Gamelan in general is categorized as a group of gongs. This traditional Malay gamelan ensemble is in a slendro scale i.e. five notes per octave. The rhythms, pitch, duration and loudness classify the various groups of gongs such as bonang, kenong, gender, peking and gambang. The cast bronze peking, kenong and bonang were chosen from a range of Malay gamelan ensemble from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM). The sounds were recorded by PicoScope Oscilloscope. The PicoScope software displays waveform and spectrum in time and frequency domain respectively. The peking lowest and highest frequencies from UiTM were 293 Hz and 1867 Hz, from UPM were 644 Hz and 1369 Hz, from UKM were 1064 Hz and 2131 Hz and from UNIMAS were 1072 Hz and 2105 Hz respectively. The kenong lowest and highest frequencies from UiTM were 259 Hz and 463 Hz, from UPM were 294 Hz and 543 Hz, from UKM were 300 Hz and 540 Hz and from UNIMAS were 293 Hz and 519 Hz respectively. The fundamental frequencies of bonang from UPM were higher than that of UKM, UiTM and UNIMAS. The harmonics were not successive but interrupted by another frequency. The harmonics of each bonang was similar except for gamelan from UKM.
Previous studies have indicated that the pipe-surface-mounted helical strakes effectively reduce vortex-induced vibration (VIV) under a uniform flow application, particularly during the lock-in region. Since VIV experiments are time-consuming, observation is generated with an interval helical strakes parameter in pitch and height to lessen tedious procedures and repetitive post-processing analyses. The aforementioned result subset is insufficient for helical strakes design optimisation because the trade-off between the helical strakes dimension, lock-in region and flow velocity are non-trivial. Thus, a parametric model based on an improved recursive least squares (RLS) parameter estimation technique is proposed to define the statistical relationship between input, or strakes and pipe dimension, and output, or VIV amplitude ratio. As results suggested, revised RLS estimated VIV model demonstrated an optimal prediction with the highest coefficient of determination and lowest Integral Absolute Error. The feasibility of VIV parametric model was validated by embed into Genetic Algorithm (GA) as the fitness function to acquire a desirable helical strakes dimension with minimum VIV amplitude. The rapid generation of optimal helical strakes dimension which returned the highest VIV suppression implied a superior simulation method compared to the experimental outcome.
Maximum k Satisfiability logical rule (MAX-kSAT) is a language that bridges real life application to neural network optimization. MAX-kSAT is an interesting paradigm because the outcome of this logical rule is always negative/false. Hopfield Neural Network (HNN) is a type of neural network that finds the solution based on energy minimization. Interesting intelligent behavior has been observed when the logical rule is embedded in HNN. Increasing the storage capacity during the learning phase of HNN has been a challenging problem for most neural network researchers. Development of Metaheuristics algorithms has been crucial in optimizing the learning phase of Neural Network. The most celebrated metaheuristics model is Genetic Algorithm (GA). GA consists of several important operators that emphasize on solution improvement. Although GA has been reported to optimize logic programming in HNN, the learning complexity increases as the number of clauses increases. GA is more likely to be trapped in suboptimal fitness as the number of clauses increases. In this paper, metaheuristic algorithm namely Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) were proposed in learning MAX-kSAT programming. ABC is swarm-based metaheuristics that capitalized the capability of Employed Bee, Onlooker Bee, and Scout Bee. To this end, all the learning models were tested in a new restricted learning environment. Experimental results obtained from the computer simulation demonstrate the effectiveness of ABC in modelling MAX-kSAT.
Inflammation and endothelial dysfunction are key components in atherogenesis. Should the status of these pro-atherogenesis factors be enhanced during prolonged confined space travel, specific countermeasures need to be instituted to prevent these processes to ensure safe outcome for astronauts during space expeditions. Six crew members were exposed to prolonged, confined isolation for 520 days. Standard exercise and diet regime were instituted throughout isolation phase. Age and gender-matched healthy, free living controls were recruited in parallel. Serial serum and whole blood were analysed for biomarkers of inflammation (hsCRP and IL-6) and endothelial activation (sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 and E-selectin). Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) of the artery was performed following the standard protocols set by the International Brachial Artery Reactivity Task Force by trained personnel. There was decreased sVCAM-1 concentration in crew members compared to baseline. However, there was significant decrease in percentage dilatation from baseline in FMD of the brachial artery in the crew members. Percent change increment was observed in hsCRP while percent change reduction was seen in sVCAM-1. The enhanced inflammation and reduced endothelial function could possibly be attributed to the rigorous exercise instituted throughout the confinement period. Furthermore, possible haemoconcentration as a result of psychosocial stress and/ or exercise-induced physiological response could further explain elevations in hsCRP, and unlikely pathological. Furthermore, endothelial activation was attenuated during isolation, suggesting that the diet and exercise program instated throughout the period improved endothelial function.
