Organizational factors and risk management practice of Malaysian contractors: the moderating role of coercive pressure

The construction sector is one of the significant sectors supporting the Malaysian economy. The nature of construction works has made it liable to risk, thereby making risk management an integral part of project management, particularly in developing countries. Experts from the academic and construction circles have been studying risk management's effectiveness concerning the encountered problems and the solutions. This study’s objectives are to evaluate the level of construction risk management practices among the large construction contractors (G7 contractors) operating in Peninsular Malaysia, to examine the effect of organizational structure and organizational internal factors on construction risk management practices, and the moderating role of coercive pressure. A proportionate stratified random sampling technique was deployed in selecting construction firms (registered with the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia) for the survey. A total of 171 contractors from the eleven (11) states of Peninsular Malaysia partook in the study with a 48% valid response rate. A 5- point rating scale and a descriptive statistic were used to achieve the first research objective. SPSS ver.26 and structural equation modeling (SEM) in smart PLS software were employed in testing this study’s hypothesized paths. The level of risk management practices among Malaysian construction firms was found to be high. Drawing from organizational control and institutional theories, this study equally examined the role of coercive pressure on the correlation between organizational structure, organizational internal factors, and construction risk management practices. The findings showed that organizational structure and organizational internal factors had positive relationship with construction risk management practices. Likewise, coercive pressure positively moderated the relationship between centralization structure and construction risk management practices. The findings demonstrated that coercive pressure couldn't moderate the relationship between organizational internal factors and risk management practices among the construction industry operating in Malaysia. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge within this domain by integrating construction risk management practices, organizational structure, organizational internal factors, and coercive pressure in single research focusing on the Malaysian construction industry. Consequently, this study might serve as a yardstick or benchmark towards risk

A cross-sectional study about socio-demographic factors and clinical characteristics of male patients with alcohol dependence syndrome

Background: Alcohol abuse is one of the major causes of death and disability globally; and a key risk factor for health, social, and economic problems in the communities. Consumption of alcohol by Indians has increased drastically due to various factors and in an unrestricted manner; and the age of initiation of drinking is progressively coming down. Objective: To determine the socio-demographic and clinical profile of the patients coming for treatment of alcohol dependence syndrome in the psychiatry department. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 male outpatients of alcohol dependence syndrome attending the department of psychiatry at a tertiary care hospital. Sociodemographic data and clinical details were recorded with the help of a pre-designed questionnaire. Results: Nuclear family, family history of alcoholism, unmarried status, higher educational level, unemployment, and peer pressure are the factors significantly associated with early age at first drink and age of dependence on alcohol (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Adolescents having a family history of alcoholism are a high-risk group for developing alcohol dependence and should be targeted for intervention strategies. Community based-longitudinal studies are needed to understand multiple factors influencing alcohol use and recommend targeted preventive measures. Keywords: Alcohol, Alcohol dependence syndrome, Peer pressure, Intoxication, Socio-demographic factor

A cross-sectional study about socio-demographic factors and clinical characteristics of male patients with alcohol dependence syndrome

Background: Alcohol abuse is one of the major causes of death and disability globally; and a key risk factor for health, social, and economic problems in the communities. Consumption of alcohol by Indians has increased drastically due to various factors and in an unrestricted manner; and the age of initiation of drinking is progressively coming down. Objective: To determine the socio-demographic and clinical profile of the patients coming for treatment of alcohol dependence syndrome in the psychiatry department. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 50 male outpatients of alcohol dependence syndrome attending the department of psychiatry at a tertiary care hospital. Sociodemographic data and clinical details were recorded with the help of a pre-designed questionnaire. Results: Nuclear family, family history of alcoholism, unmarried status, higher educational level, unemployment, and peer pressure are the factors significantly associated with early age at first drink and age of dependence on alcohol (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Adolescents having a family history of alcoholism are a high-risk group for developing alcohol dependence and should be targeted for intervention strategies. Community based-longitudinal studies are needed to understand multiple factors influencing alcohol use and recommend targeted preventive measures. Keywords: Alcohol, Alcohol dependence syndrome, Peer pressure, Intoxication, Socio-demographic factor

Unravelling the secret of seedbased gels in water: the nanoscale 3D network formation

Chia (Salvia hispanica) and basil (Ocimum basilicum) seeds have the intrinsic ability to form a hydrogel concomitant with moisture-retention, slow releasing capability and proposed health benefits such as curbing diabetes and obesity by delaying digestion process. However, the underlying mode of gelation at nanoscopic level is not clearly explained or explored. The present study elucidates and corroborates the hypothesis that the gelling behavior of such seeds is due to their nanoscale 3D-network formation. The preliminary study revealed the influence of several conditions like polarity, pH and hydrophilicity/ hydrophobicity on fiber extrusion from the seeds which leads to gelation. Optical microscopic analysis clearly demonstrated bundles of fibers emanating from the seed coat while in contact with water, and live growth of fibers to form 3D network. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) studies confirmed 3D network formation with fiber diameters ranging from 20 to 50 nm

