Odonata of Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve, Johor, Peninsular Malaysia

Odonata records from Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve and the surrounding area in Johor, Peninsular Malaysia are presented. A total of 44 Odonata species from eight families were collected in the area in October 2012. All of these records are new to Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve. Indothemis carnitica is a new record for Malaysia

CEDAW and Transformative Judicial Obligations: The Vulnerable Migrant Domestic Worker and Root Causes of Abuse

CEDAW’s transformative provisions, which require states to address root causes of injustice and discrimination, can be made more effective not only through legislation and policy, as commonly argued, but through the judiciary. This article highlights the need to develop the content and implementation of transformative judicial obligations under CEDAW through a comparative study of judicial decisions on the abuse of female MDWs in three key MDW destinations that are party to CEDAW—Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. By engaging with scholarship on CEDAW’s positive obligations, transformative equality, and theories of adjudication, this article argues that criminal law courts should not only ensure the accountability and punishment of perpetrators of MDW abuse, but should also ascertain and critique the laws, policies, and practices enabling such abuse. Courts in the MDW destination countries studied here have increasingly recognized MDWs’ vulnerabilities by discussing MDWs’ social isolation, financial precariousness, and dependence on employers for their basic needs. However, these judicial discussions generally have not recognized the underlying causes of MDWs’ vulnerabilities. By analyzing positive and negative examples of judicial decisions, this article demonstrates that criminal law courts can and should act as transformative agents by exercising their expressive or statement-making powers to address the causes of MDW vulnerabilities. Importantly, CEDAW requires courts to determine the root causes of MDW abuse, identify the necessary steps forward, target responsible state actors, and counter deep-seated prejudices by representing MDWs as dignified rights-bearing workers

Field-applied fungicides and postharvest treatments to control asparagus diseases posing biosecurity threats to New Zealand

Collaborative research between New Zealand and Australia has investigated field-applied fungicides and postharvest treatments for control of asparagus rust (caused by Puccinia asparagi) and phomopsis stem blight of asparagus (caused by Phomopsis asparagi) in Queensland. In a 2004 field trial, the fungicides difenoconazole and propiconazole reduced the incidence of asparagus rust. In a 2005 field trial, four fungicides (carbendazim, chlorothalonil, iprodione and propiconazole) reduced the severity of phomopsis stem blight. Postharvest disinfection with sodium hypochlorite or with calcium hypochlorite at 150 ppm was highly effective at reducing Pu. asparagi and Ph. asparagi spore germination on water agar. Integrated disease management based on field and postharvest methods are suggested to reduce the risk of importation of the diseases to New Zealand. Similar methods could be used for controlling these diseases if they establish

Multigroup analysis of more than two groups in PLS-SEM: A review, illustration, and recommendations

Multigroup analysis (MGA) in partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) has grown considerably in the past few years in many different research fields, particularly in the business area. However, a close examination of MGA in PLS-SEM articles revealed much less research that compared more than two groups. Furthermore, research applying MGA in PLS-SEM with more than two groups has several constraints. For instance, most researchers need clarification about using either the omnibus test of group differences (OTG) or non-parametric distance-based tests (NDT) for an overall difference across the groups. Moreover, they do not handle family-wise error when comparing more than two groups, nor do they check for measurement invariance. This article uses an empirical illustration to fully understand multigroup analysis with more than two groups, providing valuable guidelines and comprehensible recommendations for researchers applying PLS-MGA.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessing water circularity in cities: Methodological framework with a case study

With significant efforts made to consider water reuse in cities, a robust and replicable framework is needed to quantify the degree of urban water circularity and its impacts from a systems perspective. A quantitative urban water circularity framework can benchmark the progress and compare the impacts of water circularity policies across cities. In that pursuit, we bring together concepts of resource circularity and material flow analysis (MFA) to develop a demand- and discharge-driven water circularity assessment framework for cities. The framework integrates anthropogenic water flow data based on the water demand in an urban system and treated wastewater discharge for primary water demand substitution. Leveraging the water mass balance, we apply the framework in evaluating the state of water circularity in Singapore from 2015 to 2019. Overall, water circularity has been steadily increasing, with 24.9% of total water demand fulfilled by secondary flows in 2019, potentially reaching 39.6% at maximum water recycling capacity. Finally, we discuss the wider implications of water circularity assessments for energy, the environment, and urban water infrastructure and policy. Overall, this study provides a quantitative tool to assess the scale of water circularity within engineered urban water infrastructure and its application to develop macro-level water systems planning and policy insights

