bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Foodborne Diseases: Causative Agents, Prevalence and Control
Authors: Bhatti Rimsha Shakeel , Sarfraz Sadaf , Raza Shahid
Published: April 2022

In this globalized scenario foodborne diseases are spreading more rapidly than ever like other infectious disease. Main reason behind emerging foodborne diseases are microbiological agents but some chemical agents and weather conditions may also contribute to the prevailing issue of food illnesses. Best way to control foodborne diseases is to ensure the hygiene conditions during food preparation and consumption e.g., washing hands before preparing and eating food. Cleaning raw food, proper cooking and pasteurization can also help in prevention of foodborne diseases. A number of international corporations are working to overcome the global issue of food illnesses.
Güvenlik Önceliğinin, Güvenlik İletişiminin ve Güvenlik Eğitiminin Güvenli Davranış Üzerindeki Etkisinin İncelenmesi: İnşaat Sektöründe Uygulamalı Bir Araştırma
Authors: ACA Zeynep , AKDAMAR Emrah
Published: April 2022

Çalışmanın amacı, güvenlik önceliğinin, güvenlik iletişiminin ve güvenlik eğitimin güvenli davranış üzerindeki etkisinin incelenmesidir. Çalışma, güvenlik önceliğine, güvenlik iletişimine, güvenlik eğitimine verilen önemle güvenli davranış arasında nedensel bir bağ olduğu modeline dayanır. Malatya’da kurumsal bir inşaat firmasında çalışan 349 katılımcı ile gerçekleştirilen araştırmada, katılımcıların demografik özellikleriyle güvenli davranış arasındaki ilişki de incelenmiştir. Bunun için Mann Whitney U testi ve Kruskal Wallis H testi kullanılmıştır. Güvenlik önceliği, güvenlik iletişimi, güvenlik eğitimi değişkenlerinin güvenli davranış üzerindeki etkisi çoklu doğrusal regresyon analiziyle belirlenmiştir. Demografik değişkinlere ilişkin bulgular; yaşın ilerlemesiyle birlikte güvenli davranış eğiliminin azaldığı, bekâr işçilerin güvenli davranış eğiliminin yüksek olduğu, eğitim düzeyinin güvenli davranış üzerinde olumlu yönde etkili olduğu, daha önce bir kazaya uğrayıp uğramamanın güvenli davranış üzerinde bir etkisinin olmadığı yönündedir. Güvenlik önceliği, güvenlik iletişimi ve güvenlik eğitiminin güvenli davranış üzerindeki etkisine ilişkin bulgularsa şu şekildedir: Güvenlik önceliği değişkeninin güvenli davranış üzerinde istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir etkisi olmalı (p
Sosyal Çalışma Disiplininin Epistemolojik Temelleri Üzerine Eleştirel Bir Değerlendirme
Authors: KUCUR Fatih , MENGÜ Enver
Published: April 2022

İnsanın iyilik halini geliştirme hedefi doğrultusunda birey, aile, grup ve toplum düzeyinde müdahale yöntemleriyle profesyonel bir çalışma yürütmeyi ifade eden sosyal çalışma, 19. yüzyılın ikinci yarısında doğmuştur. Daha önceleri dini kurumlar veya gönüllü insanlar tarafından yürütülen bu çalışmalar, dönemin bilimsel gelişmelerinin ışığında sistematik ve profesyonel bir görünüm kazanmıştır. Aynı zamanda bu bilimsel yapı, yie aynı dönemde doğa bilimleri ile sosyal bilimler arasında yaşanan ontolojik ve epistemolojik gerilimleri de içermektedir. Bu çalışma kapsamında da doğa bilimleri ile sosyal bilimler arasında görünen ve bilimsel önermelerin pozitif veya normatif içeriği üzerine olan epistemolojik tartışma, uygulamalı bir sosyal bilim olarak sosyal çalışma disiplini açısından ele alınacaktır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda betimleyici bir yaklaşımla literatüre dayanarak yapılan bu çalışmada sosyal çalışma disiplininin pozitif görünüm içinde esasında bir normatiflik içerdiği; bilginin niteliği, mesleki yapı, mesleki uygulama ve sosyal değişim odaklarından hareketle ortaya konulacaktır.
2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Genitourinary Cancers Symposium: Meeting highlights
Authors: Kapoor Anil , Niazi Tamim , Noonan Krista , Rendon Ricardo A. , Alimohamed Nimira , Kassouf Wassim , Berlin Alejandro , Chu William , Kollmannsberger Christian , So Alan I.
Published: April 2022

The 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Genitourinary (GU) Cancers Symposium was held in San Francisco and online from February 17–19, 2022. Following the symposium, on February 22, the Canadian Urological Association (CUA) held an online webinar where Canadian experts highlighted key research findings in prostate, bladder, and kidney cancers. In this report, we summarize these exciting advances in GU oncology. The entire webinar can be viewed on the CUA website, and meeting abstracts can be viewed at the ASCO meeting library.
Response of heat-stress tolerant and susceptible wheat lines in diverse planting environments by using parametric stability models
Authors: Zulkiffal M. , Ahmed J. , Riaz M. , Ramzan Y. , Ahsan A. , Kanwal A. , Ghafoor I. , Nadeem M. , Abdullah M.
Published: April 2022

