Phytomining of precious metals from mine wastes

The increasing demand for precious metals such as palladium and gold for industrial applications has led to the exploration of sustainable environmental-friendly technologies to capture and recycle these metals from mine wastes. Phytomining is an emerging technology that makes use of the ability of plants to extract and accumulate metals from soil and water. Chapter 3 discusses the potential of phytomining to recover palladium from mine waste materials. These studies determined that willow (Salix sp.) and miscanthus (Miscanthus giganteus) were able to accumulate high levels of palladium in the aerial tissues when grown on synthetic media containing palladium as well as on mine waste materials. The use of chemical lixiviants improved the uptake and translocation of palladium in both willow and miscanthus. The potential of palladium nanoparticle formation in plants as plant-based catalysts was investigated but no palladium nanoparticles were detected when the plants were grown on synthetic mine waste. Chapter 4 evaluates the potential of merA gene for mercuric reductase in Arabidopsis as a genetic engineering approach to improve tolerance to gold and palladium in plants. In contrast to previously published findings merA expression did not increase tolerance of the transgenic plants to toxic levels of gold and palladium. Inhibition studies on purified mercuric reductase further revealed that gold and palladium inhibited the activity of MerA with ionic mercury. In Chapter 5, the potential of synthetic biology strategy was also investigated where the expression of synthetic short peptides, which are shown to be responsible in the formation of various sizes of metal nanoparticles in vitro, were found to increase the formation of smaller sized gold nanoparticles (<10 nm diameter) compared to wild type plants when expressed in Arabidopsis. Chapter 6 describes the transcriptional response of Arabidopsis to precious metals and investigates the potential involvement of heavy metal transporter 5 (AtHMA5) in the detoxification mechanism for gold and palladium. AtHMA5 was found to be strongly up regulated in response to gold and palladium. However, studies with Arabidopsis hma5-1 mutant knockout lines and yeast heterologous expression studies demonstrated that gold and palladium is not a substrate for AtHMA5 suggesting that AtHMA5 is not involved in gold and palladium detoxification. Overall, this work is the first to describe a holistic approach in searching for suitable field applicable plant candidates for phytomining of precious metals such as palladium and gold as well as strategies to improve its uptake, tolerance and nanoparticle formation in plants

Corak pergerakan pejalan kaki dan kesannya ke atas daya tarikan perniagaan di jalan Wong Ah Fook

Pedestrian movement patterns in a city are influenced by various factors including direction, motivation, comfort and safety. Node or focus, for this case study, Customs and Immigration Complex in Johor Bahru is one other factor that affects the pattern of pedestrian movement. Nodes related theories are important in understanding the impact of nodes towards pedestrians and businesses. Nodes are the main focus for the pedestrian to walk. When Customs and Immigration Complex was transferred to a new site in 2009, there were numerous complaints, especially from the business owners at Jalan Wong Ah Fook on the number of pedestrian passing by their shops. The transfer of the node caused changes in the direction of pedestrian‟s movement and was said to affect their business. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the business condition at Jalan Wong Ah Fook, before and after the Customs and Immigration Complex transfer. The historical fact of the business district at Jalan Wong Ah Fook was analyzed to understand the changes. The objective of this analysis was to identify the decrease in the number of businesses within the study area after the transfer of the node to other location. The second objective is to study the impact on the movement patterns towards pedestrians and to the attractiveness of the business district along Jalan Wong Ah Fook. The number of pedestrians and their movement patterns were investigated. The purpose was to analyse the number of pedestrians between the years 2008 and 2011. This is to find the differences before and after the nodes transfer. From the observations, it was found that the transfer of node gives impact on the direction of the pedestrian flow because the majority of pedestrians move towards the node. Therefore, businesses that are not located along pedestrian movement have less pedestrians passing by. Interviews were conducted to enhance the understanding on the direction of pedestrian in Jalan Wong Ah Fook. The importance of conducting interviews was to obtain qualitative data and opinion directly from the pedestrians on the impact of the nodes transfer. Interviews were also conducted on businesses owners within the study area to find out their opinion. Results from the interviews showed that businesses that do not depend on pedestrians are less affected by the transfer. In conclusion, it was found that the number of businesses closure is low and the location of nodes effect the pedestrian movement patterns, but does not affect all types of businesses