Geospatial modelling of watershed peak flood discharge in Selangor, Malaysia

© 2019 by the authors. Conservative peak flood discharge estimation methods such as the rational method do not take into account the soil infiltration of the precipitation, thus leading to inaccurate estimations of peak discharges during storm events. The accuracy of estimated peak flood discharge is crucial in designing a drainage system that has the capacity to channel runoffs during a storm event, especially cloudbursts and in the analysis of flood prevention and mitigation. The aim of this study was to model the peak flood discharges of each sub-watershed in Selangor using a geographic information system (GIS). The geospatial modelling integrated the watershed terrain model, the developed Soil Conservation Service Curve Cumber (SCS-CN) and precipitation to develop an equation for estimation of peak flood discharge. Hydrological Engineering Center-Hydrological Modeling System (HEC-HMS) was used again to simulate the rainfall-runoffbased on the Clark-unit hydrograph to validate the modelled estimation of peak flood discharge. The estimated peak flood discharge showed a coefficient of determination, r2 of 0.9445, when compared with the runoffsimulation of the Clark-unit hydrograph. Both the results of the geospatial modelling and the developed equation suggest that the peak flood discharge of a sub-watershed during a storm event has a positive relationship with the watershed area, precipitation and Curve Number (CN), which takes into account the soil bulk density and land-use of the studied area, Selangor in Malaysia. The findings of the study present a comparable and holistic approach to the estimation of peak flood discharge in a watershed which can be in the absence of a hydrodynamic simulation model

Rhubarb extract partially improves mucosal integrity in chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis

AIM: To investigate the effects of orally gavaged aqueous rhubarb extract (RE) on 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-induced intestinal mucositis in rats. METHODS: Female Dark Agouti rats (n = 8/group) were gavaged daily (1 mL) with water, high-dose RE (HDR; 200 mg/kg) or low-dose RE (LDR; 20mg/kg) for eight days. Intestinal mucositis was induced (day 5) with 5-FU (150 mg/kg) via intraperitoneal injection. Intestinal tissue samples were collected for myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and histological examination. Xenopus oocytes expressing aquaporin 4 water channels were prepared to examine the effect of aqueous RE on cell volume, indicating a potential mechanism responsible for modulating net fluid absorption and secretion in the gastrointestinal tract. Statistical significance was assumed at P < 0.05 by one-way ANOVA. RESULTS: Bodyweight was significantly reduced in rats administered 5-FU compared to healthy controls (P < 0.01). Rats administered 5-FU significantly increased intestinal MPO levels (≥ 307%; P < 0.001), compared to healthy controls. However, LDR attenuated this effect in 5-FU treated rats, significantly decreasing ileal MPO activity (by 45%; P < 0.05), as compared to 5-FU controls. 5-FU significantly reduced intestinal mucosal thickness (by ≥ 29% P < 0.001) as compared to healthy controls. LDR significantly increased ileal mucosal thickness in 5-FU treated rats (19%; P < 0.05) relative to 5-FU controls. In xenopus oocytes expressing AQP4 water channels, RE selectively blocked water influx into the cell, induced by a decrease in external osmotic pressure. As water efflux was unaltered by the presence of extracellular RE, the directional flow of water across the epithelial barrier, in the presence of extracellular RE, indicated that RE may alleviate water loss across the epithelial barrier and promote intestinal health in chemotherapy-induced intestinal mucositis. CONCLUSION: In summary, low dose RE improves selected parameters of mucosal integrity and reduces ileal inflammation, manifesting from 5-FU-induced intestinal mucositis.Juliana E Bajic, Georgina L Eden, Lorrinne S Lampton, Ker Y Cheah, Kerry A Lymn, Jinxin V Pei, Andrea J Yool, Gordon S Howart

Willingness-to-pay for monorail services: Case study in Penang, Malaysia

The main objective of this study is to examine the determinants of consumers’ willingness to-pay for monorail transportation in Penang (Malaysia). Cross sectional primary survey data with a total of 498 respondents is used for the analysis via a censored regression model.The results demonstrate that habit of recycling, experience in using urban rail-based transportation and problems of insufficient car parks have the significant effects on the willingness-to-pay for a trip of monorail to travel to work. Whereas, age, gender, ethnicity, income, education and personal perspective on public transportation system are found to have no significant impact on the willingness-to-pay for a trip of monorail to travel to work Based on these findings, several policies are recommended