Staggering amounts of food waste are being generated in Asia by means of agricultural processing, food transportation and storage, and human food consumption activities. This along with the recent sustainable development goals of food security, environmental protection, and energy efficiency are the key drivers for food waste valorization. The aim of this review is to provide an insight on the latest trends in food waste valorization in Asian countries such as India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Landfilling, incineration, and composting are the first-generation food waste processing technologies. The advancement of valorisation alternatives to tackle the food waste issue is the focus of this review. Furthermore, a series of examples of key food waste valorization schemes in this Asian region as case studies to demonstrate the advancement in bioconversions in these countries are described. Finally, important legislation aspects for food waste disposal in these Asian countries are also reported.
Grouper Iriovirus (GIV) is one of the most devastating viral diseases of marine and cultured groupers worldwide. In the current study, 5 presumptive Malaysian GIV isolates were characterised through PCR amplification of the major capsid protein (MCP) gene and phylogenetic analysis of the sequences. The sequences from the five GIV isolates showed 100% homology with each other and a close relationship with grouper iridovirus isolate (GIV_Tn_352), which was clustered in group 1 together with King grouper iridovirus isolate (KGIV_Cy_346), Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV), and Crimson snapper iridovirus isolate (CSIV). The phylogenetic tree also showed different degree of relatedness with other Ranavirus strains which were obtained from the blast of GIV MCP gene in the NCBI database. This study confirmed the GIV isolates from Malaysia are related to other isolates that were reported previously.
To evaluate the performance of contrastenhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the risk stratification of indeterminate renal lesions picked up incidentally on abdominal imaging, in patients with renal impairment.
Accessory muscles are relatively rare anatomic duplications of muscles that may appear anywhere in the muscular system. Though a wide array of accessory and supernumery muscles involving the ankle have been described in the literature, this is the first reported case we are aware of that features two accessory muscles. Accessory muscles are typically asymptomatic and often picked up as incidental findings but are important to be identified in the presence of chronic persistent ankle pain and the absence of other more common aetiologies.
Given predicted increases in urbanization in tropical and subtropical regions, understanding the processes shaping urban coral reefs may be essential for anticipating future conservation challenges. We used a case study approach to identify unifying patterns of urban coral reefs and clarify the effects of urbanization on hard coral assemblages. Data were compiled from 11 cities throughout East and Southeast Asia, with particular focus on Singapore, Jakarta, Hong Kong, and Naha (Okinawa). Our review highlights several key characteristics of urban coral reefs, including "reef compression" (a decline in bathymetric range with increasing turbidity and decreasing water clarity over time and relative to shore), dominance by domed coral growth forms and low reef complexity, variable city-specific inshore-offshore gradients, early declines in coral cover with recent fluctuating periods of acute impacts and rapid recovery, and colonization of urban infrastructure by hard corals. We present hypotheses for urban reef community dynamics and discuss potential of ecological engineering for corals in urban areas.
Five species of the genus Polyonyx Stimpson, 1858 are reported from southern Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, and Peninsular Malaysia. All of them belong to the P. sinensis group, which is morphologically defined by having the dactyli of the ambulatory legs each with the dorsal claw being much smaller than the ventral claw. Two species are described as new to science, one each from Peninsular Malaysia and the Ryukyu Islands in Japan, and their affinities are discussed. Polyonyx boucheti Osawa, 2007, P. heok Osawa Ng, 2016, and P. thai Werding, 2001, are also newly reported from southern Japan, the Philippines, and Singapore. A key to the Indo-West Pacific species of the P. sinensis group is provided.
