MPEG-4 video transmission using distributed TDMA MAC protocol over IEEE 802.15.4 wireless technology

The issues of green technology nowadays give an inspiration to the researcher to make all the future design to be energy efficient. Medium Access Control (MAC) layer is the most effective layer to provide energy efficient due to its ability to control the physical radio directly. One of the important applications in the future is a video transmission that can be transmitted with low-cost and low power consumption. MPEG-4 is one of the international standards for moving video. MPEG-4 provide better compression and primarily design at low bit rate communication. In order to achieve good quality for video application, the design at MAC layer must be strong. Therefore, to increase the performance of the MPEG-4 in IEEE 802.15.4, in this paper we propose a cross layer design between MAC layer and Application layer. A priority queue will be implemented at MAC scheduling depends on the level of frame important in MPEG-4 format frame. A distributed Time division Multiple Access (TDMA) will be used for MAC protocol to provide reliable data transmission for high priority frame

Rock bearing resistance of bored piles socketed into rock

In view of the large movement required to mobilise the base resistance of bored piles and difficulty in base cleaning, the end bearing resistance often ignored in current design practice that will result in excessive rock socket length. Many attempts have been made to correlate the end bearing resistance with the uniaxial compressive strength of intact rock and the RQD but it is uncertain how applicable they are to rock type in Malaysia. This paper attempts to review the applicability of the formulas from previous studies to rock type in Malaysia. A program of field tests for 13 bored piles with diameter varying from 1000 mm to 1500 mm constructed in granite was conducted to measure the axial response of bored piles, tested using static load test and high strain load dynamic test to verify its integrity and performance. The results were evaluated and compared to the predicted rock bearing resistance. Based on the result obtained, the method by AASHTO gives the best prediction of rock bearing resistance for granite in Malaysia. However the relationship between compressive strength and rock discontinuities with the rock bearing resistance showed scattered results

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for Slope Mapping at Perumahan Gambang Damai, Pahang: A Case Study

This paper discusses the applications of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for slope mapping and its important parameters including perimeter, area and volume of certain selected areas at Perumahan Taman Gambang Damai in Kuantan Pahang. Previous work of slope mapping using traditional survey equipment considered as time consuming and very challenging especially in hilly regions. This study also focused on determining the potential slope hazard based on slope angle. Modern UAV able to take high quality image which essential for the effectiveness and nature of normal mapping output such as Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Digital Orthophoto. These photos captured by the UAV will later exported to Agisoft to generate full map of study area. With the help of Global Mapper, the measurement such as perimeter, area and volume of selected study areas can be determined easily and considered as the main interest in this study. Based on the results of the two slopes (slope A and slope B), slope B give a bigger volume which is 1469.7 m3 compare to slope A which is 1382.9 m3. The enclosed area for slope A is 1634.3 m2 which is bigger compare to slope B which is 766.86 m2. Besides, the perimeter of slope A is 162.28 m which is bigger compare to slope B which is 159.45 m. In addition, another outcome of this study is, this modern method of mapping helps researchers and engineers to study the possibility of slope hazard based on their respective slope angle. From the results, the angle for slope A is 47.35. while the angle for slope B is 54.75. . Both of the slopes considered as very steep slope. In conclusion, modern technology of UAV proves to be very effective for mapping in geotechnical engineering. Slope mapping using multi-rotor UAV help researchers and engineers to obtain slope measurement within short period of time compare to previous traditional method

Application of zero-truncated count data regression models to air-pollution disease

Count data consist of non-negative integers that have many applications in various fields of studies. To handle count data, there are various statistical models that can be employed corresponding to the properties of the count data studied. Poisson regression model (PRM) is mostly used to model data with equidispersion, while negative binomial regression model (NBRM) is a model that is regularly employed to model over-dispersed count data. On the other hand, the usual count data regression models may not able to handle strictly positive counts. In this case, the appropriate model for the analysis of such data would be models truncated at zero. We are interested to study the relationship between pollution related disease with influential factors such as air pollution and climate variables in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, using these zero-truncated models, where the number of disease cases are strictly positive. In particular, the zero-truncated PRM and NBRM are used to determine the association between the number of dengue patients and their influential factors. From the study, zero-truncated NBRM is found to be the best model amongst the two models to model the relationship between the number dengue cases and air pollution and climate. Air pollution factors that significantly affect the number of cases for dengue are particulate matter (PM10) and sulfur dioxide. Also, humidity and temperature are the climate factors that significantly affect the number of dengue cases

