Is Chytridiomycosis an Emerging Infectious Disease in Asia?

The disease chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has caused dramatic amphibian population declines and extinctions in Australia, Central and North America, and Europe. Bd is associated with >200 species extinctions of amphibians, but not all species that become infected are susceptible to the disease. Specifically, Bd has rapidly emerged in some areas of the world, such as in Australia, USA, and throughout Central and South America, causing population and species collapse. The mechanism behind the rapid global emergence of the disease is poorly understood, in part due to an incomplete picture of the global distribution of Bd. At present, there is a considerable amount of geographic bias in survey effort for Bd, with Asia being the most neglected continent. To date, Bd surveys have been published for few Asian countries, and infected amphibians have been reported only from Indonesia, South Korea, China and Japan. Thus far, there have been no substantiated reports of enigmatic or suspected disease-caused population declines of the kind that has been attributed to Bd in other areas. In order to gain a more detailed picture of the distribution of Bd in Asia, we undertook a widespread, opportunistic survey of over 3,000 amphibians for Bd throughout Asia and adjoining Papua New Guinea. Survey sites spanned 15 countries, approximately 36° latitude, 111° longitude, and over 2000 m in elevation. Bd prevalence was very low throughout our survey area (2.35% overall) and infected animals were not clumped as would be expected in epizootic events. This suggests that Bd is either newly emerging in Asia, endemic at low prevalence, or that some other ecological factor is preventing Bd from fully invading Asian amphibians. The current observed pattern in Asia differs from that in many other parts of the world

Ograniczanie ryzyka zakłóceń dostaw : studium przypadku firmy motoryzacyjnej

Disruption in material supply poses a potential threat to production plans and has significant financial and non-financial implications. Studies that examine the use of logistics processes at firm-specific level in mitigating supply disruption risk particularly in the automotive industry, and remain limited. Hence, this study aims to provide additional insights on how logistics processes, both internal and external, contribute towards mitigating material supply disruption risks. A qualitative in-depth single case study method was conducted in a selected automotive manufacturing company with data collected using multiple sources of evidence. Findings revealed that while the internal logistics processes are facilitated with logistics intermediaries (LIs), the external logistics processes are supported via third-party logistics providers. Both internal and external logistics processes improve operational supply chain performance in terms of cost savings, quality, speed and flexibility. The findings further provide additional references to supply chain managers in devising supply disruption mitigation strategies for enhancing operational performance.Zakłócenia w dostawach materiałów stanowią potencjalne zagrożenie nie tylko dla planów produkcyjnych, ale mają również istotne konsekwencje finansowe i pozafinansowe. Badania, które analizują wykorzystanie procesów logistycznych na poziomie firmy w celu łagodzenia ryzyka zakłóceń w dostawach, szczególnie w przemyśle motoryzacyjnym, są nadal ograniczone. W związku z tym niniejsze badanie ma na celu dostarczenie dodatkowych informacji na temat tego, jak procesy logistyczne, zarówno wewnętrzne, jak i zewnętrzne, przyczyniają się do łagodzenia ryzyka zakłóceń w dostawach materiałów. Jakościowa, pogłębiona metoda pojedynczego studium przypadku została przeprowadzona w wybranej firmie motoryzacyjnej z danymi zebranymi przy użyciu wielu źródeł dowodów. Wyniki ujawniły, że podczas gdy wewnętrzne procesy logistyczne są wspomagane przez pośredników logistycznych (LI), zewnętrzne procesy logistyczne są obsługiwane przez zewnętrznych dostawców logistycznych. Zarówno wewnętrzne, jak i zewnętrzne procesy logistyczne poprawiają wydajność operacyjnego łańcucha dostaw pod względem oszczędności kosztów, jakości, szybkości i elastyczności. Odkrycia zawierają ponadto dodatkowe odniesienia do menedżerów łańcucha dostaw przy opracowywaniu strategii łagodzenia zakłóceń w dostawach w celu zwiększenia wydajności operacyjnej

Impacts of climate change on the amphibians and reptiles of Southeast Asia

10.1007/s10531-010-9782-4Biodiversity and Conservation1941043-1062BONS