Acceptance of montreal protocol in Malaysia through negotiation toward sustainable development: an analysis document and response of stakeholders

Malaysia has ratified the Montreal Protocol at the international level on the basis of responsibility in support the global effort to protect the environment. It shall be the responsibility of Malaysia to implement all the principles under the Montreal Protocol at local level. There were many challenges to include various stakeholders at early stages of adoption and subsequent implementation of the Montreal Protocol in Malaysia. One of the steps used in to tackle challenges in dealing with various stakeholders is through negotiations. Based on previous studies, there are two commonly used for negotiation at the local to tackle challenges in dealing with various stakeholders are soft and hard approaches. These two forms are said to be able to influence negotiations collaboration between stakeholders in the process of negotiating to implement the international environment agreements including the Montreal Protocol at the local level. Therefore, this study aims to clarify the nature of the relationship influences by soft and hard approaches on the acceptance and subsequent implementation of the Montreal Protocol at the local level. The methods involved in this study orientated by qualitative approach. Therefore, for the purpose of data used are the documents that show the involvement of stakeholders in the process of adoption and subsequent implementation of the Montreal Protocol at the local level. This documentation is then analyzed using content analysis procedures with the help of Nvivo software. From the document analysis results indicated that the nature relationship of soft and hard approaches were interdependence in shaping consensus and cooperation of stakeholders involved

Finding Needles in Haystacks: The Use of Quantitative Proteomics for the Early Detection of Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common and treatable disease if diagnosed early. Current population screening programs are suboptimal, and consequently, there is a need for the development of new methodologies for early diagnosis of CRC. In the past 10 years, unprecedented technological advancements in the field of mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics have progressively increased the sophistication and utility of these investigations, leading to the draft mapping of the human proteome. These exciting studies have shaped our mechanistic understanding of the human genome and begun to provide us with a suite of novel biomarkers to predict the onset, progression and severity of many debilitating diseases. Thus, sophisticated MS workflows coupled with revolutionary protein quantification techniques hold promise for the field of MS-based plasma proteomics, particularly valuable in the context of early stage identification of curable CRC. However, within the last 40 years, no new plasma protein biomarkers of CRC have been translated into clinical practice. Here. we discuss the application of proteomic technologies within the field of CRC, highlighting contemporary MS-based plasma proteomic strategies that could be exploited to deliver on the promise of a panel of sensitive and specific plasma-based biomarkers with which to non-invasively detect early stage CRC

Mixed disulfide formation in vitro between a glycoprotein substrate and yeast oligosaccharyltransferase subunits Ost3p and Ost6p

Oligosaccharyltransferase (OTase) glycosylates selected asparagine residues in secreted and membrane proteins in eukaryotes, and asparagine (N)-glycosylation affects the folding, stability and function of diverse glycoproteins. The range of acceptor protein substrates that are efficiently glycosylated depends on the action of several accessory subunits of OTase, including in yeast the homologous proteins Ost3p and Ost6p. A model of Ost3p and Ost6p function has been proposed in which their thioredoxin-like active site cysteines form transient mixed disulfide bonds with cysteines in substrate proteins to enhance the glycosylation of nearby asparagine residues. We tested aspects of this model with a series of in vitro assays. We developed a whole protein mixed disulfide interaction assay that showed that Ost6p could form mixed disulfide bonds with selected cysteines in pre-reduced yeast Gas1p, a model glycoprotein substrate of Ost3p and Ost6p. A complementary peptide affinity chromatography assay for mixed disulfide bond formation showed that Ost3p could also form mixed disulfide bonds with cysteines in selected reduced tryptic peptides from Gas1p. Together, these assays showed that the thioredoxin-like active sites of Ost3p and Ost6p could form transient mixed disulfide bonds with cysteines in a model substrate glycoprotein, consistent with the function of Ost3p and Ost6p in modulating N-glycosylation substrate selection by OTase in vivo

Analysis of congenital disorder of glycosylation-Id in a yeast model system shows diverse site-specific under-glycosylation of glycoproteins

Asparagine-linked glycosylation is a common post translational modification of proteins in eukaryotes. Mutations in the human ALG3 gene cause changed levels and altered glycan structures on mature glycoproteins and are the cause of a severe congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG-Id). Diverse glycoproteins are also under-glycosylated in Saccharomyces cerevisae alg3 mutants. Here we analyzed site-specific glycosylation occupancy in this yeast model system using peptide-N-glycosidase F to label glycosylation sites with an asparagine-aspartate conversion that creates a new endoproteinase AspN cleavage site, followed by proteolytic digestion, and detection of peptides and glycopeptides by LC-ESI-MS/MS. We used this analytical method to identify and measure site specific glycosylation occupancy in alg3 mutant and wild type yeast strains. We found decreased site specific N-glycosylation occupancy in the alg3 knockout strain preferentially at Asn-Xaa-Ser sequences located in secondary structural elements, features previously associated with poor glycosylation efficiency. Furthermore, we identified 26 previously experimentally unverified glycosylation sites. Our results provide insights into the underlying mechanisms of disease in CDG-Id, and our methodology will be useful in site specific glycosylation analysis in many model systems and clinical applications

An MIMO F-shaped dielectric resonator antenna for 4G applications

A multiple input multiple output (MIMO) F-shaped dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) for mobile device is presented in this article. The F-shaped DRA is mounted on FR4 as a substrate. The measured impedance bandwidth for Port 1 is 36% (2.30-3.31 GHz) while Port 2 is 31% (2.30-3.14 GHz), respectively with isolation of -33 dB. Two orthognal modes are excited in this design which are TE1δ1y mode at Port1 and TEδ11x at Port 2. Correlation coefficient of a MIMO F-shaped DRA is 0.04 with diversity gain nearly 10 dB over operating frequency. The antenna provides gain 1.99 dBi for Port 1 and 1.85 dBi for Port 2 at frequency 2.6 GHz. The parameters, isolation, gain, correlation coefficient, and diversity gain of the MIMO rectangular dielectric resonator antenna are studied, and reasonable agreement between the measured and simulated results is observed

Analysis of Congenital Disorder of Glycosylation-Id in a Yeast Model System Shows Diverse Site-Specific Under-glycosylation of Glycoproteins

Asparagine-linked glycosylation is a common post-translational modification of proteins in eukaryotes. Mutations in the human ALG3 gene cause changed levels and altered glycan structures on mature glycoproteins and are the cause of a severe congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG-Id). Diverse glycoproteins are also under-glycosylated in <i>Saccharomyces cerevisae alg3</i> mutants. Here we analyzed site-specific glycosylation occupancy in this yeast model system using peptide-N-glycosidase F to label glycosylation sites with an asparagine-aspartate conversion that creates a new endoproteinase AspN cleavage site, followed by proteolytic digestion, and detection of peptides and glycopeptides by LC–ESI–MS/MS. We used this analytical method to identify and measure site-specific glycosylation occupancy in <i>alg3</i> mutant and wild type yeast strains. We found decreased site-specific N-glycosylation occupancy in the <i>alg3</i> knockout strain preferentially at Asn-Xaa-Ser sequences located in secondary structural elements, features previously associated with poor glycosylation efficiency. Furthermore, we identified 26 previously experimentally unverified glycosylation sites. Our results provide insights into the underlying mechanisms of disease in CDG-Id, and our methodology will be useful in site-specific glycosylation analysis in many model systems and clinical applications

Recent Mitigation Strategies on Membrane Fouling for Oily Wastewater Treatment

The discharge of massive amounts of oily wastewater has become one of the major concerns among the scientific community. Membrane filtration has been one of the most used methods of treating oily wastewater due to its stability, convenience handling, and durability. However, the continuous occurrence of membrane fouling aggravates the membrane&rsquo;s performance efficiency. Membrane fouling can be defined as the accumulation of various materials in the pores or surface of the membrane that affect the permeate&rsquo;s quantity and quality. Many aspects of fouling have been reviewed, but recent methods for fouling reduction in oily wastewater have not been explored and discussed sufficiently. This review highlights the mitigation strategies to reduce membrane fouling from oily wastewater. We first review the membrane technology principle for oily wastewater treatment, followed by a discussion on different fouling mechanisms of inorganic fouling, organic fouling, biological fouling, and colloidal fouling for better understanding and prevention of membrane fouling. Recent mitigation strategies to reduce fouling caused by oily wastewater treatment are also discussed