bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
UNDERWATER POLE INSPECTION USING TWO MICRO AUVS
Authors: Siang Song Yoong , Arshad Mohd Rizal
Published: September 2015

This article describes the strategy to use two Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) in underwater pole inspection work. They are called vehicle A and vehicle B. Vehicle A will surround the pole in counter clockwise direction whereas vehicle B will surround the pole in clockwise direction until the two vehicles meet. Then they will dive a certain distance and continuous surrounding the pole in opposite direction. The mechanical design of both vehicle A and vehicle B are exactly the same. The only different between them is vehicle A will make use of higher capability of underwater navigation and tracking system. Therefore, vehicle A is functioning as lead vehicle. Vehicle A and vehicle B will communicate with each other periodically for control signal dissemination and positioning error.  This article also mention about the prototype design of vehicle A And vehicle B. Some preliminary result of proposed pole inspection system is also included in this article.
SYNCHRONIZATION OF COMPASS MODULE WITH PRESSURE AND TEMPERATURE SENSOR SYSTEM FOR AUTONOMOUS UNDERWATER VEHICLE (AUV)
Authors: Harun Mohamad Haniff , Mohd Aras Mohd Shahrieel , Md. Basar Mohd Farriz , Abdullah Shahrum Shah , Mohd Annuar Khalil Azha
Published: September 2015

This paper describes the synchronization of compass module with pressure and temperature sensor system for an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). In general this project is the result of a combination of existing technology for underwater sensory to produce a complete system that aims to identify the position of the AUVs based on AUV degree of freedom. This can be done with the help of compass module that can find and order the AUV is moving at a fixed angle. This created a system that aims to obtain data on pressure and temperature in the AUV. Not only that, the project also aims to prove that the relationship between pressure and depth of the water and the relationship between pressure and temperature. All data gathered is capable of helping in the preparation of an AUV that can accommodate high pressure according to the depth to destination.
FORCE OPTIMIZATION OF AN FORCE ARTIFICIAL MUSCLE ACTUATED UNDERWATER PROBE SYSTEM USING LINEAR MOTION ELECTROSTATIC MOTOR
Authors: Md Ghazaly Mariam , Tzi Khang Lim , Yuen Piaw Chin , Kaiji Sato
Published: September 2015

Two linear electrostatic motors were designed in order to optimize the force characteristics of an artificial muscle actuated underwater probe system. Finite element method (FEM) analyses are used to analyze and optimize the motor’s designed parameters. The two structures are designed to be linear-actuated and are compared under similar conditions. The objective of this research is to design, compare and analyze the effect of varying the motor’s parameters to the actuation force (Fx). First, the two structures are designed using ANSYS Maxwell 3D; i.e (a) Non-Skew-Type Electrostatic Motor and (b) Skew-Type Electrostatic Motor. Next, the thrust forces were evaluated using Finite Element Method (FEM) analyses in order to optimize the motor’s parameters. The FEM analyses are carried out by (i) varying the ratio number of electrode-to-spacer (ii) varying the motor’s gap and (iii) varying the motor’s size. The FEM analysis shows that the Skew-Type Electrostatic Motor exhibit greater actuation force, 2.7857mN compared to the Non-Skew-Type Electrostatic Motor, 1.7476mN; when the ratio number of electrode-to-spacer is 1.0:2.5.
MICROWAVE PLASMA GASIFICATION OF OIL PALM BIOCHAR
Authors: Ismail N. , Ho G. S. , Amin N. A. S. , Ani F. N.
Published: September 2015

Conventional pressurized gasification operates at higher pressure than atmospheric pressure and requires heat up time during startup. In this study, microwave plasma gasification was used to compensate this problem. The objectives of this paper is to investigate the CO2 microwave gasification of EFB and OPS biochar, and optimizing the char reaction rate through the addition of activated carbon as the microwave absorber. A microwave plasma gasification test rig was designed to produce syngas from oil palm biochar. From the study, it was found that EFB char performed better than OPS char as gasification fuel due to its high porosity and surface area that increased the char reactivity towards CO2. The temperature increment promoted by the addition of MW absorber using activated carbon (AC) has increased the CO composition. The optimum condition for microwave plasma char gasification of EFB was 3 lpm with 25 wt% AC that produced syngas with 1.23 vol% CH4, 20.88 vol% CO2, 43.83 vol% CO, 34.06 vol% H2 and 9.40 MJ/kg gas CV. For OPS is at 2 lpm with 1.12 vol% CH4, 35.11 vol% CO2, 35.42 vol% CO, 28.35 vol% H2 and 7.32 MJ/kg gas CV. As EFB char has larger BET surface areas and larger pores than OPS char, the ability to react with the gasifying gas is better than the OPS. Thus, resulting in higher carbon conversion. The best gasification efficiency was 72.34% at 3 lpm, 10% AC for EFB biochar plasma gasification with 12% unreacted carbon. For OPS biochar plasma gasification, the best gasification efficiency was 69.09% at 2 lpm, 10% AC with 18% unreacted carbon.
NEWS CLASSIFICATION WITH HUMAN ANNOTATORS: A CASE STUDY
Authors: Fuddoly Aini , Jaafar Jafreezal , Zamin Norshuhani
Published: September 2015

