Displaying publications 61 - 80 of 533 in total

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  1. The effect of job and environmental factors on job satisfaction in automotive industries
    Dawal SZ, Taha Z
    Int J Occup Saf Ergon, 2006;12(3):267-80.
    PMID: 16984786
    A methodology was developed for diagnosing industrial work, which includes questionnaire, observation, measurements, data collection and statistical analysis. A survey was conducted to investigate the relationship between job satisfaction and factors that affect work design in 2 automotives manufacturing companies in Malaysia. A basic work design model was proposed. The aim of this model was to determine the factors that influence employees' perception towards their work. A set of multiple-choice questionnaires was developed and data was collected by interviewing employees at a production plant. The survey focused on job and environmental factors. The results supported the proposed model and showed that job and environmental factors were significantly related to job satisfaction. They highlighted the significant influence of age, work experience and marital status on job satisfaction. Further, environmental factors, especially the surroundings, context dependence and the building's function, also had a significant impact on job satisfaction.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment*
  2. Fulltext The effect of environmental conditions on biofilm formation of Burkholderia pseudomallei clinical isolates
    Ramli NS, Eng Guan C, Nathan S, Vadivelu J
    PLoS One, 2012;7(9):e44104.
    PMID: 22970167 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044104
    Burkholderia pseudomallei, a Gram-negative saprophytic bacterium, is the causative agent of the potentially fatal melioidosis disease in humans. In this study, environmental parameters including temperature, nutrient content, pH and the presence of glucose were shown to play a role in in vitro biofilm formation by 28 B. pseudomallei clinical isolates, including four isolates with large colony variants (LCVs) and small colony variants (SCVs) morphotypes. Enhanced biofilm formation was observed when the isolates were tested in LB medium, at 30 °C, at pH 7.2, and in the presence of as little as 2 mM glucose respectively. It was also shown that all SVCs displayed significantly greater capacity to form biofilms than the corresponding LCVs when cultured in LB at 37 °C. In addition, octanoyl-homoserine lactone (C(8)-HSL), a quorum sensing molecule, was identified by mass spectrometry analysis in bacterial isolates referred to as LCV CTH, LCV VIT, SCV TOM, SCV CTH, 1 and 3, and the presence of other AHL's with higher masses; decanoyl-homoserine lactone (C(10)-HSL) and dodecanoyl-homoserine lactone (C(12)-HSL) were also found in all tested strain in this study. Last but not least, we had successfully acquired two Bacillus sp. soil isolates, termed KW and SA respectively, which possessed strong AHLs degradation activity. Biofilm formation of B. pseudomallei isolates was significantly decreased after treated with culture supernatants of KW and SA strains, demonstrating that AHLs may play a role in B. pseudomallei biofilm formation.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment*
  3. The diversity of beetle assemblages in different habitat types in Sabah, Malaysia
    Chung AY, Eggleton P, Speight MR, Hammond PM, Chey VK
    Bull. Entomol. Res., 2000 Dec;90(6):475-96.
    PMID: 11107250
    The diversity of beetle assemblages in different habitat types (primary forest, logged forest, acacia plantation and oil palm plantation) in Sabah, Malaysia was investigated using three different methods based on habitat levels (Winkler sampling, flight-interception-trapping and mist-blowing). The overall diversity was extremely high, with 1711 species recorded from only 8028 individuals and 81 families (115 family and subfamily groups). Different degrees of environmental changes had varying effects on the beetle species richness and abundance, with oil palm plantation assemblage being most severely affected, followed by acacia plantation and then logged forest. A few species became numerically dominant in the oil palm plantation. In terms of beetle species composition, the acacia fauna showed much similarity with the logged forest fauna, and the oil palm fauna was very different from the rest. The effects of environmental variables (number of plant species, sapling and tree densities, amount of leaf litter, ground cover, canopy cover, soil pH and compaction) on the beetle assemblage were also investigated. Leaf litter correlated with species richness, abundance and composition of subterranean beetles. Plant species richness, tree and sapling densities correlated with species richness, abundance and composition of understorey beetles while ground cover correlated only with the species richness and abundance of these beetles. Canopy cover correlated only with arboreal beetles. In trophic structure, predators represented more than 40% of the species and individuals. Environmental changes affected the trophic structure with proportionally more herbivores (abundance) but fewer predators (species richness and abundance) in the oil palm plantation. Biodiversity, conservation and practical aspects of pest management were also highlighted in this study.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment*
  4. The distribution and ecology of Bakerocoptes cynopteri (Sarcoptiformes: Bakerocoptidae) in Malaysia
    Beck AJ
    Acta Trop, 1969;26(3):270-4.
