Purpose This study aims to examine the relationships for the following: supportive work environment, person–organisation fit and employee retention among academic staff in one of the Malaysian public universities. Design/methodology/approach This study used a conceptual framework to assess the direct impacts of supportive work environment (i.e. perceived climate, supervisory relationship, peer group interaction, perceived organisational support), person–organisation fit and employee retention. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 225 respondents. Findings The findings present the mediating influence of person–organisation fit on the relationships between supportive work environment and employee retention. The results reveal a direct and positive relationship between supportive work environment and academic staff retention. These results imply that individuals’ perceived towards an organisation can influence their decision to stay at the university. Research limitations/implications This study had filled in the knowledge gap about the role of supportive work environment with person–organisation fit and the relationship for employee retention in Malaysia. Previous research emphasised on organisations’ role in employee retention and engagement in the manufacturing and service industry. Originality/value The findings of this study reveal how a supportive work environment can impact employee retention among academic staff. Specifically, the person–organisation fit describes the relationship between supportive work environment and employee retention.

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Nutraceuticals from natural sources have shown potential new leads in functional food products. Despite a broad range of health-promoting effects, these compounds are easily oxidized and unstable, making their utilization as nutraceutical ingredients limited. In this study, the encapsulated stingless bees' propolis in liposome was prepared using soy phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol by thin-film hydration technique. Three different formulations of phosphatidylcholine composition and cholesterol prepared by weight ratio was conducted to extract high propolis encapsulation. Physicochemical changes in the result of the encapsulation process are briefly discussed using scanning electron microscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. A dynamic light-scattering instrument was used to measure the hydrodynamic diameter, polydispersity index, and zeta potential. The increment of the liposomal size was observed when the concentration of extract loaded increased. In comparing three formulations, F2 (8:1 w/w) presented the best formulation as it yielded small nanoparticles of 275.9 nm with high encapsulation efficiency (66.9%). F1 (6:1 w/w) formed large particles of liposomes with 422.8 nm, while F3 (10:1 w/w) showed low encapsulation efficiency with (by) 38.7%. The liposome encapsulation will provide an effective nanocarrier system to protect and deliver the flavonoids extracted from stingless bees' propolis.

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ab s t r ac tThese studies are mainly focused on effective depth, initial head loss and backwashing criteria that have been identified as the key factors in relation to the fundamental parameters and also, indicated possible operation performance. Granular filter media used in this study are limited to burned oil palm shell (BOPS) and sand. The study on the bed depth in relation to effluent over influent turbidities ratio (C e /C o ) has been found to exhibit an exponential relation which showed a strong correlation coefficient (R 2 = 0.9) for different effective sizes of BOPS (ES, 1.0-2.5 mm) and sand (ES, 0.4-0.9 mm). By approximating relatively constant C e /C o for both BOPS and sand at different effective sizes, an exponential equation (R 2 = 0.98) is proposed to link all effective bed depths. This enabled a determination of the effective depth of BOPS and sand media which were not executed in the experiment. Initial head loss of single media of BOPS and sand which involved comparison of different models, such as Ergun and modified Kozeny-Carmen equations with experimental results, at different flow rates, showed a good agreement with modified Kozeny-Carmen equation for non-sphere. In backwashing criteria, studies that showed the relation between the difference in granular settlement velocity with backwashing water velocity, confirmed that the best combination of dual-media are sand of ES = 0.5 mm with UC of 1.5 and BOPS of ES = 1.0 mm with UC of 1.3.

BACKGROUND: Membrane fouling in downstream processing has become a major obstacle in enzyme production. The use of a membrane with high surface hydrophilicity may be an acceptable way to overcome this problem. In this study, the effects of dip time on chitosan incorporation were investigated to produce a low fouling ultrafiltration membrane for trypsin separation.

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