LIBRARIANS PERCEPTION OF BRING YOUR OWN DEVICE POLICIES: BENEFITS FOR UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is an initiative that permits library staff to use a personally owned device to perform official tasks and access electronic library information. The most frequently used personally owned devices are mobile phones, tablets, iPad and laptops. The practice of encouraging personally owned computing devices within professional organizations is becoming more and more acceptable, as this practice enables the organisation to transfer the investment costs of desktop hardware into their employees (Pillay, 2013). The university libraries are faced with difficult economic times and university budget cuts (Tenopir & Kaufman, 2010). Hence, BYOD encourages library staff to use their personal devices to carry out official tasks, this will reduce the cost of hardware purchase and maintenance. Despite the fact that university libraries are faced with budget cuts and BYOD has been reported in many organisations as one of the ways to reduce the cost of hardware purchase. It has been observed that university libraries in Nigeria have not yet fully adopt BYOD policies. It is on this background that this study investigates librarians perception of BYOD policies; identify perceived benefits and shortcomings of BYOD to University libraries in Nigeria. The specific objectives of this study are to find out the knowledge of BYOD among librarians, establish the availability of BYOD policies and perceived benefit of BYOD to the university libraries in Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design will be adopted for this study and a self-structured questionnaire will be used as the major instrument for data collection. The questionnaire will be distributed to the respondents during the Annual Nigerian Library Association Conference that will be held in July 2018 in Abeokuta, Ogun State Nigeria. The choice of administrating the questionnaire at this venue is due to the fact that this conference draws many participants from all the libraries in Nigeria. The target population of this study comprises all 152 and a simple random sampling technique will be used for sample size. The data collected for this study will be subjected to inferential and descriptive statistical analysis using percentage, frequency count, standard deviations and means. The data will be analyzed using SPSS version 22.Covenant Universit

First Description of Invertebrate Benthic Fauna in the Middle Zone of the Loa River (Chile)

Aquatic insect communities in inland waters of Chile are characterised by the presence of certain species depending on water quality, but there is little information on statistical ecology in the structure of insect communities. The aim of the present study was to apply null models to explain the structure of aquatic insects in the middle zone of the Loa River, in the Atacama Desert (Antofagasta Region, Chile; 23°S). The results of the null models of species co-occurrence showed that species associations are random, while niche sharing showed that species share ecological niches and consequently there is interspecific competition. The reported taxa are similar to communities for other North Patagonian rivers in terms of community structure

Distribution of radionuclides and assessment of risk exposure to the miners on a kaolin field

Mining of kaolin deposits are common in Nigeria without considering the background radiation in such environment and the health risks it might pose on the miners. In this study, in-situ measurements of the naturally occurring radionuclides were carried out with the aim of determining the distribution of these radionuclides on the mining field and estimation of the hazard indices exposure risks (γ- and α-radiation risks) to the miners. The study was achieved with the aid of gamma ray detector Super-Spec (RS-125) and global positioning system. The detector used has ability to measure activity concentrations of 238U, 232Th and 40K and gamma doses. For the purpose of this study, only the concentrations of the three radionuclides were considered. For each location, measurements were taken four times, while its mean value was estimated for better accuracy. In all, nineteen locations were occupied in order to cover the study area. Basic kriging method was adopted for the production of spatial distribution of these radionuclides and their corresponding γ- and α-radiation hazard indices. The mean values of 238U, 232Th and 40K are 46.7, 71.8 and 108.7 Bq kg-1 , respectively. When compared to the global standard, it was revealed that 238U and 232Th are greater than the global standard, while 40K fall below the permissible limit. The γ- and α-radiation exposure risks estimated revealed that the mean values of Iγ and Iα are 0.6 and 0.2 respectively. Though the estimated γ- and α-radiation indices showed that the kaolin field is safe for the miners, periodic check is required in order to monitor the rate at which these natural primordial radionuclides (238U and 232Th and their progenies) are being enhanced

Ecological structure of aquatic macroinvertebrate communities in the Hauts Plateaux of Northeast Algeria

