Identification and Characterisation of Novel Phages of Pectobacterium and Erwinia

Losses in crop yields due to disease need to be reduced to meet increasing global food demands associated with growth in the human population. There is a well-recognised need to develop new environmentally-friendly control strategies to combat bacterial crop diseases. There are several crop diseases for which no effective bactericidal agents are currently available, such as potato blackleg and soft rot disease caused by Pectobacterium atrosepticum and other members of soft rot Enterobacteriaceae (Czajkowski et al., 2011). Furthermore, current control measures involving the use of traditional chemicals or antibiotics are losing their efficacy due to the natural development of bacterial resistance to these agents, as seen for fire blight of the pear and apple tree caused by Erwinia amylovora (de León Door et al., 2013; Mayerhofer et al., 2009; Ordax et al., 2006; Russo et al., 2008). Bacteriophages (phage), the viruses of bacteria, have received increased research interest in recent years as an environmentally friendly means of controlling bacterial diseases. However, not all phages possess the features that would enable them to be effective bactericidal agents. To this end, this thesis provides a detailed study of phages that infect Pectobacterium atrosepticum and Erwinia amylovora. The knowledge gained in the execution of this PhD thesis contributes to the pool knowledge about the lifestyles of the phages examined thus enabling a more informed choice with regard to the selection of suitable phages for biocontrol applications for the relevant phytopathogens

Is There Sufficient Guidance to Detect, and Obtain a Conviction for, Occupational Fraud in Ireland?

There has been an increased focus in the Irish media on fraud, particularly since the collapse of Anglo Irish Bank in 2007. There has however been little academic research undertaken into occupational fraud in Ireland. This study will examine whether or not the current guidance to detect and convict occupational fraud in Ireland is sufficient. This study achieves its objective by examining the content of press articles reporting thirty-five occupational fraud cases convicted in Ireland in the period 2002 to 2013. It categorises the content of the articles using a framework developed by Cohen et al. (2010), which combines the Fraud Triangle (FT) with the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). It then uses qualitative and quantitative analysis to determine if these aspects of fraud are present in the relevant auditing standard (ISA 240: The auditor’s responsibilities relating to fraud in an audit of financial statements). This study found ISA 240 sufficient in its coverage of the ‘opportunity’ to commit fraud, but insufficient in its coverage of the ‘incentive/pressure’ and ‘attitude/rationalisation’ elements to commit fraud. It suggests the addition of lavish lifestyle, greed, pressure from criminals, depression, concern for others and paying back for previous fraud to the examples of ‘incentive/pressure’ in the audit standard. It suggests the addition of sense of entitlement, no apparent regard for the crime, complicity in undertaking a fraud, weak personality, lack of business knowledge, looking out for the good of the company, charitable actions for the good of others and paying back for previous frauds to the examples of ‘attitude/rationalisation’ in the audit standard. Undeniably, it would be impossible to provide an exhaustive list of all circumstances under which fraud is undertaken; however by including the examples of frauds compiled in this study, further guidance can be provided to auditors. The inadequacy of the auditing standard is not the only reason why the number of convictions for occupational fraud is low. This study finds the multifarious methods of committing fraud, the status of the fraudster, difficulties in detecting fraud, advances in technology, law and auditing standards not keeping pace, reluctance by organisations to report fraud, and the fact that predatory fraudsters target organisations and therefore not all frauds are accidental, as factors keeping the conviction rate for occupational fraud so low in Ireland. It is important that the professional standards and the resources of those charged with detecting and prosecuting fraud in Ireland be strengthened to give further confidence in the prevention, detection, and conviction of fraud. This should lead to a reduction in the effects of fraud in organisations and in wider society

Industrial Warehouse Rent Determinants in the Dallas/Fort Worth Area

This paper presents the first empirical analysis of the determinants of pooled variation in industrial warehouse rents. It examines industrial warehouse rents using data for seventeen quarterly periods in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. M/PF Research Inc. provided the data. A random effects model is used to estimate the relationship between market rents for industrial properties and various independent variables. Rent per square foot is positively related to the number of grade high doors, and the annual change in net employment. Rent per square foot is negatively effected by ceiling height, percentage of office space, building age, and the presence of a sprinkler system. The results indicate that rents are significantly impacted by physical characteristics, location, and general market conditions. Additionally, there is evidence to suggest that the relationship between physical characteristics and rents is nonlinear.