    PMID: 4391240
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  5. The cultural, family and community factors for resilience in southeast asian indigenous communities: A systematic review
    Chua RY, Kadirvelu A, Yasin S, Choudhry FR, Park MS
    J Community Psychol, 2019 09;47(7):1750-1771.
    PMID: 31374592 DOI: 10.1002/jcop.22224
    Although faced with historical and ongoing hardships, many indigenous communities in Southeast Asia have managed to survive and thrive. The identification of factors that assist these communities in coping with the challenges experienced would help enhance their overall psychological well-being and resilience. The current review outlines types of protective factors for the indigenous communities in Southeast Asia focusing on the cultural, family and community elements linked to their psychological well-being. Four themes of protective factors were identified strong connection to the land and the environment, embracing cultural norms and traditions, passing down and keeping indigenous knowledge across generations, and emphasis on community and social cohesion. Findings suggest that the value of interconnectedness serves as an overarching theme that forms the worldview of the indigenous communities in Southeast Asia. Interconnectedness was important to the indigenous peoples as they considered themselves to be extensions of their family, community, ancestors, future descendants, the land and to all living things and creations that reside on their lands. Future intervention attempts to promote resilience among these communities should take these factors into account, and pay closer attention to community-level factors that seem to have a profound impact on the indigenous construction of resilience.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment; Social Environment*
  6. The control of corruption and energy efficiency relationship: an empirical note
    Ozturk I, Al-Mulali U, Solarin SA
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2019 Jun;26(17):17277-17283.
    PMID: 31012074 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-05016-1
    This study aims at exploring the impact of corruption control on energy efficiency in 60 countries categorized by income: lower middle (LMI), upper middle (UMI), and high (HI). Panel methodology was utilized taking the period of 2000-2017. As cross-sectional dependence is confirmed among the tested equations, the Pesaran (J Appl Econ 22(2):265-312, 2007) unit root test and the augmented mean group estimator proposed by Eberhardt and Teal (2010) were utilized to overcome this matter. The results in general indicate that the lower the corruption is, the more the energy efficiency for all income group economies. Moreover, renewable energy reduces energy efficiency in lower-middle income and high-income economies while its effect is positive in middle-income economies. In addition, the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) found to be present in all income group economies. Lastly, causality relationships among energy efficiency, corruption, and GDP were present mostly in upper-middle income and high-income economies. From the results, it was recommended that the countries from all income groups should increase their corruption control for the purpose of enhancing energy efficiency.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  7. The battle of health with environmental evils of Asian countries: promises to keep
    Qureshi MI, Khan NU, Rasli AM, Zaman K
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2015 Aug;22(15):11708-15.
