Corporate Social Responsibility, Shariah-Compliance, and Earnings Quality

This study examines the effect of two potential sources of ethical principles on earnings quality: corporate social responsibility (CSR) and membership in a Shariah index. We define membership in a Shariah index as the adherence to an ethical code that relates to Islam. Our sample comprises firms in ten European Union countries for the period from 2003 to 2013. The empirical results show that firms with a high degree of CSR are less likely to manage earnings. In contrast, membership in a Shariah index leads to earnings manipulation. Our results are robust after using several alternative quality metrics for earnings. Furthermore, our empirical results indicate that highly rated CSR firms that are not Shariah-compliant are less likely to engage in earnings manipulation. Further, institutional factors are also important in determining the link between CSR, Shariah-compliance, and the quality of financial reporting

Extraction of biological hydroxyapatite from tuna fish bone for biomedical applications

Natural hydroxyapatite (HAp) is known for its common use in biomedical applications including in orthopaedic and implantation. HAp can be extracted from natural resources such as eggshells, fish bones and coral. Annually, it is found that huge amount of tuna fish bones was thrown away and being wasted as results from great consumption of tuna fish. In this study, tuna fish bones were extracted and characterised to be used in biomedical applications. Specifically, tuna fish bones were cleaned, and calcined at high temperature of 700 °C, 900 °C and 1100 °C. Powders calcined at 700 °C showed pure HAp compared to powders calcined at 900 °C and 1100 °C which showed the presence of β-TCP. As temperature rising, the morphology of the powders also changes from spherical-shaped to irregular-shaped indicated the substitution of phosphate and calcium from the β-TCP which also influenced the ratio of Ca/P obtained. In this study, powders calcined at 700 °C obtained optimum Ca/P ratio of 1.60. Moreover, EDS analysis showed the presence of tracer elements such as Ca, Mg, Sr Na, K and Zn in all calcined samples. These elements can help improve the biocompatibility of the HAp and beneficial for biomedical applications

Statistical discrimination of latex between healthy and white root infected Hevea brasiliensis tree based on protein concentration

White root disease is a critical factor of infection to rubber trees in Malaysia. Therefore, research represent the identification of healthy and infected rubber trees is very significant in order to maintain the yield of rubber tree latex. A total of 60 samples from healthy and white root disease (WRD) infected rubber tree respectively were tested using uv-vis spectrophotometer to measure the protein concentration. Statistical analyses were carried out to determine the relationship of the protein concentration with the health condition of the rubber tree. The results indicates that, both healthy and white root disease infected tree shows discrimination by looking at the mean difference and p-value from paired sample t-test. Based on this experiment, suitable sensor could be developed in order to identify the health condition of rubber tree.Keywords: protein concentration; hevea brasiliensis; white root disease; uv-vis spectrophotometer; t-tes

Extraction of biological hydroxyapatite from bovine bone for biomedical applications

Current biomedical field demands intensive research on cost-effective and high availability materials to fulfil its various applications. Owing to its similar characteristic to human bone, biological hydroxyapatite (HAp) has been used as an alternative in bone replacement and implantation. In this study, biological HAp was extracted from bovine bones via calcination. Powders calcined at 700 °C and 900 °C showed the presence of HAp. The field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) analysis shows that the irregular morphology emerged and the size was increasing as the calcination temperature increased. By increasing the temperature of 1100 °C, β-TCP (beta-tricalcium phosphate) started to develop and influenced the ratio of Ca/P. At 900 °C, the Ca/P ratio obtained was 1.70, and closest to the theoretical ratio of Ca/P. The presence of trace elements like Ca, Mg, Sr Na, K and Zn in all samples are proved via energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis, and these elements help to enhance the bioactivity hence make it a good alternative in biomedical applications

Wheeling Charges Methodology for Deregulated Electricity Markets using Tracing-based Postage Stamp Methods

