Soil Enhancement Material using Palm Oil Ashes (POA) for Grounding Purposes

In this study, we present our work on the application of palm oil ashes (POA) as backfill to be used in an earth grounding grid system. The backfill is implemented while considering certain high soil resistances in certain areas. In this project, we used POA as material as well as copper tape, aluminum tape, and galvanized steel as microgrids. The size of the microgrid is 1 square meter and is buried 1 meter into the ground. Two microgrids of each conductor type were assembled. One of the microgrids was installed with the POA as backfill and the other without backfill as a reference point. Fall-of-potential was used to measure soil resistance. The data collected show that the galvanized microgrid added with POA produced the best result with an improvement of almost 17%–23% compared with its reference point. This is followed by copper microgrid with almost 9%–13% improvement. Meanwhile, the aluminum microgrid had the worst performance with a resistance increment of just 1%–3%

Analytical study of a cylindrical linear electromagnetic pulsing motor for electric vehicles

The cylindrical linear electromagnetic pulsing motor (EMPM) is an alternative electric vehicle (EV) to be simulated in this study. The proposed design on the cylindrical linear EMPM will replace the piston engine in an internal combustion engine (ICE) which produces linear motion. It can eliminate problems related to internal combustion engines (ICE) such as engine weight and friction where fewer components have been used. In this paper, an analytical model was constructed and predicted the magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) that can solve with the same technique as the electrical circuit. The initial magneto-statics analysis was conducted through the finite element magnetic software (FEMs) for magnetic filed problem so that the magnetic flux relationship could be predicted. Furthermore, the FE modelling and analysis is followed by a MATLAB/Simulink software calculation to predict the cylinder linear EMPM. Finally, the simulation results of the FE models regarding plunger force, thrust, plunger distance, speed, and power motor were presented and compared with the regulated counterparts obtained from the experimental setup

Two genetic variants of CD38 in subjects with autism spectrum disorder and controls

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学系The neurobiological basis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remains poorly understood. Given the role of CD38 in social recognition through oxytocin (OT) release, we hypothesized that CD38 may play a role in the etiology of ASD. Here, we first examined the immunohistochemical expression of CD38 in the hypothalamus of post-mortem brains of non-ASD subjects and found that CD38 was colocalized with OT in secretory neurons. In studies of the association between CD38 and autism, we analyzed 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and mutations of CD38 by re-sequencing DNAs mainly from a case-control study in Japan, and Caucasian cases mainly recruited to the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE). The SNPs of CD38, rs6449197 (p 70; designated as high-functioning autism (HFA)) in the U.S. 104 AGRE family trios, but not with Japanese 188 HFA subjects. A mutation that caused tryptophan to replace arginine at amino acid residue 140 (R140W; (rs1800561, 4693C>T)) was found in 0.6-4.6% of the Japanese population and was associated with ASD in the smaller case-control study. The SNP was clustered in pedigrees in which the fathers and brothers of T-allele-carrier probands had ASD or ASD traits. In this cohort OT plasma levels were lower in subjects with the T allele than in those without. One proband with the T allele who was taking nasal OT spray showed relief of symptoms. The two variant CD38 poloymorphysms tested may be of interest with regard of the pathophysiology of ASD. © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd and the Japan Neuroscience Society

Peningkatan Media Promosi di Masa Pandemi Covid-19 melalui Pelatihan Internet Marketing pada Industri Mebel di Kabupaten Jepara