    PMID: 25854212 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-015-4440-8
    The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between environmental indicators and health expenditures in the panel of five selected Asian countries, over the period of 2000-2013. The study used panel cointegration technique for evaluating the nexus between environment and health in the region. The results show that energy demand, forest area, and GDP per unit use of energy have a significant and positive impact on increasing health expenditures in the region. These results have been confirmed by single equation panel cointegration estimators, i.e., fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), dynamic OLS (DOLS), and canonical cointegrating regression (CCR) estimators. In addition, the study used robust least squares regression to confirm the generalizability of the results in Asian context. All these estimators indicate that environmental indicators escalate the health expenditures per capita in a region; therefore, Asian countries should have to upsurge health expenditures for safeguard from environmental evils in a region.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment*; Environmental Pollution/adverse effects
  8. The association between social cohesion and community disaster resilience: A cross-sectional study
    Ludin SM, Rohaizat M, Arbon P
    Health Soc Care Community, 2019 05;27(3):621-631.
    PMID: 30345603 DOI: 10.1111/hsc.12674
    A cross-sectional study design was created, using the Index of Perceived Community Resilience (IPCR) and Buckner's Index of Cohesion (BIC) to survey 386 flood evacuees from six communities in Kelantan, Malaysia, in 2015. The respondents were mostly female (54.7%); lived in basic housing (95.6%); average income (55.9%); secondary level schooling (81.1%); not involved with community organisations (95.1%), volunteering activities (91.2%), or emergency teams (96.9%); inexperience with injury during flooding (94%); experienced the emergency disaster (61.6%); and their mean age was 49 years old. Overall, respondents scored a high level of community disaster resilience (CDR) (mean 3.9) and social cohesion (mean 3.79). Also, respondents' housing type, event of injury during disaster, volunteering in post-disaster activities, and emergency team participation were significantly associated with CDR (p = 0.001-0.002), organisational involvement (p = 0.016), and emergency disaster experience (p = 0.028) were significantly associated with social cohesion. The Pearson correlation coefficient results mostly showing a moderate, weak, and one with a strong relationship. There is a strong relationship between community participation (CDR) in events and BIC variables (r = 0.529, p = 0.001). Other analysis shows a moderate but significant relationship with BIC; is open to ideas (r = 0.332, p = 0.001); community has similar values/ideas (r = 0.421, p = 0.001); sense of pride (r = 0.389, p = 0.001); strong leadership (r = 0.339, p = 0.001); positive change (r = 0.484, p = 0.001); and able to handle problems (r = 0.454, p = 0.001). Overall, the results show that respondents had high levels of CDR and social cohesion, while the demographic characteristics show the impact of CDR and social cohesion. In conclusion, the data gives original insight into the level of association between social cohesion and disaster resilience, which could be used as a building block in sustainable disaster recovery. There is a need to explore this further on programmes designed to improve social cohesion across communities.
    Matched MeSH terms: Social Environment*
  9. Fulltext The association between lower educational attainment and depression owing to shared genetic effects? Results in ~25,000 subjects
    Peyrot WJ, Lee SH, Milaneschi Y, Abdellaoui A, Byrne EM, Esko T, et al.
    Mol Psychiatry, 2015 Jun;20(6):735-43.
    PMID: 25917368 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2015.50
    An association between lower educational attainment (EA) and an increased risk for depression has been confirmed in various western countries. This study examines whether pleiotropic genetic effects contribute to this association. Therefore, data were analyzed from a total of 9662 major depressive disorder (MDD) cases and 14,949 controls (with no lifetime MDD diagnosis) from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium with additional Dutch and Estonian data. The association of EA and MDD was assessed with logistic regression in 15,138 individuals indicating a significantly negative association in our sample with an odds ratio for MDD 0.78 (0.75-0.82) per standard deviation increase in EA. With data of 884,105 autosomal common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), three methods were applied to test for pleiotropy between MDD and EA: (i) genetic profile risk scores (GPRS) derived from training data for EA (independent meta-analysis on ~120,000 subjects) and MDD (using a 10-fold leave-one-out procedure in the current sample), (ii) bivariate genomic-relationship-matrix restricted maximum likelihood (GREML) and (iii) SNP effect concordance analysis (SECA). With these methods, we found (i) that the EA-GPRS did not predict MDD status, and MDD-GPRS did not predict EA, (ii) a weak negative genetic correlation with bivariate GREML analyses, but this correlation was not consistently significant, (iii) no evidence for concordance of MDD and EA SNP effects with SECA analysis. To conclude, our study confirms an association of lower EA and MDD risk, but this association was not because of measurable pleiotropic genetic effects, which suggests that environmental factors could be involved, for example, socioeconomic status.