The abuse of antibiotics usage in bird industry has resulted in the emerging antibiotic resistant Enterococci worldwide which has posed a threat clinically to human health. The present study was to screen and identify the potential virulence agents in antibiotic resistance E. faecalis in bird industry in Borneo. Enterococcus bacteria collected from the birds’ faeces and indoor air inside ten birdhouses were identified to species level and their antibiotic resistance was checked using antibiotic susceptibility discs. Specific primers using PCR assay were intended for the detection of four potential virulence genes (ace, AS, efaA, gelE). Out of the thirty-seven Enterococci faecal bacteria, the prevailing bacteria found were Enterococcus qallinacum (51%), Enterococcus faecalis (35%) and Enterococcus harae (8%). The airborne bacteria were reported as Enterococcus faecalis (5%) and Enterococcus qallinacum (1%). Twenty-seven percent of isolates were reported to have Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) index ≥ 0.2 with 9 distinct resistance patterns formed. E. faecalis showed higher resistance to vancomycin. Virulence genes were successfully reported in the 15 E. faecalis isolates. Sixty-seven percent of isolates were detected positive for four virulence genes, 27% possessed three (AS, efaA, gelE) genes and 6% possessed two (ace, AS) genes. Antibiotic resistance and virulence genes detection were significantly correlated. These virulence genes or antibiotic resistance genes were important in the pathogenesis of E. faecalis infections.
An ideal model organism for neurotoxicology research should meet several characteristics, such as low cost and amenable for high throughput testing. Javanese medaka (JM) has been widely used in the ecotoxicological studies related to the marine and freshwater environment, but rarely utilized for biomedical research. Therefore, in this study, the applicability of using JM in the neurotoxicology research was assessed using biochemical comparison with an established model organism, the zebrafish. Identification of biochemical changes due to the neurotoxic effects of ethanol and endosulfan was assessed using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis. Treatment with ethanol affected the level of lipids, proteins, glycogens and nucleic acids in the brain of JM. Meanwhile, treatment with endosulfan showed alteration in the level of lipids and nucleic acids. For the zebrafish, exposure to ethanol affected the level of protein, fatty acid and amino acid, and exposure to endosulfan induced alteration in the fatty acids, amino acids, nucleic acids and protein in the brain of zebrafish. The sensitive response of the JM toward chemicals exposure proved that it was a valuable model for neurotoxicology research. More studies need to be conducted to further develop JM as an ideal model organism for neurotoxicology research.
Fine resolution (hourly rainfall) of rainfall series for various hydrological systems is widely used. However, observed hourly rainfall records may lack in the quality of data and resulting difficulties to apply it. The utilization of Bartlett-Lewis rectangular pulse (BLRP) is proposed to overcome this limitation. The calibration of this model is regarded as a difficult task due to the existence of intensive estimation of parameters. Global optimization algorithms, named as artificial bee colony (ABC) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) were introduced to overcome this limitation. The issues and ability of each optimization in the calibration procedure were addressed. The results showed that the BLRP model with ABC was able to reproduce well for the rainfall characteristics at hourly and daily rainfall aggregation, similar to PSO. However, the fitted BLRP model with PSO was able to reproduce the rainfall extremes better as compared to ABC.
Interactions between multispecies are usual incidence in their habitats. Such interactions among the species are thought to be asymmetric in nature, which combine with environmental factors can determine the distributions and abundances of the species. Most often, each species responds differentially to biotic interactions and environmental factors. Therefore, predicting the presence-absence of species is a major challenge in ecology. In this paper, we used mathematical modelling to study the combined effects of biotic interactions (i.e. asymmetric competition) and environmental factors on the presence-absence of the species across a geographical region. To gain better insight on this problem, we performed invasion and numerical simulation analyses of the model of multispecies competitive dynamics. Different threshold values of competition coefficients were observed, which result in different phenomena; such as coexistence of species and priority effects. Consequently, we propose that asymmetric biotic interactions, combined with environmental factors can allow coexistence of relatively weak and strong species at the same location x.
