17362 research outputs found
Sort by
Extraction and characterization of collagen and gelatin from body wall of sea cucumbers stichopus horrens and holothuria arenicola
No full textBackground: Marine invertebrates, including sponges, molluscs, jellyfish, mussels, and sea cucumbers, are abundant sources of high-quality collagen and offer advantages such as availability, ease of processing, lower inflammatory response, and good metabolic compatibility. Approximately 70% of the total protein in the body wall of sea cucumbers is collagen. Gelatin is a water-soluble protein produced from heat-denatured collagen and has various industrial applications.
Methods: Pepsin-solubilized collagen was extracted from the body wall of two sea cucumber Stichopus horrens and Holothuria arenicola, species found in the Oman Sea and characterized with SDS-PAGE and amino acid composition. Then gelatin was extracted from pepsin-solubilized collagen of S. horrens and some rheological properties were measured.
Results: Amino acid composition and SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the collagen from both species was type I, with one a1 chain and β chains, with molecular weights of 125 and 250 kDa, respectively. Glycine was the most abundant amino acid in the collagen from both sea cucumber species. The pepsin-soluble collagens from both species had high levels of glycine, proline, alanine, glutamic acid, and hydroxyproline. The gelatin from S. horrens had a melting point of 30 °C and displayed exceptional thermal stability, surpassing that of mammalian gelatin. Its gelling point was 5 °C, like that of cold-water fish gelatin, with a viscosity of 2.065 cp-lower than mammal gelatins. These findings suggested that collagen and gelatin from sea cucumbers could be useful in nutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries
The role of environmental performance in mediating the relationship between green accounting and corporate social responsibility
No full textThe problems of pollution, global warming, and environmental damage are currently relevant and vital challenges for corporations, governments, and society. The implementation of green accounting is one of the responses of corporations to overcome sustainability issues. This study aims to examine the impact of green accounting on the level of environmental performance and the impact of environmental performance on corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure. This study also tests the role of environmental performance as a mediating variable in the relationship between green accounting and CSR disclosure. The sample consists of 95 listed Indonesian firms during the period 2017–2021. The results show that the adoption of green accounting positively affects environmental performance (coefficient is 0.291 and p-value < 0.01). Meanwhile, environmental performance positively affects CSR disclosure with a coefficient of 0.296 and a p-value < 0.01. The empirical evidence also shows that environmental performance has a critical role as a mediating variable in the effect of green accounting on CSR disclosure
SME's e-commerce adoption in Sabah and Sarawak: The moderating role of government support
No full textThis study investigates the factors influencing e-commerce adoption among SMEs in Sabah and Sarawak, addressing gaps in the existing consensus and theoretical framework. Utilizing the Technology-Organisation-Environment theory, the research focuses on perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, organizational readiness, and top management support, with government support as a moderating variable. Employing a quantitative approach and survey methodology, data analysis was conducted using SPSS and SmartPLS 4. The results reveal that perceived usefulness and ease of use positively impact e-commerce adoption, and government support moderates the relationship between ease of use and adoption. The findings highlight the crucial role of the technological context, particularly user experience. The study underscores that user-friendly and useful e-commerce platforms increase the likelihood of adoption, while government support is vital through regulations and infrastructure improvements. Future research is recommended to explore e-commerce adoption across diverse industries and examine post-adoption stages to identify evolving patterns over tim
Working women’s work engagement and life satisfaction in Sabah, Malaysia: Marital status as the moderator
No full textWork engagement is a vital practice that should be encouraged among employees and employers, particularly within large companies or organizations. This importance arises from the fact that such entities typically have multiple divisions and sub-divisions, including departments and sections. Work engagement plays a crucial role in fostering effective teamwork among employees and employers across these various departments. While the interplay between work engagement and life satisfaction has been explored in both Western and non-Western studies, there is limited research on this topic within the context of Sabah, Malaysia. Moreover, research focusing on the relationship between work engagement and life satisfaction in Sabah remains relatively sparse. This study aims to investigate the role of marital status as a moderator in the relationship between dimensions of work engagement and dimensions of life satisfaction. A total of 348 female government servants participated in this research, which employed a snowball sampling method. Data collection was concentrated in the district of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Questionnaires, both online and physical, were distributed among the participants. The findings suggest that marital status moderates the relationship between work engagement and life satisfaction among female government servants in Kota Kinabalu. Furthermore, marital status partially moderates the relationship between their dedication to job responsibilities and their cognitive life satisfaction
Exploring threshold effect of board size on firm value: Does size matter?
