AUTOMATIC ASSESSMENT MARK ENTRY SYSTEM USING LOCAL BINARY PATTERN (LBP)

Offline handwritten recognition continues to be a fundamental research problem in document analysis and retrieval. The common method used in extracting handwritten mark from assessment forms is to assign a person to manually type in the marks into a spreadsheet. This method is found to be very time consuming, not cost effective and prone to human mistakes. In this project, a number recognition system is developed using local binary pattern (LBP) technique to extract and convert students’ identity numbers and handwritten marks on assessment forms into a spreadsheet. The template of the score sheet is designed as in Appendix 1 to collect sample of handwritten numbers. The training data contain three sets of LBP histograms for each digit. The recognition rate of handwritten digits using LBP is about 50% because LBP could not fully describe the structure of the digits. Instead, LBP is useful in term of arranging the digits ‘0 to 9’ from highest similarity score to the lowest similarity score as compared to sample using chi square distance. The recognition rate is greatly improved to about 95% by verifying the output of chi square distance with the salient structural features of digits

AUTOMATIC ASSESSMENT MARK ENTRY SYSTEM USING LOCAL BINARY PATTERN (LBP)

Offline handwritten recognition continues to be a fundamental research problem in document analysis and retrieval. The common method used in extracting handwritten mark from assessment forms is to assign a person to manually type in the marks into a spreadsheet. This method is found to be very time consuming, not cost effective and prone to human mistakes. In this project, a number recognition system is developed using local binary pattern (LBP) technique to extract and convert students’ identity numbers and handwritten marks on assessment forms into a spreadsheet. The template of the score sheet is designed as in Appendix 1 to collect sample of handwritten numbers. The training data contain three sets of LBP histograms for each digit. The recognition rate of handwritten digits using LBP is about 50% because LBP could not fully describe the structure of the digits. Instead, LBP is useful in term of arranging the digits ‘0 to 9’ from highest similarity score to the lowest similarity score as compared to sample using chi square distance. The recognition rate is greatly improved to about 95% by verifying the output of chi square distance with the salient structural features of digits

Rethinking of the future sustainable paradigm roadmap for plastic waste management: A multi-nation scale outlook compendium

The myriad consumption of plastic regularly, environmental impact and health disquietude of humans are at high risk. Along the line, international cooperation on a global scale is epitomized to mitigate the environmental threats from plastic usage, not limited to implementing international cooperation strategies and policies. Here, this study aims to provide explicit insight into possible cooperation strategies between countries on the post-treatment and management of plastic. First, a thorough cradle-to-grave assessment in terms of economic, environmental, and energy requirements is conducted on the entire life cycle across different types of plastic polymers in 6 main countries, namely the United States of America, China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia. Subsequently, P-graph is introduced to identify the integrative plastic waste treatment scheme that minimizes the economic, environmental, and energy criteria (1000 sets of solutions are found). Furthermore, TOPSIS analysis is also being adapted to search for a propitious solution with optimal balance between the dominant configuration of economic, environmental, and energy nexus. The most sustainable configuration (i.e., integrated downcycle and reuse routes in a closed loop system except in South Korea, which proposed another alternative to treat the plastic waste using landfill given the cheaper cost) is reported with 4.08 × 108 USD/yr, 1.76× 108 kg CO2/yr, and 2.73 × 109 MJ/yr respectively. To attain a high precision result, Monte-Carlo simulation is introduced (10,000 attempts) to search for possible uncertainties, and lastly, a potential global plastic waste management scheme is proposed via the PESTLE approach

Review of Adsorption Studies for Contaminant Removal from Wastewater Using Molecular Simulation

In recent years, simulation studies have emerged as valuable tools for understanding processes. In particular, molecular dynamic simulations hold great significance when it comes to the adsorption process. However, comprehensive studies on molecular simulations of adsorption processes using different adsorbents are scarcely available for wastewater treatment covering different contaminants and pollutants. Hence, in this review, we organized the available information on various aspects of the adsorption phenomenon that were realized using molecular simulations for a broad range of potentially effective adsorbents applied in the removal of contaminants from wastewater. This review was compiled for adsorbents under five major categories: (1) carbon-based, (2) oxides and hydroxides, (3) zeolites, (4) metal–organic frameworks and (5) clay. From the review, it was found that simulation studies help us understand various parameters such as binding energy, Gibbs free energy, electrostatic field, ultrasound waves and binding ability for adsorption. Moreover, from the review of recent simulation studies, the effect of ultrasound waves and the electrostatic field was elucidated, which promoted the adsorption capacity. This review can assist in the screening of classified adsorbents for wastewater treatment using a fast and cheap approach while helping us understand the adsorption process from an atomistic perspective

A systematic review of the molecular simulation of hybrid membranes for performance enhancements and contaminant removals

Number of research on molecular simulation and design has emerged recently but there is currently a lack of review to present these studies in an organized manner to highlight the advances and feasibility. This paper aims to review the development, structural, physical properties and separation performance of hybrid membranes using molecular simulation approach. The hybrid membranes under review include ionic liquid membrane, mixed matrix membrane, and functionalized hybrid membrane for understanding of the transport mechanism of molecules through the different structures. The understanding of molecular interactions, and alteration of pore sizes and transport channels at atomistic level post incorporation of different components in hybrid membranes posing impact to the selective transport of desired molecules are also covered. Incorporation of molecular simulation of hybrid membrane in related fields such as carbon dioxide (CO2) removal, wastewater treatment, and desalination are also reviewed. Despite the limitations of current molecular simulation methodologies, i.e., not being able to simulate the membrane operation at the actual macroscale in processing plants, it is still able to demonstrate promising results in capturing molecule behaviours of penetrants and membranes at full atomic details with acceptable separation performance accuracy. From the review, it was found that the best performing ionic liquid membrane, mixed matrix membrane and functionalized hybrid membrane can enhance the performance of pristine membrane by 4 folds, 2.9 folds and 3.3 folds, respectively. The future prospects of molecular simulation in hybrid membranes are also presented. This review could provide understanding to the current advancement of molecular simulation approach in hybrid membranes separation. This could also provide a guideline to apply molecular simulation in the related sectors

