bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mechanism of E. coli Inactivation by Direct-in-liquid Electrical Discharge Plasma in Low Conductivity Solutions
Authors: Estifaee P. , Su X. , Yannam S. K. , Rogers S. , Thagard S. Mededovic
Published: February 2019

This work investigates and reveals the main mechanism(s) responsible for inactivation of E. coli by in-liquid pulsed electrical discharge plasma in low conductivity solutions. Experiments were designed and performed to explore the effects of plasma-emitted UV light, oxidative radicals, and electric field on E. coli inactivation curves, rate of DNA leakage and visual appearance of the treated microorganisms. Results showed that electric field had the main role in inactivation; scanning electron microscopy images revealed that both plasma and the isolated electric field result in extensive cell wall disruptions. While this damage in the case of plasma treatment was extensive and distributed randomly along the envelope, the electric field-induced damage resulted in disruption primarily at the poles of the bacterial rods. Subsequent experiments conducted with an oxidative radical scavenger suggested that plasma-generated radicals do not contribute directly to the inactivation but assist in cell wall deterioration and extension of the ruptures first generated by the electric field.
A critical evaluation of TRPA1-mediated locomotor behavior in zebrafish as a screening tool for novel anti-nociceptive drug discovery
Authors: Ko Mee Jung , Ganzen Logan C. , Coskun Emre , Mukadam Arbaaz A. , Leung Yuk Fai , van Rijn Richard M.
Published: February 2019

Current medications inadequately treat the symptoms of chronic pain experienced by over 50 million people in the United States, and may come with substantial adverse effects signifying the need to find novel treatments. One novel therapeutic target is the Transient Receptor Potential A1 channel (TRPA1), an ion channel that mediates nociception through calcium influx of sensory neurons. Drug discovery still relies heavily on animal models, including zebrafish, a species in which TRPA1 activation produces hyperlocomotion. Here, we investigated if this hyperlocomotion follows zebrafish TRPA1 pharmacology and evaluated the strengths and limitations of using TRPA1-mediated hyperlocomotion as potential preclinical screening tool for drug discovery. To support face validity of the model, we pharmacologically characterized mouse and zebrafish TRPA1 in transfected HEK293 cells using calcium assays as well as in vivo. TRPA1 agonists and antagonists respectively activated or blocked TRPA1 activity in HEK293 cells, mice, and zebrafish in a dose-dependent manner. However, our results revealed complexities including partial agonist activity of TRPA1 antagonists, bidirectional locomotor activity, receptor desensitization, and off-target effects. We propose that TRPA1-mediated hyperlocomotion in zebrafish larvae has the potential to be used as in vivo screening tool for novel anti-nociceptive drugs but requires careful evaluation of the TRPA1 pharmacology.
Sex differences in the 1H NMR metabolic profile of serum in cardiovascular risk patients
Authors: Barba Ignasi , Andrés Mireia , Picón Irene , Aguade-Bruix Santiago , Garcia-Dorado David
Published: February 2019

Personalized diagnosis and risk stratification of cardiovascular diseases would allow optimizing therapeutic strategies and lifestyle changes. Metabolomics is a promising technique for personalized diagnosis and prognosis; however, various physiological parameters, including sex, influence the metabolic profile thus hampering its translation to the clinic. Knowledge of the variation in the metabolic profile associated with sex would facilitate metabolomic translation to the clinic. The objective of the present work was to investigate the possible differences in the metabolic 1H NMR profile associated to sex beyond lipoproteins. 1H NMR spectra from whole serum and methanol deproteinized samples from 39 patients (22 males, 17 females) between 55–70 years old with suspected coronary artery disease that underwent a stress test that was considered negative where included. Deproteinized serum could be used to differentiate sex based on higher levels of lactate and glucose in women. Lipoprotein region was the most variable area of the spectra between individuals, but spectra of whole serum were able to differentiate sex based on lipoproteins. There are sex-related differences in the 1H NMR metabolic profile of individuals with suspected cardiovascular disease beyond lipoproteins. These findings may help the translation of metabolomics to the clinic.
Tailing miniSOG: structural bases of the complex photophysics of a flavin-binding singlet oxygen photosensitizing protein
Authors: Torra Joaquim , Lafaye Céline , Signor Luca , Aumonier Sylvain , Flors Cristina , Shu Xiaokun , Nonell Santi , Gotthard Guillaume , Royant Antoine
Published: February 2019

miniSOG is the first flavin-binding protein that has been developed with the specific aim of serving as a genetically-encodable light-induced source of singlet oxygen (1O2). We have determined its 1.17 Å resolution structure, which has allowed us to investigate its mechanism of photosensitization using an integrated approach combining spectroscopic and structural methods. Our results provide a structural framework to explain the ability of miniSOG to produce 1O2 as a competition between oxygen- and protein quenching of its triplet state. In addition, a third excited-state decay pathway has been identified that is pivotal for the performance of miniSOG as 1O2 photosensitizer, namely the photo-induced transformation of flavin mononucleotide (FMN) into lumichrome, which increases the accessibility of oxygen to the flavin FMN chromophore and makes protein quenching less favourable. The combination of the two effects explains the increase in the 1O2 quantum yield by one order of magnitude upon exposure to blue light. Besides, we have identified several surface electron-rich residues that are progressively photo-oxidized, further contributing to facilitate the production of 1O2. Our results help reconcile the apparent poor level of 1O2 generation by miniSOG and its excellent performance in correlative light and electron microscopy experiments.
Prediction of response to anti-cancer drugs becomes robust via network integration of molecular data
Authors: Franco Marcela , Jeggari Ashwini , Peuget Sylvain , Böttger Franziska , Selivanova Galina , Alexeyenko Andrey
Published: February 2019

