Minimalistic Collective Perception with Imperfect Sensors

Collective perception is a foundational problem in swarm robotics, in which the swarm must reach consensus on a coherent representation of the environment. An important variant of collective perception casts it as a best-of-$n$ decision-making process, in which the swarm must identify the most likely representation out of a set of alternatives. Past work on this variant primarily focused on characterizing how different algorithms navigate the speed-vs-accuracy tradeoff in a scenario where the swarm must decide on the most frequent environmental feature. Crucially, past work on best-of-$n$ decision-making assumes the robot sensors to be perfect (noise- and fault-less), limiting the real-world applicability of these algorithms. In this paper, we derive from first principles an optimal, probabilistic framework for minimalistic swarm robots equipped with flawed sensors. Then, we validate our approach in a scenario where the swarm collectively decides the frequency of a certain environmental feature. We study the speed and accuracy of the decision-making process with respect to several parameters of interest. Our approach can provide timely and accurate frequency estimates even in presence of severe sensory noise.Comment: 7 pages, accepted into IROS2023. Current version incorporates minor updates from reviewer comment

Factor Contributing to Internet Addiction and Its Influence on Academic Procrastination Behavior Among UUM Students

The Internet has grown comprehensively and rapidly in recent years has led to the existence of an internet dependence dilemma (internet addiction) which leads to their low efficiency, lack of interest and motivation, postponing important academic tasks and jobs, and causing academic delays. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship of between particular factors contributing to internet addiction namely anxiety, depression, self-control and internet addiction itself with academic procrastination among undergraduate students from UUM College of Business (COB). This study is included 370 UUM COB undergraduate students by using questionnaire to collect data and data analysis is conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Descriptive analysis, reliability test, normality test, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were conducted to identifying relationship between independent variables and dependent variable. Results showed anxiety was found a significant relationship with academic procrastination. Besides that, depression and internet addiction were also significant contributing factor to academic procrastination. Lastly, existence of negative significant relationship between self-control and academic procrastination

Effectiveness of simulation-based learning in Malaysian higher education: A case study of MonsoonSIM

Purpose: Higher education institutions (HEIs) face the formidable responsibility of equipping students with the requisite knowledge and skills essential for a successful transition into the professional workforce. In contemporary education, simulation-based learning (SBL) has emerged as a pivotal tool employed by HEIs to facilitate and enhance the learning experience. MonsoonSIM stands out as a notable simulation-based experiential learning platform, encompassing a wide spectrum of business processes. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of SBL in Malaysian HEI, with a specific focus on utilizing MonsoonSIM to bolster students' knowledge and skills. Design/methodology/approach: To gather empirical evidence, an online survey questionnaire was methodically distributed to 254 students enrolled in Malaysian HEIs, employing purposive sampling techniques. A total of 114 valid responses were collected and subjected to rigorous analysis using SmartPLS4, leveraging the partial least squares structural equation modeling methodology. Findings: The outcomes of this investigation shed light on the positive influence of marketing management knowledge on the effectiveness of SBL. However, it was observed that problem-solving and critical thinking skills, financial management and production management knowledge did not exhibit a statistically significant impact on the effectiveness of SBL. Originality/value: This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by offering valuable insights into how students engage with and derive learning outcomes from simulation-based educational tools. The findings underscore the pivotal role of integrating SBL into the broader pedagogical framework to enhance the overall learning experience

Evaluation on the effectiveness of organic acids combination against Ganoderma boninense, the causal pathogen of basal stem rot in oil palm

Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease mainly caused by Ganoderma boninense has become a serious threat to the South East Asia oil palm industry. With no conclusive remedy to date, the oil palm industry is still in search of effective ways to manage this disease. The present work reports the effectiveness of organic acids combination (OAC) in managing Ganoderma infection in oil palm. In this study, the pre-formulated organic acids combination from a product to control BSR caused by Ganoderma was carried out both in the field and nursery. The trial was conducted for a duration of approximately 18 months. The field trial was carried out at Bode Estate of Kretam Plantations Sabah in Sandakan. The possibility of the OAC in preventing the infection from spreading to newly planted seedlings in the area with Ganoderma history was also assessed via nursery trial at Mile 25, estate of Kam Cheong Sdn Bhd. In the field trial, three different sets of protocols i.e.: A (0.4% v/v with 5 rounds of application), B (0.4% v/v with 3 rounds of application), and C (0.5% v/v with 3 rounds of application) of the OAC treatment were applied along with Ganoderma Selective Medium (GSM) analysis, ergosterol content analysis, in vitro antagonistic evaluation and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) observation to comprehensively investigate the efficacy of the combination. Protocols A, B and C had significantly reduced the colonisation / amount of ergosterol content (8.832-9.095 μg/g of trunk tissues) in the infected palms in comparison to those Ganoderma infected but left untreated palms (48.956 μg/g of trunk tissues). However, there was no significant difference between the effectiveness among the three protocols in reduction of Ganoderma colonisation till month-12, in which protocol C proved to perform better compared to the other two protocols. There was slight ergosterol content increment in oil palm tissues treated with various protocols of the OAC at month-18, but were much lesser compared to untreated palms. Nonetheless, none of the protocols in application of OAC gave an absolute control of Ganoderma till the end of the trial, as the treated palms remained infected but with much lower ergosterol content compared to untreated palms. Application of the OAC as soil treatment for prevention of Ganoderma infection to seedlings replanted in the area with Ganoderma history in Kam Cheong Estate showed lesser disease incidences compared to those untreated ones. The infected seedlings which were treated by this product also showed lesser amount of ergosterol content which represents lesser colonisation of the pathogenic fungi. However, OAC-treated seedlings still recorded the presence of ergosterol from low to moderate in some of the tested samples. In vitro experiment of OAC and Ganoderma mycelia further elaborates the possible interaction between these organic acids with Ganoderma when in contact with either the tissues or soil. The in vitro results suggest OAC has destructive effect against the mycelia of Ganoderma with SEM evidences of massive damaging effects of the product to the mycelia of the fungi. Based on the GC-MS analysis, the OAC were identified from the products propanoic acid, acetic acid, benzoic acid, sorbic acid and besylic acid

