bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Analysis on current flow style for vehicle alternator fault prediction
Authors: Halim M A Abd , Rahman M T A , Rahim N Abdul , Rahman A , Hamid A F A , Amin N A M
Published: December 2019

Vehicle alternator is only seen as fragment piece in vehicle. This project will analyse the vehicle alternator current output flow style. A study on charging rate onto battery can be made based on this analyst. From this a prediction can be made on the vehicle alternator health and may prevent it from affecting other charging system component. Features extracted from the raw sample data are root mean square (RMS), waveform length (WL) and autoregressive (AR). These features will then go through normality test to find the sample is normally distributed or not. The normality test used in this experiment is Jarque-Bera (JB) test. After go through the normality test, it shows that need to continue with non-parametric test. Because JB test shows that p-value is less than 0.05 confidence level. Kruskal-Wallis is used as non-parametric data validation. In this test, the hypothesized value is the value is the median instead of the mean as in Analysis if Variance (ANOVA). The Kruskal-Wallis test evaluates for any significance difference in the population medians on a dependent variable across all levels of a factor. For classification K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN) is used to find the number of K to differentiate between classes. After that the K value is use in Holdout method for training and testing. Final result shows that the accuracy of this machine learning tools is 94%. This number is a good percentage to be able to called as vehicle alternator fault prediction.
Isolation and characterisation of nanowhisker cellulose from Pennisetum purpureum
Authors: Sucinda E F , Majid M S Abdul , Ridzuan M J M , Amin N A M
Published: December 2019

Pennisetum Purpurerum or Napier fibre is a sustainable, renewable and biodegradable waste enriched with cellulose. The methodology to recover agriculture Pennisetum Purpureum residue is by acquiring nanowhiskers cellulose (NWCs) from microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). In this study, acid hydrolysis with different time exposure was performed to degrade the MCC derived from Pennisetum Pupureum into NWCs. The characterisations of the isolated NWCs was conducted through a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). In SEM morphology study, the NWCs shape ribbon-like with nano scales thickness was observed, and from the SEM result shows that the thickness of the sample was in nano size. The isolated NWCs from Pennisetum purpureum derived MCC has a high potential to be used for the manufacture of nanocomposite for the implementation of pharmaceutical and biomedical fields.
Dielectric properties of kenaf filled epoxy composites
Authors: Ridzuan M J M , Liew L S S , Majid M S Abdul , Cheng E M , Khasri A , Firdaus A Z Ahmad
Published: December 2019

The dielectric properties of kenaf filled epoxy composites was investigated. Composites was fabricated using kenaf fibres and epoxy resin. The composites was manufactured using a cold press method; the volume fraction of the natural fibres were 7 and 14%. The dielectric test were conducted using Agilent/Keysight E8363B PNA Network Analyser. Result shows that the 14% Kenaf filled epoxy composites successfully decrease the dielectric constant between 12.4 GHz and 16.66 GHz. It shows that the dielectric constant increased with decreased on the fibre loading. Besides that, 14% Kenaf has a higher dissipation loss factor compared to 7% Kenaf filled epoxy composites and reached its peak at 17.89 GHz. In summary, the 14% Kenaf shows a lowest dielectric constant and permeability compared to 7% Kenaf filled epoxy composites.
The physical properties observation of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) chemical treated fibres
Authors: Faizi M K , Shahriman A B , Majid M S Abdul , Rahman M N M Abdul , Shamsul B M T , Ng Y G , Razlan Z M , Wan W K , Hashim M S M , Rojan M A
Published: December 2019

The key objective of this work was to observe the effect of chemical treatments on the oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fibres. The OPEFB fibres were treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) by 3% of concentration and 7 hours of soaking time. The treated OPEFB fibres were subjected to Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The FTIR spectroscopy and XRD performed using Spectrum RXI and Shimadzu XRD 6000 respectively. The FTIR result shows that the physical properties of the treated OPEFB fibres changed due to amount of amorphous materials removed. While the XRD results show the major crystalline peak occurred at 2θ = 29.8°.
Design and characterization of textured surfaces for metal forming applications
Authors: Sulaiman M H , Kamel M U , Farahana R N , Wahab J A
Published: December 2019

Surface texture has been the state-of-the-art in many tribological engineering applications to enhance lubrication as well as to improve wear resistivity. The present work focuses on textured surfaces manufactured by micro-milling and excimer laser texturing techniques on flat, hard tool steel surfaces. In order to promote lubrication entrapment and possible escape by micro-hydrodynamic lubrication mechanism, shallow, longitudinal grooves oriented perpendicular to sliding direction were designed and manufactured on the tool steel surfaces. The morphological characterization of the textured surfaces was performed using a tactile roughness profilometer, Light Optical Microscope (LOM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) measurements. It is found out that both surface texturing techniques are feasible for the surface texturing purposes. Assessment of resulting textured surface topographies by means of LOM, SEM and AFM analysis has revealed that the positive result regarding the desired textured surface profile by the excimer laser technique was obtained, owing to its ability to produce shallow groove depth and smaller groove angle than the micro-milled textured surface. This has been confirmed by observation on the laser textured surface topographies by using LOM, SEM and AFM measurements.
Mechanical performance of wood poly-lactic acid 3d part under different printing parameter in fused filament fabrication
Authors: Khan S F , Zakaria H , Asyraf M A , Saad M A M
Published: December 2019