Indeed money (gold) grows on trees

Recent Kim Kim River toxic pollution incident has raised eyebrows and sparked anger of Malaysian public about the irresponsible act of water pollution. Although this is an extreme pollution case of toxic proportion, day-to-day mining activities will leave behind mine wastes which may contain toxic chemicals such as arsenic that might be leached out during the refining process. Scientists are now using plants to remediate this hidden threat, and literally turning mine tailings into gold nanoparticles for industrial use. The Petri Dish (PD), guest writer, SHAWN KENG interviewed International Islamic University Malaysia’s Dr Zakuan Azizi Shamsul Harumain (ZA) – to explain what phytomining and phytoremediation are, and its promising “Midas Touch” potential in turning mine tailings into mine treasures

途上国における植民地化が土地利用と交通の不整合に与える影響に関する研究

博士（工学）宇都宮大

The urban women travelling issue in the twenty-first century

Mobility generally refers to the ability or capacity to move. The subject of women's mobility has been well documented and investigated by researchers since the 1970s. Early studies were initially inspired by the issue of gender-based violence encountered by women. At the same time, there is increasing research on women transportation mobility due to the increasing percentage of women working and travelling outside the house. However, there is an absence of studies that adopted a systematic review of studies related to women's mobility. The increase of women working in the 21st century has led to an increase in the percentage of women travelling, thus engendering issues such as safety, security, mobility and accessibility. This paper attempted to identify studies related to women's mobility in the 21st century from the year 2001 until the year of 2020 by using a systematic literature review, guided by Preferred Reporting Materials for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses, also known as the PRISMA Statement, to further understand the scenario of urban women travelling in the global context. This paper reviews previous studies conducted in the 21st century, revealing slight variations of focus among the authors on the urban women travelling issue.Abstrak. Mobilitas umumnya mengacu pada kemampuan atau kapasitas untuk bergerak. Subjek 'Mobilitas Wanita' telah didokumentasikan dan diteliti dengan baik oleh para peneliti sejak tahun 1970-an. Studi terdahulu awalnya terinspirasi dari isu-isu kekerasan berbasis gender yang dihadapi perempuan. Sementara itu, penelitian tentang mobilitas transportasi perempuan semakin meningkat karena meningkatnya persentase perempuan yang bekerja dan pindah ke luar rumah. Namun, belum ada penelitian yang mengadopsi tinjauan sistematis pada artikel terkait studi terkait mobilitas perempuan. Meningkatnya jumlah perempuan yang bekerja di abad ke-21 juga meningkatkan persentase perempuan yang bepergian sehingga menggambarkan banyak masalah antara lain keselamatan, keamanan, mobilitas dan aksesibilitas. Oleh karena itu, tulisan ini mencoba mengidentifikasi kajian-kajian yang berkaitan dengan mobilitas perempuan abad ke-21 dari tahun 2001 hingga tahun 2020 dengan menggunakan Systematic Literature Review yang berpedoman pada Preferred Reporting Materials for Systematic Reviews dan Meta Analysis atau yang lebih dikenal dengan PRISMA Statement untuk memahami lebih jauh skenario perjalanan wanita perkotaan dalam perspektif global. Makalah ini mengulas penelitian sebelumnya yang dilakukan pada abad ke-21 yang telah ditafsirkan dan diuraikan dengan sedikit variasi fokus di antara penulis tentang isu perjalanan wanita perkotaan. Kata kunci. mobilitas wanita, tinjauan literatur sistematis, perjalanan, abad ke-21

BUILT ENVIRONMENT ROLE IN CHANGING MOTHERS PERCEPTION ON CHILDREN’S WALKING INDEPENDENTLY TO SCHOOL

Women have a great significance in their children's lives from the moment they are born. The choice that mothers make regarding their children's mode of travelling to school will have a significant impact on how those children will think about walking and cycling in the future. The purpose of this study is to identify the perspectives of mothers towards allowing their children to school by walking in an area that is deemed suitable for such trip in our discussion on the nation’s future generation towards walking and not depending on private vehicles as the main mode of travelling. A focus group discussion, also known as FGD, took place in Taman Ilmu, which is in Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang. As a result of this study, using thematic analysis to analyse the results of conversation during the FGD session and collective mapping, we discovered four (4) themes of mother’s perspectives towards their children walking to school, which are as follows: (1) confidence and trust; (2) safety; (3) age and gender; and (4) weather. In summary, the built environment can be described as a solution to the 'out of control' scenario in which government and parental roles are effective in resolving the issue of children walking independently to school

UNDERSTANDING FACTORS OF USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION AMONG WOMEN IN KUALA LUMPUR

In recent decades, the percentage of women working outside their homes has ascended in many developing countries depicts the needs on the understanding of how women travel daily. Many claims, public transportation facilities, and infrastructure related to it do not consider the needs of women travelers but fit men's standards. As a result, many face difficulties became dependent on men for traveling or facing safety-related issues that deter them to use public transportation independently. Thus, this study is to identify factors of public transportation usage among women users in Kuala Lumpur. The study has able to identify three main attributes in public transportation usage factors that influence women users. Using the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) researchers have found that situational attributes have a larger influence on public transportation frequency, in the use of public transportation and surrounding condition of the public transportation in the mode choice decisions of their travel preferences.

