An exploratory research of the usage level of e-commerce among SMEs in the west coast of Malaysia

Previous studies have indicated that e-commerce development offers a promising way for business to meet the challenges of the ever-changing environment. It provides effective and efficient ways, such as buyers can gather information rapidly about the availability of the products or services, evaluate, or negotiate with vendors. However, previous studies on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia have shown that the application of e-commerce is still at its infancy. Thus, this study investigates the usage level of e-commerce application for the SMEs in West Coast of Sabah, Malaysia. This achieved by circulating a set of questionnaire to examine the awareness and adoption of e-commerce application by the SMEs, and recognize the impeding factors to adopt e-commerce and the perception of e-commerce benefits towards incorporating ecommerce in their business. The study found that the awareness and adoption level among the SMEs are still in its infancy, although the potential benefits were perceived to be important

A Suitable method to detect potential fraud of bringing Malayan box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) meat into the food chain

Malayan box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) has been a wildlife-protected vulnerable turtle species in Malaysia since 2005. However, because of its purported usage in traditional medicine, tonic foods and feeds, clandestine black market trade is rampant. Several polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for the taxonomic detection and classification of turtle species have been proposed. These assays are based on long-length target amplicons which are assumed to break down under compromised states and, hence, might not be suitable for the forensic tracing and tracking of turtle trafficking. For the first time this paper develops a very short-amplicon-length PCR assay (120 bp) for the detection of Malayan box turtle meat in raw, processed and mixed matrices, and experimental evidence is produced that such an assay is not only more stable and reliable but also more sensitive than those previously published. We checked the assay specificity against 20 different species and no cross-species detection was observed. The possibility of any false-negative detection was eliminated by a universal endogenous control for eukaryotes. The assay detection limit was 0.0001 ng of box turtle DNA from pure meat and 0.01% turtle meat in binary and ternary admixtures and commercial meatballs. Superior target stability and sensitivity under extreme treatments of boiling, autoclaving and microwave cooking suggested that this newly developed assay would be suitable for any forensic and/or archaeological identification of Malayan box turtle species, even in severely degraded specimens. Further, in silico studies indicated that the assay has the potential to be used as a universal probe for the detection of nine Cuora species, all of which are critically endangered

Lab-on-a-chip-based PCR-RFLP assay for the detection of Malayan box turtle (Cuora amboinensis)in the food chain and traditional Chinese medicines

The Malayan box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) (MBT) is a vulnerable and protected turtle species, but it is a lucrative item in the illegal wildlife trade because of its great appeal as an exotic food item and in traditional medicine. Although several polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to identify MBT by various routes have been documented, their applicability for forensic authentication remains inconclusive due to the long length of the amplicon targets, which are easily broken down by natural decomposition, environmental stresses or physiochemical treatments during food processing. To address this research gap, we developed, for the first time, a species-specific PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay with a very short target length (120 bp) to detect MBT in the food chain; this authentication ensured better security and reliability through molecular fingerprints. The PCR-amplified product was digested with Bfa1 endonuclease, and distinctive restriction fingerprints (72, 43 and 5 bp) for MBT were found upon separation in a microfluidic chip-based automated electrophoresis system, which enhances the resolution of short oligos. The chances of any false negative identifications were eliminated through the use of a universal endogenous control for eukaryotes, and the limit of detection was 0.0001 ng DNA or 0.01% of the meat under admixed states. Finally, the optimized PCR-RFLP assay was validated for the screening of raw and processed commercial meatballs, burgers and frankfurters, which are very popular in most countries. The optimized PCR-RFLP assay was further used to screen MBT materials in 153 traditional Chinese medicines of 17 different brands and 62 of them were found MBT positive; wherein the ingredients were not declared in product labels. Overall, the novel assay demonstrated sufficient merit for use in any forensic and/or archaeological authentication of MBT, even under a state of decomposition

Characterization of the coal derived humic acids from Mukah, Sarawak as soil conditioner