Mechanical properties of parts from fused filament fabrication has been made known to be directionally dependent or in other word anisotropy. Several common process parameters were varied to study their impact on the mechanical properties, in particular compression and bending strength of the end product in the material of wood PLA. The Taguchi method was used to design and simplify the experiment without compromising the experiment’s efficiency. S/N ratio from Taguchi analysis was interpreted for determining the optimum combination of process parameter for the highest compressive and bending strength. The build orientation angle is the major factor contributing to higher compression and bending strength recorded followed by infill density and lastly layer thickness. The maximum value for compressive stress is 98.9 MPa with 0° built orientation, 0.15mm layer thickness and 60% infill, while for bending stress it is 73.6 MPa with 0° built orientation, 0.20mm layer thickness and 100% infill.
Overview of cellulose nanocrystals: extraction, physicochemical properties and applications
Authors: Lim W L , Gunny A A N , Kasim F H
Published: December 2019

The development of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) has attracted significant attention over the past few decades owing to its unique and superior properties. To date, acid hydrolysis process is still the most frequently used method to treat cellulosic material for the production of CNC. The main reason being that acid hydrolysis method is highly effective in removing the amorphous regions within the cellulose microfibrils while retaining the crystalline domains, thereby yielding CNC. CNC exhibits various outstanding characteristics such as large specific surface area, high aspect ratio, good thermal and mechanical properties, lightweight, high stiffness and high tensile strength. Owing to this, CNC has been subjected into a wide array of research, including implementation as reinforcing agent in nanocomposites and sustainable bio-materials to be utilized in various potential areas of industrial application. Overall, this review summarizes the current knowledge on the isolation, physicochemical properties and applications of CNC.
Enhancement of MODENAS CT115’S motorcycle muffler performance by optimization of backpressure
Authors: Rojan M A , Alias Z , Bakar S A , Hashim S
Published: December 2019

A research study on the enhancement of motorcycle muffler to improve MODENAS CT115’s engine performance was conducted. To obtain the optimum value of backpressure, velocity, and temperature, the hole diameter of perforated tube has been modified. The modifications made for each design by increasing the hole diameter to the front and back of the perforated tube. Both the original muffler and modified designs were tested to obtain optimum pressure values through the ANSYS Fluent simulation. According to the theory, the value of the hole diameter will affect the backpressure value in the muffler, hence enable design optimization for achieving the best engine performance. The largest hole diameter for perforated tube on the front shows the lowest backpressure from the results obtained. The percentage improvement for design 4 is 10.3% higher than design 1, design 2 and design 3.
Study on deformation characteristics of tailored blanks having thickness distribution by successive forging process
Authors: Romzi N H , Tajul L , Jaafar H , Sulaiman M H , Ridzuan M J M
Published: December 2019

Tailored blanks are used in car body-in-white parts for the purpose of reducing weight and improving safety. The reduction of weight in a car decreases the fuel consumption and global emissions. In this study, the deformation characteristics of tailored blanks having thicknesses distribution produced by successive forging were analysed using finite element method. The successive forging produced tailored blanks without joining similar to tailor rolling by means of presses. The blank was locally and repeatedly compressed using upper and lower punches hence compression load is small. The punch geometry was varied to understand the deformation behaviour of the blanks for feeding interval of 10 mm. Waving was observed on the sides of the tailored blanks. The width of the blanks after successive forging increases as the punch width increases and when using an inclined punch.
Fracture toughness of railway for higher speed rail corridors in Malaysia
Authors: Rojan M A , Azmi M S M , Majid M S Abdul , Daud R , Basaruddin K S
Published: December 2019

When Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) introduced the High Speed Electrical Train System (ETS) in 2013, the fracture toughness of the railway rail remains relatively unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the fracture toughness of rail steel. The rail steel specimen was prepared according to ASTM E1820 and cut using electrical discharge machining (EDM) wire cut process. The specimen was pre-cracked using Biss Fatigue Machine to obtain a relatively accurate results followed by three point bend testing under Universal Testing Machine (UTM), in accordance to the standard of ASTM E1820. The fractured crack tip was then observed using an optical microscope. From the three point bend test, the fracture toughness was calculated and the behaviour of the steel failing was then studied and compared to previous studies. The fracture toughness of the steel was found to be 44.009 MPa√m, which is within the range of the various rail steels used around the world..
Printing temperature, printing speed and raster angle variation effect in fused filament fabrication
Authors: Zakaria H , Khan S F , Fee M F C , Ibrahim M
Published: December 2019

