Human Resource Related Disclosures of Malaysian Public Listed Companies

Corporate social responsibility has been a phenomenon in the business world for the past few decades considering the amount of studies that have been done. It can be defined as “the impact of a company’s activities on the welfare of a society”. Corporate social responsibility has also been considered to be a company’s commitment to contribute ethically towards economic progress while at the same time improving the lives of their workforce and their families. Generally, engaging in the area of corporate social responsibility would mean being accountable towards human resources, environment, community, products and consumers. With the practice of corporate social responsibility comes the need for corporate social reporting. Over the years, corporate social reporting has gradually increased amongst companies and stakeholders have also demanded for more reporting from companies. This has led to expectations on the extent and form of corporate social disclosures in the annual reports of companies. Human resource has been one area where little in-depth research has been done in terms of the nature of its disclosures. As such, this research intends to examine the voluntary corporate disclosures relating specifically to human resource in Malaysia. In this research, the method of content analysis has been employed to classify and quantify the human resource disclosures in the annual reports of the top 30 companies in Malaysia. It is hoped that this will provide some understanding about the current state of human resource disclosures among Malaysian companies

Henneguya sp. in yellowfin goby Acanthogobius flavimanus from the San Francisco Estuary.

Myxozoan spores were observed in yellowfin goby Acanthogobius flavimanus collected from Suisun Marsh, San Francisco Estuary (SFE). Although histopathological changes associated with the parasite were not observed, the spores formed plasmodia that partially blocked the gastric and intestinal mucosa and gut lumen and may affect the perfomance and survival of the yellowfin goby. Morphological features of the spores resembled Henneguya sp. and molecular analysis of the 18S ribosomal DNA (Domain III) confirmed close similarity to H. rhinogobii and H. pseudorhinogobii isolated from the Japanese freshwater goby. The yellowfin goby myxozoan however, is likely an undescribed species based on phylogenetic analysis and morphologic features. Detailed description of vegetative and spore stages are currently lacking for proposal to a new species of Henneguya. A specific PCR test was developed, which confirmed a 100% prevalence of the parasite among randomly collected gobies in group 1 (N = 30) and group 2 (N = 15) at termination of the study at one month in captivity. The myxozoan was also detected from 18 gobies (12%) that died in the first group within two weeks in captivity. Apparently healthy gobies that served as controls did not reveal the presence of the myxozoan by PCR. This study documents the occurrence of a potentially new species of myxozoan in the yellowfin goby and underscores the detection of a parasitic infection in an introduced fish in the SFE. Although the pathogenesis of the myxozoan was not assessed and the prevalence as reported here is restricted to a comparatively small collection site in Suisun slough, the reemergence, identification, and ecological relevance of the parasite on goby populations in the SFE may be investigated in the future using the specific diagnostic tool developed in this study

Analysis of Covalently Bound Microcystins in Sediments and Clam Tissue in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, California, USA.

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms compromise human and environmental health, mainly due to the cyanotoxins they often produce. Microcystins (MCs) are the most commonly measured group of cyanotoxins and are hepatotoxic, neurotoxic, and cytotoxic. Due to MCs ability to covalently bind to proteins, quantification in complex matrices is difficult. To analyze bound and unbound MCs, analytical methods were optimized for analysis in sediment and clam tissues. A clean up step was incorporated to remove lipids, improving percent yield. This method was then applied to sediment and clam samples collected from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta) in the spring and fall of 2017. Water samples were also tested for intracellular and extracellular MCs. These analyses were used to quantify the partitioning of MCs among sediment, clams, and water, and to examine whether MCs persist during non-summer months. Toxin analysis revealed that multiple sediment samples collected in the Delta were positive for MCs, with a majority of the positive samples from sites in the San Joaquin River, even while water samples from the same location were below detection limit. These data highlight the importance of analyzing MCs in complex matrices to accurately evaluate environmental risk

Development of an ESL curriculum to educate Chinese immigrants about physical activity.

Regular physical activity reduces the risk of many chronic conditions. Multiple studies have shown that Asians in North America engage in less physical activity than the general population. One area for strategic development in the area of health education is the design and evaluation of English as a second language (ESL) curricula. The PRECEDE model and findings from focus groups were used to develop a physical activity ESL curriculum for Chinese immigrants. In general, focus group participants recognized that physical activity contributes to physical and mental wellbeing. However, the benefits of physical activity were most commonly described in terms of improved blood circulation, immune responses, digestion, and reflexes. The importance of peer pressure and the encouragement of friends in adhering to regular physical activity regimens were mentioned frequently. Reported barriers to regular physical activity included lack of time, weather conditions, and financial costs. The ESL curriculum aims to both promote physical activity and improve knowledge, and includes seven different ESL exercises. Our curriculum development methods could be replicated for other health education topics and in other limited English-speaking populations

Identification of harmful cyanobacteria in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Clear Lake, California by DNA barcoding.

