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Mobility in an immobile world-Forensic science students on virtual mobility programs during the Covid-19 pandemic: Transitioning to online learning, lessons learnt and ways forward
No full textCanary in the coal mine: Lessons from the Jarrah Forest suggest long-term negative effects of phosphorus fertilizer on biodiverse restoration after surface mining
Get PDFDespite nutrient enrichment having widely reported negative impacts on biodiversity, fertilizer is routinely applied in post mining restoration to enhance plant growth and establishment. Focusing on surface mine restoration (predominately bauxite and mineral sands), we outline the long-term negative impacts of fertilizer, particularly phosphorus fertilizer, on plant community composition, species richness, fire fuel loads, and belowground impacts on nutrient-cycling. We draw from extensive research in south-western Australia and further afield, noting the geographical coincidence of surface mining, phosphorus impoverished soil and high plant biodiversity. We highlight the trade-offs between rapid plant-growth under fertilisation and the longer-term effects on plant communities and diversity. We note that the initial growth benefits of fertilisation may not persist in water-limited environments: growth of unfertilised forests can eventually match that of fertilised forest, throwing doubt on the premise that fertilisation is necessary at all
Home range and movement patterns of reintroduced white lions (Panthera leo melanochaita) in the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve, South Africa
Get PDFWhite lions are a colour variant of the African lion Panthera leo melanochaita and disappeared from the wild due to anthropogenic factors until their reintroduction to the Greater Kruger Park Region of South Africa in 2006. Natural home range behaviour is an index of reintroduction success. Therefore, the home range and movement of a pride of reintroduced white lions and a constructed pride consisting of reintroduced white lions and translocated wild tawny lionesses in small, fenced reserves was assessed. GPS data from collared adults were collected for the white lion pride between 2010–2011 and 2018–2020 for the constructed pride. Home ranges were estimated using kernel density estimation and minimum convex polygon, with minimum daily distance tested for differences between sex, season, and pride. Home ranges were small and average daily movements restricted for both prides (white lion pride: 5.41 km2 and 10.44 ± 4.82 km; constructed pride: 5.50 km2, 11.37 ± 4.72 km) due to the small reserve size of 7 km2. There was no difference between prides for annual and seasonal home range size, male and female home ranges, minimum daily distance travelled, or habitat selection. White lions from both prides established territories and displayed natural home ranging behaviour, suggesting that their reintroduction was successful, in the absence of anthropogenic threats
An unsolved case in a culturally diverse community in Italy
Get PDFThe number of foreign citizens resident in Italy is approximately 5 million, making them the 8.7% of the resident population of the country. However, over the past 20 years, foreign citizens accounted for 24% of the total number of defendants involved in homicides, especially associated with robbery, disputes and assaults, generally connected to prostitution. Investigations of cases in the context of culturally diverse or minority communities can be particularly complex. This is due to the education, the cultural background and the cohesiveness of the community, alongside a negative view of law enforcement. These factors determine a relatively low resolution rate of these violent crimes in these communities.
The investigation of the suspicious death of an Indian citizen living in Italy is presented in this paper. The body was discovered in a cattle shed, and despite the initial assumption of an accidental death, the cranial lesions were not consistent with the view that the death was caused by a kick by a cow. The results of a multidisciplinary analysis, including imaging, pathology, toxicology and veterinary forensics, were directed towards a homicide, with the manner of death ultimately filed as undetermined. During the course of the investigation, the collaboration between law enforcement and the community was thwart with difficulty, and as a consequence this case is currently unsolved. In order for law enforcement to continue to play a constructive and supportive role, it is imperative that every country invest in civil education of local population and of any ethnic groups, minorities and culturally diverse people
Impact on plant productivity under low-fertility sandy soil in arid environment by revitalization of lentil roots