Additive Manufacturing becomes most widely uses in prototyping and production applications since 3D printer becomes as open-source. However, there are not provide standard value of printing process parameters to give best performance of mechanical properties of the printed parts. In additional, printed parts produced can be affected by the various parameters used, this nature of phenomena very complex. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effects printing process parameters respond to its mechanical properties in tensile strength and flexural strength from Fused Filament Fabrication by using Polylactic Acid (PLA) with printing parameters, namely printing temperature, printing speed and raster angle. The specimens were printed by using Monoprice Maker Select 3D printer. Tensile test and three-point bending test were carried out. Taguchi Method involves in identification of proper control factors to obtain the optimum results of the process. Orthogonal Arrays (OA) are used to conduct a set of experiments. Results of these experiments analyze by using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to predict the quality of components produced and find influence of printing temperature, printing speed and raster angle on mechanical properties. The results show that raster angle have most influence on both mechanical properties with 68.72% contribution, printing speed 18.88% and temperature 1.49% contribution in tensile test while for bending test raster angle obtain 94.02% contribution, printing speed give 2.28% and temperature only 1.67% contribution. Optimum value obtain for tensile test in this study shows temperature = 180ºC, printing speed = 40 mm/s, and raster angle = 60º. In bending test gives temperature = 185ºC, printing speed = 30 mm/s, and raster angle = 60º.
Evaluating water resource sustainability of paddy for one planting schedule in Perlis
Authors: Fang K L , Kamarrudin N S , Hashim M S M , Manap A A A , Ramli M R , Azmi M S M , Rojan MA , Shahriman A B , Razlan Z M
Published: December 2019

The increase industrial and agricultural development, caused by the population growth on the one hand and the limited water resources available on the other hand has caused the groundwaters to be considered as a valuable water supply more than ever. Optimal operating policies are very much essential for sustainable management of reservoir as poor operating policies may lead to over or underuse of water. The purpose of this study was to investigate the water availability of Timah Tasoh Reservoir, water demand for minor scheme paddy, and hence balance the water inflow and outflow from Timah Tasoh Reservoir. The study area for agriculture is the minor scheme for whole Perlis state, and inflow areas are Lubok Sireh, Padang Besar at Titi Keretapi, Wang Kelian and Kaki Bukit. The result shows that the water inflow to Timah Tasoh Reservoirs is sufficient to supply for the needs of minor scheme agriculture. The highest water balance among the first planting season is in May. Total inflows calculated are much more significant than the total outflows; therefore, it concludes that the water available in Timah Tasoh Reservoir is enough to supply for minor scheme paddy in Perlis for a whole year.
Determination of blind spot zone for motorcycles
Authors: Hashim M S M , Hamati A A Al , Mohd Hafzi M I , Shahriman A B , Ismail A H , Azmi M S Muhamad , Zuradzman M R , Harun A , Kamarrudin N S , Ibrahim I , Faizi M K , Saad M A M , Rojan M A
Published: December 2019

The problem of the blind spot zone (BSZ) for motorcycles is common, as it causes many accidents that occur between motorcycles and cars, or motorcycles with other vehicles. The problem of BSZ is occurring for many reasons, such as if the motorcyclist wants to change the lane or manoeuvre or turn without realizing the presence of other vehicle which may cause a terrible collision and leads to casualties, either because of darkness, the full dependence on side mirrors that give a limited scope of vision, or due to a malfunction in the front lights of the car that prevented the motorcyclists from recognizing it. However there were limited research on identifation of BSZ for motorcycle, even though most vehicle accidents in Malaysia involved motorcycles. This paper discusses the initial works on the identification of BSZ for motorcyles. Three types of motorcycles were used to determine the BSZ using grid-based technique. From the data collected, the BSZ was identified for the motorcycles.
Pre-forming evaluation of dissimilar aluminium alloys blank fabricated using friction stir welding technique.
Authors: Pauzi A F , Abdullah A B , Jamaludin M F
Published: December 2019

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state welding that is using to weld the relatively difficult to weld materials such as aluminium alloy. FSW also can weld different material type and thickness to produce tailor welded blanks (TWBs). Although FSW capable to join dissimilar material or similar material hence from different grades, the properties of welded blanks may affect as compared to base material. In this study, performance of three aluminium alloy grades i.e. AA6061, AA5052, and AA1100 blanks that were combined among them and evaluated. Furthermore, the effect rolling direction was also considered. The welding was performed at constant speed, welding speed and tool angle using flat pin tool on a conventional milling machine. The performance is based on few mechanical properties such as hardness and tensile strength. In addition, crack pattern on the welded blank was also observed using three-point bending test. Based on the result, the hardness reduced at the stir zone (SZ) as compared to the base material, even though from different rolling direction. As expected, for tensile behaviour, the maximum load can be found on combination of similar material i.e. AA6061-T6 compared than other combinations. While based on the crack pattern, there are unsuitable combinations because of inappropriate welding parameters, and it is complying with the previous observation on tensile properties.
A Review on Service Robots: Mechanical Design and Localization System
Authors: Bakri M. Q. , Ismail A. H. , Hashim M.S.M. , Safar M. J. A.
Published: December 2019