In Pakistan, wheat planting is delayed because of dawn sowing, which reduces yield due to terminal heat stress. This effect can be alleviated by changing sowing times. Therefore, parametric stability analysis was carried out with eight different sowing dates (environments), namely, early, normal, late, and very late, with 10-day intervals in 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 at the Wheat Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan. Significant heat stress responses were observed at the latter two sowing dates. The genetic and phenotypic relationship among the traits revealed that the normalized vegetation index (NI) had a positive correlation with grain yield (kg ha−1) (Yi) and 1000-grain weight (g) (GrWt). However, canopy temperature (CaTe) had a negative correlation with Yi, GrWt, and NI. For Yi and GrWt, the linear environmental response (α) and deviation from linear response (λ) were observed as transformed forms of regression coefficient (bi) and deviation from regression (S2d). Planting dates, i.e., E1, E6, and E7, had slight effects on Yi, and E6, E7, E2, and E8 had slight effects on GrWt. Meanwhile, E3, E4, E5, E1, E3, and E4 exerted a strong effect on the genotype by environment interactions for Yi and GrWt. For Yi, lines G23, G20, and G21 were adapted to E8; G9 and G19 were adapted to E1; and G15, G17, and G22 were adapted to E5. For GrWt, G13, G20, G3, G11, G21, and G15 were adapted to E8 and E4; G10, G7, G8, and G5 were adapted to E5; G4, G22, and G17 were adapted to E6 and E4; and G24 and G2 were adapted to E2 and E3. The candidate wheat lines with enhanced GrWt and Yi were found in E5 and E6 (late sowing) and E7 and E8 (very late) and presented tolerance to terminal heat stress.
Storage of extruded cereal and legume grain bases in ion-ozone medium
Authors: Shaimerdenova D.A. , Chakanova Zh.M. , Iskakova D.M. , Sarbassova G.T. , Bekbolatova M.B. , Yesmambetov A.A.
Published: April 2022

The modern food industry seeks to produce ecologically healthy and clean food products. However, finding effective means of storing raw materials without losing their quality is still a major problem faced by the industry. One of the promising methods on long-term storage of grain bases for good quality and safety is the ion-ozone cavitation treatment. Therefore, this study aims to determine the influence of various ion-ozone treatment parameters on the quality and safety factors of millet, buckwheat, chickpea, and lentil grain bases at the Food Quality and Safety Assessment Laboratory, Almaty University of Technology, Almaty, Kazakhstan. With ozonation, the buckwheat grain bases showed a significant increase in fatty acids, the millet and chickpea grains showed a slight increase, while the lentil seeds exhibited a slight decrease in fatty acids compared to the control. Overall, by treating with a low concentration of ion-ozone, the buckwheat showed fewer microorganisms; in chickpea grains the molds and yeast did not develop; in millet grains the yeast was absent and molds were not higher than control; and in lentil grain bases, the permissible yeast growth with no molds was observed. The storage life of extruded grain bases after ion-ozone cavitation treatment increased by a minimum of 60 days (millet) and to more than 240 days (buckwheat). The optimum basic parameters were determined, ensuring a maximum shelf life of up to eight months without losing the quality of the cereals and legume grain products. The said procedure was found as an effective measure for long-term storage of the extruded grain bases with sustainable safety and quality.
Coenoflora of Spiraeanthus Schrenkianus (Fisch. And C.A. Mey.) Maxim.
Authors: Abduova A.A. , Kupriyanov O.A. , Yessengeldi A. , Kupriyanov A.N. , Sataev M.I. , Moshkalov B.M.
Published: April 2022

Spiraeanthus schrenkianus (Fisch. and C.A. Mey.) Maxim is a plant species that belongs to the family Rosaceae, endemic to Kazakhstan and possibly Kyrgyzstan, but as an endangered species. This shrub is one of the oldest plants on our planet, however, little is known about the plants that co-exist with the S. schrenkianus. Knowledge about the coenoflora of endemic and endangered species is fundamental for a more accurate understanding of the potential threats on the plant's existence. To fill up this gap, the 15 coenopopulations of S. schrenkianus found in the Boraldaytau Mountains (Central part of the Syrdarya Karatau, Kazakhstan) and seven coenopopulations from the Betpak-Dala desert of Kazakhstan were analyzed. The coenoflora of S. schrenkianus consists of 232 species belonging to 146 genera and 41 families. The coenoflora from Syrdarya Karatau differed significantly from the Betpak-Dala desert, where only seven species occur together i.e., Adonis parviflora, Anisantha tectorum, Atraphaxis spinosa, Euphorbia falcata, Ixiolirion tataricum, Poa bulbosa, and Tulipa greigii. The similarity dendrogram of coenopopulations revealed greater differences in the floral composition of the plant communities, suggesting a disjunctive range in the target areas like Syrdarya Karatau, and the Betpak-Dala desert, Kazakhstan. The stability of S. schrenkianus is related to the ancient relict characters of the species formed in the Paleogene's arid conditions.
Apple cultivars and rootstocks assay for the identification of diverse viruses and healthy genotypes for breeding
Authors: Upadyshev M.T.
Published: April 2022