Kabupaten Jepara dikenal sebagai kota ukir dengan produk unggulan daerahnya adalah mebel. Persebaran industri ukir dan mebel hampir menyeluruh di daerah Jepara terutama di Kecamatan Tahunan. Hasil mebel Jepara banyak diminati orang Indonesia dan luar negeri karena kualitas dan model yang custom. Oleh sebab itu, pasar industri mebel mengarah ke domestik dan ekspor. Seiring perkembangan teknologi dan revolusi industri 4.0, di Jepara mulai bermunculan penanaman modal asing (PMA) khususnya di bidang mebel, sehingga karyawan industri mebel mulai berkurang dengan penggunaan teknologi. Adanya krisis covid-19 secara global berpengaruh pada perekonomian Indonesia salah satunya industri mebel. Media Online menjadi alternatif media promosi selain media pemasaran dari mulut ke mulut di masa pandemi. Para IKM dituntut bisa menggunakannya untuk keberlangsungan usahanya. Solusi yang ditawarkan adalah pelatihan internet marketing melalui sosialisasi, pelatihan, pendampingan, monitoring, dan evaluasi. Capaian luaran kegiatan ini adalah peningkatan keterampilan mitra dalam pembuatan akun media sosial dan pembuatan konten, dan peningkatan aset yang semula 18 alat menjadi 20 alat sehingga bisa meningkatkan kapasitas produksi

Hardware development for zero crossing of a multilevel single phase rectifier chopper for plug-in electric car battery charger using a PIC microcontroller

This paper focuses on developing the hardware for a controller and of a zero crossing circuit for an electric car battery charger. A novel topology of a battery charger is studied and tested. A conventional rectifier has drawbacks in terms of harmonic currents. This paper describes a five-level single-phase rectifier associated with buck chopper with a control signal which draws a clean sinusoidal line current for the application in a plug-in battery charger. The MATLAB/Simulink results reveal that the proposed battery charger performance is better compared to the conventional method

OIL PALM WATER REQUIREMENT AND THE NEED FOR IRRIGATION IN DRY MALAYSIAN AREAS

Water is essential for the growth and productivity of oil palm and hence adequate rainfall contributes to the oil palm water requirement. Sufficient rainfall becomes crucial in attaining good growth and yield. Over the past 23 years, the yield response from irrigated palms in Serting Hilir, Malaysia was reported to be 12 t ha–1 year–1 or 56% higher than the non-irrigated palms. The drip irrigation system is selected to irrigate areas with limited water sources but with sufficient nutrient inputs. However, in areas with unlimited water, the furrow irrigation system is favoured. Feasibility analysis on irrigation implementation economics was done for the oil palm plantation. The analysis showed that irrigation is able to increase the yield by 5-6 t ha–1 year–1 which is economically acceptable. To irrigate an oil palm plantation, a large source of water is required. Nevertheless, conserving water that penetrates the soil is the most practical approach to resolve issues of limited water supply, unsuitable terrains and logistics. The present paper reviews and discusses various techniques for soil and moisture conservation that are viable to increase oil palm yields

Neuronal overexpression of Ube3a isoform 2 causes behavioral impairments and neuroanatomical pathology relevant to 15q11.2-q13.3 duplication syndrome

Maternally derived copy number gains of human chromosome 15q11.2-q13.3 (Dup15q syndrome or Dup15q) cause intellectual disability, epilepsy, developmental delay, hypotonia, speech impairments, and minor dysmorphic features. Dup15q syndrome is one of the most common and penetrant chromosomal abnormalities observed in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although ∼40 genes are located in the 15q11.2-q13.3 region, overexpression of the ubiquitin-protein E3A ligase (UBE3A) gene is thought to be the predominant molecular cause of the phenotypes observed in Dup15q syndrome. The UBE3A gene demonstrates maternal-specific expression in neurons and loss of maternal UBE3A causes Angelman syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder with some overlapping neurological features to Dup15q. To directly test the hypothesis that overexpression of UBE3A is an important underlying molecular cause of neurodevelopmental dysfunction, we developed and characterized a mouse overexpressing Ube3a isoform 2 in excitatory neurons. Ube3a isoform 2 is conserved between mouse and human and known to play key roles in neuronal function. Transgenic mice overexpressing Ube3a isoform 2 in excitatory forebrain neurons exhibited increased anxiety-like behaviors, learning impairments, and reduced seizure thresholds. However, these transgenic mice displayed normal social approach, social interactions, and repetitive motor stereotypies that are relevant to ASD. Reduced forebrain, hippocampus, striatum, amygdala, and cortical volume were also observed. Altogether, these findings show neuronal overexpression of Ube3a isoform 2 causes phenotypes translatable to neurodevelopmental disorders