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The occurrence of fires in tropical peatlands poses significant threats to their ecosystems. An Internet of Things (IoT) system was developed to measure and collect fire risk factors in the Raja Musa Forest Reserve (RMFR) in Selangor, Malaysia, to address this issue. In this paper, neural networks with different layers were employed to predict peatland forests' Fire Weather Index (FWI). The neural network models used two sets of input parameters, consisting of four and nine fire factors. The predicted FWI values were compared with actual values obtained from the Malaysian meteorological department. The findings revealed that the five-layer neural network outperformed others in both the four-input and nine-input models. Specifically, the nine-input neural network achieved a mean square error (MSE) of 1.116 and a correlation of 0.890, surpassing the performance of the four-input neural network with the MSE of 1.537 and the correlation of 0.852. These results hold significant research and practical implications for precise peatland fire prevention, control, and the formulation of preventive measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rubber producers, consumers, traders, and those who are involved in the rubber industry face major risks of rubber price fluctuations. As a result, decision-makers are required to make an accurate estimation of the price of rubber. This paper aims to propose hybrid intelligent models, which can be utilized to forecast the price of rubber in Malaysia by employing monthly Malaysia's rubber pricing data, spanning from January 2016 to March 2021. The projected hybrid model consists of different algorithms with the symbolic Radial Basis Functions Neural Network k-Satisfiability Logic Mining (RBFNN-kSAT). These algorithms, including GreyWolf Optimization Algorithm, Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm, and Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm were utilized in the forecasting data analysis. Several factors, which affect the monthly price of rubber, such as rubber production, total exports of rubber, total imports of rubber, stocks of rubber, currency exchange rate, and crude oil prices were also considered in the analysis. To evaluate the results of the introduced model, a comparison has been conducted for each model to identify the most optimum model for forecasting the price of rubber. The findings showed that GWO with RBFNN-kSAT represents the most accurate and efficient model compared with ABC with RBFNNkSAT and PSO with RBFNN-kSAT in forecasting the price of rubber. The GWOwithRBFNN-kSAT obtained the greatest average accuracy (92%), with a better correlation coefficient R = 0.983871 than ABC with RBFNN-kSAT and PSO with RBFNN-kSAT. Furthermore, the empirical results of this study provided several directions for policymakers to make the right decision in terms of devising proper measures in the industry to address frequent price changes so that the Malaysian rubber industry maintains dominance in the international markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactor TRIGA PUSPATI (RTP) is the only research nuclear reactor in Malaysia. Maintenance of RTP is crucial which affects its safety and reliability. Currently, RTP maintenance strategies used corrective and preventative which involved many sensors and equipment conditions. The existing preventive maintenance method takes a longer time to complete the entire system's maintenance inspection. This study has investigated new predictive maintenance techniques for developing RTP predictive maintenance for primary cooling systems using machine learning (ML) and augmented reality (AR). Fifty papers from recent referred publications in the nuclear areas were reviewed and compared. Detailed comparison of ML techniques, parameters involved in the coolant system and AR design techniques were done. Multiclass support vector machines (SVMs), artificial neural network (ANN), long short-term memory (LSTM), feed forward back propagation (FFBP), graph neural networks-feed forward back propagation (GNN-FFBP) and ANN were used for the machine learning techniques for the nuclear reactor. Temperature, water flow, and water pressure were crucial parameters used in monitoring a nuclear reactor. Image marker-based techniques were mainly used by smart glass view and handheld devices. A switch knob with handle switch, pipe valve and machine feature were used for object detection in AR markerless technique. This study is significant and found seven recent papers closely related to the development of predictive maintenance for a research nuclear reactor in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar energy serves as a great alternative to fossil fuels as they are clean and renewable energy. Accurate solar radiation (SR) prediction can substantially lower down the impact cost pertaining to the development of solar energy. Lately, many SR forecasting system has been developed such as support vector machine, autoregressive moving average and artificial neural network (ANN). This paper presents a comprehensive study on the meteorological data and types of backpropagation (BP) algorithms used to train and develop the best SR predicting ANN model. The meteorological data, which includes temperature, relative humidity and wind speed are collected from a meteorological station from Kuala Terrenganu, Malaysia. Three different BP algorithms are employed into training the model i.e., Levenberg–Marquardt, Scaled Conjugate Gradient and Bayesian Regularization (BR). This paper presents a comparison study to select the best combination of meteorological data and BP algorithm which can develop the ANN model with the best predictive ability. The findings from this study shows that temperature and relative humidity both have high correlation with SR whereas wind temperature has little influence over SR. The results also showed that BR algorithm trained ANN models with maximum R of 0.8113 and minimum RMSE of 0.2581, outperform other algorithm trained models, as indicated by the performance score of the respective models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dairy farm management is crucial to maintain the longevity of the farm, and poor dairy youngstock or calf management could lead to gradually deteriorating calf health, which often causes premature death. This was found to be the most neglected part among the management workflows in Malaysia and has caused continuous loss over the recent years. Calf posture recognition is one of the effective methods to monitor calf behaviour and health state, which can be achieved by monitoring the calf behaviours of standing and lying where the former depicts active calf, and the latter, passive calf. Calf posture recognition module is an important component of some automated calf monitoring systems, as the system requires the calf to be in a standing posture before proceeding to the next stage of monitoring, or at the very least, to monitor the activeness of the calves. Calf posture such as standing or resting can easily be distinguished by human eye, however, to be recognized by a machine, it will require more complicated frameworks, particularly one that involves a deep learning neural networks model. Large number of high-quality images are required to train a deep learning model for such tasks. In this paper,multiple Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architectures were compared, and the residual network (ResNet) model (specifically, ResNet-50) was ultimately chosen due to its simplicity, great performance, and decent inference time. Two ResNet-50 models having the exact same architecture and configuration have been trained on two different image datasets respectively sourced by separate cameras placed at different angle. There were two camera placements to use for comparison because camera placements can significantly impact the quality of the images, which is highly correlated to the deep learning model performance. After model training, the performance for both CNN models were 99.7% and 99.99% accuracies, respectively, and is adequate for a real-time calf monitoring system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of employability has gained significant importance, not only for graduate students but also for higher educational institutions. In this regard, employability prediction models using machine learning have emerged as crucial techniques for assessing students' potential to secure employment after graduation. Enhancing university graduate employability is critical because student unemployment is a global concern that has widespread negative effects on both individuals and institutions. Therefore, focusing on graduate employability predictions using machine learning techniques is considered essential in addressing this issue. Traditionally, demographic and academic attributes, such as CGPA, have been considered key factors in determining student employment status. However, research suggests that various other factors, such as student satisfaction, might influence employability. This study employs machine learning techniques to identify the factors that affect graduate student employability. The objective is to investigate the features significantly influencing students' ability to secure employment. Data was collected from Malaysia's Ministry of Education's graduate tracer study (SKPG). Several classification algorithms were applied, including Logistic Regression, Random Forest, Naïve Bayes, Support Vector Machine, Extreme Gradient Boosting, and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN). The results show that ANN achieved the highest accuracy, with around 80%. The findings also revealed that student demographic and academic features and student satisfaction level with the university facilities (e.g., library and counseling service) are considered significant for graduate student employability predictions. Consequently, the empirical results can help higher educational institutions enhance facilities and prepare students with the necessary skills for future employability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light rail transit (LRT) systems are vital aspects of the worldwide endeavor to achieve transport sustainability and have been essential in enhancing the economies of urban areas. Issues such as pollution, the risk of road accidents, and traffic congestion could be resolved using this progressive alternative. The statistics showed that only 20% of the commuters in Malaysia use public transport, including LRT, and 80% use private transportation. It is relatively low compared to other Asian countries. High-quality service is essential to improve users' perceived satisfaction with the provided services and increase LRT ridership. The objective of the present study is to acquire an understanding of which factors are crucially influential on users' perceptions of satisfaction. In-person questionnaires were utilized to obtain the information for this paper, with a total of 417 LRT riders in Malaysia's Klang Valley surveyed. This study adopted the factor analysis, correlation test, and artificial neural network (ANN) model. Eight elements related to the quality of service were extracted to ascertain how they influenced the perceived satisfaction of users: information signs, ticket-based services, amenities, safety, employee performance, speed, comfort, and the service details available to riders. Each factor was significantly related to the perceptions of satisfaction, according to the correlation test. Finally, the ANN model shows that the dominant factors determining the LRT users' perceived satisfaction are the signage, amenities, and provision of information. The findings of this research should benefit the providers of services, policy makers, and planning departments by enabling them to formulate successful approaches that ensure user satisfaction is enhanced and the number of riders on the LRT increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The internet creates ample opportunities to start a mobile social commerce business. The literature confirms the issue of customer trust for social commerce businesses is a challenge that must be addressed. Hence, this study aims to examine the antecedents of trust in mobile social commerce by applying linear and non-linear relationships based on partial least squares structural equation modeling and artificial neural network model. Design/methodology/approach: This study applied a non-linear artificial neural network approach to provide a further understanding of the determinants of trust in mobile social commerce based on a non-linear and non-compensatory model. Besides, a questionnaire was distributed to 340 social commerce customers in Malaysia. Findings: The conceptual framework for investigating trust in mobile social commerce has various advantages and contributions to predicting consumer behavior. The results of the study showed there is a positive and significant relationship between social support, presence and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology2 (UTAUT2). In addition, UTAUT2 has fully mediated the relationship between social support, presence and trust in social commerce. Finally, the results concluded the relationship between UTAUT2 and trust in social commerce would be stronger when the diffusion of innovation and innovation resistance is high and low, respectively. Research limitations/implications: The current study provides a novel perspective on how customers can trust social m-commerce to provide real solutions to managers of encouraging e-marketing among consumers. Practical implications: This paper shows how businesses can develop trust in social m-commerce in Malaysian markets. The findings of this study probably could be extended to other businesses in Asia or other countries. Because trust in social e-commerce has a dynamic role in consumer behavior and intention to purchase. Originality/value: This study provided a new perspective on mobile social commerce and paid more attention to an investigation of such emerging commerce. The originality of this study is embodied by investigating an integrated model that included different theories that presented new directions of trust in mobile social commerce through social and behavioral determinants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floods are the most frequent type of natural disaster. It destroys wildlife habitat, damages bridges, railways, roads, properties, and puts millions of people at risk. As such, flood detection systems have been developed to monitor the changes of water level and raise an alarm should there be imminent danger. River water level prediction is a significant task in flood mitigation planning and floodplains management. Usually, using raw data of rainfall series directly with machine learning (ML) regression methods, does not result in sufficiently good prediction accuracy. The raw data should be pre-processed using specific techniques to enhance their quality a priori to being applied to the prediction methods. This paper serves to address the stated problem by utilizing various data pre-processing techniques such as the Variational Mode Decomposition (VMD), Bagging, Boosting, Bagging-VMD, and Boosting-VMD to enhance the quality of input data and thus culminating in improved model accuracy. The five proposed pre-processing techniques were applied to the observed daily rainfall series of the Dungun river basin, Malaysia, for the period starting from November to February (Northeast Monsoon) from 1996 to 2016. Two machine learning models, the base models (Ori), that is the artificial neural network (ANN) and the support vector regression (SVR), were used in conjunction with the data pre-processing methods. The comparison between the ML methods with and without data pre-processing was done. It was found that prediction of water levels with the two ML methods of SVR and ANN together with the Boosting-VMD was superior to those results derived with just the base original model (Ori). The advantage of the enhanced models (respectively, founded on SVR and ANN) over the original models (SVR and ANN) is best reflected in the performance statistics. Numerical results in terms of root mean square error (RMSE) of (0.42, 0.20 vs 1.85,1.82), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of (4.36, 2.82 vs 18.89, 22.56), mean absolute error (MAE) of (0.28,0.16 vs 1.25, 1.41), and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE) (0.96, 0.99 vs 0.25, 0.27) were obtained for the respective models. Additionally, various data visualization graphs such as hydrographs, residual hydrographs, peak-estimates, and box and whisker plots were illustrated to compare between various data pre-processing techniques. The experimental results showed that both the Boosting and the Boosting-VMD methods showed better performance over the other techniques. The Boosting-ANN model was found to be the better model to predict river water levels with the lowest RMSE (0.19), MAPE (2.72), and MAE (0.15) and the highest NSE (0.99). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to compare and develop the influence on different sample sizes and sample ratios when using machine learning (ML) models, i.e., support vector machine (SVM) and artificial neural network (ANN), to produce landslide susceptibility maps (LSMs) in Penang Island, Malaysia. At the same time, traditional statistical (TS) models are also considered to produce LSMs in this comparative research. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and recall metric are applied to evaluate the model's performance. Based on the evaluation criteria, the ML model outperforms the TS models and the ML models trained using the datasets with larger sample size give a better performance. ML models, especially SVM models, have better performance when training with balanced datasets as well as the datasets of more landslide sample data. Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test are applied to test the significance. The results indicate that sample size and sample ratio are essential factors when considering ML models to produce LSMs. The LSMs produced in this research can provide valid and useful information to the local authorities for landslide mitigation and prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inaccurate prediction would cause the insurance company encounter catastrophic losses and may lead to overpriced premiums where low-earning consumers cannot afford to insure themselves. The ability to forecast mortality rates accurately can allow the insurance company to take preventive measures to introduce new policies with reasonable prices. In this paper, several Lee–Carter (LC) based models are used to forecast the mortality rates in a case study of the Malaysian population. The LC-ARIMA model and also a combination of the LC model with two machine learning (ML) methods, namely the random forest (RF) and artificial neural network (ANN) methods are utilized on the prediction of mortality rates for males and females in Malaysia, whereby the LC-Random Forest (LC-RF) hybrid model is a new model that is introduced in this paper. Seventeen years of mortality data in Malaysia are selected as the dataset for this research. To analyze how the forecasting models perform for other countries, we have determined the model that has the best fit and produced the best forecasted mortality rates for all the other countries that are studied. This research has showed that LC-ANN and LC-ARIMA are the best model in predicting the mortality rates of males and females in Malaysia, respectively. This study has also found