Dengue fever (DF) is a global health problem and considered to be endemic in Malaysia. Conventional mosquito traps currently applied as vector control do not effectively reduce Aedes mosquito population. AedesTech Mosquito Home System (AMHS) is an autocidal ovitraps for Aedes mosquitoes that uses the ‘lure and kill’ concept and is expected to be able to reduce Aedes mosquito population. The effectiveness of AMHS in reducing Aedes mosquito population was investigated in Block A, B and D (control) of the 17th College, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). For the first two weeks (pre-intervention), the conventional ovitraps were used to obtain the initial abundance of mosquito population in Block A, B and D. Subsequently, AMHS was used for the next three months and again followed by the conventional ovitrap for the final two weeks (post-intervention). Ovitrap Index, Hatching Index and percentage of emergence of adult mosquitoes were calculated once every two weeks. Data were analysed using Paired Sample T-test. Values were considered significant at p≤0.05. The Ovitrap Index that indicates the mosquito population at Block A and B was significantly higher (p≤0.05) than of Block D. Hatching Index of AMHS was significantly lower (p≤0.05) then conventional ovitraps. All mosquito eggs collected in AMHS did not develop into adult mosquitoes. There was a significant reduction (p≤0.05) in the mosquito population between the pre- and post-intervention. In conclusion, AMHS was effective in reducing the mosquito population in 17th College, UPM. Therefore, it is believed to be a very promising vector management option to control the incidence of DF.
High-intensity exercise acutely improves suppression of appetite in populations with normal body mass index (BMI). However, whether moderate intensity exercise (MIE) and high-intensity exercise (HIE) can elicit similar (or greater) appetite suppression effects for obese populations are still relatively unknown. The main aim is to investigate the acute effects of MIE and HIE on the appetite score, eating behaviour and blood glucose regulation among the obese population. Twelve obese participants (age: 20.8 ± 1 yr, BMI: 34.1 ± 3 kg·m-2, V̇o2max: 30.7 ± 3 ml·kg·min-1) were randomly allocated, in a crossover manner, with a 7-day interval in between (1) MIE (cycling at 60-75% HRmax), (2) HIE (cycling at 80-95% HRmax, 8-sec sprint x 12 sec rest) and (3) control (CON) condition after a 10-hr overnight fast. Physiological (fasting blood [glucose] and 24-hr calorie intake) and psychological responses (Three Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18, TFEQ-R18, and appetite score using Visual Analog Scale, VAS) were recorded prior to and after exercise interventions. Both MIE and HIE significantly reduced the calorie intake compared to CON (P0.05). A difference was found in fasting blood [glucose] level between trials in MIE (P0.05). In response to acute intervention, both MIE and HIE improved some psychological appetite score and attenuated daily energy consumption; these positive effects could benefit obese and diabetic populations.
The potential of Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae) and Centella asiatica (L.) Urban (Apiaceae) extracts (TGT-PRIMAAGE) in slowing the decline of memory and learning activity was investigated using D-galactose-induced ageing rat model. The extracts were profiled and standardised based on markers identified using LC/MS-QTOF. Toxicity study of the extract was done, and the rat did not show any sign of toxicity. The extract was orally administered to the rat and dose dependent (100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg) efficacy were investigated. The rats were subjected to Morris Water Maze whereby 3 parameters were studied (number of entry to platform, latency and novel object recognition). Plasma was collected for the determination of catalase (CAT) activity and levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and advanced glycation end products (AGEs). The activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), level of acetylcholine (ACh) and lipid peroxidation (LPO) were measured using the brain lysates. Significant improvement (p < 0.05) was seen in the memory and learning abilities in the aged rats that received medium and high dose of TGT-PRIMAAGE, and tocotrienol. Rats treated with TGT-PRIMAAGE had also shown improved CAT activity and resulted in reduced LPO. The level of ACh was found increased in parallel with the reduced AChE activity. The capabilities of learning and memory of the TGT-PRIMAAGE treated rats were enhanced via inhibition of AChE activity and subsequently increased level of ACh.
