Combining Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient with wavelet transform for feature extraction is not new. This paper proposes a new architecture to help in increasing the accuracy of speaker recognition compared with conventional architecture. In conventional speaker model, the voice will undergo noise elimination first before feature extraction. The proposed architecture however, will extract the features and eliminate noise simultaneously. The MFCC is used to extract the voice features while wavelet de-noising technique is used to eliminate the noise contained in the speech signals. Thus, the new architecture achieves two outcomes in one single process: ex-tracting voice feature and elimination of noise.
Despite advances in the management of diabetes, the rate of control of
diabetes in the population remains modest. Perception of diabetes control is a key to
patient empowerment. The aim of this study was to describe the perception of diabetes
control among patient with poorly controlled diabetes. (Copied from article).
Sawdust is considered a waste material and a number of innovative ways are being taken to mitigate its effects on the environment. The use of sawdust as additional admixture in cement-sand brick production is an alternative option to mitigate the problem. In this study, three different types of cement-sand brick mixture in proportion of 1%, 2% and 3% of sawdust added to the normal mixture are prepared. Compression test was conducted on the brick mixture and results indicated 1% sawdust satisfy the Class 1 loadbearing brick whilst the 2% sawdust is slightly above the minimum required strength of 5.2 MN/ m2 for an ordinary quality brick set by the Standards MS 76:1972. Thus, the use of sawdust as admixture in cement-sand brick should not exceed 3%.
Excellent treatment setup accuracy with highly conformal radiation technique will improve oral mucosal sparing by
limiting uninvolved mucosal structures from receiving high dose radiation. Therefore, a study was conducted to identify
the ideal immobilization device for interfraction treatment setup accuracy improvement. A total of twelve oral cancer
patients underwent volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) was categorized into three different group depending on
immobilization device they used for treatment. HFW: headFIX® mouthpiece molded with wax, SYR: 10 cc/ml syringe and
TDW: wooden tongue depressor molded by wax. Each patient underwent image-guided radiotherapy with a total of 292
cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) data sets for position treatment setup errors measurement. The variations in
translational (lateral, longitudinal, vertical) and rotational (pitch, yaw, roll) in each CBCT image were calculated. Patient
positioning errors were analyzed for time trends over the course of radiotherapy. CTV-PTV margins were calculated from
the systematic (Σ) and random (σ) errors. Mean ± SD for absolute treatment setup error was statistically significant
(p < 0.001) lower for all translational errors and yaw direction in HFW. The interfraction 3D vector errors were 1.93 ±
0.66, 3.84 ± 1.34 and 2.79 ± 1.17 mm for the HFW, SYR and TDW respectively. There are positive increments between 3D
vector errors over the treatment fraction for all devices. The calculated CTV-PTV margins were 3.08, 2.22 and 0.81 mm,
3.76, 6.24 and 5.06 mm and 3.06, 3.45 and 4.84 mm in R-L, S-I and A-P directions, respectively. HFW shows smaller errors
in almost all comparison indicating higher accuracy and reproducibility of the immobilization device in maintaining
patient’s position. All margins calculated did not exceed hospital protocol (5 mm) except S-I and A-P directions using
SYR. However, in some special situations, such as re-irradiation or the close proximity of organs at risk and high-dose
regions or lower (i.e., 3 mm) margins could benefit from daily image guidance.
Objectives: This study investigated the relationship between coping skills and
psychosocial adjustments among parents of children with LD.
Method: A
cross-sectional study with a convenience sampling method was applied to a total
of 87 parents of children with LD from four non-government community
rehabilitation centers. They were measured using a validated Malay version of
the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scale (F-COPES) for coping
skills. The Modified Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale-Self-Report
(PAIS-SR) was used to measure parents’ psychosocial adjustments.
Results: A
Spearman’s rho showed a correlation between total coping skills and
psychosocial adjustments scores among parents (rs= -0.43, p
Gastrodin elata blume (Tianma in Chinese, Chunma in Korean) is a perennial parasitic herbaceous plant native to Korea, Japan and China (Chae et al., 2008). The plant has recently received very good attention, especially in Korea, due to its excellent health-promoting properties. This plant is reported to have excellent antioxidant, anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties. This paper briefly reviews some characteristics and functional properties of Chunma.