The prevalence of harmful viruses, viz., apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), apple stem pitting virus (ASPV), apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), apple mosaic virus (ApMV), and tomato ringspot virus (ToRSV) in apple tree plantations in the Ryazan, Yaroslavl, and Moscow regions, Russian Federation, based on genotype features, planting type (industrial, collection, and repository), and tree age was studied during 2018–2021. The prevalence of harmful and latent viruses ranged from 49.6% to 53.8% in apple cultivars and from 8.3% to 100% in apple clonal rootstocks. The most common virus in the Moscow and Yaroslavl regions was ACLSV (34.7% and 53.8%) and that in the Ryazan region was ApMV (33.3%). Relative to that in young apple trees, the virus influence in older tree tissues was higher by 20% to 43% depending on virus type. Monoviral infection prevailed (59% of all trees were infected with one virus) in the studied apple tree cultivars. Of the cultivars, 25% were infected by a complex of two viruses (ASPV + ACLSV), 10% were infected by three viruses, and 6% were infected by four viruses. The highest prevalence of latent viruses was observed in old Russian cultivars (53.5%) and selections from old foreign cultivars (57.2%). Virus occurrence was slightly lower (51.6%) in new Russian cultivars than in other cultivars. Columnar apple tree cultivars had the lowest virus occurrence (30%) and were found to be more tolerant than other genotypes. The highest virus incidence was recorded in industrial orchards (63.4%), followed by that recorded in collection (20.8%) and repository (18.3%) plantations. By using ELISA, the apple genotypes that were free from harmful viruses were identified as source plants, i.e., 183 plants from 18 apple tree cultivars and 131 plants from clonal rootstocks. Results indicated that virus-free apple germplasm is highly effective for the successful implementation of breeding and genetic improvement.
Akuntabilitas Dana Desa Di Kelurahan Argosari
Authors: Nisa Martika Khoirun , Wibowo Puji
Published: April 2022

The village fund (in bahasa dana desa) is a government program as a form of government decentralization which is intended to achieve equitable development and welfare of rural public in regions in Indonesia. The study aims to determine and analyze the level of accountability of village funds in Argosari, including the knowledge and awareness of the villagers to participate in the implementation of village funds. Based on agency and institutional theory, village governments are expected to serve and provide trust as agents to the villagers (general public) as principals. The method used in this study is a qualitative research method followed by quantitative research by distributing questionnaires. The results showed that the Argosari government was not good enough in processing and compiling financial reports before 2017, but this has been resolved since 2017. In terms of the villagers, they are quite aware of and support the village government's efforts in implementing village fund management. Therefore, the Argosari government continues to make improvements and evaluations in the management of village funds, including in the development of human resources and public involvement in order to obtain good and transparent accountability of village funds.
Dana desa merupakan program pemerintah sebagai bentuk desentralisasi pemerintahan yang dimaksudkan terwujudnya pemerataan pembangunan dan kesejahteraan masyarakat desa di daerah-daerah di Indonesia. Karya tulis ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui dan menganalisis sejauh mana tingkat akuntabilitas dana desa di Kelurahan Argosari, termasuk pada pengetahuan dan kesadaran masyarakatnya dalam ikut serta dalam pelaksanaan dana desa. Berdasarkan teori keagenan dan institusioanal, pemerintah desa diharapkan bisa melayani dan memberikan kepercayaan sebagai agen kepada masyarakat sebagai principal. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode penelitian kualitatif yang ditindaklanjuti penelitian kuantitatif dengan penyebaran kuesioner. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pemerintah Argosari kurang cukup baik dalam mengolah dan menyusun laporan keuangan sebelum tahun 2017, namun hal ini sudah teratasi dari tahun 2017. Dari segi masyarakatnya, mereka sudah cukup sadar dan mendukung upaya pemerintah desa dalam melaksanakan pengelolaan dana desa. Oleh karena itu, selanjutnya pemerintah Argosari selalu melakukan perbaikan dan evaluasi dalam pengelolaan dana desa, termasuk dalam pengembangan sumber daya manusianya dan keterlibatan masyarakat demi memperoleh akuntabilitas dana desa yang baik dan transparan.
Modeling the Growth Kinetics of Chlorella vulgaris Cultivated in Microfluidic Devices
Authors: Halmi M.I.E. , Shukor M.S. , Johari W.L.W. , Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

The third generation biofuels such as algal biodiesel is the future potential source of renewable energy. Recently Dewan et al. (2012) developed a drop-based microfluidics device platform to investigate cellular growth kinetics of single and few cells of Chlorella vulgaris. The results showed the typical asymmetric sigmoidal growth pattern. Since there exists a variety of models for describing the growth profile of microorganism such as logistic, Gompertz, Richards, Schnute, Baranyi-Roberts, Von Bertalanffy, Buchanan three-phase and more recently Huang models, the growth curves exhibit under such conditions would be an excellent study for finding the best model. The Buchanan three-phase model was chose as the best model based on statistical tests such as root-mean-square error (RMSE), adjusted coefficient of determination (R2), bias factor (BF), accuracy factor (AF), corrected AICc (Akaike Information Criterion) and F-test. Parameters obtained from the growth fitting exercise were maximum specific growth rate (mmax), lag time (l) and maximal number of cells achieved per droplet (Ymax) with the values of 1.301 (day-1), 1.861 (day) and 77 (no of cells/droplet), respectively. The parameters obtained from fitting the algae growth curve using this model can bed used for further modeling and optimization exercises for identifying key controlling parameters of the microfluidic devices.
Screening of Heavy Metals in Selected Vegetables using the Papain Inhibitive Assay
Authors: Masdor Noor Azlina , Halmi M.I.E. , Gunasekaran Baskaran , Sulaiman M.R.
Published: April 2022