Despite the widening range of high-throughput platforms and exponential growth of generated data volume, the validation of biomarkers discovered from large-scale data remains a challenging field. In order to tackle cancer heterogeneity and comply with the data dimensionality, a number of network and pathway approaches were invented but rarely systematically applied to this task. We propose a new method, called NEAmarker, for finding sensitive and robust biomarkers at the pathway level. scores from network enrichment analysis transform the original space of altered genes into a lower-dimensional space of pathways. These dimensions are then correlated with phenotype variables. The method was first tested usingin vitrodata from three anti-cancer drug screens and then on clinical data of The Cancer Genome Atlas. It proved superior to the single-gene and alternative enrichment analyses in terms of (1) universal applicability to different data types with a possibility of cross-platform integration, (2) consistency of the discovered correlates between independent drug screens, and (3) ability to explain differential survival of treated patients. Our new screen of anti-cancer compounds validated the performance of multivariate models of drug sensitivity. The previously proposed methods of enrichment analysis could achieve comparable levels of performance in certain tests. However, only our method could discover predictors of bothin vitroresponse and patient survival given administration of the same drug.
A novel benzamine lead compound of histone deacetylase inhibitor ZINC24469384 can suppresses HepG2 cells proliferation by upregulating NR1H4
Authors: Song Qiuhang , Li Mingyue , Fan Cong , Liu Yucui , Zheng Lihua , Bao Yongli , Sun Luguo , Yu Chunlei , Song Zhenbo , Sun Ying , Wang Guannan , Huang Yanxin , Li Yuxin
Published: February 2019

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) can enzymatically transferred acetyl functional group from protein or lysine residues of histone, so they can regulate the expression of lots of genes. Now HDACs are used as drug targets and many HDAC inhibitors (HDACis) were approved for cancer therapy or in clinical trials. However, the physiological mechanisms and regulatory processes of HDACi anti-cancer effects are largely unexplored and uncompleted. Here we use the virtual screening workflow obtained 25 hit compounds and ZINC24469384 can significantly inhibit HDAC activity while arrest cell cycle at G1/S phase and significantly induced HepG2 cell apoptosis, time-course RNA-seq demonstrate that HepG2 cells transcriptionally respond to ZINC24469384. Pathway analysis of DEGs and DASGs reveal that NR1H4 may play an important role in ZINC24469384-induced anti-proliferation effect and is dramatically alleviated by down-regulating the SOCS2 expression and promoting STAT3 phosphorylation in knockdown NR1H4 HepG2 cells. Analysis based on TCGA database indicated that NR1H4 and SOCS2 were downregulated in liver cancer, this suggest NR1H4 and SOCS2 may play an important role in tumorigenesis. These results indicated that ZINC24469384 is a novel benzamine lead compound of HDACi and provides a novel mechanism for HDACi to inhibit cancer.
Incentive salience attribution, “sensation-seeking” and “novelty-seeking” are independent traits in a large sample of male and female heterogeneous stock rats
Authors: Hughson Alesa R. , Horvath Aidan P. , Holl Katie , Palmer Abraham A. , Solberg Woods Leah C. , Robinson Terry E. , Flagel Shelly B.
Published: February 2019

There are a number of traits that are thought to increase susceptibility to addiction, and some of these are modeled in preclinical studies. For example, “sensation-seeking” is predictive of the initial propensity to take drugs; whereas “novelty-seeking” predicts compulsive drug-seeking behavior. In addition, the propensity to attribute incentive salience to reward cues can predict the propensity to approach drug cues, and reinstatement or relapse, even after relatively brief periods of drug exposure. The question addressed here is the extent to which these three ‘vulnerability factors’ are related; that is, predictive of one another. Some relationships have been reported in small samples, but here a large sample of 1,598 outbred male and female heterogeneous stock rats were screened for Pavlovian conditioned approach behavior (to obtain an index of incentive salience attribution; ‘sign-tracking’), and subsequently tested for sensation-seeking and novelty-seeking. Despite the large N there were no significant correlations between these traits, in either males or females. There were, however, novel relationships between multiple measures of incentive salience attribution and, based on these findings, we generated a new metric that captures “incentive value”. Furthermore, there were sex differences on measures of incentive salience attribution and sensation-seeking behavior that were not previously apparent.
Convallatoxin enhance the ligand-induced mu-opioid receptor endocytosis and attenuate morphine antinociceptive tolerance in mice
Authors: Chao Po-Kuan , Chang Hsiao-Fu , Ou Li-Chin , Chuang Jian-Ying , Lee Pin-Tse , Chang Wan-Ting , Chen Shu-Chun , Ueng Shau-Hua , Hsu John Tsu-An , Tao Pao-Luh , Law Ping-Yee , Loh Horace H. , Yeh Shiu-Hwa
Published: February 2019

