7,331 research outputs found
Hydrophobicity properties of graphite and reduced graphene oxide of the polysulfone (PSf) mixed matrix membrane
Hydrophobicity properties of graphite and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) (from exfoliated graphite/rGO) towards PSf polymer membrane characteristic and properties at different additives weight concentrations (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 wt. %) were investigated. Both PSF/graphite and PSf/rGO membranes were characterized in term of hydrophobicity, surface bonding, surface roughness and porosity. FTIR peaks revealed that membrane with graphite and reduced graphene oxide nearly diminished their O-H bonding which was opposite to the graphene oxide peak that shows a strong O-H bonding as increased exfoliated times. These results were in line with the contact angle results that showed strong hydrophobicity of graphite and reduced graphene oxide membranes as increased these additives concentration. The effect of strong hydrophobicity in these membranes also has resulted in smoother surface roughness compared to pristine PSf membrane. Further investigation of the performance of water flux also proved that both above membranes have strong hydrophobic effect, with the lowest pure water flux rate (L/m2h) was given by PSf/rGO 3% membrane at 19.2437 L/m2h
The Impact Of Learning Style And Self – Efficacy On Academic Performance Of Mba Candidates
The demand for the MBA program is considered high in Malaysia and to select the suitable MBA candidate that can excel in his performance encouraged me to do this research. The MBA program is different from other postgraduate program in the sense that it’s candidates merge from different backgrounds with different learning styles and this might make them differ in their academic performance
Testing collapse models with levitated nanoparticles: the detection challenge
We consider a nanoparticle levitated in a Paul trap in ultrahigh cryogenic
vacuum, and look for the conditions which allow for a stringent
noninterferometric test of spontaneous collapse models. In particular we
compare different possible techniques to detect the particle motion. Key
conditions which need to be achieved are extremely low residual pressure and
the ability to detect the particle at ultralow power. We compare three
different detection approaches based respectively on a optical cavity, optical
tweezer and a electrical readout, and for each one we assess advantages,
drawbacks and technical challenges
Characterization study of industrial waste glass as starting material in development of bioactive materials
In present study, an industrial waste glass was characterized and the potential to assess as starting material in development of bioactive materials was investigated. A waste glass collected from the two different glass industry was grounded to fine powder. The sampleswere characterized using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), pycnometer and inductively couple plasma (ICP). The XRF result indicates both waste glass (WG1 and WG2) are the glass made based SLS glass composition and the density values were in the range of commercial SLS glass. Results from ICP showed both waste glass has contains of heavy metal trace elements that exceeds the allowable concentration level as per standard ASTM F1538-03. Obviously from this study, these twotypes of waste glass were not suitable for use as starting material as no compromise against the toxic elements are allowed for use in the human body.Keywords: waste glass; soda lime silica glass; biomaterials
Study of the superconducting properties of the Bi-Ca-Sr-Cu-O system
High Temperature Superconductivity in the Bi-Ca-Sr-Cu-O System has been observed and has attracted considerable attention in 1988. The 80 K superconductivity phase has been identified to have a composition of Bi2CaSr2Cu2Ox, while the 110 K phase as reported in the literature has a possible composition of Bi2Ca2Sr2Cu3Ox. Researchers present here a study of the electrical properties of bulk samples of the slowly cooled and rapidly quenched 2:1:2:2 system. The samples used in this study were prepared from appropriate amounts of Bi2O3, CuO, SrCO3, CaCO3
Phylogenetic analysis of human Tp53 gene using computational approach
The TP53 gene encoding p53 protein is involved in regulating a series of pathways. New discoveries about the function and control of p53 are still in progress and it is hoped to develop better therapeutics and diagnostics by exploiting this system. Evolutionary studies are of prime importance in the field of biological research since very long as provide the basis for comparative genomics. The sequence of Homo sapiens human TP53, transcript variant-1 mRNA sequence was retrieved from the NCBI in FASTAformat and was studied for its relationships and percent similarity within human and others species. Genetic variation among TP53 found in human beings and other organisms were studied in detail. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis of the human TP53, transcript variant-1 mRNA sequence through UPGMA was performed which showed its relationship and pattern of variations among different organisms. This study will help in modern research strategies through the manipulation of p53 as its pathways are emerging rapidly and one can predict its extensive clinical use in the near future for the human benefit worldwide.Key words: P53, tumour, cancer, phylogeny, sequence alignment
Response of suction distribution due to variations of permeability in residual soil slope
