Sudoku solutions: a comparative analysis of breadth-first search, depth-first search, and human approaches

Sudoku is a puzzle that has a unique solution. No matter how many methods are used, the result will always be the same. The player thought that the number of givens or clues, the initial value on the Sudoku puzzles, would significantly determine the difficulty level, which is not necessarily correct. This research uses two search algorithms, breadth-first search (BFS) and depth-first search (DFS), to solve a set of Sudoku puzzles based on the number of givens. The Sudoku puzzles are chosen based on the number of givens between 32 and 35. In cases where Sudoku puzzles are considered medium or intermediate difficulty, the solutions generated by both algorithms will be compared with the human-solving approach. The research aims to determine whether humans tend to solve Sudoku puzzles with solutions resembling those generated by BFS or DFS. Furthermore, if all three approaches-human, BFS, DFS-yield comparable solutions, the Sudoku puzzle has only one unique solution

Leaf nutrient concentrations in oil palm as affected by genotypes, irrigation and terrain

Four clonal oil palm materials namely AVROS, Yangambi, La Me and NIFOR and two DxP hybrid Yangambi, grown on terraced and unterraced fields were subjected to irrigated and non-irrigated conditions. There were significant differences in all leaf nutrient concentrations for all the planting materials for both terrain and irrigation conditions. For non-irrigated palms, most of the leaf nutrients were higher than the irrigated palms, especially K and Mg concentrations. Most of the leaf nutrient concentrations in palms grown on undulating area were also high, especially for leaf Mg and K concentrations. Leaf K concentration for DxP hybrid Yangambi-DQ8 was consistently lower than AVROS-A122 by almost 15-20% in all the growing conditions. In contrast, the leaf K contents for Yangambi-DQ8 and Yangambi-Y103 were comparable to that of AVROS-A122 and these three planting materials produced the highest oil yields. In view of future high current fertilizer cost, selecting oil palm genotypes that are able to produce good oil yields on low fertilizer inputs and giving consistent leaf nutrition need to be given consideration

First detection of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in wild mud crab Scylla spp. (de Haan, 1883) from Setiu Wetlands, Malaysia

In this study, tissue samples from 90 wild mud crabs (Scylla spp. including S. olivacea, S. Tranquebarica, and S. paramamosain) were collected during pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon in the Setiu Wetlands, Terengganu, Malaysia. The tissue samples were screened for the presence of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) by PCR. This study was conducted to detect the presence or absence of WSSV in wild Scylla spp. from the Setiu Wetlands at different times of sampling. WSSV DNA was detected in 36% of the mud crabs. The DNA sequence of a 941 bp genome region amplified from a crab by PCR was identified to be most similar (99% nucleotide sequence, 98% amino acid sequence) to a WSSV strain detected in Mexico (KU216744.1) and Taiwan WSSV 419 strain (AY850066.1). The data indicated that mud crabs in the Setiu Wetlands might act as a WSSV reservoir of risk to shrimp aquaculture. Our findings are the first detection of WSSV from wild mud crabs, Scylla spp. in the Setiu Wetlands, Terengganu, Malaysia

Institusi pondok sebagai pilihan tempat tinggal warga emas wanita ke arah kesejahteraan hidup : kajian kes di Terengganu

Institusi pondok telah menjadi salah satu pilihan tempat tinggal bagi warga emas beragama Islam untuk tujuan kerohanian. Umur yang panjang dan sihat pada usia 60 tahun dan ke atas adalah masa yang sesuai untuk mendalami ilmu agama dan aktiviti kerohanian sebagai bekalan di akhirat. Kajian ini bertujuan meneroka secara mendalam faktor pendorong warga emas memilih pondok sebagai tempat tinggal dan hubungannya dengan kesejahteraan hidup mereka. Seramai dua puluh (20) orang warga emas dalam kumpulan umur 59 hingga 80 tahun dan beragama Islam di Pondok Al-Huda, Wakaf Tapai, Marang, Terengganu dipilih sebagai responden dengan menggunakan kaedah temu bual mendalam. Maklumat daripada warga emas dikaji dan dianalisis menggunakan analisis kandungan. Hasil kajian menemui faktor utama warga emas memilih tinggal di pondok adalah untuk mencari ketenangan dan menambah ilmu agama. Kebanyakan warga emas wanita cenderung memilih tinggal di pondok kerana kesunyian hidup selepas kematian suami. Dari aspek kesejahteraan, keseluruhan warga emas seronok dan mencapai kesejahteraan jiwa menerusi pelbagai pengisian rohani dan fizikal yang disertai di pondok seperti aktiviti harian yang bermanfaat, peluang berkawan, dan jaminan keselamatan. Kajian ini menonjolkan sumbangan penting Institusi Pondok al-Huda, Wakaf Tapai, Marang, Terengganu sebagai institusi sokongan sosial yang amat diperlukan oleh warga emas untuk menjalani kehidupan pada usia tua yang sejahtera dan selamat

