bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Problem of Conflicting Arbitration and Forum Selection Clauses
Authors: Stebler Simone
Published: April 2022

The paper presents the peculiar problem that arises when a contract provides for an arbitration clause and, at the same time, sets forth a forum selection clause. Due to their differing effects, the existence of both clauses confronts courts and arbitral tribunals with questions as to their validity and scope. A review of various court decisions from multiple jurisdictions and arbitral awards indicates that courts and arbitral tribunals have adopted different approaches in tackling these issues, notably the following: (i) resort to a hard and fast rule, presuming the superiority of either clause, and (ii) interpretation of the seemingly conflicting clauses in order to determine their relationship, validity and scope. After a discussion of the reviewed decisions, the author concludes and welcomes that in most instances, courts and arbitral tribunals alike upheld the validity of both the forum selection and the arbitration clauses in question and reconciled them in a sensible way, mainly by applying the principle of interpreting a contract as a whole. At the same time, the author rejects the application of presumptions of superiority of either clause and emphasizes the eminence of the parties' intent when dealing with conflicting arbitration and forum selection clauses. In that sense, the presence of both an arbitration and a forum selection clause in the same contract will most often be a strong indication that the parties intended to avoid adjudication of their dispute by the competent state court under the procedural rules otherwise applicable by default. Consequently, in the author's view, a finding that both clauses are invalid due to differing effects is unwarranted.
The Revised IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration
Authors: Petti Angelina M , Voser Nathalie
Published: April 2022

The present article analyzes the recent revision of the International Bar Association Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration, which were approved by the IBA in late October 2014. First introduced in 2004, the guidelines have become an essential tool relied upon by arbitration practitioners, institutions and courts when assessing questions of impartiality and independence of arbitrators and the extent of disclosure requirements.

The goal of this paper is not only to highlight those aspects of the revised guidelines which are new or clarified, but also to provide a comprehensive analysis of the guidelines as a whole. To that end, the authors have identified a number of key topic areas relating to conflicts of interest in arbitration which have been the subject of recurring debate and were also to a considerable extent at the core of the discussion during the revision process. These topic areas serve as a framework to analyze and better comprehend the impact of the various provisions of the guidelines.

In particular, the article addresses in detail the following specific subject matters: duties of disclosure and enquiry for arbitrators, administrative secretaries and parties, relationship-based conflicts (including third-party funding), issue conflicts, and waivers of conflicts of interest (including advance waivers).
The Transnational Procedural Rules for Arbitration and the Risks of Overregulation and Bureaucratization
Authors: Draetta Ugo
Published: April 2022

Arbitration is widely recognised as an autonomous legal order. As such, it has its own substantial and procedural rules, which are also transnational in nature. With regard to the procedural rules, a set of transnational procedural rules of soft law has emerged, which are meant to be applicable to the arbitration proceedings with the only limit of the mandatory application of the public order provisions of the lex arbitri. This set of procedural rules has been sometimes referred to as the lex mercatoria processualis. It consists of the rules of procedure of the lex arbitri, the arbitration rules of the various arbitration institutions and a number of guidelines, codes of conduct and similar productions of soft law which are being issued to an increasing extent with the stated intent of providing some guidance to arbitrators in the exercise of their discretion as to the identification of the applicable procedural rules. With reference to the last set of procedural rules, there appears to be a serious risk that the international arbitration community has placed itself on a slippery slope toward overregulation and unnecessary bureaucratisation. Already the well known 2010 IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration, though useful under many respects, are often criticized with respect to their rules on document production which seem to be predicated on the false assumption that a document production phase is a must in international arbitration. However, the concerns about overregulation and bureaucratization have been recently reinforced as a consequence of the issuance of the 2013 IBA Guidelines on Party Representation in International Arbitration. They cover a variety of critical issues, suggesting, however, in most cases, rules that are either unnecessary or unduly limiting the discretionary powers of the arbitrators. For example, the Guidelines concerning the remedies available to arbitrators in case of misconduct by the parties or their counsel do not add anything to the arsenal of measures previously available to the arbitrators. They, however, appear to suggest that giving advance notice to the parties and a right to be heard are necessary prerequisites for the adoption of such measures - an obligation that arbitrators do not have under current standards.
Arbitration Clauses in Third Party Beneficiary Contracts  Who May and Who Must Arbitrate?
Authors: Meier Andrea , Setz Anna Lea
Published: April 2022

In a third party beneficiary contract, two parties stipulate that performance is to be rendered to a third party. If a third party beneficiary contract contains an arbitration clause, a number of questions arise, e.g. who has the right to invoke the arbitration clause and who is under an obligation to do so. After a brief introduction to third party beneficiary contracts, this article discusses the pertinent issues on the basis of different scenarios before addressing the concern that third party beneficiary concepts could be abused as a means for unduly extending the arbitration agreement to third parties.

According to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court and the prevailing view among legal scholars, the third party beneficiary to a genuine third party beneficiary contract has a right to invoke the contract’s arbitration clause, as it is annexed to the right to demand performance as an ancillary right. In the authors’ view, one should rather examine whether it was the intention of the parties to the contract to enter into an arbitration agreement with the third party beneficiary, an intention which generally has to be affirmed.