No full textResearch Question: What is the threshold level of board size for the Malaysian stock market? Motivation: This study aims to determine the appropriate size of the board of directors for the Malaysian stock market. Idea: There is a non-monotonic relationship between board size and firm value which underlies two competing views on agency and resource dependence theories. Data: Firm characteristics and board governance data are collected from the Datastream and annual reports of Bursa Malaysia for the period 2000 – 2020 covering 1,247 firms listed on the Malaysian stock market. Method/Tools: This study uses a panel threshold estimation method to explore the nonlinearity of board size on firm value, together with a battery of robustness checks. Findings: The findings of a U-shaped curve imply that before the threshold point, having more directors on the board is associated with lower firm value due to higher agency costs. However, when the threshold point exceeds a certain level, the positive effect dominates, and the super-sized boards are associated with a higher firm value. The results show that the positive impact of board size on firm value begins only after the size of the board exceeds the 1.90 threshold level which is equivalent to 7 directors. Therefore, this paper shows that the number of outsider directors is the positive channel link to the board size-firm value relationship. Contributions: This study contributes to the finance literature by exploring the nonlinearity of board size and firm value based on agency and resource dependence theories. First, the evidence of the U-shaped relationship is consistent with the resource dependence theory prediction that super-sized boards delivered higher firm value. Second, firm value benefit will begin when the board size is more than 7 number of directors. Third, a comprehensive dataset covering 21 years period from 2000 – 2020, yielded a more precisely estimated regression that allows us to determine the long-term impact of Malaysia’s corporate governance board policies after a few rounds of amendments to the MCCG report. Fourth, a board with a greater number of outsider directors is the positive channel mechanism linked to board size and firm value
Antiviral activity of withanolide a against diferent infectivity phases of dengue virus serotype 2 in Vero cell line
No full textDengue fever is caused by the Aedes mosquito-borne dengue virus, which is a global threat with 400 million cases reported annually and 5–20% mortality rate. Currently, there is no effective treatment available for dengue fever. Natural products like withanolides, which are steroidal lactones, have shown many good properties, including antiviral activity against other viruses. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-dengue virus serotype 2 activity of withanolide A and withanone in Vero cells. Withanolide A and withanone were well-tolerated in Vero cells with a half-maximal cytotoxic concentration of 0.4982 and 1.186 µM, respectively. Withanolide A and withanone exhibited good direct virus-inactivating effects against dengue virus serotype 2 with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 0.017 and 0.353 µM, respectively. Based on the selectivity index, withanolide A (selectivity index, 29.31) was determined to be safer and more effective in inhibiting dengue virus serotype 2 infection in Vero cells than withanone (selectivity index, 3.36). Further investigations conducted with withanolide A showed that it inhibited dengue virus serotype 2 during the pre- and post-infection stages in a dose-dependent manner. Withanolide A also effectively blocked dengue virus serotype 2 attachment and entry into Vero cells in a dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that withanolide A showed potent anti-dengue activity and could serve as a promising antiviral agent for treatment of dengue infections
Facilitation of neurological recovery in a complete spinal cord injury with NeuroAiD: Case report
No full textINTRODUCTION: NeuroAiD (MLC601 & MLC901)’s neuroprotective capabilities include limiting exaggerated calcium influx, decreasing excitotoxicity, reducing oxidative stress, and preventing glutamate-induced cell death. It has also been shown to facilitate synaptogenesis, neurogenesis, and neuroplasticity. However, its clinical efficacy has primarily been studied in the context of brain injuries, particularly stroke. NeuroAiD’s potential application in SCI remains largely untapped. CASE PRESENTATION: A 34-year-old male presented with C4 complete tetraplegia. Following surgical decompression and initial inpatient rehabilitation, he started consuming MLC901 two capsules three times daily at month 4 post injury for 6 months. He regained considerable neurological recovery following the supplementation. Apart from the improvement in the neurological level of injury, the patient exhibited motor recovery beyond the initial zone of partial preservation up to 24 months post injury. DISCUSSION: Our findings align with a recent animal study demonstrating MLC901’s potential to downregulate Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), a molecule known to increase vascular permeability and exacerbate tissue edema and infarction. In another animal study involving stroke-affected mice, MLC901 demonstrates the ability to promote neurological recovery by regulating the expression of proteins mediating angiogenesis, such as hypoxic inducible factor 1α, erythropoietin, angiopoietins 1 and 2, as well as VEGF. The anecdotal findings from this case report offer preliminary insights into NeuroAiD’s potential in facilitating recovery during post-acute and chronic phases of severe SCI, necessitating further exploration
Understanding the Effects of Climate Change on Elaeidobius kamerunicus (Coleoptera: Curculionidea), an important oil palm pollinator in Malaysia: Predicting future distribution for the year 2050 under different climate pathways
No full textElaeidobius kamerunicus is an African oil palm weevil that plays a crucial role as the primary pollinator of oil palm trees and is linked to the production of fruit and palm oil. Malaysia's palm oil and related products export earnings reached RM94 billion in 2023, according to the Malaysia Palm Oil Board (MPOB). Climate change poses a potential threat to the E. kamerunicus population in Malaysia, necessitating research to comprehend the impacts of various climate change variables. This project seeks to document the presence of E. kamerunicus, collect current and future climate data, develop a predictive model using MaxEnt software, and assess the model using statistical techniques to forecast the geographical distribution of E. kamerunicus in Malaysia. The habitat distribution of E. kamerunicus was projected for the year 2050 using two typical concentration pathways (RCPs) from global climate models (GCMs), specifically 2.6 and 8.5. The Maxent models generated a satisfactory model forecast of the Area Under the Curve, which was 0.71. Moreover, True Skilled Statistics achieved a rating of 0.84 (acceptable limit >0.5). The model showed a much greater distribution of E. kamerunicus in Peninsular Malaysia than in East Malaysia. The future model under RCP 2.6 indicates a decrease in E. kamerunicus in high distribution areas in Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, northern Johor, and Sabah, while RCP 8.5 reveals that all states in Malaysia exhibit very high and high distribution of E. kamerunicus. Given the expected increase in atmospheric CO2 levels due to climate change, a more thorough evaluation of the long-term effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on the physiological characteristics of E. kamerunicus is necessary
Some coefficient problems for subclasses of holomorphic functions in complex order associating salagean q-Differential operator
No full textA function with complex values and at every point of the specific domain contains a derivative is commonly known as analytic functions which is also referred as holomorphic functions. We begin by interpreting as the class for all holomorphic functions with a Taylor series expansion written in the form: where and . is the open unit disk where . Furthermore, we suggest the subclass of that is univalent in represented as . It is commonly known that the main subclasses of class are the class of starlike functions and the class of convex functions. To develop and analyze the Fekete-Szegö problems, the theory of geometric function contributes significantly to this. Moreover, the frequent use of -calculus as a general direction of research among mathematicians has caught our attention. In this research, we attained the initial coefficients, and , and the upper bound for the functional of functions in the two new subclasses that are introduced by involving the Sălăgeăn -differential operator, and the definition of subordination
Impacts of MDR/XDR-TB on the global tuberculosis epidemic: Challenges and opportunities
No full textTuberculosis (TB) is the world's second-deadliest infectious disease. Despite the availability of drugs to cure TB, control of TB is hampered by the emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). The presence of MDR/XDR-TB is alarming due to the low detection rate, high treatment failure, and high mortality. The increasing cases of MDR/XDR-TB are mainly due to the limitations in the diagnostic tests to detect the drug susceptibility of the pathogen, which contribute to the spread of the disease through close contacts. Moreover, inconsistent drug therapy or unsuitable drug regimens could also lead to the subsequent development of drug resistance. The close contacts of an index MDR/XDR-TB patient are at increased risk of developing MDR/XDR-TB. Also, the BCG vaccine may exhibit varying protective effects due to BCG strain diversification, host immune status, exposure to environmental non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), and differences in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) subspecies infection, as in the case of sub-optimal protection in the case of Beijing family genotypes of Mtb. This review provides an overview of the current state of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) within the context of the global TB pandemic, with a focus on diagnosis, treatment, and the potential impact of BCG vaccination. It highlights the limitations of current approaches and aims to identify opportunities for improving TB control strategies