Clustering in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is one of the methods to minimize the energy usage of
sensor network. The design of sensor network itself can prolong the lifetime of network. Cluster head in
each cluster is an important part in clustering to ensure the lifetime of each sensor node can be preserved
as it acts as an intermediary node between the other sensors. Sensor nodes have the limitation of its
battery where the battery is impossible to be replaced once it has been deployed. Thus, this paper
presents an improvement of clustering algorithm for two-tier network as we named it as Multi-Tier
Algorithm (MAP). For the cluster head selection, fuzzy logic approach has been used which it can
minimize the energy usage of sensor nodes hence maximize the network lifetime. MAP clustering
approach used in this paper covers the average of 100Mx100M network and involves three parameters
that worked together in order to select the cluster head which are residual energy, communication cost
and centrality. It is concluded that, MAP dominant the lifetime of WSN compared to LEACH and SEP
protocols. For the future work, the stability of this algorithm can be verified in detailed via different data
and energy.
In this study, extracted plumeria and celosia cristata flowers have been used as the sensitizer for dyesensitized
solar cells (DSSC). The cells were fabricated using TiO2 as a semiconductor layer
deposited on transparent Indium doped tin oxide (ITO) conductive glass using a spin coating
technique. The films with dyes were characterized by UV-VIS absorption spectra. The photovoltaic
properties of DSSC were studied under an incident irradiation of 100 mW/cm2
. The I-V characteristic
curves of all fabricated cells were measured and analysed. The energy conversion efficiency (η) of the
cells consisting of plumeria extract and celosia cristata extract was 3.73 × 10-6
and 1.18 × 10-7 respectively.
A good quality of rainfall data is highly necessary in hydrological and meteorological analyses. Lack
of quality in rainfall data will influence the process of analyses and subsequently, produce misleading
results. Thus, this study is aimed to propose modified missing rainfall data treatment methods that
produced more accurate estimation results. In this study, the old normal ratio method and the
modified normal ratio based on trimmed mean are combined with geographical coordinate method.
The performances of these modified methods were tested on various levels of the missing data of 36
years complete daily rainfall records from eighteen meteorology stations in Peninsular Malaysia. The
results indicated that both modified methods improved the estimation of missing rainfall values at the
target station based on the least error measurements. Modified normal ratio based on trimmed mean
with geographical coordinate method is found to be the most appropriate method for station Batu
Kurau and Sg. Bernam while modified old normal ratio with geographical coordinate is the most
accurate in estimating the missing data at station Genting Klang.
This study investigates the effect of oxalic acid at different concentrations as doping agent on
the electrical properties of polyaniline (PANI). The polymerization of aniline to produce
PANI was carried out in media containing oxalic acid at 0.08 M, 0.09 M, 0.1 M, 0.2 M and
0.3 M in the presence of ammonium persulphate as oxidizing agent. The successful formation
of PANI doped with oxalic acid was confirmed by FTIR and the morphology studied using
XRD. An impedance investigation on the series of PANI formed revealed that doping in 0.1M
oxalic acid produced PANI of the highest conductivity of 2.52 x 10-6
Scm-1.
The interrelationship between freshwater availability with the growing population and climate change
estimates is complex. This article investigates climate change role in freshwater resources availability. This
is critical issue as freshwater is vital resource for life, and it is in stake as it is depleted worldwide.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) was
discussed. This paper elucidates the climate model downscaling methods used by scholars for future
projections. The applications of modelling could provide a holistic approach based on historical data to
predict the effect of climate change on the availability of freshwater. However, the people variability
uncertainties dominate assessments of freshwater stress, whilst climate change projections uncertainties are
more hypothesized to play a smaller role than people.
The Pandanus species (Pandanaceae family) was investigated, in order to set up a library of their chromatographic profiles. From a literature review, the most common Pandanus plant that was greatly examined was P. amaryllifolius (the fragrant screw pine), followed by P. sanderi. Here, the chromatographic data from an extract of a relatively unfamiliar Pandanus is also presented. The leaves of P. monotheca were extracted by using methanol. Later, the extract was filtered, prior to a Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) experiments. The automated system was set to run by gradient elution (acetonitrile:water). The flow rate was maintained at 1 ml/min, otherwise stated in a number of attempts. The ultra-violet absorbance of the Pandanus’ constituents was measured via Multiple Wavelength Detector. From the chromatogram, the major peaks for Pandanus’ compounds were eluted (λ = 220, 260 and 360 nm) and the retention times were recorded. The lower absorbance readings of other minor peaks could be due to various minor secondary metabolites, such as the furolignan. The different elution time depends on the polarity of the composition. In short, Pandanus’ phytochemicals could be obtained via alcoholic extraction. The utilisation of modern chromatographic applications enables the scientists to discover and subsequently, purify single component of the complex natural mixtures. This finding can be beneficial to the research areas in botanical study, pharmacognostical assessment and biotechnology industry. It is aimed that more
Pandanus species could be learnt for the future.
