Simulation and Modelling of Electricity Usage Control and Monitoring System using ThingSpeak

Renewable energy technology is growing fast especially photovoltaic (PV) system to move the conventional electricity generation and distribution towards smart grid. However, similar to monthly electricity bill, the PV energy producers can only monitor their energy PV generation once a month. Any malfuntion in PV system components may reduce the performance of the system without notice. Thus, developing a real-time monitoring system of PV production is very crucial for early detection. In addition, electricity consumption is also important to be monitored more frequently to increase energy savings awareness among consumers. Hardware based Internet-of-Thing (IoT) monitoring and control system is widely used. However, the implementation of the actual smart grid system is high in cost. Thus, simulation and modelling of the system is important to see the capability of the actual system before being employed. Since the smart grid and its components are usually modeled using MATLAB/Simulink, the communication between MATLAB/Simulink, IoT platform such as ThingSpeak and mobile application is crucial to be explored to gain a better understanding of the features of the smart grid. To achieve the objectives, there are five main steps which are simulation of grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system to generate data to be monitored and controlled using HOMER software, then, development of monitoring on ThingSpeak and mobile application using MIT App Inventor 2.  Next, the control system is developed on mobile application and the communication on how data are transferred between all the softwares are set up. The results show that all the seletected parameters can be monitored in real-time successfully. The developed mobile application can be used to control the MATLAB/Simulink in two modes. During automatic mode, ThingSpeak controls the MATLAB/Simulink by giving a zero signal (OFF) if load demand is less than the power generated by PV and a one signal (ON) if the load demand is greater than PV power. During manual mode, consumer can send ON or OFF signal to MATLAB/Simulink via the mobile application unconditionally. It is hoped that the proposed system will bring many benefits in modeling a complete smart grid system in MATLAB/Simulink

Hybrid Particleboard Made from Bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper) Veneer Waste and Rubberwood (Hevea brasilienses)

This study investigated adhesion properties, such as buffering capacity and wettability, of bamboo and rubberwood and evaluated the physical and mechanical properties of hybrid particleboard made from bamboo (B) veneer waste and rubberwood (RW) particles. The bamboo had an acidic pH value with a high buffering capacity compared with rubberwood. Hybrid bamboo-rubberwood particleboard displayed better mechanical properties compared to 100% bamboo and rubberwood particleboard. All hybrid particleboard panels passed and fulfilled the minimum standard requirements, except for thickness swelling and water absorption tests. However, for thickness swelling test, only boards consisting of 50B:50RW and 30B:70RW passed and fulfilled the minimum TS requirements of the British Standard EN 317 (1993). Panels made from 100% bamboo veneer waste displayed the highest modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) values, 15.30 N/mm2 and 2650.14 N/mm2, respectively. Hybrid particleboard panels exhibited better screw withdrawal compared with panels made of only bamboo or rubberwood particles. It is concluded that bamboo veneer waste enhances the quality of particleboards, especially in terms of mechanical strength. Thus, bamboo veneer waste can decrease the dependence of the particleboard industry on rubberwood

Hybrid particleboard made from bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper) veneer waste and rubberwood (Hevea brasilienses)

This study investigated adhesion properties, such as buffering capacity and wettability, of bamboo and rubberwood and evaluated the physical and mechanical properties of hybrid particleboard made from bamboo (B) veneer waste and rubberwood (RW) particles. The bamboo had an acidic pH value with a high buffering capacity compared with rubberwood. Hybrid bamboo-rubberwood particleboard displayed better mechanical properties compared to 100% bamboo and rubberwood particleboard. All hybrid particleboard panels passed and fulfilled the minimum standard requirements, except for thickness swelling and water absorption tests. However, for thickness swelling test, only boards consisting of 50B:50RW and 30B:70RW passed and fulfilled the minimum TS requirements of the British Standard EN 317 (1993). Panels made from 100% bamboo veneer waste displayed the highest modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) values, 15.30 N/mm2 and 2650.14 N/mm2, respectively. Hybrid particleboard panels exhibited better screw withdrawal compared with panels made of only bamboo or rubberwood particles. It is concluded that bamboo veneer waste enhances the quality of particleboards, especially in terms of mechanical strength. Thus, bamboo veneer waste can decrease the dependence of the particleboard industry on rubberwood