Service robot is becoming more popular in recent study. It has opened up various opportunity to solve problems as well as the challenges need to be studied. While there are many successfully developed service robot out there, the general design principle with respect to the application need a description with solid justification. This review paper seeks and compare the design principle, specification, and hardware selection of several successfully developed service robot such as Sacarino and Blackbot. Based on the study, the most important design principles include simple mobile platform, modular structure, and aesthetic design.
Cellular Network and its Relevance for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Application in Malaysia
Authors: Mohd Kamal N. L. , Sahwee Z. , Abdul Hamid S. , Norhashim N. , Lott N.
Published: December 2019

Range of operation is one of the main limitation in the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The ability to exploit currently deployed data-based cellular network for UAV application enables better utilization of UAV for various applications. Understanding the requirements of UAV application allows the identification of challenges to obtain coverage offered by terrestrial-based cellular networks. This paper outlines the challenges and identifies the relevance of cellular based UAV application in the context of Malaysia as well as its potential application. The main challenges highlighted include the design of cellular network which is optimized for terrestrial users. Additionally, in the context of Malaysia, the tropical weather imposes a further challenge to the reception of reliable radio signals. It has been identified that provided that these challenges can be overcome, the cellular based UAV can benefit the agriculture, security and utility sector in Malaysia.
Assessment of Muscles Fatigue Based on Surface EMG Signals Using Machine Learning and Statistical Approaches: A Review
Authors: Yousif Hayder A. , Zakaria Ammar , Rahim Norasmadi Abdul , Salleh Ahmad Faizal Bin , Mahmood Mustafa , Alfarhan Khudhur A. , Kamarudin Latifah Munirah , Mamduh Syed Muhammad , Hasan Ali Majid , Hussain Moaid K.
Published: December 2019

Muscle fatigue is described by the decline in muscle maximum force during contraction. The fatigue occurs in the nervous or muscle fibre cells. The nerves produce a high-frequency signal to gain the maximum contraction, but it cannot sustain the high frequency signal for a long time, and that leads to a decline in muscle force. The surface Electromyography (EMG) is the dominant method to detect muscle fatigue because the EMG signals give more information about the muscle’s activities. This review discussed the EMG signal processing and the methods of detection muscles fatigue with three domains (time domain, frequency domain, and time-frequency domain) based on EMG signals that are collected from the muscles during dynamic and static movements.
Analysis on LoRa RSSI in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Area for Handover Signal Strength-Based Algorithm.
Authors: Tan Z A , Rahman M T A , Rahman A , Hamid A F A , Amin N A M , Munir H A , Zabidi M M M
Published: December 2019

This paper focus on analysis on Long Range (LoRa) handover session was conducted in urban, suburban, and rural area in Perlis state, Malaysia. The experiment will consists of observation and analyzed on three area using LoRa communication modules. These three areas were collected on its Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) to know the signal strength over the distance from base station and the differences physical object appear in Line of Sight (LoS) during the transmitting and receiving its signal from LoRa Transmitter to LoRa Receiver. The result at three area of different location have shown various pattern in term of RSSI where the each of the location give the distance that signal of LoRa could reach whilst the motion of vehicle is constant. From this experiment, certain level of RSSI value will be chosen to set as minimum boundary switcher for handover process state indicator and be used handover process algorithm in network switcher.
A Review on Remote Sensing-based Method for Tree Detection and Delineation
Authors: Syed Hanapi S N H , Shukor S A A , Johari J
Published: December 2019

Tree detection and delineation has become one of the important factors that contribute to precision agriculture specifically in plantation industry and efficient forestry management. However, this requires tools and technology that would give reliable information and high accuracy data processing. Recent researches aimed at providing this goal by utilizing the advancement of available remote sensing technology and integrate various algorithms. This article reviews these researches with a focus on algorithms applied to remote-sensing imagery for the purpose of tree detection and delineation. It categorizes and evaluates those methods with the respective types of remote sensing imagery used in the area to evaluate the influence of these factors on the method. Finally, it summarizes the finding of the current algorithms, and suggests on the new development that can be expected in the future.
Image reconstruction for liquid-gas regime identification based on multiple excitation sources in electrical resistance tomography system
Authors: Wahab Y A , Fuad M F , Ghani N M A , Zain Z M , Noh M M , Zawawi M A , Najib M S
Published: December 2019