A different question is whether the third party is also under an obligation to invoke the arbitration clause. The Swiss Federal Supreme Court has not yet decided this issue. In the authors’ view, such an obligation exists as a rule. Promisor and promise are free to subject the right they stipulate in favor of a third party to conditions, including the condition that the third party submit to the arbitration clause for disputes in connection with the third party beneficiary right. As a consequence, the third party can only make use of the right if it also accepts the arbitration clause.
Document Production: New Findings on an Old Issue
Authors: Marghitola Reto
Published: April 2022

The current framework for evidentiary proceedings in international arbitration is marked by one set of rules, the IBA Rules, and conflicting interpretations of these rules. Contrary to the views of many commentaries, there is no abstract rule of what is sufficient to identify a document or a category of documents. Similarly, no technical rules exist for drawing adverse inferences.

A successful document production strategy requires an early analysis which allows parties accurately to select its party-appointed arbitrator and to influence the establishment of the procedural rules. For this purpose, the suggested model clause for arbitration proceedings between parties expecting civil law proceedings may be used.
Antibiotic Resistance in Laboratory acquired infections-A Review
Authors: Khan Samrah Tahir , Idrees Hira , Aftab Maryam , Imtiaz Asmara , Khan Muhammad Amjad
Published: April 2022

Laboratory acquired infection occur globally. These infections are caused by multiple parasites and pathogens belonging to bacteria, fungi and the viruses. Laboratory acquired infections in laboratories of research and development; production installations and academic sectors i.e., teaching labs vary, but do contribute to morbidity and mortality with respect to their occurrence. The health status of a lab worker or technician is an important factor in keeping the community health as these acquired infections easily get introduced into the community. The current review gives an overview about the laboratory acquired infection, their past and the complications that are being faced in their control and management. The review focuses on one of the major problem now being faced in the lab acquired infections that is antibiotic resistance.
Strategies to Control the Pollution Caused by Textile Industry Effluents Containing Dyes
Authors: Ramzan Humaira , Kausar Farwa , Zeeshan Uzma , PBukhari Shazia , Yasmeen Roheela
Published: April 2022

Textile industrial effluent contains recalcitrant dyes which are becoming a serious threat for environment. Bioremediation is becoming an emerging technique to control pollution in effluent treatment. The extensive information has been provided within this review about the pollution being caused in the environment and water bodies by textile industrial effluents primarily consisting of recalcitrant dyes. Therefore, for the remediation of textile industrial effluents, the most efficient technologies/techniques have been discussed. Strategies to control these hazardous pollutants include physical, chemical, biological and electrochemical methods. In textile industry, synthetic dyes are being used and highly concentrated wastewater is discharged as the fabrics absorbs the dyes in a very less quantity. These colored compounds have detrimental effects on the environment including human heath, aquatic life and plants due to the reduced penetration of light, oxygen consumption and toxic heavy metals present in the synthetic dyes.
Toplu Pazarlıksız ve Grevsiz Bir Dönemde SEKA’da Sendikalar ve Toplu Çalışma İlişkileri (1946-1960)
Authors: TURGAY Feyza , ÇELİK Aziz
Published: April 2022

Cumhuriyet dönemi Türkiye’sinin ilk büyük ölçekli sanayi kuruluşları olan Kamu İktisadi Teşekkülleri (KİT) Türkiye’de işçi sınıfı oluşumunu anlamada kritik bir role sahiptir. Türkiye’de modern anlamda işçi sınıfı oluşumunun gerçekleştiği bu kuruluşlar yalnızca nicel faktörler nedeniyle değil, işçilerin toplu halde bir arada bulunmalarını sağlayarak sınıf bilinci oluşumu üzerinde etkili olmuşlardır. İzmit Kâğıt ve Karton Fabrikası (SEKA), 1930’larda başlayan ekonomik kalkınma hedefleri kapsamında Sümerbank eliyle kurulan ilk KİT’lerden biridir. Bu yönüyle erken Cumhuriyet dönemi Türkiye’sinde siyasal, hukuksal ve iktisadi süreçlerin bir kamu işletmesinde işçi sınıfı oluşumu dinamiklerini ne şekilde etkilediğini anlamamız açısından önemli bir örnektir. Çalışma 1946 Sendikacılığı dönemiyle 1960 arasında SEKA’da sendikal örgütlenme sürecini, sendikal deneyimleri ve toplu çalışma ilişkilerini birincil kaynaklara dayalı olarak ele almakta, toplu pazarlıksız ve grevsiz bir dönemde şekillenen toplu çalışma ilişkileri deneyimini irdelemektedir.
Assessment of sugar beet genetic diversity in the Republic of Kazakhstan by using RAPDmarkers and agromorphological traits
Authors: Abekova A.M. , Yerzhebayeva R.S. , Bastaubayeva S.O. , Konusbekov K. , Bazylova T.A. , Babissekova D.I. , Amangeldiyeva A.A.
Published: April 2022

