Broadcast Control of Multi-Agent Systems for Assembling at Unspecified Point with Collision Avoidance

This paper presents a broadcast control problem for multi-agent systems to perform a motion-coordination i.e. assembling tasks without colliding into each other. In this paper, we use potential energy function for the collision avoidance where the agents will move away from the neighbor agents if they are reaching certain distance. In the simulation, the results show that the agents are successfully achieving the assembling task without colliding into each other

Risk factors associated with development of dengue haemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome in adults in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan Kuantan

A retrospective study was conducted to investigate 183 serologically-confirmed cases of dengue fever (DF) admitted from October 2004 to March 2005 in a large hospital in Pahang. Clinical and laboratory features, progress and outcome of these patients were analysed in order to identify risk factors associated with development of dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Individually, we found that older patients, secondary dengue infection, high baseline haematocrit levels, low platelet levels and prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) ratio were significant associations with bleeding tendencies. Of these risk factors, haematocrit and APTT ratio were two independent significant risk factors on multivariate analysis. Older patients with primary infection and younger patients with secondary infection had significant bleeding tendencies. We also verified the validity of the haematocrit levels suggested as cut-off levels for plasma leakage for the Malaysian population by Malaysian Clinical Practice Guidelines for Dengue Infection in Adults (2003)

Preliminary study of in vitro propagation of a selected high yielding clone of kacip fatimah (Labisia pumila VAR. alata)

Kacip Fatimah (Labisia pumila), an undershrub herb from the Myrsinaceae family, is traditionally used as medicine, particularly by Malay women during post-natal care. The development of L. pumila as a medicinal herb has led to its commercialization and increasing demand. To ensure its sustainable supply, the propagation of kacip Fatimah on a large scale such as through tissue culture needs to be explored. In this study, the leaves of a selected high yielding clone of kacip Fatimah, clone AA28, were used as explants. After surface sterilization, the explants were cultured on MS basal medium containing 0.5 mg/l NAA with different concentrations of BAP ranging from 0.05 to 0.15 mg/l for shoot induction. The explants cultured in MS medium containing 0.5 mg/l NAA in combination with 0.05 mg/l BAP produced the highest mean number of shoots per explants (10 ± 0.1). The shoot multiplication study is in progress and will be reported in a future paper

Simulation Study on Hypervelocity Penetration of Lab Scaled Shape Charge Mechanism

Shaped charge (SC) is a mechanism used by defence industries as anti-armored weapon to penetrate armored plates.  Numerous studies have been conducted on the shaped charged effects.  However, experimental studies are limited due to great safety requirement and limited access to high grade explosive.  Due to these limitations, an experimental study on a small-scale shaped charge mechanism (SCM) penetration blast test was conducted against five (5) types of target materials.  The experimental data is then verified by simulation to proof that it can be used to predict the SC penetration data. This paper intent to present a comparative study on the effect of shaped charge blast conducted by simulation with the actual experimental results. In order to conduct this study, a 2D AUTODYN software were used to develop the SC blast model against five (5) types of target materials.  This study concludes that the 2D AUTODYN simulations results can predict the hypervelocity penetration for all target materials compared to the experimental test with an average difference of 9.1 %

Simulation Study on Hypervelocity Penetration of Lab Scaled Shape Charge Mechanism

Shaped charge (SC) is a mechanism used by defence industries as anti-armored weapon to penetrate armored plates.  Numerous studies have been conducted on the shaped charged effects.  However, experimental studies are limited due to great safety requirement and limited access to high grade explosive.  Due to these limitations, an experimental study on a small-scale shaped charge mechanism (SCM) penetration blast test was conducted against five (5) types of target materials.  The experimental data is then verified by simulation to proof that it can be used to predict the SC penetration data. This paper intent to present a comparative study on the effect of shaped charge blast conducted by simulation with the actual experimental results. In order to conduct this study, a 2D AUTODYN software were used to develop the SC blast model against five (5) types of target materials.  This study concludes that the 2D AUTODYN simulations results can predict the hypervelocity penetration for all target materials compared to the experimental test with an average difference of 9.1 %

A Review of Forensic Entomology Cases at Ipoh Hospital and Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for the Year 2003

Forensic entomology was utilized to determine the postmortem interval of eleven forensic cases sentfor autopsy examination at Ipoh Hospital and Hospital University Kebangsaan Malaysia between of Januaryto December 2003. Sixth species of sarcosaprophagous flies: Chrysomya megacephala, Chrysomya rufifacies,Chrysomya villeneuvi, Chrysomya nigripes, Synthesiomya nudiseta and a sarcophagid fly were found amongthe maggot specimens received by the Forensic Entomology Laboratory, Department of Parasitology &Medical Entomology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Those maggots were collected from dead bodiesfound among others in wrapped in gunny bags, around water tank, hanged with black nylon clothes, insidehome, beside road, drowning in lombong and an estate. Ch. megacephala was the main species found in eightcases examined. Postmortem Interval (PMI) estimated from the cases varied from one day to 10 days

Letrozole before TESE in Non-Obstructive Azoospermia, Does It Affect Sperm Retrieval Rate, A Retrospective Study

