13474 research outputs found
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Mold defects detection in painting using artificial intelligence / Mohamad Hilman Nordin
No full textDefect detection is a crucial step in the restoration of damaged paintings. The process is usually lengthy and depends heavily on the qualitative visual judgement of an expert restorer. To enhance the efficiency and objectivity of this process, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based approach is proposed for mold defect detection in paintings. This study investigates the efficiency of four different techniques in identifying and classifying defects for mold defect detection that corresponds to rule-based system, machine learning and deep learning. The first technique examines four thresholding methods that convert grayscale images into binary images by statistically determining the threshold value. A new thresholding method called the Derivative Level Thresholding (DLT) is proposed and compared to existing binarization methods of Otsu’s Thresholding method, Minimum Error Thresholding (MET) and Contrast Adjusted Otsu’s Thresholding Method. The second technique utilizes Gray Level Co-Occurrence Matrix (GLCM) with Circular Proportionate Filter (CPF). The third technique is a machine learning classification that utilizes the feature extraction strength of the DLT. For this technique, eight machine learning models are trained and evaluated for mold classification: Logistic Regression (LR), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Classification and Regression Tree (CART), Gaussian Naïve Bayes (NB), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB). Finally, the fourth method employed semantic segmentation using four different convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures to classify the sample images into mold regions and background. The CNN architectures evaluated are the Fully Convolutional Network (FCN), U-Net, SegNet, and a newly proposed Mold Segmentation Network (MSN). Experimental results demonstrate that the DLT method outperforms other thresholding methods in terms of precision, sensitivity, and accuracy. The pairwise GLCM with 40% CPF method achieves higher accuracy than the DLT with Morphological Filter for the classification task. Among the machine learning models, LDA exhibits the best performance with an accuracy of 93% accuracy and precision of 37%. For semantic segmentation, SegNet achieves the highest accuracy of 96% and precision of 66%. The proposed AI-based approach offers a promising solution for automated mold defect detection in paintings. It provides a more objective and efficient method compared to traditional techniques, which rely on the subjective assessment of conservators. The study contributes by demonstrating a novel application of AI by addressing the unique challenge of detecting mold defects, creating new datasets, and developing new AI techniques to complement art restoration process
Word formation of Chinese neologisms in the COVID-19 discourse / Li Shuyao
No full textAll the languages in the world are the necessary tools for people's activities in their
language community, and these languages constantly update themselves with the
changes of the world or the development of the society in which they live, while
COVID-19, as the first major health and safety event in history, has further promoted
the speed of language changes in all aspects, especially vocabulary. China, as the first
country widely affected by the novel COVID-19, has witnessed many events and
discoveries related to the virus have occurred, which has brought a lot of neologisms to
the Chinese vocabulary system, and at the same time, from a deep perspective, it may
even affect the operation rule of the Chinese vocabulary system in the process of
creating neologisms. Therefore, this study collected 90 Chinese neologisms from 2018
to 2020, and through the analysis of the word-formation of Chinese neologisms, tried to
understand the influence of COVID-19 on the word-formation distribution of Chinese
neologisms, and revealed the changes brought by this virus to every word-formation
type in Chinese neologisms by a mixed research method. Meanwhile, in this research
process, the meanings of some new Chinese words and the events behind them will be
revealed. As for research significance, the research results will provide some inspiration
for the study of the connection between some major events and language changes, and it
is also expected to give some support to educators and learners in Chinese teaching and
Chinese learning under the background of COVID-19
Examining the relationship between managerial perceptions and environmental audit: The role of board of directors / Tian Wanxin
No full textAn environmental audit is a voluntary procedure for voluntarily managing materials and
energy and improving environmental performance. As a newly developed auditing
method in China, environmental audit is a part of corporate social responsibility and is
one of the ways to achieve sustainable development. At present, the development of
environmental audits in China is not yet mature, and there is also a lack of relevant
research about the managerial perceptions on stakeholders’ influence and the
companies’ willingness of implementing environmental audits. Therefore, this
dissertation will propose a framework for managerial perceptions, the role of the board
of directors and environmental audits from the perspective of the Stakeholder-Agency
theory. This study aims to investigate the effect between managers' perceptions on
stakeholders’ influence and environmental audits in Chinese manufacturing companies.
