MRI brain classification using support vector machine

The field of medical imaging gains its importance with increase in the need of automated and efficient diagnosis in a short period of time. Other than that, medical image retrieval system is to provide a tool for radiologists to retrieve the images similar to query image in content. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an imaging technique that has played an important role in neuroscience research for studying brain images. Classification is an important part in retrieval system in order to distinguish between normal patients and those who have the possibility of having abnormalities or tumor. In this paper, we have obtained the feature related to MRI images using discrete wavelet transformation. An advanced kernel based techniques such as Support Vector Machine (SVM) for the classification of volume of MRI data as normal and abnormal will be deployed

Reduced graphene oxide-multiwalled carbon nanotubes hybrid film with low Pt loading as counter electrode for improved photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitised solar cells

In this work, the role of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with hyperbranched surfactant and its hybridisation with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and platinum (Pt) nanoparticles (NPs) as counter electrode (CE) were investigated to determine the photovoltaic performance of dye-sensitised solar cells (DSSCs). Sodium 1,4-is(neopentyloxy)-3-(neopentyloxycarbonyl)- 1,4-dioxobutane-2-sulphonate (TC14) surfactant was utilised as dispersing and stabilising agent in electrochemical exfoliation to synthesise graphene oxide (GO) as initial solution for rGO production prior to its further hybridisation and fabrication as thin film. A chemical reduction process utilising hydrazine hydrate was conducted to produce rGO due to the low temperature process and water-based GO solution. Subsequently, hybrid solution was prepared by mixing 1 wt% MWCNTs into the produced rGO solution. TC14-rGO and TC14-rGO_MWCNTs hybrid solution were transferred into fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate to fabricate thin film by spraying deposition method. Finally, the CE films were prepared by coating with thin Pt NPs. Photoanode film was prepared by a two-step process: hydrothermal growth method to synthesise titanium dioxide nanowires (TiO2 NWs) and subsequent squeegee method to apply TiO2 NPs. According to solar simulator measurement, the highest energy conversion efficiency (η) was achieved by using CE-based TC14-rGO_MWCNTs/Pt (1.553%), with the highest short current density of 4.424 mA/cm2. The highest η was due to the high conductivity of CE hybrid film and the morphology of fabricated TiO2 NWs/TiO2 NPs. Consequently, the dye adsorption was high, and the photovoltaic performance of DSSCs was increased. This result also showed that rGO and rGO_MWCNTs hybrid can be used as considerable potential candidate materials to replace Pt gradually

A Carrierless Amplitude Phase (CAP) Modulation Format: Perspective and Prospect in Optical Transmission System

The explosive demand of broadband services nowadays requires data communication systems to have intensive capacity which subsequently increases the need for higher data rate as well. Although implementation of multiple wavelengths channels can be used (e.g. 4 × 25.8 Gb/s for 100 Gb/s connection) for such desired system, it usually leads to cost increment issue which is caused by employment of multiple optical components. Therefore, implementation of advanced modulation format using a single wavelength channel has become a preference to increase spectral efficiency by increasing the data rate for a given transmission system bandwidth. Conventional advanced modulation format however, involves a degree of complexity and costly transmission system. Hence, carrierless amplitude phase (CAP) modulation format has emerged as a promising advanced modulation format candidate due to spectral efficiency improvement ability with reduction of optical transceiver complexity and cost. The intriguing properties of CAP modulation format are reviewed as an attractive prospect in optical transmission system applications

Development of vegetable oil-based emulsion liquid membrane for downstream processing of bio-succinic acid

Succinic acid has been recognized as a useful platform chemical that can be applied in various industries. The application of bio-based succinic acid is still limited due to high downstream processing cost. In this study, vegetable oil-based emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) process is proposed to recover succinic acid from fermentation broth. The ELM system consists of three main liquid phases; external feed, membrane, and internal stripping. The liquid membrane phase was prepared by dissolving Amberlite LA2 and Span 80 in palm oil, while, the internal phase comprises of sodium carbonate solution, Na2CO3. The influence of feed, stripping agent and carrier concentration, treat ratio, as well as liquid membrane recycling on ELM performance were studied. The results showed 10 g/L of initial concentration, 1.0 M of Na2CO3, 0.7 M of Amberlite LA2, and treat ratio of 1:5 is the best condition with almost 100% recovery and enrichment of 21 times. The recycled liquid membrane concentrates the succinic acid up to 12 times. Therefore, the proposed ELM is a potential technology to extract bio-succinic acid