    Matched MeSH terms: Gene-Environment Interaction
  10. Fulltext The application of waste marble as coarse aggregate in concrete production
    Chang, Kok Yung, Kwan, Wai Hoe, Kua, Hui Bun
    Scientific Research Journal, 2018;15(1):75-83.
    MyJurnal
    The massive growth of construction industry especially in the developing countries results in extensive quarrying activities which ultimately would lead to the depletion of natural resources. Apart from extensive extraction of the natural granite from the earth for concrete production, marble production industry is also majorly contributing to the quarrying activities. In addition, high volume of waste is generated by the marble production industry as 70% of marble is wasted during the production such as quarrying, cutting, processing and others which is environmental unfriendly. In a way to achieve sustainable construction, the present study is to utilise the waste marble in replacing the coarse aggregate in concrete production. The engineering performance including workability, compressive strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and chloride penetration were analysed. The raw waste marble obtained from the industry were crushed and sieved into maximum size 20 mm and used to replace the coarse aggregate at the level of 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and 100% respectively. Results show that 60% of the replacement level has yield to optimum result by achieving the highest compressive strength and UPV at approximate 5% higher than the control. Meanwhile, the effect on chloride penetration resistance is more significant, i.e. approximate 19% better than the control. However, increasing the replacement level of waste marble has no significant effect on workability, although an increasing trend was observed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  11. The administration of marine spill response of Malaysia
    Ahmad Faizal Ahmad Fuad, Mohd Sharifuddin Ahmad, Saharuddin Abdul Hamid
    Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 2013;10(1):59-91.
    MyJurnal
    Maritime transportation is very important for coastal state country like Malaysia. However, as having the busiest straits in the world, Malaysia is continuously exposed to the risk of marine spill. The nation had experienced around 30 marine spill incidents since 1976 to the present. The main contributor of marine spill is ship’s accident and in term of category of accident, collision had contributed the most. In term of type of substance that mostly spilled by ships is highly persistence crude oil. The management of marine spill response of Malaysia is applying the three tiers system which is base on the area and scale of the spill. The basis of establishing the marine response service is in accordance with OPRC, which incorporated into the national environmental law. With the three tiers of response system, Malaysia is equipped with arsenal of marine spill response and control equipments. However, with the present magnitude of threat, the current capacities of equipments are insufficient. Nevertheless, the possibility of full magnitude of marine spill is unlikely due to the safety features incorporated into the design of the ships and FSO/FPSO. In term of claim and compensation for marine spill incident, Malaysia is applying the two layers of compensation under the CLC 1992 Protocol and FUND 1992 Protocol. Therefore, Malaysia is ready in various aspects of marine spill response and control.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  12. The Sulu-Sulawesi Sea: environmental and socioeconomic status, future prognosis and ameliorative policy options
    DeVantier L, Alcala A, Wilkinson C
    Ambio, 2004 Feb;33(1-2):88-97.
