Value-relevance of acccounting numbers for valuation

Recent empirical work suggested that the ability of accounting numbers to explain the relationship between accounting numbers and stock prices has deteriorated over the past four decades. The findings of this study suggest that the accounting earnings and book value are capturing most of the information that is relevant to assess the values of firms. At the same time, it also suggests that earnings and book value as well as non-accounting beta are more valued during the financial crisis as compared to after the financial crisis. Overall, the accounting estimate of the value of the firm is not deviating from the markets' estimate, which suggests that accounting numbers play an important role in the valuation of firms in Malaysia

Impact of nonoptimal intakes of saturated, polyunsaturated, and trans fat on global burdens of coronary heart disease

Background: Saturated fat (SFA), ω‐6 (n‐6) polyunsaturated fat (PUFA), and trans fat (TFA) influence risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), but attributable CHD mortalities by country, age, sex, and time are unclear. Methods and Results: National intakes of SFA, n‐6 PUFA, and TFA were estimated using a Bayesian hierarchical model based on country‐specific dietary surveys; food availability data; and, for TFA, industry reports on fats/oils and packaged foods. Etiologic effects of dietary fats on CHD mortality were derived from meta‐analyses of prospective cohorts and CHD mortality rates from the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases study. Absolute and proportional attributable CHD mortality were computed using a comparative risk assessment framework. In 2010, nonoptimal intakes of n‐6 PUFA, SFA, and TFA were estimated to result in 711 800 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 680 700–745 000), 250 900 (95% UI 236 900–265 800), and 537 200 (95% UI 517 600–557 000) CHD deaths per year worldwide, accounting for 10.3% (95% UI 9.9%–10.6%), 3.6%, (95% UI 3.5%–3.6%) and 7.7% (95% UI 7.6%–7.9%) of global CHD mortality. Tropical oil–consuming countries were estimated to have the highest proportional n‐6 PUFA– and SFA‐attributable CHD mortality, whereas Egypt, Pakistan, and Canada were estimated to have the highest proportional TFA‐attributable CHD mortality. From 1990 to 2010 globally, the estimated proportional CHD mortality decreased by 9% for insufficient n‐6 PUFA and by 21% for higher SFA, whereas it increased by 4% for higher TFA, with the latter driven by increases in low‐ and middle‐income countries. Conclusions: Nonoptimal intakes of n‐6 PUFA, TFA, and SFA each contribute to significant estimated CHD mortality, with important heterogeneity across countries that informs nation‐specific clinical, public health, and policy priorities.peer-reviewe

Children’s and adolescents’ rising animal-source food intakes in 1990–2018 were impacted by age, region, parental education and urbanicity

Animal-source foods (ASF) provide nutrition for children and adolescents’ physical and cognitive development. Here, we use data from the Global Dietary Database and Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify global, regional and national ASF intakes between 1990 and 2018 by age group across 185 countries, representing 93% of the world’s child population. Mean ASF intake was 1.9 servings per day, representing 16% of children consuming at least three daily servings. Intake was similar between boys and girls, but higher among urban children with educated parents. Consumption varied by age from 0.6 at <1 year to 2.5 servings per day at 15–19 years. Between 1990 and 2018, mean ASF intake increased by 0.5 servings per week, with increases in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa. In 2018, total ASF consumption was highest in Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, and lowest in Uganda, India, Kenya and Bangladesh. These findings can inform policy to address malnutrition through targeted ASF consumption programmes.publishedVersio

Incident type 2 diabetes attributable to suboptimal diet in 184 countries

The global burden of diet-attributable type 2 diabetes (T2D) is not well established. This risk assessment model estimated T2D incidence among adults attributable to direct and body weight-mediated effects of 11 dietary factors in 184 countries in 1990 and 2018. In 2018, suboptimal intake of these dietary factors was estimated to be attributable to 14.1 million (95% uncertainty interval (UI), 13.8–14.4 million) incident T2D cases, representing 70.3% (68.8–71.8%) of new cases globally. Largest T2D burdens were attributable to insufficient whole-grain intake (26.1% (25.0–27.1%)), excess refined rice and wheat intake (24.6% (22.3–27.2%)) and excess processed meat intake (20.3% (18.3–23.5%)). Across regions, highest proportional burdens were in central and eastern Europe and central Asia (85.6% (83.4–87.7%)) and Latin America and the Caribbean (81.8% (80.1–83.4%)); and lowest proportional burdens were in South Asia (55.4% (52.1–60.7%)). Proportions of diet-attributable T2D were generally larger in men than in women and were inversely correlated with age. Diet-attributable T2D was generally larger among urban versus rural residents and higher versus lower educated individuals, except in high-income countries, central and eastern Europe and central Asia, where burdens were larger in rural residents and in lower educated individuals. Compared with 1990, global diet-attributable T2D increased by 2.6 absolute percentage points (8.6 million more cases) in 2018, with variation in these trends by world region and dietary factor. These findings inform nutritional priorities and clinical and public health planning to improve dietary quality and reduce T2D globally.publishedVersio

Comparison of quality characteristics between belacan from Brunei Darussalam and Korean shrimp paste

Background: This study was conducted to compare the quality characteristics between shrimp pastes from Korea and Brunei. Belacan is a fermented shrimp paste from Brunei. Korea manufactures two products: one is fermented and dried Saewoojeot shrimp paste, and the other is a dried shrimp paste. Methods: The quality characteristics studied were: chemical composition, amino acids, minerals, fatty acids, cholesterol, water activity, pH, and salinity. Results: The moisture and salinity content were highest in Belacan (p < 0.05). The fat and ash content, Mg, Na, unsaturated fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids were highest in the Korean fermented Saewoojeot shrimp paste. Conclusion: The protein content, pH, water activity Ca, Fe, K, P, Zn, total amino acids, essential amino acids, saturated fatty acids, and cholesterol content tended to be higher in the Korean dried shrimp paste than in Bruneian belacan and Korean fermented Saewoojeot shrimp paste

Designing the METTAREKA interface: collaborative interaction during 15th century voyage

This research delves into enhancing the user experience within a Metaverse environment through the development of a collaborative virtual reality interface called METTAREKA (Metaverse of Gallery REKA). Rooted in the GeSToUX model and adapted for virtual reality headset technology and collaborative interaction, METTAREKA aims to provide an immersive exploration of the 15th-century voyage in Southeast Asia. The study identifies key problems in existing virtual systems, emphasizing the need to stimulate visitors' knowledge and experience effectively. To address this, METTAREKA integrates non-touchable gesture movement techniques and collaborative aspects, allowing multiple users to interact using virtual reality headset technology. The immersive environment features avatars, digital storytelling, and collaborative navigation and editing, promoting a dynamic and interconnected digital realm where users collaboratively engage with the history and heritage presented. The study contributes to the evolving landscape of immersive technologies, fostering collaborative interactions that redefine how individuals work, socialize, and innovate within the digital sphere

Techniques used in teaching KBSR English in rural schools: A case of ERaIL teachers

This study is based on a survey done on 43 KBSR teachers of English in the rural district of Padang Terap/Pendang, as a follow-up to the training sessions in which the teachers were exposed to various techniques in teaching English. The study which focuses on three areas: vocabulary, reading comprehension and oral instructions, tries to find out which of the techniques exposed during the training the teachers prefer. The results of this survey showed that three techniques of teaching vocabulary were favoured among the six techniques discussed during the training. As for reading comprehension, most of the respondents had used the suggested stages, which were demonstrated and discussed during the training sessions. In teaching oral instructions, approximately half of the sample used the sequence demonstrated in the training while the rest were flexible in their choice of which sequence they thought was the best

Abstracts of the International Halal Science Conference 2023

This book presents the extended abstracts of the selected contributions to the International Halal Science Conference, held on 22-23 August 2023 by the International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART), IIUM, Malaysia in collaboration with Halalan Thayyiban Research Centre, University Islam Sultan Sharif (UNISSA), Brunei Darussalam. With the increasing global interest in halal products and services, this conference is timely. Conference Title:  International Halal Science ConferenceConference Acronym: IHASC23Conference Theme: Halal Industry Sustainability Through ScienceConference Date: 22-23 August 2023Conference Venue: International Islamic University (IIUM), MalaysiaConference Organizer: International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART), International Islamic University (IIUM), Malaysi

Global, regional, and national consumption of animal-source foods between 1990 and 2018: findings from the Global Dietary Database

