Nano-satellite attitude control system based on adaptive neuro-controller

The current research focuses on designing of an intelligent controller for attitude control system (ACS) of nano-satellite. The nanosatellite namely Innovative Satellite (InnoSAT) was organized by Agensi Angkasa Negara (ANGKASA) to attract the interest of Malaysian universities in satellite development.In this study, an intelligent controller based on Hybrid Multi Layered Perceptron (HMLP) network was developed. The network used model reference adaptive control (MRAC) system as a control scheme to control a time varying systems where the performance specifications are given in terms of a reference model.The Weighted Recursive Least Square (WRLS) algorithm will adjust the controller parameters to minimize error between the plant output and the model reference output.The objective of this paper is to analyze the tracking performance of ANC based on HMLP network and ANC based on standard MLP network for controlling a satellite attitude. The simulation results indicate that ANC based on HMLP network gave better performance than ANC based on standard MLP network

Childhood Cryptosporidium infection among aboriginal communities in Peninsular Malaysia

Cryptosporidium is a coccidian parasite that is prevalent worldwide, some species of which cause morbidity in both immunocompromised and immunocompetent individuals. The prevalence and predictors of Cryptosporidium infection, and its effect on nutritional status, have recently been explored among 276 children (141 boys and 135 girls, aged 2-15 years) in aboriginal (Orang Asli) villages in the Malaysian state of Selangor. Faecal smears were examined by the modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique while socio-economic data were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Nutritional status was assessed by anthropometric measurements. Cryptosporidium infection, which was detected in 7.2 of the aboriginal children, was found to be significantly associated with low birthweight (2 years). The output of a binary logistic regression confirmed that large household size was a significant predictor of Cryptosporidium infection (giving an odds ratio of 2.15, with a 95 confidence interval of 1.25-5.02). Cryptosporidium infection is clearly a public-health problem among the aboriginal children of Selangor, with person-to-person the most likely mode of transmission