Vegetables are major source of heavy metals contaminant in the diet of humans. Currently,monitoring of heavy metals in vegetables is carried out by instruments such as Inductively-Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrophotometer (ICP-OES) or Flow Injection MercurySystem (FIMS). Instrumental method alone is costly, need skilled personnel and timeconsuming. In this work, the papain assay was used to screen for the presence of heavy metalsin tweleve digested vegetables samples after neutralization. None of the non-spiked samplestested shows levels of heavy metals above the maximum residue limit (MRL) allowed forheavy metals in vegetables using both instrumental and papain assay. The papain assay wasable to detect by mercury-spiked vegetable samples indicating that the assay could tolerate thehigh salt of the digested sample matrix. Papain assay is simple, rapid and low in cost. It requiressmall sample volumes and could be carried out in a microplate format. The assay can act as apreliminary screening assay. Positive samples are sent for heavy metals level using instruments.Using this approach, higher frequency and number of monitoring can be carried out.
iTRAQ Proteins Analysis of Early Infected Papaya Plants with Papaya Dieback Pathogen
Authors: A.B Norliza . , NormahfuzaHusna S. , Rafidah B. , Shaharuddin N.A. , Rozeita L.
Published: April 2022

Papaya dieback disease is characterized by the greasy water-soaked lesions and spots on leaves and crowns. Defoliation and blemished of the papaya fruits are also being observed as a result of infection by Erwinia mallotivora. In an attempt to understand the molecular mechanisms leading to the bacteria pathogenesis and the papaya plant response to infection in a compatiblereaction, protein profiling during 24 hours post infection was studied using iTRAQ mass spectrometry analysis. The bacterium was sprayed into wounded leaves of a susceptible papaya cultivar (Eksotika 1) and proteome analysis was performed. The comparison of protein patterns of the treated and the control plants were carried out by labelling the control sample with iTRAQ 8 plex reagent 113 and inoculated samples with the iTRAQ 8 plex reagent 115 whichwere then analysed by peptide mass fingerprinting and identified by searches in public databases. Biochemical changes occurring in infected tissues were observed. Among the differentially expressed proteins were enolase, maturase K, superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, phosphoribulokinase, CT114 and a hypothetical protein with unknown function.
Testing the Normality of Residuals of the Modified Gompertz Model used for Modelling the Growth of Callus Cultures from Glycine wightii (Wight & Arn.) Verdc.
Authors: Shukor M.S. , Masdor N.A. , Halmi M.I.E. , Ahmad S.A. , Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

Glycine wightii species is native to Brazil and Africa. It is often known as an important climbingÂ vine-like perennial soybean. It is in the family of Leguminosae, within the sub-familyÂ Papilionoideae, under the genus Glycine and with the sun-genus Bracteata. In a prior work, weÂ modeled the growth of the bacterium Glycine wightii from published literatures to acquire crucialgrowth constants. We learned that the modified Gompertz model via nonlinear regression usingÂ the least square method was the most effective model to describe the growth curve. Nevertheless,Â the use of statistical tests to choose the best model relies heavily on the residuals of the curve tobe statistically robust. More often than not, the residuals must be tested for conformation toÂ normal distribution. In order for this assumption to be met, we perform statistical diagnosis testsÂ such as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Wilks-Shapiro and D'agostino-Pearson tests.
Test of Randomness of Residuals for Modified Gompertz Model used for Modelling the Growth of Callus Cultures from Glycine wightii (Wight & Arn.) Verdc.
Authors: M.S. Shukor . , Masdor N.A. , Halmi M.I.E. , Ahmad S.A. , Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

One of the most important preliminary investigations of callus attributes is the growth characteristics. Most often than not, callus growth curve is sigmoidal in characteristics. Frequently, plant scientists studying callus growth neglect the utilization of mathematical growth that are useful in obtaining important growth constants such as lag period, maximum specific growth rate and maximum growth or asymptote. Formerly, we model callus growth of Glycine wightii from published literature to obtain vital growth constants. We discovered that themodified Gompertz model via nonlinear regression utilizing the least square method was the best to explain the growth curve. Nevertheless, an important thing to consider, that has not been stated more than enough, is the residual of the model needs to be random. To make sure that randomness being fulfilled we carry out the Wald-Wolfowitz runs test. The results demonstrated that the number of runs was 5, and the expected number of runs within the assumption of randomness was 5, suggesting the series of residuals had perfect runs. The p-value obtained was higher than 0.05, hence the null hypothesis is not rejected suggesting no persuading proof of nonrandomnessof the residuals plus they do stand for noise.
Outlier Analysis of the Modified Gompertz Model used for Modelling the Growth of Callus Cultures from Glycine wightii (Wight & Arn.) Verdc.
Authors: M.S Shukor . , Masdor N.A. , Halmi M.I.E. , Ahmad S.A. , Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

The production of callus and cell culture can be an important tool to study plant regulation, biosynthesis and biochemistry. Previously, we model the growth of growth of Glycine wightii published literature to obtain vital growth constants. We discovered that the modified Gompertz model was the best model based on statistical test such as root-mean-square error (RMSE), adjusted coefficient of determination (R2), bias factor (BF), accuracy factor (AF) and corrected AICc (Akaike Information Criterion) to explain the callus growth. However, the use of statistical tests to choose the best model relies heavily on the residuals of the curve to be statistically robust. Usually, the residuals need be tested for the occurrence of outliers (at 95 or 99% of confidence). In this work, the Grubbâ€™s test to detect the presence of outlier in the growth model was carried out. The results showed that there was no outlier present, and the modified Gompertzmodel was adequate to model the callus growth.
In silico study to breaking mystery of bioluminescence protein structure of bacterial luciferase and firefly luciferase
Authors: Rachman A.R. Abdul . , Shaharuddin Noor Azmi , Sabullah M.K. , Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