Sugar beet is a highly valuable and profitable crop in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is the only source of raw materials for the production of crystalline sugar and incidentals (tops, bagasse, and molasses). This study aimed to determine the genetic diversity of 53 sugar beet samples, 19 parental lines, and 34 hybrids from Kazakhstan by using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, agromorphological traits, root mass weight, and sugar content at the Kazakh Research Institute of Agriculture and Plant Growing, Almalybak, Republic of Kazakhstan. The experimental conditions were optimized for the 14 RAPD primers used in this study. The polymorphism index contents varied from 0.24 to 0.46, and all 14 primers were classified as moderately informative. The cluster analysis of RAPD data divided the sugar beet samples into seven groups. The greatest distance (D = 1.4) was noted among the male sterile lines „MS-1611‟, „MS-1631‟, „MS-97‟, and „MS-2113‟ and the pollinator lines „VP-44‟ and „VP-23‟. The samples were divided into six groups on the basis of root mass weight and sugar content via cluster analysis. The hybrids „RMS-90‟, „RMS-134‟, „RMS-133‟, „RMS-136‟, and „Ramnes‟ were grouped in a cluster that showed the highest values of root mass weight, which ranged from 610 g to 680 g. However, the samples with high sugar content (18.2–18.5), i.e., „Shecker‟, „2198‟, „H-22‟, and „1005‟, were grouped into a cluster with a distance of D = 0.8. Lines located at a large genetic distance from each other were recommended for hybridization when creating highly productive hybrids. These findings can be applied in the development of new productive and stable sugar beet hybrids in Kazakhstan.
Problematika Tindakan Penyanderaan Sebagai Salah Satu Upaya Penagihan Pajak Di Indonesia
Authors: Manurung Gidion Samuel , Rahman Hafidz Taqullah , Lestari Lisa Fitri , Irawan Ferry
Published: April 2022

One of the efforts made by the Directorate General of Taxes to collect tax debts that have not been paid off by the tax insurer is taking hostage (gijzeling). Gijzeling can be defined as a temporary restraint on the freedom of the tax bearer by placing him in a certain place. In the implementation of gijzeling, there are pros and cons regarding whether or not taking hostage is a violation of the human rights of the tax payer. In addition, questions arise regarding the effectiveness of the implementation of gijzeling on tax debt collection and state revenues as well as obstacles in its implementation. This study uses a qualitative method with a literature study approach. The results of this study indicate that the implementation of gijzeling does not violate the human rights of the tax bearer. The implementation of hostage taking in Indonesia is also quite effective, although it faces several obstacles, both from the DGT side, taxpayers, other agencies, and related regulations.
Salah satu upaya yang dilakukan Direktorat Jenderal Pajak untuk menagih utang pajak yang tidak kunjung dilunasi oleh penanggung pajak adalah penyanderaan. Penyanderaan didefinisikan sebagai pengekangan sementara waktu kebebasan penanggung pajak dengan menempatkannya di tempat tertentu. Dalam pelaksanaan penyanderaan terjadi pro dan kontra mengenai benar tidaknya bahwa penyanderaan merupakan pelanggaran terhadap Hak Asasi Manusia (HAM) dari penanggung pajak. Selain itu muncul pertanyaan mengenai efektivitas pelaksanaan penyanderaan terhadap penagihan utang pajak dan penerimaan negara serta kendala dalam pelaksanaannya. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan pendekatan studi kepustakaan. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa pelaksanaan penyanderaan tidak melanggar HAM penanggung pajak. Pelaksanaan penyanderaan di Indonesia juga tergolong efektif walaupun menghadapi beberapa kendala baik dari sisi DJP, wajib pajak, instansi lain, maupun peraturan terkait.
An Inhibitive Determination Method for Heavy Metals Using Tomato Crude Proteases
Authors: Gunasekaran Baskaran , Sulaiman M.H. , Halmi M.I.E. , Syahir Amir , Roslan M.A.H. , Jirangon Hussain , Shukor M.Y. , Syed M.A.
Published: April 2022

A new inhibitive heavy metals determination method using extract from Lycopersicon esculentum or tomato from has been developed. The enzyme was assayed using the casein-Coomassie-dye-binding method. In the absence of inhibitors, casein was hydrolysed to completion and the Coomassie-dye was unable to stain the protein and the solution became brown. In the presence of metals, the hydrolysis of casein was inhibited and the solution remained blue. The inhibitions shown by lead, chromium and zinc were, 67.9, 53.1 and 53 %, respectively. The IC50 (concentration causing 50% inhibition) values were 1.407, 0.835 and 0.707 mg/l, respectively. The limits of quantitation (LOQ), for zinc, chromium and lead were 0.729, 0.506 and 0.541 mg/l, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD) for zinc, chromium and lead were 0.032, 0.0317 and 0.0317 mg/l, respectively. The IC50 value for zinc was much lower than the IC50 values for papain and Rainbow trout assays. The IC50 value for zinc was lower than the immobilized urease assay. Other toxic heavy metals, such as silver, arsenic, copper, mercury and cadmium, did not inhibit the crude proteolytic enzyme activity. Based on the characteristics, crude protease enzyme from L. esculentum (tomato) can be used to detect heavy metals in various samples in conjunction with the dye-binding assay.
Isolation and Characterization of A Heavy Metal-Tolerant Diesel Oil - Degrading Strain
Authors: Ahamad K.E. Ku , Halmi M.I.E. , Shukor M.Y. , Wasoh M.H. , Rachman A.R. Abdul , Ahmad Siti Aqlima , Syed M.A.
Published: April 2022