In Malaysia, abundant coal resources were found in Sarawak and Sabah. The utilization of coal resources, to date, is emphasized on the energy productions. The non-energy utilization as soil conditioner is unexplored. Therefore, this study attempted to characterize the coal humic acids extracted from Mukah coal and to evaluate its properties as soil conditioner. The coal humic acids from the regenerated sample were also assessed. The results revealed that different extractants and concentrations influenced the properties of humic acids. The extraction with KOH at 0.5 mol L-1 produced humic acids with low ash content and high acidic functional groups, which are substantial as soil conditioner. However, the yield was low. Regeneration of coal sample with 10% nitric acids improved the yield to an average of 83.45%. The acidic functional groups of nitrohumic acids were improved with the ash content remained at a low level

Targeting double genes in multiplex PCR for discriminating bovine, buffalo and porcine materials in food chain

Beef, buffalo and pork are the major meat of economic, religious and health concern. Current methods to authenticate these materials in food chain are based on mainly single gene targets which are susceptible to break down by food processing treatments. We, for the first time, described here a double gene targeting short-amplicon length multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay for discriminating bovine, buffalo and porcine materials in a single assay platform. The advantage of the assay is evidenced in terms of fidelity, cost and time since it is highly unlikely that two different targets would be missing even in a decomposed specimen. Detection of multiple targets in a single assay definitely saves analytical cost and time. Mitochondrial cytochrome b (cytb) and ND5 genes were targeted and six different targets (length: 90–146 bp), two for each of cow (120 and 106bp), buffalo (90 and 138bp) and pig (73 and 146bp), were amplified from raw, boiled, autoclaved and microwaved cooked meat under pure and mixed matrices. The detection limit was 0.02 ng DNA under pure states and 0.1% meat in binary mixtures and meatball products. Screening of Malaysian meatball products revealed all beef products were buffalo positive in which 35% were totally replaced. In contrast, all pork products were found uncontaminated from beef and buffalo

Duplex real-time PCR assay using SYBR Green to detect and quantify Malayan box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) materials in meatballs, burgers, frankfurters and traditional Chinese herbal jelly powder

The Malayan box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) (MBT) is a vulnerable and protected species widely used in exotic foods and traditional medicines. Currently available polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to identify MBT lack automation and involve long targets which break down in processed or denatured tissue. This SYBR Green duplex real-time PCR assay has addressed this research gap for the first time through the combination of 120- and 141-bp targets from MBT and eukaryotes for the quantitative detection of MBT DNA in food chain and herbal medicinal preparations. This authentication ensures better security through automation, internal control and short targets that were stable under the processing treatments of foods and medicines. A melting curve clearly demonstrated two peaks at 74.63 ± 0.22 and 78.40 ± 0.31°C for the MBT and eukaryotic products, respectively, under pure, admixed and commercial food matrices. Analysis of 125 reference samples reflected a target recovery of 93.25–153.00%, PCR efficiency of 99–100% and limit of detection of 0.001% under various matrices. The quantification limits were 0.00001, 0.00170 ± 0.00012, 0.00228 ± 0.00029, 0.00198 ± 0.00036 and 0.00191 ± 0.00043 ng DNA for the pure meat, binary mixtures, meatball, burger and frankfurter products, respectively. The assay was used to screen 100 commercial samples of traditional Chinese herbal jelly powder from eight different brands; 22% of them were found to be MBT-positive (5.37 ± 0.50–7.00 ± 0.34% w/w), which was reflected through the Ct values (26.37 ± 0.32–28.90 ± 0.42) and melting curves (74.63– 78.65 ± 0.22°C) of the amplified MBT target (120 bp), confirming the speculation that MBT materials are widely used in Chinese herbal desserts, exotic dishes consumed with the hope of prolonging life and youth

Tetraplex PCR assay involving double gene-sites discriminates beef and buffalo in Malaysian meat curry and burger products

