A guided artificial bee colony (GABC) heuristic for permutation flowshop scheduling problem (PFSP)

Flowshop is the most common production system in the industry, and there are many documented efforts to improve the performance of the flowshop. The range spreads from the usage of heuristics to metaheuristics, and one of the promising methods is NEH (Nawaz, Enscore & Ham) heuristics. This study aims to improve NEH, using an enhanced version of Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm because the original one has the problem of slow converge speed. As a result, this study will propose a mechanism to improve the convergence speed of ABC because faster convergence speed is the ability to find high-quality results in lesser iterations compared to others. The study clusters the Employed Bees (EB) and Onlooker Bees (OB) into several groups: Total Greedy, Semi Greedy and Non-Greedy. Upon completion, the study selected the Total Greedy (3+0+0) because of the leading performance in makespan value (performance indicator), and the author used it for the rest of this study. This study proposed two variants of the guided initial ABC or Guided Artificial Bee Colony (GABC) with one variant (NEH-based ABC), employing the concept of NEH and the second variant (GABC), employing the concept of NEH and First Job Sequence Arrangement Method. The study experimented according to ten datasets of Taillard benchmark and divided the experiments into several categories and the experiments run every data for several iterations, and for each dataset, there are 20 replications. This study compared the performance of NEH, ABC, NEH-based ABC and GABC, which also act as the validation process. Based on the results, ABC produced inconsistent results for a significant amount of times and interestingly, GABC, NEHbased ABC and ABC produced 68.75%, 63.33% and 0.01% results that are better than NEH, respectively. The data also shows that GABC is 37.9% better than its variant. Finally, the author can conclude that this study demonstrated the slow convergence issue of ABC

Transparent authentication: Utilising heart rate for user authentication

There has been exponential growth in the use of wearable technologies in the last decade with smart watches having a large share of the market. Smart watches were primarily used for health and fitness purposes but recent years have seen a rise in their deployment in other areas. Recent smart watches are fitted with sensors with enhanced functionality and capabilities. For example, some function as standalone device with the ability to create activity logs and transmit data to a secondary device. The capability has contributed to their increased usage in recent years with researchers focusing on their potential. This paper explores the ability to extract physiological data from smart watch technology to achieve user authentication. The approach is suitable not only because of the capacity for data capture but also easy connectivity with other devices - principally the Smartphone. For the purpose of this study, heart rate data is captured and extracted from 30 subjects continually over an hour. While security is the ultimate goal, usability should also be key consideration. Most bioelectrical signals like heart rate are non-stationary time-dependent signals therefore Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) is employed. DWT decomposes the bioelectrical signal into n level sub-bands of detail coefficients and approximation coefficients. Biorthogonal Wavelet (bior 4.4) is applied to extract features from the four levels of detail coefficents. Ten statistical features are extracted from each level of the coffecient sub-band. Classification of each sub-band levels are done using a Feedforward neural Network (FF-NN). The 1 st , 2 nd , 3 rd and 4 th levels had an Equal Error Rate (EER) of 17.20%, 18.17%, 20.93% and 21.83% respectively. To improve the EER, fusion of the four level sub-band is applied at the feature level. The proposed fusion showed an improved result over the initial result with an EER of 11.25% As a one-off authentication decision, an 11% EER is not ideal, its use on a continuous basis makes this more than feasible in practice

Comparison analysis of stream cipher algorithms for digital communication

The broadcast nature of radio communication such as in the HF (High Frequency) spectrum exposes the transmitted information to unauthorized third parties. Confidentiality is ensured by employing cipher system. For bulk transmission of data, stream ciphers are ideal choices over block ciphers due to faster implementation speed and not introducing error propagation. The stream cipher algorithms evaluated are based on the linear feedback shift register (LFSR) with nonlinear combining function. By using a common key length and worst case conditions, the strength of several stream cipher algorithms are evaluated using statistical tests, correlation attack, linear complexity profile and nonstandard test. The best algorithm is the one that exceeds all of the tests

Mesoscale numerical approach to predict macroscale fluid flow problems

We present a detailed analysis of the lattice Boltzmann method to simulate an incompressible fluid flow problem. Thorough derivation of macroscopic hydrodynamics equations from the continuous Boltzmann equation is performed. After showing how the formulation of the mesoscale particle dynamics fits in to the framework of lattice Boltzmann simulations, numerical results of isothermal, thermal and multiphase fluid flow are presented to highlight the applicability of the approach. The objective of the paper is to gain better understanding of this relatively new approach for applied engineering problems in fluid transport phenomena

Method Development For The Determination Of Sulphonamide Residues In Chicken By Liquid Chromatography Ion Trap Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Satu kaedah yang mudah, sensitif dan dipercayai untuk penentuan sisa lima sulfonamida A simple, sensitive and reliable method for the determination of five sulphonamide residue

Keberkesanan Kursus Induksi Umum Kumpulan 1, di Intan Wilayah Timur Kemaman Terengganu