In this study the role of Polymer flooding as one of the most efficient processes to enhance oil
recovery (EOR) is discussed. As we know, Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a bio-based polymer that
has potential application for use in polymer flooding. This polymer is reviewed with particular
emphasis on the effect of concentration, shear rate, salinity, hardness and temperature on polymer
viscosity. Initial findings showed that PHB owned higher resistant as compared to mechanical
degradation and thermal stability of HPAM as well as XG.
Anthropogenic CO2 emissions has led to global climate change and widely contributed to global
warming since its concentration has been increasing over time. It has attracted vast attention
worldwide. Currently, the different CO2 capture technologies available include absorption, solid
adsorption and membrane separation. Chemical absorption technology is regarded as the most
mature technology and is commercially used in the industry. However, the key challenge is to
find the most efficient solvent in capturing CO2. This paper reviews several types of CO2 capture
technologies and the various factors influencing the CO2 absorption process, resulting in the
development of a novel solvent for CO2 capture.
A series of Schiff base ligand, SALMPD, and its mono- and trinuclear Zn(II) metal complexes were synthesised from m-phenylenediamine and salicylaldehyde in alcoholic solution. The synthesis of ligand and mononuclear complex were synthesised using conventional condensation method, while the trinuclear complex was done using microwave-assisted synthesis method. The structure of each compound was elucidated by elemental analysis, infrared and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The infrared spectrum of SALMPD shows a strong azomethine (C=N) band at 1621.62c m⁻¹, indicates the formation of the ligand. Upon complexation of the mononuclear complex, the C=N infrared band shifted and the disappearing of the phenolic hydrogen signal in ¹H NMR suggesting the chelation between Zinc(II) metal ion and ligand took place when azomethine and phenolic hydrogen deprotonated. The trinuclear complex, Zn3(SALMPD) obtained was consist of two moieties of mononuclear Zn₃(SALMPD), which act as ligands that chelating to the third Zn(II) metal ion through oxygen atom due to the shifting of M-O infrared band from 575.12-540.53cm⁻¹, which serves as a coordination site for the metal ion.
This study focused on the identification of pathogenic bacteria in raw water intake and after sand filtration for drinking water treatment plant during flood event in 2014. The samples was collected from the Lubok Buntar Water Treatment Plant (WTP) and processed through bacterial isolation using chocolate agar as a media. The isolation process conducted based on serial samples dilution and streaking method prior to DNA extraction. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) extraction kit was used to get selected bacteria DNA and further analysis using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test and electrophoresis to get DNA sequences. The Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) analysis was employed to identify the species of the isolated bacteria. As a result, Pantoeaagglomerans and Enterobacter sp. were found in raw and filtered water sample and indicating the same family types. It was concluded that bacteria of the same species were found before and after sand filtration and need to be removed by disinfectant process. The findings also indicated that all the physicochemical parameters measured were within the values prescribed by the Interim National Water Quality Standard (INWQS).
The new complexes [CuL2
(H2
O)2
] and [FeL2
(CH3
O)2
] in which L =
β-mangostin were synthesised and characterised. The structure of the
ligand, β-mangostin was confirmed using NMR and the purity of ligand
was determined using HPLC. Both Cu(II) and Fe(II) complexes were
prepared by reaction between the ligand and the acetate of the metals in
one-step reaction. The synthesised compounds have been characterised
using UV-Visible, FTIR and CHNS analyser. Ligand and metal complexes
were tested against bacteria to assess on their antimicrobial properties using
Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MICs) and Minimum Bactericidal
Concentrations (MBCs) method. The elemental analysis and spectra data
suggested octahedral geometry for both Cu(II) and Fe(II) complexes. The
IR spectroscopy revealed that the chelation of Cu2+ and Fe2+ ion occurred
with hydroxyl and carbonyl group at C9
and C1 respectively of β-mangostin.