Exposure to environmental microbiota explains persistent abdominal pain and irritable bowel syndrome after a major flood

Abstract Background After an environmental disaster, the affected community is at increased risk for persistent abdominal pain but mechanisms are unclear. Therefore, our study aimed to determine association between abdominal pain and poor water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) practices, and if small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and/or gut dysbiosis explain IBS, impaired quality of life (QOL), anxiety and/or depression after a major flood. Results New onset abdominal pain, IBS based on the Rome III criteria, WaSH practices, QOL, anxiety and/or depression, SIBO (hydrogen breath testing) and stools for metagenomic sequencing were assessed in flood victims. Of 211 participants, 37.9% (n = 80) had abdominal pain and 17% (n = 36) with IBS subtyped diarrhea and/or mixed type (n = 27 or 12.8%) being the most common. Poor WaSH practices and impaired quality of life during flood were significantly associated with IBS. Using linear discriminant analysis effect size method, gut dysbiosis was observed in those with anxiety (Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria, effect size 4.8), abdominal pain (Fusobacteria, Staphylococcus, Megamonas and Plesiomonas, effect size 4.0) and IBS (Plesiomonas and Trabulsiella, effect size 3.0). Conclusion Disturbed gut microbiota because of environmentally-derived organisms may explain persistent abdominal pain and IBS after a major environmental disaster in the presence of poor WaSH practices

Validity and Reliability of the Malay Versions of Bloating Severity (BSQ-M) and Quality of Life (BLQoL-M) Questionnaires

Abdominal bloating (AB) is a prevalent and bothersome symptom, but there are no specific measures for severity and quality of life (QoL) other than the Bloating Severity Questionnaire (BSQ) and Bloating Quality of Life (BLQoL). We aimed to translate the BSQ and BLQoL into the Malay language and to validate them using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) approaches. The 12-item BSQ has two components, seven-item severity in general (SevGen) and five-item severity in the past 24 h (Sev24), and BLQOL has five items. Translation to the Malay language (BSQ-M and BLQoL-M) was performed using standard forward and backward processes. EFA followed by CFA were performed in participants with AB due to functional bowel disorders, with the purpose of examining the validity and reliability of the questionnaires translated into Malay. After EFA with 152 participants, all the items of BSQ-M remained in the model. Total variance extracted was 53.26% for BSQ-M and 58.79% for BLQoL-M. The internal consistency based on Cronbach’s alpha values was 0.52 for SevGen, 0.86 for Sev24, and 0.81 for BLQoL-M. After performing CFA with another 323 participants, the final measurement model for BSQ-M and BLQoL-M fit the data well in terms of several fit indices (BSQ-M: root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.050, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.966, Tucker–Lewis Fit Index (TLI) = 0.956, and standardized root mean squared residual (SRMR) = 0.051; BLQoL-M: RMSEA = 0.071, CFI = 0.985, TLI = 0.962, SRMR = 0.021). The composite reliability for BSQ-M and BLQoL-M were satisfactory (SevGen = 0.83, Sev24 = 0.89, BLQoL = 0.80). The intraclass correlation (ICC) results showed excellent stability for BSQ-M and BLQoL-M, ranging from 0.74 to 0.93. The Malay language versions of BSQ-M and BLQoL-M are valid and reliable instruments for measuring the severity and QoL of AB for the Asian population with functional bowel disorders

Author Correction: A Randomised Controlled Trial on the Effectiveness and Adherence of Modified Alternate-day Calorie Restriction in Improving Activity of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper