Iris segmentation

The quality of eye image data become degraded particularly when the image is taken in the non-cooperative acquisition environment such as under visible wavelength illumination. Consequently, this environmental condition may lead to noisy eye images, incorrect localization of limbic and pupillary boundaries and eventually degrade the performance of iris recognition system. Hence, this study has compared several segmentation methods to address the abovementioned issues. The results show that Circular Hough transform method is the best segmentation method with the best overall accuracy, error rate and decidability index that more tolerant to ‘noise’ such as reflection

Purchasing Behaviour among Small Medium Enterprise (SME) customer during Covid-19 Pandemic using 7Ps approach.

Covid-19 Pandemic has an impact toward the businesses wide range inclusive Small Medium Enterprise (SME). The main purpose of this study is to investigate the purchasing behaviour of SME customer during Pandemic Covid -19 by using 7Ps approach. This study measured the relationship between 7Ps factors with purchasing behaviour in SME. Based on reliability test, all constructs are reliable and fit for mass data collection. Using convenience sampling, 105 of good questionnaires was able to be obtained for analysis using Statistical Package Social Science (SPSS) Statistic 26. Pearson correlation has been used to measure the relationship between 7Ps factors and purchasing behaviour. The result shows that all 7Ps factors has strong and positive relationship with purchasing behaviour. Factors with highest correlation with purchasing behaviour is People (0.903). This is followed by Product (0.766) and Price (0.747). Factors with least correlation with Purchasing behaviour is Place (0.558). These findings provided contribution to the literature in this field and help SME owner to strategies their businesses to retain and increase number of customers. This study can be expended to include customer retention in the framework

Job\u27s syndrome with an atypical presentation

Hyper Immunoglobulin E syndrome also called Job\u27s or Buckley Syndrome is a rare primary immunodeficiency disease characterized by elevated serum IgE levels (\u3e 2000 IU/ml), recurrent infections and eosinophilia. Other features include coarse facies and non-immunologic abnormalities of the dentition, bones, vasculature and connective tissues. We are reporting a case of a twenty four years old male with coarse facies who presented with severe pallor and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Investigations revealed markedly elevated serum IgE levels (11,800 IU/ml), severe anaemia, esophageoduodenal erosions, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) gastritis and oro-esophageal candidiasis

Achieving Fair Load Balancing by Invoking a Learning Automata-based Two Time Scale Separation Paradigm

Author's accepted manuscript.© 2020 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.In this article, we consider the problem of load balancing (LB), but, unlike the approaches that have been proposed earlier, we attempt to resolve the problem in a fair manner (or rather, it would probably be more appropriate to describe it as an ε-fair manner because, although the LB can, probably, never be totally fair, we achieve this by being ``as close to fair as possible''). The solution that we propose invokes a novel stochastic learning automaton (LA) scheme, so as to attain a distribution of the load to a number of nodes, where the performance level at the different nodes is approximately equal and each user experiences approximately the same Quality of the Service (QoS) irrespective of which node that he/she is connected to. Since the load is dynamically varying, static resource allocation schemes are doomed to underperform. This is further relevant in cloud environments, where we need dynamic approaches because the available resources are unpredictable (or rather, uncertain) by virtue of the shared nature of the resource pool. Furthermore, we prove here that there is a coupling involving LA's probabilities and the dynamics of the rewards themselves, which renders the environments to be nonstationary. This leads to the emergence of the so-called property of ``stochastic diminishing rewards.'' Our newly proposed novel LA algorithm ε-optimally solves the problem, and this is done by resorting to a two-time-scale-based stochastic learning paradigm. As far as we know, the results presented here are of a pioneering sort, and we are unaware of any comparable results.acceptedVersio

Characterization of adnexal masses using multidetector contrast-enhanced CT scan - recognising common pitfalls that masquerade as ovarian cancer

