Current ecological understanding of fungal-like pathogens of fish: what lies beneath?

Despite increasingly sophisticated microbiological techniques, and long after the first discovery of microbes, basic knowledge is still lacking to fully appreciate the ecological importance of microbial parasites in fish. This is likely due to the nature of their habitats as many species of fish suffer from living beneath turbid water away from easy recording. However, fishes represent key ecosystem services for millions of people around the world and the absence of a functional ecological understanding of viruses, prokaryotes, and small eukaryotes in the maintenance of fish populations and of their diversity represents an inherent barrier to aquatic conservation and food security. Among recent emerging infectious diseases responsible for severe population declines in plant and animal taxa, fungal and fungal-like microbes have emerged as significant contributors. Here, we review the current knowledge gaps of fungal and fungal-like parasites and pathogens in fish and put them into an ecological perspective with direct implications for the monitoring of fungal fish pathogens in the wild, their phylogeography as well as their associated ecological impact on fish populations. With increasing fish movement around the world for farming, releases into the wild for sport fishing and human-driven habitat changes, it is expected along with improved environmental monitoring of fungal and fungal-like infections, that the full extent of the impact of these pathogens on wild fish populations will soon emerge as a major threat to freshwater biodiversity

Asymmetric interlimb transfer of concurrent adaptation to opposing dynamic forces

Interlimb transfer of a novel dynamic force has been well documented. It has also been shown that unimanual adaptation to opposing novel environments is possible if they are associated with different workspaces. The main aim of this study was to test if adaptation to opposing velocity dependent viscous forces with one arm could improve the initial performance of the other arm. The study also examined whether this interlimb transfer occurred across an extrinsic, spatial, coordinative system or an intrinsic, joint based, coordinative system. Subjects initially adapted to opposing viscous forces separated by target location. Our measure of performance was the correlation between the speed profiles of each movement within a force condition and an ‘average’ trajectory within null force conditions. Adaptation to the opposing forces was seen during initial acquisition with a significantly improved coefficient in epoch eight compared to epoch one. We then tested interlimb transfer from the dominant to non-dominant arm (D → ND) and vice-versa (ND → D) across either an extrinsic or intrinsic coordinative system. Interlimb transfer was only seen from the dominant to the non-dominant limb across an intrinsic coordinative system. These results support previous studies involving adaptation to a single dynamic force but also indicate that interlimb transfer of multiple opposing states is possible. This suggests that the information available at the level of representation allowing interlimb transfer can be more intricate than a general movement goal or a single perceived directional error

Concurrent adaptation to opposing visual displacements during an alternating movement.

It has been suggested that, during tasks in which subjects are exposed to a visual rotation of cursor feedback, alternating bimanual adaptation to opposing rotations is as rapid as unimanual adaptation to a single rotation (Bock et al. in Exp Brain Res 162:513–519, 2005). However, that experiment did not test strict alternation of the limbs but short alternate blocks of trials. We have therefore tested adaptation under alternate left/right hand movement with opposing rotations. It was clear that the left and right hand, within the alternating conditions, learnt to adapt to the opposing displacements at a similar rate suggesting that two adaptive states were formed concurrently. We suggest that the separate limbs are used as contextual cues to switch between the relevant adaptive states. However, we found that during online correction the alternating conditions had a significantly slower rate of adaptation in comparison to the unimanual conditions. Control conditions indicate that the results are not directly due the alternation between limbs or to the constant switching of vision between the two eyes. The negative interference may originate from the requirement to dissociate the visual information of these two alternating displacements to allow online control of the two arms

Modelling Stochastic Volatility of The Stock Market: A Nigerian Experience

In this paper, The GARCH (1,1)  model is presented and some results for the existence and uniqueness outlined. Other extensions of the GARCH model including EGARCH, PARCH and TARCH models were presented. The daily stock price of Dangote Cement (Dangocem) was used to test the performance of the above named models with respect to some stylized facts of volatility of financial data: fat tail, volatility clustering, volatility persistence, mean reversion and leverage effect. The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), Schwarz Information Criterion (SIC) and the Hannan-Quinn criterion (HQ) were used to rate the performance of the models. The results show that the return series are stationary. The summary statistics showed that the return series has a fat tail. From the Q-Q plot, it was seen that the assumption of normality was spurious. The parameter estimation result showed that the volatility of the return series has the mean reversion property.. News impact was asymmetric and there is the presence of leverage effect. It was also seen that the volatility process was driven more by negative innovation. Overall the GARCH(1,1) and the TARCH model outperform the other model

A critical evaluation of the prospects for a transition towards ocean based renewable energy development in Nigeria.

The move towards addressing two pertinent energy challenges that is access to electricity and climate change has seen the transition towards sustainable forms of energy including Ocean Based Renewable Energy (OBRE). However, much work remains to be done in understanding the critical success factors that could enable such potential transition, especially in the area of OBRE electricity generation. This research addresses this concern by drawing on transition theory and frameworks to critically evaluate the prospects towards OBRE development in Nigeria. The rationale for the study stems from issues around the inadequate supply of electricity, which has become a profound concern and, where its absence is mostly observed in rural and remote areas including coastal communities. Based on an interpretative philosophical stance, the study adopted a qualitative approach for conducting the research. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from twenty-seven research participants. The research findings revealed that there is scope for transitioning towards OBRE electricity generation. However, this potential may be hindered by key features of the incumbent socio-technical regime: inconsistency of statements in formal policy documents; unclear institutional arrangements to foster renewable energy development; and lack of regulatory and market support mechanisms, which keep renewable energy development at the margins. Nevertheless, the study found certain perceived critical success factors that when considered could aid in facilitating OBRE development in Nigeria. These included, in particular, meaningful stakeholder engagement that aimed to harmonise the diverse interests of key actors and the role of adequate political governance to facilitate OBRE design and implementation. The research concludes by developing a conceptual intervention model called the OBRE Transition Model. This model argues that through more meaningful engagement with pertinent stakeholders and stronger political commitment, the prospect for a transition towards OBRE development in Nigeria could be accomplished. This thesis is the first of its kind to study the prospects for a transition towards OBRE innovation in West Africa. Additionally, the model that has been developed is now going to be corroborated in an OBRE project in Nigeria, thus, forming the evidence on the models potential applicability for future study

