Automatic feature description of Endometrioma in Ultrasonic images of the ovary

Endometriosis cyst or endometrium is commonly found in women with subfertility. Traditionally, medical technologies fail to detect the disease automatically and it is fully dependent on the doctors to determine the peritoneal disease where it may lead to inaccurate findings. A method of assessment may give more accurate detection without the need for surgical procedure, especially in monitoring disease recurrence. This will avoid surgical risk and will not delay the management. In this study, the feature description is developed using pattern recognition, involving image processing techniques; the ultrasonic images is used as input in which the region of interest of images, image segmentation, feature extraction are studie

POLICY ANALYSIS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF MINIMUM COMPETENCY ASSESSMENT AS AN EFFORT TO IMPROVE READING LITERACY OF STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS

Abstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis kebijakan implementasi Asesmen Kompetensi Minimum (AKM) sebagai upaya peningkatan literasi membaca peserta didik di sekolah. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah model penelitian kualitatif dengan kajian literatur. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pemanfaatan informasi hasil Asesmen Kompetensi Minimum, guru dapat menyusun strategi pembelajaran yang efektif dan berkualitas. Hasil Asesmen Kompetensi Minimum dapat memberi gambaran kepada guru mengenai takaran yang tepat untuk setiap “teaching at the right level”. Strategi yang sesuai dengan kondisi murid, tugas atau pembelajaran yang diberikan juga sesuai dengan kondisi peserta didik. Dengan demikian antusiasme untuk belajar tetap terjaga. Rasa bosan karena tantangan atau tugas yang terlalu sederhana atau rasa putus asa karena tugas yang terlalu sulit, di luar jangkauan murid dapat dihindari.Abstract:  This study aims to analyze the implementation policies of the Minimum Competency Assessment (AKM) in improving the reading literacy efforts of students in schools. This type of research used in this research is a qualitative research model with a literature review. The results showed that using the information from the Minimum Competency Assessment results, teachers could develop effective and quality learning strategies. The results of the Minimum Competency Assessment can provide an overview to the teacher about the correct dose for each teaching at the right level. Strategies that are in accordance with the conditions of the students, assignments or learning given are also in accordance with the conditions of students. Thus the enthusiasm for learning is maintained. Boredom because of challenges or tasks that are too simple or feeling hopeless because of tasks that are too difficult, beyond the reach of students can be avoided

Importance of Internal Audit Capability in Management Accounting and Organization Performance

The purpose of this paper is to explain the importance of internal audit capability in enhancing the management accounting and performance of Malaysian public sector organizations. The structure of public sector organization in Malaysia comprises of several level and types of organizations which lead to the complexity of the structure. Therefore, it requires a comprehensive procedure and guidelines especially in financial management. This study specifically focused on the role of internal audit in two different types of public sector entities i.e., state level and state statutory body. An explanatory case study method was used to collect the data whereby semi structured interviews, informal conversations, questionnaire and document reviews were conducted. It is found that internal audit unit in PSA obtained higher capability level of Level 2 (infrastructure) with overall percentage capability of 57%. CSA scored level 5 (optimized) for four of the IACM dimensions which are Professional Practices, Performance Management and Accountability, Organizational Relationships and Culture, as well as Governance Structure. CSB only achieves level 5 (optimized) for dimension of performance management and accountability. For dimension of governance structure, CSB achieves level 3 (integrated). Other three dimensions of services and role of internal audit, professional practices and organizational relationships and culture achieves level 2 (infrastructure). However, CSB scores poorly for people management dimension which is only level 1 (initial) which resulting the overall capability of only level 1 (initial) with overall percentage of 52%. There is a critical need to review the dimensions of services and role of internal audit, people management, and professional practices for both organizations to enhance the effectiveness of the IA function. Implications and suggestions for further studies are also provided

Finite element modeling and analysis of sandwich dry floor slab

Behaviour of composite dry floor slab system constructed using profiled steel decking and plywood panels is studied by conducting linear and non-linear finite element analysis. The parameters considered are steel sheeting and plywood thickness, profile shape of the deck, and single (top) and double skin (top and bottom) plywood panels. The main focus of the study is on the determination of slab strength under bending and load distribution behaviour in two-way action. A bending test of single skin specimen was conducted to obtain load-deflection behaviour for verification of the finite element model. The results of the analysis indicate that the steel sheeting thickness is the main parameter that governs the slab load bearing capacity while plywood thickness minimally affects the slab strength. Slab with double skin plywood can take the load three times larger than that with single skin plywood. Slab made with trapezoidal shape steel deck has a better load distribution in the transverse direction (two-way system) compared to those made with rectangular and dove tail shape deck. The information obtained from this study can be used as a guide for application of composite dry floor slab system

Independence of Internal Audit Unit Influence the Internal Audit Capability of Malaysian Public Sector Organizations

Measuring capability level of a service provider is ambiguous, so does an internal audit unit in the public sector. Prominently, there is very scarce research conducted on this issue. In this study, the Internal Audit Capability Model (IACM) is used to measure the capability while the independence of the internal audit is studied as one of the factors influencing it. Questionnaires were sent to head of internal auditors which list obtained from National Audit Department. Total of 70 responses was received and analyzed for descriptive statistics and relationship testing using SPSS and SmartPLS. It was found that 47 organizations were only at capability level 1 Initial while remaining 13 organizations were at least scored capability Level 2 Infrastructure. This shows that the Malaysian public sector must strengthen its internal audit unit, especially in People Management, to develop higher capability level. It was also found that independence of the internal audit unit has a positive and significant influence on the overall internal audit capability level. Lack of independence results in lack of quality internal audit unit thus gives an impact on the capability level. IACM used in this study could provide the organization with a road map to enhance its capability

