Electrical properties and AC susceptibility of CdTe added Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8-δ superconductor

Information on semiconductor/superconductor interface is important in fabricating devices of such hybrid systems. In this paper the electrical properties and AC susceptibility of Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 (Tl-2212) superconductor added with CdTe semiconductor are reported. Samples with nominal starting composition Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8(CdTe)x with x = 0 to 0.20 weight percent (wt. %) have been prepared by the solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction patterns showed essentially the Tl-2212 phase with presence of impurities (CuO and Tl2Ba2CuO6) for x ≥ 0.05 wt. % but did not change the Tl-2212 structure which is tetragonal with lattice parameter a = b ≠ c. The critical onset temperature, Tc-onset for all samples was between 104 and 108 K while the critical zero resistance temperature, Tc-zero was from 93 to 95 K. The superconducting transition determined by AC susceptibility measurement showed Tcχ’ between 101 and 103 K. The peak temperature, Tp of the imaginary part of the susceptibility χ” decreased for x = 0.05 and then increased for x > 0.05. This indicated that the superconducting grains were strongly coupled for x > 0.05 as a result of CdTe addition. The intergrain critical current density, Jc at Tp for the x = 0.2 sample Jc (Tp = 95 K) = 23 A cm-2 was the highest among all samples. This sample also showed the highest Tp indicating CdTe improved the flux pinning of the Tl-2212 phase. This result can be useful in the fabrication of semiconductor/superconductor (Tl-2212) hybrid devices

Economic and Legal Mechanisms of Interstate Support for Agricultural Producers

The transitional stage in the agrarian economy requires an optimal combination of state protection and market levers. At present, the state regulatory influence on the development of agriculture remains, on the one hand, quite significant, and on the other, insufficiently effective. There is no systemic integrity in the practice of state regulation of the agricultural sector. The relevance of the study is that in transition economies, agrarian protectionism was initially caused by somewhat different circumstances, and the protectionist policy was formed in fundamentally different conditions. The authors demonstrate that protectionism in industrial-type transition economies inherited a huge mechanism of state support for the agro-industrial complex in the depths of a centrally planned economy. Everywhere this support constituted a heavy burden of national finances, and one of the primary tasks of reforms in transition economies, including agrarian reforms, was precisely the release from this burden. It causes sharp liberalization of agrarian policy in almost all countries. The method of analysis was used to investigate the main directions, methods, and mechanisms of state regulation of the economy in different countries; the priority areas of state regulation of prices in the agro-industrial complex industry were highlighted. The practical significance of the study is that macroeconomic reforms in countries with an industrial type of development led to a rapid deterioration in the financial situation of the agricultural sector

Sifat elektrik dan kerentanan arus ulang alik superkonduktor Bi(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O dengan penambahan In2O3

Kesan penambahan In2O3 terhadap superkonduktor (Bi1.6Pb0.4)Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 (In2O3)x (x = 0- 0.1 peratus berat) telah dikaji. Pencirian yang dijalankan ialah pembelauan sinar-X, mikrostrukur, rintangan elektrik, kerentanan arus ulang alik dan ketumpatan arus genting antara butiran. Suhu genting mula, Tc mula dan suhu genting sifar, Tc sifar adalah tertinggi bagi sampel x = 0 iaitu Tc mula = 112 K dan Tc sifar = 90 K. Corak pembelauan sinar-X menunjukkan peratus isi padu fasa (Bi1.6Pb0.4)Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 (Bi-2223) dan (Bi1.6Pb0.4)Sr2CaCu2O8 (Bi-2212) adalah hampir sama untuk semua sampel. Pengukuran kerentanan ulang alik telah dijalankan pada frekuensi 295 Hz dan medan magnet H = 5 Oe. Dua peralihan pada kerentanan ulang alik bagi x = 0 menandakan kewujudan fasa Bi-2223 dan Bi-2212. Suhu pada puncak kehilangan tenaga, Tp untuk kerentanan khayal, χ” adalah tertinggi (74 K dan 104 K) untuk x = 0. Penambahan In2O3 telah menyebabkan Tp beranjak kepada suhu lebih rendah dan ini menunjukkan fluks magnet menembusi antara butiran pada suhu yang semakin menurun apabila In2O3 ditambah. Lengkung puncak Tp juga melebar apabila In2O3 ditambah. Ini menunjukkan gandingan antara butiran yang semakin lemah dan tenaga pengepinan fluks yang menurun. Ketumpatan arus genting antara butiran Jc(Tp) telah diukur menggunakan model Bean dan nilainya adalah antara 16 hingga 20 A cm-2 bagi semua sampel. Satu model skematik arus aruhan bagi bahan polihablur yang mengandungi dua fasa superkonduktor dengan pecahan isi padu yang sama tetapi suhu genting yang berlainan dibincangkan

