The insulin sensitivity of non-obese Malay subjects and the relationship between hyperlipidemia with insulin sensitivity

Introduction: Hyperlipidaemia and insulin resistance may have a relationship. Most of the previous studies looked at insulin resistance in hyperlipidaemic subjects who were also obese. So influence of obesity and hyperlipidaemia acted simultaneously in the genesis of insulin resistance. Objective: To determine insulin sensitivity and secretory status of non-obese normoglycemic Malay subjects, and to study the relationship between hyperlipidemia and insulin sensitivity in such population. Methodology: A cross sectional study on 246 non-obese (BMI<25kg/m2 , waist circumference male<102cm, female <88cm.) and non-diabetic subjects age between 30- 60 years was carried out. Fasting plasma glucose, fasting insulin and lipid profile were done. Insulin sensitivity and secretory status was calculated using homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) software (HOMA%S, HOMA%B and HOMA-IR). The subjects were divided into two groups according to their lipid status (128 normolipidemic and 118 hyperlipidemic) and their insulin sensitivity was compared. Results: The hyperlipidemic subjects showed substantially lower insulin sensitivity and higher insulin resistance in comparison to normolipidemic subjects. The mean of HOMA%S of hyperlipidemic and normolipidemic subjects were 80 and 155 (p<.0001) respectively. The mean of relative insulin resistance HOMA-IR was 2.66 in hyperlipidemic subjects which was 1.05 in normolipidemic subjects. Insulin secretory status (HOMA%B) oftwo group were 178 and 116 respectively. Conclusion: Insulin sensitivity of otherwise healthy non-obese hyperlipidemic subjects is lower than normolipidemic subjects. The B cells of hyperlipidemic subjects have to work more to compensate lowered insulin sensitivity

Analysis of bacterial communities in rhizosphere soil of symptomless and basal stem rot (BSR)-infected oil palm using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP)

Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease caused by pathogenic fungi known as Ganoderma boninense has been identified as a major threat in oil palm plantation. Previously used methods to control this disease have been ineffective while method using chemical treatment is not environmentally friendly. An inadequate knowledge on the core microbiome of oil palm rhizosphere and the relationship between BSR disease incidences hinders effective controls against this pathogenic disease. Hence, the objectives of this project are to determine the bacterial communities of symptomless and BSR-infected oil palm using T-RFLP analysis, to perform cluster analysis of the samples based on the T-RFLP data and to analyze the relationship between soil bacterial communities and soil pH. The rhizosphere samples of symptomless and BSR-infected oil palm were collected at different microsites (bulk soil from harvesting path and rhizosphere soil from weeded circle and frond pile) and at different depths (10 cm and 30 cm from upper soil surface) from Oil Palm Plantation, Seberang Perak. In T-RFLP analysis, 16s rRNA region of the bacterial DNA were amplified by using 8F forward primer labelled with 6-FAM fluorescent dye and unlabelled 1492R reverse primer. The PCR products were then digested either with restriction enzyme AluI or HhaI or double digestion using AluI and HhaI. The raw fragments data were aligned and analyzed in T-REX (T-RFLP Analysis Expedited Software). The ordination analysis of Additive Main Effects and Multiplicative Interaction Model (AMMI) analysis from T-REX software revealed higher percentages of signal compared to noise interaction effects for frond pile at depth 30 cm with interaction difference of 21.28% (analysis based on relative abundance). The higher difference between signal and noise indicates that there are larger differences in microbial community between symptomless and BSR-infected oil palm. Meanwhile, cluster analysis showed that the sample obtained from harvesting path (bulk soil) at 10 cm and 30 cm depth clustered closely together indicating that there are small differences in microbial community at these microsites. Clustering analysis based on relative abundance shows that there is larger difference in microbial abundance between symptomless and BSR-infected sample at Frond Pile (30 cm depth). These results will provide preliminary knowledge in selecting representative samples of symptomless and BSR-infected oil palm for further microbial interaction analysis using Next Generation Sequencing

Soil pH analysis in relation to basal system rot (BSR) disease in oil palm at different depths and microsites

