Small Medium Contractor Enterprises (Smces) In Malaysia: Investigating The Impact Of Core Competencies And Financial Support On Project Success

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship of core competencies which is entrepreneurial competence, technical competence, evaluative competence and relational competence and financial support on success of the project among small and medium contractor enterprises (SMCEs) in Malaysia. Tujuan kajian ini dikendalikan adalah untuk mengkaji hubungan di antara kompetensi utama usahawan iaitu kompetensi keusahawan, kompetensi teknikal, kompetensi penilaian dan kompetensi hubungan serta bantuan kewangan ke atas kejayaan projek di untuk kontraktor kecil dan sederhana di Malaysia

Surface Defect Detection And Polishing Parameter Optimization Using Image Processing For G3141 Cold Rolled Steel

Traditionally the surface quality inspection especially for metal polishing purpose is perform by human inspectors. Defect detection is a method of nondestructive testing of material and products to detect defects. This study consists of two parts where the first part is applying vision system to detect and measure surface defects that have been characterized to some level of surface roughness. Specimen of G3141 cold rolled steel is used in this research as it represent the actual material applied in local automotive manufacturer. Gray image of scratch defect on metal surface is detected and information about mean gray pixel value (Ga) is interpreted and converted to surface roughness (Ra) measurement. In this study a new technique is developed where the Ga only read on the specific scratch line without considering the whole image. To realize this, automatic cropping algorithm is developed to detect the region of interest and interpret the Ga value. This techniques will enables the polishing to be done at specific scratch defect area without necessary to develop polishing path throughout the whole surface which is time consuming. Second part is to obtain the optimum polishing parameter by using artificial intelligence technique which is able to predict the grit size, polishing time and polishing force parameter to remove the scratch by polishing process. For the purpose of this study, multiple ANFIS or MANFIS have been selected to predict optimum parameter for polishing parameters. Polishing parameter data can be generated by using MANFIS to predict optimum polishing parameters such as grit size, polishing time and polishing force in order to perform polishing process. However due to lack of study done in the field of flat and dry polishing, the polishing parameter data have to be developed. The polishing parameter data for flat and dry polishing is performed by using robotic polishing arm and the experiment runs design by using full factorial design. Results show that the defect detection algorithm able to detect defect only on the scratch area and able to read the Ga value at detected scratch line and transform it to surface roughness measurement at considerably good level of accuracy compared with manual method. Results from MANFIS have shown that the system is able to predict up to 95% accuracy which is considerably high. The overall results from both parts of this research would inspire further advancements to achieve robust machine vision based surface measurement systems for industrial robotic processes specifically in polishing process

Designing a detection method of cherenkov radiation using smartphone based cmos camera

Cherenkov radiation (CR) has been exploited in various applications in modern research. It has potential to be a cost-efficient and practicable alternative to the current nuclear medicine technology such as PET and SPECT imaging. However, the existence of Cherenkov phenomenon and its application was not well known. The aim of this experiment was to design methods for detecting CR from Tc-99m and Iodine-131 using a low-cost CMOS camera from smartphone and endoscope. Tc-99m with five different radioactivity were inserted into five separate tubes (arranged in holder) and then submerged under the water in a dark environment of closed black bin. Images of both background and CR were captured using a Realme C2 smartphone and an endoscope cameras. The images were then converted to a color coded heatmap using photo-kako software for CR analysis. The luminescence detected by the CMOS camera was converted to a color coded heatmap using the photo-kako software. The highest intensity of pixel was located at isotope with an activity of 545μCi followed by 163μCi, 113.5μCi, 42μCi, and 28.5μCi respectively. However, the ambient light was still presence due to instability of the system to retain a light-tight environment. Through comparison of how the set up was designed on the previous studies, we were able to construct a system to detect CR using a smartphone-based CMOS camera. However, the luminescence detected in the Tc-99m system was not a Cherenkov phenomenon as it does not have the characteristic of a Cherenkov emitter. On the other hand, high energy charged particles emitter such as Iodine-131 is recommended to be studied in future research for CR detection