Fabian Society is a type of political think tank which was founded by a group of students and
intellectuals at London School of Economics (LSE), United Kingdom in the late of 19 centuries. The
Fabian political thought is a new manifestation of socialist ideology in United Kingdom emerged through the role of Labour Party Partiat that time. After the World War II, the influence of this political
thought began to widespread throughout Malaya via British-educated Malayan students. This
development brought about a new form of political idealism based on social-democrat orientation
which emphasized on class struggles and civil issues in Malaya. Thus, the aim of this article is to
scrutinize objectively and descriptively the influence of the Fabian political thought in the Malaysian
political development from 1952 to 1970. Using the approach of history reconstructionist, the analysis
discussion was developed based on the use of primary sources as the argument base. The research
findings indicate that the influence of the Fabian political thought developed in Malaya by the role of
the socialist intellectual-progressive group throughout the research. The development did not only
involve labour movements and left-wing political parties such as Malayan Democratic Union (MDU)
and the Malayan Labour Party, but it also influenced students movements at universities through
University of Malaya Socialist Club in Singapore around 1950s and students societies in Universiti
Malaya, Kuala Lumpur around 1960s. In fact, at the same time the progressive Fabian group slipped in
right-conservative group through their direct involvement in UMNO and the Perikatan regime at the
time. This indirectly proves that there is a different side of the socialist role through the role of the
Fabian group in the development of democracy and politics in Malaysia.
Plastic waste is a global issue of an increasing concern in aquatic ecosystems. Microplastics form a large proportion of plastic pollution in marine environments. Although microplastics are prevalent, their distribution along the coasts of tropical regions is not well studied. Microplastic pieces (1-5 mm) were collected from two distinct regions along the coastlines of Singapore, from the northern coast in the Johor Strait and the southern coast in the Singapore Strait. Microplastics were present in concentrations ranging from 9.20-59.9 particles per kg of dry sand sediment. The majority of microplastics identified were foam particles (55%) and fragments (35%). Microplastics were significantly more abundant on heavily populated beaches compared to pristine beaches. High throughput sequencing was used to profile the communities of bacteria on the surfaces of microplastic particles. The structure of the microbial communities was primarily characterised by Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes and were distinct across sites. Hydrocarbon-degrading genera such as Erythrobacter were dominant in areas with heavy shipping and pollution. Potential pathogenic genera such as Vibrio and Pseudomonas were also identified. This study highlights the diverse bacterial assemblages present on marine microplastic surfaces and the importance of understanding the bacterial plastisphere.
This article discusses the impact of plurality on Malaysia-Singapore relations after the formation of
Malaysia on September 16, 1963. The establishment of the Federation of Malaysia agreement was
signed in London on July 8, 1963 by the representatives of the British government, the Federation of
Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak. All parties agreed to the change in name from Federation of
Malaya to Malaysia. The declaration of Malaysia was made on September 16, 1963 simultaneously
throughout the country. This study uses secondary sources and library research methods. The findings
show that Singapore's existence in Malaysia was seen to have raised racial issues leading to the
separation of Singapore from Malaysia on August 9, 1965. Ethnic-related problems need to be
addressed wisely in order to not be a threat to racial relations among the plural society in Malaysia.
1. (1) The injection of serum prepared especially against strains of typhoid bacilli strong in "O" and "Vi" antigens appeared during the epidemic at Singapore to be of value in the treatment of serious cases of typhoid fever, even at a comparatively late stage of the disease. The time for the routine use of such serum in treatment has perhaps not yet come, but strong indications for its use are severe toxaemia, or failure to improve with general treatment. 2. (2) The absence of eosinophil cells in a differential white blood count is of value in the diagnosis though it is not an absolute sign in either a negative or positive direction. 3. (3) Congenital immunity against typhoid fever appears to be powerful for several years of childhood, in Malaya and presumably elsewhere also. 4. (4) Compulsory inoculation is advocated as a public health measure of protection against typhoid fever in countries where the disease is endemic, but not earlier than the 5th year of age. c 1941
Vital statistics in Malaya are of limited value but annual reports show that the infant mortality in Penang Municipality is 125, in Singapore Municipality 172.2, in the Straits Settlements 165.28, and in the State of Kedah 137 per thousand births. The tables show a similarity to those of large English towns fifty years ago.
Poverty, ignorance and superstition account for many of these deaths and much maternal ill-health. Children are seldom taken out in infancy and houses are frequently dark, stuffy and closely-shuttered. Solid carbohydrate food is given to infants even during the first month. Congenital Syphilis causes a number of deaths and in an investigation in Singapore of mothers whose infants died in the first year of life 30.9 per cent. were Wassermann-positive.
Increasing use is made of maternity wards in the Hospitals and in Kuala Lumpur there is a Chinese maternity hospital with a Chinese woman doctor on the staff. The infant death-rate among Malays is much higher than that of other races, who are more willing to make use of the hospitals.