Get PDFLentil is one of the essential legume crops, which provides protein for humans and animals. This legume can improve soil fertility through nitrogen fixation, which is imperative in low-fertility soils. The growth and productivity of lentil could be enhanced through improving nutrition and root revitalization. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the impact of root activator (RA) and phosphorus (P) application on morphological, physiological, agronomic, and quality traits of lentil under newly reclaimed low-fertility sandy soil in an arid environment. The RA was applied at four levels of 0 (RA0-untreated control), 1.25 (RA1), 2.5 (RA2), and 3.75 (RA3) l ha–1. RA contained 9% potassium humate, 1,600 ppm indole butyric acid, 200 ppm gibberellic acid, and 200 ppm naphthalene acetic acid. The recommended rate of phosphorus (P) fertilization in the newly reclaimed low-fertility sandy soil (75 kg P2O5 ha–1) was applied, and its amount was increased and decreased by 25 kg P2O5 ha–1 vs. non-added control. Thus, P rates were applied at four rates 0 (P0; control), 50 (P1), 75 (P2), and 100 (P3) kg phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) ha–1. Our results revealed that treated lentil plants with the high levels of both treatments (RA3 and P3) exhibited superiority in root measurements (root length, total number of nodules plant−1, number of active nodules plant−1, dry weights of active nodules, and total root), nitrogenase activity, chlorophyll a and b, carotenoids, yield traits, and seed proteins and carbohydrates. However, the recommended P level (75 kg P2O5 ha–1, P2) under the high level of RA (3.75 l ha–1, RA3) displayed non-significant differences in yield traits (plant height, 1,000-seed weight, seed yield ha–1) and quality traits (protein and carbohydrate) with the high P level (100 kg P2O5 ha–1, P3). Accordingly, its recommended economically and environmentally to use this coapplication of RA3 and P3 in low-fertility soil for better lentil growth, and seed yield and quality
Inhibition of microbial pathogens in farmed fish
No full textAquaculture, also known as aqua farming, is defined as farming fish, crustaceans, mollusks, aquatic plants, algae, and other marine organisms. It includes cultivating fresh- and saltwater populations under controlled conditions compared to commercial fishing or wild fish harvesting. Worldwide, carp, salmon, tilapia, and catfish are the most common fish species used in fish farming in descending order. Disinfectants prevent and/or treat different infections in aquatic animals. The current review indicates the uses of different disinfectants against some important pathogens in aquaculture, with particular reference to tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) farming. A single review cannot cover all aspects of disinfection throughout aquaculture, so the procedures and principles of disinfection in tilapia farming/aquaculture have been chosen for illustration purposes
Sequential extraction of proanthocyanidin fractions from Ficus species and their effects on rumen enzyme activities in vitro
Get PDFThree proanthocyanidin fractions per species were sequentially extracted by 50% (v/v) methanol–water, 70% (v/v) acetone–water, and distilled water from leaves of Ficus racemosa (fractions FR) and F. religiosa (fractions FRL) to yield fractions FR-50, FR-70, FR-DW, FRL-50, FRL-70, and FRL-DW. Fractions were examined for their molecular structure, effect on ruminal enzyme activities, and principal leaf protein (Rubisco) solubilization in vitro. All fractions except FRL-70 contained flavonoids including (+) catechin, (−) epicatechin, (+) gallocatechin, (−) epigallocatechin, and their -4-phloroglucinol adducts. The fractions FRL-50 and FRL-DW significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited the activity of ruminal glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase and glutamic pyruvic transaminase. All fractions inhibited glutamate dehydrogenase activity (p < 0.05) with increasing concentration, while protease activity decreased 15–18% with increasing concentrations. Fractions FRL-50 and FRL-DW completely inhibited the activity of cellulase enzymes. Solubilization of Rubisco was higher in F. religiosa (22.36 ± 1.24%) and F. racemosa (17.26 ± 0.61%) than that of wheat straw (WS) (8.95 ± 0.95%) and berseem hay (BH) (3.04 ± 0.08%). A significant (p < 0.05) increase in protein solubilization was observed when WS and BH were supplemented with FR and FRL leaves at different proportions. The efficiency of microbial protein was significantly (p < 0.05) greater in diets consisting of WS and BH with supplementation of F. racemosa leaves in comparison to those supplemented with F. religiosa leaves. The overall conclusion is that the fractions extracted from F. religiosa showed greater inhibitory effects on rumen enzymes and recorded higher protein solubilization in comparison to the F. racemosa. Thus, PAs from F. religiosa are potential candidates to manipulate rumen enzymes activities for efficient utilization of protein and fiber in ruminants
Effectiveness of federated learning and CNN ensemble architectures for identifying brain tumors using MRI images