An Integrated Approach to Analysing the Urban Growth Patterns: The Case of Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan

Urban growth is a worldwide phenomenon, and urbanisation is increasing rapidly, particularly in developing countries. The high pace of unmanaged urbanisation and consequent low-density urban sprawl poses severe challenges to most big cities globally. Such growth features are primarily contributing to haphazard changes in land uses, leading to agricultural loss. This research adopts an integrated approach to analysing the urban growth patterns in Sialkot, Pakistan. It utilises Landsat satellite data and examines the change of land use and land cover (LULC) over 28 years (1990 - 2018). It estimates the agricultural area converted into built-up area during this time frame. Moreover, a spatiotemporal saturation analysis is also performed to analyse the nature of urban growth further. This change analysis is then compared to urban growth strategies introduced under previous urban master plans. The results indicate that the built-up area of Sialkot city has increased from 2,786.49 ha (28.89%) to 7,191.63 ha (74.56%) during the years 1990 - 2018. In comparison, the agriculture area has reduced from 69.5% to 24.84%. Similarly, the saturation value has decreased from 0.85 to 0.75, depicting the city is moving towards urban sprawl. The policy review and interview results indicate a lack of focus toward implementation of urban master plans, which has contributed to ribbon development in Sialkot. The study provides recommendations for concerned urban planning authorities to control urban sprawl in Sialkot

Controlling <i>In Planta</i> Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis and Size for Catalysis

Gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) are used as catalysts for a diverse range of industrial applications. Currently, Au-NPs are synthesized chemically, but studies have shown that plants fed Au deposit, this element naturally as NPs within their tissues. The resulting plant material can be used to make biomass-derived catalysts. In vitro studies have shown that the addition of specific, short (∼10 amino acid) peptide/s to solutions can be used to control the NP size and shape, factors that can be used to optimize catalysts for different processes. Introducing these peptides into the model plant species, Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis), allows us to regulate the diameter of nanoparticles within the plant itself, consequently influencing the catalytic performance in the resulting pyrolyzed biomass. Furthermore, we show that overexpressing the copper and gold COPPER TRANSPORTER 2 (COPT2) in Arabidopsi sincreases the uptake of these metals. Adding value to the Au-rich biomass offers the potential to make plant-based remediation and stabilization of mine wastes financially feasible. Thus, this study represents a significant step toward engineering plants for the sustainable recovery of finite and valuable elements from our environment

Biodegradation of Petroleum Sludge by Methylobacterium sp. Strain ZASH

A bacterium was isolated from sludge-contaminated soil in a petroleum refinery and tested for its ability to degrade aliphatic hydrocarbon compounds present in petroleum sludge. The isolate was grown on minimal salt media agar supplemented with 1 % (w/v) petroleum sludge. The isolate was tentatively identified as Methylobacterium sp. strain ZASH based on the partial 16s rDNA molecular phylogeny. The bacterium grew optimally between the temperatures of 30 °C and 35 °C, pH 7 and 7.5, 0.5 and 1.5 % (v/v) Tween 80 as the surfactant, and between 1 and 2 % (w/v) peptone as the nitrogen source. The constants derived from the Haldane equation were ?max = 0.039 hr-1, Ks = 0.385 % (w/v) total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) or 3,850 mgl-1 TPH, and Ki =1.12 % (w/v) TPH or 11,200 mgl-1. The maximum biodegradation rate exhibited by this strain was 19 mg l-1 hr-1 at an initial TPH concentration of 10,000 mg l-1. Gas chromatography analysis revealed that after 15 days the strain was able to degrade all aliphatic n-alkanes investigated with different efficiencies. Shorter n-alkanes were generally degraded more rapidly than longer n-alkanes with 90% removal for C-12 compared to only 30% removal for C-36. The addition of sawdust did not improve bacterial degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons, but it assisted in the removal of remaining undegraded hydrocarbons through adsorption