In the rural areas labour commonly takes place under the most primitive conditions with no help except that of an untrained handy-woman (bidan). A better midwifery service for these areas is gradually being developed and Malay women are being trained to replace the old "bidan" in the villages.
Education is doing something to inculcate modern views on the bringing up of children. The teaching of personal hygiene to teachers and pupils in the vernacular girls' schools is proving of value, and the Girl Guide movement has given an added interest to this.
Medical inspection of school children is more complete in the towns than in the rural areas. Dental caries, skin conditions, intestinal worms, and enlarged tonsils are common in the junior schools.
Tables are given of vital statistics and records of school medical inspection from the reports of the health officers of the Straits Settlements, Singapore, and Kedah. W. H. Peacock.
Marine fungi on the whole remain understudied, especially in the highly diverse Southeast Asian region. We investigated the fungal communities associated with the mangrove tree Avicennia alba throughout Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia. At each sampling location, we examined ten individual trees, collecting leaves, fruits, pneumatophores, and an adjacent sediment sample from each plant. Amplicon sequencing of the fungal internal transcribed spacer 1 and subsequent analyses reveal significant differences in fungal communities collected from different locations and host structures. Mantel tests and multiple regression on distance matrices show a significant pattern of distance decay with samples collected close to one another having more similar fungal communities than those farther away. Submergence appears to drive part of the variation as host structures that are never submerged (leaves and fruits) have more similar fungal communities relative to those that are covered by water during high tide (pneumatophores and sediment). We suggest that fungi of terrestrial origins dominate structures that are not inundated by tidal regimes, while marine fungi dominate mangrove parts and sediments that are submerged by the incoming tide. Given the critical functions fungi play in all plants, and the important role they can have in determining the success of restoration schemes, we advocate that fungal community composition should be a key consideration in any mangrove restoration or rehabilitation project.
The intradermal test using as antigen a 1 per cent saline extract of Dirofilaria immitis powder was performed in Singapore on 69 persons with eosinophilic lung, 32 with mild eosinophilia, 49 with filariasis, 75 normal Asians, and 66 normal Britishers. The test was positive in 100 per cent of the cases of eosinophilic lung, 73.5 per cent of the filariasis group, 59.4 per cent of cases of mild eosinophilia, 53.3 per cent of normal Asians, and 4.5 per cent of the Britishers. The filarial complement fixation test using a 1 per cent alcoholic extract of the same antigen gave a positive rate of 100 per cent in the eosinophilic lung group, whereas only 24.5 per cent of the filariasis patients gave a positive reaction. Skin sensitivity to D. immitis antigen persisted in the cases of eosinophilic lung even when the previously positive serologic reactions had become negative following treatment with diethylcarbamazine. Therefore, the intradermal test cannot be useful in the diagnosis of either filariasis or eosinophilic lung in Singapore. In view of the skin sensitivity to a filarial antigen demonstrated in patients suffering from eosinophilic lung, the etiologic possibility of an infection by a species of filarial worm found normally in nonhuman hosts is discussed.
The behaviour of many financial time series cannot be modeled solely by linear time series model. Phenomena such as mean reversion, volatility of stock markets and structural breaks cannot be modelled implicitly using simple linear time series model. Thus, to overcome this problem, nonlinear time series models are typically designed to accommodate these nonlinear features in the data. In this paper, we use portmanteau test and structural change test to detect nonlinear feature in three ASEAN countries exchange rates (Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand). It is found that the null hypothesis of linearity is rejected and there is evidence of structural breaks in the exchange rates series. Therefore, the decision of using regime switching model in this study is justified. Using model selection criteria (AIC, SBC, HQC), we compare the in-sample fitting between two types of regime switching model. The two regime switching models we considered were the Self-Exciting Threshold Autoregressive (SETAR) model and the Markov switching Autoregressive (MS-AR) model where these models can explain the abrupt changes in a time series but differ as how they model the movement between regimes. From the AIC, SBC and HQC values, it is found that the MS -AR model is the best fitted model for all the return series. In addition, the regime switching model also found to perform better than simple autoregressive model in in-sample fitting. This result justified that nonlinear model give better in-sample fitting than linear model.