Adnexal masses are growths that form near the uterus; the majority being ovarian tumours. Although there is no established population-screening tool for detecting ovarian cancer, ultrasound and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) are useful imaging tools in the management of adnexal masses. Our study aimed to determine the characteristics of malignant adnexal masses on CECT scan and to describe common pitfalls in diagnosis of ovarian cancer when interpreting images. We also determined the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosing ovarian cancer using CECT. A retrospective study was conducted in Hospital Serdang using data from all patients who underwent CECT scan and detected with adnexal masses, and had histopathological examination correlation from January 2013 until January 2015. Out of the 64 cases analysed; the majority of malignant lesions were serous carcinoma of the ovary (40%). The CECT scan characteristics, tumour consistency of mixed type, presence of wall enhancement, septations, ascites and peritoneal nodule/omental caking were significantly associated with ovarian malignancy (p<0.05). The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of CECT scan was 95.45%, 71.43%, 63.63% and 96.77% respectively. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan is a good, non-invasive method to diagnose ovarian cancer. By using a pro-forma document as a guide, good results can be achieved to help differentiate between benign and malignant lesions. Nevertheless, caution needs to be exercised in interpreting cases that mimic features of malignancy

Torque and power of CNGDI engine with two different piston crown shapes

This paper presents the experimental test results of single cylinder high compression engine fuelled with compressed natural gas. The engine uses central direct injection with high pressure injector system which is known as Compressed Natural Gas Direct Injection (CNGDI)engine. This initial experiment on a single cylinder CNGDI engine is to investigate the feasibility of the CNGDI engine with different piston crown shape. The performance of two piston crown shapes for(i)homogeneous(ii)stratified combustion was investigated. The start of injection(SOI) timing for each piston was varied between 1200 before top dead centre (bTDC) to 2200 bT DC to study it combustion response at various engine speed. SOI laid between 1200 bT DC to 1800 bT DC, which produced a constant power and torque. The experimental results have shown;(i) ignition timing has to be advanced and(ii) the best injection timing is at 1200 bT DC to 1800 bT DC to achieve a good performance. For homogeneous charge combustion operation engine, the injection timing was set at early of compression stroke to ensure the better fuel/air mixing

Employer's statutory responsibility in accordance to Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994

Law imposes responsibility on employer to provide a safe dan healty working environment to his employee. Justifiably, a workplace accident is a tragedy, which may disturb the economic development of not only an organization but a country. With that, the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA) has been promulgated to ensure the safety, health and welfare of an employee in public and private sectors in Malaysia are safeguarded.Therefore, this article identifies statutory responsibility of an employer in accordance to the AKKP together with discussion on the burden of proof and prosecution against an employer for his infringement of the responsibility. In writing of this article, the writer use legal research methodology, which emphasises on doctrinal approach. At the end, recommendations are posted for a betterment of employees’ safety and health in Malaysia

Synergistic effects of Persicaria odorata (Daun Kesom) leaf extracts with standard antibiotics on pathogenic bacteria

Antibacterial activity of different types of P. odorata leaf extracts was evaluated in combination with standard antibiotics. Persicaria. odorata leaves were extracted with n-hexane (n-hex), dichloromethane (DCM) and methanol (MeOH). Each extract was applied on vancomycin (30μg), erythromycin (15μg) and gentamicin (10μg) discs, respectively. Disk diffusion method was used to evaluate the synergistic activity of each combination on Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, and Escherichia coli. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) analysis was performed on the active extract. Synergistic effects seen were mainly from the n-hex+antibiotics combinations, mainly on the Gram-positive bacteria (7 additive, 5 antagonistic), with MIC range from 50 μg/ml to 100 μg/ml, as well as Gram-negative bacteria (2 additive, 2 indifferent, 5 antagonistic). In particular, synergism showed by the combination of n-hex+van were all additive against the susceptible bacteria. DCM extract combination showed synergistic effects on three Gram-positive species (S. aureus, S. epidermidis, S. pyogenes). Meanwhile, MeOH+antibiotics combination showed significant additive synergistic effects (p<0.05) on S. aureus and S. epidermidis. The major compounds of leaves extract were decanal and β-citral. n-Hex extract superiorly inhibited Gram-positive bacteria growth as compared to DCM and MeOH extracts. The additive synergistic property of the n-hex P. odorata extract could be further studied for possible use as an antibacterial agent