Gallic acid (GA) is a phenolic compound found in almost all plants and has been reported to possess powerful health benefits such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-diabetic properties. However, GA suffers a short half-life when administered in vivo. Recent studies have employed graphene oxide (GO), a biocompatible and cost-effective graphene derivative, as a nanocarrier for GA. However, the toxicity effect of this formulated nano-compound has not been fully studied. Thus, the present study aims to evaluate the toxicity and teratogenicity of GA loaded GO (GAGO) against zebrafish embryogenesis to further advance the development of GA as a therapeutic agent. GAGO was exposed to zebrafish embryos (n ≥ 10; 24hr post fertilization (hpf)) at different concentrations (0-500 μg/ml). The development of zebrafish was observed and recorded twice daily for four days. The toxicity of pure GO and GA was also observed at similar concentrations. Distilled water was used as control throughout the experiment. A significantly high mortality rate, delayed hatching rate and low heartbeat were recorded in embryos exposed to GO at concentrations of ≥ 150 μg/ml at 48 hr (p
The use of graphical knowledge representation formalisms with a representational vocabulary agreement of terms of conceptualization of the universe of discourse is a new high potential approach in the ontology engineering and knowledge management context. Initially, concept maps were used in the fields of education and learning. After that, it became popular in other areas due to its flexible and intuitive nature. It was also proven as a useful tool to improve communication in corporate environment. In the field of ontologies, concept maps were explored to be used to facilitate different aspects of ontology development. An essential reason behind this motivation is the structural resemblance of concept maps with the hierarchical structure of ontologies. This research aims to demonstrate quantitative evaluation of 4 different hypotheses related to the effectiveness of using concept maps for ontology conceptualization. The domain of Quran was selected for the purpose of this study and it was conducted in collaboration with the experts from the Centre of Quranic Research, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The results of the hypotheses demonstrated that concept mapping was easy to learn and implement for the majority of the participants. Most of them experienced improvement in domain knowledge regarding the vocabularies used to refer to the structure of organization of the Quran, namely Juz, Surah, Ayats, tafsir, Malay translation, English translation, and relationships among these entities. Therefore, concept maps instilled the element of learning through the conceptualization process and provided a platform for participants to resolve conflicting opinions and ambiguities of terms used immediately.
There are many variables involved in the real life problem so it is difficult to choose an efficient model out of all possible models relating to analytical factors. Interaction terms affecting the model also need to be addressed because of its vital role in the actual dataset. The current study focused on efficient model selection for collector efficiency of solar dryer. For this purpose, collector efficiency of solar dryer was used as a dependent variable with time, inlet temperature, collector average temperature and solar radiation as independent variables. Hybrid of the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and robust regression were proposed for the identification of efficient model selection. The comparison was made with the ordinary least square (OLS) after performing a multicollinearity and coefficient test and with a ridge regression analysis. The final selected model was obtained using eight selection criteria (8SC). To forecast the efficient model, the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) was used. As compared to other methods, the proposed method provides a more efficient model with minimum MAPE.
Since its debut in 2009, League of Legends (LoL) has been on a rise in becoming an extremely favoured multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game. This paper presented a logic mining technique to model the results (Win / Lose) of the LoL games played in 3 regions, namely South Korea, North America and Europe. In this research, a method named k satisfiability based reverse analysis method (kSATRA) was brought forward to obtain the logical relationship among the gameplays and objectives in the game. The logical rule obtained from the LoL games was used to categorize the results of future games. kSATRA made use of the advantages of Hopfield Neural Network and k Satisfiability representation. The data set used in this study included the data of all 10 teams from each region, which composed of all games from Spring Season 2018. The effectiveness of kSATRA in obtaining logical rule in LoL games was tested based on root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) and CPU time. Results acquired from the computer simulation showed the robustness of kSATRA in exhibiting the performance of the LoL teams.
Clonal selection algorithm and discrete Hopfield neural network are extensively employed for solving higher-order optimization problems ranging from the constraint satisfaction problem to complex pattern recognition. The modified clonal selection algorithm is a comprehensive and less iterative immune-inspired searching algorithm, utilized to search for the correct combination of instances for Very large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuit structure. In this research, the VLSI circuit framework consists of Boolean 3-Satisfiability instances with the different complexities and number of transistors are considered. Hence, a hybrid modified clonal selection algorithm with discrete Hopfield neural network is well developed to optimize the configuration of VLSI circuits with different number of electronic components such as transistors as the instances. Therefore, the performance of the developed hybrid model was assessed experimentally with the standard models, HNNVLSI-3SATES and HNNVLSI-3SATGA in term of circuit accuracy, sensitivity, robustness and runtime to complete the verification process. The results have demonstrated the developed model, HNNVLSI-3SATCSA produced a minimum error (consistently approaching 0), better accuracy (more than 80%) and faster computational time (less than 125 seconds) against changes in the complexity in term of the number of transistors. Furthermore, the developed hybrid model is able to minimize the computational burden and configurational noises for the variant of VLSI circuits.