The need to classify textual documents has become an increasingly vibrant research field due to the development of online news. While most of the news in news websites are categorised manually, the task becomesmore strenuous considering the tremendous surge of data updates every day. This paper addresses the question of how text classification algorithms can substitute the particular task over manual classification methods. A combined method using Bracewell's algorithm and top-n method is demonstrated and tested using Indonesian language corpus. The experiment also uses human evaluation as the benchmark. The result from the human evaluation is further investigated in order to understand how the annotators classify documents and the aspects that can be improved to enhance the method in the future. The results indicate that the method can outperform human annotators by 13% in terms of accuracy.
HOME SECURITY SYSTEM USING ZIGBEE
Authors: Hashim Norlezah , Abdul Razak Mohd Amir Hafifi , Idris Fakrulradzi
Published: September 2015

This paper explains the design and implementation of home security systems using the most widely deployed enhancement to the 802.15.4 standard, which is better known as Zigbee. Home security systems nowadays are expensive and complicated to install. Two types of sensors were used in this project, motion sensor and magnetic door sensor. These sensors were used as the end device to detect any intruder. If any intruder bypasses the motion sensor or the magnetic door sensor, a signal will be sent to the system and the alarm will be triggered together with Graphical User Interface (GUI) display on a personal computer. The performance of the designed system was analyzed in terms of detectable range and delay. Result shows that the designed system is capable of detecting up to 22 meters of distance for indoor use at maximum delays of 15 seconds. The home security system using Zigbee has been successfully designed, implemented and analyzed.
BRIEF REVIEW: COLD PLASMA
Authors: Firdaus Zainal Muhamad Nor , Redzuan Norizah , Misnal Mohd Fadthul Ikmal
Published: September 2015

Plasma is energetically the fourth state of matter, apart from solid, liquid, and gas states. Cold plasma discharges can be generated by stationary and pulsed (DC) and alternating (AC) electrical fields. It can be used to improve mechanical properties, adhesion and treatment. Nowadays, plasma technology has been used in many fields such as bio medic, automotive, printing and textile. In this brief review paper, cold plasma will be explained pertaining to how it works, the mathematical equations involved and its applications as produced by researchers.
ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE GRINDING VERSUS ABRASIVE GRINDING IN POLYCRYSTALLINE DIAMOND MACHINING
Authors: Zulafif Rahim M. , Li Guangxian , Ding Songlin , Mo John
Published: September 2015

Electrical Discharge Grinding (EDG) and conventional grinding are two different processes with different removal mechanisms and are typically used to machine Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD). This paper addresses the quality issue of PCD tools produced by these two processes in machining sharp cutting edges. Closely similar visible quality indices (surface roughness and tool sharpness) have been obtained by both processes. However, it was found that there is a difference in residual stress directions and graphitization levels. Through the Raman method, the quantitative analysis of residual stress and graphitization inherence by both processes were also presented and discussed in detail.
EFFECT OF PHTHALIC ANHYDRIDE ON TENSILE PROPERTIES AND THERMAL STABILITY OF RECYCLED HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE / WOOD FIBER COMPOSITES
Authors: Hanif M. P. M. , A. G. Supri , Zainuddin Firuz
Published: September 2015

The effect of phthalic anhydride as a coupling agent on the tensile properties and thermal stability of recycled high density polyethylene/wood fiber (rHDPE/WF) composites were studied.  Both composites rHDPE/WF and rHDPE/WF/PAH (modified with phthalic anhydride) were prepared using Brabender Plasticorder at a temperature of 160°C and rotor speed of 50 rpm. The result indicated that rHDPE/WF/PAH composites exhibit higher tensile strength and modulus of elasticity than rHDPE/WF composites. It was also found that the addition of phthalic anhydride offers better thermal stability in rHDPE/WF/PAH composites than that of rHDPE/WF composites.
FABRICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYVINYLIDENE FLUORIDE COMPOSITE NANOFIBER MEMBRANE FOR WATER FLUX PROPERTY
Authors: Mohd Zahari Azizul , Mohd Yusoff Abdull Rahim , Buang Nor Aziah , Satishkumar Palanivel , Jasni M Jasmin Fathi , Yusop Zulkifli
Published: September 2015

This research is about the investigation of the pure water flux property of composite polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers. Electrospinning technique was used to prepare the composite electrospun nanofibers. PVDF was dissolved in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent and blended together with activated carbon (AC) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The nanofibers were characterized to determine the morphologies, wettability property, and its tensile strength. The fabricated nanofibers diameter was found in the range between 20 to 180 nm. The presence of AC deteriorates the mechanical properties of the nanofibers as the size of AC is larger than the external diameter of the nanofibers. The results of contact angle confirmed that the fabricated nanofiber exhibit less hydrophobic in the presence of PVP and AC. The less hydrophobic nature of proposed nanofiber might be useful for the water treatment process.
REMOVAL OF BRILLIANT GREEN AND PROCIONRED DYES FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONBY ADSORPTION USING SELECTED AGRICULTURAL WASTES
Authors: Mohd Nor Nurafifah , Hadibarata Tony , Yusop Zulkifli , Mat Lazim Zainab
Published: September 2015