Electrical resistance tomography (ERT) reconstructs internal resistance images of the field from electrical measurements on the surface. The objective of this paper is to obtain the tomogram of the liquid-gas regime of ERT system by using multiple excitation sources. A linear back projection algorithm was implemented as a basic algorithm. Then, it was modified to suit the implementation of multiple excitation sources. A liquid-gas regime in the steel pipe was used as a tested medium. The analysis and performance of the image reconstructed which applies multiple excitation sources were compared with the single excitation technique. As a common strategy applied a single excitation source and produce problem especially at the center of the pipe, this paper mainly focuses on image reconstruction of multiple excitation sources. As a conclusion, 50% of the excitation source cannot produce the image as expected. Tomograms that produced by using the single excitation source were much better than the images obtained by using 50% of the excitation source.
Arabic Fonts Representation in Cubic Bézier Curve using Different Soft Computing Algorithm
Authors: Amat N F I C , Yahya Z R , Rusdi N A , Helmee N A , Muhamadd W Z A W
Published: December 2019

This study presents the comparison between two meta-heuristic algorithms for curve reconstruction of Arabic fonts. The two algorithms namely Sine Cosine Algorithm (SCA) and Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) are used for comparison purposes. These algorithms have been applied to optimize the solution of curve fitting problem by using cubic Bezier curve. There are several pre-processing steps involve before curve fitting process has been done. Firstly, extract the boundary. Then, detect the corner of outline fonts and the third step is chord length parameterization. The aim of this study is to find the best curve that fit the data. Sum Square Errors (SSE) has been used to calculate the error given by original image and parametric curve. The finding of this study shows that, WOA gives better curve approximation based on the errors result than SCA. This algorithm significantly improves the shape of the corner of the outline Arabic fonts.
Orientation Correction of Kinect’s 3D Depth Data for Mapping
Authors: Mosed A A A , Kamarudin K , Puveneswari S
Published: December 2019

Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is considered to be one of the primary tasks for autonomous robot navigation process. The first element required by the robot to start the navigation process is to create and assemble an accurate map of the surroundings or ground plane to envision its location. Mobile robots that use 1D or 2D sensors such as laser range finder, ultrasonic or sonar for the mapping process cannot provide enough information on the obstacle locations while 3D sensors like Kinect can. However, if the 3D sensor is not mounted correctly, the orientation of the 3D image obtained will also be affected and thus producing inaccurate maps. In this project, Microsoft Kinect was used to scan the environment. RANSAC algorithm was implemented to detect the ground plane. The orientation of the ground plane was corrected, and the depth data acquired by Kinect was then converted into 2D map. It was found that the methods applied have successfully mapped the obstacles detected.
Preliminary Analysis of Organic Wireless Positioning System in an Indoor Environment
Authors: Ismail A H , Ngo J S , Taib M I , Hashim M S M , Azmi M S M , Safar M J A , Marhaban M H
Published: December 2019

The massive deployment of wireless infrastructure especially in the trending 4th Industrial Revolution (IR4.0) has opened the opportunity for wireless-based positioning and localization. The works on wireless positioning system revolves on two techniques, the geometrical technique employing either triangulation or trilateration, and mapping technique employing signal fingerprint method. The later is more favoured since the accuracy was superior to geometrical technique. However, the signal fingerprint method required enormous efforts in order to record and stored the signal fingerprint. This paper investigates the new approach in constructing the signal fingerprint using organic approach. The signal is recorded using the developed apps, and then the user sends the signal data into the cloud. The organic fingerprinting data were compared to the conventional fingerprinting. The preliminary results show promising accuracy in the experimented indoor environment.
Analysis the Awkward Posture Ergonomic Risk and Workstation Improvement Simulation in Mechanical Assembly Manufacturing Industry using DelmiaV5
Authors: Hambali Ruzy Haryati , Rahim Siti Aishah Abdul , Azizan Noorain , Zali Zainuddin , Akmal Suriati , Zin Muhammad Hanafee
Published: December 2019

Ergonomics knowledge is crucial in any industries, without knowledge applied, one easily exposed towards the risks of the working environment. Based on the survey conducted showed awkward posture and heavy lifting were the most highlighted issues occurred. Aim of this study is to analyse the working posture in mechanical assembly manufacturing industry and analyse the effect of the improvement workstation. The use of Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) in order to analyse the most level of risk of workers during working, develop human manikin following the anthropometric data collected from industry real population, as well to replicate the posture of the workers, simulate the working process via simulation using DELMIA V5. Results reported one of the highest ergonomic risk occurred in this department is drilling activity. The manikin successfully developed with 105 measurements for 685 male workers. Simulations effectively simulated using DELMIA V5 in virtual environment. Step ladder suggested as virtual and this improved the value of RULA score. In conclusion, the software and method used were powerful tool in designing the virtual improvement and this research expected to create a design guideline for the industry that help workers with an ergonomic way at the workstation before and during working.
Developing an IoT-Based Control System for Existing Air Conditioner using MEMS
Authors: Araar Wajdi , Hofacker Tom , Kohlhof Karl
Published: December 2019

Caused by the energy revolution, energy saving becomes a bigger topic than ever. This paper is about the developing of a new controlling system for air conditioning, which could save up to 66% of the energy consumed.
A tailor-made learning environment workspace for generation y graduates using product service system concept
Authors: Akmal S , Hambali R H , Maidin S , Shahmir M R , Abdul Shukor S A
Published: December 2019