Modern use of modified Sequencing Batch Reactor in wastewater Treatment

If wastes are not properly managed, it may seep into the earth and aquifers, polluting both the surface and the water table. For public health reasons, leachate is considered a major environmental hazard due of its poisonous and hardy components. Because of this, it must be collected and processed adequately before being released into nature. Currently, there is no single unit procedure for appropriate leachate treatment since traditional wastewater treatment techniques are unable to degrade harmful chemicals contained in the leachate to a suitable level. Consequently, there has been an increase in the study of various leachate treatment procedures in order to maximise operational versatility. Various strategies have been used to degrade the leachate based on its properties, discharge requirements, technological possibilities, regulatory restrictions, and cost concerns. Sequencing batch reactor (SBR) treatment systems for landfill leachate were lauded for their operating flexibility, shock load resilience, and high biomass retention in the interest of long-term sustainability for the environment. Therefore, the current work objective is a deeper study of the features of SBR to identify prospects and unresolved problems in this process. The content analysis method of scientific publications from rating journals indexed in Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, ResearchGate, Google Scholar on the totality of the keywords of this study in various combinations was applied; selection and synthesis of the main characteristics SBR to identify gaps in this area and prospects for future research. An in-depth analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of different leachate degrading processes is provided in this article. The role of integrated leachate treatment technologies with SBR was also highlighted. The effects of various materials, techniques, tactics, and configurations on leachate treatment were also explored in the paper. Critiqued SBR system environmental and operational factors were addressed. Readers of this work are expected to get a better understanding of SBR studies for leachate treatment and to use this information as a guide for their own research in this field. It uses the fill and draw activated sludge system with clarifier and intermittent aeration mode, where all the metabolic reactions and the separation of solid-liquid takes place in a unit tank through a timed control sequence in a non-steady state, variable capacity and suspended growth biological wastewater treatment system. The simultaneous nitrification, denitrification, and phosphorus removal are made possible by combining anaerobic and aerobic processes

Analysis of Human Gait Using Hybrid EEG-fNIRS-Based BCI System: A Review

Human gait is a complex activity that requires high coordination between the central nervous system, the limb, and the musculoskeletal system. More research is needed to understand the latter coordination\u27s complexity in designing better and more effective rehabilitation strategies for gait disorders. Electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) are among the most used technologies for monitoring brain activities due to portability, non-invasiveness, and relatively low cost compared to others. Fusing EEG and fNIRS is a well-known and established methodology proven to enhance brain–computer interface (BCI) performance in terms of classification accuracy, number of control commands, and response time. Although there has been significant research exploring hybrid BCI (hBCI) involving both EEG and fNIRS for different types of tasks and human activities, human gait remains still underinvestigated. In this article, we aim to shed light on the recent development in the analysis of human gait using a hybrid EEG-fNIRS-based BCI system. The current review has followed guidelines of preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-Analyses (PRISMA) during the data collection and selection phase. In this review, we put a particular focus on the commonly used signal processing and machine learning algorithms, as well as survey the potential applications of gait analysis. We distill some of the critical findings of this survey as follows. First, hardware specifications and experimental paradigms should be carefully considered because of their direct impact on the quality of gait assessment. Second, since both modalities, EEG and fNIRS, are sensitive to motion artifacts, instrumental, and physiological noises, there is a quest for more robust and sophisticated signal processing algorithms. Third, hybrid temporal and spatial features, obtained by virtue of fusing EEG and fNIRS and associated with cortical activation, can help better identify the correlation between brain activation and gait. In conclusion, hBCI (EEG + fNIRS) system is not yet much explored for the lower limb due to its complexity compared to the higher limb. Existing BCI systems for gait monitoring tend to only focus on one modality. We foresee a vast potential in adopting hBCI in gait analysis. Imminent technical breakthroughs are expected using hybrid EEG-fNIRS-based BCI for gait to control assistive devices and Monitor neuro-plasticity in neuro-rehabilitation. However, although those hybrid systems perform well in a controlled experimental environment when it comes to adopting them as a certified medical device in real-life clinical applications, there is still a long way to go