Abstract Aquatic macroinvertebrates are integral parts of functioning wetlands, inhabiting a diversity of aquatic ecosystems where communities are spatially structured. Macroinvertebrates of some Mediterranean regions such as North Africa are still not well studied. Here, we study the community structure of benthic macroinvertebrates in four different types of lotic and lentic wetlands in the semiarid Haut Plateaux of Northeast Algeria. Macroinvertebrates and 06 physicochemical parameters were sampled in 12 sites belonging to four types of habitats (lotic river, lentic river, dams, and sebkha [saline lentic water body]) during January-December 2021. Eventually, the character lentic-lotic was the most important variable affecting the affecting invertebrate communities in the Mediterranean region. The results revealed that sebkha and dams had a lower Shannon index than lentic and lotic rivers. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis showed a strong overlap between the community composition in lotic and lentic sites . Howeverin the three types of aquatic groups lentic river, dam and lotic habitats showed a strong overlap between the community whereas sebkha was markedly separated. Redundancy analysis showed that water velocity and pH, were the main drivers of community structure of macroinvertebrates, revealed a strong effect with pH (F1,8=4.15, P = 0.001) and water velocity (F1,8= 3.22, P = 0.002) , separating lotic communities from those that inhabited dams, lentic rivers, and sebkhas. As conclusion, this study contributes to the better understanding of the community structure of macroinvertebrates in semiarid North Africa where wetlands have been experiencing high anthropogenic disturbance

STRATEGIES FOR THE PRESERVATION OF ELECTRONIC RECORDS IN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY STAFF IN NIGERIA

This study attempts an empirical investigation of strategies for the preservation of electronic records in university libraries in Nigeria. The main objective of this study is to ascertain the strategies used by the University libraries in Nigeria to preserve electronic records. The study employed descriptive research design. The population comprises one hundred and sixty nine (169) librarians from university libraries in Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used and the instrument for data collection is semistructured closed and open-ended questionnaire. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, charts with simple percentages. Statistical Package for Social Science version 22 are used for data analysis. The findings of the study revealed that (= 1.63±SD= 0.660) majority of university libraries in Nigeria do not have in place preservation strategies for electronic information records. 94.1% of librarians do not possess requites skills for preserving electronic information records. Lack of manpower and other infrastructure are identified as the major inhibiting factors (= 3.90±SD= 0.418). The study also found out that there is a significant relationship inhibiting factors of preservation and preservation strategies adopted by university library staff in Nigeria (r=-0.305, N= 169 and P< 0.01)

Exceptional eruptive CO2 emissions from intra-plate alkaline magmatism in the Canary volcanic archipelago

Alkaline mafic magmas forming intra-plate oceanic islands are believed to be strongly enriched in CO2 due to low-degree partial melting of enriched mantle sources. However, until now, such CO2 enhancement has not been verified by measuring CO2 degassing during a subaerial eruption. Here, we provide evidence of highly CO2-rich gas emissions during the 86-day 2021 Tajogaite eruption of Cumbre Vieja volcano on La Palma Island, in the Canary archipelago. Our results reveal sustained high plume CO2/SO2 ratios, which, when combined with SO2 fluxes, melt inclusion volatile contents and magma production rates at explosive and effusive vents, imply a magmatic CO2 content of 4.5 ± 1.5 wt%. The amount of CO2 released during the 2021 eruptive activity was 28 ± 14 Mt CO2. Extrapolating to the volume of alkaline mafic magmas forming La Palma alone (estimated as 4000 km3 erupted over 11 Ma), we infer a maximum CO2 emission into the ocean and atmosphere of 1016 moles of CO2, equivalent to 20% of the eruptive CO2 emissions from a large igneous province eruption, suggesting that the formation of the Canary volcanic archipelago produced a CO2 emission of similar magnitude as a large igneous province

Balancing Selection at the Tomato RCR3 Guardee Gene Family Maintains Variation in Strength of Pathogen Defense