Pharmacokinetic studies for the development of transdermal drug delivery systems

PhDThis thesis mainly describes a series of Phase I pharmacokinetic studies conducted on the TDS®d elivery systemw hich combinedw ith lidocaine,t estosteronea, nd a new drug, Melanotan-I for the transdermal drug delivery. Pharmacodynamic studies have also been carried out in certain areas to support the pharmacokinetics. The initial challenge was the development and validation of a method to analyse lidocaine in human plasma by LCMS-MS. The sensitivity and reliability of the developed method has enabled the analysis of lidocaine plasma levels from the TDS®- Lidocaine study. The results from the study have shown that the TDS® system has been able to deliver the drug effectively through the skin. This finding had a positive impact on the future development of the TDS® system in combination with other drugs. The combination of the TDS® system with testosterone had been successfully tested in 12 healthy male subjects. TDS®-Testosterone was found to be bioequivalent to Androgel®. This result gave an insight into further development of this preparation if it is to be regarded as an alternative treatment for hypogonadism. Various methods of correcting for endogenous testosterone were performed on the data and the influence on bioequivalence was studied. Testosterone was used as a model drug and used to explore potential guidelines for the bioequivalence assessment of endogenous compounds. Finally, the TDS® system has been combined with a new, peptide derived drug, Melanotan-I (MT-I). This drug is currently under development for the cosmetic purposes and the treatment of various skin conditions related to sun allergies. A dose escalation study of TDS®-Melanotan for the protective tanning of skin was carried out and the result was presented. In addition, in vivo techniques, such as microdialysis and tape stripping, have also been explored to investigate the feasibility of measuring pharmacokinetic of a transdermal drug instead of using the conventional systemic measurements

PENGATURAN SUHU TERHADAP PRODUKSI GAS METAN PADA REAKTOR BIOGAS

Biogas is a gas fermentation of organic materials which contain most of the gas methane, carbon dioxide, few of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen and ammonia. One of technological development of biogas production is anaerobic reactor. The processing of biogas technology is influenced by several factors, such as temperature and humidity. In this study, temperature is adjusted using a spiral system and biogas reactor which submerged into the water. The temperature of water can be controlled. In another case there is reactor without temperature setting as a comparison. The observation shows that the reactor in the water produces most biogas, reactor spiral in second place and reactor without heating in the last one

Hubungan antara Profil Organisasi Pembelajaran dan Kesediaan Terhadap Perubahan

The purpose of this study is to determine relationship between learning organization profile and readiness toward change. The study also aims to determine the association between dimensions of learning organization profile i.e. learning dynamics, organization transformation, people empowerment,knowledge management and technology application. A total of 175 respondents involved in this study. Descriptive analysis technique using mean being used to evaluate the level of learning organization profile while ANOVA,Pearson Correlation and regression being used to test the hypothesis. The result shows that the level of learning organization profile and readiness towards change is at neutral and high level. The result also indicates that four learning organization profile dimensions have a significant correlation with readiness toward change. Analysis using regression shows learning organization profile has its own impact towards readiness change in Rejimen Artileri Diraja

Immediate Effects of Selective Logging on Understorey Birds in Ulu Muda Forest Reserve, Kedah, Malaysia

This study was carried out to determine understorey bird species composition before and immediately (less then one year) after logging. The main objectives were to determine: (i) the trophic structure related to the feeding guild, (ii) the diversity in terms of species diversity, species richness and species evenness) and (ii) to generate a species list for understorey bird population before and immediately after logging. The study was conducted in compartment 28/29, Ulu Muda Forest Reserve, Kedah, Malaysia. This area is a hill forest covering an area of 791.2 ha. It was harvested using selective logging method in 1997 and harvesting was completed at the end of 1999. Mist-netting method was used to obtain the information on understorey bird species. A total of 75 species with 175 individuals were recorded before logging and 61 species with 385 individuals were recorded immediately after logging. The Babblers group decreased immediately after logging. However, the bulbuls and spiderhunters increased immediately after logging. The Insectivore group was found to dominate the forest before logging followed by insectivore/frugivore and frugivore groups. However, the insectivore/frugivore group dominated the area immediately after logging, followed by insectivore and nectarivore/insectivorel frugivore groups. The analysis of feeding guild also showed that the arboreal foliage gleaning insectivore guild dominated the primary forest in terms of species composition and number of individuals, but their numbers decreased immediately after logging. The arboreal foliage gleaning insectivore/frugivore was found to be higher in terms of the number of species and individuals immediately after logging. The values of species diversity index (H'), species richness index (R) and species evenness index (E) were also significantly higher before logging compared with the values immediately after logging. The changes in forest vegetation and microclimate were the main factors which affected the composition and diversity of understorey bird species. Thus, logging has changed the composition, the trophic and feeding guild structures as well as the diversity of understorey bird species