Penerapan Metode Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) Dalam Pemilihan Tempat Pendirian Pabrik Kelapa Sawit

Penelitian ini bertujuan merancang suatu sistem pendukung keputusan sehingga dapat dijadikan sebagai solusi dalam penentuan lokasi tempat pendirian pabrik kelapa sawit dengan menerapkan model Fuzzy Multiple Atribut Decision Making (MADM) dengan metode Technique For Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). Data penelitian diperoleh melalui penelitian pustaka, penelitian lapangan dan wawancara. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa penerapan fuzzy MADM metode TOPSIS untuk pemilihan lokasi pendirian pabrik kelapa sawit dilakukan dengan pengujian white-box dan hasilnya dinyatakan valid sehingga sistem dianggap layak untuk melakukan analisis kelayakan pemilihan lokasi pendirian pabrik kelapa sawit. Sedangkan lokasi pendirian pabrik kelapa sawit yang menjadi pilihan utama/prioritas berdasarkan hasil analisis sistem menggunakan metode TOPSIS adalah Maiwa dengan nilai preferensi total terbesar 0,8336 (Disetujui) sedangkan Cendana dengan nilai preferensi 0,5994 dan Enrekang dengan nilai preferensi 0,5745 menjadi alternatif yang dapat dipertimbangkan

Paspalum notatum Grass-waste-based Adsorbent for Rhodamine B Removal from Polluted Water

The potential of Paspalum notatum grass waste to adsorb Rhodamine B dye from aqueous phase is reported in this research. The grass waste was activated and characterized through various techniques to analyze the chemical (FTIR), morphological (SEMEDX), and thermal (TGA) changes incorporated through the activation process. The pollutant removal efficiency of the raw and modified adsorbents was studied by varying different process parameters in a batch process. The maximum capacity of adsorption which was observed for grass waste and activated grass waste was 54 mg g–1 and 72.4 mg g–1 respectively. Among the various kinetic models, the pseudo-second order model gives the best regression results. However, the intraparticle diffusion-adsorption model showed that the diffusion within pores controlled the adsorption rate. Thermodynamic analysis of this process revealed that Rhodamine B adsorption was endothermic and spontaneous in nature. The results of this study show that grass waste has the potential to be used as an adsorbent for the treatment of colored water. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Localized states in sheared electroconvection

Electroconvection in a thin, sheared fluid film displays a rich sequence of bifurcations between different flow states as the driving voltage is increased. We present a numerical study of an annular film in which a radial potential difference acts on induced surface charges to drive convection. The film is also sheared by independently rotating the inner edge of the annulus. This simulation models laboratory experiments on electroconvection in sheared smectic liquid crystal films. The applied shear competes with the electrical forces, resulting in oscillatory and strongly subcritical bifurcations between localized vortex states close to onset. At higher forcing, the flow becomes chaotic via a Ruelle-Takens-Newhouse scenario. The simulation allows flow visualization not available in the physical experiments, and sheds light on previously observed transitions in the current-voltage characteristics of electroconvecting smectic films.Comment: To be published in EuroPhysics Letters, 6 pages, 6 figures: final versio

ART THERAPY FOR PEOPLE WITH AUTISM

Background: Art therapy is a technique used in mental health profession in which patients with special needs use creative process facilitated by the art therapist to explore patients‘ interpersonal and art skills. Art therapy teaches knowledge of visual art (drawing and painting) and the creative process involved is not only beneficial for fine motor skills development but also assists in dealing with emotions. The objectives were to identify interpersonal skills, to develop art skills and to increase self-esteem through art therapy activities. Subjects and Method: This was a qualitative study. A series of art therapy workshop were conducted in University of Malaya in collaboration with Malaysian Rehabilitation Council, Maybank Foundation, and University of Malaya. A number of 38 participants from Malaysian Rehabilitation Council who were autistic were invited to University of Malaya for the art therapy workshop. Their age range was from 8 – 17 years old and consisted of Malays, Chinese and Indians. It was a participant observer study in which the researcher studied the life of a group by sharing in its activities. Art therapy workshop was conducted for 6 months duration twice a month and each session was for 4 hours. Art template, art materials and a list of activities were given to each participant. Throughout the sessions, the way participants communicate and interact with researcher were documented to identify interpersonal skills. The development of art skills was through the teaching of art using the different art template for each session. Results: From the outcome of the artwork, participants showed increased self-esteem as their art skills improved throughout the art sessions. Conclusion: Art therapy is able to develop interpersonal skills, art skills and increase self-esteem of people with autism. Keywords: Art therapy, autism, interpersonal skills, art skills, self-estee

-AMINOCYCLOPROPANE-1-CARBOXYLATE (ACC) ENRICHMENT: AN EFFECTIVE APPROACH TO SCREEN PLANT GROWTH-PROMOTING RHIZOBACTERIA FOR MAIZE

