A Voting Technique Of Multilayer Perceptron Ensemble For Classification Application

MLP is a model of artificial neural network, which is simple yet successfully applied in various applications. The instability of MLP performance where small changes in training parameter could produce different models that inhibiting attainment of high accuracy in classification applications. In this research, an integrated system of Multi-Layer Perceptron Ensemble (MLPE) consisting of an MLPE and a new voting algorithm has been developed to increase classification accuracy and reduce the number of reject class cases. MLPE is produced from singular MLPs that are diverse in term of training algorithm and their initial weights. Three training algorithms used are Levenberg-Marquardt (LM), Resilient Backpropagation (RP) and Bayesian Regularization (BR). In order to choose the final output of MLPE, a new voting algorithm named Trust-Sum Voting (TSV) is proposed. The effectiveness of MLPE with TSV (MLPE-TSV) has been tested on four classification case studies which are Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT), Landsat Satellite Image (LSI), German Credit (GC) and Pima Indian Diabetes (PID). The performance of MLPE-TSV has been compared with the performance of MLPE which employs existing voting algorithms which are Majority Voting (MLPE-MV) and Trust Voting (MLPE-TV). The obtained results have shown that the proposed MLPE-TSV is capable of increasing the accuracy of classification as compared to singular MLPs, MLPE-MV and MLPE-TV. MLPE-TSV has also managed to reduce the number of cases in reject class

A novel approach of hybrid guideline based on senior citizen online form design / Zanariah Idrus...[et al.]

The research focuses on the problems faced by the senior citizens during form filling process on web application services . By year 2020, The World Health Organization predicts the senior citizens population is more than 1 billion . They are progressively exposed to technology and to understand their requirements is significant in human interface design. Unfortunately , the online form interface design tends to ignore the issue of ease of use especially for senior citizens aged 55 and above. A well known Delivering Inclusive Access to Disabled and Elderly Members (DIADEM) guideline outlines the recommended online form design for the senior citizens. Recently, DIADEM guidelines were implemented in Europe and the results suggest that it is important as a reference for senior citizens ' online form design . But it is specifically tailored for senior citizens with age 65 and above only . WeFDeC guideline aligns the online form design based on the Three Layer Model (Perceptual , Conversational and Relationship layers). Though it is an acceptable guideline for online form but it does not take sen ior citizens into consideration . Therefore , this study will compare , identify the weakness and create a new hybrid model of DIADEM and WeFDeC guidelines. A new model (Elder-WeFDe) which should fit with senior citizens online forms applications and the Malaysian e-government online forms will be introduced . The methodology follows five phases ; identify the research problems, identify and compare the two guidelines, produce a new permutation model and test the model to the Malaysian e-government forms. A form from the current 1169 online forms in Malaysia e-government portal will be selected and tested to a randomly selected group of senior citizens aged 55 and above from Malaysia northern region .The expected outcome is a new hybrid model (Elder-WeFDe) to guide web or online form designers to design a better and ease of use on line forms applications for the senior citizens and all age of group

Application of Sagnac Interferometer for Temperature Monitoring: Experimental Study

Temperature sensors have been widely used in industries and they have found applications in food processing units, medical devices, chemical handling processes, automotive and agriculture. In the market, there currently exist many varieties of temperature sensors including thermocouples, resistor temperature detectors, infrared sensor, thermistor, thermometer and optical temperature sensor. Of these technologies, optical temperature sensors have the edge in that they are free from electromagnetic interference, low weight, compact, high sensitivity, high signal-to-noise ratio and excellent stability. In this work, optical temperature sensor based on Sagnac interferometer is experimentally demonstrated. The Sagnac interferometer consists of a 3.5 cm polarization maintaining fiber that acts as a sensor head, a polarization controller and a 3 dB coupler. Experiments are carried out in which an amplifier noise being the input light for the Sagnac interferometer and the transmission spectrum of the output light is observed for the output. Throughout the experiment, the sensor head is placed in an oven for temperature variation. Based on the measurements on the output spectrum, it is found that the spectrum dips shifts to the shorter wavelength from 1554.96 nm to 1528.56nm as the temperature is varied from 30 °C to 45 °C. The spectrum dip is found to be inversely proportional to the temperature with the obtained sensitivity of 1.766 nm/°C. This Sagnac-based optical sensor is promising for detecting temperature especially in the harsh environment