DESIGN OF CAPACITIVE SENSING SYSTEM FOR HOLDUP MEASUREMENT IN TWO-PHASE STRATIFIED FLOW

Two-phase flow occurs in the presence of two immiscible components inside pipelines or process equipment. They are frequently found in the petroleum, nuclear and chemical industries. Different flow patterns can be observed when the two-phase components are flowing together, where stratified flow can be easily seen in gas-liquid and liquid-liquid flow at moderately low flow rate. The holdup value of the two-phase component is one ofthe important criteria to be measured in two-phase flow, which can be defined as the ratio of the volume of a pipe segment occupied by one of the component to the volume of the pipe segment. A number of techniques have been applied to measure the holdup value in two-phase flow

OPTIMIZING MENTAL WORKLOAD ESTIMATION BY DETECTING BASELINE STATE USING VECTOR PHASE ANALYSIS APPROACH

Non-invasive brain imaging techniques offer an objective measure of mental workload by tapping directly into cognitive function. Among them, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an emerging technique that measures the hemodynamic response (HR). However, improper baseline return from the previous task-evoked HR contributes to a large variation in the subsequent HR, which affects the mental workload estimation. In this study, we propose a method using vector phase analysis to detect the baseline state as being optimal or suboptimal. Oxygenated (HbO) and deoxygenated (HbR) hemoglobin concentration changes are integrated as parts of the vector phase. We hypothesize that selecting neuronal-related HR as observed in the optimal-baseline blocks will lead to an improvement in mental workload estimation

Design of Helical Capacitance Sensor for Holdup Measurement in Two-Phase Stratified Flow: A Sinusoidal Function Approach

A 360° twisted helical capacitance sensor was developed for holdup measurement in horizontal two-phase stratified flow. Instead of suppressing nonlinear response, the sensor was optimized in such a way that a ‘sine-like’ function was displayed on top of the linear function. This concept of design had been implemented and verified in both software and hardware. A good agreement was achieved between the finite element model of proposed design and the approximation model (pure sinusoidal function), with a maximum difference of ±1.2%. In addition, the design parameters of the sensor were analysed and investigated. It was found that the error in symmetry of the sinusoidal function could be minimized by adjusting the pitch of helix. The experiments of air-water and oil-water stratified flows were carried out and validated the sinusoidal relationship with a maximum difference of ±1.2% and ±1.3% for the range of water holdup from 0.15 to 0.85. The proposed design concept therefore may pose a promising alternative for the optimization of capacitance sensor design

Review of Adsorption Studies for Contaminant Removal from Wastewater Using Molecular Simulation

In recent years, simulation studies have emerged as valuable tools for understanding processes. In particular, molecular dynamic simulations hold great significance when it comes to the adsorption process. However, comprehensive studies on molecular simulations of adsorption processes using different adsorbents are scarcely available for wastewater treatment covering different contaminants and pollutants. Hence, in this review, we organized the available information on various aspects of the adsorption phenomenon that were realized using molecular simulations for a broad range of potentially effective adsorbents applied in the removal of contaminants from wastewater. This review was compiled for adsorbents under five major categories: (1) carbon-based, (2) oxides and hydroxides, (3) zeolites, (4) metal–organic frameworks and (5) clay. From the review, it was found that simulation studies help us understand various parameters such as binding energy, Gibbs free energy, electrostatic field, ultrasound waves and binding ability for adsorption. Moreover, from the review of recent simulation studies, the effect of ultrasound waves and the electrostatic field was elucidated, which promoted the adsorption capacity. This review can assist in the screening of classified adsorbents for wastewater treatment using a fast and cheap approach while helping us understand the adsorption process from an atomistic perspective

A systematic review of the molecular simulation of hybrid membranes for performance enhancements and contaminant removals

Number of research on molecular simulation and design has emerged recently but there is currently a lack of review to present these studies in an organized manner to highlight the advances and feasibility. This paper aims to review the development, structural, physical properties and separation performance of hybrid membranes using molecular simulation approach. The hybrid membranes under review include ionic liquid membrane, mixed matrix membrane, and functionalized hybrid membrane for understanding of the transport mechanism of molecules through the different structures. The understanding of molecular interactions, and alteration of pore sizes and transport channels at atomistic level post incorporation of different components in hybrid membranes posing impact to the selective transport of desired molecules are also covered. Incorporation of molecular simulation of hybrid membrane in related fields such as carbon dioxide (CO2) removal, wastewater treatment, and desalination are also reviewed. Despite the limitations of current molecular simulation methodologies, i.e., not being able to simulate the membrane operation at the actual macroscale in processing plants, it is still able to demonstrate promising results in capturing molecule behaviours of penetrants and membranes at full atomic details with acceptable separation performance accuracy. From the review, it was found that the best performing ionic liquid membrane, mixed matrix membrane and functionalized hybrid membrane can enhance the performance of pristine membrane by 4 folds, 2.9 folds and 3.3 folds, respectively. The future prospects of molecular simulation in hybrid membranes are also presented. This review could provide understanding to the current advancement of molecular simulation approach in hybrid membranes separation. This could also provide a guideline to apply molecular simulation in the related sectors