This paper presents a workspace design of a tailor-made learning environment for students using the product-service systems (PSS) concept. Existing research regarding workspace design focuses on the design of the interior of classrooms to ensure that the learning process proceeds with minimum stress and maximum effectiveness. None of the current research had discussed the workspace outside of the classroom. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to propose a learning environment workspace in which students can gather, study, relax, socialize, eat, and work during class gaps. For this purpose, a questionnaire was distributed to identify the behavior of the users to generate a list of requirements in the development of the learning workspace. This paper focused on students at the Engineering Faculty and the learning environment workspace was called the OneForAll Center. Out of 10 functions of the proposed OneForAll Center, only four functions had the highest priority: a space to use a laptop and internet connection, a television, a vending machine and a printing section. The OneForAll Center has been illustrated in a 3D model and shown to the students, in which most of them agreed with the proposed services and facilities such as a space to use the laptop and internet connection and a printing section with a printing service. The OneForAll Center has been identified as a solution to improve learning outside the classroom, specifically to the provision of services to students.
Comparison of feed forward, Cascade forward and Layer Recurrent Algorithm model for breast cancer prediction
Authors: Rani Dr K SheelaSobana , Anila Dr S
Published: December 2019

The number of cases of Breast cancer seems to be constantly increasing worldwide in the recent years. According to 2012 world cancer report, the breast cancer incidence rate in Asia appears to be 37.5 and the mortality rate is 13.21. As per the recent statistics report of 2018, it has been estimated that the number of new cases of breast cancer is 14% in India. The percentage is higher when compared to lung cancer, oral cancer and other types of cancers. It has been identified that it occurs mostly in the age group between 41-50 years and the distribution of this is found to be 42%, whereas it is 18%, 24% for the age groups of 31-40 and 51-60 respectively. The five stages of survival include the survival rate of 100%, 98%, 88%, 52%, 16% for each stage respectively. Diagnosis in the early stage can reduce the death rate. Even during the stage 3 if the cancer is predicted, it can be treated. Machine learning using Artificial Neural Network(ANN) techniques can be effectively utilised for the prediction of cancer. In the proposed method, networks designed using various ANN Algorithm are used to predict the breast cancer if it is benign or malignant. Three different networks such as feedforward back prop, Cascade forward and layer recurrent has been implemented. The performance measures such as Accuracy, error, specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value are obtained. From the table 2, it is inferred that among these algorithms, feed-forward algorithm has better performance compared to other two algorithms.ANN has been a powerful tool for analyzing the data when there are non-linear interactions between the input and the output to be predicted. The results show that the accuracy of ANN for the prediction was better than other approaches. The Wisconsin breast cancer database has been used for the analysis. The results are very competitive and can be used for diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment.
Unusual blue and red luminescence properties of BaO–ZrO2 nanocrystals
Authors: Ahemen I , Kroon R E , Sha’Ato R , Dejene F B
Published: December 2019

BaO–ZrO2 nanocrystals were synthesized using the chemical bath deposition technique and then subjected to post-synthesis annealing between 500 and 900 °C. X-ray diffraction patterns showed the amorphous structure for as-synthesized sample, while annealed samples show either disordered tetragonal phase or a mixture of tetragonal and monoclinic phases at high temperatures. The emission spectrum displays blue emission band for the as-synthesized sample with peak maximum at 434 nm. All annealed samples showed both blue (434 nm) and red (710 nm) emission bands upon excitation at 248 and 360 nm. Samples excited at 310 nm produced only the red emission band centered at 710 nm, which decreased monotonically with increasing temperature and was completely quenched at 900 °C. CIE results show the phosphor is capable of producing blue, red and white light depending on the excitation wavelength chosen and the post-synthesis heat treatment temperature. The synthesized phosphor is cost-effective and can be applied in display and other lighting technologies.
Impact of an innovative partnership in patient care between an academic medical center department of pharmacy and a school of pharmacy
Authors: Vest Mary-Haston , Petrovskis Mary G , Savage Scott W , Pinelli Nicole R , Pappas Ashley L , Morbitzer Kathryn A , Eckel Stephen F , Rhoney Denise H , Rao Kamakshi V
Published: December 2019

Purpose

Pharmacy departments and schools of pharmacy have long held professional affiliations. However, the success of each entity is often not interdependent and aligned. In 2010, our institutions found ourselves in a position where the complementary motivations of each aligned to support a more meaningful and committed engagement, leading to the development of the Partnership in Patient Care. The impact of the partnership was evaluated 7 years postimplementation, and both the successes realized and the lessons learned are described.

The partnership provided many advantages to our pharmacy department and the school of pharmacy. This initial iteration of the partnership was a strong proof of concept that an intentional approach to the relationship between a school of pharmacy and a pharmacy department can lead to substantive improvements in a wide array of meaningful outcomes. We experienced an increase in the number of student rotation months completed, growth in the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists–accredited residency programs, and enhanced clinical services. However, the partnership was not without challenges. For instance, lack of a formalized tracking method made certain outcomes difficult to track.