Approximately 10-15 % of usage synthetic textile dyes are released to waste streams meanwhile the effluent release from wastewater treatment plant contribute 20 %. Adsorption being a physical process, inexpensive and less time consuming, is widely accepted to eliminate dyes from wastewater. An experiment was carried out to observe the adsorption of Brilliant Green and Procion Red dye. The experiment is to identify the most effective adsorbent to remove the colour of Brilliant Green and Procion Red. Both dyes were mixed with the agricultural wastes, spent tea leaves, jackfruit peels, rambutan peels, and mangosteen peels. The percentage of removal and adsorption capacity of the dyes were examined. Rambutan peels were the most effective adsorbent to remove Brilliant Green which is 96.42 % with 9.64 mg/g adsorption capacity, whereas for Procion Red, jackfruit peels were recorded as the highest percentage of removal, 61.2 % with 6.12 mg/g adsorption capacity in 24 hours. Based on FESEM and FTIR results, the effectiveness of adsorbents was affected by the structure of the adsorbent, presence of pores and functional groups. Functional group of carbonyl and carboxyl helps in the adsorption process and will form bonds with the dyes and thus remove them from the solution.
COMPARISON OF FLOOD DISTRIBUTION MODELS FOR JOHOR RIVER BASIN
Authors: Ismail Ahmad Zuhdi , Yusop Zulkifli , Yusof Zainab
Published: September 2015

One of the most useful and commonly used parameters to describe a flood event is peak flow or annual maximum flood. In many localities, storm water control facilities are required and their sizes are determined based on certain peak flow magnitude. This study aimed at estimating the average recurrent interval (ARI) of flood event for Johor River basin based on the distributions of annual peak flow. The analysis used annual maximum flow data from July 1965 to June 2010 recorded at the Rantau Panjang gauging station. Five distribution models, namely Generalized Extreme Value (GEV), Lognormal, Pearson 5, Weibull and Gamma were tested. The goodness fit test (GOF) of Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) was used to evaluate and estimate the best-fitted distribution. The results reaffirm the current practice that GEV is still the best-fitted distribution model for fitting the annual peak flow data. On the other hand, gamma distribution showed the poorest result.
NONLINEAR SMOOTH TRANSITION AUTOREGRESSIVE (STAR)–TYPE MODELLING AND FORECASTING ON MALAYSIA AIRLINES (MAS) STOCK RETURNS
Authors: Mohd Nor Siti Rohani , Yusof Fadhilah , Lawal Kane Ibrahim
Published: September 2015

This study aims to apply nonlinear Smooth Transition Autoregressive (STAR)-type model to the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Stock Returns, which consists of 4450 number of observations. The data taken started from 29th August 1996 until 26th September 2014. Following the STAR strategies by Terasvirta, the diagnostic plots of linear Autoregressive (AR) model revealed that AR (3) model is adequate in modelling the MAS returns series. However, the squared residuals of Autocorrelation Function (ACF) of returns series illustrates a slight presence of correlations in the model, hence the effort to apply nonlinear model was continued. Before proceed to nonlinear STAR modelling, the identification of delay parameter in the second stage of Terasvirta need to be determined. The results of Lagrange Multiplier (LM) tests revealed that delay parameter, d=3 is the best to choose. In addition, the null hypothesis of linearity from LM test is rejected. Furthermore, from the sequence of nested hypothesis of delay parameter, d=3 indicated that LSTAR model is preferred than ESTAR model. Finally, the forecasts and comparison stages was made to compare which models are best performed in forecasting the future series of MAS returns. It proved that LSTAR model performed better in term of forecasting accuracy when compared to ESTAR and AR model.
TROPICAL DAILY RAINFALL AMOUNT MODELLING USING MARKOV CHAIN-MIXED EXPONENTIAL (MCME)
Authors: Yusof Fadhilah , Mee Yung Lee , Yusop Zulkifli
Published: September 2015

This study is concerned with the development of a stochastic rainfall model that can generate many sequences of synthetic daily rainfall series with the similar properties as those of the observed. The proposed model is Markov chain-mixed exponential (MCME). This model is based on a combination of rainfall occurrence (represented by the first-order two-state Markov chain) and the distribution of rainfall amounts on wet days (described by the mixed exponential distribution). The feasibility of the MCME model is assessed using daily rainfall data from four rainfall stations (station S02, S05, S07 and S11) in Johor, Malaysia. For all the rainfall stations, it was found that the proposed MCME model was able to describe adequately rainfall occurrences and amounts. Various statistical and physical properties of the daily rainfall processes also considered. However, the validation results show that the models’ predictive ability was not as accurate as their descriptive ability. The model was found to have fairly well ability in predicting the daily rainfall process at station S02, S05 and S07. Nonetheless, it was able to predict the daily rainfall process at station S11 accurately.
OPTIMIZATION OF PRASEODYMIUM OXIDE BASED CATALYSTS FOR METHANATION REACTION OF SIMULATED NATURAL GAS USING BOX-BEHNKEN DESIGN
Authors: Mat Rosid Salmiah Jamal , Wan Abu Bakar Wan Azelee , Ali Rusmidah
Published: September 2015

