AUDITORS' INDEPENDENCE AND CORRUPTION ALLEVIATION IN THE NIGERIAN PUBLIC SERVICE

Corruption is the greatest enemy of the Nigerian state evidenced by the recent rating of the nation as most corrupt country in the world. The debilitating effect of corruption pervades the Nigerian public service which is the machinery of government for the delivery of public goods and social services to the populace. This situation seemingly continues unabated under the watchful eyes of external auditors saddled with the responsibility of reviewing the operations of public service agencies. In evaluating the culpability of external auditors, this study investigates the external auditors’ independence as a factor in combating corruption in Nigeria public service. Survey method was adopted to assess the four factors identified by the study that affect the independence posture of external auditors. The responses from the questionnaire were analyzed using the SPSS test of statistics. The result reveals that the independence status of external auditors in Nigeria is compromised in the four areas investigated: appointment, professional fees, arms-length and tenure. The study therefore recommended that external auditors should be appointed by the Nigerian supreme audit institution and their fees should be determined by the same institution to which they should also render the audit report and management letter directly.

Investigating Accuracy of Model Fit Indices in Multilevel Confirmatory Factor Analysis

This study examined the performance of various model fit indices in the context of multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA) to determine their robustness in this framework. As the interest in using MCFA techniques recently increased, applied researchers continue to face the challenge of evaluating model fit in this framework as no specific guidelines currently exist. Using a simulation study with a two-level CFA model, characteristics of the model were varied to reflect a broad range of conditions commonly found in applied studies. Five factors were manipulated, including item-level ICC, level-1 sample size, level-2 sample size, model size, and model misspecification. Average values of the fit indices obtained for the MCFA model were compared to traditional criteria for evaluation commonly used in the regular CFA framework. Findings showed that some fit indices (i.e., RMSEA, SRMR-W, AIC, BIC) performed well in the MCFA models under various conditions studied and could be trustworthy to use in this context to evaluate model fit under various conditions found in applied settings. However, the performance of other fit indices (i.e., CFI, TLI, SRMR-B, chi-square) varied by the factors included in this study and should be used with caution for evaluating model fit in the MCFA framework. The use of these fit indices appears to be particularly problematic when dealing with higher levels of ICC and small sample sizes. Recommendations for the use of model fit indices in the MCFA context were provided for applied researchers interested in this framework

Host carbon sources modulate cell wall architecture, drug resistance and virulence in a fungal pathogen

The survival of all microbes depends upon their ability to respond to environmental challenges. To establish infection, pathogens such as Candida albicans must mount effective stress responses to counter host defences while adapting to dynamic changes in nutrient status within host niches. Studies of C. albicans stress adaptation have generally been performed on glucose-grown cells, leaving the effects of alternative carbon sources upon stress resistance largely unexplored. We have shown that growth on alternative carbon sources, such as lactate, strongly influence the resistance of C. albicans to antifungal drugs, osmotic and cell wall stresses. Similar trends were observed in clinical isolates and other pathogenic Candida species. The increased stress resistance of C. albicans was not dependent on key stress (Hog1) and cell integrity (Mkc1) signalling pathways. Instead, increased stress resistance was promoted by major changes in the architecture and biophysical properties of the cell wall. Glucose- and lactate-grown cells displayed significant differences in cell wall mass, ultrastructure, elasticity and adhesion. Changes in carbon source also altered the virulence of C. albicans in models of systemic candidiasis and vaginitis, confirming the importance of alternative carbon sources within host niches during C. albicans infection

Water footprint assessment in North Eastern region of Romania: A case study for Iasi County, Romania

Many factors affect the water consumption pattern such as growing world population, climate changes, industrial and agricultural practices, etc. The present study provides for the first time a year-to-year analysis of water use for agricultural production, domestic water supply and industrial production from a hydrological, economical and ecological perspective in the NE region of Romania. Such an assessment can provide information to facilitate an efficient allocation of water resources to different economic and environmental demands. This assessment is also considering the general economic and social context of the Iasi county as an important area within north-eastern region of Romania. In the Iasi county, the green component takes the largest share in the total water footprint of crops because of the irrigation underdeveloped infrastructure, which makes the agricultural sector vulnerable to dry periods and floods as well. A monthly comparison between the blue water footprint and blue water availability shows that water scarcity varies greatly within the year, but also between years

Design topology of a remote-controlled bi-directional rotation of an A.C. fan with speed control

The use of remote control for alternating current fans in homes/offices is one of the applications of electronics that enhances human comfort. It should therefore not be seen as luxury, rather, it should be taken as a basic requirement of life. In this study, the bi-directional rotation and speed control of ac fan were achieved using ardiuno microcontroller and tuned capacitors circuit. The use of the new state-of- the art technique in this work is significant because it helped in over-coming the drawbacks associated with the use of inductive, resistive and phase angle controlled regulators. The significance of this study will be of great benefit to physically challenged and aged persons who need to have their comforts in their various places of sitting. The designed topology of the work was executed and achieved. Reliability test carried out on the finished work showed better efficiency

Constructing Robust Channel Structures by Packing Metallacalixarenes: Reversible Single-Crystal-to-Single-Crystal Dehydration

The self-assembly process involving the dianion of trimesic acid (Htrim2−) and {Cu(tmen)}2+ templating cations (tmen = N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine) affords a new metallacalixarene, [Cu4(tmen)4(Htrim)4]·nH2O. The packing of the cyclic molecules in the crystal generates channels that are filled by water molecules. The dehydration−rehydration process of the crystals was found to be reversible

Effective pressure interface law for transport phenomena between an unconfined fluid and a porous medium using homogenization

We present modeling of the incompressible viscous flows in the domain containing an unconfined fluid and a porous medium. For such setting a rigorous derivation of the Beavers-Joseph-Saffman interface condition was undertaken by J\"ager and Mikeli\'c [SIAM J. Appl. Math. \rm 60 (2000), p. 1111-1127] using the homogenization method. So far the interface law for the pressure was conceived and confirmed only numerically. In this article we justify rigorously the pressure jump condition using the corresponding boundary layer

Lactate signalling regulates fungal β-glucan masking and immune evasion

AJPB: This work was supported by the European Research Council (STRIFE, ERC- 2009-AdG-249793), The UK Medical Research Council (MR/M026663/1), the UK Biotechnology and Biological Research Council (BB/K017365/1), the Wellcome Trust (080088; 097377). ERB: This work was supported by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Research Council (BB/M014525/1). GMA: Supported by the CNPq-Brazil (Science without Borders fellowship 202976/2014-9). GDB: Wellcome Trust (102705). CAM: This work was supported by the UK Medical Research Council (G0400284). DMM: This work was supported by UK National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC/K000306/1). NARG/JW: Wellcome Trust (086827, 075470,101873) and Wellcome Trust Strategic Award in Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology (097377). ALL: This work was supported by the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology and the University of Aberdeen (MR/N006364/1).Peer reviewedPostprin