The potential of energy substitution in the industrial sector

The extent of substitutability between energy and the other factors (i.e. labour and capital) and between individual fuels (coal, electricity, natural gas and petroleum) is an extremely important question and quite central to energy policy, planning and analysis. This study considers the possibilities of energy substitution in the industrial sector of 5 major energy producers of the developing world (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and Venezuela). The theoretical model utilized in the study is the two-stage trans-log cost function. The model is estimated using time series data over the period 1978 to 2003. The results indicate substantial inter-factor and inter-fuel substitutions are possible in the industrial sector. Substitution possibilities were found (1) between capital and labour, between capital and energy and between energy and labour in the inter-factor model and (2) for most combination's of fuel types in the inter-fuel model. This implies that there is some flexibility in energy policy options and energy utilization

Understanding of teaching and its manifestation among excellent educators in a selected public university

The research was conducted to explore the understanding of teaching of excellent educators in a selected public university. Three research questions guided the study; first, what do educators believe to be the purposes of education?, second, what facilitated the understanding of teaching development?, and third, how is the understanding of teaching adhered to, manifested in their teaching practice? The study employed qualitative multiple case study approach to answer the research questions. The primary data were collected through in depth interviews and the secondary data were collected through observations in the classroom, laboratory and discussion sessions after lectures. The analyses of this study were done through within-case analysis and cross-case analysis explained the findings from the four excellent educators. The study discovered that the purposes of education were for change, transmitting knowledge, and character building. Respondents’ background as well as understanding of learning and teaching concepts had contributed to the development of the understanding of teaching. The adhered understanding was manifested in their teaching. These can be observed through their preparation and openness to assists students. Their teaching roles as experts and organizers were reflected in their teaching. They have been a major source of reference for their students as well as the society at large

Sustainable slow maintained pile load test

Slow maintained load test is widely used by contractors in Malaysia to ensure the driven pile could accommodate the design load of the structure. Slow maintained load test is a test to determine load-settlement curve and pile capacity for a period of time using conventional load test. Conventional static pile load test equipment is large in size thus making it heavier and takes a long time to install. In addition, it consumes a lot of space which causes congestion at construction sites. Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to conduct a conventional load test by replacing the pile kentledge load with anchorage and reaction pile. Preparations of ten designs comprising six commercial designs were reviewed. In addition, four proposed designs were suggested for the setup. Final design was produced based on its safety factors and criteria referred via literature review. The test frame consists of reaction frame with four reaction helical pile with two helixes per reaction pile. The deformation shapes, safety factor, stress, and strain of the design and finite element of the model has been analysed with the use of SolidWorks and Plaxis 3D software. SolidWorks software emphasizes on the model load-deflection relationship while Plaxis 3D ensures a correlation of reaction between pile uplift force and soil. Then, the model was tested on site to determine the relationship between physical load-deflection and pile-soil uplift force. The results of uplift force and displacement for numerical and physical test were nearly identical which increment of load-displacement graph pattern. The higher the uplift force, the higher the displacement obtained. In conclusion, the result obtained and the design may be considered as a guideline for future application of sustainable slow maintained pile load test

Some numerical methods for solving stochastic impulse control in natural gas storage facilities

The valuation of gas storage facilities is characterized as a stochastic impulse control problem with finite horizon resulting in Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equations for the value function. In this context the two catagories of solving schemes for optimal switching are discussed in a stochastic control framework. We reviewed some numerical methods which include approaches related to partial differential equations (PDEs), Markov chain approximation, nonparametric regression, quantization method and some practitioners’ methods. This paper considers optimal switching problem arising in valuation of gas storage contracts for leasing the storage facilities, and investigates the recent developments as well as their advantages and disadvantages of each scheme based on dynamic programming principle (DPP

The effect of virgin coconut oil loaded solid lipid particles (VCO-SLPs) on skin hydration and skin elasticity