Morphine is a unique opioid analgesic that activates the mu-opioid receptor (MOR) without efficiently promoting its endocytosis that may underlie side effects. Our objective was to discover a novel enhancer of ligand-induced MOR endocytosis and determine its effects on analgesia, tolerance and dependence. We used high-throughput screening to identify convallatoxin as an enhancer of ligand-induced MOR endocytosis with high potency and efficacy. Treatment of cells with convallatoxin enhanced morphine-induced MOR endocytosis through an adaptor protein 2 (AP2)/clathrin-dependent mechanism, attenuated morphine-induced phosphorylation of MOR, and diminished desensitization of membrane hyperpolarization. Furthermore, co-treatment with chronic convallatoxin reduced morphine tolerance in animal models of acute thermal pain and chronic inflammatory pain. Acute convallatoxin administration reversed morphine tolerance and dependence in morphine-tolerant mice. These findings suggest convallatoxin are potentially therapeutic for morphine side effects and open a new avenue to study MOR trafficking.
A highly sensitive and versatile chiral sensor based on a top-gate organic field effect transistor functionalized with thiolated β-cyclodextrin
Authors: Wang Xuepeng , Wang Yong , Wu Yifan , Xiao Yin
Published: February 2019

A chiral sensor was successfully constructed by modifying an OFET gate with SH-β-CD.
Self-assembly and Li-ion storage performance of three new Nb/W mixed-addendum polyoxometalates based on the {SiNb3W9O40} clusters and transition-metal cations
Authors: Wu Hai-Yang , Huang Min , Qin Chao , Wang Xin-Long , Hu Hai , Huang Peng , Su Zhong-Min
Published: February 2019

Three polyoxometalates have been synthesized to be utilized as anode materials for lithium ion batteries.
Optimising hydrogen production via solar acetic acid photoreforming on Cu/TiO2
Authors: Imizcoz Mikel , Puga Alberto V.
Published: February 2019

Cu/TiO2 photocatalysts promoting H2 evolution from acetic acid require exposed Cu(0) surfaces which are reversibly formed by photoreduction.
Incorporation of a Ru complex into an amine-functionalized metal–organic framework for enhanced activity in photocatalytic aerobic benzyl alcohol oxidation
Authors: Isaka Yusuke , Kondo Yoshifumi , Kuwahara Yasutaka , Mori Kohsuke , Yamashita Hiromi
Published: February 2019

Encapsulation of [Ru(bpy)3]2+ in the cavity of a metal–organic framework was found to enhance its activity in the photocatalytic aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol.
Structural and thermodynamic aspects of hydration of Gd(iii) systems
Authors: Janicki Rafał , Mondry Anna
Published: February 2019

A first systematic experimental study on the thermodynamic description of the hydration equilibrium of Gd(iii) compounds is presented.
Lipid composition modulates the intestine digestion rate and serum lipid status of different edible oils: a combination of in vitro and in vivo studies
Authors: Ye Zhan , Cao Chen , Li Ruizhi , Cao Peirang , Li Qiu , Liu Yuanfa
Published: February 2019

The objective of the present study was to investigate the connections between lipid compositions and the digestion and absorption differences of different lipids.
Catalytic conversion of ethanol into butadiene over high performance LiZnHf-MFI zeolite nanosheets
Authors: Wang Chan , Zheng Mingyuan , Li Xinsheng , Li Xianquan , Zhang Tao
Published: February 2019

Superior catalytic performances were obtained over LiZnHf-MFI zeolite nanosheets for ethanol conversion into butadiene.
Lipid coated liquid crystal droplets for the on-chip detection of antimicrobial peptides
Authors: Bao Peng , Paterson Daniel A. , Harrison Patrick L. , Miller Keith , Peyman Sally , Jones J. Cliff , Sandoe Jonathan , Evans Stephen D. , Bushby Richard J. , Gleeson Helen F.
Published: February 2019

Lipid coated liquid crystal droplets have been trapped in a novel trap structure for the on-chip detection of a model antimicrobial peptide – Smp43, an α-helical peptide from Scorpion Venom.
Nanoassemblies of ultrasmall clusters with remarkable activity in carbon dioxide conversion into C1 fuels
Authors: Halder Avik , Kioseoglou Joseph , Yang Bing , Kolipaka Karthika Lakshmi , Seifert Soenke , Ilavsky Jan , Pellin Michael , Sowwan Mukhles , Grammatikopoulos Panagiotis , Vajda Stefan
Published: February 2019