Bioluminescent proteins such as luciferase or green fluorescent protein become an interesting protein to be studied particularly on its structure, mechanism of light emission in certain wavelength and also its contribution in several applications. This study was conducted to understand more on the luciferase enzymes from bacteria and firefly based on in silico studies of their protein sequences, protein surface and interactions with different substrates. Protein crystal structures of bacterial luciferase and firefly luciferase that been deposited on Protein Data Bank (PDB) were used as model proteins for this study. Computer analysis of luciferase proteins such as pI prediction, multiple sequence alignment and molecular docking with different luciferase substrates (Flavin mononucleotide, L-luciferin, D-luciferin, vargulin, coelectrazine, Dinoflagellate luciferin, Latia luciferin) by using iGEMDOCK docking software had been conducted. Final analysis showed that, the bacterial luciferase prefers flavin mononucleotide and latia luciferin as its substrates and for firefly luciferase, it prefers dinoflagellate luciferin, L-luciferin and D-luciferin as the substrates. Bacterial luciferase and firefly luciferase shared very low protein sequence homology (<30%) although they have similar catalyzing function. Prediction of pI by using ProtParam tool showed that bacterial luciferase and firefly luciferase has pI values of 4.95 and 6.42, respectively. In conclusion, bacterial and firefly luciferase can consider several different of luciferin in enzyme catalysis.
The Effect of Malathion on The Activity of Cholinesterase From Freshwater Shrimp, Caridina Sp.
Authors: Sabullah Mohd Khalizan . , Ahmad Fisal , Gunasekaran Baskaran , Rachman A.R.A. , Lee Shi Yin , Ahmad Siti Aqlima , Shukor M.Y. , Gansau Azlan Jualang , Sulaiman Mohd Rosni
Published: April 2022

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) from Caridina sp. was tested its sensitivity towards selected anticholinesterase such as malathion. Prior to this study, the optimal assay condition was determined at the temperature of 25oC, pH 8.0 and using phosphate buffer. At the concentration of 10-8 M, malathion was able to inhibit AChE activity at 1.75% and increased to 15.79% with the increasing of malathion concentration to 10-4 M. It is proven through this study that the crude extract of AChE is sensitive toward malathion exposure and provide an alternative study for biosensor development.
Heavy metals distribution in seabed sediment at Golok Central and Golok Barat gas fields, Sarawak
Authors: Karim Nurul Emilia Abd , Deraman Samsiah , Mohamed Khairul Nizam
Published: April 2022

Drilling activities to extract natural gas from the bottom of the sea can cause the release of several types of heavy metals into the marine water and seabed sediment. Excessive heavy metals concentrations in the marine environment could cause toxicity to the fish and other marine life. Subsequently, the heavy metals will enter into human body when the contaminated fish is consumed by human. Some chemicals present in the marine water will settle down onto the seabed sediment. This study aimed to study the trends of heavy metals distribution in seabed sediment at Golok Central and Golok Barat gas fields, Sarawak from 2010 to 2012. The concentrations of Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Co, Ba, Cu, and Zn in seabed sediment were analysed. The result of the analysis showed that the average concentrations of heavy metals in seabed sediment at Golok Central and Golok Barat gas fields from 2010 to 2012 were significantly different (P < 0.05). Comparison between means of concentrations of heavy metals in seabed sediment at different locations (Golok Central and Golok Barat gas fields), however, showed no significant difference. Comparing to the EIA baseline data, most of the heavy metals concentrations exceeded the baseline data.
Testing the Normality of Residuals on Regression Model for the Growth of Moraxella sp. B on Monobromoacetic Acid
Authors: Shamaan N.A. , Shukor M.S. , Masdor N.A. , Sabullah M.K. , Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

Bioremediation of monobromoacetic acid, a haloacetic acid, continues to be recommended as acheaper and achievable method in comparison to physical and chemical techniques. In a priorwork, we model the growth of the bacterium Moraxella sp. B on monobromoacetic acid frompublished literature to acquire crucial growth constants. We learned that the Buchanan-threephasemodel via nonlinear regression using the least square method was the most effective model to describe the growth curve. Nevertheless, the use of statistical tests to choose the best model relies heavily on the residuals of the curve to be statistically robust. More often than not, the residuals must be tested for conformation to normal distribution. In order for these assumptions to be met, we perform statistical diagnosis tests such as the Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Wilks-Shapiro and D'agostino-Pearson tests.
Test of the Randomness of Residuals for the von Bertalanffy model Fitting P. aeruginosa Growth Inhibition by Phytochemicals from Adantum philippensis Extract
Authors: Uba Garba
Published: April 2022

Numerous publications ignore statistical diagnosing of the nonlinear model utilized, and the data might be nonrandom- an essential necessity for all of the parametric statistical evaluation approaches. In cases where the diagnostic tests demonstrate that the residuals reveal a pattern, then a variety of remedies for example nonparametric analysis or shifting to another model should cure the problem. In order for randomness to be met we perform the Waldâ€“Wolfowitz runs test statistical diagnosis tests. In this study, a test for the randomness of the residual for the von Bertalanffy model used in fitting the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm in the presence of the phytochemicals from the plant Adantum philippensis was carried out using the Waldâ€“Wolfowitz runs test. The number of runs was 13, the expected number of runs under the assumption of randomness was 7.514, indicating the series of residuals had adequate runs and as the p-value was greater than 0.05, the null hypothesis is not discarded, suggesting no compelling proof of non-randomity of the residues.
Production of Bioethanol from Office Waste via Simultaneous Saccharification Fermentation
Authors: Vincent Micky , Nor Hasni H. , Ennry E.
Published: April 2022