A diesel-degrading bacterium has been isolated from a local university soil. The isolate was tentatively identified as Burkholderia sp. strain DRY27 based on the carbon utilization profiles using Biolog GN plates and partial 16S rDNA molecular phylogeny. Isolate 27 showed an increase cellular growth with respect to diesel concentrations from 0% until 3% where the optimum growth occurring at 3% (v/v) diesel concentration. Based on the optimization studies, sodium nitrate proved to be the best nitrogen source. Sodium nitrate was optimum at 7.7 gl-1 .The optimal temperature and optimal pH for this bacterium was between 10 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. These prove that this bacterium is the right bacterium for bioremediation of diesel spills and pollution in the tropics.
The Effect of Temperature on the Rate of Molybdenum Reduction by Enterobacter sp. strain Dr.Y13: Arrhenius Plot Analysis, Temperature Coefficient and Q10 Value Estimation
Authors: Uba Garba , Yakasai H.M. , Babandi Abba , Ya'u Murtala , Mansur Abdulrasheed
Published: April 2022

Molybdenum is a micronutrient that is needed a co-factor for many hydroxylation and redox transfer activities in animal and plant physiology. The greatest risk of overexposure is its ability to interfere with the sperm production and egg-production processes in a variety of species, including fish. It is only beginning to be used as a remediation technique for molybdenum-reducing bacteria. Temperature is one of the factors that influence molybdenum reduction. Many models may be used to predict the growth rate of microorganisms on different medium, depending on the temperature. The Arrhenius model is popular because it has few parameters. Temperature generally affects microbial growth and metabolic activity on their substrates. The small nature of microbes makes them susceptible to change in surrounding temperature. Growth on molybdenum by Enterobacter sp. strain Dr.Y13 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 62.09 kJ/mol, whereas at the higher temperature range of 37â€“45 oC, it had an activation energy of 65.05 kJ/mol. For the examined temperature range (20-30 oC) and (37-45 oC), Q10 values of 2.32 and 2.21 and theta values of 1.09 and 1.08 were obtained, respectively. This is study is very useful in predicting the breakdown of molybdenum and the movement of molybdenum during bioremediation.
Mathematical Modelling of Azo Blue Dye Degradation by Streptomyces DJP15
Authors: Abubakar Abdussamad , Ibrahim Salihu , Abba Mustapha
Published: April 2022

Azo dyes are the most well-known synthetic dyes. They have been widely utilized as colorants in various sectors, including textiles, photography/printing, food, medicines, etc. This industry has produced a massive quantity of solid waste, soil slurry, and effluents which are mostly passed into the water bodies or the environments. These dyes tend to compromises the physical, chemical and biological nature of the environments. More so, they have significant health risks on the aquatic life, livestock and the whole environmental biodiversity. Furthermore, they are known to be carcinogenic. In this research, seven (7) different kinetics models, Huang, modified Richards, modified Logistics, modified Gompertz, Buchanan-3-phase, Baranyi-Roberts and von Bertalanffy, were utilized in modeling the growth of Streptomyces DJP15 growth in the degradation of azo blue dye. While all the models show good curve fitting, the von Bertalanffy model was found to be the best model with the lowest RMSE (0.410), AICc (0.58) and has the highest adjR2 (0.983). Thus, this study indicated that the growth of Streptomyces DJP15 on azo blue dye could be described mathematically. Notably, the parameters obtained can be utilized to predict the bioremediation of azo blue dye in the future.
Toxicity effect of bisphenol-A in several animal studies: A mini review
Authors: Ying K. K. , Sulaiman Mohd Rosni
Published: April 2022

The main highlight of Bisphenol-A (BPA) is the exhibition of the estrogenic properties, which is found to be a threat to human beings. This mini review summarizes available data in the literature (1997â€“2011) on toxicity effect of BPA in several animal studies. There are needs of more validated studies to be carried out to determine the toxicity effects of BPA on human beings.
Nitrite Reductase and Biosensors Development
Authors: Mohd Zuki Siti Nur Syazni , Azmi Nina Suhaity , Tan Ling Ling
Published: April 2022

Nitrite ions have emerged as one of the major problems in environmental and pollution issuesnowadays. Food products are the major source of these ions to preserve color. However, thereis a maximum permissible limit (MPL) for the use of nitrite in food. A lot of works in theliterature have been carried out on nitrite quantification and most of them are using simple andquick analysis methods. Recently, the advent of biosensor has allowed the fabrication ofsensors for the detection of nitrite. This paper specifically reviews the interest in the usage ofthe nitrite reductase enzyme as a biorecognition element for the application of nitritebiosensors.
Preliminary prediction of lipase 3D protein structure and function in Rhodococcus sp. NAM81 using bioinformatics approach
Authors: Abdullah Hasdianty , Yaacob Nor Suhaila , Ahmad Mohd Fadzli , Fauzi Farah Aula Mohd , Ibrahim Abdul Latif
Published: April 2022

Protein function depends greatly on its structure. Based on this principle, it is vital to study the protein structure in order to understand its function. This study attempts to build the predicted model of lipase gene in Rhodococcus sp. NAM81 using homology modelling method. The predicted structure was then used to investigate the function of protein through several bioinformatic tools. The DNA sequence of lipase gene was obtained from the Rhodococcus sp. NAM81 genome scaffold. Blastx analysis showed 100% identity to the target enzyme andthe appropriate template for homology modelling was determined using Blastp analysis. The 3D protein structure was built using two homology modelling software, EsyPred3D and Swiss Model Server. Both structures built obtained LGScore of greater than 4, which means they are extremely good models according to ProQ validation criteria. Both structures also satisfied the Ramachandran plot structure validation analysis. The predicted structures were 100% matched with each other when superimposed with DaliLite pairwise. This shows that both structure validation servers agreed on the same model. Structure analysis using ProFunc had found seven motifs and active sites that indicate similar function of this protein with other known proteins. Thus, this study has successfully produced a good 3D protein structure for the target enzyme.
Observation of the bile canaliculi of Puntius javanicus liver affected by copper
Authors: Sabullah Mohd Khalizan , Shukor Mohd Yunus , Gansau Azlan Jualang , Gunasekaran Baskaran , Shamaan Nor Aripin , Sulaiman Mohd Rosni
Published: April 2022

