93 research outputs found
Myxozoan pathogens in cultured Malaysian fishes. II. Myxozoan infections of redtail catfish Hemibagrus nemurus in freshwater cage cultures
Get PDFCage-cultured Asian redtail catfish Hemibagrus nemurus (Valenciennes, 1840), a popular food fish in Southeast Asia, proved to be infected by 3 myxozoan species. All the 3 species belonged to the genus Henneguya: 2 were identified as H. mystusia Sarkar, 1985 and H. hemibagri Tchang et Ma, 1993, while the other was described as H, basifilamentalis sp. n. All plasmodia were found in the gills and were characterised by a specific site selection. H. mystusia formed plasmodia in the multi-layered epithelium between the gill lamellae and in the non-lamellar edge of the gill filaments, while H. hemibagri developed in the capillary network of the lamellae. H. basifilamentalis sp. n. had large oval plasmodia located deep among the filaments just above the gill arch
High-pressure Solubility of Carbon Dioxide in Aqueous Sodium L- Prolinate Solution
No full textAbstractAn experimental evaluation of CO2 solubility in aqueous sodium L-prolinate (SP) solution was carried out using high-pressure solubility equipment at three different temperatures, 303.15, 313.15, and 333.15K. The study was conducted over the pressure range from 2 to 60bar for 30wt. % SP solution. It was found that, the CO2 loading (mole of CO2 / mole of SP) decreases with increasing temperature, while it increases with increasing the pressure of gas. ANOVA analysis was carried out to determine the statistical significance of the solubility data with respect to temperature and pressure. The CO2 loading of aqueous SP solution was also compared with MEA and aqueous sodium glycinate (SG) solution. It was observed that the aqueous SP solution has higher CO2 loading capacity as compared to 30wt. % MEA, and comparable with aqueous 30wt. % SG solution
Performance Evaluation of Covalent Organic Polymer Adsorbent Prepared via Microwave Technique for CO2 and CH4 Adsorption
No full textAbstractThe application of covalent organic polymer for CO2 capture has gained interest due to its high CO2 adsorption capacity and high hydrothermal stability. Commonly synthesized via either polycondensationreaction or coupling reaction, with conventional heating, the synthesis of these covalent organic polymers adsorbent are very lengthy, i.e. 12 to 24hours. This paper reports the synthesis of covalent organic polymer adsorbent via microwave heating resulting in up to 75% shorter synthesis time as compared to conventional technique. The synthesized adsorbent, COP-4A and COP-4B,hasBET surface area of 1397 m2/g and 1461 m2/g, respectively, with CO2 uptake of up to 49.3mg/g and 69.4mg/g, respectively, at 1 atm and 298K operating condition. Thus, the covalent organic polymer adsorbent prepared via the microwave assisted technique has similar performance in comparison to previously reported work, with the advantage of shorter synthesis time
Chronique d'un coup de force à Zanzibar. Résistance non violente et répression post-électorale
No full textMaïlys Chauvin, Docteure en géographie, chercheure associée à LAM. ((Contact the author for an english version of the paper.)) Après Washington, New-York et Toronto, le candidat aux élections présidentielles à Zanzibar Seif Shariff Hamad (Civic United Front, CUF) est cette semaine à Londres dans le cadre d'une campagne d'information sur la crise démocratique qui frappe Zanzibar après l'annulation du scrutin insulaire le 28 octobre 2015 ((Voir M. CHAUVIN The nullification of the elections in Z..
Effect of Liquid Flow Rate and Amine Concentration on CO 2 Removal from Natural Gas at High Pressure Operation in Packed Absorption Column
Get PDFAbstract. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ) from oil and natural gas operation at offshore platforms have significant contribution to global warming. The reduction of these GHG emissions is possible through CO 2 capture technology. This study reports the absorption performance of monoethanolamine (MEA) for the removal of CO 2 from natural gas (NG) at high pressure conditions. The absorption experiments were performed in an absorption column packed with Sulzer Metal Gauze Packing at 5.0 MPa operating pressure. The absorption performance was evaluated in terms of CO 2 removal (%) with liquid flow rate ranging from 1.81 to 4.51 m 3 /m 2 .h and MEA concentration of 1.0 -4.0 kmol/m 3 . It was found that CO 2 removal (%) had increased with increasing liquid flow rate and MEA concentration
Performance assessment of an inline horizontal swirl tube cyclone for gas-liquid separation at high pressure
No full textService Quality in Islamic and Conventional Banks in Malaysia: An Explorative and Comparative Analysis
Get PDFIslamic banks now operate in competition with other Islamic banks, foreign Islamic banks and also with conventional banks offering banking products and services based on Islamic principles. However, it is known that the intense competition in banking industry results in providing better services to the customers as well as providing competitive products.