Malaysia energy demand on natural gas is increasing, leading to the purification of sour natural gas through the removal of carbon dioxide using catalytic conversion technique. Praseodymium oxide is preferred due to its properties which are suitable in the production of catalysers, polish glass and also as alloying agent. Therefore, a series of praseodymium oxide catalyst was prepared by incipient wetness impregnation method and was calcined at 400oC for 5 hours during screening reaction. The experimental Box-Behnken design was applied for optimizing the parameters in catalytic methanation reaction. The optimum parameters were found to be compatible with  the experimental result which showed that Ru/Mn/Pr (5:35:60)/Al2O3 calcined at 800°C with 65% Pr loading and 7 g of catalyst dosage gave 96% of CO2 conversion, determined using FTIR, and yielded about 41% of CH4 at reaction temperature of 400°C. In the stability test, the catalyst’s performance showed an increase and was stable up to 7 hours with 96% of CO2 conversion. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis showed an amorphous structure while Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) illustrated the presence of small and dispersed particles with undefined shape covering the catalyst surface. EDX analysis revealed that when calcination temperature increased, the mass ratio of Ru increased. Meanwhile Nitrogen Adsorption (NA) analysis revealed that Ru/Mn/Pr (5:35:60)/Al2O3 catalyst attained surface area of 134.39 m2/g.
SEPARATION OF ETHYL ACETATE FROM WATER MIXTURE USING SAGO/POLY (VINYL ALCOHOL) BLENDED MEMBRANES: EFFECT OF SAGO BLENDED RATIOS
Authors: Alamaria Abdulhakim M. , Mohd Nawawi Mohd Ghazali
Published: September 2015

Relatively new Sago/PVA blended membranes were prepared by solution casting technique. Homogenous sago/PVA membranes were prepared with different ratio of sago content in the membrane. The blended membranes were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), contact angle measurements, and degree of swelling (DS). The blended membranes were tested for pervaporation of ethyl acetate-water mixture at a range of 1-4wt% of water in the solution. The effects of feed temperature and concentration were investigated. The permeation flux increased around 30% with sago content in the blend membranes from 3wt% to 7wt% at 60oC. However, the separation factor decreased from 433 to 387 for same membrane.
IMPROVED HARMONY SEARCH ALGORITHM BASED OPTIMAL LOAD SHEDDING FOR RADIAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS WITHOUT AND WITH DISTRIBUTED GENERATIONS
Authors: Mageshvaran R. , Jayabarathi T.
Published: September 2015

The main aim of the electric utilities is to provide a continuous and reliable supply without violating system constraints and operational limits. But during contingencies, system frequency and voltages get declined owing to real and reactive power deficiencies. These situations may lead to cascaded failures and complete blackout in the system. In order to reduce the risk of cascaded outage and blackout, load shedding has been considered as a preventive scheme. This paper presents a new music inspired harmony based optimization algorithm known as improved harmony search algorithm (IHSA) to find an optimal load shedding strategy for radial distribution systems during an overload contingency. The radial distribution systems are the final link of the interconnection between power systems and the consumers with unidirectional power flows. Overload contingency in the radial distribution systems without and with installed distributed generations (DGs) are the two cases considered in this paper. By the introduction of the distributed generations, the electrical distribution system has a locally looped system and bidirectional power flows. The main objective of the proposed algorithm is to minimize the sum of curtailed load based on their assigned degree of importance and system losses within the operational and security constraints of the system. The proposed method has been tested on IEEE 12-bus, 33-bus and 69-bus radial distribution systems. The feasibility of the proposed algorithm has been established and compared with genetic algorithm (GA) in terms of solution quality over realistic test systems considered.
GENERALIZED NONLINEAR CANONICAL CORRELATION ANALYSIS WITH ORDERED CATEGORICAL AND DICHOTOMOUS DATA
Authors: Thanoon Thanoon Y. , Adnan Robiah , Safari Seyed Ehsan
Published: September 2015

In this paper, ordered categorical and dichotomous data are used in generalized nonlinear canonical correlation analysis to study the relationship between two or more sets of variables. Statistical analyses involving generalized nonlinear canonical correlation analysis, component loadings, and object scores are discussed in this paper. The proposed procedure is illustrated using a real data set (patients with high blood pressure). Analyses are done using SPSS program. The component loadings graph of the three sets shows the relationship between the three sets and their impact on the data set of patients with high blood pressure. The centroid graph of the categories also shows the relationship between them.
CONTINUOUS INTENTION CRITERIA OF SNS APPROPRIATION PROCESS IN FAMILY CONTEXT: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW
Authors: Mahmud Yuzi , Ab. Rahim Nor Zairah , Miskon Suraya , Jomhari Nazean
Published: September 2015

Communication technologies such as Social Network Sites (SNSs) are increasingly being used within family settings to support and extend the family relationships. Although many previous researchers have highlighted the impact of SNSs in family environment, criteria of SNS adoption and use in family context have received little research attention. This paper highlights selected SNS appropriation process criteria in family, individual and technical perspectives in order to understand why and how the SNS is being used in family context. Using the procedure of Bandara et al. (2011), NVivo 9.0 was employed to conduct content analysis of 284 articles published between the year of 2006 until 2014. As a result, the adoption and use criteria of SNS appropriation process were identified, and has been categorized in family, individual and technical perspectives using the Family Appropriation Process of Social Network Site (FAPSNS) framework. The understanding of the criteria could assist in effective and healthy adoption and use of SNSs among family members. However, this paper is merely focusing on level 2 and level 3 of SNS appropriation process in family, individual and technical perspectives.
CADMIUM REMOVAL USING VEGETABLE OIL BASED EMULSION LIQUID MEMBRANE (ELM): MEMBRANE BREAKAGE INVESTIGATION
Authors: Ahmad A. L. , Shah Buddin M. M. H. , Ooi B. S. , Kusumastuti Adhi
Published: September 2015

