Evolutionary algorithm approach for solving animal diet formulation

One of the pillars in animal farming industries is formulation of food for the animal, which is also known as diet formulation.However, the feed component in the aquaculture industry incurs the most expensive operational cost, and has drawn many studies regarding diet formulation.Hence, this study aims to solve animal diet formulation problem with ratio constraint using evolutionary algorithm approach.Actual data with 14 ingredients and 18 nutrients were taken into consideration.The result shows that evolutionary algorithm provides feasible solution in all runs. Experimentation on what-if scenario has proven that this evolutionary model is robust as it can adopt to changes in the parameter

The influence of corporate governance and firm's characteristics on the extent of compliance with MASB standards among Malaysian listed companies

This paper contributes to our understanding of compliance with mandatory accounting standards. Specifically, we examine the efficacy of agency related mechanisms on the degree of disclosure compliance with the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) accounting standards. Using data drawn from a sample of 170 Malaysian companies listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) in 2004, we show that although overall disclosure compliance is high (85.2% of the items of information being disclosed), companies do not fully comply with MASB 10 (Accounting for leases), MASB 11 (Consolidated financial statements and investments in subsidiaries), MASB 12 (Investments in Associates), MASB 15 (Property, plant and equipment), MASB 20 (Provisions, contingent liabilities and contingent assets), MASB 24 (financial instruments), MASB 27 (Borrowing costs) and MASB 29 (Employee benefits).We employ an ordinary least square (OLS) regression model to establish whether selected company specific and corporate governance characteristics (proxying for agency-related mechanisms) are related to the degree of disclosure compliance. Our results indicate that only leverage is positively associated with the degree of compliance.The other variables consisting of board independence, audit committee independence, the existence of qualified accountant in the audit committee, CEO duality, the extent of outside block holders’ ownership, firm size and profitability do not show any significant relationship with degree of compliance.These results have important implications for policy because they suggest that whilst agency-related mechanisms may motivate compliance with mandatory standards, full compliance may be unattainable without regulations

Shrimp feed formulation via evolutionary algorithm with power heuristics for handling constraints

Formulating feed for shrimps represents a challenge to farmers and industry partners. Most previous studies selected from only a small number of ingredients due to cost pressures, even though hundreds of potential ingredients could be used in the shrimp feed mix. Even with a limited number of ingredients, the best combination of the most appropriate ingredients is still difficult to obtain due to various constraint requirements, such as nutrition value and cost. This paper proposes a new operator which we call Power Heuristics, as part of an Evolutionary Algorithm (EA), which acts as a constraint handling technique for the shrimp feed or diet formulation. The operator is able to choose and discard certain ingredients by utilising a specialized search mechanism. The aim is to achieve the most appropriate combination of ingredients. Power Heuristics are embedded in the EA at the early stage of a semirandom initialization procedure. The resulting combination of ingredients, after fulfilling all the necessary constraints, shows that this operator is useful in discarding inappropriate ingredients when a crucial constraint is violated

Hydrogen as clean fuel via continuous fermentation by anaerobic photosynthetic bacteria, Rhodospirillum rubrum

Hydrogen has been considered a potential fuel for the future since it is carbon-free and oxidized to water as a combustion product. Bioconversion of synthesis gas to hydrogen was demonstrated in a continuous fermentation utilizing malate as a carbon source. Rhodospirillum rubrum, an anaerobic photosynthetic bacterium catalyzed water gas shift reaction which was used in this research. The synthesis gas (CO) was used as a source of energy along with tungsten light supplied for growth and bioconversion of the photosynthetic bacteria. The microbial process in fermentation media was carried out in continuous culture to observe the effect of light intensity, agitation and liquid dilution rate on hydrogen production. The maximum hydrogen yield at 500 rpm was 0.65 mmol H2/mmol CO. Desired media flow rate was preferable for high hydrogen production. At 0.65 ml/min media, hydrogen was produced at 7.2 mmol/h. This new approach, use of biocatalyst, can be considered as an alternative method to the conventional Fischer Tropsch synthetic reactions, which were able to convert synthesis gas into hydrogen. Key Words: Hydrogen, syngas, continuous bioreactor, Rhodospirillum rubrum, light intensity, agitation rate and flow rate. African Journal of Biotechnology Vol.3(10) 2004: 503-50

What it takes for women to reach the corporate boardrooms in Malaysia

This study seeks to understand how and why women were selected as board members, and reasons for women to accept board appointments.We conduct a questionnaire survey on women who sit on the boards of companies in Malaysia.We provide evidence that education, expertise and leadership qualities are necessary for women to reach the boardrooms.Their willingness to contribute to and share their expertise with a company are the main factors for women to accept the appointment as a director.The women feel that gender is not important in becoming a director compared to one’s capability.A majority of them were recommended by the CEO or other board members to become directors.The outcome of this study complements and strengthens the efforts made by the Malaysian government to achieve the 30 percent target.It is also very beneficial to women who aspire to become corporate directors

The moderating effect of culture on the relationship between women directors and CSR disclosure in Malaysia

