Optical properties of diamond like carbon films prepared by DC-PECVD

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin films were deposited at different substrate temperatures using methane and hydrogen gas in DC-PECVD at 2x10-1Torr. From the light transmission using UV-VIS spectroscopy it was found that the optical transition had changed from allowed indirect transition to allowed direct transition as the substrate temperature increased. The Optical gap increased with temperature, highest of 3.034 eV was observed at 573 K, beyond which it dropped. Colour of the film changed from light brownish to a colourless transparent film in the higher temperature. The Urbach energy decreased from 1.25 eV to 0.75 eV with increasing substrate temperature till 573 K and a slight increase after it. This trend is attributed to change in sp3/sp2 ratio or change in structure. The cluster size decreases with temperature, resulting in larger band gap and the structure more ordered. Similar pattern is also witnessed in the emission spectrum of the photoluminescence

Fog based intelligent transportation big data analytics in the internet of vehicles environment: motivations, architecture, challenges, and critical issues

The intelligent transportation system (ITS) concept was introduced to increase road safety, manage traffic efficiently, and preserve our green environment. Nowadays, ITS applications are becoming more data-intensive and their data are described using the '5Vs of Big Data'. Thus, to fully utilize such data, big data analytics need to be applied. The Internet of vehicles (IoV) connects the ITS devices to cloud computing centres, where data processing is performed. However, transferring huge amount of data from geographically distributed devices creates network overhead and bottlenecks, and it consumes the network resources. In addition, following the centralized approach to process the ITS big data results in high latency which cannot be tolerated by the delay-sensitive ITS applications. Fog computing is considered a promising technology for real-time big data analytics. Basically, the fog technology complements the role of cloud computing and distributes the data processing at the edge of the network, which provides faster responses to ITS application queries and saves the network resources. However, implementing fog computing and the lambda architecture for real-time big data processing is challenging in the IoV dynamic environment. In this regard, a novel architecture for real-time ITS big data analytics in the IoV environment is proposed in this paper. The proposed architecture merges three dimensions including intelligent computing (i.e. cloud and fog computing) dimension, real-time big data analytics dimension, and IoV dimension. Moreover, this paper gives a comprehensive description of the IoV environment, the ITS big data characteristics, the lambda architecture for real-time big data analytics, several intelligent computing technologies. More importantly, this paper discusses the opportunities and challenges that face the implementation of fog computing and real-time big data analytics in the IoV environment. Finally, the critical issues and future research directions section discusses some issues that should be considered in order to efficiently implement the proposed architecture

Extraction techniques and industrial applications of jatropha curcas

The fact that Jatropha curcas oil cannot be used for nutritional purposes without detoxification makes its useful as energy or fuel source, which will improve the domestic economy and provide job opportunities particularly in rural areas, where mechanical pressing is currently the most extensively used process to extract oil from seed. In this context, the main goal of this study is to provide a summary of several studies dealing with the currently employed oil extraction technologies, the physicochemical properties of bio-oils obtained from J. curcas, and the potential uses of Jatropha oil. The aim is to shed light on the main differences among the four types of oil extraction techniques currently employed and to highlight their most appropriate applications. If tapped efficaciously, then these techniques could prove to be extremely helpful in these days of power and environmental crises

Remote Sensing Of Turbidity Mapping From Digital Camera Imagery.

A complete set of normal digital camera data and ground-based measurements are used to test an algorithm for retrieval of turbidity distribution in the Prai Estuary, Penang, Malaysia

Validation of Multicultural Counselling Competencies Scale among Malaysian Counsellor Trainees: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis

The competency of multicultural counselling is an aspect which needs to be mastered by a counsellor in order to provide good counselling services to clients especially when dealing with clients of different culture. The purpose of this research is to examine the validity and reliability of the Multicultural Counselling Competencies Scale which was developed based on the local culture by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). A total of 290 final year students participating in the first-degree counselling program from six public universities were selected randomly. The results of the analysis showed that the fit value for the comparative fit index (CFI), Tucker Lewis index (TLI), and normed fit index (NFI) respectively had fulfilled the fit value of 0.90 and above as suggested by the literature. The analysis also showed the average variance extracted (AVE) values for all three constructs were 0.669 (awareness), 0.764 (skills) and 0.642 (knowledge) respectively, indicating the validity convergent and discriminant reliability were achieved. CFA analysis has removed 7 out of 26 original items due to low loading factor. Overall, CFA analysis has successfully proven that competencies of multicultural counselling questionnaire as a multidimensional construct as it has been theorized and is appropriate for measuring the competencies of multicultural counselling in Malaysia