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the effect of letrozole 2.5 mg, an aromatase inhibitor, on the sperm retrieval rate (SRR) by the testicular sperm extraction (TESE) procedures that was done for the treatment of males with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA).Materials and methods: Data was collected retrospectively from males diagnosed with non-obstructive azoospermia who underwent TESE procedure in the duration between May 2010 until June, 2018. The collected data includes the age of the patient, body mass index (BMI), testicular volume, hormonal profile (FSH LH, prolactin, testosterone), and the use of letrozole preoperatively. Logistic regression was done to address the association of these parameters to the sperm’s retrieval rate.Results: The study screaned 145 patients. Eighty patients fit the inclusion criteria and thus they were statistically analyzed. The use of letrozole was associated with negative TESE outcome (p=0.006), odd (0.154) CI 0.04-0.579. The other factors had no significant correlation to the TESE results.Conclusion: The evidence in this study showed an adverse effect of letrozole use on TESE results of those with high FSH

Parameter optimization of debinding injection moulded Ti-6Al-4V mix with palm stearin and polyethylene

Debinding process of injection moulded Ti-6Al-4V feedstock was divided into two parts: solvent debinding process to eliminate palm stearin (PS) and thermal pyrolysis to eliminate polyethylene (PE). Solvent debinding process used heptane at optimum temperature, 60°C to remove PS binder completely as temperature is the only parameter that can be optimized. Thermal pyrolysis parameters for removal of PE binder from the injected 65vol% Ti-6Al-4V feedstock have been optimized by using Taguchi method. Heating rate, temperature and time were the selected factors during experiment to be applied in the L9(34) Taguchi orthogonal array (OA) to find the best set of parameters to produce highest density of brown part. Thermal pyrolysis process was done at optimum parameters: heating rate: 5°C/min; temperature: 510°C; and time: 90 minutes. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was employed to find the best signal to noise ratio (S/N) to express the contribution of the factors towards quality characteristic. Based on the results, heating rate has the greatest contribution (54.63%), followed by duration time of thermal pyrolysis (24.40%) and temperature (19.25%)

Utilization of Pineapple Leaf in Fiber-Based Dielectric Composite Material and Its Elemental Composition Analyses

The growing demand for natural fibers in dielectric composite production has accelerated research into plant-based materials, particularly those derived from agricultural waste. Hence, this study attempts to evaluate the effect of processing factors and their elemental composition on the permittivity value of pineapple fiber-based dielectric composites. The dielectric composite was prepared following the randomized experimental conditions of two-level factorial analysis, and the permittivity value was measured using a G-band rectangular waveguide. The most significant factors affecting the permittivity value of the dielectric composites and the best condition were determined. The elemental composition of the dielectric composite was analyzed through an energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The best conditions were obtained at a 1:10 ratio of pineapple leaves to distilled water, 50 minutes pulping times with a heating effect, and 5 g of pineapple leaf powder. The highest permittivity value of the composite was recorded at 3.31, with the heating effect as the most significant factor. The elemental analysis of the composite with the highest permittivity value presents that carbon was the dominant element in the composite at 78.05%. The obtained permittivity value exhibited by the composites shows that the pineapple leaf fiber-based dielectric composite could be a potential alternative as an antenna substrate

Sensitivity and specificity of waist circumference as a single screening tool for identification of overweight and obesity among Malaysian adults

Generalised obesity and central obesity are risk factors for Type II diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. Waist circumference (WC) has been suggested as a single screening tool for identification of overweight or obese subjects in lieu of the body mass index (BMI) for weight management in public health program. Currently, the recommended waist circumference cut-off points of ≥ 94cm for men and ≥80cm for women (waist action level 1) and ≥ 102cm for men and ≥ 88cm for women (waist action level 2) used for identification of overweight and obesity are based on studies in Caucasian populations. The objective of this study was to assess the sensitivity and specificity of the recommended waist action levels, and to determine optimal WC cut-off points for identification of overweight or obesity with central fat distribution based on BMI for Malaysian adults. Data from 32,773 subjects (14,982 men and 17,791 women) aged 18 and above who participated in the Third National Health Morbidity Survey in 2006 were analysed. Sensitivity and specificity of WC at waist action level 1 were 48.3% and 97.5% for men; and 84.2% and 80.6% for women when compared to the cut-off points based on BMI ≥25kg/m 2. At waist action level 2, sensitivity and specificity were 52.4% and 98.0% for men, and 79.2% and 85.4% for women when compared with the cut-off points based on BMI (≥30 kg/m 2). Receiver operating characteristic analyses showed that the appropriate screening cut-off points for WC to identify subjects with overweight (≥25kg/m 2) was 86.0cm (sensitivity=83.6%, specificity=82.5%) for men, and 79.1cm (sensitivity=85.0%, specificity=79.5%) for women. Waist circumference cut-off points to identify obese subjects (BMI≥30 kg/m 2) was 93.2cm (sensitivity=86.5%, specificity=85.7%) for men and 85.2cm (sensitivity=77.9%, specificity=78.0%) for women. Our findings demonstrated that the current recommended waist circumference cut-off points have low sensitivity for identification of overweight and obesity in men. We suggest that these newly identified cut-off points be considered