Corporate governance structure and performance of Malaysian listed companies

Corporate governance plays an important role in protecting shareholders' interest. Securities Commission Malaysia has consistently revised the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance to improve the corporate governance in all companies. Most of the principles and recommendations in Malaysia Code of Corporate Governance were largely derived from recommendations in developed countries. It is time to explore whether the various best practices and recommendations have influence on performance of Malaysian listed companies. In order to examine the influence of corporate governance variables, the linear regression was performed by focusing on board characteristic, chief executive officer duality, shareholding structure and directors' shareholding structure of 75 companies listed in Main Market under Bursa Malaysia from 2009 to 2013. The analysis results revealed a significant relationship between corporate governance variables (board size, chief executive officer duality, composition of non-executive directors, composition of directors with multiple directorships and concentrated shareholdings) and performance of the company when using market measure (Tobin's Q ratio). However, the findings revealed that only board size and concentrated shareholding had significant relationship with performance when using accounting measure (return on assets). In a nutshell, the mixed results show Malaysian companies are more concerns on future performance and growth opportunities which reflect in share pric

Reduction of saltiness and acrylamide levels in palm sugar-like flavouring through buffer modification and the addition of calcium chloride.

Palm sugar-like flavouring (PSLF) is a type of flavour product that is formed by heating amino acids and sugar under specific heating conditions. Unfortunately, PSLF has a salty taste and contains high amounts of acrylamide. Hence, the objective of this research was to reduce saltiness and acrylamide without negatively affecting the aroma properties of PSLF. A decrease in the sodium phosphate (NaHPO4) buffer concentration from 0.20 to 0.02 M was found to reduce sodium to approximately 15% of the level found in original PSLF. A further decrease (~25%) in the sodium content was achieved by removing monobasic sodium phosphate (NaH2PO4) from the buffer system. Meanwhile, the addition of CaCl2 at 20–40 mg/L reduced the acrylamide content in PSLF by as much as 58%. A CaCl2 concentration of 20 mg/mL was most favourable as it most efficiently suppressed acrylamide formation while providing an acceptably high flavour yield in PSLF. In view of the high acrylamide content in PSLF, additional work is necessary to further reduce the amount of acrylamide by controlling the asparagine concentration in the precursor mixture

Cloning of a novel phytase from an anaerobic rumen bacterium, Mitsuokella jalaludinii, and its expression in Escherichia coli

The full length phytase gene of Mitsuokella jalaludinii was successfully cloned and was found to be 1047 bp in length, with 348 amino acids, and was designated as PHY7 phytase gene. A comparison of the sequence of PHY7 phytase gene of M. jalaludinii with various microbial phytase gene sequences showed that it was not similar to those from other bacteria except Selenomonas ruminatium, thus suggesting that they may both express a new class of phytase. The PHY7 phytase gene was subsequently subcloned into bacterial expression vector, pET32a, for expression in Escherichia coli strain Rosetta-gami. Expression of the recombinant phytase gene was optimized and characterized. The recombinant phytase was estimated to be approximately 55 kDa by SDS-PAGE analysis. The recombinant phytase exhibited optimum activity at 55°C, pH 4.5 and showed good pH stability from pH 3.5 to 5.5 (>78% relative activity). Metal ions such as Ca2+, Mg2+, and K+ were found to exert significant stimulatory effect on the recombinant phytase activity while Cu2+, Fe3+, and Zn2+ greatly inhibited the enzyme activity. The recombinant phytase showed moderate resistance to trypsin proteolysis, but susceptible to pepsin proteolysis. The results of the study showed that several characteristics of recombinant phytase were slightly different from the native enzyme. Unfavourable characteristics such as reduced pH stability and metal ion effects should be taken into consideration during feed enzyme formulation

Solubility of red palm oil in supercritical carbon dioxide: measurement and modelling

The solubility of red palm oil (RPO) in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) was determined using a dynamic method at 8.5–25 MPa and, 313.15–333.15 K and at a fixed scCO2 flow rate of 2.9 g·min− 1 using a full factorial design. The solubility was determined under low pressures and temperatures as a preliminary study for RPO particle formation using scCO2. The solubility of RPO was 0.5–11.3 mg·(g CO2)− 1 and was significantly affected by the pressure and temperature. RPO solubility increased with pressure and decreased with temperature. The Adachi–Lu model showed the best-fit for RPO solubility data with an average relative deviation of 14% with a high coefficient of determination, R2 of 0.9667, whereas the Peng–Robinson equation of state thermodynamic model recorded deviations of 17%–30%

Effects of condensed tannins from Leucaena on methane reduction, rumen fermentation and populations of methaogens and protozoa in vitro

Different levels of purified condensed tannins (CT) extracted from Leucaena leucocephala hybrid-Rendang (LLR) were investigated for their effects on CH4 production, rumen fermentation parameters such as pH, dry matter (DM) degradability, N disappearance and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations, as well as on populations of rumen methanogenic archaea and protozoa in vitro. Purified CT concentrations of 0 (control), 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mg, and 500 mg of oven dried guinea grass (Panicum maximum) with 40 ml of buffered rumen fluid were incubated for 24 h using an in vitro gas production procedure. Total gas (ml/g DM) decreased at a decreasing rate (linear P < 0.01; quadratic P < 0.05) with increased levels of CT inclusion. CH4 production (ml/g DM) decreased at a decreasing rate (linear P < 0.01; quadratic P < 0.01) with increasing levels of CT. Total VFA concentration (mmol/L) decreased at a decreasing rate (linear P < 0.01; quadratic P < 0.01) with increasing CT inclusions. In vitro DM degradation and N disappearance declined linearly (P < 0.01) with increasing levels of CT. Estimates of rumen methanogenic archaea and protozoa populations using microbiological methods and real-time PCR assay showed linear reductions in total methanogens (P < 0.01) and total protozoa (P < 0.01) with increasing levels of CT. Methanogens in the order Methanobacteriales also declined, but with quadratic and cubic aspects. Results suggest that CT from LLR at a relatively low level of 15 mg of CT/500 mg DM reduce CH4 production by 47%, with only 7% reduction in degradation of feed DM. However, higher CT inclusions, while further reducing CH4 emissions, have substantive negative effects on DM digestibility

A preliminary study: Does relationship closeness with grandchildren correlate with the quality of life and physical health of Malaysian Chinese elderly?