Metal concentration at surface water using multivariate analysis and human health risk assessment

This study defined the concentration of metals in Kerteh and Paka River water and their potential health risk towards human. 54 water samples were collected and analyzed using ICP-OES. Results revealed that most of the stations in Kerteh River gave the higher concentration of Cd, Cu, Zn, Co, Ni, As, Cr and Pb compared to Paka River. However As, Cr and Pb have exceeded the permissible limit of Malaysia standard for all stations in both rivers. Cd, Cu, Zn, Co and Ni were below than Malaysian standard permissible levels during the sampling period. The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that both geogenic and anthropogenic sources were responsible to possible metals contamination in both rivers. Moreover, risk assessments for all metals were within the safe limits, except for As in the Kerteh River for both adult and child as well as to Paka River for both genders

A sustainability performance assessment framework for palm oil mills

The palm oil industry has had to undergo rapid development in order to cope with the increasing demand from consumers year by year. The palm oil industry is receiving criticism from various parties on the issue of sustainability. This paper presents the development of a Palm Oil Mill Sustainability Index that enables millers to assess the sustainability performance of palm oil mills against benchmarks, and to differentiate between the performance of each mill. The assessment was performed via the adoption of a Proximity-to-Target approach that measures the current sustainability performance of the industry relative to policy targets. The industry's comparable performance was observed in terms of sustainability and indicators through a graphical method. The resulting Palm Oil Mill Sustainability Index scores were translated into a five-point rating system to describe the sustainability performance levels for different mills i.e. excellent, good, fair, poor, and very poor. Based on the Palm Oil Mill Sustainability Index scores and rating system, weak performance indicators were identified, for example, excessive use of water consumption due to inappropriate operation of hydrocyclones. By identifying the weak performance indicators, practical recommendations and measures for improvement can be proposed and the Palm Oil Mill Sustainability Index scores recalculated to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed sustainability performance strategy. Selected palm oil mills in Malaysia were used as a case study to demonstrate the applicability of the framework. The results provide empirical evidence to support a decision-support-system for enhancing palm oil mill sustainability performance, so as to achieve a balance between environmental, economic, and social aspects in the palm oil mill sector

