A Compact Reconfigurable Dual Band-Notched Ultra-Wideband Antenna using Varactor Diodes

In this paper, a reconfigurable dual band-notched ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna is presented. The antenna design consists of a circular shape with two pairs of the L-resonator. To realize the notch characteristics in WLAN at 5.2 GHz and 5.8 GHz bands, the half wavelength of the L-resonator is introduced in the design. The T-shaped notch is etched in the ground to enhance the bandwidth which covers the UWB operating frequency range from 3.219 – 10.863 GHz. The proposed reconfigurable dual band-notched UWB antenna shows good impedance matching for the simulated in the physical layout. Furthermore, the proposed antenna has a compact size of 37.6 x 28 mm2. This proposed reconfigurable design can provide an alternative solution for the wireless system in the designing of a band-notched antenna with a good tuning capability

The Awareness and The Acceptance of Islamic Pawnshops

AgroBank Malalysia formerly known as Bank Pertanian Malaysia has a product the Islamic pawnshop called Ar-Rahnu. Basically AgroBank Malalysia aims is to provide a comprehensive range of competitive baking and financial services to meet the total needs of customers in line with national aspiration and development. To accomplish this, AgroBank Malalysia had set its strategy to be innovative and forward looking, sensitive and adaptable to changing customer’s needs and market environment, committed to efficiency, cost effectiveness, profitability and social responsibilities and capable of capitalizing on new opportunities and challenges. This research is designed because we believed the product called Ar-Rahnu able to be marketed in every country if certain actions can be taken especially in implementing new tools of marketing. The demand of the product that highly demanded in certain areas especially in Kelantan, Terengganu, Selangor and Kedah shows that they believed on the service and know the advantage of the product. The significant of the research is to expose readers and the future researchers that pawnshop is not second class business. It is allowed in Islam and e-commerce can be implemented. Those who know the advantage of Islamic pawnshop will appreciate the system and grab the opportunities that exist in the system. Although pawnshop is a traditional business, new approach can be implemented. With the right marketing approach we believed that Islamic pawnshop can be one the best fund providers. Not only gold some other valued materials can be used as collateral

Physico-mechanical properties of polymer concrete containing micro-filler of palm oil fuel ash

Objective of this study is to present a research conducted on ground (fine) and unground (coarse) POFA in polymer concrete (PC) followed by determination on the physico-mechanical properties of PC. Physical properties of micro-fillers and mechanical properties of produced PCs were characterized. Calcium carbonate and silica sand were also used as micro-fillers for comparison purpose. The samples were subjected to compression and flexural. Morphology images of the particles were captured under morphology test to support the findings. Results showed that fine POFA micro-filler has a highly promising potential in becoming PC filler compared to coarse micro-filler. Additionally, its produced PC had comparable strength to PC with calcium carbonate. From the strength development and sustainability stand point, fine POFA has demonstrated its capability to produce quality and sustainable P

Autistic adolescents show atypical activation of the brain′s mentalizing system even without a prior history of mentalizing problems

AbstractSome autistic children pass classic Theory of Mind (ToM) tasks that others fail, but the significance of this finding is at present unclear. We identified two such groups of primary school age (labelled ToM+ and ToM−) and a matched comparison group of typically developing children (TD). Five years later we tested these participants again on a ToM test battery appropriate for adolescents and conducted an fMRI study with a story based ToM task. We also assessed autistic core symptoms at these two time points. At both times the ToM− group showed more severe social communication impairments than the ToM+ group, and while showing an improvement in mentalizing performance, they continued to show a significant impairment compared to the NT group. Two independent ROI analyses of the BOLD signal showed activation of the mentalizing network including medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate and lateral temporal cortices. Strikingly, both ToM+ and ToM− groups showed very similar patterns of heightened activation in comparison with the NT group. No differences in other brain regions were apparent. Thus, autistic adolescents who do not have a history of mentalizing problems according to our ToM battery showed the same atypical neurophysiological response during mentalizing as children who did have such a history. This finding indicates that heterogeneity at the behavioural level may nevertheless map onto a similar phenotype at the neuro-cognitive level

Mechanical and shrinkage properties of hybrid steel and polypropylene fibre reinforced concrete composite