Breast cancer is considered as one of the most common cancers all over the world. A huge effort has been made to create a safe and cost effective breast cancer treatment. All of these features exist in the plants sources. In this study, the effect of local vegetable salad, Premna serratifolia (Bebuas) against MCF-7 cells (human breast adenocarcinoma) was determined. The optimum condition to extract breast cancer cytotoxic compound from the plant was investigated and the exact cytotoxic compound was identified as well. To determine the plant cytotoxicity effect against MCF-7 cells, MTT assay was used. Two important parameters in the sonication extraction method which are duration of time and temperature were optimized by carrying out a series of experiments which were designed by Face Centered Central Composite Design (FCCCD). The extraction efficiency of each experiment was determined by measuring the yield of extract and the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of the extract against MCF-7 cells. The results obtained from the experiments were fitted to the second order polynomial model to generate equation that was used to determine best extraction processing condition. Based on the generated equation, the best sonication processing condition to extract the cytotoxic compound is at 30oC for 67 min. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the duration of extraction time has great influence (p
The global drop in oil and natural gas industry have had a significant impact on the
Malaysian market and have potentially redirected Malaysia under a negative global
spotlight. The layoff rate in oil and natural gas organizations have risen dramatically,
this situation may affect the satisfaction level among employees and their loyalty in
the respective oil and natural gas industry. The present study is aimed to determine the
relationship between employee satisfaction and employee loyalty in Oil and Natural
Gas Industry. Using simple random sampling technique 100 employees working in Oil
and Natural Gas Industry were selected as respondents. Questionnaire was used for
data collection. Results obtained showed that there is positive correlation between different
components of employee satisfaction and employee loyalty. A notable variable
that emerged in the analysis was compensation and benefits, while career development
was least important that predisposed loyalty.
Displaced and unstable proximal humerus fractures are difficult to treat
and they have high morbidity. The main goal is to achieve painless shoulder with full
recovery of the shoulder joint motion. Impingement syndrome is one of the commonest
postoperative complication. This study aim is to appreciate the functional outcomes of
Philos-plate fixation for proximal humerus fractures and to establish association with
high plate positioning with impingement syndrome of the shoulder after Philos-plate
fixation. (Copied from article).
Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation (SVPWM) method is widely used as a modulation technique
to drive a three-phase inverter. It is an advanced computational intensive method used in pulse width modulation (PWM) algorithm for the three-phase voltage source inverter. Compared with the other PWM techniques, SVPWM is easier to implement, thus, it is the most preferred technique among others. Mathematical model for SVPWM was developed using MATLAB/ Simulink software. In this paper, the interface between MATLAB Simulink with the three-phase inverter by using Arduino Uno microcontroller is proposed. Arduino Uno generates the SVPWM signals for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) and is described in this paper. This work consists of software and hardware implementations. Simulation was done via Matlab/Simulink software to verify the effectiveness of the system and to measure the percentage of Total Harmonic Distortion (THD). The results show that SVPWM technique is able to drive the three-phase inverter with the Arduino UNO.
Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT)-based image compression techniques have been utilized in most of the earth observation (EO) satellites launched during the last few decades, since they have proved to be more efficient than other methods used previously with remote sensing multispectral imaging payloads. The efficiency of these techniques is mainly due to their high compression ratio that can be achieved while maintaining the quality of the compressed image. Also, they are considered multi-resolution compression techniques. However, these techniques are considered computationally demanding, due to their complex and sophisticated hardware. Due to the limited computational resources available on-board small satellites, they are considered one of the important criteria when choosing the satellite image compression method, along with the compression ratio and quality of the reconstructed image. Hence, an alternative DWT-based method was proposed, developed and implemented in this work with the aim of reducing the computational resources on-board a small satellite, replacing the regular DWT thresholding and quantization processes that are usually used to achieve lossy compression, with the zero-padding technique. This method will also help to control the change in the compression ratio and quality of the reconstructed image according to the end-user’s scientific needs of the satellite image. The
results of this work indicated, objectively and subjectively, that a decrease in the computational resources required on-board satellites was achieved by decreasing the processing time needed to complete the compression, without a significant difference in quality of the image reconstructed at the ground station.
This study describes the adaptations of diatoms, Cylindrotheca fusiformis and other marine diatoms, in a new formulated enriched medium Tris-phosphate seawater (TP-SW). The medium was designed to maintain long-term cultures of wide-range marine diatoms in laboratory that produces high biomass of cultures. The diatoms were adapted and cultivated in the medium for 15 days and the number of cells was recorded daily. It was found that the number of cells declined after two weeks indicating death phase of the cells. This indicates that the TP-SW medium has supported the growth of diatoms during the period and can be used to cultivate diatoms in vitro. Studies on the TP-SW medium must be done to obtain optimal medium that can provide not only a conducive environment for the survival of diatoms but also high biomass production.
Mobile learning (M-learning) is considered as a development process of Electronic learning
(E-Learning) that used to meet some of issues in E-learning such as wireless environment and
accessibility. In spite of having many benefits and advantages for using M-learning, many challenges
and issues still facing mobile learning technology to become a part of most of the Higher Education
Institutions (HEIs) strategies. This paper aims to examine the barriers to M-learning adoption by HEIs
in Malaysia. To do so, a quantitative research methodology was used in data collection. Online
questionnaire was distributed by e-mail to 150 respondents in three universities. The result analysis
brought out that mobile storage size, limitation of mobile memory and mobile battery life are the main
barriers of using mobile in learning process.
–Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal is very famous in traditions collector of Prophet Muhammad, but
there are statements related to characteristics of Allah that stated by him. Therefore, it is very important
to understand Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal’s thought in characteristics of Allah. It is history study that
explains a short biography of Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and his statements about characteristics of
Allah. Based on the literature study that Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal believes the characteristics of Allah
are based on the Koran and collection of traditions of Prophet Muhammad. The characteristics of Allah
believed by Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal are suitable to Ahli Sunnah wal Jamaah.
This paper reviews the conceptualization and relationship among work-family conflict,
burnout, social support and turnover intention using Job Demand Resources (JD-R) model. From the
theoretical framework of JD-R model, there is a relationship between job demand and resources that
gives impact to organization outcome. In addition, empirical evidence also shows that a relationship
exists between the above variables. Organization should address proactively how job demand and
resources influence each other that lead to organization outcome. Comprehensive understanding
regarding the above matter gives opportunity for organizations to take reasonable action to ensure
employees well-being and give benefit to the organizations themselves.
Crowdsourcing introduces new perspectives in innovation, allowing for new products and services to shift away from the traditional manufacture-centric model to a more user-centric one. In order for businesses to reap the benefits of open innovation, it is necessary to understand the factors that motivate ideators to contribute valuable ideas. Equally, there is an urgency to identify the challenges faced by ideators in crowdsourcing for open innovation to retain the participants of crowdsourcing communities. This paper presents a structured review to address the aforementioned issues. Our findings reveal that the intrinsic factors that drive participation in open innovation are related to the learning experience that results from sharing ideas. Extrinsic factors like social motivation are frequently mentioned in different studies. This study also highlights the need for organisations to develop strategies for interacting with their contributors in order to sustain their participation and idea contribution. In conclusion, this paper can serve as a guideline for practitioners to improve crowdsourcing platforms with the inclusion of important motivational features. It can also serve as reference for organisations for formulating policies to regulate idea contribution.
Ergonomics can be viewed as an approach to reduce injury and illness rates to improve the overall working
conditions for employees by addressing risk factor exposure that may occur during manual tasks. The objective
of this research was to analyze ergonomics risk factors by associating the perception of employer and employees
towards their workplace condition in quarry and mining industry. A Questionnaire on Ergonomics Risk Assessment
was used to determine the comparison level awareness and perception analysis among quarry and mining industry in
Malaysia. The findings of this research prove that the exposure of ergonomics risk factors towards the workers is in
a moderate level with a mean of 3.59 for the overall respondent review about the ergonomics risk among workers at
their workplace. Besides, the most concern in ergonomics is about the awkward posture at work. Some 8.8% of them
agreed and 6.6% of them totally agreed that they were in awkward posture while doing their work. As a conclusion,
assessment of ergonomics in quarry and mining industry will be a platform to provide a safe and healthy working
environment.
This study focused on noise exposure in quarrying industry. Quarry is one of the industries that have an exposure
of noise in particular processes. The quarries machinery noise is produced when the machines are running, but the
noise generated by the machines in the production environment includes both process-generated and machinerygenerated
noise. Survey method was used by distributing questionnaires comprising five parts which are, demography,
safety and health awareness, safety and health knowledge, safety and health compliances and compliances toward
noise exposure. However, the study emphasized only on the compliances toward noise exposure in quarrying
industry. Cronbach alpha (α) was used for the reliability of questionnaires. The study found that the mean value for
the perception of workers to noise control method compliances is 3.09 which indicates moderate compliances. It was
shown that, the total number of NIHL cases reported is related to the compliances of noise exposure control measures.
Compliance is one of the main factors to reduce NIHL among workers. For further development of methods for
controlling noise exposure, other studies can be done to find other information or methods on how to ensure that the
related organizations in quarrying industry give their commitment in compliance to noise control methods.
Solid polymer electrolytes electrolytes based Poly
(ethylene oxide) (PEO) complexed with sodium
trifluoromethanesulfonate (NaCF3SO3
) salt were prepared by
using solution cast technique. Ion-polymer ionic conductivity
and interaction studies have been reported by Electrical
Impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Fourier transform infrared
spectroscopy (FTIR). FTIR studies suggested that there are
stronger interaction between Na+
ions and the polymer than
interaction of anions cations of the salt. The temperature
dependance electrical conductivity of polymer electrolytes films
follow Arrhenius relation and the low activation energy 0.2993
eV was observed for PEO-18 wt. % NaCF3SO3 below 323 K.
Superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted significant research interest because of their use for design of water-repellent and self-cleaning coatings. A superhydrophobic surface can be created by modifying a rough surface with a material of low surface energy through a sol-gel coating technique. Adjusting the amount of precursor and the low surface energy material can optimize the hydrophobicity of the coating. In this work, different ratios (4:1, 3:2, 1:1 and 2:3) of silane: alumina coatings were synthesized and applied on glass substrates through sol-gel method. Characterization of the coated samples showed that volume ratios of silane sol and alumina sol in sol-gel coating affected the superhydrophobicity of the coated glass substrate. The solution of alumina sol and silane sol with ratio 4:1 produced superhydrophobic films with contact angle for water larger than 150 and FESEM images showed very intense roughness compared to the other ratios.