Determining the Metabolic Footprints of Hydrocarbon Degradation Using Multivariate Analysis

The functional dynamics of microbial communities are largely responsible for the clean-up of hydrocarbons in the environment. However, knowledge of the distinguishing functional genes, known as the metabolic footprint, present in hydrocarbon-impacted si

SHORT COMMUNICATION: HYDROCARBON ACCUMULATION AND DISCHARGE BY THE CRAYFISH IN SOME RIVERS OF LAGOS, NIGERIA

Crayfishes exposed to 14C-naphthalene-5% of an aqueous fraction of crude oil in open non-aerated glass jars for 4 h at 25 0C showed no significant differences (P > 0.25) in the amount of naphthalene uptake. Different parts of the crayfishes were quantified for naphthalene uptake and cephalothorax containing hepatopancreas (a food absorption organ) was found to have greater uptake than the tail flesh or tail skeleton. Release of the oil from the crayfishes that were exposed for 1, 2, 3 or 4 h and later placed in open non-aerated jars containing oil-free water showed greater loss of most of the 14C activity during the first 24 h, there was little losses at 48, 72 and 96 h. There was significant volatilization (P < 0.04) of 14C-naphthalene in a 5% of crude oil placed in open, non-aerated, oil-free glass jars for 24 h at 25 0C. (Received May 2, 2001; revised October 19, 2001) Bull.Chem.Soc.Ethiop. 2001, 15(2), 167-17

Pollution risk and life insurance decisions: microgeographic evidence from the United Kingdom

Recent research documents that exposure to air pollution can trigger various behavioral reactions. This article presents novel empirical evidence on the causal effect of pollution risk on life insurance decisions. We create a unique dataset by linking microgeographic air quality information to the confidential UK Wealth and Assets Survey. We identify an inverse N-shape relationship between pollution risk and life insurance adoption by exploiting the orthogonal variations in meteorological conditions. Over a given range above a threshold of exposure, rising pollution is associated with rising demand for life insurance, whereas at lower than the threshold levels of pollution, higher exposure risk reduces demand for insurance. Our findings indicate—for the first time—a nonlinear relationship between local pollution risk and life insurance demand

The impact of firm technology on carbon disclosure: the critical role of stakeholder pressure

The demand for transparency about the microeconomic sources of environmental pollution has surged recently, causing carbon disclosure to rise to the top of the global climate change discourse. In this study, we empirically investigate how the environmental performance of firm production technologies shapes their voluntary carbon disclosure behaviour and how key stakeholders influence the performance-disclosure relationship. Using a panel of 1,547 firms across 24 countries covering 2006–20, we find that firms with the most efficient technologies for reducing emissions tend to disclose their carbon impact, especially when they face more stringent environmental regulations. These high-performing firms demonstrate a tendency for non-disclosure when faced with intense shareholder and environmental activist pushback against pollution. Our findings also highlight the existence of a profitability penalty for transparent high-efficiency firms relative to comparable firms that adopt strategic silence

Effects of a Customized Professionalism Educational Intervention on Physical Therapists’ Knowledge and Attributes of Professionalism

Purpose: There is a growing call around the world to include professionalism in the entry-level education of physical therapists and to teach professionalism as a continuing education professional development workshop for practicing physical therapists. Unfortunately, there is currently no empirical evidence to support the use of didactic instruction to effectuate a change in the knowledge and attributes of professionalism. This study evaluated the effects of a customized professionalism educational intervention on physical therapists’ knowledge and attributes of professionalism. Methods: A quasi-experimental research was conducted among 47 Nigerian physical therapists (Mean age = 41 ± 10.1 years). The educational intervention consisted of a 3-hour classroom lecture and five case studies on professionalism. The impact of the intervention was evaluated by a Professionalism Inventory that assesses the level of knowledge and attributes of professionalism - clinical competence, a spirit of inquiry, accountability, autonomy, advocacy, innovation and visionary, collegiality and collaboration, and ethics and value. Results: Post intervention, the physical therapist\u27s aggregate knowledge of professionalism score improved significantly from 69% to 77% performance level (t = 2.340; p \u3c 0.05). On the contrary, there was no significant difference in the aggregate attributes of professionalism score following the intervention (t = 1.396, p \u3e 0.05). Although the improvement observed in the aggregate attributes of professionalism score was not statistically significant, when the effects of the intervention were examined on the attributes of professionalism subscales, the results revealed that clinical competence, accountability, autonomy, innovation and visionary, and collaborating and collegiality improved significantly (p \u3c 0.05). The intervention was of small practical significance (Cohen d = .34 and .20 for knowledge and attributes of professionalism scores, respectively). Conclusions: It was inferred from the findings that a three-hour classroom instruction consisting of lectures and case studies presentation could improve the knowledge of professionalism of practicing physical therapists. A longer instructional period vis-à-vis mentoring and role modelling in the classroom may be needed to effectuate a practical change in professionalism

Readability, stability, and internal consistency of a new psychometric inventory on evidence-based practice in physiotherapy