Growing as an Indonesian Ursuline Together with Muslim Friends

The author\u27s beautiful childhood experience in the dialogue of life, spiritual experience, and cooperation with Muslim friends became a strong foundation when choosing to live in a convent, where she must live 24 hours a day continuously with other Sisters of different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, and nationalities. Saint Angela\u27s charism of siete piazzevole, the twofold of love, and contemplation in action can be a strength in realizing the Ursuline Mission to engage in dialogue to find new breakthroughs that can make us neighbors to others

A critical evaluation of the role of human resources in the transition towards sustainable business practices in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.

Heightened pressure on those organisations that are to be held accountable for the impact of their processes on the societies and the environment in which they operate has resulted in sustainable business practices (SBPs) becoming a major area of focus in sustainability debates. Amidst growing research into various ways of achieving SBPs within organisations, relatively little consideration has been given to what role (if any) Human Resources (HR) can play in the transition towards SBPs implementation. This study addresses that concern by focusing on the understanding of HR's current involvement in sustainability from an organisational context, and their potential role(s) in supporting the transition towards SBPs implementation in oil and gas organisations in Nigeria. The oil and gas industry in Nigeria - an important case in the sustainability discourse, given their business activities have a high-level impact on the environment and the communities in which they operate - is utilised as a case study. In the process of exploring the issue of SBPs within the oil and gas industry in Nigeria, this research takes a multidisciplinary approach to provide a holistic view of the understanding of how such practices are undertaken. The arguments of this research are therefore supported by viewpoints from the perspectives of ennvironmental science, management and sociology. An initial pilot questionnaire survey, focusing on Nigeria and the UK, was conducted to explore the level of knowledge about sustainability within the oil and gas industry among HR personnel. This was then followed by 18 semi-structured interviews, which were conducted across two data collection exercises in Nigeria. The data were analysed using thematic coding. Data were obtained using a qualitative approach due to the explorative nature of the research questions and the need to provide a comprehensive view of the research context. The sociology of organisation theory was used to underpin the study. Some of the research findings include: a) respondents had different perspectives of SBPs / sustainability and this can influence action taken with regards to SBPs implementation; b) the dynamics within the Nigerian oil and gas industry are complex, and HR need to be aware of this; c) there are three major actors within the industry, whose actions can either enable or hinder SBPs implementation; d) data indicate that HR appear to have a vital role to play in the sustainability discourse and in the transition towards SBPs implementation in Nigeria; e) there is currently no HR function focused on sustainability in Nigerian oil and gas organisations. A conceptual model – HR sustainability model – was developed from the results of the research, intended as a guide for HR professionals in supporting their organisation in transitioning towards SBPs implementation. Finally, this research contributes to the scarce (but growing) literature on sustainability in organisations through the lens of HR, by supporting the acceleration of SBPs implementation in oil and gas organisations

Phytochemistry, and Effects of Telfairia occidentalis Leaf Extracts on the Growth and Haematological Properties of Wistar Albino Rats

Standard protocols were used to assess the biochemistry, phytochemistry, and effects of Telfairia occidentalis leaf extracts on the growth and haematological parameters of wistar albino rats. Results revealed ascorbic acid and chlorophyll contents of 158.2+0.7mg/100g and 5.8+0.1mg/100g respectively in fresh leaf samples, while plant extracts contained abundant Tannin, Cardiac glucoside and Flavonoids with moderate amounts of Alkaloid, Saponin and Terpene. Acute toxicity of extracts determined by administering crude ethnaolic extracts intraperitoneally to rats at a dose range of 200mg/kg-1000mg/kg revealed an LD50 of 480 mg/kg. Three fractions (nhexane, ethylacetate and n-butanol) were obtained and screened for rat growth promoting potentials. Results of weight, water intake and feed consumption revealed a net gain of 57.7g (22%) and 30.4g (11%) in weight; increased water intake of 3.9ml (19.7%) and 1.3ml (17%) and increased feed consumption of 1.5g (12.9%) and 1.3g (11.6%) in rats after 28 days treatment with n-butanol and ethylacetate fractions respectively. Studies of haematological potentials of n-butanol fraction of T. occidentalis leaf extracts showed significant (P<0.05) increase in Red Blood cells level (6.19+0.20x106/L), Haemoglobin (18.36+0.84g/dL) and platelet counts (747.33+2.03x103/mL). When compared to other fractions, the butanol fraction had the highest haematological activity, and additional analysis suggested that the bioactive molecule B2b may be responsible for this. The findings suggest that butanol fraction B2b is a safe and potent hematinic capable of alleviating anemic conditions, and they also confirm the use of T. occidentalis leaf decoction in traditional medicine for the treatment of anemia and other blood-related disorders, suggesting that it could be prescribed as an adjunct to dietary and main anemia therapy