Sharif Digital Repository

The adoption model in society in Brunei Darussalam is adoption that follows legal procedures and adoption based on mutual agreement or without going through legal procedures. This study discusses the implications of providing breast milk to adopted children and the importance of testimony (syahadat) in proving the implementation of ar-radha'ah in the Sharia Court of Brunei Darussalam. The research approach uses qualitative. The primary data source is the officers at the Sharia Court. Data collection techniques use document studies and interviews. The results indicate that Islamic law regulates adopted children who do not have a mahram relationship with their adoptive parents, even though... 

The most valued freshwater fish in Malaysia is the Malaysian mahseer, Tor tambroides, also known as Empurau. Due to the extended growing period, innovative feeding management is required to maintain fish health. This study looked at the effect of Lacto-sacc, a feed additive and antibiotic replacement made up of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Enterococcus faecium, on T. tambroides fingerlings’ growth performance, digestive enzyme activities and gut microbiota. A total of 600 fingerlings, each weighing 6.53 g ± 0.17 g, were allocated into twelve 650 L tanks, with 50 fingerlings per tank. Over a period of 20 weeks, the fish were fed four different diets: 0% Lacto-sacc... 

Objective: Epileptic seizures are defined as manifest of excessive and hyper-synchronous activity of neurons in the cerebral cortex that cause frequent malfunction of the human central nervous system. Therefore, finding precursors and predictors of epileptic seizure is of utmost clinical relevance to reduce the epileptic seizure induced nervous system malfunction consequences. Researchers for this purpose may even guide us to a deep understanding of the seizure generating mechanisms. The goal of this paper is to predict epileptic seizures in epileptic rats. Methods: Seizures were induced in rats using pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) model. EEG signals in interictal, preictal, ictal and postictal... 

Objective: Epileptic seizure detection is a key step for epilepsy assessment. In this work, using the pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) model, seizures were induced in rats, and ECoG signals in interictal, preictal, ictal, and postictal periods were recorded. The recorded ECoG signals were then analyzed to detect epileptic seizures in the epileptic rats. Methods: Two different approaches were considered in this work: thresholding and classification. In the thresholding approach, a feature is calculated in consecutive windows, and the resulted index is tracked over time and compared with a threshold. The moment the index crosses the threshold is considered as the moment of seizure onset. In the... 

Epileptic seizures are generated by an abnormal synchronization of neurons. Since epileptic seizures are unforeseeable for the patients, epileptic seizures detection is an interesting issue in epileptology, that novel approaches to understand the mechanism of epileptic seizures. In this study we analyzed invasive electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings in patients suffering from medically intractable focal epilepsy with a nonlinear method called, dissimilarity index. In order to detect epileptic seizures Bhattacharyya distance between trajectory matrix of reference window during an interval quite distant in time from any seizure and trajectory matrix of present window is employed to measure... 

Buckling and post-buckling behaviors of geometrically imperfect annular sector plates made from nanoparticle reinforced composites have been investigated. Two types of nanoparticles are considered including graphene oxide powders (GOPs) and silicone oxide (SiO2). Nanoparticles are considered to have uniform and functionally graded distributions within the matrix and the material properties are derived using Halpin-Tsai procedure. Annular sector plate is formulated based upon thin shell theory considering geometric nonlinearity and imperfectness. After solving the governing equations via Galerkin’s technique, it is showed that the post-buckling curves of annular sector plates rely on the... 

One of the most important issues discussed in multi-agent systems, is communication between agents. Usually, a predefined communication protocol is used, but predefining a protocol between agents causes some problems; for example it is possible that agents recognize a subject that is not defined in their protocol so they can't express anything about it. In this paper we propose a new method for evolution of a communication protocol between intelligent agents by using natural selection mechanism. Experimental results will be discussed in detail. © 2006 IEEE  

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are one of the preferred candidates for reinforcing polymeric nanobiocomposites, such as acrylic bone type of cement. In this study, at first, bulk samples of the reinforced polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) matrix were prepared with 0.1, 0.25, and 0.5 wt per wt% of MWCNTs by the casting method. Tensile and three-point bending tests were performed to determine the essential mechanical properties of bone cement, such as tensile and bending strengths. The tensile fracture surfaces were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The commercial software (Abaqus) was used to conduct finite element analysis (FEA) by constructing a representative volume... 

Nonlinear free/forced vibration of a functionally graded graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) reinforced microbeam having geometrical imperfection which is rested on a non-linear elastic substrate have been studied in the present research. Graphene Platelets have been uniformly and non-uniformly scattered in the cross section area of the microbeam. Non-uniform distribution of GNPs is considered to be linear or non-linear type. Geometric imperfection is considered similar to the first vibration mode of microbeam. Size effects due to micro-rotations are captured in this study by means of modified couple stress elasticity. In the case of forced vibration, a uniform harmonic load is exerted to the top... 

Transient vibration responses of a porosity-dependent functionally graded nanobeam under different impulsive loadings have been investigated in the context of non-local strain gradient theory. Three impulse loads of rectangular-type, linear-type and sine-type have been applied to top surface of nanobeam. Two porosity distribution types known as even and uneven are discussed. Governing equations of the nanobeam are solved via inverse Laplace transform approach to express the dynamic deflections. One can see that the transient response of nano-size beams is influenced by the type and location of pulse load, porosities volume fractions, porosities distributions, non-local and strain gradient... 