Evidence-based practice (EBP) has, in the last decade, gained global prominence in health care professions because it provides the framework for lifelong and self-directed learning. These traits are crucial for the continued provision of quality health care. This study sets out to develop a culturally appropriate instrument to measure physiotherapists' knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors relative to the use of EBP and establish the instruments' psychometric properties. A 53-item EBP inventory that consisted of seven parts sociodemographic, EBP competence and behaviors, perceived knowledge of EBP, perceived skills and resources, attitudes about EBP, and barriers related to the use of EBP was created. Theinstrument was administered to 25 physiotherapists within a two-week interval on two occasions. The Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid scores for the instrument were 49.5 and 8.3, respectively. Its Cronbach alpha range from "fair" (0.333, p<.001) to "almost perfect" (0.837, p<.001). The test-retest (stability) scores for the instrument parts were significantly (?2 = 4.738, p<.038) different for only one (competence on EBP) of the seven factors. The overall findings revealed the instrument is relatively easy to comprehend, highly stable, and internally consistent. The availability of this instrument will promote further studies of EBP in physiotherapy

Next Generation Nanochitosan Applications in Animal Husbandry, Aquaculture and Food Conservation

Studies have identified the properties of enzymes, functionalized molecules, and compounds in food industry applications as edible coatings and encapsulations, that assure prolonged food quality and standards. These molecules present benefits of longer shelf-life by delayed deterioration and inhibition of the proliferation of spoilage and mycotoxigenic microorganisms. However, challenges of reduced nutrient levels, miniaturized size, and low chemical stability remain concerning. Chitosan polymers naturally formed from the deacetylation of shellfish shells and exoskeletons of aquatic arthropods and crustaceans offer improved benefits when functionalized into nanoparticles as nanochitosans. These polysaccharides produced by the alkalescent deacetylation of chitin, comprise a series of 2-deoxy-2 (acetylamino) glucose linked by ß-(1- 4) glycosidic linkages. This chapter considers the health impacts and microbiological health hazards associated with animal feeds quality and the enzyme immobilization potentials of nanochitosans in animalbased food and feed packages. Thereafter, nanochitosan properties and benefits are compared against traditional preservatives from microbes and plants; with highlights on current challenges in the application of nanochitosan for enzyme immobilization

Microbial diversity and activity in caves

In recent times, there have been renewed interests in cave ecosystems for both economic and scientific reasons. This is because caves can contain fossils, artifacts, Palaeolithic paintings, ancient markings in form of finger flutings and beautiful speleothems (mineral deposits). These features are attractive and their presence has led to an increase in the number of people visiting caves (tourism) with associated economic benefits to the cave management authorities and the communities in which these caves are located. Unfortunately some of these cave features are susceptible to microbial damage by indigenous and foreign microorganisms, with this risk being exacerbated by unregulated human visitation. Therefore understanding microbial diversity and activities in caves is essential for cave conservation, restoration, safe and sustainable cave tourism

Information asymmetry in voluntary environmental agreements (VEAs): theory and evidence from UK climate change agreements (CCAs)

Voluntary environmental agreements (VEAs) are often plagued by adverse selection problems, because the regulator has imperfect information about firm-specific production technologies and abatement costs. We explore this issue using the UK climate change agreement (CCA) as a case study. First, we present a theoretical emulation of the program. Second, we resolve the regulator’s asymmetric information problem by estimating unobserved energy efficiency using production theory. Third, we use microdata from three confidential manufacturing surveys to empirically test how limited information impacts resource allocation within the scheme. In line with the problem of limited information about firm production technologies, we find that firms with lower levels of energy efficiency receive higher CCA tax discounts. This finding holds over a range of robustness tests

Tolerance of selected plant species to petrogenic hydrocarbons and effect of plant rhizosphere on the microbial removal of hydrocarbons in contaminated soil

In this study, 11 plants (legumes, grasses, and crops) were screened for their ability to grow and survive in soil contaminated with 1 % diesel/oil mix (aliphatic hydrocarbons) or 1 % crude oil. Based on emergence, shoot length, root length, and root/shoot biomass ratio in contaminated soil, maize and wheat which showed the highest growth were selected for further investigation: a long-term phytoremediation study to evaluate the effect of maize and wheat on the microbial removal of hydrocarbons (1 % diesel/oil mix). The results showed that the presence of both maize and wheat in hydrocarboncontaminated soil led to a significant increase in the utilization of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), from 57 % in the control soil to 72 and 66 % in soil planted with maize and wheat, respectively. Microbial community analysis using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) showed that the presence of a plant rhizosphere resulted in changes in the structure of the soil microbial community. Sequencing of prominent bands revealed the presence of a few hydrocarbonoclastic fungi only in the contaminated soil planted with maize and wheat. In terms of specific hydrocarbonoclastic activity, DGGE analysis based on alkB genes showed that soils with maize and wheat had similar rates of hydrocarbonoclastic activity but distinct microbial communities in some instances. Most probable number quantitative polymerase chain reaction (MPN-qPCR) confirmed that the number of alkB gene copies in soil planted with maize and wheat increased about 20- and 16-fold, respectively, relative to the control soil. This study showed that fungal and alkB bacterial communities contribute to the rhizoremediation of petrogenic hydrocarbons