Cu nanoassemblies formed transiently from cluster tetramer building blocks during reaction turn over CO2 to methanol and hydrocarbons with leap in activity.
Solution-phase synthesis of two-dimensional silica nanosheets using soft templates and their applications in CO2 capture
Authors: Singh Baljeet , Polshettiwar Vivek
Published: February 2019

The synthesis of 2D silica nanosheets using a soft template with tunable thickness and textural properties is achieved. When functionalized with amines, they showed good CO2 capture capacity and sorbent stability.
Measurement of nanomechanical properties of DNA molecules by PeakForce atomic force microscopy based on DNA origami
Authors: Li Lin , Zhang Ping , Li Jiang , Wang Ying , Wei Yuhui , Hu Jun , Zhou Xingfei , Xu Bingqian , Li Bin
Published: February 2019

Characterization of the stiffness of thin DNA strands remains difficult.
Computational modelling of atomic layer etching of chlorinated germanium surfaces by argon
Authors: Zhang Shenli , Huang Yihan , Tetiker Gulcin , Sriraman Saravanapriyan , Paterson Alex , Faller Roland
Published: February 2019

Cl ion bombardment energy is clearly responsible for disturbing Ge surface layers.
Eu-Doped layered yttrium hydroxides sensitized by a series of benzenedicarboxylate and sulphobenzoate anions
Authors: Yapryntsev Alexey , Abdusatorov Bakhodur , Yakushev Ilya , Svetogorov Roman , Gavrikov Andrey , Rodina Anfisa , Fatyushina Yelena , Baranchikov Alexander , Zubavichus Yan , Ivanov Vladimir
Published: February 2019

A series of new Eu-doped layered yttrium hydroxides intercalated with various organic dianions having similar molecular structure (dicarboxylates and sulphobenzoates) were synthesized.
Which Questions Do Children With Cochlear Implants Understand? An Eye-Tracking Study
Authors: Schouwenaars Atty , Finke Mareike , Hendriks Petra , Ruigendijk Esther
Published: February 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate the processing of morphosyntactic cues (case and verb agreement) by children with cochlear implants (CIs) in Germanwhich-questions, where interpretation depends on these morphosyntactic cues. The aim was to examine whether children with CIs who perceive the different cues also make use of them in speech comprehension and processing in the same way as children with normal hearing (NH).

Method

Thirty-three children with CIs (age 7;01–12;04 years;months,M= 9;07, bilaterally implanted before age 3;3) and 36 children with NH (age 7;05–10;09 years,M= 9;01) received a picture selection task with eye tracking to test their comprehension of subject, object, and passivewhich-questions. Two screening tasks tested their auditory discrimination of case morphology and their perception and comprehension of subject–verb agreement.

Results

Children with CIs who performed well on the screening tests still showed more difficulty on the comprehension of object questions than children with NH, whereas they comprehended subject questions and passive questions equally well as children with NH. There was large interindividual variability within the CI group. The gaze patterns of children with NH showed reanalysis effects for object questions disambiguated later in the sentence by verb agreement, but not for object questions disambiguated by case at the first noun phrase. The gaze patterns of children with CIs showed reanalysis effects even for object questions disambiguated at the first noun phrase.

Conclusions

Even when children with CIs perceive case and subject–verb agreement, their ability to use these cues for offline comprehension and online processing still lags behind normal development, which is reflected in lower performance rates and longer processing times. Individual variability within the CI group can partly be explained by working memory and hearing age.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.7728731
Low‐voltage ride‐through enhancement with the ω and T controls of PMSG in a grid‐integrated wind generation system
Authors: Tripathi Saurabh Mani , Tiwari Amar Nath , Singh Deependra
Published: February 2019

This study deals with the formulation of a simple control strategy for the enhancement of the low‐voltage ride‐through (LVRT) capability of the grid‐integrated permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG)‐based wind generation system (WGS). The control warrants satisfying minimum required reactive current support to the ac grid as first priority with minimum loss of generation and maximum utilisation of the converter current capacity during LVRT compliance as per E.ON Netz German grid code requirements. The reference control variables in coordinated control of the stator‐side and grid‐side converters are altered so as to support the reactive current to the ac grid and, to store the excess active power in the system inertia for keeping the dc‐link capacitor voltage in the safe limit during voltage dips at the grid side. The investigations have been made on the proposed strategy of LVRT enhancement with the speed (ω) and torque (T) controls of the direct‐drive PMSG in grid‐integrated WGS exploiting commonly used tip‐speed‐ratio and optimum‐torque control algorithms of peak power tracking, respectively. Simulation results have been presented to validate the proposed strategy. The performances of the proposed strategy of LVRT enhancement has also been compared to the conventional method like dc‐link braking chopper.
Graphical approach to designing high‐gain low‐noise MWPLs
Authors: Jahanbozorgi Mandana , Hosseini Seyyed Esmail
Published: February 2019

