Investigation On The Filtration Efficiency Of Nanofiber-Coated Vehicle Cabin Filter

In a conventional vehicle in filter, layers of fibrous filtering material are fixed together with a support surface. Vehicle cabin filter has a combined filter which not only will trap dust and they catch unpleasant odours and toxic gasses. However, the conventional cabin filter are not enough to filter the harmful emissions efficiently especially particles in nanometric scale for example PM, particulates.This study is therefore intended to develop and study the performance of nanofiber-coated filters. Electrospining technique were used to produce the the nanofiber-coated filters. The filter were cut in to small pieces and coated with the PYOH nanofibers which is electrospun at 10kV of applied voltage. A dedicated air filtration test rig was designed and fabricated to evaluate the performance of the filter. The method of measuring particulate matter (PM) was used to determine the density of air particles (mg/m?) across the tube. The filter samples of 1 minute to 12 minutes of nanofiber-coating were fabricated. The results measured shows, as the electrospining time increases, the nanofiber-coating also increases. The increase in anofiber-coating also increases the filtration efficiency. The percentage of filtration efficeincy in particulate matter (ppm) based in the inlet and outlet were measured. The filter with 1 minute nanofiber-coating recorded 8.89% of filtration while the filter with 12 minutes nanofiber-coating has an efficient filtration of 39.29% for PM; particulates. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to examine the morphology of the nanofiber. The size of the nanofiber diameter were measured and compared using the ImageJ software and from the results it shows that there is no significant difference in between the diameter of nanofibers in the nanofiber-coated filters. This shows that the diameter of nanofiber is maintained. The study also shows promising results that, longer nanofiber collection time created a thicker layer of nanofibers that were coated on the substrate filters. These filters showed higher filtration capacity to filter fine particulate matter especially PM10 particulates

Critical success factor within family business in Malaysia

Business performance plays an important role in all types of business whether its general business, SME business or family business. There are various studies conducted to measure the critical success factors for a business but there are limited studies conducted to identify the other critical success factors within family business in Malaysia context. The lack of quantitative research on the family business was the main reason for the present research in identifying the critical success factors withing family business in Malaysia. This research was guided by the following research problem: “How and why the critical success factors can be established within family business in Malaysia?” The literature review on the critical success factor within family business identified three research problem. For investigate the issues, a qualitative study was conducted, and the respondents were identified by using snowballing sample technique. Convergent interview was conducted to confirm the critical success factors within family business in Malaysia and the data were analyzed using content analysis techniques. The research findings confirmed 9 critical success factors within family business in Malaysia i.e., management support & know-how, customer involvement & market knowledge, information system/advance technology, sales & profitability/ company performance, teamwork/cooperation, innovativeness & product differentiation, strategic alliance, commitment/hardworking and mentoring process. There are four new emerging factors i.e., family support, time management, location/environment of a business and business reputation which demonstrates the present research’s contribution to the body of knowledge. The revised theoretical framework built from the theories and literature review provides the foundation for future research

Increasing Demand for Natural Rubber Necessitates a Robust Sustainability Initiative to Mitigate Impacts on Tropical Biodiversity

© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Strong international demand for natural rubber is driving expansion of industrial-scale and smallholder monoculture plantations, with >2 million ha established during the last decade. Mainland Southeast Asia and Southwest China represent the epicenter of rapid rubber expansion; here we review impacts on forest ecosystems and biodiversity. We estimate that 4.3-8.5 million ha of additional rubber plantations are required to meet projected demand by 2024, threatening significant areas of Asian forest, including many protected areas. Uncertainties concern the potential for yield intensification of existing cultivation to mitigate demand for new rubber area, versus potential displacement of rubber by more profitable oil palm. Our review of available studies indicates that conversion of forests or swidden agriculture to monoculture rubber negatively impacts bird, bat and invertebrate biodiversity. However, rubber agroforests in some areas of Southeast Asia support a subset of forest biodiversity in landscapes that retain little natural forest. Work is urgently needed to: improve understanding of whether land-sparing or land-sharing rubber cultivation will best serve biodiversity conservation, investigate the potential to accommodate biodiversity within existing rubber-dominated landscapes while maintaining yields, and ensure rigorous biodiversity and social standards via the development of a sustainability initiative

Super resolution for surveillance application

Surveillance activities often require zooming into a region of interest (ROI) in an image such as a face of a suspect or the number plate of a vehicle. However because of hardware limitations of image acquisition devices, the zoom would contain a lot of pixel artifacts and insufficient detail. Super resolution (SR) is an image processing technique of reconstructing a high resolution (HR) image from several low resolution (LR) images. The methodology taken to achieve this can be divided into preprocessing and image processing. In preprocessing colour image frames will be selected from video footage of a scene with object movements. These images would be cropped to isolate ROI and also minimize processing time. The SR processing used is a frequency domain approach. The RGB (Red Green Blue) images will be processed as individual components and then concatenated using several function from the MATLAB Image Processing Toolbox (IPT) and also several standard MATLAB functions. The resulting SR image shows an increase of 177% in pixel count. The image also contains more detail, that can be exploited for zooming in surveillance applications. From the result analysis the optimum number of LR input images required for generating a SR image is between four to six images. This is a cut off in terms of computational efficiency and also reconstructed image quality