Accurate identification of cyanobacteria using traditional morphological taxonomy is challenging due to the magnitude of phenotypic plasticity among natural algal assemblages. In this study, molecular approach was utilized to facilitate the accurate identification of cyanobacteria in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and in Clear Lake in Northern California where recurring blooms have been observed over the past decades. Algal samples were collected from both water bodies in 2011 and the samples containing diverse cyanobacteria as identified by morphological taxonomy were chosen for the molecular analysis. The 16S ribosomal RNA genes (16S rDNA) and the adjacent internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions were amplified by PCR from the mixed algal samples using cyanobacteria generic primers. The obtained sequences were analyzed by similarity search (BLASTN) and phylogenetic analysis (16S rDNA) to differentiate species sharing significantly similar sequences. A total of 185 plasmid clones were obtained of which 77 were successfully identified to the species level: Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, Dolichospermum lemmermannii (taxonomic synonym: Anabaena lemmermannii), Limnoraphis robusta (taxonomic synonym: Lyngbya hieronymusii f. robusta) and Microcystis aeruginosa. To date, Dolichospermum and Limnoraphis found in Clear Lake have only been identified to the genus lavel by microscopy. During the course of this study, morphological identification and DNA barcoding confirmed A. flos-aquae as the predominant cyanobacterium in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta indicating a shift from M. aeruginosa that have dominated the blooms in the past decade. Lastly, the species-specific identification of Limnoraphis robusta in Clear Lake is another significant finding as this cyanobacterium has, thus far, only been reported in Lake Atitlan blooms in Guatemala

Effect Threshold for Selenium Toxicity in Juvenile Splittail, Pogonichthys macrolepidotus A

In fish, selenium can bioaccumulate and cause adverse impacts. One of the fish species potentially at risk from selenium in the San Francisco Bay (California, USA) is the splittail (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus). Previous studies have derived a whole body NOAEL and LOAEL of 9.0 and 12.9 mg/kg-dw, respectively, for selenium in juveniles. However, the NOAEL/LOAEL approach leaves some uncertainty regarding the threshold of toxicity. Therefore, the raw data from the original experiment was re-analyzed using a logistic regression to derive EC10 values of 0.9 mg/kg-dw in feed, 7.9 mg/kg-dw in muscle, 18.6 mg/kg-dw in liver for juvenile splittail. Selenium concentrations in the dietary items of wild splittail exceed the EC10 values derived here. Thus, deformities previously reported in wild splittail may have resulted from selenium exposures via the food chain

Assessing Glyphosate and Fluridone Concentrations in Water Column and Sediment Leachate

Purpose: In recreational water bodies, herbicides are widely used for controlling unwanted weeds, and impacts of herbicide residues on health risks to aquatic ecosystem is a serious concern. This study was aimed to improve the existing understanding of the deposition of herbicides from water column to bed sediment and leachate of herbicides from bed sediment to water column. We investigated the attachment of two herbicides with sediment and release from sediment: (1) Glyphosate; and (2) Fluridone. The goal of this study was to determine the deposition and release of Glyphosate and Fluridone in bed sediment of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta.Materials and Methods: Field sampling was performed to collect water and sediment samples from Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. Bottom dredge sampler was used for collecting sediment samples and horizontal water bottle sampler was used for collecting water samples. A series of experiments were conducted to determine the attachment and release of Fluridone and Glyphosate from sediment at a different level of initial concentrations. For analyzing Fluridone and Glyphosate in sediment leachate and water, samples were processed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based method.Results and Discussion: Observations showed that proportions of Glyphosate concentrations in water were higher than Fluridone concentrations in water, when both herbicides were inoculated in water in same quantity. On the contrary, the concentrations of Fluridone in sediment-bound leachate were higher than Glyphosate concentrations in sediment-bound leachate, regardless of the initial concentrations. Fluridone and Glyphosate concentrations in water column samples differed significantly (p < 0.05) over the time even initial concentrations of these herbicides were kept similar, which indicates that Fluridone interaction with water column was considerably different than the interaction of Glyphosate with the water column.Conclusions: Bed sediment can be an important sink and source for release of Fluridone and Glyphosate from bed sediment to the water column of an ambient water body. Significant concentrations of herbicides were deposited in bed sediment of Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and eventually the high concentrations of herbicides were observed in sediment leachate. Improved understanding of this important release pathway can provide much needed information to adequately address the impacts of particle attached herbicides on aquatic and ecological environment of a water body

Vibration analysis of vehicle engine mounting

Engine mounting is one of the important components in a vehicle to isolate noise and vibration generated by the engine from the driver and passenger. There are three main types of engine mounting such as passive engine mounting, semi-active engine mounting and active engine mounting. The price of the mounting in the market range from the cheapest which is passive engine mounting to the most expensive type of engine mounting which is the active engine mounting. The effectiveness of the engine mounting vary with the price of the engine mounting with the passive engine mounting being the low quality isolation of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) and the active engine mounting being the highest quality isolation of NVH. In order to reduce the vibrations, noise and harshness (NVH) level for vehicles, understanding about the vibration characteristics of the passive engine mounting in detail is crucial. The objective of this project is to analyze the vibration cause by the engine of a Perodua Kenari on the engine mounting system at different engine revolutions per minute (rpm). The experiment is carried out on a stationary vehicle using DasyLab software. Here, analysis on the vibration obtained from the experiment carried out helps to determine the time response and frequency response of the engine at different rpm. From the results obtained, we can understand the characteristics of the passive engine mounting which is the fundamental of engine mounting among the three types. By understanding the characteristics of the passive engine mounting, improvement can be made on the engine mounting in a low cost method to further improve on the NVH isolation qualit