The aim of this research is to quantify the occurrence of membrane breakage in vegetable oil based Emulsion Liquid Membrane (ELM). Basically, ELM consists of three main phases; internal, external and membrane. In this work, the membrane phase was prepared by dissolving Span 80 as surfactant and Aliquat 336 as carrier in commercial grade corn oil. As a way to promote sustainable development, vegetable oil which is environmentally benign diluent was incorporated in the formulation of ELM. The influence of several important parameters towards membrane breakage were studied. They are carrier and surfactant concentration, W/O volume ratio, emulsification time, internal phase concentration as well as stirring speed. Based on the data obtained, emulsion prepared using 4 wt% Aliquat 336 and 3 wt% Span 80 resulted in the most stable emulsion with only 0.05% membrane breakage. The emulsion was produced using W/O volume ratio of 1/3 and it was homogenized with the assistance of ultrasound for 15 min. Moreover, emulsion produced able to provide a fair balance between emulsion stability and Cd(II) permeability as it able to remove 98.20% Cd(II) ions from the external phase.
INTERFACE SHEAR STRENGTH OF CONCRETE-TO-CONCRETE BOND WITH AND WITHOUT PROJECTING STEEL REINFORCEMENT
Authors: Mohamad Mazizah Ezdiani , Ibrahim Izni Syahrizal
Published: September 2015

Composite concrete consists of two elements cast at different times which are the concrete base and concrete topping. To achieve composite action, interface shear strength must be sufficient to resist the sliding motion between the two concrete surfaces in contact. The interface shear strength is mainly depended on concrete cohesion, friction and dowel action. A total of 36 “push-off” tests were performed to study the interface shear strength and to assess the influence of surface texture and steel reinforcement crossing the interface. Three different concrete base surfaces are prepared which include smooth or “left as-cast”, roughened by wire-brushing in the transverse direction and steel reinforcement projecting from the concrete base. Eurocode 2 provides design equations for determining the interface shear strength with different surface textures and also the one where projecting steel reinforcement crosses the interface. The experimental results show that the transverse roughened surface produced the highest interface shear strength of 1.89 N/mm2 (σn = 0 N/mm2), 4.69 N/mm2 (σn = 0.5 N/mm2), 5.97 N/mm2 (σn = 1.0 N/mm2) and 6.42 N/mm2 (σn = 1.5 N/mm2) compared with the other surface textures. This proves that the increase in the degree of roughness contributes to higher concrete cohesion and friction coefficient. However, for the surface with projecting steel reinforcement, the failure is not sudden as experienced by the surface without one. This is due to the contribution of the clamping stress from the dowel action of the steel reinforcements. Meanwhile, for specimens without any projecting steel reinforcements, the interface shear strength depended solely on friction and concrete cohesion of the surface textures. The interface shear strength of surface with and without the projecting steel reinforcement can be predicted using the Mohr-Coulomb failure envelope. This paper also proposed design expressions for concrete-to-concrete bond on surfaces provided with and without projecting steel reinforcement that can be adopted in Eurocode 2.
HUMAN PAPILLOMA VIRUS E6/E7 MESSENGER RNA AS A BIOMARKER FOR DETECTING THE RISK EVALUATION OF CERVICAL CANCER PROGRESSION: OVERVIEW OF RECENT CLINICAL TRIALS
Authors: Amini Neda , Supriyanto Eko , Marvibaigi Mohsen , Abdul Majid Fadzilah Adibah
Published: September 2015

Cervical cancer is one of the major women health problems, which is considered to be responsible for significant percentage of cancer related deaths in low and middle income countries. While Human Papilloma virus (HPV) DNA testing has an established role in cervical cancer prevention, there is a need to use other biomarkers with higher specificity and prognostic value to recognize patients at risk of progressive illness. There are evidences suggest that, direct detection of HPV messenger RNA transcripts may establish a more specific method for defining clinically important infection than viral DNA detection. Our objective was to provide an overview of the literature on specificity of HPV mRNA testing compared to DNA testing for detecting the risk evaluation of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and invasive cervical cancer. We focused on recent clinical studies that support the application of HPV E6/E7 mRNA as a marker in advanced cervical cancer screening program. We provide overview of sample size, recruitment setting, age, HPV mRNA and HPV DNA assays for researches included in our review. The pooled review of clinical studies provided evidence that HPV mRNA might be a relevant diagnostic biomarker but additional studies need to be developed in order to make strong conclusion.
A CLOSED LOOP POWER MANAGER FOR TRANSMISSION POWER CONTROL IN WIRELESS NETWORK-ON-CHIP ARCHITECTURES
Authors: Rusli Mohd Shahrizal , Mineo Andrea , Palesi Maurizio , Ascia Giuseppe , Catania Vincenzo , Chia Yee Ooi , Marsono Muhammad Nadzir
Published: September 2015