Both Cu(II) and Fe(II) complexes showed stronger inhibition against
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumoniae and
Salmonella pneumonia at concentration 900 mg/mL and Escherichia coli
at 450 mg/mL compared to the ligand itself
Heavy metal ions contamination has become more serious which is caused
by the releasing of toxic waterfrom industrial area and landfill that are very
harmful to all living organism especially human and can even cause death
if contaminated in small amount of heavy metal concentration. Currently,
peoples are using classic method namely electrochemical treatment,
chemical oxidation/reduction, chemical precipitation and reverse osmosis
to eliminate the metal ions from toxic water. Unfortunately, these methods
are costly and not environmentally friendly as compared to bioadsorption
method, where agricultural waste is used as biosorbent to remove heavy
metals. Two types of agricultural waste used in this research namely oil
palm mesocarp fiber (Elaesis guineensis sp.) (OPMF) and mangrove bark
(Rhizophora apiculate sp.) (MB) biomass. Through chemical treatment,
the removal efficiency was found to improve. The removal efficiency is
examined based on four specification namely dosage, of biosorbent to
adsorb fourtypes of metalsion explicitly nickel, lead, copper, and chromium.
The research has found that the removal efficiency of MB was lower than
OPMF; whereas, the multiple metals ions removal efficiency decreased in
the order of Pb2+ > Cu2+ > Ni2+ > Cr2+.
Elaeis oleifera serves as a source of genetic foundation in oil palm improvement programme, as it possess several interesting agronomic traits such as slow growth, higher oil unsaturation and disease resistance. Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) has developed a collection of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) from Elaeis oleifera genome (E. oleifera-gSSRs). A total of 21 polymoprhic SSR markers were evaluated in the attempt to assess the population structure of E. oleifera populations. The appropriate common ancestry (K) value was determined to be seven from the likelihood scores. The profile from STRUCTURE analysis indicates considerable sharing of genetic components among E. oleifera population with an exception for Population 01 from Columbia and Population 02 from Costa Rica. The present study provides information on population structure of MPOB E. oleifera collection via model-based method for germplasm conservation and utilisation in breeding programmes.
A study on abundance and diversity of Hymenoptera was conducted in Gunung Datuk, Rembau. Samplings were conducted from November 2014 to February 2015 using six Malaise traps. Three traps were placed at Site 1 at 700m height for high elevation and the remaining traps were placed at Site 2 at 200m height for low elevation. A total number of 221 Hymenopteran were collected which consist of nine families namely Ichneumonidae, Formicidae, Braconidae, Bethylidae, Evaniidae, Tiphiidae, Vespidae, Pompilidae and Apidae. In this study, 93 individuals were obtained from Site 1, comprising nine families and 43 morphospecies while 127 individuals were obtained from Site 2 with nine families and 45 morphospecies. Formicidae was the most dominant family collected from both sites with a total of 104 individuals while the least family recorded was Apidae with only one individual. Shannon’s Weiner Diversity Index (H’) showed Site 1 had the higher diversity value with H’ = 3.17 compared to Site 2 with value H’ = 3.12. For Evenness Index, Site 1 had higher value compared to Site 2 with E’ = 0.84 and E’ =0.82 respectively. Moreover, for Margalef Richness Index, Site 1 recorded R’ = 9.24 while site two recorded R’ = 9.08 which concluded that Site 1 had higher species richness compared to Site 2. Paired t-test showed that both sites had no significant difference with p>0.05. Overall study showed that the diversity and abundance of Hymenoptera in Gunung Datuk were low since the value of H’ is less than 3.50.
This study aimed to understand the problems faced by self-planning
travellers when they plan for a trip by searching travel information from
the Internet and propose a system to facilitate the self-planning travellers
to obtain useful travel information. An online survey was conducted via
social media to understand the problems, the search criteria and types of
content of travel itinerary needed in facilitating the planning. A total of
65 responses were collected. The results showed that there were too many
unrelated information on the Web and travellers were unsure of where to
start the search. Also, the result revealed that the search criteria needed to
generate travel itinerary were travel date, travel duration, travel country
and travel budget. Finally, flight schedule, hotel accommodation, sightseeing
places, travelling route and things to do were the information required by
travellers for their travel itineraries. Based on the results, a travel itinerary
recommendation system named eTravelPlanner is proposed.
Storytelling is considered as an interactive social arts that uses word and
gestures to reveal the elements and images of a story while engaging the
listener's imagination. Multimedia based digital storytelling learning
approach provides interesting, interactive, engaging and multisensory
learning experience to children. Children explore new experience and
scenarios as new stories are being told. This study concentrates on
determining the best combination of elements for designing effective digital
storytelling applications specifically for the usage of dyslexic children.