International Consensus Statement on Rhinology and Allergy: Rhinosinusitis

Background: The 5 years since the publication of the first International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Rhinosinusitis (ICAR‐RS) has witnessed foundational progress in our understanding and treatment of rhinologic disease. These advances are reflected within the more than 40 new topics covered within the ICAR‐RS‐2021 as well as updates to the original 140 topics. This executive summary consolidates the evidence‐based findings of the document. Methods: ICAR‐RS presents over 180 topics in the forms of evidence‐based reviews with recommendations (EBRRs), evidence‐based reviews, and literature reviews. The highest grade structured recommendations of the EBRR sections are summarized in this executive summary. Results: ICAR‐RS‐2021 covers 22 topics regarding the medical management of RS, which are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Additionally, 4 topics regarding the surgical management of RS are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Finally, a comprehensive evidence‐based management algorithm is provided. Conclusion: This ICAR‐RS‐2021 executive summary provides a compilation of the evidence‐based recommendations for medical and surgical treatment of the most common forms of RS

Signal processing in color flow imaging for blood flow measurement

Color Flow Imaging is a popular non-invasive imaging method of blood flow in medicine. This project investigated the signal processing method to produce the Color Flow Image from raw color RF data and its’ application in the analysis of blood flow. The signal processing was implemented in Matlab™. In order to extract blood velocity information from the raw color RF signal, a method called Autocorrelation was used. This method was first developed by Kasai et al in1987. It has the advantage of fast and easy implementation compared to other more complex methods, and this allows for real-time image processing. A code was developed to re-produce the Color Flow Image using the Autocorrelation method. The implementation of this code took approximately 1 minute. The main issue in Color Flow Image processing addressed in this project is the designing of an efficient clutter filter to filter out unwanted tissue signal and extract only pure blood signal. The filter design in this project was based on the method developed by Hans Torp et al in 2002. In this project, the author used an IIR high pass filter to filter out low frequency tissue signals. An initialization was applied to the filter in order to minimize the transient of output signal. Three types of filter initialization was investigated which are; Zero Initialization, Step Initialization, and Projection Initialization. A comparison was done and Projection initialized filter was found to produce the best frequency response. In the second part of this project, when a Color Flow Image was formed, the author used the blood velocity information obtained from the Autocorrelation method to analyze blood velocity profile in cardiac cycle and characteristics of turbulent blood flow. Both analyses were done on the aorta of a healthy male subject with no previous record on heart diseases and blood vessel related diseases. The analyses of blood velocity profile could be used to detect abnormal blood flow due to diseased valve or blood vessels. The quantification of turbulent blood flow was done based on two main characteristics; bi-directionality of turbulent flow and high variance of velocity values in turbulent flow. These are the characteristics of blood flow found in stenosed blood vessel and tumor blood vessel. In this project, the potential use of Color Flow Imaging as a detection tool for tumor and stenoses is investigated.Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Molecular doping of carbon nanotube conductors

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) show attractive electronic properties that have been studied extensively, including interest for cabling and wiring applications. Specifically, CNTs may provide an advantage over conventional materials, such as copper, due to their lightness and flexibility, which are properties demanded in naval and aircraft applications. Using molecular doping with the potassium tetrabromoaurate molecule (KAuBr₄), doped nanowires with enhanced electrical properties may be obtained. This thesis presents the first comprehensive modeling effort on KAuBr₄ doping of CNTs, including doping of SWNT junctions. The results showed that the dopants had an overall positive effect on SWNT based conductors. The conductance of K doped junctions was similar, regardless of doping configuration, while the conductance for the AuBr₄ doped junction was heavily reliant on the doping configuration. The AuBr₄ doping fragment showed a unique characteristic: it eliminated the dependence of the junction conductance on nanotube overlap. A nanowire model was developed and used as a metric for comparison with experimental studies of KAuBr₄ doped CNTs. The nanowire model provided a reasonable comparison of the computational results with previous experimental work. Overall, results presented in this thesis show the promise of doped SWNTs as potential candidates for the replacement of conventional copper conductors.Mechanical Engineerin

AFFORDABILITY OF NEW HDB FLATS TO NEWLY-FORMED HOUSEHOLDS

Bachelor'sBACHELOR OF SCIENCE (REAL ESTATE