FORECASTING MODEL OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION USING LEAST SQUARES SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINES

In the oil and gas industry, accurate measurement of gas is a very important aspect for the gas transmission operation. The outgoing gas flow during the transmission operation is monitored and maintained by a metering system. The metering system must be ensured reliable and dependable at all cost to maintain the billing integrity between distributors and customers. The main concern is products sold and returned as money worth product to seller and buyer. An existing system in Transmission Operation Division (TOD), PETRONAS Gas Berhad (PGB), Gurun is held responsible to calculate the energy consumption from the sales gas produced. The system consists of a turbine meter, measuring equipment which are pressure transmitter and temperature transmitter, gas chromatography and flow computer. However, the system is a standalone system that does not have any reference system to verify the integrity of it. Customers are billed according to the amount of energy consumption calculated and any error in calculation will cause loss of profit to the company and affect PETRONAS’s business credibility. As a solution, a Least Squares Support Vector Machines (LS-SVM) prediction model of energy consumption is proposed as a verification system of the outgoing gas flow. The model will predict the energy consumption and compare it with the results of the existing metering system to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the system. The billing integrity between PETRONAS and the customers could be maintained and in the future if the project is expanded, it will have the potential of saving of millions of dollars to Malaysian oil and gas companies

FORECASTING MODEL OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION USING LEAST SQUARES SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINES

In the oil and gas industry, accurate measurement of gas is a very important aspect for the gas transmission operation. The outgoing gas flow during the transmission operation is monitored and maintained by a metering system. The metering system must be ensured reliable and dependable at all cost to maintain the billing integrity between distributors and customers. The main concern is products sold and returned as money worth product to seller and buyer. An existing system in Transmission Operation Division (TOD), PETRONAS Gas Berhad (PGB), Gurun is held responsible to calculate the energy consumption from the sales gas produced. The system consists of a turbine meter, measuring equipment which are pressure transmitter and temperature transmitter, gas chromatography and flow computer. However, the system is a standalone system that does not have any reference system to verify the integrity of it. Customers are billed according to the amount of energy consumption calculated and any error in calculation will cause loss of profit to the company and affect PETRONAS’s business credibility. As a solution, a Least Squares Support Vector Machines (LS-SVM) prediction model of energy consumption is proposed as a verification system of the outgoing gas flow. The model will predict the energy consumption and compare it with the results of the existing metering system to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the system. The billing integrity between PETRONAS and the customers could be maintained and in the future if the project is expanded, it will have the potential of saving of millions of dollars to Malaysian oil and gas companies

Thinking About the Future: A Review of Prognostic Scales Used in Acute Stroke

Background: There are many prognostic scales that aim to predict functional outcome following acute stroke. Despite considerable research interest, these scales have had limited impact in routine clinical practice. This may be due to perceived problems with internal validity (quality of research), as well as external validity (generalizability of results). We set out to collate information on exemplar stroke prognosis scales, giving particular attention to the scale content, derivation, and validation.Methods: We performed a focused literature search, designed to return high profile scales that use baseline clinical data to predict mortality or disability. We described prognostic utility and collated information on the content, development and validation of the tools. We critically appraised chosen scales based on the CHecklist for critical Appraisal and data extraction for systematic Reviews of prediction Modeling Studies (CHARMS).Results: We chose 10 primary scales that met our inclusion criteria, six of which had revised/modified versions. Most primary scales used 5 input variables (range: 4–13), with substantial overlap in the variables included. All scales included age, eight included a measure of stroke severity, while five scales incorporated pre-stroke level of function (often using modified Rankin Scale), comorbidities and classification of stroke type. Through our critical appraisal, we found issues relating to excluding patients with missing data from derivation studies, and basing the selection of model variable on significance in univariable analysis (in both cases noted for six studies). We identified separate external validation studies for all primary scales but one, with a total of 60 validation studies.Conclusions: Most acute stroke prognosis scales use similar variables to predict long-term outcomes and most have reasonable prognostic accuracy. While not all published scales followed best practice in development, most have been subsequently validated. Lack of clinical uptake may relate more to practical application of scales rather than validity. Impact studies are now necessary to investigate clinical usefulness of existing scales

Antimicrobial activity of trisodium phosphate and sodium hypochlorite against Salmonella biofilms on abiotic surfaces with and without soiling with chicken juice

Salmonella is a major foodborne pathogen of public health concern and is often associated with contaminated poultry. This pathogen can adhere to surfaces in food processing facilities leading to the formation of biofilms. Antimicrobial treatments during poultry processing represents a mechanism to control biofilms. This study investigated the effect of trisodium phosphate (TSP) and sodium hypochlorite (SH) on biofilms of two strains each of S. Enteritidis, two strains each of S. Typhimurium, and one strain of S. Senftenberg on stainless steel, glass and polyurethane. Biofilms were grown on surfaces without soiling or with soiling (chicken juice) applied before or after biofilm formation. Biofilms on all surfaces were treated (TSP: 8, 10 and 12% (w/v), pH 11.5 and SH: 40, 50 and 60 ppm, pH 5.5) for 10 min. Untreated controls and controls using water were included for all the experiments. Bacterial numbers in biofilms were determined by plating on thin layer xylose lysine deoxycholate medium. If numbers were below the limit of detection (1.81 log cfu/cm2) biofilms were enriched in buffered peptone water before plating to establish the presence of live cells. All TSP treatments rendered cells uncountable except for four specific combinations of bacteria, soiling and surfaces at the 8% treatment level. In cases where numbers were below detection, live cells were present for some combinations of bacteria, soiling and surfaces at all TSP levels. All SH treatments rendered cells uncountable on unsoiled stainless steel and glass for all strains. In these cases strains were alive at 40 ppm on stainless steel. On polyurethane cells were only uncountable for one strain at 60 ppm and live cells were detected in this case. All SH treatments resulted in countable numbers of cells for all strains on soiled surfaces. Trisodium phosphate has strong potential as a sanitizer to reduce biofilm formation by Salmonella spp. on abiotic surfaces during poultry processing