Consumer behavior towards over the counter medicine purchase the extended theory of planned behaviour

The global medication scheduling is changing due to the frequent launching of new and generic medicines which bringing about the accessibility of different kind of medicines for customers in pharmacies. The Over the Counter medicines market is always under investigation due to its nature of self-medication . In this study, the major psychological factors like attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and perceived risk are considered in consumers as the determinant of the over the counter medicine purchase decision. This study incorporates the extended theory of TPB to effectively measure the research constructs . A non-probabilistic purposive sampling technique has been applied to choose 308 respondents from the metropolitan territory of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor states in Malaysia. The Exploratory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling technique have been used to analyse the data. The results revealed that customers attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control towards OTC medicine were of very supportive significance whereas perceived risk was not significant. It would be fascinating to explore if the results based on the outcomes hold for populaces of other ASEAN nations as there are different social settings, national approach, and healthcare guidelines. Thus, OTC medicine usage and purchase behaviour could be an integrative part of global healthcare frameworks and priorities

Psychological and sociological perspectives for good governance of sustainable nanotechnology development in Malaysia

Nanotechnology is developed to improve public well-being, stimulate economic growth, and provide environmental solutions, which are essential for sustainable development. However, the uncertain risks of nanotechnology may destroy public confidence and impede nanotechnology development from facilitating sustainable development. Thus, public perception is a critical component to understand public acceptance of nanotechnology and for nanotechnology development to be well governed. Good governance of nanotechnology is vital to ensure the benefits are distributed equitably while protecting the public from the risks. Hence, this study was based on psychological and sociological approaches with intervention from moderators, that is, media coverage, technology and economic development, benefit and risk of nanoapplications, and benefit and risk information. A survey was conducted in Malaysia to determine the effects of moderators’ influence on public perceptions. The study found, based on a psychological and sociological approach, that the moderating effects of moderators influenced public perception in a manner that increased or decreased the benefit and risk perception of nanotechnology. The results later serve as an input for recommending good governance strategies for applying nanotechnology to sustainable development

Public benefit and risk perceptions of nanotechnology development: Psychological and sociological aspects

Nanotechnology enables the development of new and improved products. However, the public is also concerned about uncertain risks associated with nanotechnology-enabled products. To address this concern, the study aims to expand the understanding about public benefit and risk perceptions as a basis for the effective formulation of policy that addresses public interests. The study investigates public benefit and risk perceptions of nanotechnology development from the psychological and sociological aspects through a questionnaire survey conducted on Klang Valley, Malaysia. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) illustrates that demographics indeed influences public benefit and risk perceptions of nanotechnology development. However, public knowledge about nanotechnology exerts no effect on public benefit and risk perceptions of nanotechnology development based on independent t- tests. Simple linear regression reveals that the lack of public trust in government increases risk perception. Public attitude perceives nanotechnology to be more beneficial than risky, thus influencing benefit perception rather than risk perception. Public lifestyle, such as culture, religious beliefs and social group influence benefit perception but not risk perception. Result is expected to deliver better communication of benefit and risk of nanotechnology to the public as well as ensure an ethical policy regarding nanotechnology development