Dining with Margaret Drabble's The Witch of Exmoor

This essay aims to demonstrate that Margaret Drabble, inspired by her literary knowledge of Shakespeare and Woolf, has constructed her novel The Witch of Exmoor on the two famous literary meals in Timon of Athens and To the Lighthouse. Parallels will be illuminated in the light of intertextuality, along with the symbolic significance of the meal, where this image is linked to Drabble's conception of social and individual order/disorder, but also used as an opening out to a higher realm. The first chapter will deal with the dinner scene in To the Lighthouse, and its relevance for the intertextual meal in The Witch of Exmoor. Structural influences from Woolf will also be discussed. In the second chapter the feast in Timon of Athens will be treated in the same way. Finally the third chapter will delve a little deeper into the meaning of Drabble's symbolism, focusing on a passage entitled Envoi in one version of The Witch of Exmoor. Questions to be asked are: What does the author wish to illustrate with her symbols? In which sense does the use of intertextual meals enhance the symbol/metaphor? Is the message meant to be clear to the reader? If not, what's to be won by obscurity

The personality patterns of Diocesan seminarians in comparison with the Catholic university students, and graduate teacher trainees in Penang, Malaysia

This study compares the personality traits of Diocesan Major seminarians in Penang and Catholic undergraduates and graduate teacher trainees in Penang, Malaysia. More specifically, it was an attempt to see whether the seminarians who although did not qualify for university education in the country, were nevertheless comparable to their secular counterparts on personality traits. The study utilized the comparative descriptive research design and used the 16 PF, Personality Inventory of Cattell as its instrument. The hypotheses were stated in the form of the researcher\u27s expectations which were: 1) The seminarians as a whole when compared to the combined group of Catholic undergraduates and graduate teacher trainees on the 16 PF Personality Traits, would not differ on these traits, except be less assertive, enthusiastic, radical, and casual. 2) The philosophy seminarians compared to the Catholic male undergraduates on the 16 PF personality traits would not differ on these traits except less intelligent, assertive, enthusiastic and imaginative. 3) The theology seminarians in comparison with the graduate teacher trainees of MTC would not differ in these traits except be less radical, controlled and outgoing. The results of the study imply that on most of the personality traits as measured by the 16 PF, the seminarians are not significantly different from their secular counterparts, except on Factor A, Radical, and on Factor Q3, Controlled. There is a significant difference at .01 level and at .05 level, respectively. Thus, the seminarians as a whole are less radical and more controlled than their secular counterparts. Based on the findings, it can be said that on most personality traits Malaysian seminarians are not inferior to their lay counterparts. On certain traits which are more suited to the priestly profession like conscientious, controlled, conservative and imaginative, they are better endowed

\u98A \u9cdilemma of choice in Doris Lessing's The summer before the dark and Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac

In the first chapter (Pre-dilemma) a study of the main characters will be made referring to the impending expectation of crisis conveyed by the authors. This chapter will also deal with the possible influences that inspire a change of mind, since choice has to do with change. The second chapter (Dilemma) will then focus on the aspects of the dilemma itself, firstly in The Summer before the Dark and secondly in Hotel du Lac. Imagery being the most delicate and yet the most powerful instrument in the art of literature, whether used to convey settings or internal conflict, the aim of the second chapter is to illuminate the imagery involved to highlight the emotional stages leading up to a dilemma of choice. How the dilemma is resolved in both novels will also be considered he re along with various speculations regarding the evaluation of the final choice where the commentaries of different critics will be compared

Bridal crowns in Tjust

This essay comprises a study of the bridal crowns of Tjust, with respect to their national history, concept and aspect of mythological symbol. The tradition of bearing the parochial bridal crown is closely associated with religious medieval politics, and has also come to include elements of superstition and folklore. Attention is paid to these aspects dealing with the position of the bridal crown within current forms of tradition and culture and the impact on brides of this day and age. As the tradition of Church-owned bridal crowns is intrinsic to this country, and especially in the area of which Tjust is a part, possible solutions to the continued tradition are investigated

The Contemporary Angel-Symbol

The contemporary angel-symbol is deeply rooted in our cultural history, with connotations and implications leading to that inner transitional space where all creative activity takes place. This essay investigates the history of the depiction of angels, visions of angels both ancient and modern, and includes psychological aspects of symbols as such. A closer look at surrounding symbols of angels will hopefully result in a greater understanding of the role of the angel-symbol within the context of visual culture, seen in the light of our own symbolic universe