A landslide in residual soil normally occurs immediately after heavy rainfall. Previous studies have shown that decrease in matric suction during rainfall decreases the shear strength of soil and results in landslides. One of the factors that contribute to infiltration of water into soil is permeability of the soil which varies with depth. The variations of permeability can either prevent or allow water to infiltrate into deeper soil layer. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the suction distribution in a two-layered residual soil system with variable permeability function using laboratory physical slope model. The Ksat for Grade V varies from 5.11 × 10-4 m/s for relict joint of 100 mm spacing to 5.40 × 10-5 m/s for relict joint of 300 mm spacing. Meanwhile the Ksat for Grade VI represent Grade VI without burrow holes, 5.00 × 10-7 m/s and Ksat with burrow holes, 6.98 × 10-4 m/s. The infiltration tests were conducted for 12 series of experimental program. The suction distribution due to variations of permeability and rainfall intensity were determined. The results illustrated that suction distribution responded in various ways depending on permeability of the layered soil and also the rainfall intensity
Quantum Nonlocal Boxes Exhibit Stronger Distillability
The hypothetical nonlocal box (\textsf{NLB}) proposed by Popescu and Rohrlich
allows two spatially separated parties, Alice and Bob, to exhibit stronger than
quantum correlations. If the generated correlations are weak, they can
sometimes be distilled into a stronger correlation by repeated applications of
the \textsf{NLB}. Motivated by the limited distillability of \textsf{NLB}s, we
initiate here a study of the distillation of correlations for nonlocal boxes
that output quantum states rather than classical bits (\textsf{qNLB}s). We
propose a new protocol for distillation and show that it asymptotically
distills a class of correlated quantum nonlocal boxes to the value , whereas in contrast, the optimal non-adaptive
parity protocol for classical nonlocal boxes asymptotically distills only to
the value 3.0. We show that our protocol is an optimal non-adaptive protocol
for 1, 2 and 3 \textsf{qNLB} copies by constructing a matching dual solution
for the associated primal semidefinite program (SDP). We conclude that
\textsf{qNLB}s are a stronger resource for nonlocality than \textsf{NLB}s. The
main premise that develops from this conclusion is that the \textsf{NLB} model
is not the strongest resource to investigate the fundamental principles that
limit quantum nonlocality. As such, our work provides strong motivation to
reconsider the status quo of the principles that are known to limit nonlocal
correlations under the framework of \textsf{qNLB}s rather than \textsf{NLB}s.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figure
Formal Analysis of Linear Control Systems using Theorem Proving
Control systems are an integral part of almost every engineering and physical
system and thus their accurate analysis is of utmost importance. Traditionally,
control systems are analyzed using paper-and-pencil proof and computer
simulation methods, however, both of these methods cannot provide accurate
analysis due to their inherent limitations. Model checking has been widely used
to analyze control systems but the continuous nature of their environment and
physical components cannot be truly captured by a state-transition system in
this technique. To overcome these limitations, we propose to use
higher-order-logic theorem proving for analyzing linear control systems based
on a formalized theory of the Laplace transform method. For this purpose, we
have formalized the foundations of linear control system analysis in
higher-order logic so that a linear control system can be readily modeled and
analyzed. The paper presents a new formalization of the Laplace transform and
the formal verification of its properties that are frequently used in the
transfer function based analysis to judge the frequency response, gain margin
and phase margin, and stability of a linear control system. We also formalize
the active realizations of various controllers, like
Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID), Proportional-Integral (PI),
Proportional-Derivative (PD), and various active and passive compensators, like
lead, lag and lag-lead. For illustration, we present a formal analysis of an
unmanned free-swimming submersible vehicle using the HOL Light theorem prover.Comment: International Conference on Formal Engineering Method
The illusion of untranslatability: a theoretical perspective with reference to the translation of culture-bound euphemistic expressions in the Qur'an
The present study investigates the notion of untranslatability where the concept of equivalence is reconsidered since the misconceptions, related to the said concept, inevitably lead to the emergence of untranslatability. Identifying equivalence as relative, approximate and necessary identity makes the notion of untranslatability a mere theorization. The objectives of the present study are (1) to investigate the notion of untranslatability in terms of the misconceptions associated with the concept of equivalence (2) to examine the possibility of translatability from Arabic into English focusing on culture-bound euphemistic expressions in the Quran as an area of challenge in translation. Data on the translation of culture-bound euphemistic expressions were purposively selected from the Quran and its four identified English translations. Ten examples were randomly selected and the criterion for their selection is that they are culture-bound and therefore translation-resistant. Qualitative content analysis was used to examine the source data by referring to traditional exegetical books to determine the source text intentionality. Additionally, the translated data were analyzed according to the functional equivalence proposed by Nida (1993; 2001).Findings of this study revealed that translatability is always possible and, accordingly, untranslatability is no more valid
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