International audienceBackground:Diet is a major modifiable risk factor for human health and overall consumption patterns affect planetary health. We aimed to quantify global, regional, and national consumption levels of animal-source foods (ASF) to inform intervention, surveillance, and policy priorities.Methods:Individual-level dietary surveys across 185 countries conducted between 1990 and 2018 were identified, obtained, standardised, and assessed among children and adults, jointly stratified by age, sex, education level, and rural versus urban residence. We included 499 discrete surveys (91·2% nationally or subnationally representative) with data for ASF (unprocessed red meat, processed meat, eggs, seafood, milk, cheese, and yoghurt), comprising 3·8 million individuals from 134 countries representing 95·2% of the world population in 2018. We used Bayesian hierarchical models to account for differences in survey methods and representativeness, time trends, and input data and modelling uncertainty, with five-fold cross-validation.Findings:In 2018, mean global intake per person of unprocessed red meat was 51 g/day (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 48–54; region-specific range 7–114 g/day); 17 countries (23·9% of the world's population) had mean intakes of at least one serving (100 g) per day. Global mean intake of processed meat was 17 g/day (95% UI 15–21 g/day; region-specific range 3–54 g/day); seafood, 28 g/day (27–30 g/day; 12–44 g/day); eggs, 21 g/day (18–24 g/day; 6–35 g/day); milk 88 g/day (84–93 g/day; 45–185 g/day); cheese, 8 g/day (8–10 g/day; 1–34 g/day); and yoghurt, 20 g/day (17–23 g/day; 7–84 g/day). Mean national intakes were at least one serving per day for processed meat (≥50 g/day) in countries representing 6·9% of the global population; for cheese (≥42 g/day) in 2·3%; for eggs (≥55 g/day) in 0·7%; for milk (≥245 g/day) in 0·3%; for seafood (≥100 g/day) in 0·8%; and for yoghurt (≥245 g/day) in less than 0·1%. Among the 25 most populous countries in 2018, total ASF intake was highest in Russia (5·8 servings per day), Germany (3·8 servings per day), and the UK (3·7 servings per day), and lowest in Tanzania (0·9 servings per day) and India (0·7 servings per day). Global and regional intakes of ASF were generally similar by sex. Compared with children, adults generally consumed more unprocessed red meat, seafood and cheese, and less milk; energy-adjusted intakes of other ASF were more similar. Globally, ASF intakes (servings per week) were higher among more-educated versus less-educated adults, with greatest global differences for milk (0·79), eggs (0·47), unprocessed red meat (0·42), cheese (0·28), seafood (0·28), yoghurt (0·22), and processed meat (0·21). This was also true for urban compared to rural areas, with largest global differences (servings per week) for unprocessed red meat (0·47), milk (0·38), and eggs (0·20). Between 1990 and 2018, global intakes (servings per week) increased for unprocessed red meat (1·20), eggs (1·18), milk (0·63), processed meat (0·50), seafood (0·44), and cheese (0·14).Interpretation:Our estimates of ASF consumption identify populations with both lower and higher than optimal intakes. These estimates can inform the targeting of intervention, surveillance, and policy priorities relevant to both human and planetary health

Surgical site infection after gastrointestinal surgery in children: An international, multicentre, prospective cohort study

Introduction Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). However, there is a lack of data available about SSI in children worldwide, especially from low-income and middle-income countries. This study aimed to estimate the incidence of SSI in children and associations between SSI and morbidity across human development settings. Methods A multicentre, international, prospective, validated cohort study of children aged under 16 years undergoing clean-contaminated, contaminated or dirty gastrointestinal surgery. Any hospital in the world providing paediatric surgery was eligible to contribute data between January and July 2016. The primary outcome was the incidence of SSI by 30 days. Relationships between explanatory variables and SSI were examined using multilevel logistic regression. Countries were stratified into high development, middle development and low development groups using the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI). Results Of 1159 children across 181 hospitals in 51 countries, 523 (45·1%) children were from high HDI, 397 (34·2%) from middle HDI and 239 (20·6%) from low HDI countries. The 30-day SSI rate was 6.3% (33/523) in high HDI, 12·8% (51/397) in middle HDI and 24·7% (59/239) in low HDI countries. SSI was associated with higher incidence of 30-day mortality, intervention, organ-space infection and other HAIs, with the highest rates seen in low HDI countries. Median length of stay in patients who had an SSI was longer (7.0 days), compared with 3.0 days in patients who did not have an SSI. Use of laparoscopy was associated with significantly lower SSI rates, even after accounting for HDI. Conclusion The odds of SSI in children is nearly four times greater in low HDI compared with high HDI countries. Policies to reduce SSI should be prioritised as part of the wider global agenda