Bioethanol is an attractive and sustainable fuel that can be used in the transportation sector. It is recognized as being a good alternative to conventional fossil based fuel as it is biodegradable and emits zero net carbon output into the atmosphere. In this study, bioethanol was produced from office waste by usinga commercial cellulase preparation and Saccharomyces cerevisiae via Simultaneous Saccharification Fermentation (SSF). The office waste feedstocks were loaded at 5.0%, 7.5% and 10.0% (w/v) against two cellulase dosages at 25 and 50 FPU/g paper. The fermentation products and residual sugars were then analyzed via High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). From the results obtained, the combination of 5.0% feedstock loading with 50 FPU/g paper cellulase produced the highest concentration of ethanol at 96 hr, which was at 67.64% of theoretical ethanol yield (TEY). Whilethe combination of 10.0% feedstock loading with 50 FPU/g paper cellulase produced the lowest concentration of ethanol at 32.69% of TEY. This study has shown that office waste can be converted to bioethanol via SSF, and may assist in reutilization and the waste management of office waste.
Isolation, Characterization and Growth Optimization of a Chromate-reducing Bacterium
Authors: Sopian Nor Ashikin , Halmi Mohd Izuan Effendi , Shukor Mohd Yunus Abd , Sabullah Mohd Khalizan , Johari Wan Lutfi Wan
Published: April 2022

The application of chromium in industries has introduced anthropogenic release of chromatewhich is very toxic and a soluble environmental contaminant. The contaminated sites andindustrial wastewater containing chromate are treated based on reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III)which is insoluble and less toxic to environment. This can be achieved through utilization ofCr(VI)-reducing bacteria which serves more economical and environmental-friendly treatmentas compared to conventional chemical treatment method. To fulfill this, a new chromatereducing bacterium was isolated from an agricultural site. This bacterium was identified asAeromonas encheleia using Biolog analysis with 0.603 similarity index. Chromate reductioncapability of the bacterium was optimized using Response Surface Methodology with optimumconditions occurring at 250 Î¼M Cr(VI), temperature 34 Â°C and pH 7.5 with 99% reduction wasachieved. The bacterium showed high tolerance in LB media containing 3.0 mM of K2Cr2O7,but only reduce 1.5 mM Cr(VI) within 24 hours. The presence of metals and metabolicinhibitors in the media did not give significant inhibitory effect on Cr(VI) removal except Hg,NaCN and Co with percentage inhibition 6.7, 80.5 and 90.8 respectively. Based on this study,Aeromonas encheleia could be a good candidate in bioremediation of contaminated site orindustrial wastewater containing Cr(VI).
Mathematical Modelling of the Growth of Klebsiella pneumoniae on 2- methylquinoline
Authors: M.S. Shukor , Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

Quinolines compounds are toxic pollutants. Their biodegradation by microbes represents a tool for bioremediation. The growth of Klebsiella penumoniae on 2-methylquinoline shows typical sigmoidal bacterial growth curves. Since there exists a variety of models for describing the growth profile of microorganism such as logistic, Gompertz, Richards, Schnute, Baranyi- Roberts, Von Bertalanffy, Buchanan three-phase and more recently Huang models, the growth curves exhibit under such conditions would be an excellent study for finding the best model. The Huang model was chosen as the best model based on statistical tests such as root-meansquare error (RMSE), adjusted coefficient of determination (R2), bias factor (BF), accuracy factor (AF) and corrected AICc (Akaike Information Criterion). Novel constants obtained from the modelling exercise would be used for further secondary modelling.
Assessment of Selected Herbicides and Chelating Agents in Water Using Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detector (GC-ECD)
Authors: Abd. Rahim Siti Fadhilah , Masrom Normala , Kamal Muhamad Cyrill , Baharudin Khairul Basyar , Bakar Norliza Abu , Shaharuddin Noor Azmi
Published: April 2022

Water contamination by herbicides and chelating agents is increasing mainly due to theÂ increasing agricultural activities. Water contamination by these compounds has become aÂ concern due to their adverse effects to the environment and humans. Seven sampling sites ofÂ water sources in Selangor and Johor were chosen for the study. Contamination level ofÂ Mecoprop (MCCP), Nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) and Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) inÂ these water body areas was determined by using Gas Chromatography-Electron CaptureÂ Detector (GC-ECD). Our results indicated that water samples of Sungai Melot in SelangorÂ showed the highest presence of EDTA. MCCP was detected at a high level at Sungai SarangÂ Buaya, Johor while NTA showed similar level of concentration at three different sites, LadangÂ 10, Ladang Sayur and Mardi, Selangor
Assessment of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) from Oreochromis mossambicus (Cuvier, 1831) as a source of enzyme for insecticides detection
Authors: Muhammad Umar Abubakar , Tham Lik Gin , Perumal Natarajan , Daud Hassan Mohd , Yasid Nur Adeela , Shukor Mohd Yunus
Published: April 2022

In this work we assess the potential of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) from Oreochromis mossambicus (Toman) as a sensitive test for the presence of insecticides. The partial purification and characterization of a soluble AChE from Oreochromis mossambicus brain tissues using affinity chromatography gel (procainamideâ€“Sephacryl S-1000) showed that the partially purified AChE was most active on acetylthiocholine (ATC) but had low activities on propionylthiocholine (PTC) and butyrylthiocholine (BTC), indicating that the partially purified fraction was predominantly AChE. Soluble AChE was partially purified 9.27-fold with a 91.12% yield. The partially purified AChE displayed the highest activity on ATC at pH 7 and at 30oC using 0.1 M Tris buffer. The enzyme exhibited Michaelis-Menten kinetic constants, Km, for ATC, BTC and PTC at 36, 77 and 250 ÂµM, respectively, and the maximum velocities, Vmax, were 18.75, 0.12 and 0.05 Âµmol/min/mg protein, respectively. Moreover, the AChE from Oreochromis mossambicus presented comparable sensitivity to carbamates and organophosphates insecticides than that from Electrophorus electricus and many other fish AChE by comparing half maximal inhibitory concentration values. Therefore, the enzyme is a valuable source for insecticides detection in Malaysian waters at lower cost.
Bacterial Inhibition Activity of Methanolic Extract from Salvia officinalis: Determination of the IC50 value by Nonlinear Regression
Authors: Rusnam .
Published: April 2022

