Evaluation of anti-diabetic activity of etlingera elatior flower (bunga kantan) aqueous extract in rat with type 2 diabetes mellitus induced by high-fat diet and streptozotocin

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a global public health concern that leads to multiple complications, including renal failure. Nowadays, the use of medicinal plants in disease management is increasing exponentially due to their beneficial health effects. Traditionally, the flower of Etlingera elatior (bunga kantan) has been used as a supplement for diabetic management. However, very little scientific evidence on the efficacy of this plant in DM. This study aims to determine the anti-diabetic effect of E. elatior flower aqueous extract (EEAE) and improvement in renal damage on the type 2 DM rat (T2DR) model. The in vitro antioxidant, and in vitro anti-diabetic activity of EEAE were determined by inhibition of carbohydrate digestive enzymes. The T2DR model was achieved using a combination of high-fat diet (HFD) feeding and streptozotocin (STZ). Forty-nine male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were equally divided into seven groups; normal, obese, untreated-DM, metformin-treated, and EEAE-treated at 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg. All treatments were orally administered for 6 weeks. The fasting blood glucose (FBG) and body weight were measured weekly, while the systolic blood pressure (SBP) was fortnightly. At the end of the study, levels of biochemical parameters and antioxidant biomarkers were determined. The histology of the liver, kidney, pancreas, and aorta was assessed using haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain. The kidney tissue was further evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis and special staining; periodic acid Schiff (PAS) and Masson’s trichrome (MT). Furthermore, the levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in kidney tissue were elucidated. There were significant in vitro antioxidant activities, and in vitro inhibition on α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes. In EEAEtreated T2DR, FBG and SBP were significantly lower compared to other groups. When compared to untreated-T2DR, EEAE improved lipid profile, renal and liver function tests, and significantly increased antioxidant biomarkers levels (superoxide dismutase/SOD, catalase/CAT, and glutathione/GSH). In addition, there was an improvement in liver, kidney, and pancreatic histology of EEAE-treated at low and medium doses. EEAE also decreased the level of IL-6, TGF-β, and CTGF in kidney tissue. In conclusion, E. elatior has anti-diabetic activity, which can be attributed to its antioxidant properties and reduction of the inflammatory process

A case for the establishment of Malaysian standard for biodegradable insulation oil in Malaysia transformers

The dielectric properties of insulation oil in power transformers are dependent on the chemical structure of the oil. Although mineral oil based insulation oil is the common liquid dielectric used in power transformers, environmental and safety issues are pressurizing many stakeholders from developed countries to consider alternative fluid as transformer fluids. Vegetable (natural ester) based insulation oil is a viable alternative that has been commercialized in some countries. This paper presents results from the study done to ascertain the feasibility of using commercially available biodegradable insulation oil (Envirotemp® FR3™) for Malaysia power transformers. It was found that the tested oil failed to meet some of the standard insulating property values as stipulated in the Malaysian Standard (MS 2322:2010) and this was because the MS 2322:2010 is the standard for "Fluid for electrotechnical application-Unused mineral insulating oils for transformers and switchgear" which cannot be applied to Vegetable based insulation oil. This can lead to a misleading conclusion on the characteristics of natural ester oil as a substitute to mineral oil in power transformers. It is therefore pertinent to have a Malaysian standard property values for vegetable oil (natural esters) guiding researcher, manufacturer and users of "vegetable oil (natural ester) filled transformer in Malaysia"

What drives students’ intention to take marketing majoring? An empirical investigation of the critical factors

The objective of the research is to examine the relationship among intrinsic motivation, variety of career, introductory unit of marketing course and intention to adopt marketing majoring among first-year undergraduate business students in Malaysia. A total 184 questionnaires were collected via convenience sampling from undergraduate students from public and private universities located in Klang valley and Selangor in Malaysia. Regression analysis was applied to access the relationship between the proposed variables. The findings revealed that all three factors namely, intrinsic motivation, variety of career and introductory unit of marketing course were found to have a statistically significant influence on intention to adopt marketing majoring

Feasibility study on the use of vegetable oil (natural ester) in Malaysia power system transformers

Power transformer insulation oil is critical to the useful life of the transformer. Although mineral base insulation oil is the most common type of transformer insulation oil in use, environmental and safety concerns has encouraged the development of biodegradable alternatives. Today, Envirotemp FR3™ is in commercial use and this study is aimed at ascertaining the possibility of applying the oil in Malaysia power transformers. A sample of ™ was tested to measure and compare the technical (including electrical, chemical and physical) properties of the oil according to Malaysian standards. The study found that the oil sample had better qualities, such as higher dielectric strength, lower dissipation factor, higher flash and fire points, higher moisture absorption capability, and less dissolved gases composition amongst others. However, it was also ascertained that further development in this area could be hindered due to Malaysia's lack of standards for biodegradable oil

Program Perceived Value and Program Satisfaction Influences on Store Loyalty: Insights from Retail Loyalty Progam

Investigations to determine whether program perceived value could influence program satisfaction, program card loyalty and store loyalty are critical to elucidate the roles and significance of the constructs and advancing management practice. Accordingly, in line with this research direction, this study aims to assess the effects of program perceived value offered by few leading retail superstores and departmental stores in Malaysia on its members’ loyalty towards the store. The data set utilized in this study has been obtained via quota sampling technique, where a sample of 153 retail loyalty programs’ members was analyzed. An integrative conceptual model was developed and tested using Structural Equation Modeling using AMOS program. The results exemplify that program perceived value is a strong driver of program satisfaction and program card loyalty. Unexpectedly, program perceived value is not a significant predictor of store loyalty but, it has an indirect effect on store loyalty mediated by program satisfaction. Continuous plea in marketing management is to make marketing instruments more efficient. In recent years introduction of customer relationship marketing instruments is strongly advocated, both in marketing theory and practice. Several researchers (e.g., Berry 1983; Berry and Parasuraman 1991; and Gronroos, 1994) have changed the focus of a marketing orientation from attracting short-term, discrete transactional customers to retaining long-lasting, intimate customer relationships. In fact Roberts, Varki, Brodie (2003), further suggested that it is best to describe relationship marketing as the formation of “bonds” between the company and the customer. Achieving an effective relationship in a consumer context is considered to be even more challenging than it is in a business-to-business context, given the generally more polygamous character of consumers as opposed to business customers (Keng and Ehrenberger 1984; Pressey and Matthews 1998)

The effect of entrepreneurial orientation, innovation capability and knowledge creation on firm performance: a perspective on small scale entrepreneurs

The purpose of this study is to examine the predictive effects of entrepreneurial orientation, innovation capability and knowledge creation on firm performance. Data for the study was collected using a cross-sectional quantitative survey. A total of 188 useable responses were collected from SMEs in Malaysia. The findings show that entrepreneurial orientation, innovation capability and knowledge creation have a positive impact on firm performance. Furthermore, the impacts of entrepreneurial orientation and innovation capability on knowledge creation are also examined in this study. The findings suggest that innovation capability is positively related to knowledge creation, but entrepreneurial orientation does not have a significant impact on knowledge creation. This study makes a considerable contribution to the existing literature on entrepreneurial orientation, innovation capability and knowledge creation of SMEs, particularly in regards to explaining the performance of Malaysian SMEs

Virgin coconut oil dielectrical properties as electrical insulation material

Mineral oil played an important role as insulating liquid such as to reduce failure, ageing effect, increase the life span and heat transfer agent. Mineral oil had a good dielectric strength and cooling performance but it had serious negative environmental impact like non-biodegradable, non-renewable resource and difficult to dispose when it deteriorates completely. Hence, virgin coconut oil (VCO) was chosen as alternative to replace mineral oil since it biodegrades completely without toxic and easy to get in the tropical country. Three dielectric tests were conducted to investigate the dielectric properties of VCO. Those were breakdown voltage, water content and kinematic viscosity. A study about the effect of the moisture level of VCO on the breakdown voltage and kinematic viscosity was also presented. VCO and mineral oil also undergone heating process to reduce moisture in sample. The study showed that VCO has good potential breakdown voltage with the ability to absorb a lot of moisture keeping the KRAFT paper dry. However, VCO had very high kinematic viscosity compared to mineral oil. Further, the rate of breakdown voltage decreases with increasing of moisture of VCO was lower than mineral oil

Assessing the Factors Influencing Service Innovation Capabilities and Performance

Innovation has been recognized as a central source of business growth and a key determinant of competitive advantage for many organizations. This paper seeks to address two main objectives. The first objective is to examine the direct effect of organizational structure (i.e. centralization and formalization), transformational leadership, organizational learning and customer orientation on innovation capabilities. The second objective is to examine the effect of innovation capability and organizational performance. Findings show that customer orientation, organizational learning, and transformation leadership had significant positive effects on innovation capability. The results further show that innovation capability had a significant impact on organizational performance

The effect of demographic factors on consumer intention to purchase organic products in the Klang Valley: an empirical study

The global market for organic food has developed significantly in the past decade. The organic food industry in Malaysia is getting wider, even though the domestic market remains relatively small. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of demographic factors towards purchase intention of organic food. A total of 150 completed questionnaires was collected via convenience sampling from customers of a shopping-mall in Malaysia’s Klang Valley. Five demographic variables were used in this study, including gender, age, level of income, level of education and presence of children in the household. The findings revealed that, gender, age, level of education did have significant impacts on the consumer intention to buy organic food. These findings will appeal to those interested in consumer behaviour regarding organic food consumption and the continued development of Malaysia’s organic food industry

Understanding students compulsive buying of apparel: an empirical study

Most compulsive buyers tend to be highly interested in fashion as well as their physical appearance and attractiveness. This study aims to investigate the impact of depression, materialism, excessive internet usage on compulsive buying behaviour among university students in buying apparels. A total of 177 questionnaires were collected via convenience sampling from university students located at Klang Valley. It is found that, depression and materialism are having a significant impact to compulsive buying behaviour. These findings will appeal to those interested in consumer behaviour in buying apparel