This study introduces an analytical approach to compromise between the figures of merit of a microwave photonic link (MWPL) and accordingly to design its corresponding matching networks using a graphical tool such as the Smith chart. In particular, the concept of constant gain and noise figure circles in the Smith chart is introduced in the field of microwave photonics. An analytical approach is used and expressions for circles of constant gain and noise figure are derived for unconditionally stable MWPLs. Then a procedure for designing high‐gain low‐noise MWPLs in the Smith chart is presented which involves trade‐offs between gain and noise figure. Since the presented systematic approach is similar to the one used in high‐gain low‐noise amplifier design, using this approach to designing the intrinsic link leads to a consistency in the whole design procedure.
Flashover voltage computation of porcelain insulators under positive polarity lightning impulse voltages
Authors: Shanmugam Gowrishankar , Kalapati Surendra , Karakad Sunitha
Published: February 2019

The porcelain ceramic insulators have been used for outdoor insulation applications for a long time due to their impressive electrical and mechanical properties. The lightning impulse withstand voltage and flashover voltage characteristics of the insulators are important for insulation coordination of transmission lines and substations. This study presents a computer‐based simulation methodology to determine the positive polarity lighting impulse flashover voltage of porcelain suspension and station post‐insulators. The flashover voltage is determined by evaluating the streamer inception, propagation and sustenance criteria along the suitable paths based on finite‐element‐method‐based electric field computation. The streamer propagation path is found through air along the dry arcing distance rather than along the creepage path of the insulator. The lightning impulse flashover voltage of suspension and post‐insulators are computed based on simulation. The comparison of computed results with the experimental results gives a good agreement between them.
The ALMA Lupus protoplanetary disk survey: evidence for compact gas disks and molecular rings from CN
Authors: van Terwisga S. E. , van Dishoeck E. F. , Cazzoletti P. , Facchini S. , Trapman L. , Williams J. P. , Manara C. F. , Miotello A. , van der Marel N. , Ansdell M. , Hogerheijde M. R. , Tazzari M. , Testi L.
Published: February 2019

Context. The cyanide radical CN is abundant in protoplanetary disks, with line fluxes often comparable to those of 13CO. It is known to be sensitive to UV irradiation of the upper disk atmosphere, with models predicting ring-shaped emission.

Aims. We seek to characterize the CN emission from 94 Class-II disks in the Lupus star-forming region, compare it to observations in other regions, and interpret our observations with a grid of models. The CN emission morphology is discussed for two primordial disks, Sz 71 and Sz 98, and is modeled in more detail.

Methods. ALMA observed CN N = 3−2 in Lupus disks down to sensitivities better than previous surveys. Models constructed with the physico-chemical code DALI are used to study the integrated fluxes of the disks and resolved emission of CN in disks without (dust) substructures.

Results. CN N = 3−2 is bright, and detected in 38% of sources, but its disk-integrated flux is not strongly correlated to either 13CO or continuum flux. Compared to pre-ALMA single-dish surveys, no significant difference in the CN flux distributions in Lupus and Taurus–Auriga is found, although ρ Ophiuchus disks may be fainter on average. We find ring-shaped CN emission with peak radii of ~50 AU in two resolved disks.

Conclusions. A large fraction of sources are faint in CN; only exponential gas surface density cutoffs at Rc ≤ 15 AU can reconcile observations with models. This is the first observational evidence of such a compact gas disk population in Lupus. Absolute intensities and the emission morphology of CN are reproduced by DALI models without the need for any continuum substructure; they are unrelated to the CO snowline location. The observations presented here, together with the modeling of these rings, provide a new probe of the structure and conditions in disks, and particularly their incident UV radiation field, if disk size is determined from the data.
Probing Polaris’ puzzling radial velocity signals
Authors: Anderson R. I.
Published: February 2019

We investigate temporally changing variability amplitudes and the multi-periodicity of the type-I Cepheid Polaris using 161 high-precision radial velocity (RV) and bisector inverse span (BIS) measurements based on optical spectra recorded using Hermes at the 1.2 m Flemish Mercator telescope on La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain. Using an empirical template fitting method, we show that Polaris’ RV amplitude has been stable to within ∼30 m s−1 between September 2011 and November 2018. We apply the template fitting method to publicly accessible, homogeneous RV data sets from the literature and provide an updated solution of Polaris’ eccentric 29.3 yr orbit. While the inferred pulsation-induced RV amplitudes differ among individual data sets, we find no evidence for time-variable RV amplitudes in any of the separately considered, homogeneous data sets. Additionally, we find that increasing photometric amplitudes determined using SMEI photometry are likely spurious detections due to as yet ill-understood systematic effects of instrumental origin. Given this confusing situation, further analysis of high-quality homogeneous data sets with well-understood systematics is required to confidently establish whether Polaris’ variability amplitude is subject to change over time. We confirm periodic bisector variability periods of 3.97 d and 40.22 d using Hermes BIS measurements and identify a third signal at a period of 60.17 d. Although the 60.17 d signal dominates the BIS periodogram, we caution that this signal may not be independent of the 40.22 d signal. Finally, we show that the 40.22 d signal cannot be explained by stellar rotation. Further long-term, high-quality spectroscopic monitoring is required to unravel the complete set of Polaris’ periodic signals, which has the potential to provide unprecedented insights into the evolution of Cepheid variables.
Resident’s Perception Towards Environmental Impact on Human Wellbeing Near the Quarry Mining Vicinity
Authors: Wan Ibrahim Wan Hasmirah , Ahmad Zawawi Emma Marinie , Mohd Sukur Khalida , Yunus Julitta , Hashim Norfashiha
Published: February 2019