Therefore, by distributing questionnaires to managers who work in Chinese
manufacturing companies, the study explores the importance of managers' perceptions
on stakeholders’ influence in the managers’ decisions that whether to implement
environmental audits. At the same time, this study also explores the moderating role of
the stakeholders’ proportion in the board of directors between pushing the managers'
perceptions and the environmental audits’ decision by managers in manufacturing companies. Finally, The investigation found that managerial perceptions on each
stakeholder’s influence, except the public stakeholder’s influence, are positively
associated with environmental audits. And the stakeholders in the board of directors
have a moderating effect on the relationship between the managerial perceptions of each
stakeholder’s influence and environmental audits, except for the public stakeholder’s
influence. This provides managers with a new perception of pushing the environmental
audits, which is based on stakeholders’ influence and the stakeholders in the board of
directors, while utilizing sufficient resources of them to produce more positive results
on sustainability
Biomaterials of interpositional arthroplasty – A systematic review / Wong Ling Vuan
No full textTemporomandibular joint (TMJ) ankylosis can occur due to fibrous or bony union of the anatomical joints post trauma, infection, inadequate past surgical treatment, long-term joint inflammation, congenital or idiopathic. It compromises patients’ function, appearance, growth of mandible, and oral hygiene care. Different surgical procedures have been introduced to treat TMJ ankylosis issue. The three most described surgical techniques are gap arthroplasty, ramus-joint reconstruction, and interpositional arthroplasty. In this study, different types of biomaterials for interpositional arthroplasty at TMJ region post ankylotic mass resection were reviewed. This systematic review aimed to determine the most utilised biomaterials in TMJ interpositional arthroplasty, and to identify biomaterials that can produce good maximal incisal opening post-surgery, as well as complications that are associated with types of biomaterials used in TMJ interpositional arthroplasty. Papers published up to 16th October 2021 were screened using PICO format, through electronic and hand search. All details reported were collected using Cochrane Collaboration (2014) data collection form before further scrutinised using Revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for cluster-randomized trials (RoB 2 CRT) and Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) for randomised controlled trial (RCT) and non-RCT articles respectively. A total of 26 non-randomised controlled trial (non-RCT) papers and 5 RCT papers were included in this systematic review. The reported biomaterials used for interpositional arthroplasty were temporalis fascia / temporalis muscle, silicone block / sheet, abdominal fat, buccal fat pad, native articular disc, skin graft, costal cartilage, bone wax and porcine accelular dermal matrix and acrylic marbles. The most utilized biomaterials in interpositional arthroplasty were temporalis myofascial flap / temporalis fascia and fat grafts (buccal fat pad and abdominal fat). All the studied biomaterials were able to produce good post operative mouth opening. Most complications were related to surgical approaches and patients’ non-compliance to jaw physiotherapy rather than the biomaterials itself. Each biomaterials has its own pros and cons upon application clinically. Good pre-surgical planning with aid of radiographic imaging can reduce intra- and post-op complications. Compliance of patients to jaw physiotherapy can ensure long term success
Determinants of tax morale of C2C ecommerce operators in digital economy: Evidence from China / Mengying Nie
No full textThis research investigates the tax morale of C2C(Customer-to-Customer) e-commerce
operators in China. Due to the rapid development of the C2C e-commerce economy, the
current Chinese tax supervision cannot be matched in time, resulting in a large amount
of tax loss in the process of C2C e-commerce operations. Based on the slippery slope
theory, this paper determines four variables Trust in the Government (TG), Trust In the
legal system (TLS), National Pride (NP) and Perception of Sanctions (POS). The aim is
to study the impact of these four variables on Tax Morale of C2C e-commerce operators
(TM). This research employed quantitative approach. The sample procedure utilised
provincial-level stratification, as the extent of e-commerce development varies by
province. A sample of 500 was selected from ten provinces. From 500 questionnaires
distributed in the form of links and QR codes on the web, 448 responses were usable for
analysis. Along with the quantitative approach, questionnaires were distributed to obtain
relevant data. The pre-test and pilot study were conducted to ensure the validity and
