Face Recognition via Ensemble Sift Matching of Uncorrelated Hyperspectral Bands and Spectral PCTS

Face recognition is not a new area of study, but facial recognition using through hyperspectral images is a somewhat new concept which is still in its infancy. Although the conventional method of face recognition using Red-Green-Blue (RGB) or grayscale images has been advanced over the last twenty years, these methods are still shown to have weak performance whenever there are variations or changes in lighting, pose, or temporal aspect of the subjects. A hyperspectral representation of an image captures more information that is available within a scene than a RGB image therefore it is beneficial to study the performance of face recognition using a hyperspectral representation of the subjects\u27 faces. We studied the results of a variety of methods for performing face recognition using the Scale Invariant Transformation Feature (SIFT) algorithm as a matching function on uncorrelated spectral bands, principal component representation of the spectral bands, and the ensemble decision of the two. We conclude that there is no dominating method in the scope of our research; however, we do obtain three methods with leading performances despite some trade-off between performance at lower ranks and performance at higher ranks...that outperform the results obtained from a previous study which only considered a SIFT application on a single hyperspectral band which also performs very well under temporal variation

A Statistical Approach to Characterize and Detect Degradation Within the Barabasi-Albert Network

Social Network Analysis (SNA) is widely used by the intelligence community when analyzing the relationships between individuals within groups of interest. Hence, any tools that can be quantitatively shown to help improve the analyses are advantageous for the intelligence community. To date, there have been no methods developed to characterize a real world network as a Barabasi-Albert network which is a type of network with properties contained in many real-world networks. In this research, two newly developed statistical tests using the degree distribution and the L-moments of the degree distribution are proposed with application to classifying networks and detecting degradation within a network. The feasibility of these tests is shown by using the degree distribution for network and sub-network characterization of a selected scale-free real world networks. Further, sensitivity to the level of network degradation, via edge or node deletion, is examined with recommendation made as to the detectable size of degradation achievable by the statistical tests. Finally, the degree distribution of simulated Barabasi-Albert networks is investigated and results demonstrate that the theoretical distribution derived previously in the literature is not applicable to all network sizes. These results provide a foundation on which a statistically driven approach for network characterization can be built for network classification and monitoring

The influence of perceived organizational support, human resource practices and leadership styles on turnover intention among generation - Y employees in Selangor manufacturing companies

Employee turnover is an unavoidable scenario faced by many organizations regardless of it economic sectors. Uncontrollable turnover is very costly for the employer because it encompasses of efforts, times and costs of rehiring, training, and low productivity effects. Turnover intention is found as the strongest predictor for actual turnover in previous studies. Due to high turnover ratio among manufacturing workers in Malaysia, it demands great concern and some understandings on turnover intention subject. This research investigated the causes that triggering workers’ intention to leave towards their current company. In this regard, this study tries to determine the significance relationships of perceived organizational support, human resource practices and leadership styles on turnover intention among generation Y employees in Selangor manufacturing companies. Data were gathered using questionnaires collected from 200 local employees in various manufacturing companies in Selangor. Hypothesis for direct effect were tested using correlation and regression analyses. Results showed that only leadership styles which are transformational leadership style, transactional leadership style (management by exception passive) and laissez-faire leadership style were significantly associated with employee’s turnover intention. Implications of the findings, potential limitations, and directions for future research are discussed

