Volume 9, number 1, July 2021
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Item Application of food preservatives and food additives in making Maldivian food products(Maldives National University, 2021-07) Zuha, Mariyam; Shareef, Mohamed Simyaan; Naila, AishathFood additives play a huge role in food safety and development of various food products. Stabilizers are one of the food additives which help in increasing the stability as well as the viscosity of the food products. Stabilizers are found in almost all of the dairy products, desserts and many beverages. In addition, food colours are added to different types of foods to increase shelf life, visual attractiveness and to compensate for natural colour variations. Food dyes utilized in colouring mostly come from natural or artificial sources. The objectives of this study were to produce coconut ice cream using agar-agar stabilizer, conduct a sensory evaluation by a panel of 20 people using Likert scale to see the acceptability of the ice cream. Parameters like melting time and the presence of air bubbles were observed after freezing of the ice cream. Based on the sensory evaluation, for the overall acceptance of the ice cream a score of 9 was given. The results showed that it had a melt run of 130s/g and many air bubbles were formed before and after freezing. In the second part, a traditional Maldivian sweet known as “Ulhaali”was produced by adding beetroot extract into its key ingredient coconut honey or “Dhiyaa hakuru”, and ran a sensory evaluation of the product by a group of 15 participants, in terms of colour, aroma and taste, in order to draw a conclusion regarding the acceptability of the addition of the natural food colourant into the Maldivian sweet. Factors such as the colour retention was observed before and after frying. From the results obtained for the sensory evaluation, the product was highly accepted by the participants as all three descriptors received scores of 8.5 and above out of 10, and after addressing the limitations, the success of the study was rather high.Item Dengue serotype detection from wild caught mosquito by reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification, first time in Bangladesh(Maldives National University, 2021-07) Rawnuck, Tanzila; Naher, Zeba Un; Munshi, Saif Ullah; Tabassum, Shahina; Reza, Md SelimDengue viruses are mainly transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito which grows in breeding containers maintained by rain or human activity. The Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) reaction was found more sensitive and can detect 10-copies of RNA template whereas; real-time PCR (qPCR) had detection limits of 100 copies. To detect the dengue serotypes from wild-caught Aedes aegypti mosquitoes using a molecular technique RT-LAMP, and compare with qPCR to detect the same dengue serotype. This prospective analytical study was conducted at the Department of Virology, BSMMU, Dhaka, Bangladesh from January 2017 to December 2017. RT-LAMP was performed to detect dengue serotypes from wild-caught mosquitoes. Four different visual detection methods of RT-LAMP were conducted simultaneously. To confirm the test result, qPCR was done. Out of the 1348 wild-caught mosquitoes, 217(16.10%) were found positive for the dengue virus by RT-LAMP assay. Among this DEN-2 serotype was by far the highest percentage 184(84.79%) whereas, DEN-1 was 33(15.21%). The RT-LAMP is a relatively inexpensive, rapid, and simple tool for the accurate detection and serotyping of DENV from wild-caught mosquitoes.Item Exploring the challenges in initiating community-based tourism: a case study of Thaa Guraidhoo, Maldives(Maldives National University, 2021-07) Nazim, Mohamed NaaimCommunity Based Tourism (CBT) has bloomed in the Maldives in the past decade. However, islanders have yet to explore CBT. The purpose of this study is to explore the challenges in initiating CBT in Thaa Guraidhoo. In the Maldives, CBT is identified as “Local Island Tourism” (LIT), where guesthouses are run by families. For the year 2019, state 40% of all guesthouses are in Kaafu atoll. There are only 3 guesthouses in Thaa Atoll alone, indicating that there has been a lack of participation in CBT. Maldives is a country that focuses on selling its sun, sand, and sea (Ministry of Tourism Arts & Culture, 2012). However, with the country becoming more open to the idea of CBT, a study in this field is required. An exploratory research was conducted by collecting qualitative data through purposive sampling via interviews. An inductive approach, to some extent theory-driven, has been taken for the study. Four major factors were identified as challenges in CBT initiation. The study highlights a need for land use planning, a monitoring framework for tourism development and, public transport systems.Item Psychological stress imposed on residents of Malé city during the state implemented lockdown(Maldives National University, 2021-07) Abdulla, Anoof; Hussain, Latheefa; Samha, Aminath; Nizam, Mariyam Nahaa; Ibrahim, Mariyam Nasma; Mohamed, Aminath RamiyaThe social isolation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic brings out some worrying indicators about the public facing mental health issues and mostly, psychological stress, anxiety and depression. While the previous studies have suggested that pandemics impose a broad spectrum of psychological impacts, many people across the globe are currently facing the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly because of the strict containment measures that are being enforced. People are being forced to stay indoors with heavy penalties if failed to abide by, and this has led to a very stressful and monotonous days. This paper shall address into reverberation of Maldivian government enforced curfew, lockdown and closure of public places including schools, colleges, universities and offices on the emergence of the first case of COVID-19 community transmission in Malé City on April 15, 2020 and until May 28, 2020. This paper shall also address the impact on psychological stressing of people living in the Malé City.Item The role of length of parental leave in strengthening mother-child bond and the husband-wife relationship in the Maldives(Maldives National University, 2021-07) Saleem, Asma; Musthafa, Hawwa ShiunaThis study examines how the extension of the period of parental leave, from 60 days to 180 days that occurred in the Maldives in 2019, affected the family dynamics of mothers and their children. Purposive sampling technique was used to collect data from seven full-time working mothers, who had experienced both shorter and longer parental leave. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The most prominent finding was the higher level of involvement of father in taking care of the child with mothers reporting substantial strengthening in mother-child bond and the husband-wife relationship as parents during the longer parental leave. This research adds a new dimension to the discussion of the impact of longer parental leave legislation on family consolidation outcomes. It also has implications for the development of family policies that support the needs of both mothers and fathers during the first months of an infant’s life.Item Stress and coping resources of divorced women in the Maldives(Maldives National University, 2021-07) Aboobakuru, Shifaza; Riyaz, AminathThe paper explores the stress level and the coping resources utilized by divorced women in the Maldives. While the study is designed as a quantitative investigation, the general objectives are not to generalize findings but to gain an understanding of divorce demographic and coping strategies of women after divorce. The Taylor’s manifest anxiety scale was used to assess stress, and a second questionnaire assesses divorcees’ current situation and their coping strategies. Both the questionnaires were self-administered by 60 participants identified through snowball sampling strategy. The findings show that divorced women exhibit notable psychological stress, with 46.7% of the participants having high stress, 51.7% having low stress and only 1.7% exhibiting no stress. While other unknown stressors in their life cannot be ruled out, the findings suggest that better socioeconomic, cognitive and emotional resources such as education, employment, adequate finance including child maintenance from the father of the child, emotional support from immediate family as well as friends have a positive impact on reducing stress. Contrarily, the findings also show lack of employment, rental expenses, dependency on an external party for child maintenance support, the uncertainties of a new romantic relationship, and the experience from a painful divorce process can have a negative impact on psychological wellbeing. Furthermore, in adjusting to life after divorce, most of the participants seek financial independence through upskilling and employment, while some divorced women seek remarriage for financial and emotional security.Item ޫމަގު ކޮނުމާއި މަގުގައި އެއްޗެތި ވަޅުލުމާބެހޭ ގަވާއިދު : އދ.ކުނބުރުދ(ރައީސުލްޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާގެ އޮފީސް, 2013-12-12) ރައީސުލްޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާގެ އޮފީސް; Raeesuljumhooriyyage Office