In wireless Network-on-Chip (WiNoC), radio frequency (RF) transceivers account for a significant power consumption, particularly its transmitter, out of its total communication energy. Current WiNoC architectures employ constant maximum transmitting power for communicating radio hubs regardless of physical location of the receiver radio hubs. This paper proposes a closed loop transmitting power control mechanism that, using bit error rate (BER) report obtained at receiver’s side, dynamically calibrates the transmitting power level needed for communication between the source and destination radio hubs to guarantee transmission reliability. Our proposed strategy achieves a significant total system energy reduction by about 40% with an average performance degradation of 3%.
ANALYSIS OF MULTIPHASE TRANSFORMER FOR STATIC LOAD
Authors: Mohd Yusoff Nor Azizah , Abdul Karim Kasrul , Ab Ghani Sharin , Ahmad Tarusan Siti Azura
Published: September 2015

In the year of 1970 saw the starting invention of the five phase motor as the milestone in advanced electrical motor. Through the years, there are many researchers who passionately worked towards developing for multiphase drive system. They had developed a static transformation system to obtain a multiphase supply from the available three phase supply. This idea gives an influence for further development in electric machines as an example; an efficient solution for bulk power transfer. This paper presents the ability of Finite Element Method to proof the theory and concept in design multiphase transformer before proceeds to the fabrication stages. Identifying of specification on a real transformer had been done before applied in software modelling. The final part of this paper deals with the hardware construction of multiphase system with the static load to see the effect of phase current on variation of load.
OPTIMIZATION OF BIOGAS PRODUCTION FROM POULTRY MANURE WASTEWATER IN 250 ML FLASKS
Authors: Chun Choo Wei , Mohd Jamaludin Nina Farhana , Zainol Norazwina
Published: September 2015

A research was conducted on anaerobic digestion from poultry manure wastewater to produce biogas. This research was considered as a triumph to the concept of waste-to-wealth. The poultry manure collected was characterized and pre-treated to remove excessive ammonia-N which caused inhibition to the biogas production. Central Composite Design (CCD) with five replicates at centre points was used to investigate the simultaneous effect of the variables: agitation (110-130 rpm) and reaction time (2-4 days) on the biogas production. Then, the experiment was designed and analyzed using Design Expert V7.0 software by applying response surface methodology (RSM) concept.The biogas production performance was evaluated on the basis of biogas yield from initial Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and was found ranged from 0.49 to 4.37 mL/g COD. Quadratic model was well fitted (R-squared>0.80) with a confidence level higher than 95 %. The optimum biogas production condition was at agitation: 120 rpm and reaction time: 3.3 days. Under this condition, 4.45 mL/g COD of biogas yield was obtained. This counted for 5.82% error from predicted values.
PRELIMINARY STUDY OF RADIO ASTRONOMICAL LINES EFFECT OF RAIN BELOW 2.9 GHZ
Authors: Umar Roslan , Sabri Nor Hazmin , Zainal Abidin Zamri , Ibrahim Zainol Abidin , Azid Azman , Juahir Hafizan , Toriman Mohd Ekhwan , Kamarudin Mohd Khairul Amri
Published: September 2015

An appropriate site selection for radio astronomy observation is very important in order to find a low level site in RFI value. The aim of this study is to select the best possible factors for astronomical observation sites. There are many factors such as slope, raindrop, river, population density, road network, land used, wireless telephone technology interrupts radio astronomy observation. In this study, we have reported one of the factors that affect radio observation which is rain effect. The site selection study is the most crucial part of decision makers proposes where to build an astronomical observatory, especially in radio astronomy with a maximum efficiency. The observation apparatus was set up to study the effect of rainfall and raindrop to the radio signal. We found that, in the inside observation, we found that spectral lines (Deuterium, Hydrogen, and two Hydroxyl lines) show that the rain gives no effect to radio signal in those windows. We also found that there is very small fluctuate value are very small (about -2 dB) for outside observation. It can be considered has no significant effect on rain below 2.9 GHz.
LANDSAT TM-8 DATA FOR RETRIEVING SALINITY IN AL-HUWAIZAH MARSH, SOUTH OF IRAQ
Authors: Hasab Hashim Ali , Ahmad Anuar , Marghany Maged , Ziboon Abdul Razzak
Published: September 2015

Mesopotamia marshlands constitute the largest wetland ecosystem in the Middle East and western Eurasia. These marshlands are located at the confluence of Tigris and Euphrates rivers in southern Iraq. Al-Huwaizah marsh is the biggest marsh in southern Iraq covered by an area (2400 Km2-3000 Km2) and depth (1.5 m-5 m). The construction dams by Turkey and Syrian for water storage as well as hydroelectric power generation along Tigris and Euphrates rivers, led to reduce and deteriorate water quality in Iraq's marshes. Salinity has become one of the major problems affecting crop production and food security in central and southern Iraq. The objective of this study to develop a new algorithm to retrieve salinity and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from optical remote sensing Landsat-8 (OLI/TIRS) data based on differential equations algorithms. The mathematical algorithms are linear, power and exponential algorithm. The integration between remote sensing techniques and geographic information system (GIS) to map hydrodynamic and the spatial variation of salinity distribution. There is a pressing need to quantify and map the spatial extent and distribution of the salinity in Al-Huwaizah marsh of southern Iraq during March-2013. The findings of this study proved that the integration between Landsat-8 data and GIS with salinity algorithms could provide a powerful tool for retrieving salinity in marshes zone.
APPRAISAL OF MOISTURE PROBLEM OF INHERITANCE BUILDING ENVELOPE ASSEMBLIES VIA VISIBLE AND INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY METHODS
Authors: Siew Jing Ting , Othuman Mydin Md Azree , Utaberta Nangkula
Published: September 2015

