Minimal Dark Matter in the Local B−LB-L Extension

The minimal gauge group extension to the standard model (SM) by the local $U(1)_{B-L}$ (MBLSM) is well known as the minimal model to understand neutrino mass origins via the seesaw mechanism, following the gauge principle. This "small" symmetry also has deep implication to another big thing, dark matter (DM) stability. We demonstrate it in the framework of minimal dark matter (MDM), which aims at addressing two basic questions on DM, stability and the nature of interactions. However, stability and perturbativity may only allow the fermionic quintuplet. The situation is very different in the MBLSM, which leaves the subgroup of $U(1)_{B-L}$, the matter parity $(-1)^{3(B-L)}$, unbroken; it is able to stabilize all of the weakly-interacting {MDM candidates } after assigning a proper $U(1)_{B-L}$ charge. For the candidates with nonzero hypercharge, the phenomenological challenge comes from realizing the inelastic DM scenario thus evading the very strict DM direct detention bounds. We present two approaches that can slightly split the CP-even and -odd parts of the neutral components: 1) using the dimension 5 operators, which works for the $U(1)_{B-L}$ spontaneously breaking at very high scale; 2) mixing with {other fields} having zero hypercharge, which instead works for a low $U(1)_{B-L}$ breaking scale.Comment: 13 pages without figure

Malaysia's Active Role in the United Nations Security Council

Purpose: The UNSC non-permanent member plays a vital role in promoting peace and security in current international affairs together with the other five permanent members. Besides the five veto powers, most of the UN members are wishing to be elected as UNSC non-permanent members. Fortunately, Malaysia has been a non-permanent member of the UNSC on four (4) occasions since it acceded to the United Nations in 1957 (1965-1966, 1989-1990, 1999-2000, and 2015-2016). Thus, this study examines Malaysia’s active role in several outstanding UNSC issues. As for affirming its commitment to remain dedicated to resolving international conflict by peaceful means, protecting the world community by the rule of law, and practicing moderation.   Methodology: This study is qualitative research that uses both primary and secondary data gathered from various resources. First, primary data was gathered from various official institutions, including the official website of the UN, the UNSC, and the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, this study conducted interviews with several experts in the field. Meanwhile, secondary data was gathered from a variety of sources, including books, magazines, reports, local and international newspapers, and internet documents.   Findings: Malaysia's active and committed role in ensuring global peace and security has prompted it to apply for a non-permanent seat in the UNSC. As a non-permanent member of the UNSC, Malaysia receives the recognition and honours of serving the global community. Malaysia can therefore solve international concerns brought up at the UNSC given its significant experience working with different member nations. In doing so, Malaysia supports initiatives to uphold peace and security and works to settle differences constructively.   Research Implications: The study makes a substantial contribution to the body of knowledge, particularly regarding Malaysia's active participation as a non-permanent member of the UNSC. Consequently, this study had a favourable influence on many facets of the community. This study is specifically able to assist the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and government agencies in dealing with international actors as well as enhancing world peace and cooperation. Meanwhile, in general, this study can boost further research for the academicians related to Malaysia’s significant position in the UN as to help halt international conflicts. Furthermore, this study supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which emphasize a significant reduction in all types of conflict and encourage communities and governments to work together to end disputes and insecurity.&nbsp

A hierarchical decision-making framework for the assessment of the prediction capability of prognostic methods

In prognostics and health management, the prediction capability of a prognostic method refers to its ability to provide trustable predictions of the remaining useful life, with the quality characteristics required by the related maintenance decision making. The prediction capability heavily influences the decision makers' attitude toward taking the risk of using the predicted remaining useful life to inform the maintenance decisions. In this article, a four-layer, top-down, hierarchical decision-making framework is proposed to assess the prediction capability of prognostic methods. In the framework, prediction capability is broken down into two criteria (Layer 2), six sub-criteria (Layer 3) and 19 basic sub-criteria (Layer 4). Based on the hierarchical framework, a bottom-up, quantitative approach is developed for the assessment of the prediction capability, using the information and data collected at the Layer-4 basic sub-criteria level. Analytical hierarchical process is applied for the evaluation and aggregation of the sub-criteria and support vector machine is applied to develop a classification-based approach for prediction capability assessment. The framework and quantitative approach are applied on a simulated case study to assess the prediction capabilities of three prognostic methods of the literature: fuzzy similarity, feed-forward neural network and hidden semi-Markov model. The results show the feasibility of the practical application of the framework and its quantitative assessment approach, and that the assessed prediction capability can be used to support the selection of the suitable prognostic method for a given application