Unraveling the Significance of Mg²⁺ Dependency and Nucleotide Binding Specificity of H‑RAS

RAS is a small GTPase and acts as a binary molecular switch; the transition from its active to inactive state plays a crucial role in various cell signaling processes. Molecular dynamics simulations at the atomistic level suggest that the absence of cofactor Mg2+ ion generally leads to pronounced structural changes in the Switch-I than Switch-II regions and assists GTP binding. The presence of the Mg2+ ion also restricts the rotation of ϒ phosphate and enhances the hydrolysis rate of GTP. Further, the simulations reveal that the stability of the protein is almost uncompromised when Mg2+ is replaced with Zn2+ and not the Ca2+ ion. The specificity of H-RAS to GTP was evaluated by substituting with ATP and CTP, which indicates that the binding pocket tolerates purine bases over pyrimidine bases. However, the D119 residue specifically interacts with the guanine base and serves as one of the primary interactions that leads to the selectivity of GTP over ATP. The ring displacement of 32Y serves as gate dynamics in H-RAS which are important for its interaction with GAP for the nucleotide exchange and is restricted in the presence of ATP. Finally, the point mutations 61, 16, and 32 influence the structural changes, specifically in the Switch-II region, which are expected to impact the GTP hydrolysis and thus are termed oncogenic mutations

Design and development of a novel colorimetric assay and a portable optical system for the detection of aminoglycoside antibiotics

In recent years, environmental contamination with antibiotics has become a severe threat to humankind requiring urgent attention. Presence of incompletely metabolized antibiotics in water bodies, leads to their entry into food chain via live stock and serve as a severe threat to human health. Hence it is imperative that the antibiotics are detected at the source itself. Aminoglycosides are broad spectrum antibiotics known to be more toxic and resistant to multidrug resistant (MDR) organisms compared to other classes of antibiotics. Accordingly in the present work a selective, sensitive and low-cost detection technique for aminoglycoside based antibiotics has been developed. An iron-dependent lipid peroxidation has been explored for the first time to develop a rapid and sensitive colorimetric assay for detecting aminoglycoside antibiotics. A lab-on-chip model (LoC) was designed and developed to miniaturize the colorimetric assay based model for its applications in the real-time analysis of antibiotics. The LoC was integrated with optical fibers, electronic components and associated signal processing circuitry to construct a portable device for antibiotic quantification. Interestingly a selective response towards gentamicin amongst the tested antibiotic was observed. The formation of a colored product within five minutes of reaction time enables a swift and less cumbersome analysis and compared to existing sophisticated analytical techniques. The detection method was validated for gentamicin spiked environmental samples and showed a recovery of more than 90%. This method can serve as a suitable alternative in limited laboratory setups and provides a generic platform for developing a rapid, user-friendly and economical detection methods for environmental monitoring of antibiotics

The multifaceted nature of plant acid phosphatases: purification, biochemical features, and applications

AbstractAcid phosphatases (EC 3.1.3.2) are the enzymes that catalyse transphosphorylation reactions and promotes the hydrolysis of numerous orthophosphate esters in acidic media, as a crucial element for the metabolism of phosphate in tissues. Inorganic phosphate (Pi) utilisation and scavenging, as well as the turnover of Pi-rich sources found in plant vacuoles, are major processes in which intracellular and secretory acid phosphatases function. Therefore, a thorough understanding of these enzymes’ structural characteristics, specificity, and physiochemical properties is required to comprehend the function of acid phosphatases in plant energy metabolism. Furthermore, acid phosphatases are gaining increasing importance in industrial biotechnology due to their involvement in transphosphorylation processes and their ability to reduce phosphate levels in food products. Hence, this review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the purification methods employed for isolating acid phosphatases from diverse plant sources, as well as their structural and functional properties. Additionally, the review explores the potential applications of these enzymes in various fields

Study on Psychiatric morbidity and socio demographic profile in cases of deliberate self harm

Background:Deliberate self harm places a considerable drain on the resources of the health care system. They form a substantial burden on health services. With these present conditions, this study was undertaken to assess the psychiatric morbidity and socio-demographic profile of patients with “deliberate self harm” admitted in the general hospital.Material:The study was conducted at general hospital over a period of six months. We included 50 patients from various units those who got admitted for deliberate self harm, self poisoning, self injury, self immolation, etc. After stabilization the patients were subjected to a detailed psychiatric evaluation to understand the basic precipitating cause besides treatment or counseling. In our study, we observed that 62% of the patients had psychiatric morbidity, out of which substance use disorders (22%) and adjustment disorder (22%) were most common. Depression was present in 18%, while 6% had schizophrenia, and only 2% had mental retardation. In this study, we found that the association between psychiatric morbidity with age (p<0.001), occupation (p<0.01), residence (p=0.002) and type of family (p=0.004) was highly significant.Conclusion:Improving the facilities for management of common psychiatric illnesses at primary care level would probably help towards the ultimate goal of prevention of deliberate self harm. Keywords: Psychiatric morbidity, Socio-demographic variables, Deliberate Self harm, Depression, Schizophrenia, Mental retardatio