that the LC-ARIMA model is the best performing model in forecasting the mortality rates in countries that have longer life expectancy and a good healthcare system such as Sweden, Ireland, Japan, Hong Kong, Norway, Switzerland and Czechia. In contrast, the LC-ANN model is the best performing model in forecasting the mortality rates in countries that have a less efficiency, less accessibility healthcare system, and bad personal behavior such as Malaysia, Canada and Latvia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the injuries that can bring serious consequences if medical attention has been delayed. Commonly, analysis of computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is required to determine the severity of a moderate TBI patient. However, due to the rising number of TBI patients these days, employing the CT scan or MRI scan to every potential patient is not only expensive, but also time consuming. Therefore, in this paper, we investigate the possibility of using electroencephalography (EEG) with computational intelligence as an alternative approach to detect the severity of moderate TBI patients. EEG procedure is much cheaper than CT or MRI. Although EEG does not have high spatial resolutions as compared with CT and MRI, it has high temporal resolutions. The analysis and prediction of moderate TBI from EEG using conventional computational intelligence approaches are tedious as they normally involve complex preprocessing, feature extraction, or feature selection of the signal. Thus, we propose an approach that uses convolutional neural network (CNN) to automatically classify healthy subjects and moderate TBI patients. The input to this computational intelligence system is the resting-state eye-closed EEG, without undergoing preprocessing and feature selection. The EEG dataset used includes 15 healthy volunteers and 15 moderate TBI patients, which is acquired at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia. The performance of the proposed method has been compared with four other existing methods. With the average classification accuracy of 72.46%, the proposed method outperforms the other four methods. This result indicates that the proposed method has the potential to be used as a preliminary screening for moderate TBI, for selection of the patients for further diagnosis and treatment planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eco-friendly raft-pile foundation (ERP) system is one of the most recent developed types of pile foundations that the original materials can be provided from local Bakau. A precise prediction of its behaviour is of interest for many engineers. This paper presents three intelligent systems, namely, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), conventional artificial neural network (ANN), and optimized ANN model with genetic algorithm (GA) for prediction of vertical settlement in ERP system. In this regard, a database compiled from 43 load-settlement results obtained from full-scale maintained load test (PLT). Note that, these floating raft-pile system piles were subjected to vertical axial loading. The ERP system was installed at the marine soft clay soil site at Rantau Panjang Kapar, Selangor, Malaysia. The values of subgrade modulus (Ks), Young's modulus (Es), soil properties beneath the footing, and applied load were set as model input to predict vertical settlement (s). To evaluate the reliability of the network output, several well-known statistical indexes were used. The results show that the new proposed GA-ANN model could provide a better performance in estimating the maximum settlement of ERP system. In terms of statistical indexes (R2, and RMSE), the values of (0.998, 0.0259, and 99.99) and (0.997, 0.0324, and 99.998) were obtained for both data sets of training and testing, respectively. Besides, comparing the training and testing data sets, R2 values of (0.994, 0.9884, 0.995, and 0.9984) and (0.996, 0.985, 0.994, and 0.9973) were found for ANN–LMBP, ANFIS, GA, and GA-ANN models, respectively, which proves the superiority of the proposed GA-ANN model comparing to other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many site investigation phases of civil and mining engineering projects, the tensile strength of the rocks is one of the most significant parameters that must be identified. This parameter can be determined directly through laboratory tests. However, conducting such laboratory tests is costly and time consuming. In this paper, a new artificial neural network (ANN)-based model is developed to predict rock tensile strength, using the invasive weed optimization (IWO) technique. Granite samples for the purpose of this research were selected from a tunnel located in Malaysia and underwent appropriate laboratory tests (i.e., Schmidt hammer, point load, dry density, as well as the Brazilian tensile strength (BTS) as system output). A simple regression analysis was carried out, and the obtained results confirmed the need for developing a model with multiple inputs, rather than one with only a single input, in order to predict BTS values. Aiming to highlight the capability of an IWO-ANN model in estimating BTS, artificial bee colony (ABC)-ANN and imperialism competitive algorithm (ICA)-ANN were also applied and developed. The parameters required for the ANN-based models were obtained using different parametric studies. According to calculated performance indices, a new hybrid IWO-ANN model can provide a higher accuracy level for the prediction of BTS compared to the ABC-ANN and ICA-ANN models. The results showed that the IWO-ANN model is a suitable alternative solution for a robust and reliable engineering design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since rice is a staple food in Malaysia, its price fluctuations pose risks to the producers, suppliers and consumers. Hence, an accurate prediction of paddy price is essential to aid the planning and decision-making in related organizations. The artificial neural network (ANN) has been widely used as a promising method for time series forecasting. In this paper, the effectiveness of integrating empirical mode decomposition (EMD) into an ANN model to forecast paddy price is investigated. The hybrid method is applied on a series of monthly paddy prices fromFebruary 1999 up toMay 2018 as recorded in the Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) per metric tons. The performance of the simple ANN model and the EMD-ANN model was measured and compared based on their root mean squared Error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and mean percentage error (MPE). This study finds that the integration of EMD into the neural network model improves the forecasting capabilities. The use of EMD in the ANN model made the forecast errors reduced significantly, and the RMSE was reduced by 0.012, MAE by 0.0002 and MPE by 0.0448. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study of artificial neural nets for use in stock index forecasting. The data from a major emerging market, Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange, are applied as a case study. Based on the rescaled range analysis, a backpropagation neural network is used to capture the relationship between the technical indicators and the levels of the index in the market under study over time. Using different trading strategies, a significant paper profit can be achieved by purchasing the indexed stocks in the respective proportions. The results show that the neural network model can get better returns compared with conventional ARIMA models. The experiment also shows that useful predictions can be made without the use of extensive market data or knowledge. The paper, however, also discusses the problems associated with technical forecasting using neural networks, such as the choice of "time frames" and the "recency" problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since wind power is directly influenced by wind speed, long-term wind speed forecasting (WSF) plays an important role for wind farm installation. WSF is essential for controlling, energy management and scheduled wind power generation in wind farm. The proposed investigation in this paper provides 30-days-ahead WSF. Nonlinear Autoregressive (NAR) and Nonlinear Autoregressive Exogenous (NARX) Neural Network (NN) with different network settings have been used to facilitate the wind power generation. The essence of this study is that it compares the effect of activation functions (namely, tansig and logsig) in the performance of time series forecasting since activation function is the core element of any artificial neural network model. A set of wind speed data was collected from different meteorological stations in Malaysia, situated in Kuala Lumpur, Kuantan, and Melaka. The proposed activation functions tansig of NARNN and NARXNN resulted in promising outcomes in terms of very small error between actual and predicted wind speed as well as the comparison for the logsig transfer function results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The pre-tender estimation process is still a hazy and inaccurate process, despite it has been practiced over decades, especially in Malaysia. The methods evolved over time largely depend on the amount of information available at the time of estimation. More often than not, the estimate produced during the pre-tender stage is far more than the tender cost of the project and sometimes, it is perilously underestimated and caused major problems to the client in the monetary planning. The purpose of this paper is to determine the most influential factors on the deviation of pre-tender cost estimation in Malaysia by conducting a survey.Design/methodology/approach Fuzzy logic, combined with artificial neural network method (fuzzy neural network) was then used to develop an estimating model to aid the pre-tender estimation process.Findings The results showed that the model is able to shift the cost estimation toward accuracy. This model can be used to improve the pre-tender estimation accuracy, enabling the client to take the necessary early measures in preparing the funding for a building project in Malaysia.Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on tender price estimation standardization for a construction project in Malaysia. In addition, the authors have used factors from literature for the model, which shows the thoroughness of the developed model. Thus, the findings and the model developed in this study should be able to assist contractors in coming out with a more accurate tender price estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the neuro-fuzzy model using remote-sensing data and geographic information system for landslide susceptibility analysis in a part of the Cameron Highlands areas in Malaysia. Landslide locations in the study area were identified by interpreting aerial photographs and satellite images, supported by extensive field surveys. Landsat TM satellite imagery was used to map the vegetation index. Maps of the topography, lineaments, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and land cover were constructed from the spatial data sets. Eight landslide conditioning factors such as altitude, slope gradient, curvature, distance from the drainage, distance from the road, lithology, distance from the faults, and NDVI were extracted from the spatial database. These factors were analyzed using a neuro-fuzzy model adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system to produce the landslide susceptibility maps. During the model development works, a total of five landslide susceptibility models were constructed. For verification, the results of the analyses were then compared with the field-verified landslide locations. Additionally, the receiver operating characteristic curves for all landslide susceptibility models were drawn, and the area under curve values were calculated. Landslide locations were used to validate the results of the landslide susceptibility map, and the verification results showed a 97% accuracy for model 5, employing all parameters produced in the present study as the landslide conditioning factors. The validation results showed a sufficient agreement between the obtained susceptibility map and the existing data on the landslide areas. Qualitatively, the model yields reasonable results, which can be used for preliminary land-use planning purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The installed capacity of solar photovoltaic (PV) globally continues to rise. In Malaysia, the monthly average daily solar radiation is 4,000-5,000 Wh/m², with the average daily sunshine duration ranging from 4 to 8 h. However, the output of solar energy is related to solar irradiance, which lacks stability due to weather variation. Therefore, solar irradiance forecasting has become an important resource for network grid operators to control the output of solar PV energy. Weather forecasting data, such as temperature, dew point, humidity, pressure and wind speed, are widely available from local meteorological organisations. However, solar irradiance forecasting data is often unavailable. In this paper, multiple regression (MR) and artificial neural network (ANN) models are used to forecast solar irradiance using weather forecasting data. The correlation of each weather parameter with solar irradiance is investigated. It is evident that the ANN model is able to improve the accuracy in terms of root mean square error (RMSE) by 18.42% of its as compared to the MR model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a neural network model capable of catchment-wide simultaneous prediction of river stages at multiple gauging stations. Thirteen meteorological parameters are considered in the input, which includes rainfall, temperature, mean relative humidity and evaporation. The NARX model is trained with a representative set of hourly data, with optimal time delay for both the input and output. The network trained using 120-day data is able to produce simulations that are in excellent agreement with field observations. We show that for application with one-step-ahead predictions, the loss in network performance is marginal. Inclusion of additional tidal observations does not improve predictions, suggesting that the river stage stations under consideration are not sensitive to tidal backwater effects despite the claim commonly made.EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis ASSOCIATE EDITOR F. Pappenberger [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose Cloud computing technology is advancing and expanding at an explosive rate. These advancements have further extended the capabilities of the virtual learning environment (VLE) to provide accessibility anywhere, anytime where educational resources can be saved, modified, retrieved and shared on the cloud. The purpose of this paper is to examine the predictors of instructional effectiveness of cloud computing VLE by extending the Self Determination and Channel Expansion Theory with external constructs of VLE interactivity, content design, school support, trust in website, knowledge sharing attitude and demographic variables.Design/methodology/approach Random sampling data were collected in two waves of nation-wide survey and analyzed with artificial neural network approach.Findings SDT, CET, content design, interactivity, trust in website, school support and demographics significantly predict instructional effectiveness.Research limitations/implications The study has provided a new paradigm shift from investigating the behavioral intention and continuance intention to the effectiveness of an information system. It advocates that quality of research may be improved by adhering to the basic research methodology starting from rigorous instrument development and validation to future research direction.Practical implications The research provides implications to Ministry of Education, the VLE content and service providers, scholars and practitioners.Social implications The findings of the study may further improve the quality of living of the society when the instructional effectiveness of the cloud-based VLE is further enhanced.Originality/value Existing grid computing VLE studies have focussed on the acceptance of students and teachers and not its instructional effectiveness. Unlike existing studies that examined extrinsic motivational factors (e.g. TAM, UTAUT), this study uses intrinsic motivational factors (e.g. relatedness, competence and autonomy) as well as perceived media richness. Malaysia is the first nation to implement the VLE at a national scale and the findings from this study will provide a new insight on the determinants of instructional effectiveness of the VLE system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslide is a natural disaster that occurs mostly in hill areas. Landslide hazard mapping is used to classify the prone areas to mitigate the risk of landslide hazards. This paper aims to compare spatial landslide prediction performance using an artificial neural network (ANN) model based on different data input configurations, different numbers of hidden neurons, and two types of normalization techniques on the data set of Penang Island, Malaysia. The data set involves twelve landslide influencing factors in which five factors are in continuous values, while the remaining seven are in categorical/discrete values. These factors are considered in three different configurations, i.e., original (OR), frequency ratio (FR), and mixed-type (MT) data, which act as an input to train the ANN model separately. A significant effect on the final output is the number of hidden neurons in the hidden layer. In addition, three data configurations are processed using two different normalization methods, i.e., mean-standard deviation (Mean-SD) and Min-Max. The landslide causative data often consist of correlated information caused by overlapping of input instances. Therefore, the principal component analysis (PCA) technique is used to eliminate the correlated information. The area under the receiver of characteristics (ROC) curve, i.e., AUC is also applied to verify the produced landslide hazard maps. The best result of AUC for both Mean-SD and Min-Max with PCA schemes are 96.72% and 96.38%, respectively. The results show that Mean-SD with PCA of MT data configuration yields the best validation accuracy, AUC, and lowest AIC at 100 number of hidden neurons. MT data configuration with the Mean-SD normalization and PCA scheme is more robust and stable in the MLP model's training for landslide prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of deaths worldwide. In 2017, CVD contributed to 13,503 deaths in Malaysia. The current approaches for CVD prediction are usually invasive and costly. Machine learning (ML) techniques allow an accurate prediction by utilizing the complex interactions among relevant risk factors. This study presents a case-control study involving 60 participants from The Malaysian Cohort, which is a prospective population-based project. Five parameters, namely, the R-R interval and root mean square of successive differences extracted from electrocardiogram (ECG), systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and total cholesterol level, were statistically significant in predicting CVD. Six ML algorithms, namely, linear discriminant analysis, linear and quadratic support vector machines, decision tree, knearest neighbor, and artificial neural network (ANN), were evaluated to determine the most accurate classifier in predicting CVD risk. ANN, which achieved 90% specificity, 90% sensitivity, and 90% accuracy, demonstrated the highest prediction performance among the six algorithms. In summary, by