credibility of the questionnaire. The data was analysed in this study using SPSS version
22.0 and AMOS version 24.0. SPSS 22.0 was used to perform frequency analysis,
descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and analysis of variance which involved
downscaling several dimensional indicators. AMOS 24.0 is used to demonstrate
confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis, and regression analysis. Survey data
show that TG, TLS, NP and POS both had a significant positive effect on the TM. This suggests that the more trust citizens have in their government, the better tax morale; the
more taxpayers trust the legal system, the more they have an inherent willingness to pay
their taxes; the strength of the country makes people prouder of it, and they are more
likely to agree with the national system and be willing to support its policies and pay
taxes; the greater the likelihood that C2C E-commerce operators may face a tax evasion
examination, the more ready they are to pay tax. Factors suggested as influencing tax
morale and the taxpayers’ decision to pay tax emerge. Improving the transparency of the
government, legal justice and the supervision of the tax authorities are suggested to
improve the willingness to pay tax and the ability of the taxpayers to execute their
willingness. Schools can add national pride as well as patriotic education to their
curriculum
Design and synthesis of Morinda citrifolia inspired anthraquinone derivatives as potential treatment for colon cancer / Nurhaliza Wati Mekzali
No full textColorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most fatal malignancies, with only a 5% chance of survival. Early surgical resection and chemotherapy can improve CRC patients' survival rates. Natural phytochemicals have been shown to be effective for preventing and treating CRC. However, isolation and purification of the active phytochemical ingredients from plants are time-consuming and labour-intensive. Thus, in this study, a series of anthraquinone derivatives (6a-j) inspired from Morinda citrifolia were designed, synthesised and evaluated as potential KRAS and p53 inhibitors. Molecular docking was conducted on CRC mutated proteins, i.e., p53 (PDB ID: 7B4N) and KRAS (PDB ID: 6P0Z) to obtain ligand-binding interactions. Synthesis of the ten compounds (6a-j) produced yields between 42-66%. Anti-proliferation of the synthesised anthraquinone derivatives was evaluated against two colorectal cancer cell lines, HCT116 and HT29, respectively. The results showed good IC50 values at micromolar range. Among all tested compounds, 6b (IC50 = 3.828 ± 0.05 μM) exhibited the highest potency as compared to the positive control 5-Fluorouracil (IC50 = 5.00 ± 0.04 μM) against HCT116 cells. Thus, this work suggests 6b for further investigation as colorectal cancer inhibitor
Characterization of Sn-Bi-Co low temperature solder alloy / Lina Syazwana Kamaruzzaman
No full textSn-Bi solder had Bi-rich phase that brittle and prone to fracture during service. As the result, the excessive hardness and brittleness of Sn-Bi solder alloy could easily deteriorate the solder mechanical properties which then strongly influence the solder joint and packaging components continuing reliability. Systematic investigation on the impact of alloying Co element using flux doping technique on both microstructure and mechanical properties of Sn-58Bi solder alloy and the study of the effect of Sn-58Bi-Co/Cu solder joints microstructure when varying aging duration are conducted. The melting temperature of the solder are evaluated using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) while the solder microstructure and IMC is characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscope (EDX) and build-in image analyser. The crystalline structure of the solder was analysed using XRD. Tensile test and Vickers hardness test used to characterize the solder mechanical properties. All characterization of the Sn-Bi-Co solder are assessed and correlated with Sn-Bi solder to note to any enhancement. The microstructure of all Sn-58Bi-xCo solders did not show significant different compared to Sn-58Bi solder. Sn-58Bi-1.5Co solder shown excellence mechanical properties with 60.29 ± 0.18 MPa tensile strength and 19.52 ± 0.47 HV microhardness value. After 56 days of thermal aging, the IMC layer of Sn-58Bi-xCo/Cu solder joints become flattening. It is highly anticipated that this new Sn-Bi-Co alloy can be applied in low temperature soldering and heat sensitive electronic devices, thus replacing lead-containing solder alloy
Isu-isu khilafiah di Malaysia menurut perspektif Qiyas al-Shabah / Nik Mohd Sofa’urrahman Nik Mohd Rosdi