An experimental study had been carried out to investigate the mechanical properties, expansion and shrinkage of fibre reinforced concrete composite (FRC). However, instead of using single type fibre of either steel (SF) or polypropylene (PPF), this study also combined the two types in one mix.The mechanical properties investigated in this study include compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural strength. Three different FRC mix proportions and one normal concrete (control) were casted which includes (a) 75% SF, (b) 75% SF + 25% PPF, (c) 25% PPF, and (d) 0% fibre for control (PC). Meanwhile, the volume fraction, Vf for the FRC was fixed at 1.5% and the concrete strength was designed to achieve grade C60 at 28 days. The results show that the use of fibres in concrete decreased the workability of concrete. In addition, concrete mix with both SF and PPF produced the highest splitting tensile and flexural strengths by an increase of 75.9% and 86.5%, respectively as compared with the control. Furthermore, expansion and shrinkage of FRC was found to be less than the control. It can be concluded that the combined SF and PPF in concrete gives the most appropriate combination as regards to the highest flexural and splitting tensile strengths, and also reduced the shrinkage strain

漏洩磁束検査のための強磁性トンネル接合を用いたグラジオメータセンサに関する研究

Tohoku University松枝宏明課

Performance evaluation for SE113 flow control system plant using self-tuning fuzzy PI controller

The aim of this project is to evaluate the dynamic process performance of SE113 Flow Control System Plant using self-tuning Fuzzy PI controller. The experimental data is used to model the process and the control analysis is done using Self-Tuning Fuzzy PI Controller. The performance evaluation is based on the percent overshoot, rise time and settling time of the process. The overall performance is compared with the conventional Proportional-Integral control method. The results had shown that self-tuning Fuzzy PI controller simplify the tediousness in tuning the controller and enhance the capability of PI controller

Development of an Effective Procedure Writer’s Guide using a Human Factors and Regulatory Compliance Approach

PresentationWell-written procedures are an integral part of any industrial organization for safe operation, managing risks, and continuous improvement. Regulatory bodies around the world require industries to have current, accurate, and appropriate procedures for most processes. Although the importance of procedures is recognized by all industries in general, significant incidents have occurred in the past due to procedural breakdowns. Some of the procedural breakdowns come from obvious problems such as the procedure not being available or the procedure being wrong. However, some incidents have occurred when correct procedures were available and the operator used those procedures. In these instances, the reason why operators do not follow procedures correctly may be attributable to many factors, one of them being that the procedure is presented or designed in a manner that does not sufficiently communicate to the operators the information that is needed in a manner that is easily and quickly understood. The work presented here is focused on the latter circumstance and is part of a program of research that will ultimately lead to the development of a writer’s guide for procedures that supports operators’ comprehension and compliance with all types of industrial procedures. The writer’s guide is based on empirical findings from human factors and human performance studies and provides writers with information on how to present procedures in a manner that is clear, thorough, and (if necessary) implementable with short notice. For the first phase of the project, a sample of the regulations and standards from several industries were used to identify procedure writing practices necessary for ensure regulatory compliance. Regulations and industrial standards from around the world were organized to reflect common ideas and the implications in terms of human factors needs were identified with regard to procedure design. Any human factors (HF) that had implications for the writer’s guide that had empirical support, were included in the writer’s guide (with the reference) with an explanation of the HF implication and empirical support. The writer’s guide developed is structured to allow procedure writers access to guidance on various types of procedures they are writing, the type of information they are trying to communicate, and methods for maintaining accurate and current procedures. As mentioned, the current project is the beginning of a program of research and then next phase will include feedback from operators regarding the challenges they face when using procedures

External attacks on automotive system through wireless communication channels

The reliance of today’s automotive system on electronics control system is expected to make the cars to be state-of-the-art vehicle. However, this technology dependency results in the cars to be exposed to attacks by the hacker through the manipulation of electronics system. Previously, for the attacker to compromise car’s system, he/she must access the car directly and internally. However, with the incorporation of wireless technologies such as Bluetooth and cellular into automotive system for example in its telematic units, the attacks are evolved from internal attacks into remote attack where the adversary does not have to internally access the car’s system. This paper analyses the vulnerabilities of the automotive system by the remote attacks performed through Bluetooth and cellular. Once the vulnerabilities were analyzed, the threats imposed by these vulnerabilities are accessed. Two scenarios namely theft and surveillance are used to exemplify the threats that are carried by the vulnerability of the automotive system to the remote attacks. From the vulnerability analysis and threat assessment, it can be deduced that the automotive system is vulnerable to attacks and proper countermeasure must be taken to curb the implication from the attacks.Keywords: Hardware Trojan, Insertion, Third-part IP, Trus