Virgin Coconut Oil is usually extracted from well matured and fresh coconut through specialized processes without damaging its natural nutrition. In this work, formulation, characterization and efficacy of VCO-SLPs have been studied. VCO-SLPs were prepared using ultrasonification of molten stearic acid and virgin coconut oil in an aqueous solution and particles with the size of 0.608 μm have been obtained. 20% concentration of VCO-SLPs of 0.608 μm particle size was added into the base lotion. Sensory study and skin evaluation study was conducted to compare the difference between lotion containing VCO-SLPs and lotion without VCO-SLPs. Moisturizing lotion incorporated with VCO-SLPs was found to increase skin hydration and skin elasticity by 24.8% and 2.60% respectively from day 0 to day 28. This shows that solid lipid particles has the potential to be utilized as a carrier for improved dermal delivery of VCO

Lomba Kaligrafi Islam Kontemporer: Salah Satu Alternatif Pengembangan Kaligrafi Islam

Pada hakikatnya dalam tulisan ini akan diuraikan secara singkat tentang fungsi kaligrafi Islam dan Kaligrafi Islam Kontemporer. Fungsi kaligrafi Islam dibagi menjadi dua bagian yaitu: sebagai media komunikasi dan sebagai media ekspresi. Sebelum lebih lanjut membahas tentang kaligrafi sebaiknya dikemukakan terlebih dahulu pengertian kaligrafi, yaitu suatu ilmu yang emperkenalkan bentuk-bentuk huruf tunggal, letak-letaknya, dan cara-cara merangkainya menjadi sebuah tulisan yang tersusun; atau apa-apa yang ditulis di atas garis-garis, bagaimana cara menulisnya dan menentukan mana yang tidak perlu ditulis; mengubah ejaan yang perlu digubah dan menentukan cara bagaimana untuk menggubahnya. Sebagai media komunikasi, tulisan dijadikan sebagai alat untuk menyampaikan pesan, dari seseorang ke orang lain dari komunikan ke receiver (penerima). Ide-ide dan buah pikiran berupa nasihat, petuah dan wejangan bahkan wasiat dapat dituangkan melalui media tulisan. Sebagaimana media ekspresi lainnya, aksar indah yang ditorehkan di atas bidang kanvas tidak berhenti pada tulisan saja. Lebih dari itu mendapatkan tambahan elemen-elemen seni rupa pada umumnya, seperti elemen warna, tektur dan garis. Pengaturan komposisi, irama, dan gelap terang. Faktor lain adalah unity atau kesatuan baik antara kesatuan elemen seni rupa, maupun kesatuan tema, juga mendapat perhatian dalam seni aksarindah Islam. Kaligrafi kontemporer (kekinian) adalah istilah atau sebutan untuk sebuah karya yang “memberontak” atau “menyimpang” dari rumus-rumus dasar kaligrafi, yang merupakan bentuk manifestasi gagasan dalam wujud visual, merupakan karya seni yang diciptakan seniman muslim untuk mengungkapkan nilai-nilai religius melalui karya seni lukis. Sebagai upaya pengembangan kaligrafi Islam perlu diadakan lomba kaligrafi Islam di sekolah secara berjenjang

Molecular characterization of coagulase-negative staphylococcus and biofilm- associated genes in S. capitis / Aziyah Abd Aziz

The coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS) is a group of bacteria that are gaining prominence as emerging pathogens of hospital-acquired infections. One such species is S. capitis, which is now the major cause of bloodstream infection especially in neonatal intensive units. The major virulence factor of S. capitis appears to be its ability to form a biofilm structure. A total of 200 local clinical isolates of CoNS was obtained from the Hospital Tuanku Ampuan Rahimah, Klang in between December 2010 to May 2011. Nine species of CoNS were identified with S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, S. hominis and S. capitis being the most prevalent strains. Identification of the isolates by biochemical tests using the Microgen Staph ID kit was less than 50% accurate while identification via the sodA gene sequence provided better discrimination and accuracy. The ERIC-PCR fingerprinting was then used to genotype the CoNS strains and the Discriminative Index (D) was calculated. At D = 0.949, ERIC-PCR can be used with confidence to discriminate between the S. hominis strains. However, low discriminative power (D < 0.9) was observed for S. capitis, S. epidermidis and S. haemolyticus implying that ERIC- PCR fingerprinting is not sufficient to genotype these strains. A multiplex PCR method was successfully developed to probe for the presence of icaABCD operon in a majority of the bacterial strains. At 88%, S. capitis showed the highest ability to form biofilm with a large percentage of these forming dense biofilm structures while the icaABCD operon was found to be present in all of the strains

