bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Procédure de liquidation dune partie, arbitrage et droit daccès à la justice : vers une réconciliation ?
Authors: Poloni Flore , Dupeyron Carine
Published: April 2022

Arbitration and the insolvent party, finally back together?

At the end of 2011, the Paris Court of Appeal was confronted with the issue of the validity of an arbitral award rendered in a case where the defendant, a company that was being liquidated, could not pay the advance on cost and accordingly had its counterclaims withdrawn from the proceedings in application of the ICC Arbitration Rules (the "Pirelli" case). The Paris Court of Appeal annulled the award on the basis that, since the possibility of reintroducing the claim was only theoretical due to the liquidation, the withdrawal of the counterclaim amounted to a denial of justice. However, further to the recourse filed by the claimant, the French Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the Paris Court of Appeal's decision. Specifically, the French Supreme Court determined that, when the advance on costs for counterclaims was not paid, the arbitral tribunal was only compelled to examine claims that are "inseparable" from the main claim ("indissociables" in French). If the option chosen by the Supreme Court therefore favors the binding nature of arbitration, it does not yet provide a solution to claimants who are not able to fund arbitration proceedings and only allows insolvent parties to present claims that can be considered as defenses to the main claims.

Before the Supreme Court rendered its decision in the Pirelli case, the Paris Court of Appeal was confronted with a case where a company called Lola Fleurs asked it to decide that an arbitration agreement was inapplicable because of its own inability to pay arbitration costs. Although the Paris Court of Appeal decided to apply the negative effect of the competence-competence principle and comfort the strength of the agreement to arbitrate, it also took this opportunity to affirm that in all cases, the arbitral tribunal is responsible for granting the parties an access to justice.
What to Expect from the Review of Arbitral Awards by Courts at the Seat
Authors: Dunmore Michael
Published: April 2022

A key role of the courts at the seat of arbitration is to exercise their supervisory jurisdiction over an arbitration. In this capacity courts engage in the limited review of awards made by tribunals. This review of awards can be broken down to two types. First are awards on jurisdiction and second are awards determining the merits of a dispute. While these types of review are quite similar, there are some differences between these types of review. Furthermore there are differences between the review from one jurisdiction to another, however generally there is considerable uniformity in many respects. This article will provide an overview of the scope of review engaged in by courts in a number of jurisdictions by examining case law and the legislative framework in a number of jurisdictions.
Recent Developments on the Doctrine of Res Judicata in International Arbitration from a Swiss Perspective: A Call for a Harmonized Solution
Authors: Voser Nathalie
Published: April 2022

The Swiss Federal Tribunal has recently rendered three decisions addressing the issue of res judicata in the context of international arbitration, opening the door to possible developments of the doctrine of res judicata as applied in international arbitrations seated in Switzerland.

This article elaborates on the Swiss Federal Tribunal's latest decisions on the topic and endeavors to challenge some of the core principles of the doctrine of res judicata as developed in the Swiss practice.

The authors propose that arbitral tribunals apply the provisions of the lex arbitri (instead of Article II(3) New York Convention) when examining the requirement of recognition of a foreign state court judgment where an exceptio arbitri was raised in the first proceedings.

The article also puts in question one of the key holdings of the Swiss Federal Tribunal, i.e. the application of the Swiss lex fori to the issue of res judicata by an arbitral tribunal seated in Switzerland. Rather than the strict principles of res judicata as developed by the Swiss Federal Tribunal, the authors suggest that arbitral tribunals seated in Switzerland should use their procedural discretion and develop autonomous rules which are more generally recognized and thereby seek to define the core content of the principle of res judicata. In doing so, and in the absence of internationally applicable rules, arbitral tribunals can promote harmonized principles of res judicata better designed for international arbitration than particular national rules.
Impact of Sanctions under the CISG
Authors: Shahani Garima
Published: April 2022

The Russian military actions in Crimea have sparked a sanction regime. This paper attempts to analyze the impact of these sanctions under the CISG. It begins with an overview of economic sanctions and moves on to discuss the impact of these sanctions on contractual obligations undertaken by the parties. This is followed by a discussion on the effect of these sanctions on arbitration clauses contained in these contracts. The author finally concludes by emphasizing on the impact of such sanctions on existing as well as future contracts.
Enforcement of Arbitral Awards under the New York Convention in Switzerland  An overview of the current practice and case law of the Swiss Supreme Court
Authors: Kunz Catherine Anne
Published: April 2022

This article presents an overview of the current practice and case law of the Swiss Supreme Court in relation to the implementation of the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.

More specifically, this article examines the decisions rendered by the Swiss Supreme Court over the period 2000-2016. Decisions are discussed in relation to the relevant provision of the Convention on an article-by-article basis. For each provision of the Convention, a short commentary is included highlighting the relevant requirements and thresholds that need to be met in light of the recent case law of the Swiss Supreme Court in order for a party to obtain or to successfully resist the recognition and enforcement of a foreign award in Switzerland.