The 13th Next-Generation Global Workshop第13回次世代グローバルワークショップテーマ: New Risks and Resilience in Asian Societies and the World 日程: 21-23 November, 2020 開催場所: ベトナム社会科学院(ハノイ)/Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences(No. 1 Lieu Giai street, Ba Dinh, Hanoi, Vietnam) ※Due to the COVID-19, the workshop will be held at ONLINE for overseas participants(not from Vietnam)/ONSITE for Vietnamese participants.This preliminary mixed-method study aimed to investigate whether grandparental childcare can contribute to elderly' quality of life and physical health. In the quantitative study, a total of 97 Chinese grandparents who are primary caregivers were recruited to examine the relations of relationship closeness, quality of life and physical health. Correlational analysis revealed that grandparent-grandchildren relationship closeness positively correlated with self-rated quality of life and physical health of the grandparents. In the qualitative interview, grandmothers (n = four Chinese grandmothers) who are primary caregivers were recruited to share their experience in taking care of grandchildren. Findings from the thematic analysis revealed that all grandmothers have a close relationship with their grandchildren. In specific, they are happy with the companionship of grandchildren even though they may feel physically tired in taking care of grandchildren. This preliminary study on skipped generation family provides insights into understanding the contribution of relationship closeness with grandchildren on the perceived quality of life and physical health of Malaysian grandparents who are the primary caregiver to their grandchildren

The Determinants of Capital Structure: Evidence from Malaysian Companies

The aim of this study is to investigate the determinants of capital structure for Malaysian manufacturing companies. The studied subjects were 174 Malaysia manufacturing companies listed on Bursa Malaysia from year 2011 to year 2014. Firm fixed-effect with robust standard was used in data analysis to address the potential heterogeneity and endogeneity that arise from panel data. The analysis shows that firm profitability and non-debt tax shield are negatively related to firm leverage. On the other hand, several corporate governance mechanisms, namely, ownership concentration, separation of CEO-chairs, board independence, are not related to firm leverage. Liquidity, firm size and asset structure are also not related to firm leverage of manufacturing firms

Anaerobic cellulolytic rumen fungal populations in goats fed with and without Leucaena leucocephala hybrid, as determined by real-time PCR

The effect of Leucaena leucocephala hybrid-Bahru (LLB), which contains a high concentration of condensed tannins, on cellulolytic rumen fungal population in goats was investigated using real-time PCR. The fungal population in goats fed LLB was inhibited during the first 10 days of feeding, but after 15 days of feeding, there was a tremendous increase of fungal population (157.0 μg/ml), which was about fourfold more than that in control goats (39.7 μg/ml). However, after this period, the fungal population decreased continuously, and at 30 days of feeding, the fungal population (50.6 μg/ml) was not significantly different from that in control goats (55.4 μg/ml)

Influences of neurotransmission-related genetic polymorphisms on depression, anxiety and stress

Over 10% of the world population suffer from mental disorders. In particular, depression causes about 800,000 suicide cases annually, while anxiety is the most common mental disorder. Stresses from work, life, and health have been identified as the common triggers for the two mental disorders. Eventhough mental disorders are treatable and validated tools are available to diagnose, many individuals are left untreated due to different factors, such as a lack of trained personnel and stigma. Neuroscience research indicates that mental disorders could be hereditary, where genes involved in determining behavioural variants. Disturbance in brain communication, resulting from abnormalities in neurogenesis, neurotransmission, and enzymatic degradation, have led to negative emotional states. This mini-review will highlight some important genes in the neurotransmitter systems and explore the relationship between gene polymorphisms and emotional states (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress). The genes that will be discussed in this mini-review include brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which is involved in neuron development, serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) and 5- hydroxytryptamine receptor 1A (5-HT1A) which are involved in serotonin neurotransmitter action potential propagation, and monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), which are involved in neurotransmitter catabolism

Coprological diagnosis of gastrointestinal parasites in captive primates in Peninsular Malaysia.

The present study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites in captive primate populations in three Zoos in Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 52 faecal samples were collected from the enclosures of five species of local primates comprising Orang Utans (Pongo pygmaeus), White-Handed Gibbons (Hylobates lar), Siamangs (Symphalangus syndactylus), Stump-tail Macaques (Macaca arctoides) and Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang). The samples were subjected to Formal-Ether sedimentation, Ziehl-Neelsen and Giemsa staining for microscopy detection of helminth ova and protozoan cysts. PCR with species-specific primers were used to detect Cryptosporidium. A total of 46 (88%) faecal samples were positive for various parasites by microscopy. The most common parasite harboured by the captive primates was Entamoeba (65.4%), followed by Strongyles (40.4%), Strongyloides (15.4%) and Cryptosporidium (9.6%). Balantidium and Trichuris showed relatively low infection rates (1.9%). PCR assay had a higher sensitivity (15.4%) for the detection of Cryptosporidium compared to conventional microscopy and Ziehl-Neelsen staining (9.6%). The high rate of infection with Entamoeba and Cryptosporidium, and the presence of Balantidium in the captive primates are of concern as they pose a potential zoonotic risk to animal handlers, keepers and the public