In order to gauge the moisture performance of walls and roofs there is a need to investigate the paths of moisture penetrating into the wall assembly, how long and where the moisture stays, and whether it causes temporary reduction of performance or permanent damage. The non-contact safe nature and usefulness in temperature measurement of infrared thermography have made it a popular instrument for building diagnostics. Hence, this paper depicts a documentation process which makes use of both visible and infrared thermal images to identify moisture anomalies in heritage building envelope assemblies. In sequence to achieve the purpose, visible and infrared thermal images are recorded for comparison and further analysis. It can be concluded that infrared thermal imaging camera is useful for identification of moisture problems in building façade, whereas combination of both visible and infrared thermal imaging methods produces a more advanced, accurate and effective approach for building diagnostics.
PROPERTIES OF MORTAR BLOCKS WITH WASTE CONCRETE ASH (WCA) AS A CEMENT REPLACEMENT
Authors: Abas N. F. , Karim M. A.
Published: September 2015

This paper presents the experimental investigation into the properties of mortar blocks containing waste concrete ash (WCA) as a cement replacement. In the experimental investigation, the properties of the mortar blocks were assessed through 3 different type of mixing. The replacement of waste concrete ash (WCA) had been divided into percentage which 0% (control), 5 %, 10 % and 15%. This different type of mixing had been tested with different duration with 7 day, 14 day and 28 day. Three cube specimens and three blocks specimens were prepared for each test. The total specimen that were prepared and tested are 36 cubes and 36 blocks. Workability test (slump test), density test, ultrasonic pulse velocity test, compressive strength test, flexural test and water absorption test were carried out. The experimental results of this study indicate that to observe the inclusion of waste concrete ash (WCA) in mortar blocks enhances the properties of mortar blocks in aspect of replacement of cement.
SAFETY SCAFFOLDING IN THE CONSTRUCTION SITE
Authors: Hamdan Nuraffefa , Awang Hanizam
Published: September 2015

Statistics have shown that the construction industry is one of those sectors that have a high rate of deaths and injuries compared with to the other sectors.  Scaffolding is a hazard that contributes to the large number of deaths and injuries in the construction industry. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors that influence the scaffolding related accidents at the construction site. The study was conducted using a questionnaire to obtain the maximum information and precise results. The questionnaire was prepared and distributed to listed contractors in grade G7 and G6 that are actively involved in carrying out construction work. The results of this study indicate that the higher factors influencing scaffold related accidents at construction site are caused by technical factors.
A STUDY ON EFFECTS OF SIZE COARSE AGGREGATE IN CONCRETE STRENGTH
Authors: Abd Hamid N. A. , Abas N. F.
Published: September 2015

The utilization of four types of aggregate for concrete work is investigated in this paper. Normal concrete is being produced from different types of aggregate and this imparts different property to the resulting concrete. The most important property of concrete is its compressive strength. For the purpose of this work, there are 4 types of aggregate size used for this study were classified as aggregate size 10, size 20, size 30 and mix aggregate. Concrete cube specimens of mix 1:1:2 were prepared with water-cement ratio of 0.5. The cubes were cured using methods water-submerged curing until testing ages of 7, 14, 21 and 28 days before the result determined. Some laboratory tests will be carried out in this study for the purpose of knowing the difference between the uses of different size aggregate in the concrete mix design. The tests carried out are as follows slump test, density test, flexural test, compression test, shrinkage and expansion test, ultrasonic pulse velocity test,  water absorption test and permeability test. According to laboratory tests, we can conclude that size 30 and mix aggregates are the best choice in concrete design.
TAWAF CROWD SIMULATION USING SOCIAL FORCE MODEL
Authors: Azizul Fata Ahmad Zakwan , Kari Sarudin , Mohd Rahim Mohd Shafry
Published: September 2015

This paper presents a crowd simulation system which simulates the movement of pilgrims in performing one of Hajj rituals, which is Tawaf. Tawaf is a unique case study due to its capacity and various set of pilgrims. Furthermore, the density of the crowd is extremely high. Tawaf also consist a certain set of rules and regulations that must be followed by the pilgrims. Social Force Model had been chosen to give each agent in the simulation a specific behavior to be followed. The algorithm also specifies how the agents interact with each other to generate collision free movements. To make the simulations as close as possible to real world scenarios, each agent varies in term of age, gender and behavior. The subjective evaluation of the system revealed that it can be used in pilgrim training before performing the actual Tawaf.
TOWARDS A REALISTIC MARKER-BASED AUGMENTED REALITY SCENE: ISSUES AND PROSPECTIVE ASPECT
Authors: Alhajhamad Hasan , Sunar Mohd Shahrizal
Published: September 2015

This paper describes the main problems in realistic Augmented Reality scenes. In order to view the real world with additional computer-generated information in a seamless and realistic integration, there are several research challenges that can be identified; some related to camera tracking, system design, user interaction, and rendering. The focus on each of these aspects was thoroughly explored by several methods and techniques. This study is considered to be an exploration for an Augmented Reality rendering technique. This technique focuses on increasing the realism in the AR scene. Thus, in order to realize the AR scene in a more realistic way, there are four main issues; light source detection, well-designed virtual objects that can have true reflex of the real environment, then integration of a real-time accurate soft shadow.
METHOD OF REGISTRATION FOR 3D FACE POINT CLOUD DATA
Authors: Mohd Sidik Mohd Kufaisal , Sunar Mohd Shahrizal , Zamri Muhamad Najib
Published: September 2015