utilizing ML techniques, ECG data can serve as a good parameter for CVD prediction among the Malaysian multiethnic population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new method for predicting hourly ambient temperature series for Malaysia using generalized regression neural network (GRNN). MATLAB was used to develop the GRNN using the weather records for Malaysia. The developed model has five inputs and one output. The inputs of the proposed model are hour, day, month, sunshine ratio, and relative humidity, meanwhile ambient temperature is the output. To evaluate the accuracy of the GRNN, three statistical parameters, namely, the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), mean bias error (MBE), and root mean square error (RMSE) are considered. The GRNN results give an accurate prediction of ambient temperatures for the selected testing months with average values of MAPE, MBE, and RMSE of 2.65%, 4.05%, and 0.347%, respectively. The advantage of the proposed method is that it is able to predict ambient temperature at sites where there is no ambient temperature-measuring instrument installed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a MATLAB based user friendly software tool called as PV.MY for optimal sizing of photovoltaic (PV) systems. The software has the capabilities of predicting the metrological variables such as solar energy, ambient temperature and wind speed using artificial neural network (ANN), optimizes the PV module/ array tilt angle, optimizes the inverter size and calculate optimal capacities of PV array, battery, wind turbine and diesel generator in hybrid PV systems. The ANN based model for metrological prediction uses four meteorological variables, namely, sun shine ratio, day number and location coordinates. As for PV system sizing, iterative methods are used for determining the optimal sizing of three types of PV systems, which are standalone PV system, hybrid PV/wind system and hybrid PV/diesel generator system. The loss of load probability (LLP) technique is used for optimization in which the energy sources capacities are the variables to be optimized considering very low LLP. As for determining the optimal PV panels tilt angle and inverter size, the Liu and Jordan model for solar energy incident on a tilt surface is used in optimizing the monthly tilt angle, while a model for inverter efficiency curve is used in the optimization of inverter size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many different Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) models of flood have been developed for forecast updating. However, the model performance, and error prediction in which forecast outputs are adjusted directly based on models calibrated to the time series of differences between observed and forecast values, are very interesting and challenging task. This paper presents an improved lead time flood forecasting using Non-linear Auto Regressive Exogenous Neural Network (NARXNN), which shows better performance in term of forecast precision and produces minimum error compared to neural network method using Radial Basis Function (RBF) in examined 12-hour ahead of time. First, RBF forecasting model was employed to predict the flood water level of Kelantan River at Kuala Krai, Kelantan, Malaysia. The model is tested for 1-hour and 7-hour ahead of time water level at flood location. The same analysis has also been taken by NARXNN method. Then, a non-linear neural network model with exogenous input promoted with enhancing a forecast lead time to 12-hour. Both about the performance comparison has briefly been analyzed. The result verified the precision of error prediction of the presented flood forecasting model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents models for global and diffuse solar energy on a horizontal surface for main five sites in Malaysia. The global solar energy is modeled using linear, nonlinear, fuzzy logic, and artificial neural network (ANN) models, while the diffuse solar energy is modeled using linear, nonlinear, and ANN models. Three statistical values are used to evaluate the developed solar energy models, namely, the mean absolute percentage error, MAPE; root mean square error, RMSE; and mean bias error, MBE. The results showed that the ANN models are superior compared with the other models in which the MAPE in calculating the global solar energy in Malaysia by the ANN model is 5.38%, while the MAPE for the linear, nonlinear, and fuzzy logic models are 8.13%, 6.93%, and 6.71%, respectively. The results for the diffuse solar energy showed that the MAPE of the ANN model is 1.53%, while the MAPE of the linear and nonlinear models are 4.35% and 3.74%, respectively. The accurate ANN models can therefore be used to predict solar energy in Malaysia and nearby regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the use of two environmental data sets from two sampling sites, merged together and applied to forecasting a dependent variable, namely biological oxygen in demand (BOD) using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). ANN are frequently used to predict various ecological processes and phenomenon related to water resources. Various ANN applications involve the prediction of water quality using various environmental parameters. ANN was applied to map the relationships between physical, chemical and biological time-series data of Sungai Air Itam, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. This river is part of the Sungai Pinang river basin and is considered as highly eutrophic. Sungai Pinang and its tributaries are the main rivers lowing through the state of Penang, Malaysia. The water quality has been increasingly deteriorated by both natural and anthropogenic effects. The purpose of this study is to investigate the application of ANN to predict the biochemical oxygen demand as a measure of eutrophication status of rivers in relation to land-use impacts. The results of the study show that it is possible to forecast 1 month ahead BOD for Sungai Air Itam using a simple ANN with 16-4-1 architecture. The most important input for this predictive model is phosphate, and the sensitivity of the ANN models to the inputs is also dependent on the training datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an adaptive neurofuzzy interface system (ANFIS) approach to identify the real power transfer between generators. Based on solved load flow results, it first uses modified nodal equation method (MNE) to determine real power contribution from each generator to loads. Then the results of MNE method and load flow information are utilized to train the designed ANFIS. It also incorporated an enhanced feature extraction method called principle component analysis (PCA) to reduce the input features to the ANFIS. The 25-bus equivalent system of south Malaysia is utilized as a test system to illustrate the effectiveness of the ANFIS output compared to that of the MNE method. The ANFIS output provides promising results in terms of accuracy and computation time. Furthermore, it can be concluded that the ANFIS with enhanced feature extraction method reduces the time taken to train the ANFIS without affecting the accuracy of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Vulnerability assessment and control of a power system is important to power utilities due to the blackouts in recent years in many countries which indicate that power systems today are vulnerable when exposed to unforeseen catastrophic contingencies. A fast and accurate technique to assess the level of system strength or weakness is some of the essential requirements for maintaining security of modern power systems, particularly in competitive energy markets. This paper presents intelligent artificial techniques for vulnerability assessment of Malaysian power system and recommends preventive control measures. Accurate techniques for vulnerability assessment and control of power systems are developed. In vulnerability assessment, power system loss index is used as a vulnerability parameter, neural network weight extraction is employed as the feature extraction method and the generalized regression neural network is used to predict vulnerability of a power system. As for vulnerability control, load shedding is considered by using the neuro-fuzzy technique. Finally, the paper presents and discusses the results from this research with recommendations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents the development of hybrid Meta-Evolutionary Programming and Artificial Neural Network lightning prediction system based on historical lightning and meteorological data in Malaysia. It involved the development of the ANN design and optimization of the system using EP optimization technique. ANN is employed as it has the ability to learn by example and do tasks based on training experience, making it profoundly suitable for pattern recognition and forecasting tasks. However, due to its heuristic nature, the process of finding suitable network architectures could be burdensome and time-consuming. There is also no systematic way to design the optimal architecture for a given task automatically. For that reason, an efficient optimization technique such as Meta EP is employed to find the best ANN architectures systematically. Comparative studies conducted with respect to heuristic search indicated that hybrid-meta-EP-ANN is more accurate in its prediction capability. The most significant advantage of using EP optimization technique is that it provides a structured and automatic way for obtaining optimal values of the ANN parameters. As a result, the developed lightning prediction system is able to generalize well when presented with new sets of input data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Landslide-susceptibility mapping is one of the most critical issues in Malaysia. These landslides can be systematically assessed and mapped through a traditional mapping framework that uses geoinformation technologies (GIT). The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the possible application of an artificial neural network model and its cross-application of weights at three study areas in Malaysia, Penang Island, Cameron Highland and Selangor. Landslide locations were identified in the study areas from the interpretation of aerial photographs, field surveys and inventory reports. A landslide-related spatial database was constructed from topographic, soil, geology, and land-cover maps. For the calculation of the relative weight and importance of each factor to a particular landslide occurrence, an artificial neural network (ANN) method was applied. Landslide susceptibility was analyzed using the landslide occurrence factors provided by the artificial neural network model. Then, the landslide-susceptibility analysis results were validated and cross-validated using the landslide locations as study areas. Different training sites were randomly selected to train the neural network, and nine sets of landslide-susceptibility maps were prepared. The paper then illustrates the verification of those maps using an “area under the curve” (AUC) method. The verification results show that the case of the weight using the same test area showed slightly higher accuracy than the weight used for the cross-applied area. Among the three studied areas, the verification results showed similar accuracy trends while using the weight for the study area itself. Cameron showed the best accuracy and Penang showed the worst accuracy. Generally, the verification results showed satisfactory agreement between the susceptibility map and the existing data on the landslide location. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper proposes a new method to identify the real power transfer between generators and load using modified nodal equations. It further focuses on creating an appropriate Radial Basis Function Network (RBFN) to solve the problem in a simpler and faster manner. For this purpose, two separate stages training algorithm have been chosen for the proposed RBFN power transfer allocation technique. Almost all system variables obtained from load flow solutions are utilised as input to the neural network. The validation of the proposed methodology is demonstrated by using the actual 25-bus equivalent power system of south Malaysia, to illustrate the effectiveness of the RBFN technique compared to that of the modified nodal equations method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the largest hydropower facilities currently in operation in Malaysia is the Terengganu hydroelectric facility. As a result, for hydropower generation to be sustainable, future water availability in hydropower plants must be known. Therefore, it is necessary to precisely estimate how the river flow will alter as a result of changing rainfall patterns. Finding the best value for the hyper-parameters is one of the problems with machine learning algorithms, which have lately been adopted by many academics. In this research, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is integrated with a nature-inspired optimizer, namely Cuckoo search algorithm (CS-ANN). The performance of the proposed algorithm then will be examined based on statistical indices namely Root-Mean-Square Error (RSME) and Determination Coefficient (R2). Then, the accuracy of the proposed model will be then examined with the stand-alone Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The statistical indices results indicate that the proposed Hybrid CS-ANN model showed an improvement based on R2 value as compared to ANN model with R2 of 0.900 at training stage and R2 of 0.935 at testing stage. RMSE value, for ANN model, is 127.79 m3/s for training stage and 12.7 m3/s at testing stage. While for the proposed Hybrid CS-ANN model, RMSE value is equal to 121.7 m3/s for training stage and 10.95 m3/s for testing stage. The results revealed that the proposed model outperformed the stand-alone model in predicting the river flow with high level of accuracy. Although the proposed model could be applied in different case study, there is a need to tune the model internal parameters when applied in different case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatility plays a crucial role in financial markets and accurate prediction of the stock price indices is of high interest. In multivariate time series, Dynamic Conditional Correlation (DCC)-Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedastic (GARCH) is used to model and forecast the volatility (risk) and co-movement between stock prices data. We propose multivariate artificial neural networks (MANNs) hybridized with the DCC-GARCH model to forecast the volatility of stock prices and to examine the time-varying correlation. The daily share price data of five stock markets: S&P 500 (USA), FTSE-100 (UK), KSE-100 (Pakistan), Malaysia (KLSE) and BSESN (India) covering the period from 1st, January 2013 to 17th, March 2020 are considered for empirical analysis. Moreover, the hybrid models of MANNs and DCC-GARCH are developed in two ways: (i) MANNs is provided as an input to DCC-GARCH (1,1) producing a hybrid model of DCC-GARCH(1,1)-MANNs and (ii) DCC-GARCH(1,1) model is set as an input to MANNs resulting hybrid model of MANNs-DCC-GARCH(1,1). Furthermore, the performances of the proposed models are compared with single models via the root mean square (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and relative mean absolute error (RMAE). The empirical results show that DCC-GARCH (1,1)-MANNs, a parametric model, outperforms both in-sample and out-sample forecasts and helps to examine the time-varying correlation and also provides volatility forecast as well, whereas the hybrid model MANNs-DCC-GARCH (1,1) provides forecast only. Therefore, the hybrid model of DCC-GARCH (1,1)-MANNs is found suitable as compared to MANNs-DCC-GARCH(1,1) to model and forecast the stock price indices under consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, water quality is assessed using costly laboratory and statistical methods, rendering real-time monitoring useless. Poor water quality requires a more practical and cost-effective solution. The machine learning classification approach appears promising for rapid detection and prediction of water quality. Machine learning has been used successfully to predict water quality. However, research on machine learning for water quality index (WQI) prediction is generally lacking. Therefore, this research aims to identify the important features for the WQI, which necessitated the classification of numerous indicators. This study develops four machine learning models (Artificial Neural Network, Support Vector Machine, Random Forest, and Naïve Bayes) based on the WQI and chemical parameters. The Langat Basin in Selangor dataset from the Department of Environment of Malaysia trains and validates each machine learning model. Several data preprocessing tasks such as data cleaning and feature selection have been conducted on the raw dataset to ensure the quality of the training data. The performance of these machine learning algorithms is further rectified based on the selected features set by several feature selection strategies such as information gain, correlation, and symmetrical uncertainty. Each classifier is then optimized using different tuning parameters to achieve optimum values before comparing the output of the three classifiers against each other. The observational results have shown that the optimized Random Forest classifier with the WQI parameter selected by the information gain feature selection method achieved the highest performance. The experimental results show that the WQI parameters are more relevant in predicting the WQI than the other variables. Consequently, this result shows that parameter oxygen (DO) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) are important features for predicting WQI. The proposed model achieved reasonable accuracy with minimal parameters, indicating that it could be used in real-time water quality detection systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This exploration aims to study the value orientation and essence of early childhood enlightenment education based on the deep neural network (DNN). Based on the acquisition and feature learning of cross-media education big data, the DNN correlation learning of cross-media education big data, and the intelligent search of cross-media education big data based on the DNN, the intelligent search system of cross-media children's enlightenment education big data based on DNN is designed and implemented. The system includes three functional modules: the feature learning module of cross-media infant enlightenment education big data, the deep semantic correlation learning module of cross-media childhood enlightenment education big data, and the intelligent search module of cross-media childhood enlightenment education big data based on DNN. This exploration realizes the acquisition and feature learning of big data of cross-media early childhood enlightenment education, DNN learning of cross-media education big data of early childhood enlightenment, and intelligent computing of cross-media education big data based on DNN. The experimental results show that the proposed system's mean average precision (MAP) performance is improved by 15.6% on the public dataset of early childhood enlightenment education published by the Ministry of Education. Moreover, the system has also significantly improved the MAP performance of the constructed dataset in the field of early childhood enlightenment education; that is, the MAP performance has been improved by 20.6% on the dataset of Taylor's University in Malaysia (NUS-WIDE). This exploration has certain theoretical significance and empirical value for early childhood enlightenment education research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslides are a natural hazard that can endanger human life and cause severe environmental damage. A landslide susceptibility map is essential for planning, managing, and preventing landslides occurrences to minimize losses. A variety of techniques are employed to map landslide susceptibility; however, their capability differs depending on the studies. The aim of the research is to produce a landslide susceptibility map for the Langat River Basin in Selangor, Malaysia, using an Artificial Neural Network (ANN). A landslide inventory map contained a total of 140 landslide locations which were randomly separated into training and testing with ratio 70:30. Nine landslide conditioning factors were selected as model input, including: elevation, slope, aspect, curvature, Topographic Wetness Index (TWI), distance to road, distance to river, lithology, and rainfall. The area under the curve (AUC) and several statistical measures of analyses (sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value) were used to validate the landslide predictive model. The ANN predictive model was considered and achieved very good results on validation assessment, with an AUC value of 0.940 for both training and testing datasets. This study found rainfall to be the most crucial factor affecting landslide occurrence in the Langat River Basin, with a 0.248 weight index, followed by distance to road (0.200) and elevation (0.136). The results showed that the most susceptible area is located in the north-east of the Langat River Basin. This map might be useful for development planning and management to prevent landslide occurrences in Langat River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine Learning (ML) has been used for a long time and has gained wide attention over the last several years. It can handle a large amount of data and allow non-linear structures by using complex mathematical computations. However, traditional ML models do suffer some problems, such as high bias and overfitting. Therefore, this has resulted in the advancement and improvement of ML techniques, such as the bagging and boosting approach, to address these problems. This study explores a series of ML models to predict the water quality classification (WQC) in the Kelantan River using data from 2005 to 2020. The proposed methodology employed 13 physical and chemical parameters of water quality and 7 ML models that are Decision Tree, Artificial Neural Networks, K-Nearest Neighbors, Naïve Bayes, Support Vector Machine, Random Forest and Gradient Boosting. Based on the analysis, the ensemble model of Gradient Boosting with a learning rate of 0.1 exhibited the best prediction performance compared to the other algorithms. It had the highest accuracy (94.90%), sensitivity (80.00%) and f-measure (86.49%), with the lowest classification error. Total Suspended Solid (TSS) was the most significant variable for the Gradient Boosting (GB) model to predict WQC, followed by Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH3N), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). Based on the accurate water quality prediction, the results could help to improve the National Environmental Policy regarding water resources by continuously improving water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stock price prediction is one of the major challenges for investors who participate in the stock markets. Therefore, different methods have been explored by practitioners and academicians to predict stock price movement. Artificial intelligence models are one of the methods that attracted many researchers in the field of financial prediction in the stock market. This study investigates the prediction of the daily stock prices for Commerce International Merchant Bankers (CIMB) using technical indicators in a NARX neural network model. The methodology employs comprehensive parameter trails for different combinations of input variables and different neural network designs. The study seeks to investigate the optimal artificial neural networks (ANN) parameters and settings that enhance the performance of the NARX model. Therefore, extensive parameter trails were studied for various combinations of input variables and NARX neural network configurations. The proposed model is further enhanced by preprocessing and optimising the NARX model's input and output parameers. The prediction performance is assessed based on the mean squared error (MSE), R-squared, and hit rate. The performance of the proposed model is compared with other models, and it is shown that the utilisation of technical indicators with the NARX neural network improves the accuracy of one-step-ahead prediction for CIMB stock in Malaysia. The performance of the proposed model is further improved by optimising the input data and neural network parameters. The improved prediction of stock prices could help investors increase their returns from investment in stock markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate and reliable suspended sediment load (SSL) prediction models are necessary for the planning and management of water resource structures. In this study, four machine learning techniques, namely Gradient boost regression (GBT), Random Forest (RF), Support vector machine (SVM), and Artificial neural network ANN will be developed to predict SSL at the Rantau Panjang station on Johor River basin (JRB), Malaysia. Four evaluation criteria, including the Correlation Coefficient (R), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) and Scatter Index (SI) will utilize to evaluating the performance of the proposed models. The obtained results revealed that all the proposed Machine Learning (ML) models showed superior prediction daily SSL performance. The comparative outcomes among models were carried out using the Taylor diagram. ANN model shows more reliable results than other models with R of 0.989, SI of 0.199, RMSE of 0.011053 and NSE of 0.979. A sensitivity analysis of the models to the input variables revealed that the absence of current day Suspended sediment load data SSLt-1 had the most effect on the SSL. Moreover, to examine validation of most accurate model we proposed divided data to 50% training, 25% testing and 25% validation) sets and ANN provided superior performance. Therefore, the proposed ANN approach is recommended as the most accurate model for SSL prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Triglycerides are lipids composed of fatty acids that provide energy to the cell. These compounds are delivered to the body's cells via lipoproteins found in the bloodstream. Increased blood triglyceride levels have been associated with high-fat or high-carbohydrate diets. Generally, increased triglyceride levels occur in conjunction with other symptoms that are difficult to notice and recognize. Objectives. The study's goal was to develop and predict the model that could be used to explain the relationship between triglycerides and waist circumference, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and hypertension status by determining the relationship between triglycerides and waist circumference, HDL, and hypertension status. This model was developed using qualitative predictor variables and incorporated data bootstrapping multilayer perceptron neural networks and fuzzy linear regression. Materials and procedures. This was a public health study that combined retrospective data analysis with methodology development. The medical records of patients who attended outpatient clinics at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) were collected and analyzed. This was to provide a more extensive illustration of the methods developed. Screening and selection of patient data were necessary following the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The patient's medical record was used to obtain triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), waist circumference, and hypertension status. Due to the critical nature of the variable, it was chosen to aid the clinical expert. The R-Studio software was used to develop the associated syntax for the hybrid model, which would define the association between the examined variables. The purpose of this study is to create a technique for the clinical trial design that utilizes bootstrapping, Qualitative Predictor Variables (QPV), Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), and Fuzzy Regression (FR). All analyses were performed using the newly introduced R syntax. The research developed a fuzzy linear model that increased modelling performance by incorporating clinically significant factors and validated variables via Multilayer Perceptron (MLP). Conclusion. The proposed technique for modelling and prediction appeared to be the ideal combination of bootstrap, Multilayer Feed Forward (MLFF) neural network, and fuzzy linear regression. The created syntax is currently being evaluated and validated clinically. For modelling and prediction, the proposed technique looked to be the best, as it incorporated bootstrap, MLFF neural network, and fuzzy linear regression. The established syntax is now being utilized in the clinic to evaluate and validate the outcome. In terms of variable selection, modelling, and model validation, this strategy was superior to earlier approaches for fuzzy regression modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents computational models based on Bayesian Networks, Multilayer Perceptron, Radial Basis Function and Logistic Regression methods to predict early risk detection of the cardiovascular event. Topics covered include the group of disorders represented by cardiovascular disease (CVD), the use of heart attack data in constructing the models and the best accuracy result generated by the Multilayer Perceptron model.