This study investigates the life quality of residents near the quarry mining vicinity. There are still large population found stayed within this area. The negative impact of quarry mining activities such as health problem and air pollution are among the variables that influence the human well being. The objective of this study is to investigate the experience from the residents towards the quality of air near their residential and to provide a suitable preventive measure in order to reduce this air pollutant issue. A set of questionnaire was distributed to the community at Bandar Saujana Putra and Taman Kajang Perdana, in Selangor. Residents were randomly selected to participate in this study. The study reveals the community’s problem related to health condition and safety. It is anticipated that this study could assist the residence and authorities in improving the quality of air in this area by providing the suitable preventive measure.
Review on Project Manager’s Leadership Skills in the Pre-Construction Phase of Sustainable Construction Projects
Authors: Zulkiffli Noorul Adharina , Latiffi Aryani Ahmad
Published: February 2019

Project managers have played a vital role in sustainable construction projects by integrating the concept of sustainability into their practices. The role of project manager is important in all phases of sustainable construction projects but especially in the pre-construction phase when the greatest challenges that require their involvement occur. This requires project managers to have effective leadership skills to think a project through and remain focused on the end goal. Thus, the aim of this paper is to identify the project manager’s leadership skills in the pre-construction phase of sustainable construction projects. A key significant contribution of this paper is the literature review of journals and books on project manager’s leadership skills when engaged in sustainable construction projects. The overall intent is to highlight and identify the leadership skills of project managers in the pre-construction phase of sustainable construction projects so that the values and benefits of these skills can be adapted in current practices to successfully deliver such projects.
Enhancing Sustainability Awareness at the University of Technology: Reflections from an On-going Transdisciplinary Research Project
Authors: Awuzie B.O
Published: February 2019

This study explores the utility of a transdisciplinary research project framework for improving sustainability awareness levels within a University of Technology. The quest to make contributions to the attainment of society’s sustainability aspirations has seen universities transforming into living ‘real world’ laboratories. Yet, low levels of sustainability awareness among different stakeholders pose a challenge towards institutional transformation. A transdisciplinary research project is proposed as a panacea. Adopting a narrative analysis research design, this study reports on the reflections of different stakeholders concerning the utility of the project and its underpinning framework for the creation of requisite knowledge for efficient building energy management (BEM) and building management (BM) systems -an integral aspect of the research project- directly engenders improved levels of sustainability literacy. Preliminary findings from these reflections indicate the utility of the framework for improving sustainability awareness among stakeholders: academia, support and management staff. Subsequent studies will further reiterate this finding whilst providing a robust methodology for executing similar projects in identical contexts. This paper’s originality lies in the use of transdisciplinary research projects to improve sustainability awareness levels across university environments within South Africa
The Effectiveness of Lean Construction Tools in the Malaysian Construction Industry Towards Contractor’s Environmental Performance
Authors: Mohd Arif Marhani , Nor Azmi Ahmad Bari , Aini Jaapar
Published: February 2019

In resolving the issues of construction wastes, lean construction (LC) tools are anticipated to be used in the construction industry. LC is a sustainable approach that can accomplish the construction wastes efficiently throughout the construction processes. ThE approach also encourages organisations in sustaining their growth and profitability in the industry. This paper is a preliminary survey, therefore, aim to analyse the perceived effectiveness of LC tools in reducing construction waste for the enhancement of contractor’s environmental performance in the Malaysian construction industry. A structured interview was conducted with twenty (20) key personnel from selected G7 contractors in Malaysia, which are registered with the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia. The results revealed that total quality management and partnering were the significant LC tools in reducing construction wastes. These LC tools also have a strong relationship with the contractor’s environmental performance. The findings defined in this paper could be necessary for future LC tools framework development that can strengthen the contractor’s quality of work. This advancement is in-line towards enhancing the Malaysian construction industry through the fourth industrial revolution.
Energy Performance Evaluation of Two Automotive-Part Manufacturer Based On Astra Green Energy Rating System
Authors: Abdi Suryadinata Telaga
Published: February 2019

Energy audit is essential to reduce energy consumption for a sustainable industry. Cost reduction through energy saving benefits the industry to stay competitive in the market and reducing its carbon footprint. Manufacturing industry energy usage is characterized by high consumption in heating and cooling process. The paper presents the walk-through audit results of two automotive-part manufacturing companies. Both companies are categorized as small and medium companies that consume energy below 6000 toe/year. Firstly, companies submitted document to the auditor. Desktop evaluation was performed to calculate and rate current energy performance rating. Then, a walk-through audit was performed to finalize the companies energy performance rating based on Astra green energy rating system. Analysis based on companies energy performance indicators are presented to show potential energy saving.
Geospatial-Based Model for Diagnosing Potential High-Risk Areas of Tuberculosis Disease in Malaysia
Authors: Abdul Rasam Abdul Rauf , Mohd Shariff Noresah , Dony Jiloris F.
Published: February 2019

