A novel Tiki-Taka algorithm to optimize hybrid flow shop scheduling with energy consumption

Hybrid flow shop scheduling (HFS) has been thoroughly studied due to its significant impact on productivity. Besides the impact on productivity, the abovementioned problem has attracted researchers from different background because of its difficulty in obtaining the most optimum solution. HFS complexity provides good opportunity for researcher to propose an efficient optimization method for the said problem. Recently, research in HFS has moved towards sustainability by considering energy utilization in the study. Consequently, the problem becomes more difficult to be solved via existing approach. This paper modeled and optimized HFS with energy consumption using Tiki-Taka Algorithm (TTA). TTA is a novel algorithm inspired by football playing style that focuses on short passing and player positioning. In different with existing metaheuristics, the TTA collected information from nearby solution and utilized multiple leaders’ concept in the algorithm. The research began with problem modeling, followed by TTA algorithm formulation. A computational experiment is then conducted using benchmark problems. Then, a case study problem is presented to assess the applicability of model and algorithm in real-life problems. The results indicated that the TTA consistently was in the first and second ranks in all benchmark problems. In addition, the case study results confirmed that TTA is able to search the best fitness solution by compromising the makespan and total energy utilization in the production schedule. In future, the potential of TTA will be further investigated for flexible hybrid flow shop scheduling problems

The effect of computer software interaction on students cognitive abilities enhancement: the case of engineering educators’ perspective

In this digital age, the deployment of modern technology in the workplace to mitigate global challenges has become paramount. Therefore, the academic program, as accredited by the regulatory and accreditation bodies, is to ensure the production of quality industry-ready engineering graduates. These products are expected to be technology savvy and proficiently skilled in using computer software (CS) for productivity towards engineering activities. Unfortunately, there exists a gap in the quality of the graduates produced by tertiary engineering institutions in the developing world. This gap can be associated with the lack of computational thinking (CT) skills to meet the industry needs in this age of IR 4.0. Therefore, the paper reports the engineering educators' perceived contributions and gains achieved while employing computer software in the course of instruction towards the cognitive ability enhancement of the engineering students. It provides an in-depth exploratory inquiry into the deployment of CT and its impacts in engineering education while focusing on its integration at what level in the course of study. The research follows a phenomeno-graphic research approach explored the experiences of engineering educators from different engineering disciplines in the higher education institutions, namely chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering, to gain valuable insights. Data collected through a semi-structured, in-depth interview was coded using NVivo 12 CAQDAS and analysed for relevant themes. The findings indicate a significant potential benefit of enhanced cognitive abilities leading to the development of special knowledge, generic intellectual abilities, and personal attributes. In addition, the integration of CS should be the focus of instruction at the most appropriate level of study to allow for considerable exposure to CS to achieve the desired learning outcome. These findings have direct implications on the engineering educators and students, engineering faculties, and other stakeholders

Development and Evaluation of Content Validity and Acceptance of a Multidomain Intervention Module for Reversal of Cognitive Frailty Among Older Adults

Norhayati Mustafa Khalid,1 Pavapriya Ponvel,1 Azianah Mohamad Ibrahim,1 A’isyah Mohd Safien,1 Nurul Hidayah Md Fadzil,1 Devinder Kaur Ajit Singh,1 Arimi Fitri Mat Ludin,1 Norhayati Ibrahim,1 Ponnusamy Subramaniam,1 Hasnah Haron,1 Roslee Rajikan,1 Divya Vanoh,2 Suzana Shahar1 1Center for Healthy Aging and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; 2Dietetics Programme, School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, MalaysiaCorrespondence: Suzana Shahar, Center for Healthy Aging and Wellness, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur, 50300, Malaysia, Tel +60 392897163, Email [email protected]: There is a limited availability of multidomain interventions that target cognitive frailty. Thus, the aim of the present study was to develop and evaluate the content validity and acceptance of the multidomain intervention module to reverse cognitive frailty among older adults (iAGELESS).Patients and Methods: This study was conducted in two phases: Phase I included the development of the multidomain intervention module iAGELESS and evaluation of content validity, while Phase II consisted of evaluating the acceptance of the module among 18 healthcare and social care providers, 13 older adults with cognitive frailty, and 13 caregivers. Content validity index (CVI) was used to quantify the content validity. Respondents completed a questionnaire which consisted of information on sociodemographic, followed by module acceptance evaluation with respect to content, terminologies, and graphics. The data was then analyzed descriptively.Results: A multidomain intervention module, iAGELESS was developed. The module was found to have appropriate content validity (overall CVI = 0.83). All the caregivers, 92% of older adults with cognitive frailty and 83% of healthcare and social care providers were satisfied with the overall content of the module. More than 50% of those who accepted the module had satisfactory consensus on the ease of the terminologies, length of sentences, pictures, information, color, and font size included in the module.Conclusion: The iAGELESS module demonstrated good content validity and was well accepted, thus warranting its utilization in future studies to determine its effectiveness in reversing cognitive frailty among older adults.Keywords: aging, cognitive frailty, multidomain intervention module, older adults, reversa

Optical tomography system: charge-coupled device linear image sensors

This paper discussed an optical tomography system based on charge-coupled device (CCD) linear image sensors. The developed system consists of a lighting system, a measurement section and a data acquisition system. Four CCD linear image sensors are configured around a flow pipe with an octagonal-shaped measurement section, for a four projections system. The four CCD linear image sensors consisting of 2048 pixels with a pixel size of 14 micron by 14 micron are used to produce a high-resolution system. A simple optical model is mapped into the system's sensitivity matrix to relate the optical attenuation due to variations of optical density within the measurement section. A reconstructed tomographic image is produced based on the model using MATLAB software. The designed instrumentation system is calibrated and tested through different particle size measurements from different projections

Ergonomics study on musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) related problems among workers in electronics assembly line

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are one of the most prevalent occupational health problems, affecting millions of workers every year. Ergonomics is important because our body is stressed by an awkward posture, extreme temperature, or repeated movement which affected the musculoskeletal system. The body may begin to have symptoms such as fatigue, discomfort, and pain, which can be the first signs of a musculoskeletal disorder. Thus, this study aims to analyse the data obtained from electronics company based on workers with manual material handling that involved in the production line. Ergonomics methodology will be used to find out risk and tendency of MSD. This study will suggest improvement in production’s handling by taking care of worker’s safety. The problems related to the assembly and assembly processes were analysed by using WITNESS simulation software, whereas DELMIA simulation software is used to improve human factors working condition. Based from both simulation runs, the assembly line can be further improved in many ways, such as the arrangement of floor layout, workplace condition and machines handling method by the workers. All of these are imperative to improve the working condition which will directly increase the efficiency of the production line. For analysis and implementation stage, the results from the case study experiments will be carried out in the actual manufacturing condition. The main issues that were recorded from the observation and data collection was the delivery always behind the schedule. It was contributed by the human factor which increased the number of rejected parts and slows down the production line. The WITNESS and DELMIA software have successfully improved the overall efficiency of the electronic assembly line. Hence, based on the study, the continuous improvement of the layout design, ergonomic factors and training of operators are possible to be implemented in a larger scale

Compressed channel estimation for massive MIMO-OFDM systems over doubly selective channels

Doubly selective (DS) channel estimation for the downlink massive multiple-input-multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) systems is a challenging problem, due to the requirements on high pilots overhead and prohibitive complexity. In this paper, by exploiting the highly correlated spatial structure of the obtained array response vectors and sparsity of the multipath signal components of the massive MIMO-OFDM channels, a modified spatial basis expansion model (modified-SBEM) is introduced. Thus, using complex exponential (CE-) modified-SBEM (i.e., modified CE-SBEM) can improve the resolution of the angles of departures (AoDs) information to represent the downlink with far fewer parameter dimensions, since the AoDs are much slower than path gains. Subsequently, we jointly design the effective pilot power and pilot placement for sparse channel estimation by means of an extended model. Our design is based on the block-coherence and sub-coherence simultaneous minimization of the measurement matrix associated with the massive MIMO-OFDM system pilot subcarriers. Furthermore, we leverage the sparse nature of the massive MIMO-OFDM system to formulate the quantized AoDs estimation into a block-sparse signal recovery problem, where the measurement matrix is designed based on the estimated virtual AoD. Thus, a new algorithm namely, generalized quasi-block simultaneous orthogonal matching pursuit (gQBSO), is introduced to solve the problem by providing sparse signal reconstruction solution. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme can effectively estimate the DS channel for massive MIMO-OFDM systems compared with other existing algorithms. For example, at SNR=20 dB for K=4 users, Doppler shift=0.093 with NT=32 antenna size, the adaptive-QBSO algorithm with G-SBEM and the proposed gQBSO with modified-SBEM can realize approximately 75.44%and 85.14% of the NMSE achieved by the oracle estimator with modified-SBEM

Optical tomography: The potential of mass flow rate in rice industry

The capability of Optical Tomography (OT) to visualize pipe flow is undeniably beneficial and of utmost importance to solid gas industry. The other striking feature of OT is its ability to measure and analyze real-time mass flow rate (MFR), which enables online monitoring of material weight. This paper addresses the problem posed by online weighing system in rice industry. The current system slows down the overall industrial production by impeding the device operation, and is therefore becoming obsolete. To overcome this drawback, we confirmed that OT has great potential in online weighing process using a polynomial equation. In addition, MFR measurement can gauge weight loss of rice during the enhancement process. Encouragingly, the application of novel MFR technique to accurately monitor weight loss of rice has proven to outperform the existing system in rice industry