Abstract: This paper presents models for diffuse solar energy on a horizontal surface for main five sites in Malaysia. The diffuse solar energy is modeled using linear, non-linear and ANN models. Three statistical values are used to evaluate the developed solar energy models, namely, the mean absolute percentage error, MAPE, root mean square error, RMSE and mean bias error, MBE. The results showed that the ANN models are superior compared to the other models in which the MAPE of the ANN model is 1.53%, while the MAPE of the linear and nonlinear models are 4.35% and 3.74%, respectively. The accurate ANN models can therefore be used to predict solar energy in Malaysia and nearby regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Data collection for landslide susceptibility modeling is often an inhibitive activity. This is one reason why for quite some time landslides have been described and modelled on the basis of spatially distributed values of landslide-related attributes. This paper presents landslide susceptibility analysis in the Klang Valley area, Malaysia, using back-propagation artificial neural network model. A landslide inventory map with a total of 398 landslide locations was constructed using the data from various sources. Out of 398 landslide locations, 318 (80%) of the data taken before the year 2004 was used for training the neural network model and the remaining 80 (20%) locations (post-2004 events) were used for the accuracy assessment purpose. Topographical, geological data and satellite images were collected, processed, and constructed into a spatial database using GIS and image processing. Eleven landslide occurrence related factors were selected as: slope angle, slope aspect, curvature, altitude, distance to roads, distance to rivers, lithology, distance to faults, soil type, landcover and the normalized difference vegetation index value. For calculating the weight of the relative importance of each factor to the landslide occurrence, an artificial neural network method was developed. Each thematic layer''s weight was determined by the back-propagation training method and landslide susceptibility indices (LSI) were calculated using the trained back-propagation weights. To assess the factor effects, the weights were calculated three times, using all 11 factors in the first case, then recalculating after removal of those 4 factors that had the smallest weights, and thirdly after removal of the remaining 3 least influential factors. The effect of weights in landslide susceptibility was verified using the landslide location data. It is revealed that all factors have relatively positive effects on the landslide susceptibility maps in the study. The validation results showed sufficient agreement between the computed susceptibility maps and the existing data on landslide areas. The distribution of landslide susceptibility zones derived from ANN shows similar trends as those obtained by applying in GIS-based susceptibility procedures by the same authors (using the frequency ratio and logistic regression method) and indicates that ANN results are better than the earlier method. Among the three cases, the best accuracy (94%) was obtained in the case of the 7 factors weight, whereas 11 factors based weight showed the worst accuracy (91%). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Projecting future infant mortality rate (IMR) is an important subject in ensuring the stability of health in one nation or a specific region in general. Secondary data of IMR from December 1950 until December 2020 from United Nations- World Population Prospects were used to project the trend of IMR in Malaysia up to 2023. In this study, five different forecasting models were adopted including Mean model, Naïve model, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model, Exponential State Space model and Neural Network model. The results were analyzed using R programing and RStudio. The out-sample forecasts of mortality rates were evaluated using six error measures namely, Mean Error (ME), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Percentage Error (MPE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) and Mean Absolute Scaled Error (MASE). Consequently, the keen analysis was focused on the trend and projection of infant mortality rate in the future using the most accurate model. The results showed that the "win" model for this study is ARIMA (0,2,0) model. The model provided a consistent estimate of IMR in relation to a similar decreasing pattern as shown by the original data and hence a reliable projection of IMR. The three ahead forecast values showed that IMR is likely to keep on continuously decreasing in the future. This study could become a guideline for human resource management and health care allocation planning. A forecast of IMR can help the implementation of interventions to reduce the burden of infant mortality within the target range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports an artificial neural network (ANN)-based binary backtracking search algorithm (BBSA) for optimal scheduling controller applied on IEEE 14-bus system for controlling microgrids (MGs) formed virtual power plant (VPP) toward sustainable renewable energy sources (RESs) integration. The model of VPP was simulated and validated based on actual parameters and load data reported in Perlis, Malaysia. BBSA optimization algorithm offers the best binary fitness function to find the best cell. It creates the optimum scheduling using the actual data for wind speed, solar radiation, fuel conditions, battery charging/discharging, and specific hour demand. The developed ANN-based BBSA search for the optimal ANN parameters architecture, e.g., (the number of neurons and learning rate) that enhanced the ANN controller to predict the optimal schedules to regulate power-sharing via prioritizing the utilization of RES in place of the national grid purchases. The results of the optimal on/off status prediction of the 25 DGs showed that the ANN-BBSA gives a mean absolute error (MAE) of 6.2 × 10−3 with a unity correlation coefficient. The results showed a significant reduction in the cost and emission by 41.88% and 40.7%, respectively. Thus, the developed algorithms reduced the energy cost while delivered reliable power toward grid decarbonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately predicting meteorological parameters such as air temperature and humidity plays a crucial role in air quality management. This study proposes different machine learning algorithms: Gradient Boosting Tree (G.B.T.), Random forest (R.F.), Linear regression (LR) and different artificial neural network (ANN) architectures (multi-layered perceptron, radial basis function) for prediction of such as air temperature (T) and relative humidity (Rh). Daily data over 24 years for Kula Terengganu station were obtained from the Malaysia Meteorological Department. Results showed that MLP-NN performs well among the others in predicting daily T and Rh with R of 0.7132 and 0.633, respectively. However, in monthly prediction T also MLP-NN model provided closer standards deviation to actual value and can be used to predict monthly T with R 0.8462. Whereas in prediction monthly Rh, the RBF-NN model's efficiency was higher than other models with R of 0.7113. To validate the performance of the trained both artificial neural network (ANN) architectures MLP-NN and RBF-NN, both were applied to an unseen data set from observation data in the region. The results indicated that on either architecture of ANN, there is good potential to predict daily and monthly T and Rh values with an acceptable range of accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Despite the high commercial fisheries value and ecological importance as prey item for higher marine predators, very limited taxonomic work has been done on cephalopods in Malaysia. Due to the soft-bodied nature of cephalopods, the identification of cephalopod species based on the beak hard parts can be more reliable and useful than conventional body morphology. Since the traditional method for species classification was time-consuming, this study aimed to develop an automated identification model that can identify cephalopod species based on beak images. Methods. A total of 174 samples of seven cephalopod species were collected from the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Both upper and lower beaks were extracted from the samples and the left lateral views of upper and lower beak images were acquired. Three types of traditional morphometric features were extracted namely grey histogram of oriented gradient (HOG), colour HOG, and morphological shape descriptor (MSD). In addition, deep features were extracted by using three pre-trained convolutional neural networks (CNN) models which are VGG19, InceptionV3, and Resnet50. Eight machine learning approaches were used in the classification step and compared for model performance. Results. The results showed that the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model achieved the best testing accuracy of 91.14%, using the deep features extracted from the VGG19 model from lower beak images. The results indicated that the deep features were more accurate than the traditional features in highlighting morphometric differences from the beak images of cephalopod species. In addition, the use of lower beaks of cephalopod species provided better results compared to the upper beaks, suggesting that the lower beaks possess more significant morphological differences between the studied cephalopod species. Future works should include more cephalopod species and sample size to enhance the identification accuracy and comprehensiveness of the developed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]