrical properties of Kapton are dependent on the material's temperature. In this study, this material will be heated, and the electrical properties of dielectric permittivity and loss tangent will be analyzed. This material heating process is done by using Peltier thermoelectric which is installed with Aluminium alloy. The 0 V up to 7 V DC voltage was supplied to the Peltier during the heating process. Then, the electrical properties of Kapton were measured by using a dielectric probe and vector network analyzer (VNA) at frequencies of 1 GHz to 9 GHz. The results obtained show the Kapton temperature was increased from 27oC to 41oC. Meanwhile, the dielectric permittivity also varied from 1.72 to 1.64 at the frequency of 5 GHz when 4 V was used. The maximum loss tangent value of 0.5 was observed when the maximum DC voltage of 7 V was applied. The knowledge of this experimental work can be used to design reconfigurable microwave components for smart system application

Electrical performance study of a large area multicrystalline silicon solar cell using a current shunt and a micropotentiometer

In this paper, a new technique using a Current Shunt and a Micropotentiometer has been used to study the electrical performance of a large area multicrystalline silicon solar cell at outdoor conditions. The electrical performance is mainly described by measuring both cell short circuit current and open circuit voltage. The measurements of this cell by using multimeters suffer from some problems because the cell has high current intensity with low output voltage. So, the solar cell short circuit current values are obtained by measuring the voltage developed across a known resistance Current Shunt. Samples of the obtained current values are accurately calibrated by using a Micropotentiometer (μpot) thermal element (TE) to validate this new measuring technique. Moreover, the solar cell open circuit voltage has been measured. Besides, the cell output power has been calculated and can be correlated with the measured incident radiation

On estimate of Malaysian mortality rates using interpolation methods

Life table is a table that shows mortality experience of a nation. However, in Malaysia, the information in this table is provided in the five-years age groups (abridged) instead of every one-year age. Hence, this study aims to estimate the one-year age mor- tality rates from the abridged mortality rates using several interpolation methods. We applied Kostaki method and the Akima spline method to five sets of Malaysian group mortality rates ranging from period of 2012 to 2016. The result were then compared with the one-year mortality rates. We found that the method by Akima is the best method for Malaysian mortality experience as it gives the least minimum of sum of square errors. The method does not only provide a good fit but also, shows a smooth mortality curve

EVALUATION OF THE HISTOPATHOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL EFFECT OF ALOE VERA AQUEOUS EXTRACT ON DIABETES MELLITUS INDUCED BY STREPTOZOTOCIN IN RATS

   Objective: Numerous plants have exciting pharmaceutical activities, but Aloe vera (AV) is likely to have many medicinal applications worldwide. Therefore, the present study focused on identifying the potential of AV aqueous extract to protect against complications of diabetes. Methods: Fifty rats were divided into five groups. The first group, the normal group, received a vehicle solution. The second group, the AV group, received AV aqueous extract (1/2 ml/100 g body weight). The third group was the streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rat group (i.p. as a single dose), the fourth group was the ameliorative group (a week after STZ injection, rats were given the same daily oral dose of AV extract), and the fifth group was the protective group (rats were treated with the same dose of AV extract for 21 days, and on the 14th day after the start of AV treatment, STZ injection was performed). At the end of the experiment, changes in serum indices, such as insulin, glucose, aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), urea and creatinine, and tissue antioxidants as well as histopathological alterations in the pancreas, liver, and kidney were evaluated. Results: We found that STZ-treated animals displayed significant increases in tissue lipid peroxidation (LPO, as an indicator of oxidative stress), serum glucose, AST, ALT, urea, and creatinine, with a parallel decrease in the levels of serum insulin and tissue antioxidants. In accordance with these data, several histopathological alterations in the selected organs were observed. When diabetic animals received 1/2 ml/100 g body weight of AV extract, these deleterious effects were ameliorated. Conclusion: In the current study, AV aqueous extract exhibited an ameliorative and protective effect against the oxidative damage and the associated complications that occurred in different rat organs due to diabetes mellitus induced by STZ

Kajian rintis pandangan kanak-kanak mengenai strategi pemasaran kempen anti-merokok di Pantai Dalam Kuala Lumpur

Kajian rintis telah dilakukan di Kuala Lumpur dalam kalangan 30 orang kanak-kanak berumur 10-18 tahun bagi mengumpulkan pandangan mereka mengenai strategi pemasaran kempen anti-merokok. Hasil kajian menunjukkan kempen tersebut kurang berkesan mencegah kanak-kanak daripada merokok.Faktor-faktor yang menyebabkan kempen ini kurang berjaya mengurangkan tabiat merokok dalam kalangan kanak-kanak adalah kanak-kanak tidak merasa takut dengan poster dan gambar penyakit kritikal yang dipaparkan (60%), mereka dengan mudah boleh mendapatkan rokok (66%), serta kekurangan kerjasama semua sektor masyarakat dalam menyokong kempen ini (77%). Strategi pemasaran kempen anti-merokok dari aspek produk, harga, aksesibiliti, promosi, dasar sosial dan perkongsian komuniti perlu diperbaiki dan diberi penekanan seimbang untuk menjamin keberkesanan kempen secara komprehensi

Konsep Jaringan dan Aplikasi Teori Jaringan Sosial ke dalam Jaringan Perkhidmatan Kebajikan Kanak-kanak