This study examines the moderating effect of culture on the relationship between women directors and CSR disclosure. The reason for examining this issue is twofold. First, the effort and focus to improve the representation of women on corporate boards in Malaysia is continually being discussed since 2011. Thus, having women on corporate boards may affect company’s CSR disclosure differently if compared to when boards are dominated by men. Second, having multi-ethnic boards may also influence the decision-making process in that different ethnic groups would react differently in the decision making process related to CSR disclosures, for example it is assumed that boards dominated by Malays would react differently if compared to boards dominated by other ethnic groups. Data for this study is collected from company’s annual report for the year 2013. Three hundred (300) companies were used as the sample of this study. Two theories were applied in this study: transformational leadership theory and cultural theory. Using a hierarchical regression analysis, this study finds that culture influences CSR disclosure, and moderates the effects of women directors on companies’ CSR disclosure. The moderating effect could be interpreted that women directors positively influence companies’ CSR disclosure and are able to exercise their transformational leadership style when boards are dominated by Malay directors. The findings of this study support the efforts taken by the government at increasing the Malay (or Bumiputra) and women participation at decision-making level

A review on delivery routing problem and its approaches

In this paper, a review is conducted specifically in the delivery routing problem, so as to understand its problems and approaches on the current developments and publications. The variants of delivery routing problem were categorized according to the constraints considered in solving the problem. The solution algorithms for the delivery routing problem were classified into hybrid and non-hybrid approaches. A collection of benchmark datasets and real case studies is also presented in relation to the delivery routing problem. The review helps to summarize and record a comprehensive survey on the delivery routing problem. The aims is to organize the variants components of delivery routing problems in a manner that provides a clear view for the readers. New potential research directions resulting from the study is also presented

The motivating factors of Malaysian youths political participation - an overview

Currently it is observed that political participation by youth in Malaysia is increasingly less well received, this is because most of these people are more focused on their studies and their careers. Therefore this paper will discuss the factors that influence the political participation of youth in Malaysia. Among the factors that are highlighted are the Demographic factors, Leadership and Management Factors, the factor of the Leaders’ Communication, Mass Media Factors and Social Environmental Factors that consists of Family Influence, Peer Influence and Influence of the Local Community. From these factors, to a certain extent we are able to more or less see in detail the problems that exist in the political participation of youth, which can also provide some input in the best way to encourage political participation of youth in Malaysia

Vulnerability to fatal drowning among the population in Southern Bangladesh: Findings from a cross-sectional household survey

© 2019 Author(s). Objectives This study aimed to determine the fatal drowning burden and associated risk factors in Southern Bangladesh. Settings The survey was conducted in 39 subdistricts of all 6 districts of the Barisal division, Southern Bangladesh. Participants All residents (for a minimum 6 months prior to survey) of the Barisal division, Southern Bangladesh. Intervention/methods A cross-sectional, divisionally representative household survey was conducted in all six districts of the Barisal division between September 2016 and February 2017, covering a population of 386 016. Data were collected by face-to-face interview with adult respondents using handheld electronic tablets. International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-v. 10 (ICD-10) Chapter XX: External causes of morbidity and mortality codes for drowning, W65-W74, X36-X39, V90, V92, X71 or X92, were used as the operational definition of a drowning event. Results The overall fatal drowning rate in Barisal was 37.9/100 000 population per year (95% CI 31.8 to 43.9). The highest fatal drowning rate was observed among children aged 1-4 years (262.2/100 000/year). Mortality rates among males (48.2/100 000/year) exceeded that for females (27.9/100 000/year). A higher rate of fatal drowning was found in rural (38.9/100 000/year) compared with urban areas (29.3/100 000/year). The results of the multivariable logistic regression identified that the factors significantly associated with fatal drowning were being male (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.3), aged 1-4 years (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.4 to 6.4) and residing in a household with four or more children (four or more children OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.9; and five or more children OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.7). Conclusion Drowning is a public health problem, especially for children, in the Barisal division of Southern Bangladesh. Male gender, children 1-4 years of age and residing in a household with four or more children were associated with increased risk of fatal drowning events. The Barisal division demands urgent interventions targeted at high-risk groups identified in the survey

Mechanical Properties of Epoxy Composites Containing Carbon Black and Graphene

Epoxy composite has been widely used in various industrial applications due to its high strength. Nevertheless, its high strength causes it to fracture easily. Fillers are often added to improve its fracture toughness and other properties. In this work, epoxy composites containing carbon black (CB) and graphene have been synthesized to assess their mechanical properties. Series of analysis have been performed on composites containing single filler (CB or graphene) of various loadings to evaluate the values of Young’s Modulus, yield strength, and KIC. The results demonstrate an improvement in Young’s Modulus, yield strength, and KIC values by adding different carbon fillers, compared to neat epoxy. Based on these results, composites containing dual fillers are fabricated to understand the resultant synergistic effects. The hy-brid fillers show an increment in both fracture toughness and yield strength test for the epoxy composite with an optimum improvement at (3.0 wt.% CB + 0.1 wt.% Graphene) loading which is an increase of 256% in the values of Young’s Modulus, compared to neat epoxy. The addition of carbon fillers enhances the mechanical properties of epoxy composites, with dual fillers demonstrate the highest improve-ment, which could be due to the improvement in the dispersion degree