Use of Taguchi design for optimization of diesel-oil biodegradation using consortium of , , and isolated from tarball in Terengganu Beach, Malaysia.

Unlabelled: A consortium of bacteria capable of decomposing oily hydrocarbons was isolated from tarballs on the beaches of Terengganu, Malaysia, and classified as , , and . The Taguchi design was used to optimize the biodegradation of diesel using these bacteria as a consortium. The highest biodegradation of diesel-oil in the experimental tests was 93.

Analysis of bioactive compounds and chemical composition of Malaysian stingless bee propolis water extracts.

Propolis is a resinous substance collected by stingless bees containing bioactive compounds which exert various biological properties. The present study focused on the evaluation of chemical profiles produced by three Indo-Malayan stingless bee propolis extracted using water. Fresh propolis was collected from the same area and ecosystem conditions in Selangor, Malaysia, namely , , and .

Determination of Total Phenolics, Flavonoids, and Antioxidant Activity and GC-MS Analysis of Malaysian Stingless Bee Propolis Water Extracts.

Propolis contains polyphenolic compounds such as flavonoids and phenols that are able to demonstrate a broad spectrum of biological activities including antioxidant, antibacterial, and many more. This study was carried out to determine the total phenolics, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity of water-extracted propolis samples from three different Indo-Malayan stingless bee species, namely, , , and . Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were evaluated using Folin-Ciocalteu colorimetric and aluminium chloride methods, respectively, while the antioxidant activity was analysed using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay.

Production of Lipopeptide Biosurfactant by a Hydrocarbon-Degrading Antarctic .

Rhodococci are renowned for their great metabolic repertoire partly because of their numerous putative pathways for large number of specialized metabolites such as biosurfactant. Screening and genome-based assessment for the capacity to produce surface-active molecules was conducted on sp. ADL36, a diesel-degrading Antarctic bacterium.

Enhanced Carbofuran Degradation Using Immobilized and Free Cells of sp. Isolated from Soil.

Extensive use of carbofuran insecticide harms the environment and human health. Carbofuran is an endocrine disruptor and has the highest acute toxicity to humans than all groups of carbamate pesticides used. Carbofuran is highly mobile in soil and soluble in water with a lengthy half-life (50 days).

Klebsiella sp. FIRD 2, a TBT-resistant bacterium isolated from contaminated surface sediment along Strait of Johor Malaysia.

A possible tributyltin (TBT)-degrading bacterium isolated from contaminated surface sediment was successfully identified as Klebsiella sp. FIRD 2. It was found to be the best isolate capable of resisting TBT at a concentration of 1000 μg L(-1).

Baseline metals pollution profile of tropical estuaries and coastal waters of the Straits of Malacca.

The status report on metal pollution in tropical estuaries and coastal waters is important to understand potential environmental health hazards. Detailed baseline measurements were made on physicochemical parameters (pH, temperature, redox potential, electrical conductivity, salinity, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solid), major ions (Na, Ca, Mg, K, HCO3, Cl, SO4 and NO3) and metals concentrations ((27)Al, (75)As, (138)Ba, (9)Be, (111)Cd, (59)Co, (63)Cu, (52)Cr, (57)Fe, (55)Mn, (60)Ni, (208)Pb, (80)Se, (66)Zn) at estuaries and coastal waters along the Straits of Malacca. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to reveal potential pollution sources.

Mass transfer model of nanoparticle-facilitated contaminant transport in saturated porous media.

A one-dimensional model has been evaluated for transport of hydrophobic contaminants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds, facilitated by synthetic amphiphilic polyurethane (APU) nanoparticles in porous media. APU particles synthesized from poly(ethylene glycol)-modified urethane acrylate (PMUA) precursor chains have been shown to enhance the desorption rate and mobility of phenanthrene (PHEN) in soil. A reversible process governed by attachment and detachment rates was considered to describe the PMUA binding in soil in addition to PMUA transport through advection and dispersion.