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menilai keberkesanan Kursus Induksi Umum, Kumpulan I yang dianjurkan oleh INTAN Wilayah Timur, Chukai, Kemaman, Terengganu pada tahun 1997. Aspek yang akan ditumpukan dalam penilaian terse but ialah dari segi pencapaian objektif kursus secara menyeluruh dan secara perbandingan diantara Kumpulan Pengurusan dan Profesional dengan Kumpulan Sokongan dalam Gred 5 dan 6 serta Gred-gred lain yang setaraf dengan Kumpulan B. Kajian ini juga akan mengukur tahap pembelajaran yang diperolehi serta tahap peningkatan prestasi peserta selepas menghadiri kursus ini. Disamping itu juga kajian ini akan menilai keberkesanan metodologi latihan, modul, persekitaran dan fasilitator yang terlibat. Seramai 95 orang peserta yang pernah menghadiri kursus telah dipilih secara persampelan rawak strata, bagi mempastikan responden yang dipilih dapat mewakili kumpulan Pengurusan dan Profesional serta Kumpulan Sokongan dalam Gred 5 dan 6. serta Gred-gred lain yang setaraf dengan Kumpulan B. Borang soal selidik diedar dan dikembalikan dalam satu seminar yang dirancang khusus untuk penilaian keberkesanan kursus ini. Semua data yang dikumpul telah diproses secara manual untuk mendapat peratus keberkesanan, purata pencapaian dan ujian . chi-square' dilakukan untuk melihat perbezaan pencapaian objektif antara Pegawai dari Kumpulan Pengurusan & Profesional dari Kumpulan Sokongan dalam Gred 5 dan 6 serta Gred-gred lain yang setaraf dengan Kumpulan B

Transesterification of Palm Olein by Immobilised Microbial Lipases

Enzymatic transesterification of palm olein in organic solvent was studied. The enzyme was first immobilised to celite, lyophilised for 4 h and then added to a reaction medium composed of water-saturated hexane containing of 10% (w/v) palm olein. The catalytic performance of the enzyme was evaluated by determining changes in the triglycerides (TG) composition and concentration by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and the formation of free fatty acids (FF A) by titration, respectively. For Candida rugosa lipase, the optimal water content was controlled by lyophilisation of the lipase preparation for 4 h. The addition of water to the dried immobilised preparation shifted the reaction equilibrium to favour net hydrolysis. Of the commercially available lipases that were investigated, lipases from Pseudomonas sp. and the lipase from Rhizomucor miehei resulted in the highest extent of transesterification. Besides palm olein, palm kernel olein and coconut oil showed some changes in the triglyceride composition after transesterification process. Changes in the palm olein concentration in the range 5- 1 00% increased the degree of transesterification of the immobilised Pseudomonas sp. and declined with the R. miehei lipase. The maximum enzyme activity was reached at an enzyme loading of 0.40% (w/w). The optimum temperature for trans esterification by immobilised Pseudomonas sp. lipase was 48°C. Hexane, cyclohexane and isooctane were found to be particularly useful organic solvents in the transesterification process. Water-saturated hexane system can be replaced by either dimethysulfoxide- or dimethylformamide-saturated hexane. Methanol was not suitable for the transesterification process. In all cases, the transesterification process resulted in the formation of PPP (tripalmitin), a trisaturated triglyceride initially undetected in the oil, and minor increases in the concentration of 000, OOL, OLL, SOS, where P, 0, L and S are palmitic, oleic, linoleic and stearic acid, respectively thus increasing the slip melting point of the final product

Social construction of body image and weight loss behaviour among overweight adolescents / Suriati Sidek

Obesity among adolescents is often associated with body image dissatisfaction. However, very few studies have examined body image, as a social construct, among overweight adolescents in Malaysia, and the process by which such construction is perceived, experienced and reacted to through various social interactions. The literatures also show that body dissatisfaction may lead to disordered eating behaviour, as a means to improve physical appearance. Therefore, this phenomenological study that was guided by the social constructionism lens, aims to explore the construct of body image and weight loss behaviour among overweight adolescents. Thirty-three in-depth semi-structured interviews with 13 to 17 years old male and female overweight adolescents from an urban setting in Selangor were analysed using thematic analysis. The present study found that body image is conceptualised through perceptual, affective, cognitive and behavioural domains of overweight adolescents. Overweight adolescents perceived body attributes as more important than other physical characteristics. They described their body image as it is based on the appearance comments and criticism that they received from social interactions with peers and parents. Most of them wanted to be thin for social acceptance

Assessment of seed quality of Indica rice cv. MR297 under accelerated ageing test / Syamsuziati Sidek

The accelerated ageing (AA) was test by using indica rice cv. MR 279 to access quality of the seeds in storage. Determination of seed longevity provides estimation of storage potential of paddy seed. The objectives of study was determine the initial seed moisture content (MC) two weeks after harvest and assessment the potential of seed longevity of MR297. The seed of variety MR297 was obtained from KADA Mulong, Kelantan after two weeks of harvest. Initial seed moisture content (MC) was recorded by placed them in oven for 150˚C for 24 hour. Before conducting AA test, seed MC was maintained at 15% ±0.5 by exposed them to above on temperature room. The AA tests conduct by using 500 seed with 2 replications for each day (0-20 days) and place into incubator with 40˚C. The 0 day replications it must directly put into growth chamber with temperature 32˚C on day and 16˚C at night and it was followed by 5, 10, 15 and 20 days. The result of ability to germinate normally was recorded every 5 days after being placed in growth chamber. The result of initial MC after two weeks harvesting is showed 12.5% and indicated that the seed suitable for storage as the optimum MC for preventing from loss of viability is 10-18%. The mean MC before of AA test was between 14.8-15.3%. AA test of seed longevity resulted in significant decline with the ability to germinate normally (0 day= 94%, 5 day= 94%, 10, 15 and 20 days = 0%). The P50 result showed the longevity of MR297 it about 4 days in 20-25˚C storage