Quite a few scientific studies carried out on the effectiveness of solvent-extracts from plant as inhibitory agents for microorganisms. A number of these studies, nevertheless, failed to report on the standard IC50 values, that would permit assessment along with other studies. Probably the most correct methods to calculate this value is via analysis of the data using nonlinear regression analysis, in which the four-parameter logistics (4PL) equation is regularly utilized by numerous scientists. In a previous study carried out from solvent extracts from Salvia officinalis, the extract was able to inhibit the bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila, a well-known fish pathogen. However, the study did not report the IC50 value for the extract. Thus, the aim of this research is to apply the four-parameter logistics equation to determine the IC50 value and its confidence interval for the plant extract. The model predicts an IC50 value of 21.92 (mg/ml) with a 95% confidence interval from 20.86 to 23.03, with a correlation coefficient value of 0.96. The result from this study allow future comparative studies to be made with other plant extracts or with other antibacterial activity using this plant extract.
Biodegradation of Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonates (LAS): A Mini Review
Authors: Kaida Huda , Syed Mohd Arif , Shukor Mohd Yunus , Othman Ahmad Razi
Published: April 2022

The most common anionic surfactants in the formulation of detergents are Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonates (LAS), with an anionic sulfonate head group and a hydrophobic alkylbenzene tail group. The two primary synthetic detergents, together with sodium laureth sulphate, have been around for quite some time and may be found in many personal-care items such as shampoos, soaps, toothpaste, and laundry detergent. LAS is a relatively recalcitrant compound and not easily biodegraded. It is a major source of environmental contamination. Bioremediation can potentially give a significantly higher removal efficiency than standard physicochemical techniques. This review aims to compile information on the toxicity, biodegradation and assimilatory pathway of this class of compound. One of the challenges in the bioremediation of this class of compound is that there have been limited SDBS-degrading bacteria isolated and characterized to date and further work in the field of bioremediation should focus on the isolation of more degraders and carrying out further trials with micro-and mesocosms.
Characterization of A Diesel-Degrading Strain Isolated From A Local Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Site
Authors: Nurul Ku
Published: April 2022

A diesel-degrading bacterium has been isolated from a primary school soil. The isolate was tentatively identified as Serratia sp. Strain DRY5 based on the carbon utilization profiles using Biolog GN plates and partial 16S rDNA molecular phylogeny. Isolate 5 showed an increase cellular growth with respect to diesel concentrations from 0% until 2% where the optimum growth occurring at 2% (v/v) diesel concentration and was able to tolerate up to 8% (v/v) diesel. Based on the optimization studies using different nitrogen sources, Ammonium chloride proved to be the best nitrogen source. Ammonium chloride was optimum at 7.7 gl-1 and concentrations higher than that resulted with inhibiton of the cellular growth. The optimal temperature and the optimal pH that supported the growth of this bacterium was between 23 to 40 oC and pH 7.5 to pH 8.5 respectively. Diesel components was proven to be completely removed from the reduction in the hydrocarbon peaks monitored by Solid Phase Microextraction Gas Chromatography analysis after 7 days of incubation.All of these characteristics suggest that this bacterium is the right bacterium for bioremediation of diesel spills and pollution in the tropics.
Dialysis Tubing Experiment Showed that Molybdenum Reduction in S. marcescens strain DrY6 is Mediated by Enzymatic Action
Authors: Shukor Mohd Yunus
Published: April 2022

Reduction of metal ions by microbes has long been afflicted by the contribution of abiotic and nonabiotic metal-reducing chemicals. The discrimination between enzymatic and chemical action upon metal must be solved to present a clear reduction mechanism. In this work, a previously developed method using dialysis tubing was employed to study the contribution of these agents upon molybdenum reduction to molybdenum blue in S. marcescens strain Dr.Y6. We discovered that approximately 95 % of molybdenum blue formed was found in the inside of the dialysis tubing. This suggests that the reduction of molybdate by this bacterium requires the presence of cells or mediated enzymatically.
Biodegradation of Chicken Feather Wastes in Submerged Fermentation Containing High Concentrations of Heavy Metals by Bacillus sp. khayat
Authors: Ahmad Siti Aqlima , Yusoff Ibrahim , Shukor Mohd Yunus Abd , Phang Lai Yee , Syed Mohd Arif
Published: April 2022

The increasing use of feather in removing heavy metals from water continues to generate feather wastes contaminated with heavy metals which make it difficult for feather-degrading bacteria to degrade them. In this study, the capacity of Bacillus sp. khayat to grow, produce keratinase and degrade chicken feathers contaminated with various heavy metals, chemicals and surfactants was investigated. The results showed that keratinase activity, feather degradation and the bacterial growth increases with an increase in concentration up to 10 ppm for certain metals, 15 ppm for Cr and Zn and up to 20 ppm for Cu. CaCl2 and Fe2SO4 have negative effect on growth, KA and feather degradation when placed in medium or in cell free crude keratinase except Ca ion which affect crude crude keratinase less. Feather degradation was enhanced at 5 ppm in Pb, Ni, As, Cr and Cu. However, Hg showed decreased feather degradation after 1 ppm. About 90-100 % feather were degraded in the presence of 10 ppm Ni, Ag, Cr, Zn and Co. Ni, Ag, Zn and Cu were the best tolerated metals. Bacillus sp. khayat, with a relatively high tolerance to heavy metals while still maintaining its feather-degrading activities, appears to be a bacterial model for toxicenvironmental waste.
Outlier Analysis of the Buchanan-three-phase Model used in Fitting the Growth of Paracoccus sp. SKG on Acetonitrile
Authors: Gunasekaran Baskaran , Shukor M.S. , Masdor N.A. , Shamaan N.A. , Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