The decisions of the Swiss Supreme Court rendered during the period under review are of particular interest as the Supreme Court has examined several Convention provisions for the first time, whilst confirming, clarifying and even overturning its earlier case law. These decisions confirm that Swiss courts continue to take a liberal, pragmatic and pro-enforcement approach to the New York Convention in practice.
Stay of arbitration proceedings  Some examples from arbitral practice
Authors: Groselj Luka
Published: April 2022

This article outlines a number of situations, illustrated by practical and thus far unpublished cases, in which parties requested arbitral tribunals to decide on a stay of the arbitration proceedings. The most frequently invoked reason that would justify a stay is the existence of on-going parallel proceedings. A number of other circumstances can also lead the parties to apply for a stay, e.g., pending payment of security for costs or clarification of the opposing party’s representation.

As the reviewed cases demonstrate, arbitral tribunals have no legal obligation to grant a stay and exercise a full and unfettered discretion to decide whether a stay request is well-founded. In principle, a stay will only be granted if exceptional reasons or circumstances exist. There are four guiding criteria that would be generally taken into account by arbitral tribunals when seized with a stay request. First, the external circumstances must have a clear impact on the arbitration. Second, the interests and intentions of the parties to the arbitration must be assessed with due regard to the principles of fairness and due process. Third, a stay should not negatively affect procedural efficiency. Finally, arbitral tribunals must ensure that the proceedings will be conducted without any undue delay.
PCR Based Identification of Metarhizium anisopliae using Inter Transcribed Spacers (ITS)
Authors: Alam Ayesha , Raza Shahid , Riaz Ambash , Mubeen Hira
Published: April 2022

The entomopathogenic fungi have been isolated from insects and used in fighting against number of pests by acting as biocontrol agent. They are safe for plants, animals and the environment as compared to conventional pesticides. Moreover, the entomopathogenic fungi genetic variability is thought as one of the chief control parameters for insects. In this study, inter transcribed spacers (ITS) region of M. anisopilae that has been implemented to play diverse role in armoring M. anisopilae against various pest was characterized using conventional polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. For this purpose, the genomic DNA of M. anisopilae was extracted and a 700bp fragment of ribosomal DNA (r-DNA) that was characterized as ITS was amplified using ITS specific primers. The results indicated that inter transcribed spacers (ITS) region is indispensable for Metarhizium anisopliae mediated biological control of insects. Further in-depth studies are required to evaluate factors such as the genetic variability and genetic diversity that are responsible for the conferring pesticidal effects in other fungal species.
A Review on MRI Denoising Methods
Authors: Kanwal Laraib , Shahid Usman
Published: April 2022

Many years ago, a lot of work has been done to enhance the resolution and signal-to-noise ratio of magnetic resonance images for accurate monitoring. However, artifacts and random noise still affects the quality of Magnetic Resonance images. In order to maintain the relevant image content, compensation between noise reduction and preservation of details have to be made. Therefore, noise reduction is a paramount challenge. A published literature review of each technique is discussed along with its advantages and limitations. After the introduction of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology, the famous approaches for denoising MRI images are classified with overview of each method.
Terrorism in Egypt: Analysis of the Narrative of Post-Arab Spring Terrorism
Authors: Ahmed Abdul
Published: April 2022

Since the start of Arab Spring, the Middle East has witnessed the escalation of terrorism acts. Egypt even entered the emergency zone of terrorism after the fall of Muhammad Mursi from the presidency. Various groups of terror emerged in Egypt, among them is Anshar Bayt Al Maqdis who later joined ISIS and renamed Wilayat Sinai. This paper aims to analyze the transformation of terrorist groups by using instrumental and organizational theory. The findings of this research are that the ABM group is a transformation of pre-existing terror groups. It develop the organisation through delivering benefits, affiliations, competition, recruitment of members who use religious doctrine and take advantage of the economic and political conditions in the Sinai region.
The Effect of Online QuizWhisser Game on Knowledge and Level of Fish Consumption in Overweight Adolescents in Surakarta
Authors: Berek Euphrasia Pelletier , Kusnandar  , Anantanyu Sapja
Published: April 2022

Obesity is the accumulation of excessive fat which causes the overweight. Obesity or overweight in terms of health is a disease of malnutrition, as a result of food consumption that far exceeds its needs. To overcome it, knowledge needs to be increased as a precaution by conducting nutrition education. The sampling technique used is purposive sampling, followed by random sampling that is used to determine the sample. The respondents consist of 68 junior high school students in Surakarta City. First, the subjects are screened using a google form containing several questions regarding personal data. Then, the adolescents who had a z-score >1 SD were used as the research samples. The results of statistical tests after nutrition education in the control groups and the treatment group showed that there is a significant difference in nutritional knowledge (p = 0.000) while the results of statistical tests on fish consumption levels in the two groups showed that there is no difference and no significant effect was indicated by (p-value > 0.05). Conclusion:  Nutrition talks and quizwhisser games about the importance of fish consumption affect the nutritional knowledge of overweight adolescents. However, they do not affect the level of fish consumption in overweight adolescents.
Effect of zeolite on the micro-morphological and biochemical features of the spring rapeseed (Brassica napus L.)
Authors: Zubkova T.V. , Vinogradov D.V. , Dubrovina O.A.
Published: April 2022