    PMID: 15083654
    The Sulu-Sulawesi Sea, with neighboring Indonesian Seas and South China Sea, lies at the center of the world's tropical marine biodiversity. Encircled by 3 populous, developing nations, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, the Sea and its adjacent coastal and terrestrial ecosystems, supports ca. 33 million people, most with subsistence livelihoods heavily reliant on its renewable natural resources. These resources are being impacted severely by rapid population growth (> 2% yr-1, with expected doubling by 2035) and widespread poverty, coupled with increasing international market demand and rapid technological changes, compounded by inefficiencies in governance and a lack of awareness and/or acceptance of some laws among local populations, particularly in parts of the Philippines and Indonesia. These key root causes all contribute to illegal practices and corruption, and are resulting in severe resource depletion and degradation of water catchments, river, lacustrine, estuarine, coastal, and marine ecosystems. The Sulu-Sulawesi Sea forms a major geopolitical focus, with porous borders, transmigration, separatist movements, piracy, and illegal fishing all contributing to environmental degradation, human suffering and political instability, and inhibiting strong trilateral support for interventions. This review analyzes these multifarious environmental and socioeconomic impacts and their root causes, provides a future prognosis of status by 2020, and recommends policy options aimed at amelioration through sustainable management and development.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment*
  13. Fulltext The Role of Green Building Materials in Reducing Environmental and Human Health Impacts
    Khoshnava SM, Rostami R, Mohamad Zin R, Štreimikienė D, Mardani A, Ismail M
    Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020 04 10;17(7).
    PMID: 32290074 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17072589
    Conventional building materials (CBMs) made from non-renewable resources are the main source of indoor air contaminants, whose impact can extend from indoors to outdoors. Given their sustainable development (SD) prospect, green building materials (GBMs) with non-toxic, natural, and organic compounds have the potential to reduce their overall impacts on environmental and human health. In this regard, biocomposites as GBMs are environmentally friendly, safe, and recyclable materials and their replacement of CBMs reduces environmental impacts and human health concerns. This study aims to develop a model of fully hybrid bio-based biocomposite as non-structural GBMs and compare it with fully petroleum-based composite in terms of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and human health impacts. Using a small chamber test (American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)-D5116) for VOC investigation and SimaPro software modeling with the ReCiPe method for evaluating human health impacts. Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is used, and the results indicate that switching the fully hybrid bio-based biocomposite with the fully petroleum-based composite could reduce more than 50% impacts on human health in terms of indoor and outdoor. Our results indicate that the usage of biocomposite as GBMs can be an environmentally friendly solution for reducing the total indoor and outdoor impacts on human health.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment; Environmental Monitoring/methods*
  14. Fulltext The Residential Environment and Health and Well-Being of Chinese Migrant Populations: A Systematic Review
    Huang L, Said R, Goh HC, Cao Y
    Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2023 Feb 08;20(4).
    PMID: 36833663 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20042968
    China's internal migrants suffer from marginalised housing conditions, poor neighbourhood environments and residential segregation, which may have significant implications on health and well-being. Echoing recent calls for interdisciplinary research on migrant health and well-being, this study examines the associations and mechanisms of the impact of the residential environment on the health and well-being of Chinese migrants. We found that most of the relevant studies supported the "healthy migration effect", but the phenomenon was only applicable to migrants' self-reported physical health rather than mental health. The subjective well-being of migrants is lower than that of urban migrants. There is a debate between the effectiveness of residential environmental improvements and the ineffectiveness of residential environmental improvements in terms of the impact of the neighbourhood environment on migrants' health and well-being. Housing conditions and the neighbourhood's physical and social environment can enhance migrants' health and well-being by strengthening place attachment and social cohesion, building localised social capital and gaining neighbourhood social support. Residential segregation on the neighbourhood scale affects the health outcomes of migrant populations through the mechanism of relative deprivation. Our studies build a vivid and comprehensive picture of research to understand migration, urban life and health and well-being.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment; Social Environment
  15. The NADI program and the JOICFP integrated project: partners in delivering primary health care
    Arshat H, Othman R, Kuan Lin Chee, Abdullah M
    JOICFP Rev, 1985 Oct;10:10-5.