Replacement of beef by buffalo and vice versa is frequent in global markets, but their authentication is challenging in processed foods due to the fragmentation of most biomarkers including DNA. The shortening of target sequences through use of two target sites might ameliorate assay reliability because it is highly unlikely that both targets will be lost during food processing. For the first time, we report a tetraplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay targeting two different DNA regions in beef (106 and 120-bp) and buffalo (90 and 138-bp) mitochondrial genes to discriminate beef and buffalo in processed foods. All targets were stable under boiling, autoclaving and microwave cooking conditions. A survey in Malaysian markets revealed 71% beef curries contained buffalo but there was no buffalo in beef burgers. The assay detected down to 0.01 ng DNA and 1% meat in admixed and burger products

Short-length DNA biomarker for the detection and quantification of Malayan box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) materials in food chain and traditional Chinese medicines / Asing

Malayan box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) (MBT) is a protected species in Malaysia and prohibited (haram) animal species in Muslim foods and medicines. However, because of its purported health benefits, its clandestine trades in black markets, especially for use in tonic foods and traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) are quite rampant. The widespread availability of commercial food items and TCM across Malaysia may offer the opportunity of turtle product trafficking under the covert of halal brands, needing to develop a convenient and reliable method both for the qualitative and quantitative tracing of turtle materials in food chain and medicines. Several polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays have been proposed for the detection of MBT species under various routes but they are based on long-length targets which break down under the state of decomposition, making them unsuitable for the forensic detection in food chain, medicines and other potential routes. To overcome this knowledge gap, for the first time, a short length DNA target was developed for the qualitative and quantitative detection of MBT tissues by conventional PCR, PCR-RFLP and SYBR green real-time PCR systems. It combined a 120 bp-site of the MBT mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and a 141bp-site of 18S rRNA gene as the universal marker for the eukaryotes. The assay specificity was checked against 20 different species and biomarker stability was tested under various food processing conditions, including boiling, autoclaving and micro oven heating under pure, admixed and commercial food matrices. The limit of detection (LOD) of the conventional PCR and PCR-RFLP assays was 0.0001 ng MBT DNA under pure state and 0.01% (w/w) MBT meat under admixed and commercial matrices. In contrast, the LOD of the SYBR green duplex PCR system was 0.00001 ng DNA and 0.001% (w/w) MBT meat under mixed matrices. PCR amplified target was further authenticated by sequencing and restriction digestion with Bfa1 endonuclease and distinctive fingerprints (72, 43 and 5 bp) were obtained. The MBT target was further quantified by a duplex SYBR green real time PCR system consisting of MBT target and internal positive control, wherein the melting curve clearly reflected two distinctive peaks at 74.63 ± 0.22 °C and 81.40 ± 0.31 °C for the MBT and eukaryotic targets, respectively, under pure, admixed and commercial matrices. The quantification limit (ng) was 0.00001for pure meat, 0.0030 ±0.00001 for binary mixtures, 0.0021 ± 0.00008 for meatball, 0.0042 ±0.0037 burger and 0.0013 ±0.00006 frankfurter products. The analysis of 150 reference meat samples reflected 98.19 to 166.57 % target recovery, 92.23-98.15 % PCR efficiency and 0.001% LOD under various matrices. A total of 183 commercial meat products were screened but no turtle contamination was found. Finally, 153 and 120 TCM samples were surveyed by PCR-RFLP and SYBR Green PCR and 40% and 23% of them were found to be MBT-positive (0.00157 to 0.0612 ng/μL), respectively. Thus the methods were suitable for real-world application and they confirmed the widespread speculation that MBT materials are widely used in Chinese medicines and herbal desserts

The review of suitable training programme for aspiring principals in education

Education system is the kind of arrangement, which consisted at least a teacher and one learned in school setting. Education system must be intentional, in which teacher actively participates in transmitting student learning. In system of education includes all kinds of institutions that are related with giving education to students who are in K-12 and in higher education. In context of students, education system consisted the elementary school, middle, high and college or university level (Educational reform 2013). In broader term, education system denotes the economic and social factors that build public schools at the federal, community and at the state level. For achieving best education practices, the coordination of individuals and functioning of institutions and processes are required. A robust education system plays very important role in building a brighter kind of future for the nation's students to become professionals as a citizen. It contributes in adding values in citizens for achieving high career opportunities for giving one of their best contributions (Malakolunthu & Rengasamy 2012). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR