Board size, Chief Risk Officer and risk-taking in Islamic Banks: role of Shariah Supervisory Board

This paper aims to examine the moderating effect of Shariah Supervisory Boards (SSBs) on the relationship between board size, Chief Risk Officer (CRO), and risk-taking of 24 Islamic banks (IBs) in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei from 2010 to 2015. This approach integrates the arguments of agency theory and resource dependence theory. The results of panel regression indicate that the appointment of a CRO as an executive board member reduces credit risk, implying that the appointment of a CRO as a risk expert in IBs enhances the management of risk and monitoring of risk-taking activities. Further, larger board is likely to reduce insolvency risk when an SSB has higher percentage of members with supervisory Shariah experience. Next, this study observes that larger SSB size and a higher percentage of members with Shariah supervision experience moderate the relationship between the CRO and insolvency risk. Overall, this study highlights the important role of board size, CRO and SSB in the risk-taking of Islamic banks, which have received little attention in the extant literature

Biochemical and histological effects of low dose of monosodium glutamate on the liver of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is widely used as an additive in food. Excess consumption of MSG was reported to cause oxidative stress on brain, liver and renal resulted in increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This study aims to determine the biochemical and histological effects of low dose MSG on the liver of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals (n = 6 per group) were randomly divided into three groups with two treatment groups: 60 mg/kg (MSG60) and 120 mg/kg (MSG120), and one control group (distilled water). The substances were administered to the rats via force feeding for 28 consecutive days. On day 29, all rats were killed, and liver tissues were biopsied for the biochemical (total protein, liver enzymes, and the status of oxidative stress) and histological analysis. The total protein appeared significantly decreased (p < 0.05) while alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) demonstrated a significant increased (p < 0.05) in the MSG120 treatment group as compared to the control group. Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and the antioxidant levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) were significantly increase (p < 0.05) in the MSG120 group as compared to the MSG60 and control groups. The histological findings revealed changes to normal liver architecture and accumulation of red blood cells in the central veins in both MSG groups. This study indicates that the MSG consumption at a dose of 120 mg/kg may ALTer the biochemical and histological parameters of the liver

Board size, chief risk officer and risk-taking in Islamic banks: role of shariah supervisory board(Saiz Lembaga Pengarah, Ketua Pegawai Risiko dan Pengambilan Risiko di Bank-bank Islam: Peranan Lembaga Penyeliaan Syariah)

This paper aims to examine the moderating effect of Shariah Supervisory Boards (SSBs) on the relationship between board size, Chief Risk Officer (CRO), and risk-taking of 24 Islamic banks (IBs) in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei from 2010 to 2015. This approach integrates the arguments of agency theory and resource dependence theory. The results of panel regression indicate that the appointment of a CRO as an executive board member reduces credit risk, implying that the appointment of a CRO as a risk expert in IBs enhances the management of risk and monitoring of risk-taking activities. Further, larger board is likely to reduce insolvency risk when an SSB has higher percentage of members with supervisory Shariah experience. Next, this study observes that larger SSB size and a higher percentage of members with Shariah supervision experience moderate the relationship between the CRO and insolvency risk. Overall, this study highlights the important role of board size, CRO and SSB in the risk-taking of Islamic banks, which have received little attention in the extant literature

Low dose monosodium glutamate induced oxidative damage and histopathological changes on the renal of male rats

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a flavour enhancer commonly used in processed food to increase palatability. Several studies have reported that chronic exposure of MSG causes renal fibrosis via oxidative stress mechanism. However, till date, the effects of low dose of MSG on the oxidative stress status and its histopathological observation of renal are still unclear. A total of 18 male Sprague Dawley rats (170 – 200 g) were divided randomly into three groups consisted of the control (received distilled water = 1 ml/kg), MSG 60 (received 60 mg/kg MSG) and MSG 120 (received 120 mg/kg MSG) groups. All of the substances were given via force-feed oral for 28 consecutive days. At the end of the study, all rats were sacrificed and the renal were isolated for biochemical and histological evaluation. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and protein carbonyl (PC) level showed significantly increased (p < 0.05) in MSG 60 and MSG 120 group compared to the control group. However, no significant difference was found in glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) level in all treated groups. The histology observation showed glomerulus shrinkage in MSG 60 and MSG 120 groups. In conclusion, these findings confirmed low dose of MSG-induced oxidative stress and histopathological changes on the renal of male Sprague-dawley rats. Accordingly, care must be taken on the intake of MSG in our daily basis

Nanoceluloza z odpadów rolniczych jako potencjalny materiał nanotechnologiczny

It has been shown that in the last decades nanotechnology plays a key role not only in science but more and more of ten in industry as well. Recent research has shown that agricultural waste is a possible feedstock to produce nanocellulose which can be used for diff erent applications, such as a biosensor, semiconductor and reinforcing agent. The use of agro-waste as a precursor not only off ers advantages for raw material costs, but also for the climate, low processing costs, availability and convenience. It also helps to address environmental issues, such as illness, foul odor and concerns with indoor use. Diff erent processes, such as chemical treatment, mechanical treatment and chemo-mechanical treatment, have been used to extract nanocellulose from agro-waste. This article highlights the latest technologies used to acquire agro-waste nanocellulose, as well as existing advances in and applications of nanocellulose technologies.W ostatnich dziesięcioleciach nanotechnologia odgrywa kluczową rolę nie tylko w nauce, ale coraz częściej także w przemyśle. Wyniki prowadzonych badań wskazują, że odpady rolnicze mogą stanowić potencjalny surowiec do produkcji nanocelulozy. Wiadomo, że nanoceluloza jest doskonałym materiałem do różnych zastosowań, m.in. jako biosensor, półprzewodnik i czynnik wzmacniający – włókna. Wykorzystanie agroodpadów jako surowca jest korzystne nie tylko ze względu na ich cenę, ale także ze względu na potencjalnie niewielki wpływ na klimat, niskie koszty i łatwość przetwarzania oraz dostępność. Niweluje również możliwe problemy wynikające z emisji nieprzyjemnych zapachów i ich negatywnego wpływu na zdrowie organizmów żywych. Do ekstrakcji nanocelulozy z agroodpadów stosuje się procesy obróbki chemicznej, obróbki mechanicznej i obróbki chemiczno-mechanicznej. Przedstawiono najnowsze technologie wykorzystywane do pozyskiwania nanocelulozy zagroodpadów, a także dotychczasowe postępy i zastosowania technologii zużyciem nanocelulozy

Chemoselective decarboxylation of ceiba oil to diesel-range alkanes over a red mud based catalyst under H2-free conditions

Concerns over global greenhouse gas emissions such as COx and NOx as well as the depletion of petroleum fossil resources have motivated humankind to seek an alternative energy source known as green diesel. In this study, green diesel was produced via a deoxygenation (DO) reaction of ceiba oil under a H2-free atmosphere over Ni modified red mud-based catalysts, which have been synthesized via a precipitation – deep-deposition assisted autoclave method. The obtained catalyst was further characterized by XRF, XRD, BET, FTIR, TPD-NH3, FESEM, and TGA. Based on the catalytic activity test, all Ni/RMOx catalysts facilitated greater DO activity by yielding 83–86% hydrocarbon yield and 70–85% saturated diesel n-(C15 + C17) selectivity. Ni/RMO3 was the best catalyst for deoxygenizing the ceiba oil owing to the existence of a high acidic strength (12717.3 μmol g−1) and synergistic interaction between Fe–O and Ni–O species, thereby producing the highest hydrocarbon yield (86%) and n-(C15 + C17) selectivity (85%). According to the reusability study, the Ni/RMO3 could be reused for up to six consecutive runs with hydrocarbon yields ranging from 53% to 83% and n-(C15 + C17) selectivity ranging from 62% to 83%