Implementasi Alignment Point Pattern pada Sistem Pengenalan Sidik Jari Menggunakan Template Matching

Fingerprints is one of biometric identification system. This is because fingerprints have unique and different pattern in every human, so identification using fingerprints can no longer be doubted. But, manual fingerprint recognition by human hard to apply because of the complex pattern on it. Therefore, an accurate fingerprint matching system is needed. There are 3 steps needed for fingerprint recognition system, namely image enhancement, feature extraction, and matching. In this study, crossing number method is used as a minutiae extraction process and template matching is used for matching. We also add alignment point pattern  process added, which are ridge translation and  rotation to increase system performance. The system provide a performance of 18,54% with a matching process without alignment point pattern, and give performance of 67,40% by adding alignment point pattern process

Properties of chicken head gelatins as affected by extraction method

Malaysia is a surplus poultry producing country with well-established commercial slaughtering and processing plants. Immense quantity of heads, feet, viscera, blood and feathers are usually discarded and not optimally utilized. Chicken heads are rich in protein, and could be a potential source of gelatin. The aim of the present work was therefore to find a simpler, faster, cheaper and greener gelatin extraction technology as compared to current available methods of gelatin extraction from poultry heads. A comparison of three different gelatin extraction methods with alkaline-acid pretreatment (E1), single acid pretreatment (E2) and single alkaline pretreatment (E3) were studied to extract gelatin from chicken heads. E1 and E2 produced gelatins of Type A, while E3 produced gelatin of Type B. High bloom gelatin (>300 g) with <1% of ash content, high gelling (25.8-26.0°C) and melting (30.8-32.3°C) temperatures, good functionality and physical appearance were obtained from E1 and E2 extraction methods. Gelatins of E1 and E2 had higher viscous (G’’) and elastic modulus (G’) values on cooling and heating as compared to the commercial bovine skin gelatin. FTIR spectra of the gelatins indicated different degrees of structural denaturation. Overall, extraction methods of E1 and E2 produced better gelatin quality than E3. Nonetheless, E1 was the best extraction method for the production of high quality gelatin from chicken heads

Analysis on Preparation, Application, and Recycling of Activated Carbon to Aid in COVID-19 Protection

Activated carbon (AC) is an extremely porous carbonaceous adsorptive substance which has a rigid carbon matrix with high surface area and broad functional groups. The structure is connected by chemical bonds; arranged irregularly, generating a highly porous arrangement of corners, crevices, claps, and cracks between the carbon layers. Activated carbons are produced high-temperature and chemical activation of waste biomass. The pores in the lattice network of activated carbon permit the removal of impurities from gaseous and liquid medium through adsorption. At present, the COVID-19 disease is the prime concern around the whole world because of its exponential infections and death rate. There is no medicine for this virus, and protection is the only remedy to survive from this contagious disease. Using a face mask is one of the best methods to get rid of COVID-19. The mask combined with activated carbon can be beneficial for adsorbing and disinfecting the virus as it is the versatile adsorbent for the elimination of the organic, inorganic, and pathogenic contaminants

Antiviral activity of silymarin against chikungunya virus

Citation: Lani, R., Hassandarvish, P., Chiam, C. W., Moghaddam, E., Chu, J. J. H., Rausalu, K., . . . Zandi, K. (2015). Antiviral activity of silymarin against chikungunya virus. Scientific Reports, 5, 10. doi:10.1038/srep11421The mosquito-borne chikungunya virus (CHIKV) causes chikungunya fever, with clinical presentations such as severe back and small joint pain, and debilitating arthritis associated with crippling pains that persist for weeks and even years. Although there are several studies to evaluate the efficacy of drugs against CHIKV, the treatment for chikungunya fever is mainly symptom-based and no effective licensed vaccine or antiviral are available. Here, we investigated the antiviral activity of three types of flavonoids against CHIKV in vitro replication. Three compounds: silymarin, quercetin and kaempferol were evaluated for their in vitro antiviral activities against CHIKV using a CHIKV replicon cell line and clinical isolate of CHIKV of Central/East African genotype. A cytopathic effect inhibition assay was used to determine their activities on CHIKV viral replication and quantitative reverse transcription PCR was used to calculate virus yield. Antiviral activity of effective compound was further investigated by evaluation of CHIKV protein expression using western blotting for CHIKV nsP1, nsP3, and E2E1 proteins. Briefly, silymarin exhibited significant antiviral activity against CHIKV, reducing both CHIKV replication efficiency and down-regulating production of viral proteins involved in replication. This study may have important consequence for broaden the chance of getting the effective antiviral for CHIKV infection