Dyslexic children are known to have a common learning difficulty that can
cause problems with reading, writing, spelling and comprehension. These
applications are design with the objective to help in improving dyslexic
children ability in readings and comprehensions. Four elements were
derived from extensive literature studies. The elements are multimedia
components, multi-sensory instructional approach, emotional design and
games design. The relationship among all the elements were determine
and described in details as it will be used to contribute to the design and
development of the application in further works. The strength of this study
is it models the combinations of technology, psychology and instructional
approach as a support components for developing an effective digital story
telling learning application for dyslexic children.
Text localisation determines the location of the text in an image. This process
is performed prior to text recognition. Localising text on shop signage is
a challenging task since the images of the shop signage consist of complex
background, and the text occurs in various font types, sizes, and colours.
Two popular texture features that have been applied to localise text in
scene images are a histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) and speeded up
robust features (SURF). A comparative study is conducted in this paper
to determine which is better with support vector machine (SVM) classifier.
The performance of SVM is influenced by its kernel function and another
comparative study is conducted to identify the best kernel function. The
experiments have been conducted using primary data collected by the
authors. Results indicate that HOG with quadratic kernel function localises
text for shop signage better than SURF.
This paper presents the development of a Graphical User Interface (GUI)
for calculating the sum of nail-fold (NF) and distal interphalangeal joint
(DIP) ratios for all ten fingers. The sum of NF:DIP ratios for all ten fingers
leads to the Digital Index (DI) that was used as the measure for identifying
and determining the presence of finger clubbing symptom. This GUI system
was developed to serve as a simple and user-friendly interface for clinicians
to calculate DI value of patients in a busy clinic practice. It is also equipped
with the capability to keep the patient’s past diagnosis medical check-up
data for future monitoring purposes. The result shows that the developed
system helps the clinicians to perform calculation of DI value and identify
the presence of finger clubbing in a very short time. The average time taken
to measure both NF and DIP circumferences using Finger Clubbing Meter,
and to compute DI values using Digital Index Evaluation System (DIES)
interface is 6:36 ± 1:24 minutes (Mean ± SD) .This system is expected to
contribute in detecting the finger clubbing problem at early stage of so the
treatment can be performed immediately.
In recent years, the utility grid system is more essential for the power
transmission and distribution system because it cannot produce harmful
gases or no discharge waste in the environment. PWM based phase
synchronous invert systems are generally utilised in the high efficiency
energy supply, long distance and higher power quality. The inverter output
voltage depends on the coupling transformer, input sources and invert
controllers. An inverter using a three leg IGBT has been designed for utility
grid and simulated by using MATLAB2014a. In this paper, both sides of
the LCL filters are used for removing the DC ripple current, reducing the
noise and synchronous the output phase between inverter and the utility
grid. The PWM controller has created pulse signal to control the inverter,
electronic switches and precisely synchronise with grid line frequency. In
this system, the input DC voltage 500V, switching frequency 1.65 kHz, grid
frequency 50Hz, 20 km feeder (resistance, inductance and capacitance per
unit length, which are 0.1153, 1.05e-3 and 11.33e-09 ohms/km) with 30MW
three phase load (active and inductive reactive power which are 30e6 W
and 2e6 var) and also a balanced utility grid load of star configuration (00,
1200, and 2400 degree) are considered in the design. On the other hand,
three phase transformer consists of three signal phase transformers, normal
power 100e3, magnetization resistance and inductance which are 500 pu and
416.67pu are considered in this design. The system conversion efficiency
is 99.94% and 99.96%, while the total THD are 0.06% on inverter side
and 0.04% on grid side.
'Doa' is derived from Arabic word which means that one asks for the
fulfillment or a need or the cure of sickness from him/her. Having to search
and retrieve the relevant ‘doa’ for one needs at any particular time is
beneficial. There are some search and retrieval applications that require
using the exact match of the keyword search with the words stored in the
database. This approach leads to the retrieval of insignificant results as
users need to know the exact word to be searched. Therefore, this project
allows for partial keyword search that utilises N-gram method for the
search and retrieval process. Moreover, various words may have similar
meaning thus to increase the accuracy of the retrieved result, this project
compares the dice and overlap coefficient algorithms to find the synonyms
of the searched word. The result produced indicates that overlap coefficient
perform better than dice coefficient.