Stereological analysis of heart ventricles during the development of osteoarthritis in Dunkin Hartley Guinea Pigs

Introduction: Osteoarthritis (OA) was attributed to mobility issues which implicate an increased workload of the heart. This imposed greater stress on the ventricular wall, resulting in a maladaptive reaction known as left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Previous studies suggested that OA patients are susceptible to developing cardiovascular diseases, but its association with LVH is not yet established. Therefore, the present study aims to determine changes in nucleus diameter and ventricular cardiomyocytes’ density along with the morphology of the heart ventricles during the development of OA in Dunkin Hartley (DH) guinea pigs. Methods: The histological images of the DH knee joint were taken at 10, 20 and 30 weeks old and were assessed on the degree of articular cartilage degeneration using Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) scoring. The stereology method was used to determine the nucleus diameter (ND), cardiomyocytes’ density (CD), the ventricles wall’s thickness (VT) and volume of the ventricular chamber (VV). Results: The result showed that the severity of OA increased as DH grew old. Across the time points, ND, CD and VV chamber increase at the left and right ventricles, whereas VT increases only in the left ventricular chamber (p0.05). Conclusion: Since this preliminary study indicates the possibility that LVH is present in OA individuals it is suggested that further investigation should be conducted

iDietScoreTM: Meal recommender system for athletes and active individuals

Individualized meal planning is a nutrition counseling strategy that focuses on improving food behavior changes. In the sports setting, the number of experts who are sports dietitians or nutritionists (SD/SN) is small in number, and yet the demand for creating meal planning for a vast number of athletes often cannot be met. Although some food recommender system had been proposed to provide healthy menu planning for the general population, no similar solution focused on the athlete's needs. In this study, the iDietScoreTM architecture was proposed to give athletes and active individuals virtual individualized meal planning based on their profile, includes energy and macronutrients requirement, sports category, age group, training cycles, training time and individual food preferences. Knowledge acquisition on the expert domain (the SN) was conducted prior to the system design through a semistructured interview to understand meal planning activities' workflow. The architecture comprises: (1) iDietScoreTM web for SN/SD, (2) mobile application for athletes and active individuals and (3) expert system. SN/SD used the iDietScoreTM web to develop a meal plan and initiate the compilation meal plan database for further use in the expert system. The user used iDietScoreTM mobile app to receive the virtual individualized meal plan. An inference-based expert system was applied in the current study to generate the meal plan recommendation and meal reconstruction for the user. Further research is necessary to evaluate the prototype

Teachers’ and Parents’ Perspectives on the Feasibility of a Preschool-Based Behavioral Intervention to Prevent Obesity: An Embedded Qualitative Study within ToyBox Study Malaysia

The aim of this qualitative study, an embedded component of ToyBox Study Malaysia (TSM), was to elicit the perspectives of teachers and parents regarding the implementation of TSM. TSM is a preschool-based behavioral intervention program aimed at improving healthy energy balance-related behaviors among young children attending preschools. The qualitative study adopted a descriptive-interpretive methodology, and triangulated data collected through semi-structured focus groups with artifacts collected. The setting involved rural and metropolitan preschools in Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia, respectively. In Sarawak, 11 teachers and 20 parents from six intervention preschools participated in this study. In Peninsular Malaysia, 14 preschool teachers and seven assistant teachers representing all 15 intervention preschools participated in the study. Data were analyzed thematically and four overarching themes were identifed: impact of TSM on the children’s knowledge and practices of healthy energy balance-related behaviors; spheres of infuence upon the children’s energy balance-related behaviors; constraints and afordances related to the implementation of TSM; and prospective sustainability of TSM. The triangulation of data from teachers, parents, and the artifacts related to TSM enabled the corroboration of evidence to support the themes identifed. This study provides evidence on the reciprocal interactions between the teachers and parents who played key roles in facilitating behavioral change in the children, and the children who, in turn, served as change agents beyond the preschool. Furthermore, the mediational tools such as the TSM crockery and availability of healthy food and water led to the reported behavioral changes at both rural and metropolitan settings