Malaysia has a medium burden of tuberculosis (TB) incidence based on World Health Organization (WHO) indicator, but the current trend of TB cases is generally alarming. The Ministry of Health (MOH), Malaysia has set up several guidelines to control the disease, however, the national TB technical report in 2015 addressed that existing detection methods of TB on the site still need to be integrated with relevant alternatives. A geospatial based model is proposed to identify potential high-risk areas of TB especially for targeting missing cases and undiagnosed people. The model was developed with three core stages; framework construction, data collection, and risk analysis and modelling. Eight risk factors: urbanisation, distance to factory, socio-economic status (SES), risk group, human mobility, house type, distance to healthcare centres, and number of population were utilised to determine risk rate of TB modelling. This innovative model has successfully estimated a 65 % of potential high-risk TB areas and targeted 106 high-risk localities in the 10 risk sections of the study area. These risk localities have general similarities with other endemic areas worldwide, but there are some interesting findings revealed in this local study towards in the TB control programme. Most of these cases did not only occur in high rise housing areas, but they are concentrated at industrial location, mobility pattern and socio-economic status in urban city. Although, urban areas are favoured area for the local TB, the disease could also potentially occur in semi-urban or rural areas.
Urban Farming Activities in Southeast Asia: A Review and Future Research Direction
Authors: Aisyah Salim Siti , Alaa Musaab , Mohammad Yusof Zawiyah , Farhana Md Ibharim Laili , Hajar Salim Siti , Hashim Fazian
Published: February 2019

The activities of urban farming in Southeast are still limited and scattered. In order to give valuable insights into the urban agriculture of Southeast Asia and to support researchers, we need to know in details the available options and gaps in this research direction that will serve future researchers. Thus, in this study, a review is conducted to map the research landscape into a coherent taxonomy. The research procedure focuses on all these subject matters related to urban farming system activities, technology application and their use in the urban farms and smallholder farming activities in Southeast Asia. These studies selected from the three major digital databases, namely, the ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Scopus. The study selection process consists of research into literature sources, followed by three iterations of screening and filtering, excluded duplicate articles, screening the titles and abstracts and reading of the full-text articles. The final included result is 88 articles, which will be adopted on in this study. Further, a review in details of the layout of the research landscape of literature is conducted into a cohesive classification with its descriptive analysis. We also identify the essential characteristics of this emerging field in the following aspects: benefits of using urban farming activities in Southeast Asia, challenges hindering utilization, and recommendations to improve the acceptance and use of urban farming applications in literature.
Scenario and Strategy towards Energy Efficiency in Malaysia: A Review
Authors: Abd Rahman Nurul Asra , Kamaruzzaman Syahrul Nizam , Akashah Farid Wajdi
Published: February 2019

Malaysia is among the highest consumers in term of consumption and intensity of energy per capita in Asia. Malaysia’s final energy consumption had increased from 13 million toe in 1990 to about 41 million toe in 2010, reflecting an annual average growth rate of 6%. Despites aggressive energy efficiency drives implemented for last 20 years, Malaysia has not shown any improvement in term of energy consumption and conservation. The Lower than anticipated results under previous energy efficiency initiatives had forced The Malaysian government to launch National Energy Efficiency Action Plan for 10 year implementation period of 2016-2025 (NEEAP) after taking into account the socio-culture, policy, financial, and administration barriers. The objective of this paper is to review Malaysian experience in their energy efficiency initiatives in comparison with other leading nations. Study reveals that overlapping and interchangeable terms for energy efficiency, energy conservation and renewable energy approaches under NEEAP causes confusion during implementation and monitoring which raise the need for reinterpretation of the programme initiatives. The barriers are not only isolated for Malaysian context but also common problems experienced by other countries. This offer opportunities for leapfrogging and knowledge sharing for improving any possible measures under three major initiatives for equipment, industrial and building programmes as outlined under the NEEAP. Some suggestions are made in this paper as measures to improve the delivery mechanism.
Trends of Adjudication Cases in Malaysia
Authors: Mazani Quratul Ain , Sahab Siti Suhaidah , Ismail Zulhabri
Published: February 2019