    PMID: 12313881
    PIP:
    The NADI program (pulse in Malay) was initially launched as a pilot project in 1980 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It utilized an integrated approach involving both the government and the private sectors. By sharing resources and expertise, and by working together, the government and the people can achieve national development faster and with better results. The agencies work through a multi-level supportive structure, at the head of which is the steering committee. The NADI teams at the field level are the focal points of services from the various agencies. Members of NADI teams also work with urban poor families as well as health groups, parents-teachers associations, and other similar groups. The policy and planning functions are carried out by the steering committee, the 5 area action committees and the community action committees, while the implementation function is carried out by the area program managers and NADI teams. The chairman of each area action committee is the head of the branch office of city hall. Using intestinal parasite control as the entry point, the NADI Integrated Family Development Program has greatly helped in expanding inter-agency cooperation and exchange of experiences by a coordinated, effective and efficient resource-mobilization. The program was later expanded to other parts of the country including the industrial and estate sectors. Services provided by NADI include: comprehensive health services to promote maternal and child health; adequate water supply, proper waste disposal, construction of latrines and providing electricity; and initiating community and family development such as community education, preschool education, vocational training, family counseling and building special facilities for recreational and educational purposes.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  16. Fulltext The Molecular Effects of Environmental Enrichment on Alzheimer's Disease
    Liew AKY, Teo CH, Soga T
    Mol Neurobiol, 2022 Dec;59(12):7095-7118.
    PMID: 36083518 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-022-03016-w
    Environmental enrichment (EE) is an environmental paradigm encompassing sensory, cognitive, and physical stimulation at a heightened level. Previous studies have reported the beneficial effects of EE in the brain, particularly in the hippocampus. EE improves cognitive function as well as ameliorates depressive and anxiety-like behaviors, making it a potentially effective neuroprotective strategy against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we summarize the current evidence for EE as a neuroprotective strategy as well as the potential molecular pathways that can explain the effects of EE from a biochemical perspective using animal models. The effectiveness of EE in enhancing brain activity against neurodegeneration is explored with a view to differences present in early and late life EE exposure, with its potential application in human being discussed. We discuss EE as one of the non pharmacological approaches in preventing or delaying the onset of AD for future research.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  17. The Lancet Commission on diabetes: using data to transform diabetes care and patient lives
    Chan JCN, Lim LL, Wareham NJ, Shaw JE, Orchard TJ, Zhang P, et al.
    Lancet, 2021 Dec 19;396(10267):2019-2082.
    PMID: 33189186 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32374-6
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  18. Fulltext The Combined Effect of Polygenic Risk from FTO and ADRB2 Gene Variants, Odds of Obesity, and Post-Hipcref Diet Differences
    Tan PY, Mitra SR
    Lifestyle Genom, 2020;13(2):84-98.
    PMID: 32101872 DOI: 10.1159/000505662
    BACKGROUND: Computing polygenic risk scores (PRS) to predict the degree of risk for obesity may contribute to weight management programs strategically.

    OBJECTIVES: To investigate the combined effect of FTO rs9930501, rs9930506, and rs9932754 and ADRB2 rs1042713 and rs1042714 using PRS on (1) the odds of obesity and (2) post-intervention differences in dietary, anthropometric, and cardiometabolic parameters in response to high-protein calorie-restricted, high-vitamin E, high-fiber (Hipcref) diet intervention in Malaysian adults.

    METHODS: Both a cross-sectional study (n = 178) and a randomized controlled trial (RCT) (n = 128) were conducted to test the aforementioned objectives. PRS was computed as the weighted sum of the risk alleles possessed by each individual participant. Participants were stratified into first (PRS 0-0.64), second (PRS 0.65-3.59), and third (PRS 3.60-8.18) tertiles.

    RESULTS: The third tertile of PRS was associated with significantly higher odds of obesity: 2.29 (95% CI = 1.11-4.72, adjusted p = 0.025) compared to the first tertile. Indians (3.9 ± 0.3) had significantly higher PRS compared to Chinese (2.1 ± 0.4) (p = 0.010). In the RCT, a greater reduction in high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) levels was found in second and third tertiles after Hipcref diet intervention compared to the control diet (p interaction = 0.048).