Investigation on in vivo effects of copper (Cu) on the ultrastructure of P. JavanicusÂ  liver was carried out using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The addition of sublethal concentration of 5 mg/L of Cu caused abnormalities on the bile canaliculi (BC) including dilation and elongation compared to control and at lower concentrations of copper with a normal round shape form. Findings from this study support an alternative histological assessment of the effects of Cu concentration on P. Javanicus liver.
Phenol removal via cellular immobilization: A mini review
Authors: Aisami Abubakar , Alkali Allamin Ibrahim , Yasid Nur Adeela
Published: April 2022

Phenolic compounds or phenols are a group of aromatic compounds that comprises a hydroxyl group (OH) that is directly bonded to an aromatic ring. Phenols are injurious to organisms even at even low concentrations with many of them are categorized as dangerous pollutants because of their likely harm to human well-being. This review attempts to discuss the various merits and demerits of immobilization matrices employed for phenol-degrading microorganismsâ€™ immobilization. One of several key points of cellular immobilization is the capacity to protect bioremediation agents towards toxic levels of specific toxicants and safeguarding from predatory microorganisms. However, this shielding course of action should never impede the diffusion of substrates into the pores of the immobilization structure. In the end the choice of a particular immobilization method will strongly hinge on aspects of economy, safety and efficacy.
Bartlett and the Leveneâ€™s tests of homoscedasticity of the modified Gompertz model used in fitting of Burkholderia sp. strain Neni-11 growth on acrylamide
Authors: Shukor Mohd Yunus
Published: April 2022

Most often than not, microorganismâ€™s growth curve is sigmoidal in characteristics. The modified Gompertz model via nonlinear regression using the least square method is one of the most popular methods to describe the growth curve. One of the assumptions of a good model is that the variance of the data must be homogenous (homoscedasticity). In this work, two statistical diagnostics; the Bartlett and the Leveneâ€™s tests was performed to a modified Gompertz model utilized to model the growth of the bacterium Burkholderia sp. strain Neni-11 on acrylamide in order to satisfy the requirement above and found that data conformed to the requirement indicating the modified Gompertz model is a robust model for modelling the bacterial growth process.
Assay for heavy metals using an inhibitive assay based on the acetylcholinesterase from Clarias batrachus
Authors: Muhammad Umar Abubakar , Tham Lik Gin , Perumal Natarajan , Daud Hassan Mohd , Yasid Nur Adeela , Shukor Mohd Yunus
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 Clarias batrachus (catfish) exposed to wastes from aquaculture industry as an inhibitive assay for heavy metals. We discovered that the AChE was inhibited completely by Hg2+, Ag2+, Pb2+, Cu2+, Cd2+, Cr6+ and Zn2+ during initial screening. When tested at various concentrations, the heavy metals exhibited exponential decay type inhibition curves. The calculated IC50 (mg/L) for the heavy metals Ag2+, Cu2+, Hg2+, Cr6+ and Cd2+ were 0.088, 0.078, 0.071, 0.87 and 0.913, 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.
Characterization of a molybdenum-reducing Acinetobacter baumannii strain Serdang 1 with the capacity to grow on phenol and acrylamide
Authors: Yadzir Zailatul Hani Mohamad Yadzir , Gafar Aa'ishah Abd , Yakasai Mohd Hafeez , Rahman Mohd Fadhil Abd , Abdullah Mohd Azmuddin , Halmi Mohd Izuan Effendi
Published: April 2022

Contamination of organic xenobiotic pollutants and heavy metals in a contaminated site allows the use of multiple bacterial degraders or bacteria with the ability to detoxify numerous toxicants at the same time. A previously isolated SDS- degrading bacterium, Acinetobacter baumannii strain Serdang 1 was shown to reduce molybdenum to molybdenum-blue. The bacterium works optimally at pH 6.5, the temperature range between 25 and 34Â°C with glucose serves as the best electron donor for molybdate reduction. This bacterium required additional concentration of phosphate at 5.0 mM and molybdate between 15 and 25 mM. The absorption spectrum of the molybdenum blue obtained is similar to the molybdenum blue from other earlier reported molybdate reducing bacteria, as it resembles a reduced phosphomolybdate closely. Ag(i), As(v), Pb(ii) and Cu(ii) inhibited molybdenum reduction by 57.3, 36.8, 27.7 and 10.9%, respectively, at 1 p.p.m. Acrylamide was efficiently shown to support molybdenum reduction at a lower efficiency than glucose. Phenol, acrylamide and propionamide could support the growth of this bacterium independently of molybdenum reduction. This bacterium capability to detoxify several toxicants is an important tool for bioremediation in the tropical region
Preliminary Screening of Plant Proteases as a Potential Source for the Development of an Inhibitive Assay for Heavy Metals
Authors: Gunasekaran Baskaran , Johari Wan Lutfi Wan , Wasoh Helmi , Masdor Noor Azlina , Shukor Mohd Yunus
Published: April 2022