Organonitriles are widely used in industry such as the synthesis of plastics, rubber, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, drug intermediates, and pesticides. They are carcinogenic and mutagenic. Bioremediation of acetonitrile, an organonitrile, has been touted as a more economical and feasible method compared to physical and chemical approaches. In this work, we model the growth of growth of Paracoccus sp. SKG on acetonitrile from published literature to obtain vital growth constants. We discovered that the Buchanan-three-phase model via nonlinear regression utilizing the least square method was the very best model to explain the growth curve. However, the use of statistical tests to choose the best model relies heavily on the residuals of the curve to be statistically robust. More often than not, the residuals must be tested for the presence of outliers (at 95 or 99% of confidence). In this work, the Grubbâ€™s test to detect the presence of outlier in the growth model was carried out.
Test of Randomness of Residuals for the Buchanan-three-phase Model used in the Fitting the Growth of Paracoccus sp. SKG on Acetonitrile
Authors: Gunasekaran Baskaran , Shukor M.S. , Masdor N.A. , Shamaan N.A. , Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

Organonitriles are classified as priority pollutants. They are carcinogenic and mutagenic. Bioremediation of acetonitrile, an organonitrile, has been touted as a more economical and feasible method compared to physical and chemical approaches. In this work, we model the growth of growth of Paracoccus sp. SKG on acetonitrile from published literature to obtain vital growth constants. We discovered that the Buchanan-three-phase model via nonlinear regressionutilizing the least square method was the very best model to explain the growth curve. An important consideration that has not been highlighted enough is that the residuals of the model must be random. In order for randomness to be met, we perform the Waldâ€“Wolfowitz runs test. The results showed that the number of runs was 5, the expected number of runs under the assumption of randomness was 3.857, indicating the series of residuals had adequate runs. The pvalue obtained was greater than 0.05, therefore the null hypothesis is not rejected indicating no convincing evidence of non-randomness of the residuals and they do represent noise.
Growth and Yield Attributes of Groundnut (Arachis hypogea) as Influenced by Population Density and Phosphorous Fertilizer Rates on the Jos Plateau
Authors: Ibrahim Iro I , Umar U.M. , Abubakar A.I.
Published: April 2022

The experiment was conducted at the Federal College of Forestry demonstration farm Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. The experimental design used was a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) consisting of twelve treatments combination arranged in 3 x 4 factorial (plant population density; 133,333 at 50 x15 cm, 100,000 at 50 x 20 cm and 80,000 plant/ha at 50 x 25 cm spacing and phosphorous; 0, 20, 40 and 60kgP2O5/ha) replicated four times. Data were collected on plant height, leaf count, canopy spread, stem girth, leaf area, leaf area index, number of pods/plant, 100 seeds weight, shelling percentage, pod yield, total biomass and harvest index. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) at a 5% level of significance. Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) was used to compare the means. The result obtained reveals that a plant population density of 100,000 plants/ha and the application of 40 kg P2O5/ha produced the highest growth and yield characters of groundnut respectively. No significant influence of interaction was recorded on the growth and yield characters but significantly influence the yield of the groundnut plant. The interaction between population density of 100,000/ha and phosphorous fertilizer at 40 kg P2O5/ha gave the highest pod yield/ha (2.50 t/ha). It is therefore recommended that a plant population of 100,000 plants/ha and the application of 40 kg P2O5/ha be encouraged for farmers of groundnut in the study area for optimum production.
Autocorrelation Test for the Residual Data from the Pseudo-1st Order Kinetic Model of the Brominated Flame Retardant 4-Bromodiphenyl Ether Adsorption onto Biochar-immobilized Sphingomonas sp.
Authors: Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

Because of their fire-retardant properties, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are frequently used in the manufacturing industry. PBDEs are mixed with polymers as additives and employed in a range of sectors, including plastics and textiles. They are, nevertheless, capable of leaking from the surfaces of these items and into the environment since they are not chemically connected to plastics or textile materials. The adsorption of PBDEs onto biochar-immobilized bacteria is a useful method to remediate PBDEs from the environment. Understanding the kinetics of adsorption can be done by using models such as pseudo-1st or pseudo-2nd. The pseudo-1st order kinetic model was previously found to best fit the data via a nonlinear regression exercise for brominated flame retardant 4-bromodiphenyl ether adsorption onto biochar-immobilized Sphingomonas sp. However, the use of nonlinear regression requires the residual of the fitted curve to be non-autocorrelated. The Durbinâ€“Watson statistic, which is derived from the Durbinâ€“Watson distribution, is one of the most commonly used ways for determining whether or not there is autocorrelation. In this study, the calculated value of the Durbin-Watson statistics was d = 2.260. The Durbin-Watsonâ€™s lower critical value for dL was 0.700, while the upper critical value dU was 1.252. Since the d value was greater than the upper critical value or dU, this resulted in the null hypothesis not being rejected or indicating that there is no evidence of autocorrelation. This demonstrates that the pseudo-1st model used in the nonlinear regression model is adequate