    CONCLUSION: Higher PRS was significantly associated with increased odds of obesity. Individuals with higher PRS had a significantly greater reduction in hsCRP levels after Hipcref diet compared to the control diet.

    Matched MeSH terms: Gene-Environment Interaction
  19. Fulltext The ASTER DEM generation for geomorphometric analysis of the Central Alborz Mountains, Iran
    Mousavi, Seyed Ramzan, Pirasteh, Saied, Pradhan, Biswajeet, Mansor, Shattri, Ahmad Rodzi Mahmud
    Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2011;19(3):115-124.
    MyJurnal
    This research focuses on the ASTER DEM generation for visual and mathematical analysis of topography, landscapes and landforms, as well as modeling of surface processes of Central Alborz, Iran. ASTER DEM 15 m generated using tie points over the Central Alborz and Damavand volcano with 5671 m height from ASTER (Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) satellite data using PCI Geomatica 9.1. Geomorphic parameters are useful to identify and describe geomorphologic forms and processes, which were extracted from ASTER DEM in GIS environment such as elevation, aspect, slope angle, vertical curvature, and tangential curvature. Although the elevation values are slightly low in altitudes above 5500 m asl., the ASTER DEM is useful in interpretation of the macro- and meso-relief, and provides the opportunity for mapping especially at medium scales (1:100,000 and 1:50,000). ASTER DEM has potential to be a best tool to study 3D model for to geomorphologic mapping and processes of glacial and per glacial forms above 4300 m asl.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
  20. The 'human revolution' in lowland tropical Southeast Asia: the antiquity and behavior of anatomically modern humans at Niah Cave (Sarawak, Borneo)
    Barker G, Barton H, Bird M, Daly P, Datan I, Dykes A, et al.
    J Hum Evol, 2007 Mar;52(3):243-61.
    PMID: 17161859
    Recent research in Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia suggests that we can no longer assume a direct and exclusive link between anatomically modern humans and behavioral modernity (the 'human revolution'), and assume that the presence of either one implies the presence of the other: discussions of the emergence of cultural complexity have to proceed with greater scrutiny of the evidence on a site-by-site basis to establish secure associations between the archaeology present there and the hominins who created it. This paper presents one such case study: Niah Cave in Sarawak on the island of Borneo, famous for the discovery in 1958 in the West Mouth of the Great Cave of a modern human skull, the 'Deep Skull,' controversially associated with radiocarbon dates of ca. 40,000 years before the present. A new chronostratigraphy has been developed through a re-investigation of the lithostratigraphy left by the earlier excavations, AMS-dating using three different comparative pre-treatments including ABOX of charcoal, and U-series using the Diffusion-Absorption model applied to fragments of bones from the Deep Skull itself. Stratigraphic reasons for earlier uncertainties about the antiquity of the skull are examined, and it is shown not to be an 'intrusive' artifact. It was probably excavated from fluvial-pond-desiccation deposits that accumulated episodically in a shallow basin immediately behind the cave entrance lip, in a climate that ranged from times of comparative aridity with complete desiccation, to episodes of greater surface wetness, changes attributed to regional climatic fluctuations. Vegetation outside the cave varied significantly over time, including wet lowland forest, montane forest, savannah, and grassland. The new dates and the lithostratigraphy relate the Deep Skull to evidence of episodes of human activity that range in date from ca. 46,000 to ca. 34,000 years ago. Initial investigations of sediment scorching, pollen, palynomorphs, phytoliths, plant macrofossils, and starch grains recovered from existing exposures, and of vertebrates from the current and the earlier excavations, suggest that human foraging during these times was marked by habitat-tailored hunting technologies, the collection and processing of toxic plants for consumption, and, perhaps, the use of fire at some forest-edges. The Niah evidence demonstrates the sophisticated nature of the subsistence behavior developed by modern humans to exploit the tropical environments that they encountered in Southeast Asia, including rainforest.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environment
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