Food distribution and diversity is a significant factor that determines the habitat and site selection of avian species. Its effects on the health, reproduction, survival rate, diversity indices, population structure and home range of avian species. In wetland ecosystem, bird home range and population structure is influenced by richness and diversity of food resources and availability of suitable foraging sites. The aim of the study was to ascertain the food variety of Lesser Whistling Duck – Dendrocygna javanica in Paya Indah Wetland Reserve (PIWR). A scan method was employed from strategic places or blinds using a spotting scope and binocular to determine the food selection and density by Distance sampling point count method. Food items were categorised into the aquatic plants (AP), aquatic invertebrates (AIV), aquatic vertebrates (AV), terrestrial plants (TP), terrestrial vertebrates (TV) and terrestrial invertebrates (TIV). Distance analysis indicated that PIWR harboured 3.88 ± 0.00 birds per ha (n = 188 individuals). In addition, the results revealed that higher bird relative abundance of Lesser Whistling Duck concentrated in the shallow of Belibis lake that was rich in submerged and emergent vegetation (Eleocharis dulcis, Philydrum lanuginosum, Utricularia vulgaris, and Potamogeton perfoliatus). Kruskal–Wallis H test showed that food items were significantly different. Lesser Whistling Duck showed strong correlationship with AIV (r2 = 1.00, P < 0.05) and negative relationship with water TP (r2 = –0.061, P< 0.05). The regression model highlighted that Lesser Whistling Duck significantly preferred aquatic invertebrates, r2 = –0.686±0.68; P
The study aimed at using satellite remote sensing in identifying the land-use changes that have occurred in Lafia, Nigeria within the past 35 years, especially in relation to the current and the predicted future invasion of a fern (Pneumatopteris afra). Landsat satellite images OLI/TIRS, ETM+ and TM within the interval of 15 years from 1985 to 2020 were used for the extraction of land-use. Six broad classification systems were used to classify the land-use changes by employing a supervised classification technique. In 1985, the bare land dominated the land-use having an area of 69156 ha while the wetland was the least having an area of 3412 ha. However, in 2020, the built-up area has dominated the land-use of Lafia with an area of 144645 ha (52.21%) while the wetland still remained the least with area of 1477 ha. This is obviously due to the geometric increase in the urbanization of this city. There was a consistent loss of the forests from 1985 to 2020 with an annual rate of loss of 0.46%. This resulted in a loss of 44329 ha of forests in 2020 out of the 47643 ha in 1985. This approximately leads to a total loss of 172,732,045 USD of forest products. The current invasion of Pneumatopteris afra in Lafia was found to fall within the shrub and grasses land-use class. This indicates that the landsat satellite could not detect the wetlands where the plant dominated due to its massive covering. This study calls for immediate conservation of the remaining forests and wetlands in Lafia to prevent further encroachments and invasion by plants.
Endless industrial development and growing society occasionally create an enormous volume of wastewater, which leads to some issues on wastewater treatment. Existing conventional screening processes have various limitations and drawbacks. Therefore, this study investigated the use of a combination of non-corrosive stainless steel wool and a permanent magnet to increase magnetic gradient, hence reducing suspended matter in sewage through turbidity test. An approach for optimizing the reduction of suspended matter through turbidity analysis was conducted using central composite design (CCD) under response surface methodology (RSM). Three critical independent variables, such as magnet strength, circulation time, and steel wool, and turbidity removal as the response, were further studied to analyze their interaction effects. As a result, an optimal value of turbidity removal was found at 90.3% under the specified optimum conditions of magnet strength of 245 mT, 116 g of non-corrosive stainless steel wool, and 16 h of circulation time. Statistical analysis had shown that the magnet strength, circulation time, and steel wool significantly affected the turbidity removal performance. Furthermore, design of experiment was significantly verified by a small range of error between predicted and actual data. Consequently, a higher gradient of magnetic separation was proven to effectively remove suspended matter using inexpensive non-corrosive stainless steel wool without using magnetic adsorbent. Thus, the suggested approach was found to be cost-effective and environmentally friendly for sewage treatment.