Characterization and process optimization of Collocalia Fuciphaga extract

The purpose of this study is to characterize and investigate the optimum condition of temperature and liquid solid ratio (LSR)in Collocalia fuciphaga extract. The formation of functional group in the Collocalia fuciphaga was confirmed by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)analysis of the untreated and treated sample while inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to determine the heavy metals contents inside the Collocalia fuciphaga.Water extraction method was employed as a function of temperature and LSR in order to identify their effects to the protein extract concentration from Collocalia fuciphaga and subsequently determine its optimum condition using response surface methodology (RSM).The FTIR spectrums of the untreated and treated sample resulted in the same trend of spectrum. This is because the functional group of the protein extract, O-H bond,N-H bond, C=O bond,and C-H bond, respectively did not change after the extraction process. From the analysis using the ICP-MS, it was clearly showed that concentration of aluminium,arsenic and lead in the Collocalia fuciphaga was 2.378 mg/L, 0.044mg/L and 0.125mg/L which is lower than the maximum concentration allowable of aluminium, arsenic and lead (7mg/L,2mg/L and 3.402mg/L, respectively).The optimum condition of temperature and LSR were found to be 38OC and 42:1 while the protein extract concentration was 0.3477g/L.Increase in temperature after this optimum value resulted in decrease in protein extract concentration due to the destruction of protein structure at high temperature

A Conceptual Model of Developing a Measurement Tool for Hospital Food Service Operation in Malaysia

This study aims to provide and identify the best tools for measuring the quality of food service in Malaysian hospitals. The discussion focuses on the models used to evaluate the performance of food service operation in hospitals, as well as review critiques, issues, and the latest findings. Many tools have been introduced in the previous studies. However, the decision about the best fit tool to measure the quality of hospital food service is still unclear. Future study should be conducted, and an empirical test that examines various dimensions, such as food and meal service quality, staff/service issues and physical environment must be considered in the evaluation.Keywords: hospital food service; patients’ satisfaction;  measurement tool; performanceeISSN: 2398-4287 © 2019. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v4i10.161

Ginger extract (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) triggers apoptosis in hepatocarcinogenesis induced rats

Ginger extract has been reported previously by our group to exhibit anticancer and an-tioxidant effects by reducing tumour burden and lipid peroxidation respectively in he-patocarcinogenesis induced rats. The current study examined the expression of pro-apoptotic protein caspase-8 and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 in hepatocarcinogenesis treated rats. Thirty normal male Wistar rats were divided into 5 groups based on the diet given: i) control (normal rat chow), ii) olive oil, iii) ginger extract (100mg/kg body weight), iv) choline deficient diet + ethionine, CDE (to induce liver cancer) and v) CDE+ ginger extract. Rats were killed at week 8, and liver tissues were excised for immuno-histochemical study to identify pro-apoptotic and anti-apoptotic proteins, caspase-8 and Bcl-2. The observation on H&E staining confirmed the CDE diet induced liver can-cer as indicated by the presence of numerous oval cells. Identification of Bcl-2 expres-sion showed that 91.6% (11/12) of the samples from the CDE group revealed positive staining while treatment with ginger extract however inhibited the expression with only 8.4% (1/12) samples showing positive staining for Bcl-2. As for caspase-8 protein, 41.7% (5/12) of the samples from CDE group showed positive staining, which in-creased to 100% (12/12) with ginger extract treatment. Our findings suggest that gin-ger extract has an anticancer effect by inducing apoptosis in liver cancer cells via up-regulation of the expression of pro-apoptotic protein, caspase-8 and down-regulation of the expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-

Bone Health Status among Thalassemia Children.