Control of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli by established and novel disinfectants in poultry processing facilities

Poultry meat contaminated with Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli is a major cause of campylobacteriosis worldwide. These Campylobacter species are commensal organisms in the intestinal tract of live poultry and can cross contaminate carcasses during slaughter and processing. A range of chemical disinfectants are used to reduce or eliminate Campylobacter on poultry and in the processing environment. Organic acids, inorganic phosphates and chlorine-based disinfectants are commonly used for this purpose with varying efficiency depending on the approach taken. Temperature, pH and the concentration of the disinfectants are important parameters in determining their effectiveness and it is also essential that they do not change the organoleptic properties of the meat. Specific compounds used include lactic acid, citric acid, sodium hypochlorite, acidified sodium chlorite, benzalkonium chloride and trisodium phosphate and many of these are of potential human health concern. Novel, potentially less toxic and more environmentally friendly compounds are continually being sought to address this issue. The mode of action, effectiveness and applicability of established and novel disinfectants for the control of Campylobacter in poultry processing facilities are critically reviewed

Liberalisasi pelaburan asing di Malaysia: masih rigid atau cukup liberal?

Liberalisasi pelaburan yang agresif telah menjadi keutamaan di kebanyakan negara yang menjadikan FDI sebagai strategi pertumbuhan dan pembangunan. Artikel ini meneliti sejauhmana pendekatan FDI di Malaysia dipraktik secara liberal atau rigid berdasarkan penilaian syarikat multinasional (MNC) ke atas tujuh pembolehubah: syarat masuk, insentif percukaian, perburuhan dan perhubungan perusahaan, tadbir urus, ekonomi domestik, sofistifikasi sistem kewangan dan penyertaan antarabangsa. Data kajian diperolehi daripada tinjauan soal selidik ke atas 31 buah syarikat MNC yang beroperasi di Lembah Klang dan Pulau Pinang. Hasil kajian menunjukkan 47.3 peratus indikator yang mengukur praktik pendekatan FDI adalah positif (liberal) dan baki 52.7 peratus dinilai secara negatif (rigid) oleh MNC. Daripada keseluruhan tujuh praktik pelaburan yang dikaji, tiga mendapat penilaian yang liberal dan empat adalah rigid. Dari perspektif pelabur, artikel merumuskan bahawa walaupun dasar FDI di Malaysia telah semakin liberal, namun praktik pendekatan FDI masih perlu diperbaiki. Aspek yang memerlukan banyak penambahbaikan ialah prosedur pelaksanaan insentif percukaian dan tadbir-urus pelaburan sementara aspek yang memerlukan sedikit penambahbaikan ialah praktik perhubungan perusahaan serta penyertaan antarabangsa

Transfer of Campylobacter and Salmonella from poultry meat onto poultry preparation surfaces

Copyright © International Association for Food Protection. Thermophilic Campylobacter and Salmonella enterica are major causes of gastrointestinal foodborne infection. Survival of these pathogens on food-associated surfaces is a risk contributing to their spread through the food system. This study examined the transfer of two strains each of C. jejuni, C. coli, Salmonella Enteritidis, and Salmonella Typhimurium from chicken meat to a knife or scissors used on either a plastic or wooden cutting board. Each strain of Campylobacter and Salmonella at ~10 8 CFU mL 1 was inoculated (5 mL) onto 25 g of chicken meat with skin and allowed to attach (for 10 min). The meat was then cut (20 times per implement) into 1-cm 2 pieces with either a knife or scissors on either a plastic or wooden cutting board. The numbers of pathogens transferred from meat onto cutting implements and cutting board surfaces were enumerated. The surfaces were subsequently either rinsed with water or rinsed with water and wiped with a kitchen towel to mimic commonly used superficial cleaning practices for these implements, and the numbers of pathogens were enumerated again. The bacterial numbers for both pathogens were determined on thin-layer agar. The attachment of the Salmonella strains to chicken meat (~7.0 to 7.8 log CFU cm -2 ) was higher than the attachment of the Campylobacter strains (~4.6 to 6.6 log CFU cm -2 ). All four Salmonella strains transferred in higher numbers (~1.9 to 6.3 log CFU cm -2 ) to all surfaces than did the Campylobacter strains (~1.1 to 3.9 log CFU cm -2 ). The transfer rates of both pathogens from the chicken meat to all the surfaces examined varied substantially between ~0 and 21.1%. The highest rate of transfer (~21.1%) observed was for C. coli 2875 when transferred from the chicken meat to the scissors. Most cleaning treatments reduced the numbers of both pathogens (~0.3 to 4.1 log CFU cm -2 ) transferred to all the surfaces. Our study gives insights into the risks associated with the transfer of Campylobacter and Salmonella from poultry to the surfaces used in poultry preparation