Nutritional outcomes related to household food insecurity among mothers in rural Malaysia

During the past two decades, the rates of food insecurity and obesity have risen. Although a relationship between these two seemingly-paradoxical states has not been repeatedly seen in men, research suggests that a correlation between them exists in women. This study examines nutritional outcomes of household food insecurity among mothers in rural Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey of low-income households was conducted, and 223 households with mothers aged 18-55 years, who were non-lactating, non-pregnant, and had at least one child aged 2-12 years, were purposively selected. A questionnaire was administered that included the Radimer/Cornell Scale, items about sociodemographic characteristics, and anthropometric measurements. Of the households, 16.1% were food-secure whereas 83.9% experienced some kind of food insecurity: 29.6% of households were food-insecure, 19.3% contained individuals who were foodinsecure, and 35.0% fell into the 'child hunger' category. The result reported that household-size, total monthly income, income per capita, and food expenditure were significant risk factors of household food insecurity. Although there was a high prevalence of overweight and obese mothers (52%) and 47.1% had at-risk waist-circumference (=80 cm), no significant association was found between food insecurity, body mass index, and waist-circumference. In conclusion, the rates of household food insecurity and overweight and obesity were high in the study population, although they are looking paradoxical. Longitudinal studies with larger sample-sizes are recommended to further examine the relationship between food insecurity and obesity

Tarekat Naqshabandiyyah Khalidiyyah in Malaysia: a Study on the Leadership of Haji Ishaq Bin Muhammad Arif

: The Tarekat Naqshabandiyyah Khalidiyyah lead by Haji Ishaq has many followers and is also known especially among other tarekat followers in Malaysia. This article is navigating through the leadership of Haji Ishaq Bin Muhammad Arif, the emergence of tarekat Naqshabandiyyah Khalidiyyah he lead and its evolution in Malaysia. Beside the data collected through the manuscript written by Haji Ishaq, his murids works were also studied. Field observations were also performed at several sites that are identified to be the centers of the movement. Also, some senior students of Haji Ishaq were interviewed to strengthen the arguments of the manuscript data. This study had discovered that tarekat Naqshabandiyyah Khalidiyyah lead by Haji Ishaq was large group with many followers, made up of diverse backgrounds, including academicians and professionals. The power of this group is reflected in the extensive network of centers that are located in several states in Malaysia

Exsolution enhancement of metal-support co oxidation perovskite catalyst with parameter modification

This study aimed to further tune the capability of active metal exsolution onto the surface of the CO oxidative perovskite catalyst La0.7Ce0.1Co0.3Ni0.1Ti0.6O3 by tuning the reducing parameter. Under same calcination temperature of 800℃, XRD analysis shown that the precursors with calcination duration of 6 hours (S2T8H6) was able to achieve similar crystalline structure to those with calcination duration of 12 hours (S2T8H12). In order for the active metal (CoNi) to be exsolved onto the perovskite surface, reducing parameter such as temperature and duration are deemed crucial to the reduction process. The exsolution of the active metals was observed when the samples were treated under reducing condition with varying temperatures of 550℃ and 700℃ and duration from 200 to 300 minutes. Through comparison with their EDX readings, S2T8H6 treated under 700℃ and 300 minutes (S2T8H6-R7H5) achieved the highest weight percentage of surface Cobalt and Nickel of 3.83 and 2.81. It was clear that by tuning the temperature and duration of reduction, the exsolution of the active metals onto the surface of the perovskite could be improved resulting in better exposure and dispersion of active metals onto the surface of catalyst

Incidence and antibiogram of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in processed and frozen bivalve mollusks in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and antibiogram of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in processed bivalve molluscs in Kuala Terengganu. A total of 80 seafood samples, namely mussels (n=20), carpet clams (n=20), cockles (n=20) and scallops (n=20), were subjected to PCR and conventional plating method for the detection of V. parahaemolyticus. V. parahaemolyticus was found in green mussels (55%), carpet clam (80%), cockles (40%) and scallops (55%). Fifty-five V. parahaemolyticus isolates were subjected to 9 types antibiotic sensitivity test using discs diffusion method. All isolates were susceptible to Tetracycline and Gentamycin. Isolates showed high resistance towards Vancomycin (52.73%), Penicillin (45.45%) and Amplicillin (32.73%). Resistance towards Amikacin, Ciprofloxacin and Norfloxacin were found to be 1.82%. It can be concluded that local bivalve molluscs were contaminated with V. parahaemolyticus and isolates showed resistance towards certain antibiotics. Therefore, consumption of raw or semi-cooked bivalve molluscs is not advisable