The moderating role of religious satisfaction on purchasing Over-The-Counter Medicines in Malaysia: an Islamic perspective

Medications can be found in different formulations and ingested in different ways. OTC medications are used to cure, avoid or alleviate disease and to promote the well-being of people. There is continuous argument building up by taking a possibly Halal medication among the growing Muslim consumers around the world. Therefore, the focus of this study drawn from Maqasid al-Shariah approach for medicine usage and its significance in Islam. A sample of 308 Muslim consumers of pharmacies was being surveyed from the metropolitan territory of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor states in Malaysia. The Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis techniques have been used to analyse the data. The outcome revealed that customers’ religious satisfaction significantly moderates the purchasing of OTC medicines. The purpose of self-medication comes from the consumer’s decision-making. Hence, the self-medication phenomenon is critical to understand, and it should be subjected to strict control for the betterment of the Ummah

Design and Efficiency Studies on Skimmers in an Active Grease Trap

The objectives are to study the nature of fat, oil and grease and the correlation of retention time in separating these elements from wastewater. In addition, the assessment of the skimmers in term of the best material and shape in order to shorten the retention time. There are three types of grease traps which are passive, active and bio-remediation and the focus of this study is merely on the active grease trap. There will be three types of material will be tested for the skimmer, which are polyethylene foam, high- temperature nylon and clay. An active grease trap with a combination of three type materials for the skimmer were fabricated and experiments were conducted. From the collected data, the third skimmer (clay) has proven to be the best skimmer with 97.7% of oil were collected while the lowest is 70% which produced by the high-temperature nylon. In addition, clay has shown better consistency in collecting oil based on the three experiments with three different amounts of oil. From the obtained data, it can also be concluded that another factor that crucially affecting the result is in the grooves which were fabricated for the clay skimmer

Neck, upper back and lower back pain and associated risk factors among primary school children.

Ergonomic among children is important as it will influence their growth, which mainly results from the development of the musculoskeletal system. Their anthropometric characteristics are totally different from adults. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 school children from two primary schools in Malaysia. Year 2 and 5 children were randomly selected and were given questionnaires to obtain information on their background, musculoskeletal pain/discomfort complaints, previous skeletal injuries and satisfaction with classroom furniture. A TANITA electronic weighing scale was used to measure their body weights, schoolbag load and relative schoolbag weight. A Harpenden anthropometer was used to measure their standing height. Neck pain (NP) was the most prevalent musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) with lifetime prevalence (LP) of 33% and a periodic prevalence (PP) of 15.3%, followed by the upper back pain (UBP) with a LP of 20.2% and a PP of 9.1% and lastly low back pain (LBP) with a LP of 13.1% and a PP of 8.1%. Binary logistic regression performed, showed the LP of neck pain were significantly influenced by factors namely: overall satisfaction with the classroom furniture, satisfaction with the backrest shape and desk height. Results showed that the schoolbag load and classroom furniture significantly influenced the prevalence of MSD

Terrestrial laser scanners datum transformation: insignificant analysis of scale factor

Due to the measurement mechanism employed by terrestrial laser scanners (TLSs), the pre-processing procedure has become crucial procedure to orient all acquired data into global or ground coordinate system. Rather than utilising all seven-transformation parameters, most of TLS practitioners have neglected the scale factor. Taking into consideration the uncertainties in deriving range data, disregarding the scale factor in datum transformation computation could jeopardise the quality of pre-processed results. To rigorously examine this argument, two experiments have been designed by considering the element of multi distances and multi sensors. Utilising phase (i.e. Faro Focus 3D) and pulse-based (i.e. Leica ScanStation C10) scanners, both experiments were carried out with computation of seven (7) transformation parameters and scale factors were extracted for the assessment. With the aid of statistical analysis, the computed scale factors were mathematically differentiate to the ideal value (i.e. 1.000 or no scale effect). Under 95% confidence level, the null hypotheses for both experiments have indicate an agreement that scale factor can be neglected in datum transformation process for both types of terrestrial laser scanners