The study aimed to assess the effect of a natural mineral fertilizer – zeolite on the micro-morphological and biochemical characteristics of the spring rapeseed Brassica napus L. cv. ―Rif‖ ). Experiments were held at the Federal Research Center for Breeding, Agro-technics and Nursery Horticulture, Moscow, and Agro-industrial Institute, Bunin Yelets State University, Yelets, Russia from 2018 to 2020. The study scheme comprises four treatments as follows: a. control (no fertilizer), b. NPK @ 60-60-60 kg ha-1, c. Zeolite 5 t ha-1, and d. NPK @ 60-60-60 kg ha-1 + Zeolite 5 t ha-1. Results revealed that the maximum number of stomata was observed in the rapeseed crop treated with natural and mineral fertilizer – zeolite. On average, there were 537 pcs/mm2 on the adaxial surface, and 480 pcs/mm2 on the abaxial leaf surfaces. The mineral fertilizer application only, and in combination with a natural ameliorant, contributed an increase in photosynthetic pigments, which was about 22% more relative to the control. To determine the content of trace elements (Mn, Fe, Zn, and Ni) according to the phases of spring rapeseed development, the trace elements were decreased by the harvesting phase. The only exception was Co, where content was increased by the time of rapeseed ripening. The accumulation of the studied trace elements in spring rapeseed plants at maturity can be represented by the following decreasing series, Fe>Mn>Zn>Cu>Ni>Co. The correlation coefficients also revealed that there was a strong relationship among all the studied elements. A high correlation (r = 0.95) was found between the seed yield and the magnitude of the photosynthetic pigments.
Use of microorganisms, enzymes and plant proteases for heavy metals biomonitoring- a mini review
Authors: Kaira Mustafa , Halmi M.I.E. , Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

Heavy metals are toxic elements that are beneficial in industrial process but are toxic to organisms at certain levels once they enter the environment. Hence their monitoring are urgently important. Instrumental analyses are the current accepted method but are cumbersome, time-consuming, expensive and required highly-skilled technical personnel to operate them. Assays using microorganism and their products such as enzymes are beginning to emerge as plausible methods for preliminary screening followed by instrumental methods. This approach cut costs and time but the challenge is to find a robust enzyme system that could withstand variation in environmental conditions and sampling. Various enzymes such as urease, acetylcholinesterase, invertase and glucose oxidase have been used but their activity is strongly affected by extreme variation of pHs and temperature often associated with real samples. The plant proteases such as papain and bromelain have been proven to be robust enzymes for the detection of heavy metals and are the subject of this mini review.
Bioremediation of Crude Oil by Different Fungal Genera
Authors: Kota M.F. , Husaini Awang Ahmad Sallehin Awang , Zulkharnain A. , Roslan H.A.
Published: April 2022

One of the major environmental problems today is hydrocarbon contamination resulting from the activities related to the petrochemical industry. Bioremediation is the promising technology for treatment of these contaminated sites as it is cost effective and lead to complete mineralization. This research attempts to study the potential of different fungal genera in bioremediation of hydrocarbon. Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus versicolor, Bionectria ochroleuca, Penicillium chermisinum and Trichoderma virens was selected for the bioremediation purpose. Screening of fungi species sensitivity towards hydrocarbons was first conducted. To enhance the growth of fungi on hydrocarbon contaminated soil, suitable bulking agent was selected prior to addition into the soil. For the period of six weeks, hydrocarbon degradation trial was conducted followed by post-treatment tests. All fungal species shows high tolerance towards hydrocarbon. Sago waste (sago hampas) is the most suitable bulking agent as all fungal species capable to grow on it. Significant differences were found in the ability of Bionectria ochroleuca to degrade hydrocarbon. Bionectria ochroleuca was able to degrade more than 70 % of the C12 to C28, with 100 % degradation of C12 and C28.
Diagnostic of residuals from the Buchanan three-phase model used in the fitting of the growth of Chlorella vulgaris cultivated in microfluidic devices
Authors: Shukor M.S. , Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

Nonlinear regression of a data and its subsequent statistical analysis relies on the facts that theresiduals (difference between observed and predicted data) followed a normal or Gaussiandistribution, no autocorrelation and are free of outliers. Previously, we demonstrated that theBuchanan- three phase growth kinetics is the best model using the ordinary least squaresmethod for the growth of the algae Chlorella vulgaris compared to other models such asmodified logistic, modified Gompertz, modified Richards, modified Schnute, Baranyi-Roberts,Von Bertalanffy, Huang and the Buchanan three-phase linear model. If all of these assumptionsare satisfied, the test is said to be robust. In this work we perform statistical diagnostics to theresiduals and discovered the presence of an outlier that allows the residuals to be normallydistributed and satisfy other diagnostic tests after its removal.
Identification of Bacteria from Soil of Cameron Highlands
Authors: Pattiram Parveen Devi , Gunasekaran Baskaran , Nawawi Norazah Bt Mohammad
Published: April 2022