No full textIsu-isu khilafiah di Malaysia menjadi suatu polemik yang tidak sihat. Setiap isu yang berbaur unsur kekeliruan, akan dikritik oleh para agamawan yang tidak sealiran. Perselisihan dalam isu-isu khilafiah menjadi suatu nilai negatif apabila ianya dibahaskan secara terbuka dalam kalangan masyarakat. Manakala Qiyas al-Shabah merupakan perbincangan Usul Fiqh dan merupakan metodologi yang digunakan dalam mencari `illah dalam sesuatu nas dan isu. Implementasi Qiyas al-Shabah dalam sesuatu isu, akan melibatkan beberapa proses penceraian sudut pandang daripada sesebuah isu. Kadang-kala qiyas yang digunakan dalam sesuatu isu, terdapat sedikit kelompangan dan ketidaksempurnaan. Teori Qiyas al-Shabah dilihat sebagai instrumen yang sesuai dan tepat untuk diketengahkan dalam menilai kembali isu-isu agama terpilih yang sering menjadi polemik dalam kalangan masyarakat. Justeru itu, kajian ini bertujuan menilai kembali kritikan-kritikan yang dilontarkan oleh sebahagian agamawan berhubung isu yang diperselisihkan. Penyelidikan ini merupakan kajian berbentuk kualitatif kerana ia berkaitan dengan sesuatu teori untuk diimplementasikan terhadap sesuatu isu dan kes. Proses pengumpulan data dilaksanakan berdasarkan kaedah kepustakaan dan kajian kes. Metode yang akan diterapkan dalam analisis ialah metode induktif, metode deduktif, analisis dan metode komparatif. Hasil daripada kajian ini, didapati bahawa antara faktor yang menyebabkan berlaku perselisihan adalah kerana tidak mengambil qiyas shabah yang tepat di dalam sesuatu isu sehingga mengundang pendapat yang terkeluar daripada konteks sebenar yang perlu dipertikaikan. Selain itu, dikenalpasti titik pertembungan pendapat yang lebih tepat. Tambahan itu, didapati punca sebenar perbalahan yang lebih praktikal seperti isu pengucapan istilah “menyalahi sunnah”
Ketidaksantunan bahasa dalam ruangan balas akaun Twitter Dato’ Seri Najib Razak / Mohd Asyraf Abdul Rahman
No full textKepesatan penggunaan komunikasi berasaskan komputer atau ‘computer-mediated communication’ (CMC) merangkumi pelbagai jenis perbualan termasuklah perbualan berkenaan politik yang memberi ruang kepada pengguna untuk menyampaikan fahaman politik di pelbagai medium media sosial terutama Twitter. Oleh itu, kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti strategi ketidaksantunan konvensional yang terdapat dalam ruangan balas akaun Dato Seri Najib Razak dan bagaimana ia direalisasikan. Sebanyak 345 balas telah dianalisa secara deskriptif menggunakan kerangka teori formula ketidaksantunan konvensional Culpeper (2011) untuk mengenal pasti strategi yang digunakan oleh pengguna Twitter sewaktu 7 hari sebelum berlangsungnya pilihan raya yang ke-14. Hasil kajian mendapati semua strategi ketidaksantunan Culpeper (2011) telah dapat dikenal pasti kecuali penguatkuasa mesej dan ancaman manakala strategi penghinaan, soalan / pra-andaian yang mencabar serta kritikan / aduan tajam mempunyai kekerapan 3 tertinggi. Terdapat juga strategi ketidaksantunan baru yang lain seperti penggunaan gestur verbal yang merujuk kepada perbuatan meludah iaitu ‘pui’ serta strategi penghinaan dan pengusiran yang bersifat bukan peribadi. Selain itu, penggunaan istilah ‘budak’ dan ‘tipu’ merupakan antara perkataan yang kerap digunakan untuk merealisasikan strategi ketidaksantunan perendahan martabat dan penghinaan. Secara ringkasnya, pengkaji mendapati pengguna Twitter secara umunya bersifat terbuka dalam memberi balas yang tidak santun terhadap Dato Seri Najib Razak apatah lagi berkenaan isu 1MDB yang banyak digunakan sebagai rujukan negatif yang tidak santun dalam balas
e-Learning adoption model for tertiary institutions in Southwest Nigeria / Abdulwahab Hassan
No full textThe adoption of E-learning model in tertiary institutions in Nigerian cannot be over emphasized, as the model has grown over time and has been implemented across other institutions, mostly private institutions in Nigeria. The research focuses on adopting a model for the implementation of E-learning across universities in South West Nigeria. The literature review shows that factors such as perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, e-learning self-efficacy, perceived barriers, intention to use, perceived instructor quality, perceived satisfaction, technological skills, perceived cost, instructional environment and learning styles, impact E-learning adoption. A case study of federal universities in South West Nigeria was utilized, alongside quantitative research of which questionnaire was employed as the research instrument. A total of 370 correspondents participated across 5 federal universities in South West Nigeria. The reliability test showed a value of 0.881 and was considered valid. The regression analysis indicated that perceived ease of use, intention to use, e-learning self-efficacy, perceived barriers, perceived usefulness, instructional environment, and learning style have a relationship with E-learning adoption. A new model was proposed based on the regression analysis. Thus, the researcher recommends that e-learning adoption in tertiary institutions in Southwest Nigeria should be enhanced by creating enabling instructional environment as well as taking into account the learning styles of students