MW-mile and Postage-stamp methods is traditionally used by electric utilities to determine a fixed transmission cost among users of firm transmission service. MW-Mile method is charging the users by determining the actual paths the power follows through the network. However, this method is not sufficient to recover the total transmission system cost. To recover the total transmission system cost, the Postage Stamp Method is adopted. This method is simple but its main drawback is that the charges paid by each user do not reflect the actual use of the network but based on the average usage of the entire network. This paper proposes a new wheeling charges methodology using tracing-based postage stamp methods. The proposed method allocates transmission costs among the generators proportional to the total power delivered to the load through transmission lines. The proposed method incorporates with generalised generation distribution factors to trace the contribution of each generator to the line flow. One unique feature of the proposed method is the consideration of the local load on the power flow allocation. Two case studies of 3-bus and IEEE 14-bus systems are used to illustrate the proposed method. Results show that the proposed method provides fair and equitable wheeling charges to generators reflecting the actual usage of the transmission system

Prevalence of Hydatid Disease Among Slaughtered Animals in Slemani Province/ Kurdistan-Iraq.

Hydatid cyst (HC) is one of the common silent zoonotic disease worldwide distributions, with medical importance and economical effect. The present study was conducted from January 2011 to March, 2012 to determine the prevalence rate of hydatid disease among slaughtered livestock including sheep, goats and cattle in Slemani province. A total of 7698 slaughtered animals were examined from different abattoirs for hydatid cyst during post mortem inspection including 6550 sheep, 348 goats and 800 cattle. The study showed that the prevalence rates among slaughtered animals were 12.7% in sheep, 4.8% in goats and 4.3% in cattle. The fertility rate of HCs was higher in sheep than that of goats and cattle furthermore, the rate of the fertility was higher in liver cysts than in lung cysts in all studied intermediate hosts

Closed House Chicken Barn Climate Control Using Fuzzy Inference System

The hazardous gases in chicken barn such as Ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) are the health threats to the farm animals and workers which influenced by climate changes. The chicken barn requires real-time control to maintain the barn climate and monitor hazardous gases. The outdated on-off and proportional control are not so efficient in energy saving and productivity. The solution to monitor environment of the chicken barn is using wireless electronic nose (e-nose) and Short Messaging System (SMS). The e-nose system is used for the barn’s temperature and humidity data acquisition. The chicken barn climate control is utilizing fuzzy interface system. MATLAB software was used for the model which is developed based on Mamdani fuzzy interface system. The membership functions of fuzzy were generated, as well as the simulation and analysis of the climate control system. Results show that the performance of the fuzzy method can improve the system to control the barn’s climate. This system also provides real-time alerts to farmers based on specific limit value for the climate. It makes it easier for farmers to follow up on-site or remotely control the environmental conditions in the barn by using the SMS system

The study of technological prevention method of road accident related to driver and vehicle

Considering the increasing of the number cars on the roads, the rate of road accident has also increased with many people died or sustained serious injuries in a road  accident. Increasing the phenomenon of road accident frequency, a study on the factors that may be associated with the occurrence of the accident was conducted. This paper also discussed about road accident prevention method based on the factors studied. The study of this paper can provide forceful data analysis support for the road traffic safety related research. Keywords: road accident; accident prevention; road safety

Effect of Die and Punch Radius on Springback of Stainless Steel Sheet Metal in the Air V-Die Bending Process

This paper focuses on the effect of the die and punch radii on the springback in the air V-die free bending process of stainless steel sheet metal. The experiment was performed on sheet metal using various die and punch radius values while their springback behavior was observed. The design of experiment approach was used in these experiments using the full factorial and analysis of variance methods to identify whether or not the die and punch radii are significant input parameters in predicting springback. From the statistical analysis, it shows that the die and punch radius parameters are significant factors contributing to the springback effect in the V-die bending of stainless steel sheet metal at the significance level of 0.05 because their p-value is less than 0.05. The results from the experiments showed that springback is affected by the die and punch radius values in the air V-bending experiments. From this analysis, it can be concluded that the springback values can be decreased by decreasing the values of the die and punch radii. In the air V-die bending process, the punch radius is the most important factor to be considered. The experimental method agreed well with the design of experiment results