From ToyBox Study to eToyBox : Advancing Childhood Obesity Reduction in Malaysian Kindergartens

Prevention and treatment of childhood obesity is a global concern, and in Malaysia, it is considered a national public health priority. Determinants of childhood obesity are multifactorial and include factors that directly and indirectly influence energy balance-related behaviours, including energy intake and energy expenditure. Interventions to address childhood obesity that have multiple components at different levels have been shown to be the most influential. The ToyBox-study is a childhood obesity intervention aimed at preschool-aged children and their families that had been shown to be effective in several European countries and so was chosen for adaption for the Malaysian setting. Materials were translated and adjusted for the Malaysian context and audience and implemented in kindergartens in Peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, teaching transitioned to being online. This brought an opportunity to reach a wider audience and consider the long-term sustainability of the intervention, and thus eToybox was born. eToybox aims to bring support for healthy energy balance behaviours directly to the teachers, into kindergartens and homes, to encourage families to be active and eat healthily, and prevent or reduce obesity. Through online innovation, the Toybox Study Malaysia programme has been expanded to enhance its potential to impact the promotion of healthy lifestyles among preschoolers and their families, highlighting the importance of a holistic approach to preventing and treating childhood obesity in Malaysia

Validity and Reliability of a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) to Assess Dietary Intake of Preschool Children

As there are few food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) to assess the dietary intake of preschool children, this study examined the validity and reliability of an FFQ for this purpose. A total of 210 preschoolers aged 4 to 6 years participated in the validation study, while a subsample of 66 participants joined the reliability study. The FFQ is modified from the ToyBox-study and South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS), and comprised 108 food items from 13 food groups. A three-day estimated dietary record (3DR) was used as reference and reliability was assessed through a second administration of the FFQ (FFQ2), four weeks after the first administration (FFQ1). For the validation study, Spearman’s correlation coefficients showed moderate to high correlations (p < 0.001) between FFQ and 3DR. Cross-classification of quartile analysis showed moderate agreement between the two methods. As for reliability, Spearman’s correlation coefficients showed moderate to high correlations (p < 0.001) between FFQ1 and FFQ2. Cronbach’s alpha values (0.708 to 0.824) and intraclass correlation coefficients (0.710 to 0.826) showed good agreement between repeated FFQs. The results suggest that the FFQ has acceptable validity and good reliability. Hence, the FFQ can be used to assess preschool children’s food intake

Panduan Aktiviti Kelas : Jom Aktif!

Aktiviti fizikal – cara untuk membina personaliti Kehidupan harian kanak-kanak kita semakin banyak dipengaruhi oleh aktiviti yang tidak aktif. Aktiviti sedentari adalah kelakuan atau aktiviti yang terdiri daripada duduk dan baring. Contohnya, menonton televisyen dan/atau DVD, menggunakan komputer, mewarna, dan membaca buku. Oleh itu, bukan sahaja penting kepada keluarga, tetapi juga kepada pihak prasekolah dan sekolah, untuk memberi perhatian kepada jumlah masa kanak-kanak menjadi aktif setiap hari. Kanak-kanak prasekolah harus aktif setiap hari selama 3 jam, tidak kira berapa kali bersenam. Selain itu, kanak-kanak perlu diberi peluang 2-3 kali seminggu untuk menyertai sesi pendidikan jasmani yang berstruktur