Low bone mineral density is a significant problem in children with Thalassemia which may lead to increased risk for fragility fractures and suboptimal peak bone mass. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the bone health status of Thalassemia children Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre and Paediatrics Insititute Kuala Lumpur Hospital. A total of 81 respondents diagnosed with transfusion dependant beta Thalassemia (41 boys and 40 girls) aged between 7 to 19 years old completed the study. The data collected were demographic information, anthropometric measurements, dairy frequency questionnaires, dietary habits of the respondents and their parents, dietary intakes and bone densitometry using Ultrasound Bone Densitometer. For Quantitative Ultrasound (QUS) parameters, T-score of 9.8% participants were lower than -1.0 and 30.9% of the participants had lower Speed of Sound(SOS) than healthy SOS. This study showed there was no difference in bone density by sex (p>0.05). The median bone density of boys was 1616.00 m/ sec (IQR= 39.00) and girls’ was 1579.00 m/ sec (IQR= 116.00). SOS was not increased with age, height and weight; but girls’ Body Mass Index (BMI). Malay children had significantly higher SOS than non-Malay children. This study highlights a need of proper intervention for the high risk group to achieve optimal bone health

Critical success factors of green supply chain management: case evidence of a Malaysian automotive manufacturer / Noor Sufiawati Khairani … [et al.]

This study examines the critical success factors (CSFs) of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices in the Malaysian automotive industry. Proponents of supply chain management (SCM) suggest that understanding the CSFs of SCM practices allows firms to realize supply chain benefits. However, few researchers consider the environmental aspects while discussing the CSFs of SCM, particularly in the automotive industry, the focus of this study. Despite the plethora of CSFs of SCM suggested in the literature, it is still unclear whether the identified CSFs of SCM lead to similar resulting benefits within the GSCM environment. This paper therefore contributes to filling these gaps by examining the CSFs of GSCM practices in the automotive industry in Malaysia. The study adopts a single case study method, with data collected through semi-structured interviews, observation and document reviews from an automotive manufacturing firm operating in Malaysia. Consistent with the literature, our findings indicate that the CSFs which consist of generic CSFs for SCM and GSCM-related CSFs represent the main pre-requisites for the success of green automotive SCM practices

Critical success factors of green supply chain management: case evidence of a Malaysian automotive manufacturer / Noor Sufiawati Khairani ... [et al.]

This study examines the critical success factors (CSFs) of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices in Malaysian automotive industry. Proponents of supply chain management (SCM) suggest that understanding the CSFs of SCM practices allows firms to realize supply chain benefits. However, few researchers consider the environmental aspects while discussing the CSFs of SCM, particularly in the automotive industry, the focus of this study. Despite the plethora of CSFs of SCM suggested in the literature, it is still unclear whether the identified CSFs of SCM lead to similar resulting benefits within the GSCM environment. This paper therefore contributes to filling these gaps by examining the CSFs of GSCM practices in the automotive industry in Malaysia. The study adopts a single case study method, with data collected through semi-structured interviews, observation and document reviews from an automotive manufacturing firm operating in Malaysia. Consistent with the literature, our findings indicate that the CSFs which consist of generic CSFs for SCM and GSCM-related CSFs represent the main pre-requisites for the success of green automotive SCM practices

Green Supply Chain Management in the Malaysian Automotive Industry: A Systems Thinking Perspective

This study examines the deployment of green supply chain management (GSCM) in the Malaysian automotive industry. Proponents of GSCM suggest that as an advanced corporate environmental governance practice, GSCM is an important corporate strategy deployed for sustainability particularly in the automotive industry. However, little is understood about the deployment of GSCM within an automotive industry operating in a developing country like Malaysia. The present study addresses this literature gap by focusing on both the GSCM deployment procedures and practices within the Malaysian automotive industry. The study adopts a qualitative research methodology, with data collected through semi-structured interviews, observation and document reviews from a single automotive manufacturing case firm operating in Malaysia. Consistent with the literature, our findings suggest that the case firm uses a holistic and systemic approach to deploy GSCM practices. This holistic GSCM deployment approach involves a structured regulated procedureled method that directly supports systemic green practices

Assessing the Nutritional Status of Children with Leukemia from Hospitals in Kuala Lumpur

A cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate the nutritional status of 51 subjects with leukemia aged 4 to 12 years from the Haematology & Oncology Paediatric Ward, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (PPUKM) and the Paediatric Institute of Kuala Lumpur. Nutritional status was assessed using anthropometric measurements, biochemical and haematological parameters. Subjects comprised 32 (62.7%) males and 19 (27.3%) females. Most of the subjects (41.2%) were in the age group of 4 to 6 years. More than half of the children were Malays (70.6%) followed by Indians (15.7%) and Chinese (13.7%). The subjects were diagnosed as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (84.3%) followed by acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) (13.7%) and chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) (2.0%) respectively. Most of the children were in remission status (54.9%). Underweight (<-2 SD for weight-for-age) was observed in 37.3% of the children while 17.6% of them were stunted (<-2 SD for height-for-age), and sign(s) of malnutrition (<-2 SD) for mid upper arm circumference (MUAC)-for-age was observed in 15.7% of the subjects. Approximately 20.0% of the subjects were in the severe malnutrition category with respect to low serum albumin levels (<3.5g/dl). All subjects had hemoglobin levels of less than the normal range. While the results indicated no significant differences in the nutritional status of subjects with leukemia at different stages of treatment, it was observed that the prevalence of malnutrition was higher in children with newly diagnosed leukemia. Thus, the nutritional status of children with leukemia should be monitored closely as there is a likelihood of deterioration owing to the disease

Hospital food service quality improvement questionnaire (HFSQIQ): Development, translation and validation of a questionnaire.

The hospital food service department provides meals to staff, patients, and their caregivers while adhering to dietary therapy guidelines and promoting nutritional wellness. High-quality food service plays a pivotal role in offering inpatients nourishing meals that promote physical and mental well-being, aiding their recovery and overall health during their hospitalisation. This study aimed to develop and validate a tool for measuring and evaluating hospital food operations using the Total Quality Management approach. A literature review, in-depth interviews with food service employees, and a peer-review process were conducted to identify the domains and items for the questionnaire. A “Hospital Food Service Quality Improvement Questionnaire” (HFSQIQ) with 61 items in six domains was developed and the content validation was performed by seven experts. The questionnaire was translated into Malay, and the internal consistency of the HFSQIQ was examined using Cronbach’s alpha. Resultantly, the HFSQIQ depicted high validity and reliability, with a high I-CVI and Kappa index rating for most items and a Cronbach alpha value of 0.97 and 0.98 for the importance and performance scales, respectively. In conclusion, the HFSQIQ is a useful tool for evaluating and improving the quality of hospital food service operations

DETERMINATION OF POVERTY USING MULTI-FACETED MEASURES: EVIDENCE FROM ZAKAT APPLICANTS

Background and Purpose: Poverty, despite being a multifaceted concept, is commonly measured in either absolute or relative monetary terms. However, it can also be measured subjectively, as people form perceptions on their relative income, welfare, and life satisfaction. Poverty measurement based on objective indicators such as official poverty lines is often used to orient and prioritize policy actions. However, such ‘standard’ poverty measures based on household consumption or income aggregates have several shortcomings. This objective indicator does little to inform policy makers about public preferences. The main goal of this paper is to investigate multifaceted poverty measurement by combining objective and subjective measures to provide useful insights into poverty in Malaysia. In addition, this study explored the multifaceted poverty incidence among the low-income household from the perspective of zakat applicants. &nbsp; Methodology: Data was collected using a survey and interviews of zakat applicants under the category of poor and needy in the State Islamic Religious Council (SIRC) of Melaka, one of the states in Malaysia. Three poverty measurements, i.e., Poverty Line Income (PLI), Haddul Kifayah and Subjective Poverty Index (SPI), are utilized in this study. Findings: The PLI and Haddul Kifayah are categorized as objective poverty measures, while SPI is categorized as a subjective poverty measure. The different measures of poverty would produce different analytical results that, in turn, call for a different set of policy interventions. &nbsp; Contributions: These findings point to the needs of tailor-made strategies for the society to cope with multifaceted poverty. &nbsp; Keywords: Multifaceted poverty, objective poverty, subjective poverty, poverty measurement, zakat recipients. &nbsp; Cite as: Othman, A., Mohd Noor, A. H., Abdul Rasool, M. S., &amp; Kasim, E. S. (2023).&nbsp;Determination of poverty using multi-faceted measures: Evidence from zakat applicants.&nbsp;&nbsp;Journal of Nusantara Studies, 8(TI), 62-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol8issTIpp62-8