A Review on Honey Adulteration and the Available Detection Approaches

Over the last few decades, the utilization of stingless bees honey product grew significantly due to its natural therapeutic value in honey. These make the demand for honey rises and tends to have a lot of honey product available in the commercial market. However, the purity of honey can be sceptical whenever it turns up to be added or removed with different substances. Recently, adulteration of honey becomes a complex issue because the highly sophisticated adulteration procedures are continually being evolved and the legislative determination of honey quality indicator is incapable to identify most honey adulteration procedures. Therefore, a comprehensive overview of the method of adulterated honey, including direct and indirect adulteration are discussed in this paper. In addition to this, the detection methods approached by most researchers are briefly explained. All these methods contribute to the knowledge about each aspect of honey authenticity and give beneficial information in oncoming works

A review on environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding markers for wildlife monitoring research

Environmental DNA or eDNA utilizes traceable genetic materials in the environment for monitoring the presence of organisms in a given area and it is now gaining popularity as an alternative for traditional monitoring methods. Thus, the selection of genetic markers is crucial for identification of species in wildlife monitoring. This paper aims to review several DNA markers which are appropriate and reliable for detection of organisms from the environmental samples. We performed systematic literature search from SCOPUS database to review all molecular markers of eDNA. This study focuses on the importance of markers selection which can be utilized by next-generation sequencing (NGS) for biodiversity monitoring. Cytochrome C oxidase Subunit I (COI) are noted as the most widely used marker in metabarcoding research for detection of targeted species

Shift of paradigm needed towards improving human-elephant coexistence in monoculture landscapes in Sabah

This article outlines the contemporary situation of the Bornean elephant Elephas maximus borneensis in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo), and focuses on the existing challenges that need to be addressed to enable people and elephants to coexist, particularly in man‐made landscapes dominated by oil‐palm plantations. Bornean elephants are confined mostly to Sabah, to the north‐east 5% of the Borneo Island. Sabah started to expand its commercial plantation sector in the early 1980s and is the largest producer of palm oil in Malaysia, contributing c. 10% of global output for this commodity. The rapid pace of plantation expansion has resulted in the loss of the majority of lowland areas that are also needed by large mammal species to sustain breeding populations. Elephants are extreme lowland/floodplain specialists, and they still attempt to use their former and preferred habitat, which is now mostly dominated by oil‐palm plantations. At the time of writing, the land‐use planning system favoured by the government insufficiently incorporates the ecological and management needs for elephants across the entire landscape. This article also highlights the need for better collaboration and coordination between stakeholders to address the increasing rate of human–elephant conflicts in Sabah

Particle swarm algorithm sliding mode control on spacecraft’s attitude with switching function method thorough error feedback

Small spacecraft requires capable processors with energy efficiency, low cost and low computational burden while maintaining the output tracking accuracy. This paper presents the extension of work in [1], to enhance the transient performance using particle swarm optimization (PSO) on decaying boundary layer and switching function thorough error feedback (DBLSF) in Sliding Mode Control (SMC). Generally, SMC is known for having chattering as the main drawback which can introduce wear and tear to moving mechanical parts. As a solution, a DBLSF proposed in [1] and capable of eliminating the chattering in SMC while considering the essential requirements for small spacecraft operation. Then, the extension implemented on spacecraft's attitude, which is one-of-six subsystems in spacecraft, used to orient the spacecraft referred to reference objects and control the dynamics of a spacecraft time-to-time according to the needs. However, the SMC's transient response can be tuned using some coefficients in the SMC algorithm. The parameters in [1] were tuned using outputs observation technique. In this paper, then, an improvement is introduced to optimize the outputs by adding a PSO in the SMC-DBLSF in term of transient performances and accuracy while reducing the chattering permanently

Understanding the spatial distribution and hot spots of collared Bornean elephants in a multi-use landscape

Abstract: In the Kinabatangan floodplain, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, oil palm and settlements have reduced and fragmented lowland tropical forests, home to around 200 endangered Bornean elephants (Elephas maximus borneensis). In this region, elephants range within forests, oil palm and community areas. The degree to which elephants are using these areas remains unclear. We used GPS telemetry data from 2010 to 2020 for 14 collared elephants to map their entire known ranges and highly used areas (hot spots) across four land use categories and estimate time spent within these. The use of land use types across elephants varied significantly. Typically, females had strong fidelity to forests, yet many of these forests are threatened with conversion. For the three males, and several females, they heavily used oil palm estates, and this may be due to decreased landscape permeability or foraging opportunities. At the pooled level, the entire range and hot spot extents, constituted 37% and 34% for protected areas, respectively, 8% and 11% for unprotected forests, 53% and 51% for oil palm estates, and 2% for community areas. Protecting all forested habitats and effectively managing areas outside of protected areas is necessary for the long-term survival of this population