Conclusion

The purposeful establishment of the Partnership in Patient Care, built on the needs of a school of pharmacy and an academic medical center pharmacy department, allowed our institutions to develop an intertwined mission and vision. Over the initial years of the partnership, many successes were realized and lessons were learned. Both the successes and the challenges are serving as the foundation for future iterations of the partnership.
Genetic structure and biogeographic history of the Bicknell’s Thrush/ Gray-cheeked Thrush species complex
Authors: Fitzgerald Alyssa M , Weir Jason , Ralston Joel , Warkentin Ian G , Whitaker Darroch M , Kirchman Jeremy J
Published: December 2019

We examined species limits, admixture, and genetic structure among populations in the Bicknell’s Thrush (Catharus bicknelli)–Gray-cheeked Thrush (C. minimus) species complex to establish the geographic and temporal context of speciation in this group, which is a model system in ecology and a high conservation priority. We obtained mitochondrial ND2 sequences from 186 Bicknell’s Thrushes, 77 Gray-cheeked Thrushes, and 55 individuals of their closest relative, the Veery (C. fuscescens), and genotyped a subset of individuals (n = 72) at 5,633 anonymous single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) loci. Between-species sequence divergence was an order of magnitude greater than divergence within each species, divergence was dated to the late Pleistocene (420 kbp) based on Bayesian coalescence estimation, and a coalescent model (IMa) revealed almost no gene flow between species based on ND2. SNP data were consistent with mitochondrial results and revealed low levels of admixture among species (3 of 37 Bicknell’s Thrushes, no Gray-cheeked Thrushes, and no Veeries were >2% admixed). Species distribution models projected to the Last Glacial Maximum suggest that Bicknell’s Thrush and Gray-cheeked Thrush resided in primarily allopatric refugia in the late Pleistocene, consistent with the genetic data that support reproductive isolation over an extended period of time. Our genetic data suggest that both species underwent demographic expansions, possibly as they expanded out of Pleistocene refugia into their current ranges. We conclude that Bicknell’s Thrush and Gray-cheeked Thrush are 2 distinct species-level lineages despite low levels of Gray-cheeked Thrush introgression in Bicknell’s Thrushes, and divergence has been maintained by a long history of allopatry in subtly different habitats. Their unique phylogeography among boreal forest birds indicates that either cryptic species breaks in eastern North America are still undiscovered, or another factor, such as divergent natural selection, high migratory connectivity, or interspecific competition, played a role in their divergence.
Dynamic Meta-Storms enables comprehensive taxonomic and phylogenetic comparison of shotgun metagenomes at the species level
Authors: Jing Gongchao , Zhang Yufeng , Yang Ming , Liu Lu , Xu Jian , Su Xiaoquan
Published: December 2019

Motivation

An accurate and reliable distance (or dissimilarity) among shotgun metagenomes is fundamental to deducing the beta-diversity of microbiomes. To compute the distance at the species level, current methods either ignore the evolutionary relationship among species or fail to account for unclassified organisms that cannot be mapped to definite tip nodes in the phylogenic tree, thus can produce erroneous beta-diversity pattern.

Results

To solve these problems, we propose the Dynamic Meta-Storms (DMS) algorithm to enable the comprehensive comparison of metagenomes on the species level with both taxonomy and phylogeny profiles. It compares the identified species of metagenomes with phylogeny, and then dynamically places the unclassified species to the virtual nodes of the phylogeny tree via their higher-level taxonomy information. Its high speed and low memory consumption enable pairwise comparison of 100 000 metagenomes (synthesized from 3688 bacteria) within 6.4 h on a single computing node.

Availability and implementation

An optimized implementation of DMS is available on GitHub (https://github.com/qibebt-bioinfo/dynamic-meta-storms) under a GNU GPL license. It takes the species-level profiles of metagenomes as input, and generates their pairwise distance matrix. The bacterial species-level phylogeny tree and taxonomy information of MetaPhlAn2 have been integrated into this implementation, while customized tree and taxonomy are also supported.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Time spent together and time spent apart affect song, feather colour and range overlap in tinkerbirds
Authors: Kirschel Alexander N G , Nwankwo Emmanuel C , Seal Nadya , Grether Gregory F
Published: December 2019