The bacteria are a large group of unicellular microorganisms. Bacteria are ubiquitous in everyhabitat on Earth for example growing in soil, radioactive waste, water and as well as in organicmatter and the live bodies of plants and animals. They are small cells, found in the environmentas either individual cells or aggregated together as clumps. This study was aimed to identify thebacteria from soil sample obtained from Cameron Highlands. Eight samples were inoculated onNutrient Agar plate. After obtaining pure culture, stock cultures on Nutrient Agar slant andglycerol stock were prepared and the samples were kept in -20ËšC. Next the samples werefurther studied using microscopic observation. From this technique, seven Gram positivebacteria and one Gram negative bacteria were obtained. The Gram positive rod shaped wasanalyzed further using the molecular technique 16S rDNA using pA and pH primers. Then thesample proceeds to bulk. PCR product of approximately 1kb in size was obtained. The purityvalue of the DNA sample obtained was 1.16 A260/280. The sample was sent for sequencing toNHK Bioscience and Macrogreen (Korea). Only one sample showed positive for 16S rDNAfragments which were analyzed using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) forbacterial identification. The data analysis of the sequence shows that the bacterium obtainedwas Bacillus pumilus strain.
An Inhibitive Assay for Insecticides using The Acetylcholinesterase from Osteochillus hasselt
Authors: Sabullah Khalizan , Ahmad S.A. , Ishak I. , Sulaiman M.R. , Shukor M.Y. , Syed M.A. , Shamaan N.A.
Published: April 2022

The aim of this study is to investigate the ability of acetylcholinesterase from fresh water carp,Osteochillus hasseltias an assay to detect insecticides.The IC50 values for the carbamates, carbofuran, carbaryl, methomyl, bendiocarb were 0.0550, 0.0497, 0.0845, 0.0470Î¼g/l,respectively, and the IC50 values for the oxonated organophosphates parathion, malathion, diazinon and chlorpyrifos were 0.0660, 0.0681, 0.0991 and 0.0632Î¼g/l, respectively. The carbamates carbaryl, and the oxonated organophosphate diazinon showed lower IC50s in O. hasselti compared to E. electricus while parathion and diazinon showed similar sensitivity to E. electricus. Carbofuran, methomyl, bendiocarb and malathion exhibited lower IC50 confidence interval in E. electricus than in O. hasselti. This suggests that in overall, AChE from Osteochillus hasseltiis a suitable source of enzyme for the detection of insecticides.
Characterization of carbazole degrading marine bacterium strain OC6S isolated from seawater of Kobe, Japan, a probable novel species and genus fromâ€˜Alphaproteobacteriaâ€™class
Authors: Zulkharnain Azham . , Fuse Hiroyuki , Maeda Rintaro , Oba Shintaro , Omori Toshio
Published: April 2022

The carbazole-degrading marine bacterium OC6ST was isolated from seawater collected off the coast of Kobe, Japan. Phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA revealed that this strain is distinct from other known orders of class â€˜Alphaproteobacteriaâ€™. The closest related bacterium was Kordiimonas gwangyangensis GW14-5T, although 16S rRNA similarity was only 90.1%. Strain OC6ST was Gram-negative, motile, rod-shaped, catalase-positive, oxidase-positive, nitrate-reducing, and mesophilic. Respiratory quinone was Q-10 for both aerobic and anaerobic growth, and the DNA G+C content was 58.3 mol%. Optimal cell growth was observed at 16-37 Â°C, pH 5.5-10, and at NaCl concentrations up to 5%. The dominant fatty acids were C18 : 1 Ï‰7c (41.54%), C14 : 0 2-OH (14.21%), and C17 : 1 Ï‰6c (10.10%). The results suggest that this marine bacterium may be representing a novel genus and species within â€˜Alphaproteobacteriaâ€™.
Mini Review: Electrochemical Sensor for Detection of Bisphenol A (BPA)
Authors: Subathra Sinniah , Gunasekaran Baskaran
Published: April 2022

Bisphenol A is one of the highest produced chemical in the world, which have been used broadly in many industries and commercial applications. It widely used in production of polycarbonate and epoxy resins. Worldwide production of BPA is growing rapidly and expected to reach 5.4 million tonnes by 2015. However, past research has proven BPA exhibit potential hazards to both human and environment that become a major concern in many countries. In this mini review, we have focused on recent studies on electrochemical sensors to detect BPA. Various type of electrochemical sensor has been successfully developed with good sensitivity and response.
Preliminary Study of Community Readiness Towards Building-Integrated Photovoltaic in Raub, Pahang
Authors: Watt Theng Hon , Ariffin Mariani
Published: April 2022

Between 2000 and 2010, the total energy demand for Malaysia has doubled. In order to promote production of renewable energy in Malaysia, the government has introduced a Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme under the Renewable Energy Act 2011. This paper examines community readiness towards adopting Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) in Raub, Pahang, Malaysia through the FiT scheme. By using the Community Readiness Model proposed by the Tri-Ethnic Center, the analysis shows that the people in Raub are not ready to accept the FiT scheme and to adopt the BIPV system. The main reasons for this are the lack of information about the FiT scheme and high initial installation cost for the BIPV. The study concludes that more measures need to be done to increase community readiness to implement BIPV.
Acetylcholinesterase Enzyme (AChE) as a Biosensor and Biomarker for Pesticides: A Mini Review
Authors: Umar Abubakar M. , Aisami Abubakar
Published: April 2022

Due to the increase in pesticide usage the cost of food production has been drastically reduced worldwide. There are dangers related to the ever-increasing pesticide application especially to the non-target biota and to also to the environment at large. Pesticides bind with the active site of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and inhibit the breakdown of acetylcholine and causes the blockage of synaptic transmission in cholinergic nerves. When AChE is inhibited, ChE accumulates and the nerve impulse cannot be stopped, leading to muscle contraction, paralysis and sometimes dead may occur. Pesticides and other chemicals that inhibit AChE activity can be able to cause abnormal behavioural patterns of the affected animals. The effects of AChE inhibition in vertebrate include vasodilation of blood vessels, slower heart rate, constriction of bronchioles and reduced secretion of mucus in the respiratory tract, intestinal cramps, secretion of saliva, sweat and tears, and constriction of eye pupil. The inhibition of the AChE activity will also definitely affect the optomotor behaviour of a fish which in turn will affect feeding capability, identification and avoidance of predators, and spatial orientation of the species. Carbamates, organophosphate and eserine are the major pesticides that inhibit the AChE activity of many animals. Cholinesterases including AChE have been considered as interesting biomarkers and biosensor for many years in the monitoring of environmental contamination. This is sensitive to selected organophosphate and carbamate pesticides and may be responding to low levels of contaminants in the environment, putatively by compounds other than or in addition to pesticides. In respect to the above AChE is regarded as a good Biosensor and biomarker in assessing pesticides and other chemical pollutants in the environment.
Biosorption of Lead (II) Ions by Brown Algae: A Thermodynamic Study
Authors: Yahuza Salihu , Sabo Ibrahim Alhaji , Abubakar Abdussamad , Shukor Mohd Yunus
Published: April 2022

In the assessment of adsorption processes, thermodynamic experiments on the adsorption process play a critical role (both physical and chemical). The precision measurement of thermodynamic parameters relies on the equilibrium constants between two phases (KL: dimensionless). In this study, thermodynamic parameters were calculated from the KL constant derived from the adsorption of Langmuir isotherms of Pb(II) on alkali-treated brown algae Cystoseira stricta biomass at different temperatures with removal of outliers. The conversion of the KL values to the dimensionless Kc values based on the Langmuir model was then assessed for thermodynamic parameters via the vanâ€™t Hoffâ€™s equation. The Pb(II) adsorption process onto the Cystoseira stricta biomass was spontaneous and feasible with ï„G values at 30, 35 and 40 oC of -18.74 (95% C.I., -19.49 to -17.98), -20.8 (95% C.I.,-21.49 to -20.11) and -21.82 (95% C.I.,-22.24 to -21.41), respectively, and occurred in an endothermic nature (ï„H= 0.31 kJ/mol (95% C.I., -107.90 to 108.52) with an increased in randomness (ï„S= 309.78 J/molÃ—K (95% C.I., 95% C.I., 275.92 to 343.64) kJ/mol). Resampling methods such as bootstrap, jacknife or Monte Carlo simulation may be carried out in the future to confirm the accuracy and precision of the asymptotatic 95% confidence interval, .
Molybdate Reduction to Molybdenum Blue and Growth on Polyethylene Glycol by Bacillus sp. strain Neni-8
Authors: . Rusnam , Rahman M.F. , Gusmanizar Neni , Yakasai H.M. , Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

The accumulation of heavy metals and xenobiotic compounds in soil and aquatic bodies is caused by inappropriate waste disposal, industrial and mining operations, and excessive use of agricultural pesticides. Bioremediation is a more cost-effective way of removing these pollutants than other approaches. A new molybdenum-reducing bacterium with the ability to grow on a variety of polyethylene glycol (PEG)s has been discovered. Based on biochemical test, the bacterium was partially identified as Bacillus sp. strain Neni-8. Mo-blue production required an optimal pH of between 6.3 and 6.5, and between 30 and 37 oC. The carbon source, D-glucose best supported molybdenum reduction. A narrow requirement for phosphate of between 2.5 and 7.5 mM for molybdenum reduction was seen. Sodium molybdate as a substrate for reduction showed maximal reduction between 20 and 30 mM. The molybdenum blue absorption spectrum indicates that its identity was possibly a reduced phosphomolybdate. Several heavy metals such as silver, mercury, copper and chromium inhibited molybdenum reduction by 67.6, 48.7, 36.8 and 17.4 %, respectively. Bacterial growth modelled using the modified Gompertz model with PEG 600 as the best carbon source predicted a maximum growth rate of 15.4 Ln CFU/ml, a maximum specific growth rate of 0.198 h-1 and a lag period of 10.1 h. The novel characteristics of this bacterium are very useful in future bioremediation works.
Arrhenius Plot Analysis, Temperature Coefficient and Q10 Value Estimation for the Effect of Temperature on the Rate of Molybdenum Reduction by Acinetobacter calcoaceticus strain Dr Y12
Authors: Abubakar Aisami
Published: April 2022

Molybdenum is a micronutrient that is required as a co-factor for a variety of hydroxylation and redox transfer activities in both animal and plant physiological processes. The potential of overexposure to interfere with the sperm production and egg formation processes in several species, including fish, is the biggest danger of excessive exposure. Only recently has it been discovered that it can be utilised as a remediation method for molybdenum-reducing bacteria. The effect of temperature on molybdenum reduction is one of the variables to consider. It is possible to use many different models to estimate the growth rate of microbes on various media based on the temperature being utilised. The Arrhenius model is popular because it contains a limited number of parameters. In general, the temperature has an effect on the development and metabolic activity of microorganisms on their substrates. Because microorganisms are so tiny, they are very sensitive to changes in their environment's temperature. Growth on molybdenum by Acinetobacter calcoaceticus strain Dr Y12 is described, with a discontinuous chevron-like graph of apparent activation energy with a breakpoint at 32.66 oC. Regression analysis results suggest that in the lower temperature range of 20-30 oC, growth on molybdenum had an activation energy of 66.48 kJ/mol, whereas, at the higher temperature range of 37â€“45 oC, it had an activation energy of 99.5 kJ/mol. For the examined temperature range (20-30 oC) and (37-45 oC), Q10 values of 2.46 and 3.37 and theta values of 1.09 and 1.13 were obtained, respectively. This is study is very useful in predicting the breakdown of molybdenum and the movement of molybdenum during bioremediation.
3D Protein Structure Prediction of Rhodococcus UKMP-5M Phenol Hydroxylase Using Homology Modelling
Authors: Yaakob Nor Suhaila , Abdullah Hasdianty , Mohamad Rosfarizan , Ibrahim Abdul Latif , Ariff Arbakariya
Published: April 2022

The Swiss-prot data-base was used for the protein sequence of Rhodococcus UKMP-5M. BlastP was used to determine the suitable template for homology modelling. Swiss Model is the homology modelling software was used to determine the 3D structure which passed the ProQ quality test for further analysis. Validation result for the predicted structure of Rhodococcus UKMP-5M, in which the prediction structure has passed the validation test with 5.951 Lgscore. This is lies in the range of extremely good model and 0.514 MaxSub which is lies in the range of very good model.
The Effect of Substrate Concentration on Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Selected Food Waste for Glucose Production
Authors: Vincent Micky , Mahamad Norrezi Noor Amalina , Bujang Kopli , Awang Adeni Dayang Salwani
Published: April 2022

Glucose is an important commodity for various domestic and industrial applications, rangingfrom the manufacturing of food and pharmaceuticals to biofuel production. It is thereforeimperative to explore novel sources of glucose that are easy to process, cheap andenvironmentally friendly. In this study, food wastes collected from restaurants and cafeteriawithin Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) campus were used as feedstock for glucoseproduction. Several feedstock loadings were investigated (7%, 10%, 20% and 30% w/v) in theenzymatic hydrolysis processes that were carried out at pH 5.0, 100 rpm and 58 Â± 2 Â°C for 24 husing glucoamylase and crude protease preparations. Results showed that substrateconcentration of 20% (w/v) in batch hydrolysis experiments has the highest glucose productionat 140 g/L, with 46.20% glucose recovery. The highest amount of substrate being hydrolyzed(68.35%) within 20 h was also recorded in the same experimental set. We conclude thatsubstrate concentration or feedstock loading during enzymatic hydrolysis is a very crucialparameter for optimal glucose production and recovery from carbohydrate rich food wastes.
Test for the Presence of Autocorrelation in the Gompertz Model used in the Fitting of the Growth of E. coli Measured using a Real-time Impedimetric Biosensor
Authors: MS Shukor , Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

Biosensor for measuring bacterial concentrations for use biotechnology and the health scienceswould allow a rapid, robust and sensitive real-time monitoring of bacteria. Kim et al [1] hasdeveloped such a method using impedance spectroscopy, and was able to measure in real-timethe concentration of E. coli at 0.01 MHz frequency using impedance changes. We modeled thegrowth kinetics using several nonlinear regression methods and discovered that the modifiedGompertz model is the best model for the growth of the bacterium [2]. Bacterial growth curvesare time-dependent series model and the use of nonlinear regression method relies heavily on theassumption that the residuals must not show autocorrelation. If this assumption is satisfied thanthe test is said to be robust. In this work we perform statistical diagnosis test to test for thepresence of autocorrelation in this model and found out its absence suggesting that the model isrobust enough and adequate.
Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. Entomocidus HD9 Cry1Ba4 insecticidal crystal protein: In-silico mutation, cloning, expression, mutation and domain I functional study
Authors: Ahmad Mohd Fadzli , Abdullah Hasdianty
Published: April 2022

The 3D structure of the insecticidal protein Cry1Ba4 produced by B. thuringiensis subsp. Entomocidus HD-9 was determined using homology modelling. From the model built, we have been able to identify the possible sites for structure modification by site-directed mutagenesis. The mutation was introduced at the conserved region of Î±-helix 7 by substituting the hydrophobic motif that comprises alanine 216, leucine 217 and phenylalanine 218 with arginine. Wild and mutant Cry1Ba4 genes were cloned into pET200/D-TOPO and expressed in the expression host. The result suggests that mutant Cry1Ba4 protein was less toxic to the larvae Plutella xylostella compared to the wild-type. In conclusion, alteration in the structure of Domain I had left an impact on the toxicity of Cry1Ba4 against P. xylostella.
A one dimensional PAGE studies on Puntius javanicus liver proteome affected by copper toxicity
Authors: Sabullah Mohd Khalizan , Ahmad Fisal , Gansau Azlan Jualang , Sulaiman Mohd Rosni
Published: April 2022

Observations on the effects of copper on the liver proteome of Puntius javanicusÂ  based on the one dimensional PAGE was carried out. The liver was dissected from each fish, which was separately treated with different concentrations of copper sulfate ranging from 0.1 to 5.0 mg/L. The livers were extracted and one dimensional PAGE was performed under nonreducing (native) and reducing (SDS)-PAGE. Several bands were resolved in the native PAGE with probable candidates for the effect of copper observed showing an increased in the expression and downregulation strongly associated with increasing copper concentrations. This study showed that high concentrations of copper significantly alters P. Javanicus liver at the proteome level, and preliminary screening based on one dimensional PAGE is considered rapid and simple to assess the toxicity effect of copper before more advanced and extensive assesment with a second dimensional PAGE is carried out.
Assay for heavy metals using an inhibitive assay based on the acetylcholinesterase from Channa striatus
Authors: Zulkifli Ain Farihah , Tham Lik Gin , Perumal Natarajan , Sabullah Mohd Khalizan , Azzeme Azzreena Mohamad , Shukor Mohd Yunus , Shaharuddin Noor Azmi
Published: April 2022

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is usually used as an inhibitive assay for insecticides. A lesser known property of AChE is its inhibition by heavy metals. In this work we evaluate an AChE from brains of striped snakehead (Channa striatus) wastes from aquaculture industry as an inhibitive assay for heavy metals. We discovered that the AChE was inhibited almost completely by Hg2+, Ag2+ and Cu2+ during an initial screening. When tested at various concentrations, the heavy metals exhibited exponential decay type inhibition curves. The calculated IC50 for the heavy metals Hg2+, Ag2+, Pb2+, Cu2+ and Cr6+ were 0.08432, 0.1008, 0.1255, 0.0871, and 0.1771, respectively. The IC50 for these heavy metals are comparable and some are lower than the IC50 values from the cholinesterases from previously studied fish. The assay can be carried out in less than 30 minutes at ambient temperature.
Estimation of the Q10 value; the temperature coefficient for the growth of Pseudomonas sp. aq5-04 on phenol
Authors: Aisami Abubakar , Yasid Nur Adeela , Johari Wan Lutfi Wan , Shukor Mohd Yunus
Published: April 2022

The Q10 value is tied to an increase in the surrounding temperature with an increase in 10 â—¦C, and usually resulted in a doubling of the reaction rate. When this happens, the Q10 value for the reaction is 2. This value holds true to numerous biological reactions. To date, the Q10 value for the biodegradation of phenol is almost not reported. The Q10 values can be determined from the Arrhenius plots. In this study, the growth rate or biodegradation rates in logarithmic value for the bacterium Pseudomonas sp. AQ5-04 was plotted against 1000/temperature (Kelvin) and the slope of the Arrhenius curve is the value of the Ea, which was utilized to obtain the Q10. The value obtained in this work was 1.834, which is slightly lower than the normal range of between 2 and 3 for the biodegradation rates of hydrocarbon in general and shows that this bacterium is a very efficient phenol-degrading bacterium.
Phenol removal via cellular immobilization: A review
Authors: Abubakar Aisami , Shukor Mohd Yunus
Published: April 2022

Environmental pollution is one of the major concerns in the 21st century; where billions of tonnes of harmful chemicals are produced by industries such as petroleum, paints, food, rubber, and plastic. Phenol and its derivatives infiltrate the ecosystems and has become one of the top major pollutants worldwide. This review covers the major aspects of immobilization of phenol-degrading bacteria as a method to improve phenol bioremediation. The use of various forms of immobilization matrices is discussed along with the advantages and disadvantages of each of the immobilization matrices especially when environmental usage is warranted. To be used as a bioremediation tool, immobilized system must not only be effective, but the matrices must be non-toxic, non-polluting and if possible non-biodegradable. The mechanical, biological and chemical stability of the system is paramount for long term activity as well as price is an important factor when very large scale is concern. The system must also be able to tolerate high concentration of other toxicants especially heavy metals that form as co-contaminants, and most immobilized systems are geared towards this last aspect as immobilization generally provides protection from other contaminants.
Isolation and culture medium optimisation using one-factor-at-time and Response Surface Methodology on the biodegradation of the azo-dye amaranth
Authors: Islahuddin Noris Kartika Sari , Halmi Mohd Izuan Effendi , Manogaran Motharasan , Shukor Mohd Yunus
Published: April 2022

Isolate JR1 was isolated from the polluted textile industry activities site in the Juru Penang area. This bacterium was characterized as a gram-positive Bacillus bacterium and also gave a positive biochemical test for catalase test and oxidase test. The isolate JR1 gave a maximum decolourization of Amaranth dye under static conditions with the rate of decolorization of 98.82%. Seven variables which are pH, temperature (Â°C), ammonium acetate (g/L), glucose (g/L), sodium chloride (g/L), yeast (g/L) and dye concentration (ppm) was run by using Plackett-Burman design for the effective parameter of the decolourization of Amaranth. From the seven variables, three effective variables which were ammonium acetate, glucose, and dye concentration were further optimized by using a central composite design. The optimum value of ammonium acetate concentration at 0.74 g/L, glucose concentration at 3.0 g/L and a dye concentration at 58.1 ppm gave the highest percentage of decolourization. Thus, this isolate could provide an alternate solution in removing toxic dyes from environments.
Mathematical Modeling of Molybdenum Blue Production from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain KIK-12
Authors: Karamba K.I. , Yakasai H.M.
Published: April 2022

Molybdenum reduction to molybdenum blue is a detoxification process, and production of Mo-blue is growth associated. Mathematical modelling of the reduction process can reveal important parameters such as specific reduction rate, theoretical maximum reduction and whether reduction at high molybdenum concentration affected the lag period of reduction. The used of linearization method through the use of natural logarithm transformation, although popular, is inaccurate and can only give an approximate value for the sole parameter measured; the specific growth rate. In this work, a variety of models for such as logistic, Gompertz, Richards, Schnute, Baranyi-Roberts, Von Bertalanffy, Buchanan three-phase and more recently Huang were utilized to obtain values for the above parameters or constants from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain KIK-12. The Mo-blue production from this bacterium was sigmoidal in shape with a lag phase of about 15 hours and reaching maximum Mo-blue production at approximately 50 hours of static incubation. The resultant fitting shows visually acceptable fitting. The best performance was modified Gompertz model based on statistical tests such as root-mean-square error (RMSE), adjusted coefficient of determination (R2), bias factor (BF), accuracy factor (AF) and corrected AICc (Akaike Information Criterion). The modified Gompertz model was then utilized to model the Mo-blue production curves to obtain reduction coefficients. The parameter constants successfully developed from this work will be very useful for the development of further secondary models.
Isothermal Modelling on the Removal of Copper Using Durvillaea antarctica
Authors: Abd Wahab Sha'arani Shakirah , Yasid Nur Adeela , Ros Saidon Khudri Muhammad Arif Mukhriz , Shaari Mohd Yamin , Shukor Mohd Yunus , Othman Ahmad Razi
Published: April 2022

Heavy metals pollution in the Antarctica is emerging as an important problem due to anthropogenic activities. Bioremediation of metal pollution especially copper in Antarctica in the future using biosorption is the most environmental-friendly method. Biosorption using Durvillaea antarctica, an alga that lives in the Antarctic region does not involve the introduction of new potentially foreign species. In this study, the isotherms of copper biosorption by the alga is modelled according to various models ranging from one to five parameters models such as Henry, Langmuir, Dubinin-Radushkevich, Freundlich, BET, Toth, Sips, Fritz-Schlunder IV, Baudu and Fritz-Schlunder V. All gave visually acceptable fitting with the exception of the Henry model. Statistical analysis based on root-mean-square error (RMSE), adjusted coefficient of determination (adjR2), bias factor (BF), accuracy factor (AF) and corrected AICc (Akaike Information Criterion) showed that the Sips model is the best model. The calculated Sips parameters kS value of 12.52 (95% confidence interval from 3.593 to 21.439), qmS value of 0.97 (95% confidence interval from 0.905 to 1.026) and nS value of 0.67 (95% confidence interval from 0.531 to 0.806).
Biodegradation of Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS) by Serratia marcescens strain DRY6
Authors: Othman Ahmad Razi , Yusof Mohd Termizi , Shukor Mohd Yunus
Published: April 2022

A bacterium capable of degrading sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) is characterized. Previously, the bacterium has been shown to have the capability to reduce molybdenum to molybdenum blue. In this report, we showed that almost complete degradation of SDS was observed in 6 to 10 days when the bacterium was grown on medium supplemented with SDS ranging from 0.5 to 1 g L-1 while higher concentrations showed partial degradation with no degradation was observed at concentrations higher than 2.5 g L-1. Other detergents were also tested including Tergitol NP9, Tergitol 15S9, Witconol 2301 (methyl oleate), sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS), benzethonium chloride and benzalkonium chloride. However, growth can only be seen on the anionic SDBS. We also showed that the presence of metal ions such as silver, copper, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury inhibits the ability of the bacterium to degrade SDS by 50%. Growth on SDS could not support molybdenum-reduction in this bacterium. Growth kinetic studies showed that the growth rate could be modelled using Haldane substrate inhibition kinetics with the maximum growth rate, Âµmax, was 0.13 h-1, while the saturation constant or half velocity constant Ks and inhibition constant Ki, were 0.707 and 11.303 g L-1 SDS, respectively.
Decolourisation of Reactive Red 120 by a Heavy Metal-tolerant Bacterium Isolated from Juru River, Malaysia
Authors: Manogaran Motharasan , Manogaran Baarathyee , Othman Ahmad Razi , Gunasekaran Baskaran , Shukor Mohd Yunus Abd
Published: April 2022

Application of dyes is prevalent in industries involved in textile and food manufacturing. Effluent discharge from these industries to neighbouring water bodies cause significant health concerns due to dye toxicity. To date, only very few bacteria are isolated with the ability to completely assimilate dyes. The main objective of this study is to isolate bacteria(s) with the ability to utilise reactive red dye 120. Local strains were isolated from contaminated sites in Northern Malaysia. Based on 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis, the best strain was identified as Pseudomonas sp. strain DRY011. Optimum RR120 decolourisation was observed at 200 ppm with 71.07% removal rate within 5 days and able to tolerate up to 500 ppm. The effect of heavy metals (silver, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, lead and zinc) were investigated. Mercury, 1 ppm had the highest inhibition effect, followed by zinc and silver, with decolourisation of 12 % and 14.3 % respectively. Chromium had the least effect with 55.6% decolourisation and bacterial growth of 11.5 CFU/mL. The rest of the heavy metal had the least effect on the decolourisation rate. As a conclusion, the finding of microbial degrader able to utilise dye will become crucial bioremediation key in controlling the level of dye wastes in water bodies.