This paper analyzes the techniques that can be used to perform point cloud data registration for a human face. We found that there is a limitation in full scale viewing on the input data taken from 3D camera which is only represented the front face of a man as the point of view of a camera. This has caused a hole on the surface that is not filled with the point cloud data. This research is done by mapping the retrieved point cloud to the surface of the face template of the human head. By using Coherent Point Drift (CPD) algorithm which is one of the non-rigid registration techniques, the analysis has been done and it shows that the mapping of points for a three-dimensional (3D) face is not done properly where there are some surfaces work well and certain points spread into the wrong area. Consequently, it has resulted in registration failure occurrences due to the concentration of the points which is focusing on the face only.
TOWARDS MOVEMENT-BASED INTERACTION FOR TAWAF TRAINING INVESTIGATING ITS SUITABILITY FOR OLDER ADULTS
Authors: Othman Nur Zuraifah Syazrah , Kari Sarudin , Mohd Rahim Mohd Shafry , Ghazali Masitah
Published: September 2015

Training of Tawaf (a rite in Hajj- the Muslim pilgrimage) has been limited to traditional method of text-reading and talk-listening. An edutainment approach of virtual environment simulation training could offer a more immersive experience through realistic Tawaf settings. Constructing a more natural interaction style for the virtual training, besides enhancing its realism value, could be the missing link in providing the engagement factor that appeal to older users. This paper describe a preliminary study in finding out a first indication on whether a natural interaction style through body movements could also be suitable for older users. Encouraging results showed that there is little difference in gesture performance of Istilam (a Tawaf gesture) between group of adult participants and group of older (age above 60) participants, suggesting the applicability of movement-based Tawaf training interaction to older adults as well.
A NOVEL DATASET FOR QURANIC WORDS IDENTIFICATION AND AUTHENTICATION
Authors: Sabbah Thabit , Selamat Ali
Published: September 2015

Quran is the holy book for Muslims around the world. For the past fourteen centuries after its revelation, ithas been preserved in all possible ways from any distortions. The huge increase in Internet usage and the spread of digital media lead to the development of many websites, services, and applications related to Quran. These efforts include the conversion of Quranic verses, translations, explanations,tafseer and other Quranic sciences into digital formats. Some of these efforts are foundless authentic. The authentication dependson correct identification of Quranic words in the text. In this paper, we introduce a novel dataset for Quranic words identification and authentication. The proposed dataset contains more than 93,000 samples with64 features for each extracted in numerical form.The validation tests of the proposed dataset resulted high accuracy average.
BUILDING MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT SERVICES FOR INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AND USER CONTENTMENT; CASE STUDY OF BUS TERMINALS IN MALAYSIA
Authors: L., Angelina, , A. A Tabassi,
Published: September 2015

The term maintenance is defined as combination of technical and administration works which includes supervision works that intended to retain item or reestablish it to a state in which it can perform its required function perfectly. Nowadays, with the increasing numbers of users in the public building especially peak season of the year, for the case study a bus terminal, the comfort and user contentment of the indoor environmental quality has become a most important element in maintenance management. In this research, level of current building maintenance management services for indoor environmental quality and user contentment was identified by assessment and checklist. Apart from that, IEQ test was conducted to support the level of contentment in user of the building. However, from the results of data collected, it was known that the latest quality maintenance services level in the bus terminals still not up to the level because user still side to the dissatisfaction range.
FINGERPRINT IMAGE ENHANCEMENT USING MEDIAN SIGMOID FILTER
Authors: Abdul Hamid Ainul Azura , Kumoi Rosely , Mohd Rahim Mohd Shafry , Syazrah Nur Zuraifah
Published: September 2015

Quality of fingerprint image is most essential to ensure good performance of minutiae extraction result since it depends heavily on the quality of fingerprint images. Fingerprint image with noise usually will produce spurious minutiae. In this paper, new combination filter called Median Sigmoid (MS) filter is introduced to remove the unwanted noise created during the acquisition process and hence increasing the accuracy of minutiae extraction result. The result shows that MS filter is an effective filter in enhancing the quality of a noisy image.
AN S-PI VISION-BASED TRACKING SYSTEM FOR OBJECT MANIPULATION IN AUGMENTED REALITY
Authors: Ismail Ajune Wanis , Bilinghust Mark , Sunar Mohd Shahrizal
Published: September 2015

In this paper, we describe a new tracking approach for object handling in Augmented Reality (AR). Our approach improves the standard vision-based tracking system during marker extraction and its detection stage. It transforms a unique tracking pattern into set of vertices which are able to perform interaction such as translate, rotate, and copy. This is based on arobust real-time computer vision algorithm that tracks a paddle that a person uses for input. A paddle pose pattern is constructed in a one-time calibration process and through vertex-based calculation of the camera pose relative to the paddle we can show 3D graphics on top of it. This allows the user to look at virtual objects from different viewing angles in the AR interface and perform 3D object manipulation. This approach was implemented using marker-based tracking to improve the tracking in term of the accuracy and robustness in manipulating 3D objects in real-time. We demonstrate our improved tracking system with a sample Tangible AR application, and describe how the system could be improved in the future.