Determination of optimal self-drive tourism route using the orienteering problem method

This paper was conducted to determine the optimal travel routes for self-drive tourism based on the allocation of time and expense by maximizing the amount of attraction scores assigned to each city involved.Self-drive tourism represents a type of tourism where tourists hire or travel by their own vehicle.It only involves a tourist destination which can be linked with a network of roads. Normally, the traveling salesman problem (TSP) and multiple traveling salesman problems (MTSP) method were used in the minimization problem such as determination the shortest time or distance traveled. This paper involved an alternative approach for maximization method which is maximize the attraction scores and tested on tourism data for ten cities in Kedah.A set of priority scores are used to set the attraction score at each city. The classical approach of the orienteering problem was used to determine the optimal travel route. This approach is extended to the team orienteering problem and the two methods were compared. These two models have been solved by using LINGO12.0 software.The results indicate that the model involving the team orienteering problem provides a more appropriate solution compared to the orienteering problem model

Growth of nanostructured zinc oxide on flexible conductive substrate: a review

In this paper, a review on the structural and morphological of nanostructured zinc oxide (ZnO) fabricated on flexible conductive substrate, mainly indium tin oxide coated on polyethylene terephthalate (ITO/PET) via various fabrication method is reported. Besides fabrication method, the effect of fabrication condition such as immersion time of ZnO-ITO/PET via hydrothermal method, concentration of modification material of precursor solution via sol-gel method, value of applied cathodic voltage and value of current densities via electrochemical deposition are also discussed. XRD analysis showed that the growth of ZnO-ITO/PET are preferred on (002) or (101) planes. SEM analysis revealed various type of nanostructured ZnO when prepared by sol-gel, spin coating, HWT and hydrothermal method, highlighting ZnO nanorods as the main morphology of ZnO�ITO/PET. The diameter of ZnO nanorods ranges from 10 nm to 830 nm

Level of ethics and integrity and internal audit capability: a comparison of two Malaysian public sector organizations

The main purpose of this paper is to explain the possible influence of internal audit capability on the level of ethics and integrity in Malaysian public sector organizations i.e., Federal Statutory Body (FSB) and State Statutory Body (SSB). An explanatory case study method is used to collect the data whereby semi structured interviews, informal conversations, questionnaire and document reviews are conducted. The level of ethics and integrity is measured based on the Corporate Integrity System Malaysia (CISM) dimensions while the level of internal audit capability is measured using the Internal Audit Capability Model (IACM). SSB scored higher with a score of 70.85% as compared to FSB with a score of 66.1% in CISM dimensions. Overall, a score of more than 50% indicates that both organizations are serious in initiating proper integrity mechanism to maintain the highest levels of transparency, integrity and professionalism in their daily activities and at their work place. However, in terms of IACM, FSB fared better with a score of 76%, with a capability level of 2 as compared to SSB with a score of 71% with a capability level of 1. Further in-depth study is highly recommended to get more insight on the findings

Modeling of agarwood oil compounds based on linear regression and ANN for oil quality classification

Agarwood oil is in increasing demand in Malaysia throughout the world for use in incense, traditional medicine, and perfumes. However, there is still no standardized grading method for agarwood oil. It is vital to grade agarwood oil into high and low quality so that both qualities can be properly differentiated. In the present study, data were obtained from the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Selangor Malaysia and Bioaromatic Research Centre of Excellence (BARCE), Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP). The work involves the data from a previous researcher. As a part of on-going research, the stepwise linear regression and multilayer perceptron have been proposed for grading agarwood oil. The output features of the stepwise regression were the input features for modeling agarwood oil in a multilayer perceptron (MLP) network. A three layer MLP with 10 hidden neurons was used with three different training algorithms, namely resilient backpropagation (RBP), levenberg marquardt (LM) and scaled-conjugate gradient (SCG). All analytical work was performed using MATLAB software version R2017a. It was found that one hidden neuron in LM algorithm performed the most accurate result in the classification of agarwood oil with the lowest mean squared error (MSE) as compared to SCG and RBP algorithms. The findings in this research will be a benefit for future works of agarwood oil research areas, especially in terms of oil quality classification

A novel application of artificial neural network for classifying agarwood essential oil quality

This work studies the agarwood oil classification into high and low quality by using two different techniques. Initially, the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) and Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) are where the sample preparation and compound extraction of agarwood oil is collected. The data collections were done from the previous researcher consists of 96 samples from seven significant agarwood oil compounds. The artificial neural network (ANN) and the proposed stepwise regression technique were used in this study. The stepwise regression was done the feature selection and successfully reduced agarwood oil compounds from seven to four. Then, the ANN technique was used to classify agarwood oil into high and low using input from seven and four compounds separately. The performance of ANN with different inputs is compared (ANN with seven inputs compared with ANN with four inputs). All the experimental work was performed using the MATLAB R2017b using the “patternet” implemented Levenberg Marquardt algorithm and ten hidden neurons. It was found that the ANN technique using seven compounds obtained the best performance according to high accuracy and lower mean square error (MSE) value. Finally, 1 hidden neuron in ANN with seven inputs selected as the best neuron for grading the agarwood oil compounds