Most studies on the processes driving evolutionary diversification highlight the importance of genetic drift in geographical isolation and natural selection across ecological gradients. Direct interactions among related species have received much less attention, but they can lead to character displacement, with recent research identifying patterns of displacement attributed to either ecological or reproductive processes. Together, these processes could explain complex, trait-specific patterns of diversification. Few studies, however, have examined the possible effects of these processes together or compared the divergence in multiple traits between interacting species among contact zones. Here, we show how traits of two Pogoniulus tinkerbird species vary among regions across sub-Saharan Africa. However, in addition to variation between regions consistent with divergence in refugial isolation, both song and morphology diverge between the species where they coexist. In West Africa, where the species are more similar in plumage, there is possible competitive or reproductive exclusion. In Central and East Africa, patterns of variation are consistent with agonistic character displacement. Molecular analyses support the hypothesis that differences in the age of interaction among regions can explain why species have evolved phenotypic differences and coexist in some regions but not others. Our findings suggest that competitive interactions between species and the time spent interacting, in addition to the time spent in refugial isolation, play important roles in explaining patterns of species diversification.
‘They Tell Me I’m Dangerous’: Incarcerated Mothers, Scandinavian Prisons and the Ambidextrous Penal–Welfare State
Authors: Ystanes Vilde , Ugelvik Thomas
Published: December 2019

Ambidextrous states can grasp citizens with both the welfare/support-oriented left hand and the punishment/control-oriented right hand. When people go to prison in such contexts, they may simultaneously face punishment and welfare interventions. Based on interviews with six women serving prison sentences in Norway for violence against their own children, this article discusses certain aspects of the prison experience in welfare-state prisons. Their criminal sentences, and the associated stigma and feelings of shame, weighed heavily on these women, but they eventually felt the state’s welfare-oriented left hand was tighter and more punitive than the right hand. This article describes their experiences and strategies in coping with the challenges they faced as prisoners in an ambidextrous state.
The Imperialism of Categories: Concepts and Contexts in Communication for Social Change
Authors: Thomas Pradip Ninan
Published: December 2019

This article is a critique of communication and social change (CSC) theory. It makes a case for re-centring context in theory and practice and for appropriate uses of categories and concepts to the making sense of of situations in the developing world. Based on fieldwork with an indigenous community in South India, the Irulas, the article explores their very specific context on the margins of globalising India and their experience with access to and use of laptops provided by the State government. It argues that David Harvey’s concept ‘Accumulation by Dispossession’ (ABD) ‘travels well’ and can be used to make sense of the contexts of the precariat and in particular, communities such as the Irulas. Based on conversations with theory in CSC it makes a strong case for the need for textured understandings of cultural and social contexts as the basis for CSC interventions.
NADPH oxidase 4 mediates the protective effects of physical activity against obesity-induced vascular dysfunction
Authors: Brendel Heike , Shahid Amna , Hofmann Anja , Mittag Jennifer , Bornstein Stefan R , Morawietz Henning , Brunssen Coy
Published: December 2019

Aims

Physical activity is one of the most potent strategies to prevent endothelial dysfunction. Recent evidence suggests vaso-protective properties of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) produced by main endothelial NADPH oxidase isoform 4 (Nox4) in the vasculature. Therefore, we hypothesized that Nox4 connects physical activity with vaso-protective effects.

Methods and results

Analysis of the endothelial function using Mulvany Myograph showed endothelial dysfunction in wild-type (WT) as well as in C57BL/6J/ Nox4−/− (Nox4−/−) mice after 20 weeks on high-fat diet (HFD). Access to running wheels during the HFD prevented endothelial dysfunction in WT but not in Nox4−/− mice. Mechanistically, exercise led to an increased H2O2 release in the aorta of WT mice with increased phosphorylation of eNOS pathway member AKT serine/threonine kinase 1 (AKT1). Both H2O2 release and phosphorylation of AKT1 were diminished in aortas of Nox4−/− mice. Deletion of Nox4 also resulted in lower intracellular calcium release proven by reduced phenylephrine-mediated contraction, whilst potassium-induced contraction was not affected. H2O2 scavenger catalase reduced phenylephrine-induced contraction in WT mice. Supplementing H2O2 increased phenylephrine-induced contraction in Nox4−/− mice. Exercise-induced peroxisome proliferative-activated receptor gamma, coactivator 1 alpha (Ppargc1a), as key regulator of mitochondria biogenesis in WT but not Nox4−/− mice. Furthermore, exercise-induced citrate synthase activity and mitochondria mass were reduced in the absence of Nox4. Thus, Nox4−/− mice became less active and ran less compared with WT mice.

Conclusions

Nox4 derived H2O2 plays a key role in exercise-induced adaptations of eNOS and Ppargc1a pathway and intracellular calcium release. Hence, loss of Nox4 diminished physical activity performance and vascular protective effects of exercise.
Comparing treatments to reduce hypothetical bias in choice experiments regarding organic food
Authors: Gschwandtner Adelina , Burton Michael
Published: December 2019

Hypothetical bias is one of the strongest criticisms brought to stated preference methods. We evaluate and compare the use of Cheap Talk and Honesty Priming as methods to mitigate such bias. Our study analyses the demand for organic food products in the UK, and the results reveal a core of consumers with positive willingness to pay (WTP) for organic. However, when correcting for hypothetical bias, consumers appear to be willing to pay even more for other attributes. Most importantly, the results show that implementing mechanisms to correct for hypothetical bias are efficient to reduce WTP, with Cheap Talk having a higher overall significance than Honesty Priming.