The Chinese Housing Provident Fund

The Chinese government has embarked upon an effort to reduce the number of tenants living in publicly owned housing. This is a significant challenge for any government, but may be especially so for a country where private homeownership is a new option. Out of concern that many of its citizens could not afford to purchase their housing units, the Chinese government created the Housing Provident Fund. This program, which is similar to housing fund programs in other countries such as Thailand and Singapore, combines a 401(k)-like savings and retirement account with subsidized mortgage rates and price discounts to provide a mechanism through which an employee could save for, and eventually complete, a housing purchase.

Thomas U. P. Charlton

Thomas Usher Pulanski Charlton was born in Camden, Kershaw County, South Carolina in November of 1779. His family was quite prominent among the political circles of the time. Thomas U. P.’s father was Dr. Thomas Charlton, a native of Maryland. Dr Charlton had married Lucy Kenan of North Carolina. After migrating south, Dr. Charlton join the Revolutionary Army of South Carolina in 1775.He served as a surgeon and held the rank of lieutenant. Dr. Charlton was subsequently elected to and served in the South Carolina State Legislature. He died sometime in the vicinity of 1789.https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sav-bios-lane/1035/thumbnail.jp

Bacteriophages and bacterial plant diseases

Losses in crop yields due to disease need to be reduced in order to meet increasing global food demands associated with growth in the human population. There is a well-recognized need to develop new environmentally friendly control strategies to combat bacterial crop disease. Current control measures involving the use of traditional chemicals or antibiotics are losing their efficacy due to the natural development of bacterial resistance to these agents. In addition, there is an increasing awareness that their use is environmentally unfriendly. Bacteriophages, the viruses of bacteria, have received increased research interest in recent years as a realistic environmentally friendly means of controlling bacterial diseases. Their use presents a viable control measure for a number of destructive bacterial crop diseases, with some phage-based products already becoming available on the market. Phage biocontrol possesses advantages over chemical controls in that tailor-made phage cocktails can be adapted to target specific disease-causing bacteria. Unlike chemical control measures, phage mixtures can be easily adapted for bacterial resistance which may develop over time. In this review, we will examine the progress and challenges for phage-based disease biocontrol in food crops

Genome Sequence of Jumbo Phage vB_AbaM_ME3 of Acinetobacter baumanni

Bacteriophage (phage) vB_AbaM_ME3 was previously isolated from wastewater effluent using the propagating host Acinetobacter baumannii DSM 30007. The full genome was sequenced, revealing it to be the largest Acinetobacter bacteriophage sequenced to date with a size of 234,900 bp and containing 326 open reading frames (ORFs)

Pectobacterium atrosepticum phage vB_PatP_CB5: A member of the proposed genus ‘Phimunavirus’

© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Pectobacterium atrosepticum is a phytopathogen of economic importance as it is the causative agent of potato blackleg and soft rot. Here we describe the Pectobacterium phage vB_PatP_CB5 (abbreviated as CB5), which specifically infects the bacterium. The bacteriophage is characterized in detail and TEM micrographs indicate that it belongs to the Podoviridae family. CB5 shares significant pairwise nucleotide identity (≥80%) with P. atrosepticum phages 'M1, Peat1, and PP90 and also shares common genome organization. Phylograms constructed using conserved proteins and whole-genome comparison-based amino acid sequences show that these phages form a distinct clade within the Autographivirinae. They also possess conserved RNA polymerase recognition and specificity loop sequences. Their lysis cassette resembles that of KP34virus, containing in sequential order a U-spanin, a holin, and a signal–arrest–release (SAR) endolysin. However, they share low pairwise nucleotide identity with the type phage of the KP34virus genus, Klebsiella phage KP34. In addition, phage KP34 does not possess several conserved proteins associated with these P. atrosepticum phages. As such, we propose the allocation of phages CB5, Peat1, 'M1, and PP90 to a separate new genus designated Phimunavirus