CHARACTERIZATION STUDY OF CHITOSAN AS METAL IONS REMOVAL

Removal of certain metal ions from wastewaterby using biopolymers is proved to be a great alternative at the moment. Chitosan is one of the best examples in removing heavy metal ions. Its high amino content has been found to possess good sorptive capacities for many heavy metal ions through complexion of heavy metal ions with the amine group in chitosan. Chitosan indicates a family of deacetylated chitins. Chitin ((l-4)-linked 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-p-D-glucan) is widely distributed among invertebrates. Chitin is extracted from crab shells through demineralization and deproteination process. Chitosan is obtained by deacetylation of chitin in concentrated sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The efficiency of metal ions removal using chitosan is tested against oily wastewater. The presence of metal ions in sample solution is measured using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FAAS). The weight percentage of chitin extracted from crab shells powder is 45.51 wt %. The weight percentage of chitosan yield from the deacetylation process is 69.94 wt %. The study of the influence of dose of chitosan and effect of contact time gives the expected result. As the dose of chitosan added to the sample oily wastewater increases, the percentage removal of metal ions also increases. The percentage removal of zinc, lead and iron at optimum doseof chitosan addedis 89.08%, 84.00%, and 61.36% accordingly. Increasing the contact time also results in increases of percentage removal of metal ions. The percentage removal of zinc, lead, and iron at optimum contact time is 93.70%, 78.85%, and 65.58% accordingly. From the results obtained, the selectivity of chitosan to metal ions decreased in order Zn > Pb > Fe2+

Characteristics Of Impingement Diesel Spray Adhesion On A Flat Wall

Many researchers since last decade were looking forward on improving diesel engine performance with keeping low harmful emission. Wall impingement of fuel spray is known as the main contributor to direct injection high-speed diesel combustion, so it becomes an important factor in reducing diesel exhaust emissions. Since the combustion chamber in a diesel engine is too small to mix injected fuel and surrounding gas perfectly, wall impingement of the spray is considered to be inevitable in the engine. Non-evaporated spray research for basic understanding of spray behavior is conducted. The aim of this study is to clarify the fundamental characteristics of non-evaporated impinging spray and adhesion behavior of fuel by measuring the adhering fuel mass on a wall. In this study, a fuel injection system, a high pressure vessel and an image processing unit for impingement spray were used. Experimental investigations were carried out with various injection pressures from 40 MPa to 170 MPa and ambient pressures from 0.1 MPa to 4.0 MPa. The impingement distances were set from 30 mm to 90 mm and various sizes of impingement disk were used. The results show, the adhered fuel mass affected by impingement distances. The adhered mass ratio was inversely proportional to injection pressure. Regardless of injection pressure and impingement distances, it was found that the adhered fuel mass became constant with increasing the diameter of the impingement disk. Thickness of liquid film tended to decrease with increasing of injection pressure. Moreover, the adhered fuel mass ratio decreased with an increase of the inclination angle of disk. General modified adhered mass ratio was introduced to summarize the adhered mass with combinations of various impingement distances, disk sizes, inclination angles and injection pressures. Weber number which was calculated by approaching velocity of droplet to the impingement wall was more dominant factor than the Weber number obtained by droplet absolute velocity. However, the impingement of lower Weber number droplet produced thick film and adhered fuel mass was little influenced by the Weber number. From the results of experimental works, the empirical equations concerning the adhered mass ratio were derived. At higher ambient pressure and higher the injection pressure, adhered mass fuel tended to decrease. As for long impingement distances such as 70 mm and 90 mm, adhered fuel mass in high ambient pressure condition such as 4 MPa was half of that under 1 MPa condition. Finally, it was found that the adhered mass ratio could be correlated by using Weber number and Jet number

Design and fabricate biaxial loading fixture / Mohd Zaid Nordin.

Biaxial fixture is the devices that locate at universal tensile machine to study the materials strength properties. In this project, a fixture for the biaxial loading testing is design and analyze for using at the Universal testing Machine. The basic biaxial test can be used to measure basic material properties of the behavior with specific features of interest under biaxial loading conditions. The biaxial load-ing fixture must be in the suitable size that can be apply on the machine and can be expend into var-iable size according to the specimen that want to be tested. Firstly, stress analysis and exact as pos-sible must be carried out. Without reliable stresses acting on a body, it is impossible to continue fur-ther analysis. An experimental method for precisely measuring the stress-strain distribution and pre-dicting the material behavior under certain specialized service conditions has been developed using inplane biaxial testing. The requirement for an ideal biaxial testing is that the stress and strain distri-bution in the gage area of the specimen therefore to fulfill this requirement, the fixture must always obey all the mechanical strength rule and properties. The results of testing such are important for the characterization of the material properties and the development of constitutive laws that can be used for predictive purposes. Therefore it clarifies the extent. Finally the analysis of biaxial fixture to which biaxial testing can be used for determining the elastic properties of these materials. Moreover, it is shown that certain assumptions underlying the analysis of planar biaxial tests are inconsistent with the classical linear theory