Carbon nanotubes growth from camphoric carbon sources using transition metal catalysts / Azira Abd Aziz

This thesis covers the analysis of catalytic growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) under well-defined conditions, the optimization of the catalyst and introduces model for the growth mechanism based on the experimental results. Experimental investigations are presented to obtain a comprehensive picture on the catalytic growth of CNTs. The overall aim of this thesis is to deposit CNTs by the seeded catalyst method and the modified fluidized floating catalyst method by Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) and to investigate the effects of starting material and catalysts on the morphology and structure of the deposited CNTs. Camphor (C10H16O, crystalline state) and camphor oil (liquid state) are the precursor materials used as the source of CNTs. Transition metal (Fe, Ni, Co, Mn, Al, Mg) catalysts were prepared and the effect on their catalytic behavior were studied. Metal catalysts have been prepared by sol-gel method with or without support catalyst. Correlation between the catalyst particle size and CNT diameter has been the motivation to reduce the catalyst particle size down to nanoparticle size

Implikasi Nilai Dalam Proses Pendidikan Islam

Merit can be understood as the standard of how human being behaves in relation to others. Merit or moral value can be classified in some categories depending on the perspectives by which such merit is viewed. In general, merit is classified into two, namely formal and material. This writing is intended to discuss how such classification works within the context of Islamic education. It is believed that Islamic merit only remains as subject matter but it is not internalized into students\u27 way of life. Thus, even though students achieve high scores in their Islamic subject matter, their behaviour is not acceptable in the society

Perhubungan Antara Stail Kepemimpinan Ketua Bidang dengan Kepuasan Kerja Guru-Guru Mata Pelajaran Teknik dan Vokasional

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk melihat jenis-jenis stail kepemimpinan yang digunapakai oleh Ketua Bidang - Ketua Bidang Teknik dan Vokasional di daerah Kuala Langat - Sepang dan seterusnya melihat perhubungan stail kepemimpinan Ketua Bidang Teknik dan Vokasional dengan kepuasan kerja guru-guru yang mengajar mata pelajaran teknik dan vokasional di daerah Kuala Langat - Sepang Selangor Darul Ehsan. Seramai 9 orang Ketua Bidang Teknik dan Vokasional serta 64 orang guru yang mengajar mata pelajaran teknik dan vokasional yang melibatkan 9 buah sekolah di seluruh daerah Kuala Langat - Sepang telah terlibat di dalam kajian ini. Borang-borang soal selidik dari kesemua responden berkenaan merangkumi perlatan "Job Descriptive Index (JDI)" bagi membolehkan data penting berkenaan demografi, stail kepemimpinan dan kepuasan kerja dapat diperolehi. Borang-borang soal selidik diedarkan dengan dua cara iaitu penghantaran melalui pos dan pengedaran terus kepada responden. Seterusnya data-data yang telah dikumpul diproses menggunakan "Statistical Package For The Sosial Science (SPSS)". Kajian ini telah menunjukkan keempat-empat corak atau stail kepemimpinan iaitu mengarah, menyokong, partisipatif dan beroreintasikan kejayaan tetah digunapakai oleh ketua-ketua bidang Teknik dan Vokasional di daerah Kuala Langat - Sepang. Dari keempat-empat stail kepemimpinan itu, stail kepemimpinan yang bercorak beroreintasikan kejayaan adalah yang paling disukai oleh guru-guru mata pelajaran teknik dan vokasional , diikuti oleh stail kepemimpinan bercorak menyokong dan seterusnya stail kepemimpinan bercorak partisipatif. Manakala stail kepemimpinan yang paling tidak disukai ialah stail kepeimpinan yang bercorak mengarah (veto)