Measuring readiness, acceptance and satisfaction of innovative digital economy: preliminary findings

The paper addresses the need to investigate the social, cultural, and consumer environmental factors that help build a conducive digital ecosystem to enhance Malaysia’s national competitiveness in the Digital economy while using technology to enhance societal well-being and wealth creations opportunities. This paper aims at determining the readiness and level of acceptance of current and proposed applications considered as constructs used in creating and validating Critical Success Factors Framework for innovative digital economy. This study employs quantitative method utilizing a set of questionnaire distributed to 50 respondents in Klang Valley. Convenient sampling technique was used as the selection method. However, to ensure a better representative, respondents are grouped into three different clusters based on age. The findings of this paper are derived from a pilot study conducted among 50 respondents. The findings indicate that the majority of the respondents are actively engaged in online transaction. As far as social networking is concerned, the data show that all the respondents are using internet for email, followed by social media activities (90%). Also email and social media are the most common facilities used by the respondents. Findings also show that majority of the respondents were satisfied with the technological advancement of ICT gadgets, internet speed and the quality of website contents. More initiatives such as tax reduction in digital gadgets, tax deduction in acquiring digital gadgets for every household, digital entrepreneurship training programs for marginalized communities, and legal advices to support people’s digital economy activities should be provided by authorities including government linked agencies (GLC)

Gold cone metasurface MIC sensor with monolayer of graphene and multilayer of graphite

This report makes a comparison between the spectrum features of plasmonic metamaterial metal-insulator-conductor (MIC) sensor with a monolayer of graphene and another MIC sensor with a multilayer of graphite as the back reflector. In both structures, the silicon substrate as an insulator layer was sandwiched between sub wave length periodic nanogold cones as the first layer and graphene and graphite as the third layer, respectively. Nanolayer of chromium nano rods was also considered in the structure of MIC sensors as an interface layer between silicon and nanogold cone metasurface. The performance of the sensor was evaluated under different incident polarized light angles and different thickness of the metasurface when the metasurface infiltrated with seawater and air. The transmission spectrum of monolayer graphene-based MIC sensor, respecting to s-polarized waves, reveals prominent feature to detect the air rather than seawater in invisible regime. Meanwhile, the reflection spectrum of graphite-based MIC sensor provides ∼0 % reflection under resonance condition regarding s- and p-polarized waves for detecting air in visible spectrum

Rachis nutrient concentrations of different oil palm genotypes as affected by irrigation and terrain

Four clonal oil palm materials namely AVROS, Yangambi, La Me and NIFOR, and two D × P hybrid Yangambi have been planted on terraced and non-terraced contours that are subjected to irrigated and non-irrigated conditions. Under favourable growing environment, i.e., through irrigation, and to some extent favourable terrain of undulating plain, the palms were able to retain higher rachis nutrient concentrations, and subsequently had larger petiole cross-section and exhibited higher rachis nutrient contents. There were significant differences in all rachis nutrient concentrations for all of the planting materials for both terrain and irrigation conditions except for sulphur (S) nutrient. Previous study revealed that leaf potassium (K) concentration for D × P hybrid Yangambi-DQ8 was consistently lower than AVROS-A122 by almost 15%-20% in all the growing conditions. In contrast, the rachis nutrient concentrations for both materials were comparable. In fact, D × P Yangambi-DQ8, retained higher rachis K content (by 22%) due to larger petiole cross-section (PCS) as compared to that of AVROS-A122. The poor yielding materials, appeared to contain lower nutrient concentrations particularly those of magnesium (Mg), chlorine (Cl) and calcium (Ca). The present fertiliser regime is able to sustain high yields and capable of producing more than 10.5 t ha-1 yr-1 of total economic product (TEP) without the need for additional fertiliser inputs. Therefore, the understanding of rachis nutrient behaviour on different oil palm genotypes is crucial to produce sustainable oil yield in the near future

Faktor Kesukaran dalam Proses Memodelkan Sebuah Tapak Arkeologi Menerusi Pendekatan Geospatial