In agricultural industry, soil is known as important indicator for plant growth and productivity. Variations in soil conditions will alter soil ecosystem and communities that exist within the environment. Significant changes in soil environment sometimes favor the growth of plant pathogen and thus affecting plant health. Basal Stem Rot (BSR) disease caused by pathogenic fungi known as Ganoderma boninense has been identified as a major threat in oil palm plantation. The establishment of different microsites (weeded circle, harvesting path and frond pile) in oil palm management may induce the spatial differences of soil properties within a field including soil pH. Hence, our aim is to study the adverse changes in soil pH in relation to BSR disease of oil palm at different microsites (harvesting path, weeded circle and frond pile) and soil depth (10 cm and 30 cm from upper soil surface). In general, the soil samples of oil palm obtained from FELCRA Seberang Perak have shown acidic nature in which soil from infected oil palm has lower pH value (pH range 2.93-5.94) as compared to soil pH from healthy oil palm (pH range 3.39-6.29). The statistical results showed that soil depth has no significant effect to the soil pH while soil from different microsites has a significant effect to the soil pH regardless of healthy or infected oil palm. At different microsites, weeded circle give the most acidic value as compared to harvesting path and frond pile. Besides, the interaction between healthiness, depth and microsites did not have a significant effect to the soil pH. Together, these results suggest that BSR disease are likely to occur at soil with lower pH (pH below 6) and soil pH are strongly correlates with different microsites but less affected by soil depth regardless of the healthiness of oil palm

Corporate Social Reporting: A Preliminary Study of Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB)

The purpose of this paper is to examine the themes, locations, extent, and also trends of corporatesocial responsibility (CSR) disclosure of Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) from 1992to 2005. A disclosure index (checklist) and the extent of such disclosures were measured usingcontent analysis based on number of sentences. The findings of this study show that BIMBprefers to disclose themes associated with employees, product, and service contributions andcommunity involvement. Among the most popular locations in disclosing such information arein the chairman’s statement, financial statements, and directors’ report. The results also revealthat the bank has improved in terms of volume and the manner of presenting or disclosing CSRfrom year to year. This study is the first of its kind to be conducted on a company in a specificindustry in Malaysia using a longitudinal approach, and its empirical findings complement thefindings of prior studies. Copyright © www.iiste.or

Comparative flexural performance of steel fibre reinforced self-compacting concrete (SCFRC) ribbed slab with different fibre provision area

The flexural performance of three SCFRC ribbed slabs with different fibre provision area were investigated in this paper; in both ribs and flange (SFWS), ribs only with additional welded mesh in flange (SFT) and in ribs only (SFR). Short hooked end fibres of 35 mm length of 1% volume fraction was blended with the flowable self-compacting concrete (SCC) were used as the material for the slabs. Slab samples of 2.8 × 1.2 × 0.2 m were constructed and loaded until failure under four- point bending. Investigation was carried out in view of the load bearing capacity, deflection, energy absorption capacity as well as the failure modes. The influence of the steel fibre provision on the strain distribution was also examined

Decreasing of grid-tied PV power output due to thick haze phenomena in Malaysia

Recently, thick haze and poisonous smoke has cloak the surrounding air in Malaysia due to the uncontrollable and unethical burning of nearby country. This devastating episode of open burning started in the year 1997 in Indonesia which deeply affected most of the ASEAN countries especially their neighbour Malaysia and Singapore. The Photovoltaic (PV) technology as an alternative means of energy generation experiences such significant energy decrease based on this condition which is due to the shading of sunlight. The six hours claims of good sunlight has become not more than 2 hours and gets worst when the Air Pollution Index (API) struck 200 levels which is at very unhealthy condition. This study embraces some findings from 1 kWp PV generator field data installed in Malaysia reflecting the daily energy decrease operated during this unhealthy weather condition. It is found that such significant energy decrease with the value of 0.43 W power output per increment of 1 point API. This value shows such concrete proof of additional factors to be considered in PV modelling in line to support PV technology adaptation in the Asean region

Corporate social responsibility disclosures: A preliminary study of Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB)

Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad (BIMB) started operations as a pioneer in Islamic banking in Malaysia to cater for the financial needs of Muslims in this country and to further extend its services to the whole population at large. The bank carries Islamic values and images in conducting its business activities.This study examines the themes, locations, extent, and also trends of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure of BIMB from 1992 to 2005. The CSR disclosure in the annual reports of the bank are examined using a disclosure index (checklist) and the extent of such disclosures are measured using the content analysis method.The findings of this study show that the bank prefers to disclose themes associated with employees, product, and service contributions and community involvement. Among the most popular locations in disclosing such information are in the chairman’s statement, financial statements, and directors’ report.The result also revealed that the bank has improved in terms of volume and the way to present or report the CSR disclosure from year to year. These findings provide some useful insights to the public in determining how far the bank meets the obligation to the employees and the community as a whole in Malaysia

Leaf nutrient status in relation to severity of Ganoderma infection in oil palm seedlings artificially infected with Ganoderma boninense using root inoculation technique

