Variation of δ2H, δ18O & δ13C in crude palm oil from different regions in Malaysia: Potential of stable isotope signatures as a key traceability parameter

A total of 33 crude palm oil samples were randomly collected from different regions in Malaysia. Stable carbon isotopic composition (δ¹³C) was determined using Flash 2000 elemental analyzer while hydrogen and oxygen isotopic compositions (δ²H and δ¹⁸O) were analyzed by Thermo Finnigan TC/EA, wherein both instruments were coupled to an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The bulk δ²H, δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C of the samples were analyzed by Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Orthogonal Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA). Unsupervised HCA and PCA methods have demonstrated that crude palm oil samples were grouped into clusters according to respective state. A predictive model was constructed by supervised OPLS-DA with good predictive power of 52.60%. Robustness of the predictive model was validated with overall accuracy of 71.43%. Blind test samples were correctly assigned to their respective cluster except for samples from southern region. δ¹⁸O was proposed as the promising discriminatory marker for discerning crude palm oil samples obtained from different regions. Stable isotopes profile was proven to be useful for origin traceability of crude palm oil samples at a narrower geographical area, i.e. based on regions in Malaysia. Predictive power and accuracy of the predictive model was expected to improve with the increase in sample size. Conclusively, the results in this study has fulfilled the main objective of this work where the simple approach of combining stable isotope analysis with chemometrics can be used to discriminate crude palm oil samples obtained from different regions in Malaysia. Overall, this study shows the feasibility of this approach to be used as a traceability assessment of crude palm oils.     

Definitions of and beliefs about wife abuse among ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from Israel

This article presents a study conducted among 148 men from the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel. A self-administered questionnaire was utilized to examine their definitions of and beliefs about wife abuse. The definitions provided by the majority of the participants were highly consistent with definitions that are accepted in the professional literature. The majority of participants tended to view wife abuse as unjustified and held violent husbands responsible for their behavior. They were also in favor of helping women who were abused. At the same time, however, some participants showed a tendency to blame women for violence against them and indicated that the reasons why women stay with husbands who are abusive can be attributed more to external factors than to her internal situation. Substantial amounts of the variance in the participants' definitions of and beliefs about wife abuse can be explained by the extent of their patriarchal ideology. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

C: Reviews and notes: Bibliographies and works of reference

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FIHRIS MAKHTUTAT BA'D AL‐MAKTABAT AL‐KHASSA FI AL‐YAMAN. Compiled by ‘ABD ALLAH MUHAMMAD AL‐HABSHI. Edited by CHULYAN YUHASIN (JULIAN JOHANSEN). London, Al‐Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation, 1994. 8, 506pp. £24.

DIE PERSISCHE HANDSCHRIFTEN DER UNIVERSITÄTSBIBLIOTHEK HEIDELBERG. By SEYFEDDIN NAJMABADI. (Heidelberger Bibliotheksschriften, 46.) Heidelberg: Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg, 1990. [iii], ix, 126pp. 5 facsim. plates.

CHRESTOMATHIE DE PAPYROLOGIE ARABE. DOCUMENTS RELATIFS A LA VIE PRIVEE, SOCIALE ET ADMINISTRATIVE DANS LES PREMIERS SIECLES ISLAMIQUES. Préparée par ADOLF GROHMANN. Retravaillée et élargie par RAIF GEORGES KHOURY. (Handbuch der Orientalistik. Erste Abteilung. Der Nahe und der Mittlere Osten. Ergänzungsband II, zweiter Halbband.) Leiden, Brill, 1993. x, 260pp. 34 plates. Hf1. 220.‐

ARABISCHE BRIEFE AUS DEM 7.‐10. JAHRHUNDERT. By WERNER DIEM. (Corpus Papyrorum Raineri Archeducis Austriae, herausgegeben von der Generaldirektion der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek, Band XVI.) Vienna, Hollinek, 1993. Textband, 109 pp., Tafelband, 35 plates.

A WORLD WITHIN: JEWISH LIFE AS REFLECTED IN MUSLIM COURT DOCUMENTS FROM THE SIJILL OF JERUSALEM (XVIth CENTURY). By AMNON COHEN. 2 vols. Philadelphia, PA, University of Pennsylvania, Center for Judaic Studies, 1994 [Jewish Quarterly Review, Supplement 1994]. Vol. 1, 212pp.; Vol. 2, 375pp. (facsimiles).

A GLOSSARY OF SUFI TECHNICAL TERMS. Compiled by ‘ABD AL‐RAZZAQ al‐QASHANI. Trans, from the Arabic by NABIL SAFWAT; revised and edited by DAVID PENDLEBURY. London, The Octagon Press, 1991. xvii (English text); 167pp. (Arabic text). £20.

ARABIC‐ENGLISH AND ENGLISH‐ARABIC DICTIONARIES IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Compiled by GEORGE DIMITRI SELIM. (Near East Series, 5.) Washington, Library of Congress, 1992. 213pp. US$6.50

CHRISTIAN ARABIC OF BAGHDAD. By FARIDA ABU‐HAIDAR. (Semitica Viva, Band 7.) Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 1991. IX, 203pp. DM 78.‐

ARABIC LOANWORDS IN ETHIOPIAN SEMITIC. By WOLF LESLAU. Wiesbaden, Harrossowitz, 1990. xvii, 373pp. DM98.‐

THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA 1995. London, Europa Publications, 1994. xx, 1022pp. £160.