No full textMedical institutions often revoke data access due to the privacy concern of patients. Federated Learning (FL) is a collaborative learning paradigm that can generate an unbiased global model based on collecting updates from local models trained by client’s data while keeping the local data private. This study aims to address the centralized data collection issue through the application of FL on brain tumor identification from MRI images. At first, several CNN models were trained using the MRI data and the best three performing CNN models were selected to form different variants of ensemble classifiers. Afterward, the FL model was constructed using the ensemble architecture. It was trained using model weights from the local model without sharing the client’s data (MRI images) using the FL approach. Experimental results show only a slight decline in the performance of the FL approach as it achieved 91.05% accuracy compared to the 96.68% accuracy of the base ensemble model. Additionally, same approach was taken for another slightly larger dataset to prove the scalability of the method. This study shows that the FL approach can achieve privacy-protected tumor classification from MRI images without compromising much accuracy compared to the traditional deep learning approach
Characterization of blaNDM-5-and blaCTX-M-199-producing ST167 Escherichia coli Isolated from shared bikes
Get PDFShared bikes as a public transport provide convenience for short-distance travel. Whilst they also act as a potential vector for antimicrobial resistant (AR) bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). However, the understanding of the whole genome sequence of AR strains and ARGs-carrying plasmids collected from shared bikes is still lacking. Here, we used the HiSeq platform to sequence and analyze 24 Escherichia coli isolated from shared bikes around Metro Stations in Beijing. The isolates from shared bikes showed 14 STs and various genotypes. Two blaNDM-5 and blaCTX-M-199-producing ST167 E. coli have 16 resistance genes, four plasmid types and show >95% of similarities in core genomes compared with the ST167 E. coli strains from different origins. The blaNDM-5- or blaCTX-M-199-carrying plasmids sequencing by Nanopore were compared to plasmids with blaNDM-5- or blaCTX-M-199 originated from humans and animals. These two ST167 E. coli show high similarities in core genomes and the plasmid profiles with strains from hospital inpatients and farm animals. Our study indicated that ST167 E. coli is retained in diverse environments and carried with various plasmids. The analysis of strains such as ST167 can provide useful information for preventing or controlling the spread of AR bacteria between animals, humans and environments
Carbon management accounting (CMA) practices in Australia’s high carbon-emission industries
No full textPurpose
This study aims to evaluate the practices of carbon management accounting (CMA) made by companies committed to sustainability in Australia’s four highest carbon-emitting industries, including electricity, transport, stationary energy and agriculture. The evaluation covers three CMA phases (i.e. data collection, interpretation and reporting).
Design/methodology/approach
This is a cross-sectional study using descriptive research. Data was collected using a questionnaire primarily derived from Burritt et al.’s (2002, 2011) CMA framework and suggestions from other references. The questionnaire includes a set of closed- and open-ended questions. Data was collected from 39 senior managers in the selected industries with direct knowledge and experience in their companies’ CMA practices.
Findings
The respondents disclose numerous different motivations for their companies to practise CMA and various ways of practising their CMA. This reflects diverse industry practices due to the absence of a generally accepted standard and different stages of organisational learning. The findings also show that the respondents perceived CMA practices as essential to enhancing their companies’ sustainability performance and overall reputation. However, the majority of the respondents showed little appetite for carbon emission disclosure.
Practical implications
The findings thoroughly describe the current CMA practices by companies committed to sustainability in Australia’s high carbon-emitting industries. Overall, the results show that while the respondents perceived CMA practices as essential for their companies’ sustainability performance and energy-saving, the CMA applications were inconsistent, along with some concerning results, such as a lack of assurance and accountability in the data validation and audit. These indicate the importance of policymakers to consider establishing CMA guidelines or standards to improve its practice. For any company, these findings can be used as learning materials to start or enhance CMA practice at their companies. A broader professional CMA community can strengthen the collective efforts to make CMA more robust.
Social implications
The findings portray the perceptions of practitioners from Australia’s four highest carbon-emitting industries, indicating motivations to use CMA to understand their companies’ carbon footprint and reduce their companies’ environmental impacts.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to the limited literature in this area and offer several valuable insights regarding the current practice of CMA in Australia, focussing on high carbon-emission industries. It also encourages more research in this area using data from other industries or countries to develop comparative results and strengthen the literature. Future research using actual carbon emission information or a longitudinal approach could also evaluate the changes and progresses in CMA practices