Artikel ini membincangkan mengenai konsep jaringan sosial dan aplikasi Teori Jaringan Sosial ke dalam jaringan perkhidmatan kebajikan kanak-kanak. Konsep jaringan sosial yang dibincangkan dipecahkan kepada dua bahagian; iaitu konsep jaringan sosial dari aspek hubungan dan konsep jaringan sosial dari aspek struktur. Manakala, Teori Jaringan Sosial pula menerangkan empat perkara asas; iaitu jenis jaringan sosial, corak jaringan sosial, sistem jaringan sosial dan agihan jaringan sosial. Analisis dokumen yang dilakukan melalui sorotan literatur terhadap kajian-kajian lepas mendapati bahawa jaringan sosial dibahagikan kepada tiga jenis; iaitu jaringan sosial formal, jaringan sosial tidak formal dan jaringan sosial bersepadu. Corak jaringan sosial pula dipecahkan kepada lima corak perhubungan; iaitu hubungan tidak berarah, hubungan berarah, hubungan secara simetri, hubungan melalui orang tengah dan juga sosiogram. Manakala, bagi agihan jaringan sosial, didapati terdapat empat faktor utama yang mempengaruhi agihan jaringan sosial; iaitu objek atau pihak-pihak yang terlibat dalam jaringan yang terbina, penghubung ikatan jaringan, hubungan peranan, fungsi dan tanggungjawab antara objek/pihak yang terlibat dalam ikatan jaringan; serta arus (flow) dan pertukaran (exchange) dalam sistem jaringan

Pembandaran di pinggir wilayah metropolitan lanjutan Malaysia: beberapa implikasi terhadap kejiranan dari Lembah Klang-Langat (Urbanisation at the fringe of a Malaysian extended metropolitan: Some neighbourhood implications from the Klang – Langat Valley)

Kegiatan ekonomi di kebanyakan negara membangun kini yang bertumpu di sekitar wilayah metropolitan telah mempengaruhi petempatan dan kejiranan di kawasan pinggirannya. Di Malaysia, proses perubahan ini dapat diperhatikan di Lembah Klang-Langat yang dalam makalah ini dikenali sebagai Wilayah Metropolitan Lanjutan (WML). Rebakan bandar dan peluasan zon tepu bina melampaui sempadan pentadbiran bandar telah menyebabkan banyak petempatan luar bandar di zon pinggir wilayah metropolitan tersebut bertukar menjadi taman perumahan dan pusat komersial selain kawasan perindustrian. Perkembangan ini mempengaruhi ciri dan kualiti kejiranan desa-bandar yang terletak di zon luar WML tersebut. Kajian tahun 2007 ini bertujuan menaganalisis proses rebakan bandar dan kesannya terhadap ciri dan kualiti kejiranan di zon tersebut. Menggunakan data kaji selidik dan cerapan di lapangan, analisis kajian ini mendapati bahawa kejiranan luar bandar khususnya yang terletak di daerah Kuala Langat, Sepang, Kuala Selangor dan Hulu Selangor sedang mengalami taransformasi yang cukup pesat khususnya dari segi ciri persekitaran fizikal termasuk persekitaran dan kualiti rumah kediaman, serta tahap kesejahteraan seperti boleh diukur berdasarkan kesampaian isi rumah kepada perkhidmatan asas dan keselamatan. Perkembangan ini menunjukkan bahawa, di sebalik pembandaran dan pemodenan yang pesat, kejiranan di zon pinggir WML Lembah Klang-Langat tidak terlepas daripada pelbagai gejala sosial yang lazimnya hanya melanda kawasan dalam bandar. Ancaman keselamatan timbul akibat meningkatnya pengangguran, ketagihan dadah dan insiden jenayah, khususnya jenayah kecurian, pecah rumah dan rompakan di kawasan kediaman. Gangguan ini menimbulkan keresahan dan menjejaskan tahap kesejahteraan penghuni kawasan tersebut. Suatu garis panduan diperlukan bagi mengawal gejala sosial tersebut daripada terus menular di kejiranan tersebut

Pembangunan dan impak terhadap keselamatan dan kesejahteraan penduduk setempat: Analisis jaringan di Wilayah Pembangunan Iskandar Johor

The impacts of developments include population growth, enhanced economic activities, usage of basic infrastructures and the exploitation of resources. This article aims to analyze the impacts of industrial development on the environment and the well-being and security of local communities’ in Iskandar Development Region (IDR). The network analysis was applied to analyze the linkages between the government, industry and society in addressing environmental issues. Secondary data were gathered from the website of IDR in Johor, the Iskandar Regional Management Office of Johor, Johor Bahru City Council and the local authorities. Primary data were gathered via face-to-face interviews based on a set of questionnaires with the local communities in November 2009 till January 2010. A total of 100 respondents selected based on cluster sampling technique were interviewed. The data collected were then analyzed via Spearman correlation analysis. The research results indicated that there was a significant relationship between environmental pollution and industrial activity (rs = 0.257, p < 0.01). Significant positive relationship were also indicated for industrial areas and high presence of foreign workers in the residential areas that are in close proximity to the industrial areas (rs = 0.217, p < 0.05). Rapid industrial developments also have an impact on the wellbeing and security of the local communities (rs = 0.249, p < 0.05). The presence of foreign workers were significantly related to social issues (rs = 0.597, p < 0.01). Thus, these social issues affect the well-being, comfort and harmony of the local communities (rs = 0.350, p < 0.01). Industrial activities and the threat to harmony amongst local communities were also significantly related (rs = 0.266, p < 0.01