CHEMICALLY AMPLIFIED RESISTS FOR ELECTRON BEAM LITHOGRAPHY

This thesis describes the development of chemically amplified resists for electron beam lithography. The techniques and concepts oflithography are discussed and the motivations for the development of chemically amplified resists are examined. The experimental techniques used in this work are then described. Two groups of resists, derivatives of fullerene and derivatives of triphenylene, were tested for chemical amplification and the results obtained from the research are presented. A systematic study of the response of several methanofullerenes and polysubstituted triphenylene derivatives before and after chemical amplification is presented. Films of the compounds were prepared by dissolving the resists in solvents such as chloroform and adding to the solution various concentrations of certain photoacid generators and crosslinkers, and spin coating the mixture on hydrogen terminated silicon wafers. The films were irradiated using 20 keY electrons. Post exposure bakes between 90 to 120 'C for 30 to 180 s were applied to the resists before development with non-polar solvents such as monochlorobenzene. Most of the chemically amplified resists showed sensitivity enhancement compared to their pure counterparts. Fullerene derivative, 3' H-cyclopropa [I, 9, 5, 6] fullerene-C60-Ih - 3', 3'- carboxylic [ 2-2-(2-hydroxyethoxy) ethoxyl ethyl] ester (a mixture of adducts) demonstrated the highest sensitivity enhancement with the incorporation of an epoxy novolac crosslinker and bis[4-di(phenylsulfonio) phenyl]sulfide bis(hexafluorophoshate) as photoacid generator with a sensitivity of -8 ~Clem' and a resolution of -24 nm. The polysubstituted triphenylene derivative, 2,6,10-trihydroxy-3,7,11- tri(pentyloxy) triphenylene, showed a sensitivity of -5 ~Clem' when the crosslinker hexamethoxymethylmelamine and the photoacid generator triphenylsulfonium triflate were added to the compound. However, fine patterning in the resist was not very successful due to acid diffusion. An alternative triphenylene derivative similar to 2,6, 1 0-trihydroxy-3,7, 11- tri(pentyloxy) triphenylene, with epoxides incorporated into the structure showed better results with the photoinitiator bis[ 4-di(pheny lsulfonio) phenyl]sulfide bis(hexa fluorophoshate). The chemically amplified C51epoxide demonstrated a sensitivity of ~9 f..!C/cm2 and a resolution of 40 nm. The etch durabilities of these chemically amplified resists for dry plasma etching with SF6 are reasonably high, comparable to a conventional high durability novolac resist

The Appropriate Structural System For Super Tall Buildings In Malaysia

This project studies the appropriate structural system to be implemented to construct up to 500-meter super tall buildings in Malaysia. The existing primary structural systems for super tall building are first presented. Then, the main factors which affect the selection of the appropriate structural system are identified. Moreover, each factor is then thoroughly discussed in accordance to the Malaysian site conditions and is considered for the pre-selection of three structural systems to be used as the case studies for a 500-meter super tall office building. Certain criteria are assigned as the determination factor for all three pre-selected structural systems to satisfy. Based on the simulations conducted on all case studies using a computer software, performances comparison are made and the structural system which best satisfies the assigned criteria are considered as the optimum structural system to be implemented for super tall buildings in Malaysia