Heavy metals pollution has become a great threat to the world. Since instrumental methods are expensive and need skilled technician, a simple and fast method is needed to determine the presence of heavy metals in the environment. In this work, a preliminary study was carried out on the applicability of various local plants as a source of protease for the future development of the inhibitive enzyme assay for heavy-metals. The crude proteases preparation was assayed using casein as a substrate in conjunction with the Coomassie dye-binding assay. The crude protease from the kesinai plant was found to be the most potent plant protease. The crude enzyme exhibited broad temperature and pH ranges for activity and will be developed in the future as a potential inhibitive assay for heavy metals.
Growth Inhibition Kinetics of a Pseudomonas Diesel-degrading Strain from Antarctica
Authors: Dahalan Farrah Aini , Ali Hassan Nor Ayshah Alia
Published: April 2022

Antarctica is one of the largest southernmost continent and most pristine wilderness areas left on earth. Over decades, human activities in this area have resulted in the accumulated pollution of hydrocarbon in the Antarctica mainly due to transportation and logistics activities. The sinking of the supply ships Nella Dan and Bahia Paraiso have resulted in diesel spillage that warrant the utilization and research on diesel-degrading microorganisms in the form of bioremediation to prepare for future disasters. A previously isolated diesel-degrading Pseudomonas sp. strain DRYJ3 has shown effectiveness as a bioremediation tool. Its growth is however strongly inhibited as the diesel concentrations was increased. In this study the inhibitory effect of diesel on the growth rate of this bacterium is modelled according to the Luong, Aiba, Haldane, Hans-Levenspiel, Yano, Teissier and Monod models. Statistical evaluations indicated that the most suitable kinetic model to fit the growth rate on diesel was Luongâ€™s model. The Luongâ€™s constants; maximal growth rate, half saturation constant for maximal growth, maximum substrate concentration that growth ceases, and curve parameter that defines the steepness of the growth rate decline from the maximum rate symbolized by ï­max, Ks, Sm, and n were 0.406 hr-1 (95% CI, 0.269 to 0.881), 0.194 (%v/v) (95% CI, 0.2877 to 0.390), 4.025 (%v/v) (95% CI, 3.820 to 4.229) and 0.378 (95% CI, 0.122 to 0.877) 0.099, respectively. The Luong model predicted Sm value was close to the value of which no growth was observed experimentally suggesting the appropriateness of the model in adhering to observed values.
Modelling the Effect of Heavy Metal on the Growth Rate of an SDS-degrading Pseudomonas sp. strain DRY15 from Antarctic soil
Authors: Manogaran Motharasan , Othman Ahmad Razi , Shukor Mohd Yunus , Halmi Mohd Izuan Effendi
Published: April 2022

The SDS-degrading bacterium Pseudomonas sp. strain DRY15 was strongly inhibited by heavy metals especially mercury. Growth of the SDS-degrading bacterium at various concentrations of mercury shows a sigmoidal pattern with lag periods ranging from 7 to 10 h. As the concentration of mercury was increased, the overall growth was inhibited with 1.0 g/L causing an almost cessation of bacterial growth. The modified Gompertz model was utilized to obtain growth rates at different concentrations of mercury. The growth rates obtained from the modified Gompertz model was then modelled according to the modified Han-Levenspiel, Wang, Liu, modified Andrews, the Amor and Shukor models. Out of the five models, only the Shukor, Wang, modified Han-Levenspiel and the Liu models were able to fit the curve, whilst the modified Andrews and Amor models were unable to fit the curves. The best model was Shukor based on the lowest values for RMSE and AICc, highest adjusted correlation coefficient (adR2) and values of AF and BF closest to unity. The parameters obtained from the Shukor model, which are Sm, ï­max and n which represent critical heavy metal ion concentration (mg/L), maximum growth rate (h-1) and empirical constant values were 6.0 (95%, confidence interval from 5.87 to 6.14), 0.09 (95%, confidence interval of 0.086 to 0.096) and 4.2 (95%, confidence interval from 3.1 to 5.2), respectively.
Modelling the Growth Inhibition Kinetics of Rhodotorula sp. strain MBH23 (KCTC 11960BP) on Acrylamide
Authors: Othman Ahmad Razi , Rahim Mohd Badrin Hanizam Abdul
Published: April 2022

The yeast Rhodotorula sp. Strain MBH23 (KCTC 11960BP) is an efficient acrylamide-degrader and is able to tolerate high concentrations of acrylamide. A primary modelling exercise for the growth of this yeast on acrylamide yields important specific growth rates which were utilized successfully for secondary modelling exercise which gave Luong as the best model. The Luongâ€™s constants; maximal growth rate, half-saturation constant for maximal growth, maximal concentration of substrate tolerated and curve parameter that defines the steepness of the growth rate decline from the maximum rate symbolized by ï­max, Ks, Sm, and n (Â± standard error) were 0.099Â±0.017 hr-1, 17.34 Â± 5.0 mg/L, 2053.0 Â±56.0 mg/L and 0.801Â±0.202, respectively. The Luong model indicates that acrylamide is toxic and inhibits the growth of this yeast. To date, this is the first time that such a modelling exercise was utilized to model growth kinetics on acrylamide.
Growth Mathematical Modelling of the Effect of Cyanide on Pseudomonas putida (Naun-16)
Authors: Abdulrasheed Mansur , Hussein Ibrahim I. , Ahmad Ibrahim , Namadina Murtala M , Muhammad Fatima , Ibrahim Salihu
Published: April 2022