UMWELTPROBLEME IM VORDEREN ORIENT: EINE AUSWAHL‐BIBLIOGRAPHIE = ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN THE NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST: A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY. By GERDA HANSEN. (Dokumentationsdienst Vorderer Orient, Reihe A, 21.) Hamburg, Deutsches Ubersee‐Institut, Übersee‐Dokumentation, Referat Vorderer Orient, 1993. ix, 62pp. DM 13.‐

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HISTORICAL DICTIONARY OF LIBYA. Second edition. By RONALD BRUCE ST. JOHN. (African Historical Dictionaries, 33.) Metuchen, The Scarecrow Press, 1991. 192pp. Maps. £18.75.

ETHNIC GROUPS IN THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY. Edited by PETER ALFORD ANDREWS. (Beihefte zum Tübinger Altas des Vorderen Orients, Reihe B (Geisteswissenschaften) Nr. 60.) Wiesbaden, Reichert, 1989. 659pp.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY ON WOMEN IN YEMEN. By JOKE BURINGA. Edited by MARTA COLBURN. (Yemen Development Series, no.2.) Westbury, American Institute for Yemeni Studies, 1992. 158pp. US$10.‐     

The applications of MicroCT in studying age-related tooth morphological change and dental age estimation: A scoping review

Conventional dental age estimation relies on destructive methods such as sectioning and staining, which are unpreferable when the tooth is required for evidential or archeological preservation. MicroCT is a non-destructive, high-resolution imaging technique that allows for accurate morphometrical measurement. Although microCT technology has been applied in a variety of dental studies, studies focusing on dental age-related change and dental age estimation based on microCT imaging remain lacking. Based on the question: “How has microCT technology been applied in studying human age-related tooth morphological change and dental age estimation studies?”, the authors conducted a scoping review in accordance with the Arksey and O'Malley (2005) and the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A literature search using five major scientific databases identified 452 articles, with 11 full-text articles being eligible to be included in the scoping review. Furthermore, 6 out of the 11 studies performed dental age estimation modeling. An overview of the parameters used in the selected articles revealed a variety of tooth characteristics, such as pulp cavity to whole tooth volume ratio, secondary dentin, as well as the diameter of root canal orifice. The findings of this scoping review highlight the extent microCT is used in studying dental age-related changes, as well as the effectiveness of microCT in dental age estimation studies. This review serves as a guide for future forensic odontology age estimation studies.     

Do Social Protection Transfers Reduce Poverty and Vulnerability to Poverty in Pakistan? Household Level Evidence from Punjab

Empirical studies in different developing countries have investigated the impact of social protection (SP) on ex-post poverty; however, few studies analysed the impact of SP on ex-ante vulnerability to poverty (VtP). This paper contributes to the literature by evaluating the impact of SP on vulnerability to poverty (VtP) and poverty rates among households in the Punjab province of Pakistan. A hierarchical modelling approach is used to analyse the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS-2011) data of about 90,000 households. Matching methods and simultaneous endogenous switching regression are used to control for potential selection bias and estimate average treatment effects. Our results show that SP has a positive impact in reducing household poverty and VtP, but this impact is mainly driven by a short-term flood relief cash transfer programme, pension of government employees and households’ regular purchase from utility store network.     

An Analysis of Race Equality Policy and Practice in the City of Birmingham,UK

The city of Birmingham is home to a significant number of ethnic minorities. In 2004 it is estimated that almost a third of the city's one million people are of ethnic minority origin. How the city's institutions have responded to race equality issues is analysed in the light of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report (1999) and the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. Based on secondary analysis of documentary evidence and interviews with key actors, it is shown that ethnic minorities are disadvantaged in education, the labour market, and in relation to health and housing. It is argued that the local authority has made some genuine efforts to ensure that all its citizens are provided equality of opportunity; however, given the diversity and socio-economic polarity of the ethnic minorities in Birmingham, we conclude that race equality policies remain ineffective and a great deal more is required to ensure that ethnic minorities are treated equally as full British citizens.     

Identification of Risk Factors Generating Terrorism in Pakistan

Terrorism is a complex issue and various researchers have identified numerous causes and conditions that generate or are capable of generating terrorism. In the last decade, terrorist attacks claimed 36,495 lives and injured 27,985 people in Pakistan as a result of 3,482 bomb blasts and 281 suicide attacks. The aim of this research was to establish the major risk factors generating terrorism, based on the opinions of security officials who dealt directly with the Pakistan security situation. Sixty-five causes identified from the literature and interviews with security officials were modeled and transformed into a questionnaire. A nationwide response from security officials who were directly involved in dealing with apprehended terrorists was obtained. The population was selected proportionately from high, medium, and low security zones of Pakistan. Out of 500 questionnaires sent, 103 valid responses were received. The results helped establish the 13 major risk factors associated with generating terrorism. It was observed that addressing these 13 major risk factors would mostly resolve the other minor risk factors as well. Findings of this research might be beneficial for countries affected by terrorism, and countries with prioritized and rationalized allocation of funds in their budgets for substantially overcoming terrorism.