The aim of this research, hence, is to explore and examine the perceived level of service quality of Islamic and conventional banks in a comparative manner through the perceptions of the customers in Malaysia. This research also aims to explore and examine the relationship between perceived customer satisfactions and the identified service quality dimensions in Islamic and conventional banks.Furthermore, the study also investigates the customers’ level of knowledge and awareness of relevant financial and banking concepts and terms in conventional and Islamic banking in Malaysia with the objective of establishing the sources of patronage and motivation in bank selection. Importantly, the study explores the expectations of the customers on these areas so that a comparison can be made within Islamic and conventional banks and also between these two bank categories to identify service quality gap.
This study utilises a modified SERVQUAL model, which is based on the widely accepted SERVQUAL model and CARTER model to measure the service quality in Malaysian banks. In responding to the aims of this study, a questionnaire survey was utilised with 941 respondents, which was carried out in late2010 in large cities in Malaysia. In analysing the data, descriptive and inferential statistics analyses were employed. The approach taken by the study in examining the service quality gap is to compare the customers’ expectations with their actual perceptions. In addition, the study examined and analysed the customers’ satisfaction relationship with the service quality dimensions.
The findings in relation to customers’ familiarity with Malaysian banking products and services evidenced that they possessed a higher level of knowledge and awareness of conventional banking services compared to Islamic banking services.
The findings on the factors influencing banking selection criteria revealed that ‘religious obligation’ was the most important criterion for the Islamic banks’ customers, while ‘courteous and competent personnel’ was identified as the most important criterion for conventional banks’ customers. In addition, the findings on the factor analysis showed that for Islamic banks, all of the service quality factors could be grouped into three components: ‘service oriented factors’, ‘financial oriented factors’, and ‘religious obligation and image factors’. On the other hand, the factors for the conventional banks are re-classified with factor analysis as :‘service oriented factors’, ‘financial oriented factors’, and ‘marketing oriented factors’.
As for the level of service quality, the main findings produced seven dimensions of service quality: (i) compliance with Islamic values; (ii) assurance; (iii) reliability; (iv) tangible; (v) empathy; (vi) responsiveness; and (vii) social responsibility. For the expectation part, the ‘reliability’ dimension scored the highest average mean for both categories (Islamic banks and conventional banks) while the lowest average mean score for both type of banks was the ‘tangible’ dimension. On the other hand, the ‘assurance’ dimension scored the highest average mean in the perception part of Islamic banks, while ‘reliability’ dimension scored the highest in the perception analysis related to conventional banks. In contrast, the lowest score of average mean for the perception of Islamic and conventional banks was the ‘empathy’ dimension.
The results of the study depicts that all of the service quality gap values (perception minus expectation) were negative which showed that the performances were below expectations (obtaining a negative score), which led to a perception of low service quality. Finally, the regression analysis showed that the most important dimension that had positive direct effect on customers’ satisfaction is ‘tangible’ related factors.
The study has significant implications for Malaysian banks in providing a direction for service quality improvement. It is expected that the study can inform the management of the banks in developing their marketing strategy, which is crucial for emerging intense competition in Malaysian banking in general and for Islamic banking in particular. Lastly, while the Islamic banks have been subjected to criticism for having poor service quality, this study shows that there was not much difference on the service quality gap (perception minus expectation) between the Islamic and conventional banks in Malaysia
Incident investigation work‐aid tool for process safety management compliance in process industries
No full textPhysical Properties of Aqueous Sodium Salt Solution of α-Methylalanine (Na-AMALA)
No full textAbstractThe density, viscosity and refractive index of aqueous sodium salt of α-methylalanine (Na-AMALA) have been measured over the temperature range from (298.15 to 333.15) K in the mass fraction range of (0.05 to 0.30). Based on the results obtained, the three physical properties of the aqueous Na-AMALA solutions were found to decrease with the increasing temperature and increase with increasing concentration. Each physical property was correlated as a function of temperature by least-squares method, and the corresponding coefficients for each property were reported here. All properties were correlated well over the whole range of temperatures and concentrations. The determination of the thermal expansion coefficients of Na-AMALA solutions by using measured density was shown increased consistently with the increasing the temperatures and concentrations
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