Factors Towards Voluntary Turnover Among Employees in Malaysia Banking Institution

Voluntary Turnover refers to the decision of an employee to leave their organization based on their own intention and self-control. Thus this condition may give negative affects to one organization in terms of monetary, productivity and time deficit. The paper aimed to explore the relationship between factors namely job satisfaction, career adaptability, turnover intention and pay towards voluntary turnover in the banking sector. Self-administered questionnaire is distributed conveniently among respondents from several departments known as Human Resources, Marketing, Retail Rehabilitation, Branch Operation Processing, Treasury and Investigation Audit. The study uses SPSS (Scientific Package for Social Sciences) to specified frequencies distribution, reliability analysis, correlation coefficient (Pearson’s) and regression analysis. The analysis proved that there is a significant relationship between voluntary turnover and three independent variables (turnover intention, job satisfaction and pay). The result revealed that the turnover intention is the most influence factor toward voluntary turnover.     Keywords: Voluntary Turnover; Job Satisfaction; Career Adaptability; Turnover Intention; Pa

Academic Performance of University Students: A Case in a Higher Learning Institution

This research is to identify the relationships and main factors of academic performance degree students in a Higher Learning Institution. The researcher can see the increasing number of students did not graduate on time based on the data provided and it means the students did not perform well in their studies. This research was done by conducting a survey using the questionnaires were distributed to the students in the campus based on list name given by head of faculty. The degree students involved were from semester 4 and 5. The total of sample size is according to Krejcie & Morgan, (1970). The data from questionnaires were analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 23. The result analyzed using reliability analysis, frequency analysis, descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and multiple regressions. The results from the analysis show that this variable will lead to the academic performance towards degree students. The highest beta value is teaching and learning process. In a conclusion, this research gives some valuable information to the researcher, organization and the reader which is useful for basic knowledge. Moreover, the researcher also has recommended few strategies or ideas such as teachers need to create more on the ideas of teaching process, the institution need to take care of the students needs related to their learning process, and more concern on poor students in order to help them in academic performance among degree students semester 4 and 5 in the university.     Keywords: Academic Performance, Teaching and Learning Process, Family and Peers influence, Students’ Financial

Removal of as and cd ions from aqueous solution using biosorption technique

Arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) are listed as heavy metals that have contaminated the environment, especially water supplies. Therefore, the goal of this study was to remove heavy metals, particularly As and Cd metal ions, from aqueous solutions by utilizing natural waste adsorbents and at the same time, help in the reduction of waste products. This study was designed to use low-cost and more widely available adsorbents material such as coconut husk and banana peel to remove As and Cd ions in an aqueous solution. The adsorption method was utilized to reduce and remove the As and Cd ions, and their concentrations in an aqueous solution were then determined by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Various parameters such as types of adsorbents (banana peel and coconut husk), adsorbent dosages (0.1-0.3g), contact time (30-70 minutes), and temperature (25-45°C) were used to carry out the removal process. The FTIR analysis revealed that certain heavy metals were more likely to bind to these adsorbents due to the presence of important functional groups such as hydroxyl (-OH) and carbonyl (C=O). From this study, the optimum removal conditions were 0.1 g dose of adsorbent along with 70 minutes of contact time at a reaction temperature of 25°C. The results revealed that banana peel removed 0.948 mg/L of Cd ions and 0.148 mg/L of As ions from the aqueous solution, suggesting that it was more efficient at removing heavy metals than coconut husk. Meanwhile, Cd ions have a higher affinity (93.9% to 99.9% removal) than As ions (8.3% to 22.2% removal) to adsorb onto the active sites of banana peel and be removed from an aqueous solution. In conclusion, the adsorption technique using natural waste adsorbents can be applied to remove the As and Cd ions from the aqueous solutions. The reduction of these heavy metals' concentration by adsorbents can also help to preserve the quality of water sources under the permissible limit set by WHO