Selama bertahun-tahun, ahli arkeologi telah bergantung pada peta dan analisis ruangan untuk memahami taburan artifak dan ciri di seluruh tapak arkeologi secara visualisasi. Walau bagaimanapun, pengenalan foto udara, penderiaan jauh digital, sistem maklumat geografi (GIS) dan sistem keletakan global (GPS) telah menyediakan ahli arkeologi dengan alat canggih untuk menganalisis dan menggambarkan taburan dan data arkeologi dengan cara yang inovatif. Oleh yang demikian, analisis geospatial telah mendapat pengiktirafan yang penting sebagai salah satu alat untuk membantu ahli arkeologi. Dengan menyepadukan foto udara, penderiaan jauh, GIS dan GPS ke dalam penyelidikan mereka, ahli arkeologi kini dapat menganalisis kuantiti data yang besar dalam masa yang sama memahami peranan ruangan. Ini telah membolehkan mereka memperoleh pandangan baru tentang taburan dan corak ciri arkeologi tersebut. Artikel ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji faktor kesukaran dalam proses memodelkan sebuah tapak arkeologi menerusi pendekatan geospatial. Antara faktor kepelbagaian yang menimbulkan kesukaran dalam proses memodelkan tapak arkeologi adalah tapak arkeologi, persekitaran, tingkah laku atau kelakukan dan faktor teknikal. Dengan kemajuan teknologi, pendekatan geospatial merupakan kaedah terbaik untuk penyelidikan arkeologi manakala ahli arkeologi perlu berhati-hati dan menimbang faedah dan cabaran yang berkaitan dengan analisis geospatial, memastikan kaedah ini digunakan secara berhemah dan beretika

Faktor Kesukaran dalam Proses Memodelkan Sebuah Tapak Arkeologi Menerusi Pendekatan Geospatial

Selama bertahun-tahun, ahli arkeologi telah bergantung pada peta dan analisis ruangan untuk memahami taburan artifak dan ciri di seluruh tapak arkeologi secara visualisasi. Walau bagaimanapun, pengenalan foto udara, penderiaan jauh digital, sistem maklumat geografi (GIS) dan sistem keletakan global (GPS) telah menyediakan ahli arkeologi dengan alat canggih untuk menganalisis dan menggambarkan taburan dan data arkeologi dengan cara yang inovatif. Oleh yang demikian, analisis geospatial telah mendapat pengiktirafan yang penting sebagai salah satu alat untuk membantu ahli arkeologi. Dengan menyepadukan foto udara, penderiaan jauh, GIS dan GPS ke dalam penyelidikan mereka, ahli arkeologi kini dapat menganalisis kuantiti data yang besar dalam masa yang sama memahami peranan ruangan. Ini telah membolehkan mereka memperoleh pandangan baru tentang taburan dan corak ciri arkeologi tersebut. Artikel ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji faktor kesukaran dalam proses memodelkan sebuah tapak arkeologi menerusi pendekatan geospatial. Antara faktor kepelbagaian yang menimbulkan kesukaran dalam proses memodelkan tapak arkeologi adalah tapak arkeologi, persekitaran, tingkah laku atau kelakukan dan faktor teknikal. Dengan kemajuan teknologi, pendekatan geospatial merupakan kaedah terbaik untuk penyelidikan arkeologi manakala ahli arkeologi perlu berhati-hati dan menimbang faedah dan cabaran yang berkaitan dengan analisis geospatial, memastikan kaedah ini digunakan secara berhemah dan beretika

Determining digital maturity among ICT users in Malaysia

With the fast development in ICT, the need for digital maturity becomes increasingly important. Measuring ICT maturity has always been on the infrastructural, applications, and ICT Policy. Taking a different orientation, the present study views ICT maturity of the individual users vis a vis the ICT tools as a solid foundation for successful digital maturity in a digital economy. This paper aims at determining the level of digital maturity among ICT-Mobile Phone (smart phone and internet) users by looking at the intensity of usage of smart phone applications (apps) and functions and the level of indispensability of internet and its related characteristics and functions. A nationwide survey was conducted among 2124 respondents based on the population ratio of the main ethnic groups in Malaysia. Data were analysed using SPPS 20.0 and both descriptive and inferential analysis are applied to analyse the data. The results revealed that the smart phone functions, facilities, and apps which are mostly used include social media (Facebook/Twitter), instant messaging (WhatsApp/Viber/Skype), Wi-Fi, downloading apps from ‘Play Store’ or ‘App Store’ and camera. The findings also indicated that a fast internet service, availability of internet at anytime and anywhere and the access to internet content without limit are the most indispensable characteristics and functions of internet for the users. The results implied that the respondents are above average in digital maturity in terms of intensity of usage of ICT-Mobile Phone functions, facilities, and apps. Meanwhile, their ICT-Mobile Phone engagement seemsto be high in digital maturity for the indispensable characteristics and functions of internet. The findings of this study have implications on ICT system and apps providers on the needs of the users. This is crucial in order to achieve digital maturity which will prepare the grounds for digital inclusion in a digital economy