Basal stem rot (BSR) caused by Ganoderma spp., a basidiomycete fungus, is a major devastating disease of oil palm, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia. Several factors were reported to influence the outbreak of BSR disease which include nutrient status, age of palm, types of soil, previous crop and replanting techniques. Elemental nutrient is known to have some beneficial effects on plant disease control. Over many years, macro- and micro-nutrient application has been totally overlooked in oil palm fertiliser programmes in relation to outbreak of BSR disease incidence. A study was conducted to determine leaf nutrient concentrations in relation to severity of Ganoderma infection in oil palm seedlings artificially inoculated with G. boninense using root inoculation technique. This study was conducted at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang which involved a total of 210 Durax Pisifera (DXP) oil palm seedlings. After inoculation, external and internal symptoms developing on seedlings and disease severity index (DSI, four disease classes of 0, 1, 2 and 3) were recorded. At 15 months of inoculation, leaf samples were collected and macro-nutrient such as Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Calcium (Ca) and Magnesium (Mg) and micro-nutrient such as Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe) and Boron (B) were analysed. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to test the difference between leaf nutrient concentrations in relation to DSI, followed by comparison means using Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at 0.05 significant levels. A total of 25.0% of inoculated seedlings were dead due to G. boninense infection. Significant difference of leaf nutrient concentration in relation to DSI was observed. Leaf macro-nutrient concentration of N, K, and Ca showed significant difference (p<0.05) while P and Mg showed no significant difference in relation to BSR disease development. Meanwhile, leaf micro-nutrient concentration of Cu, Mn and B showed significant difference (p<0.05) while Zn and Fe showed no significant difference. Among significant nutrients, Ca and Cu were found higher in healthy seedlings (DSI - 0) compared to infected seedlings (DSI – 1, 2 or 3). This study suggested that formulation of fertiliser consists mainly of Ca and Cu are needed in order to reduce BSR disease incidence in oil palms

Evaluation of End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling in India: A Techno-Socio-Economic Analysis

In light of the rapidly advancing Indian automotive sector, the issue of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) hasemerged as a matter of significant concern. Particularly critical aspects encompass recycling procedures,environmental impacts, and social implications. With the inevitable proliferation of ELVs anticipated in the nextdecade, the imperative for effective and sustainable ELV management becomes paramount, necessitating acomprehensive analysis of India&amp;#39;s burgeoning ELV recycling landscape. The present study endeavors to scrutinizeIndia&amp;#39;s ELV recycling system from technological, social, and economic perspectives, constituting a preliminarystep toward a judicious evaluation of sustainability in ELV recycling and performing a SWOT (strengths,weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis to appraise India&amp;#39;s ELV recycling framework comprehensively.Furthermore, the ensuing recommendations shall furnish invaluable insights for the development andimplementation of forthcoming regulatory and legal frameworks that adequately incorporate the economic, social,environmental, and technological aspects of ELV recycling in India. To accomplish this endeavor, the study hasdiligently conducted in-depth interviews with pertinent stakeholders, undertaken rigorous field investigations, andadministered comprehensive surveys. Additionally, an exhaustive examination of the existing literature has beenundertaken to probe the current ELV recycling system, address lingering challenges, and proffer recommendationsto elevate the ELV recycling infrastructure. The outcomes of this study may assist in developing deepercomprehension of India&amp;#39;s ELV recycling system while furnishing pragmatic recommendations to fortify itsefficacy. &nbsp

Evaluation of End-of-Life Vehicle Recycling in India: A Techno-Socio-Economic Analysis

In light of the rapidly advancing Indian automotive sector, the issue of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) hasemerged as a matter of significant concern. Particularly critical aspects encompass recycling procedures,environmental impacts, and social implications. With the inevitable proliferation of ELVs anticipated in the nextdecade, the imperative for effective and sustainable ELV management becomes paramount, necessitating acomprehensive analysis of India&amp;#39;s burgeoning ELV recycling landscape. The present study endeavors to scrutinizeIndia&amp;#39;s ELV recycling system from technological, social, and economic perspectives, constituting a preliminarystep toward a judicious evaluation of sustainability in ELV recycling and performing a SWOT (strengths,weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis to appraise India&amp;#39;s ELV recycling framework comprehensively.Furthermore, the ensuing recommendations shall furnish invaluable insights for the development andimplementation of forthcoming regulatory and legal frameworks that adequately incorporate the economic, social,environmental, and technological aspects of ELV recycling in India. To accomplish this endeavor, the study hasdiligently conducted in-depth interviews with pertinent stakeholders, undertaken rigorous field investigations, andadministered comprehensive surveys. Additionally, an exhaustive examination of the existing literature has beenundertaken to probe the current ELV recycling system, address lingering challenges, and proffer recommendationsto elevate the ELV recycling infrastructure. The outcomes of this study may assist in developing deepercomprehension of India&amp;#39;s ELV recycling system while furnishing pragmatic recommendations to fortify itsefficacy. &nbsp