DESULFURIZATION OF CRUDE OIL USING IMIDAZOLIUM-BASED-PHOSPHATE IONIC LIQUIDS

Because of the dramatic environmental impact of sulphur oxides contained in engines emissions, sulphur content specification in fuels are becoming more and more stringent worldwide. In the petroleum refining industry, hydrodesulphurization (HDS) is the conventional process to reduce the sulphur levels of the fuels. However, HDS is cost consuming, besides requiring high temperature and high hydrogen pressure in order to eliminate the aliphatic and alicyclic sulphur compounds. Refractory sulphur compounds such as dibenzothiophene, methyl dibenzothiophene and 4,6-methyl dibenzothiophene are less reactive to this process. Due to this reason, alternative sulphur removal techniques are being explored. In the past years, due to its unique properties both as extractant and also as catalyst, ionic liquids have gained increasing interest. In this project, eight imidazolium-based-phosphate ionic liquids were successfully synthesized, namely, 1-methyl-3-methylimidazolium dimethylphosphate (MMIM[DMP]), 1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium diethylphosphate (EMIM[DEP]), 1- methyl-3-butyllimidazolium dibuylphosphate (BMIM[DBP]), 1-ethyl-3- methylimidazolium dimethylphosphate (EMIM[DMP]), 1-ethyl-3-ethylimidazolium diethylphosphate (EEIM[DEP]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dimethylphosphate (BMIM[DMP]), 1-butyl-3-ethylimidazolium diethylphosphate (BEIM[DEP]), 1- butyl-3-butylimidazolium dibutylphosphate (BBIM[DBP]). These ionic liquids were characterized using Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC), CHNS Analyzer, Density and Viscosity meter and Coulometric Karl-Fisher. The ionic liquids were then screened for sulphur removal from dodecane model oil. The sulphur containing compound used in preparing the model oil, were dibenzothiophene (DBT), benzothiophene (BT), and 3-methylthiophene (3-MT). Ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-butyl imidazolium dibutylphosphate (BBIM[DBP]), 1-butyl-3-ethyl imidazolium diethylphosphate (BEIM[DEP]), and 1-ethyl-3-ethyl imidazolium diethylphosphate (EEIM[DEP]) showed the best sulphur removal with a percentage of 74%, 75% and 81% respectively, and were used for further study. A combination of catalytic oxidation and simple liquid-liquid extraction was employed for desulphurization (ECODS) utilizing molybdic catalyst, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and imidazoliumbased- phosphate ionic liquids, namely, 1-butyl-3-butyl imidazolium dibutylphosphate (BBIM[DBP]), 1-butyl-3-ethyl imidazolium diethylphosphate (BEIM[DEP]), and 1- ethyl-3-ethyl imidazolium diethylphosphate (EEIM[DEP]). The precatalyst of molybdic compounds was oxidized with H2O2 to form peroxomolybdic compounds, which is soluble in ionic liquid and dissolved in oil. The sulphur containing compounds in the model oil were extracted into ionic liquid phase and oxidized to their corresponding sulfones by peroxomolybdic compounds. Further studies were conducted for research parameters such as the temperature, amount of H2O2, amount of catalyst, type of sulphur species and initial concentration of sulphur on the sulphur removal from the model oil. From the experiments, the optimum conditions for ECODS process were 70oC, ratio of H2O2 to sulphur compound used was 4 ([n(H2O2)/n(S)]=4), and ratio of sulphur compounds to catalyst was 20 ([n(S)/n(Cat)]=20), giving 85.2% sulphur removal for ionic liquid BBIM[DBP]. Other desulphurization methods; extraction (EDS) and oxidation (ODS) were also compared. It was found that imidazolium base phosphate ionic liquids with longer alkyl chain displayed better sulphur removal efficiency. BBIM[DBP] was found to display the best performance in sulphur removal showing a removal of 85.2 % for ECODS process, 68.4% for EDS process and 65.8% for ODS proces