PENINGKATAN PENDAPATAN PETERNAK DESA BINAAN FAPET UNDANA MELALUI DIVERSIVIKASI PEMELIHARAAN TERNAK PUYUH

Abstrak Masyarakat desa binaan Fapet Undana (Desa Oelatsala) mempunyai usaha utama penggemukan sapi. Pemeliharan ternak besar ini dengan pola peternak membutuhkan waktu  paling cepat 8 – 12 bulan untuk mendapatkan uang tunai, oleh karena itu perlu adanya usaha ternak lain atau diversivikasi usaha misalnya ternak puyuh agar dapat menopang kebutuhan keluarga peternak dalam jangka waktu yang lebih pendek. Tujuan pelatihan untuk meningkatkan pemahaman dan ketrampilan masyarakat desa binaan dalam memelihara ternak puyuh dan ayam KUB. Kegiatan ini dilakukan dengan mengikuti tahapan  yang terdiri dari  kegiatan pelatihan yang terdiri dari penyampaian materi dan praktek, penyerahan saprodi, pendampingan, monitoring dan evaluasi. Hasil kegiatan menunjukkan peserta latih mempunyai peluang usaha ternak puyuh  yang menarik dapat dikerjakan karena pakannya bisa diramu dengan penambahan bahan pakan local yang tersedia disekitar mereka,  tidak membutuhkan lahan yang luas dan mereka membutuhkan pengetahuan dan ketrampilan terkait manajemen pemeliharaan puyuh. Seluruh peserta dengan semangat berdiskusi selama penyampaian materi dan mengikuti kegiatan praktek menyusun ransum puyuh, meramu ransum puyuh, dan diikuti dengan kegiatan membuat kendang puyuh skala 25-30 ekor. Hasil monitoring dan evaluasi produksi telur diperoleh pada hari ke 46 sebanyak 38 butir (42%), adanya respon positif dari warga sekitar dengan melakukan perkunjungan dengan keinginan tahuan yang tinggi tentang beternak puyuh ini.     Abstract The village community assisted by Fapet Undana (Oelatsala Village) has the main business of fattening cattle. Raising large livestock according to a farmer pattern takes at least 8 – 12 months to get cash money; therefore it is necessary to have other livestock businesses or business diversification such as quail livestock in order to support the needs of the farmer's family in a shorter period of time. The purpose of the training is to improve the knowledge and skills of the assisted village communities in raising quail and KUB chickens. This activity is carried out by following stages consisting of training activities, giving of material and practice, delivery of livestock production facilities, accompaniment, monitoring and evaluation. The results of this activity showed that the trainees have an interesting quail business opportunity that can be done because the feed can be mixed with the addition of local feed ingredients available around them, it does not require a large area of ​​land and they need knowledge and skills related to quail rearing management. All participants enthusiastically discussed during the delivery of the material and participated in practical activities of formulate quail rations, mix quail rations, and followed by make a quail cage with a capacity of 25-30 tails. The results of monitoring and evaluation of egg production were obtained on day 46 as many as 38 eggs (42%), there was a positive response from local residents by visiting with a high desire to know about rising this quail

Interrelationship between borehole lithology and electrical resistivity for geotechnical site investigation

In the modern era of geophysics, Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) is an important tool to be use for early prediction of subsurface mapping. ERT act to inject electric current to the ground to study the chargeability or the resistivity value of a material. Engineers, geologist and researchers can apply ERT for their subsurface investigation since ERT proves to be very efficient and effective for subsurface mapping in term of cost, time and data coverage. 2D Electrical Resistivity Tomography survey was performed in Kuala Krau, Temerloh, Pahang to assist geotechnical site investigation. There are two available boreholes (BH 1 and BH 2) lithological data which can be correlated directly with the resistivity profile. One of the boreholes report hard rock layer at 9 m depth overlain by silt and clay. This hard layer was represented by resistivity value higher than 600 Ω m and 10–70 Ωm low resistivity layer overlain the hard layer. The low resistivity layer is associated with saturated silt and clay. Another borehole shows the existence of weathered sandstone at depth 11 m–17 m also overlain by silt and clay. Resistivity profile show the weathered region from the said borehole contacted edge side of sandstone boulder which also represented by higher than 600 Ω m resistivity value. 3D voxel was also generated from inversed resistivity value. The 3D voxel has successfully shown the lateral distribution of the geotechnical target. In conclusion, from this study, it is proven that results from ERT can be verified with the results from borehole lithology since the results obtained were almost accurate

Performance of Ultrasonic-assisted Membrane Anaerobic System (UMAS) on Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) / Shafie N. F. A....[et al.]

Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is hard wastewater that contains a high amount of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Volatile Suspended Solids (VSS). These vital parameters should be treated first before it is discharged into any water ways. There are many treatment methods implied until this decade with traditional method. Pond system is the most implied method due to its low cost. The performance of Ultrasonic-assisted Membrane Anaerobic System (UMAS) is evaluated on the ability of UMAS to treat these parameters. The UMAS must be operated daily for 5 hours operation per day with 3 hours sonication. The experiment is done when the UMAS is achieving a steady state. The steady state is achieved on day 7 with no gas was generated. The performance of UMAS showed high COD removal efficiency with 98.7%. The kinetic study is also evaluated by implying three models which are Monod, Contois and Chen and Hashimoto model