Forced vibration of a porous functionally graded (FG) cylindrical microshell due to a moving point load with constant velocity is studied for the first time. Through the thickness of microshell, there are even-type or uneven-type porosities. Therefore, material properties of the microshell become porosity-dependent and are described via modified power-law function. For micro-scale shells, small size effects due to non-uniform strain field can be considered via strain gradient theory (SGT). At first, the governing equations of the microshell are converted to new equations in Laplace domain. Then, time response of the microshell will be obtained implementing inverse Laplace transform... 

Thermoacoustics describes energy conversion processes, activated by interaction temperature oscillation, accompanying the pressure oscillation in a sound wave, with solid boundaries. In ordinary experience this interaction of sound and heat cannot be observed, because of the very low temperature differences, but under suitable conditions, it can be emphasized and amplified to create remarkable thermodynamic effects such as, steep thermal gradients, powerful convective heat fluxes, and strong sound fields. We designed and constructed a simple thermoacoustic refrigerator with an adjustable mechanical resonator, coupled with the acoustic resonator. Our experimental data showed about % 10... 

Fast (subcycle) bus transfer by means of a static transfer switch (STS) requires short time intervals for detection and transfer process. Due to these time intervals, the load transformer is subjected to a transient process which can be accompanied by large transient current components through the transformer. The transient current, in turn, can cause voltage sag at the load terminal. The STS control logic must be able to distinguish such a voltage sag from those due to the supply disturbances and not disconnect the load. This paper provides simplified analytical expressions to predict F of the load transformer which can be used to estimate the corresponding voltage sag. PSCAD/EMTDC-based... 

Purpose: Based on self-determination theory (SDT), this study aims to investigate the motivational antecedents of faculty members’ continuance intention of using online teaching platforms. For this purpose, we introduced a model incorporating basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS) and different motivational mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach: Using a survey study of 312 faculty members, we examined the model by structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings: The SEM results revealed a positive correlation between BPNS and continuance intention. Additionally, we illustrate the importance of different types of extrinsic motivation. By presenting an alternative model, we demonstrate... 

In this study, three-dimensional modeling of a pulsating heat pipe is carried out, and the effect of physical and geometrical parameters such as filling ratio (FR), transverse distance (Z), and the number of loops (N) on its performance is investigated. In this study, it is assumed that the heat pipe is embedded in the microchannel heat sink, and its boundary condition is the thermal condition in the microchannel heat sink. The volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase flow model is used in the current numerical analysis. For the PHP, four different filling ratios (FR = 40, 50, 60, 70%), four transverse distances (Z = 2, 5, 8, 18 mm), and four numbers of loops (N = 1, 2, 3, 4) are considered, and the... 

LLC resonant converter has been widely used in dcdc converters. In this paper, optimum dead-time and maximum switching frequency of a wide-adjustable-range LLC resonant converter are investigated for realizing the zero voltage switching (ZVS) operation even under the worst-case conditions. Analyses demonstrate that these parameters depend on the converter inductance ratio and ratio of the converter resonant capacitor and the effective capacitance appeared in parallel with the drainsources of the power MOSFETs. The necessary dead time for realizing the ZVS operation can be minimized by choosing the normalized maximum switching frequency, properly. Using the dead-time optimum value, soft... 

LLC-LC resonant converter is a suitable circuit topology to design switched-mode power supplies for wide-output-voltage and wide-output-load applications. In this paper, a design procedure is introduced to optimize this converter. Unlike soft switching techniques for pulse width modulated converters, which usually apply an active auxiliary circuit to reduce switching losses and EMI, in the proposed converter, not only such circuits are not used, but also all of the parasitic elements are merged to the converters main components. Zero-voltage switching (ZVS) operation is realized for all power devices under all operating conditions. Thus, this converter is a suitable choice for... 

LLC resonant converter is one of the most suitable circuit topologies that have been introduced for designing constant output voltage switched-mode power supplies. In this paper, a design procedure is introduced for using this converter as a wide output range voltage source. Unlike constant output voltage applications which need small converter inductance ratio and narrow switching frequency variations, for wide output range applications, large values of these parameters are needed simultaneously and should be optimized. Instead of minimizing the components stresses, leading to a great value of the inductance ratio, proper choice of the converter parameters resulting in a smaller inductance... 

LLC resonant converter with significant resonant inductance is proposed for designing an adjustable wide-range regulated voltage source. Large resonant inductance increases output voltage adjustment range and conversion efficiency, particularly at light loads. Soft switching is achieved for all power devices under all operating conditions by choosing the dead time and maximum switching frequency properly and operating in the converter's inductive region. Using a power-factor-correction (PFC) converter reduces the resonant converter's output voltage dependence to the variations of the main ac input voltage. Thus, the compensation of the load variations and the wide-range adjustment of the... 

LLC resonant converter has been used widely as dc-dc converter for achieving constant dc voltage. In this paper, an LLC resonant converter, by adding an inductance to its conventional topology and considering the rectifying stage stray inductances, is proposed for an adjustable wide range regulated current source (20-200 A dc) for using as ion implanter's filament power supply. The additional inductor increases output current adjustment range and efficiency, especially at light loads. Transformer's leakage inductances and rectifying stage stray inductances have been considered. Because of these inductances, the rectifier stage always works in continuous conduction mode, and its conduction...