The construction industry is a fertile source of dispute. Payment disputes in the Malaysian construction industry are ancient issues that have been causing problems among construction players for decades. The settlement of disputes can be done by using the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in lieu of other alternatives or as a complement to Litigation. This paper is focused on Adjudication as a preferred dispute resolution method for the Malaysian construction industry. The enforcement of the Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act (CIPAA 2012) in 2014 is intended to provide swift dispute resolution and relief to unpaid construction industry claimants for work done, and facilitate cash flow in the construction industry as a whole. The purpose of this research is to establish the trends of adjudication cases that were intervened by the court within the period of April 2014 until February 2018, which is since the implementation of CIPAA 2012 in Malaysia. In order to determine a vast majority of matters that have been referred for adjudication under CIPAA 2012 and parties in dispute constitute the highest number of referrals, sixty-two court cases were identified. This research also reviewed previous case laws to identify the factors contributing to court referrals. Based on the review, most of adjudication cases in the Malaysian construction industry involve the Main contractor and Employer as dispute parties with the intention of challenging adjudication decisions as there has been excess of jurisdiction pursuant to Section 15 (d) applied by appellants together with the application enforcement of adjudication decision under Section 28 by respondents. The findings will be used as a platform to establish the dispute scenario of the Malaysian construction industry under the CIPAA 2012.
Monetary and Non-Monetary Indicators of Cost-Benefit Analysis in Industrialised Building System Project: An Initial Conceptual Model
Authors: Abd Rashid Siti Nur Atikah , Khalil Natasha , Isa Haryati Mohd
Published: February 2019

Industrialised Building System (IBS) is known as a construction system that consists of a combination of components manufactured either on-site or off-site then positioned and assembled into structures. Among the benefits of IBS construction includes labour cost reduction, support desirable environment, maximize efficient use of resources and waste minimisation towards sustainable construction. However, Malaysian construction industry still has a low take-up rate on IBS construction. Hence, to promote the project’s viability via IBS, ideally, the benefits of IBS are more reliable to be presented in tangible (monetary) value and intangible (non-monetary) basis rather than descriptive benefits. Therefore, Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) can be used in order to identify the soft issue or non-direct cost and elicits more transparency in IBS projects. This paper presents the conceptual review of the fundamental theory of CBA on the measurement of cost and benefits that can be converted as a weighing impact for an IBS project. An initial conceptual model known as CBA-IBS model is proposed as an approach that a decision maker can use to find the balance between the amount of effort invested in the initial cost of IBS construction and the realised revenues This study concluded that CBA is able to highlight the viability of IBS for construction in more comprehensive criteria of monetary and non-monetary benefits. This paper is a review of previous studies on monetary and non-monetary indicators of CBA that suit with IBS project. The study is supported by existing literature, primarily in the most recent research, which supports the indicators of CBA. From the literature reviews, sets of monetary and non-monetary indicators of CBA that related to IBS is obtained. The result of this study will provide novel ideas to optimize sustainable construction and prolong sustainability in design, financial, buildability, operation, life-cycle and environmental aspects. CBA-IBS model will be introduced as a theoretical basis for decision-makers in adopting IBS for their construction projects.
Reliable Description of Preliminaries Item Using Civil Engineering Preliminaries Protocol (CEPP) In Conventional Contracts
Authors: Abas Abdul Aziz , Ismail Faridah , Ismail Zulhabri
Published: February 2019

Civil engineering work deals with nature and thus, is exposed to enormous discrepancies due to nature’s complexity compared to building works which are more certain. In the Malaysian construction industry, it is generally accepted that civil engineers administer civil engineering contracts and prepare tender documents. The Civil Engineering Preliminaries Protocol (CEPP) for conventional contracts is an ongoing research that deliberates on the cost-related items included in the Preliminaries. Preliminaries are subjective in nature and largely challenging to price. This paper considered previous research findings by conducting a literature review and accordingly, highlighted the problem statements raised on the contractual risks present due to the fallacy of item description. The identification of underlying problems and gaps within the area of study justifies the aim of the research to establishing a common protocol that is conversant to both engineers and contractors. The objective of the protocol is to eliminate disputes due to vagueness, ambiguities, and duplication of preliminary items in order to improve price accuracy. In practice, different approaches are taken by engineers and contractors in dealing with preliminary items. Engineers provide bills of preliminaries and contractors price them accordingly without establishing any mutual understanding and responsibility for risks. Conventional contracts prohibit contractors to provide their own preliminaries. Contractors instead have to obtain clarification on any ambiguities in the contract within the speculated time given during the tender period. As a way forward, the CEPP provides better clarity, accuracy, and transparency to engineers and contractors as well as the other construction players in general. Reliable descriptions of preliminary items ensure better price accuracy for the betterment of the construction industry.
Role of Stakeholders in Mitigating Disaster Prevalence: Theoretical Perspective
Authors: AL-Fazari Saeed , Kasim Narimah
Published: February 2019

A search into the literature showed that there is still a dearth of studies on the categorisation and roles of stakeholders involved in disaster management. This might not be unconnected with the soaring trend of both natural and man-made disaster globally. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the role of stakeholders in militating disaster prevalence in our contemporary society. The method used in assembling relevant data is a review of the relevant literature. The study found out that there are diverse ways of categorizing stakeholders of disaster management in previous studies. This study, after perusing through existing literature came out with the harmonisation by identifying the key stakeholders which include but not limited to government and its parastatal, NGOs, donors, the private sector, media, academia, regional cooperation, community/citizen and the immediate environment. Dwelling on the tenets of stakeholders’ theory, the study is of the opinion that much could be achieved in the area of disaster management if all the stakeholders are fully recognised, well-coordinated and respected. In conclusion, this study provides useful information related to the role of stakeholders in mitigating disaster prevalence to ensure effective disaster management.