By using enrichment medium containing 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) as sole nitrogen source, 21 strains were isolated from the maize rhizosphere in two phases i.e., 9 isolates in first phase and 12 isolates in second phase. Two trials in glass jars were conducted under gnotobiotic conditions to select effective plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). All the 21 isolates tested in both the trials exhibited growth promoting activity in maize but with variable degree of efficacy. Among the 9 isolates tested in 1st trial, isolate Q14 caused an increase of 7.1-folds in root elongation over uninoculated control. Shoot length and seedling fresh weight (root + shoot) were increased up to 7.0-and 2.0-folds, respectively, over uninoculated control in response to inoculation with Q7. In the 2 nd trial, rhizobacterial isolate Q30 was found to be the most effective as its inoculation resulted in 2.8-, 2.0-and 1.7-folds increase in root elongation, shoot length and seedling fresh weight (root + shoot weight), respectively, over uninoculated control. The growth promoting activity exhibited by the rhizobacteria might be due to their ability to hydrolyze ACC, thus resulting in decreased endogenous ethylene synthesis, which eliminated the potential inhibitory effects of higher ethylene concentrations. Results showed that use of ACC-enriched medium is an effective and efficient approach to select promising PGPR

Weakly Nonlinear Analysis of Electroconvection in a Suspended Fluid Film

It has been experimentally observed that weakly conducting suspended films of smectic liquid crystals undergo electroconvection when subjected to a large enough potential difference. The resulting counter-rotating vortices form a very simple convection pattern and exhibit a variety of interesting nonlinear effects. The linear stability problem for this system has recently been solved. The convection mechanism, which involves charge separation at the free surfaces of the film, is applicable to any sufficiently two-dimensional fluid. In this paper, we derive an amplitude equation which describes the weakly nonlinear regime, by starting from the basic electrohydrodynamic equations. This regime has been the subject of several recent experimental studies. The lowest order amplitude equation we derive is of the Ginzburg-Landau form, and describes a forward bifurcation as is observed experimentally. The coefficients of the amplitude equation are calculated and compared with the values independently deduced from the linear stability calculation.Comment: 26 pages, 2 included eps figures, submitted to Phys Rev E. For more information, see http://mobydick.physics.utoronto.c

A Study Of Fiber Bragg Grating Temperature Sensor For Under Water Temperature Monitoring

Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors have been widely utilized as a sensor for measuring strain, temperature, and vibration measurements. In this study, an optical FBG sensor system was developed to monitor the temperature fluctuation in water. The sensor was delicately packaged to eliminate the influence of strain acting on the sensor. The sensor had been submerged in iced water and the temperature was constantly increased by using an electric immersion heater. The experimental data were obtained to determine the temperature sensitivity of the FBG sensor. It is found that the relationship between the changes in temperature and changes in Bragg wavelength is virtually higher in linearity with R2 = 0.9997 and has superior sensitivity which is 10.13 pm/°C. This finding proves that the FBG sensor could be a good candidate for temperature-sensing device

Annular electroconvection with shear

We report experiments on convection driven by a radial electrical force in suspended annular smectic A liquid crystal films. In the absence of an externally imposed azimuthal shear, a stationary one-dimensional (1D) pattern consisting of symmetric vortex pairs is formed via a supercritical transition at the onset of convection. Shearing reduces the symmetries of the base state and produces a traveling 1D pattern whose basic periodic unit is a pair of asymmetric vortices. For a sufficiently large shear, the primary bifurcation changes from supercritical to subcritical. We describe measurements of the resulting hysteresis as a function of the shear at radius ratio $\eta \sim 0.8$. This simple pattern forming system has an unusual combination of symmetries and control parameters and should be amenable to quantitative theoretical analysis.Comment: 12 preprint pages, 3 figures in 2 parts each. For more info, see http://mobydick.physics.utoronto.c

Bifurcations in annular electroconvection with an imposed shear

We report an experimental study of the primary bifurcation in electrically-driven convection in a freely suspended film. A weakly conducting, submicron thick smectic liquid crystal film was supported by concentric circular electrodes. It electroconvected when a sufficiently large voltage $V$ was applied between its inner and outer edges. The film could sustain rapid flows and yet remain strictly two-dimensional. By rotation of the inner electrode, a circular Couette shear could be independently imposed. The control parameters were a dimensionless number ${\cal R}$, analogous to the Rayleigh number, which is $\propto V^2$ and the Reynolds number ${\cal R}e$ of the azimuthal shear flow. The geometrical and material properties of the film were characterized by the radius ratio $\alpha$, and a Prandtl-like number ${\cal P}$. Using measurements of current-voltage characteristics of a large number of films, we examined the onset of electroconvection over a broad range of $\alpha$, ${\cal P}$ and ${\cal R}e$. We compared this data quantitatively to the results of linear stability theory. This could be done with essentially no adjustable parameters. The current-voltage data above onset were then used to infer the amplitude of electroconvection in the weakly nonlinear regime by fitting them to a steady-state amplitude equation of the Landau form. We show how the primary bifurcation can be tuned between supercritical and subcritical by changing $\alpha$ and ${\cal R}e$.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. E. Minor changes after refereeing. See also http://mobydick.physics.utoronto.c

Spontaneous spirals in vibrated granular chains

We present experimental measurements on the spontaneous formation of compact spiral structures in vertically-vibrated granular chains. Under weak vibration when the chain is quasi two-dimensional and self-avoiding, spiral structures emerge from random initial configurations. We compare the spiral geometry with that of an ideal tight spiral. Globally, the spiral undergoes a slow rotation such that to keep itself wound, while internally, fast vibrational modes are excited along the backbone with transverse oscillations dominating over longitudinal ones