Gold mining companies have been known to use cyanide to extract gold from minerals. The indiscriminate use of cyanide presents a major issue in the environment. The used of linearisation methods using natural logarithm transformation is inaccurate, even though is standard and can just give an estimated value for the sole parameter measured; the specific growth rate. In this study, various cyanide concentrations ranging from 0 - 350 mg/L was used. Seven different mathematical models such as such as modified Logistics, modified Gompertz, modified Richards, modified Schnute, Baranyi-Roberts, Von Bertalanffy and most recent Huang were used to get values for the above constants or parameters from bacterial growth Pseudomonas putida on cyanide. The best model was found to be modified Logistics with the lowest AICc and RMSE value. The modified Logistics parameters such as Ymax (bacterial growth upper asymptote), Î» (lag time),  Âµmax (maximum specific bacterial growth rate) and A or Y0 (bacterial growth lower asymptote) were found to be 2.41 (95% confidence interval of 2.37 - 2.45), -3.16 (95% confidence interval of -4.64 to -1.68) and 0.12 (95% confidence interval of 0.11 to 0.13). This is the first report of growth mathematical modelling of the effect of cyanide on Pseudomonas Putida (Naun-16).
Thermodynamic Alternative Calculations on a Published Work on Adsorption of Methyl Orange using Chitosan Intercalated Montmorillonite
Authors: Basirun Ain Aqilah , Yasid Nur Adeela , Othman Ahmad Razi , Sabullah Mohd Khalizan , Halmi Mohd Izuan Effendi , Shukor Mohd Yunus
Published: April 2022

Pollutant treatment methods are available for membrane isolation, exchange of ions, precipitation, transformation and biosorption. Biosorption has many positive aspects of all this technology, including low running costs, very effective toxicant detoxification at low concentrations, low levels of disposal materials. In many applications, adsorption plays an important role in concentrating useful compounds or eliminating contaminants. The thermodynamic parameters of the adsorption are often obtained from the relation between the adsorption constant (KC in Lmol-1 unit) and the Gibbs free adsorption energy. When the vanâ€™t Hoff plot for the temperature range 298.2 K to 328.2 K was plotted, a nonlinear curve was obtained with poor R2 value (R=0.491). In order to calculate the Î”HÂ° and Î”SÂ° more accurately, the thermodynamics parameters were analysed at two processes: one between 298.2 and 301.2 K and another at between 301.2 and 328.2 K which gave a better R2 values of 1.00 and 0.995, respectively. The âˆ†GÂ°, âˆ†HÂ° (kJ/mol) and âˆ†SÂ° (kJ/molÃ—K) values for temperatures between 298.2 and 301.2 K and between 301.2 and 328.2 K were â€“29.4524, 14.65, 0.145 and â€“30.4787, â€“14.88 and 0.049, respectively. This paper depicts with the proposed workflow in the analysis of liquid-phase adsorption data from the data acquisition to data analysis and thermodynamics appropriate calculation of the dimensionless KC parameter.
Outlier and Normality Testing of the Residuals from the Carreau-Yasuda Model in Fitting the Rheological Behavior of the Non-Newtonian fluid TF2N
Authors: Shukor Mohd Yunus
Published: April 2022

Non-Newtonian fluids include a variety of regularly encountered substances such as custard, honey, toothpaste, starch suspensions (including starch from corn starch), paint, blood, melted butter, and hairspray. For decades, scientists have investigated non-Newtonian fluid behavior and produced models to aid in the characterization of non-Newtonian fluid behavior. In addition to data interpolation and extrapolation, the outputs of these models may be utilized for material classification based on model parameters and aid with the simulation of computational fluid dynamics. The Carreau-Yasuda model fitted to the rheological behavior of the non-Newtonian fluid1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide ([emim][TF2N]) was checked for its conformation to the normal distribution of its residual using the normality tests , which was found not to pass all of the test. After checking for the presence of an outlier using the Grubbs â€˜test, no outlier was detected. The ROUT method was then applied to detect the presence of outliers and three outliers were found and removed. The normality checks performed on the cleaned residues gave acceptable results in terms of normality tests and visual conformation of the residual, Q-Q plot and overlaid normality curve to the histogram, indicating that the model is now appropriate for the data.
Evaluation of Several Mathematical Models for Fitting the Growth and Kinetics of the Catechol-degrading Candida parapsilopsis: Part 2
Authors: Halmi Mohd Izuan Effendi , Y. Shukor M. , Shukor Mohd Yunus Abd
Published: April 2022

Kinetic equations, which describe the activity of an enzyme or a microorganism on a particular substrate, are crucial in understanding many phenomena in biotechnological processes. They allow the mathematical prediction of growth parameters important for identifying key parameters for controlling growth. We remodelled the published work of Rigo et al. (2010) using several more growth kinetic models such as Monod, Haldane, Teissier, Andrews and Noack, Hinshelwood, Moser, Aiba, Webb (Edward), Yano and Koga, Han and Levenspiel and Luong and evaluated the accuracy of the fitted model using statistical analysis such as Root Mean Square (RMSE), adjusted Coefficient of Determination (R2), corrected Akaike Information Criterion (AICc), Bias Factor and Accuracy Factor The accuracy and statistical analysis of the eleven kinetic models used shows that only the Haldane, Teissier, Moser, Aiba, Webb (Edward), Yano and Koga, and Luong could fit the data with the best model was Haldane with low values for RMSE and AICc, highest adjusted R2 values, and with Bias Factor and Accuracy Factor nearest to unity (1.0). The calculated value for the Haldane constants maximal degradation rate, half saturation constant and half inhibition constant symbolized by Î¼max, Ks and Ki, were 0.462 hr-1, 112.21 mg/L and 211.34 mg/L, respectively. The true umax value occurs where the gradient for the slope is zero and in this case the value was approximately 0.188 h-1 at 155 mg/L catechol. The results indicate that the exhaustive use of mathematical models on available published results could gleam new optimal models that can provide new knowledge on the way toxicsubstance inhibit growth rate in microbes.
The Growth of Paracoccus sp. SKG on Acetonitrile is Best Modelled using the Buchanan Three Phase Model
Authors: Ahmad S.A. , Shukor M.S. , Masdor N.A. , Shamaan N.A. , Roslan M.A.H.
Published: April 2022

Organonitriles 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. These growth constants can only be accurately obtained from mathematical modelling of the growth curves using various available primary models such as logistic, Gompertz, Richards, Schnute, Baranyi-Roberts, Von Bertalanffy, Buchanan three-phase and more recently Huang models. The Buchanan three-phase model was chosen 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) andcorrected AICc (Akaike Information Criterion). Novel constants obtained from the modelling exercise would be useful for further secondary modelling implicating the effect of media conditions and other factors on the growth of this bacterium on acetonitrile.
Ex-vivo Placental Lipid Metabolism of Normal Weight, Overweight and Diabetic Women: A Preliminary Study
Authors: Aminu J. , Witharana C. , Maigari F.U. , Thoradeniya S.T.
Published: April 2022

Obesity and diabetes mellitus are documented major risk factors for maternal and fetal health complications. Maternal lipid metabolism is greatly changed when pregnancy is complicated with obesity and diabetes mellitus. The effects of maternal obesity on placental lipid metabolism are not fully understood and thereby needs to be elucidated. Our objective is to study the lipid metabolism in the placenta of normal weight, overweight/obese and diabetic women, and to assess placental, maternal and cord serum triglycerides (TG). The term placentae, maternal and cord blood were collected from three (3) normal weight, three (3) overweight/obese and two (2) diabetic women during elective caesarean sections. The total lipid content of the placenta was measured using the Folch method. Lipolysis assay was carried out in placental tissue explant using an optimized method. Triglyceride levels of placental tissue, maternal, and cord serum were measured using a commercial reagent kit. The Placental total lipid (mg/500mg placental tissue) deposition was highest in the overweight (35.7Â±0.5), followed by diabetic (30.7Â±3.4) women, while both these groups had significantly higher (P<0.05) lipid contents than normal-weight women (19.6Â±3.9). However, the placental lipolysis among the three groups did not differ. The maternal-to-placental-to-cord TG ratio of the overweight women was 22:2:2, while it was 19:2:4 in diabetic and 16:2:1 in normal-weight women. Our study implies that although maternal obesity and diabetes affect placental lipid deposition, they may not have a notable effect on placental lipolysis. However, cord TG and maternal-to-cord TG ratio were markedly high among diabetic women.
Field trials on heavy metals using alpha-chymotryopsin enzyme assay
Authors: Gunasekaran Baskaran , Kasim Mohd Hakimi Mohd , Salvamani Shamala , Shukor M.Y.
Published: April 2022

An inhibitive enzyme assay using Î±-chymotrypsin was developed. This serine protease was assayed using Bradford-protease casein assay system. This assay is sensitive to several metals such as mercury Hg2+, Zn2+, and Cr6+. The IC50 (concentration of toxicant giving 50% inhibition) of Hg2+, Zn2+, and Cr6+ is 1.34 mg/l, 2.49 mg/l and 2.19 mg/l respectively. The principle of the protein assay using casein as a substrate relies upon the inability of the Bradford dye to stain polypeptide with less than a molecular weight of 2 kDa. In the presence of heavy metals that can inhibit this enzyme, casein is not being degraded and it is stained by the Bradford dye reagent giving a blue colour. On the other hand, in the absence of inhibitors, casein is hydrolyzed to polypeptides with molecular weight of 2 kDa and below which canâ€™t be stained by Bradford dye-binding reagent. Therefore, solution remains brown in colour. The synergistic effect of combined heavy metals was studied and the results obtained shown that there were elevation of percentage of inhibition several folds. The combination of Hg2+ (0.3 mg/l) with Zn2+ (0.8 mg/l), Hg2+ (0.3 mg/l) with Cr6+ (1.8 mg/l), Zn2+ (0.8 mg/l) with Cr6+ (1.8 mg/l) increased 15.6, 73.0, 78.8 % respectively. Biomonitoring of heavy metals using an inhibitive Î±-chymotripsin assay was carried out. There sites for biomonitoring were Prai Industrial Areas, Bukit Tengah Industrial Area, Juru Industrial Area, Melaka River, Kuyoh River and Endau Rompin National Park. Many of the samples gave positive inhibitory effect on this enzyme. Those samples were analysed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) for confirmation of the presence of heavy metals that inhibited this enzyme.