Coevolution between hosts and pathogens is thought to occur between interacting molecules of both species. This results in the maintenance of genetic diversity at pathogen antigens (or so-called effectors) and host resistance genes such as the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) in mammals or resistance (R) genes in plants. In plant-pathogen interactions, the current paradigm posits that a specific defense response is activated upon recognition of pathogen effectors via interaction with their corresponding R proteins. According to the''Guard-Hypothesis,'' R proteins (the ``guards'') can sense modification of target molecules in the host (the ``guardees'') by pathogen effectors and subsequently trigger the defense response. Multiple studies have reported high genetic diversity at R genes maintained by balancing selection. In contrast, little is known about the evolutionary mechanisms shaping the guardee, which may be subject to contrasting evolutionary forces. Here we show that the evolution of the guardee RCR3 is characterized by gene duplication, frequent gene conversion, and balancing selection in the wild tomato species Solanum peruvianum. Investigating the functional characteristics of 54 natural variants through in vitro and in planta assays, we detected differences in recognition of the pathogen effector through interaction with the guardee, as well as substantial variation in the strength of the defense response. This variation is maintained by balancing selection at each copy of the RCR3 gene. Our analyses pinpoint three amino acid polymorphisms with key functional consequences for the coevolution between the guardee (RCR3) and its guard (Cf-2). We conclude that, in addition to coevolution at the ``guardee-effector'' interface for pathogen recognition, natural selection acts on the ``guard-guardee'' interface. Guardee evolution may be governed by a counterbalance between improved activation in the presence and prevention of auto-immune responses in the absence of the corresponding pathogen

Pep1, a Secreted Effector Protein of Ustilago maydis, Is Required for Successful Invasion of Plant Cells

The basidiomycete Ustilago maydis causes smut disease in maize. Colonization of the host plant is initiated by direct penetration of cuticle and cell wall of maize epidermis cells. The invading hyphae are surrounded by the plant plasma membrane and proliferate within the plant tissue. We identified a novel secreted protein, termed Pep1, that is essential for penetration. Disruption mutants of pep1 are not affected in saprophytic growth and develop normal infection structures. However, Δpep1 mutants arrest during penetration of the epidermal cell and elicit a strong plant defense response. Using Affymetrix maize arrays, we identified 116 plant genes which are differentially regulated in Δpep1 compared to wild type infections. Most of these genes are related to plant defense. By in vivo immunolocalization, live-cell imaging and plasmolysis approaches, we detected Pep1 in the apoplastic space as well as its accumulation at sites of cell-to-cell passages. Site-directed mutagenesis identified two of the four cysteine residues in Pep1 as essential for function, suggesting that the formation of disulfide bridges is crucial for proper protein folding. The barley covered smut fungus Ustilago hordei contains an ortholog of pep1 which is needed for penetration of barley and which is able to complement the U. maydis Δpep1 mutant. Based on these results, we conclude that Pep1 has a conserved function essential for establishing compatibility that is not restricted to the U. maydis / maize interaction

A Role in Immunity for Arabidopsis Cysteine Protease RD21, the Ortholog of the Tomato Immune Protease C14

Secreted papain-like Cys proteases are important players in plant immunity. We previously reported that the C14 protease of tomato is targeted by cystatin-like EPIC proteins that are secreted by the oomycete pathogen Phytophthora infestans (Pinf) during infection. C14 has been under diversifying selection in wild potato species coevolving with Pinf and reduced C14 levels result in enhanced susceptibility for Pinf. Here, we investigated the role C14-EPIC-like interactions in the natural pathosystem of Arabidopsis with the oomycete pathogen Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa). In contrast to the Pinf-solanaceae pathosystem, the C14 orthologous protease of Arabidopsis, RD21, does not evolve under diversifying selection in Arabidopsis, and rd21 null mutants do not show phenotypes upon compatible and incompatible Hpa interactions, despite the evident lack of a major leaf protease. Hpa isolates express highly conserved EPIC-like proteins during infections, but it is unknown if these HpaEPICs can inhibit RD21 and one of these HpaEPICs even lacks the canonical cystatin motifs. The rd21 mutants are unaffected in compatible and incompatible interactions with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato, but are significantly more susceptible for the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea, demonstrating that RD21 provides immunity to a necrotrophic pathogen

Viewpoints of pedestrians with and without cognitive impairment on shared zones and zebra crossings

Background: Shared zones are characterised by an absence of traditional markers that segregate the road and footpath. Negotiation of a shared zone relies on an individual’s ability to perceive, assess and respond to environmental cues. This ability may be impacted by impairments in cognitive processing, which may lead to individuals experiencing increased anxiety when negotiating a shared zone. Method: Q method was used in order to identify and explore the viewpoints of pedestrians, with and without cognitive impairments as they pertain to shared zones. Results: Two viewpoints were revealed. Viewpoint one was defined by “confident users” while viewpoint two was defined by users who “know what [they] are doing but drivers might not”. Discussion: Overall, participants in the study would not avoid shared zones. Pedestrians with intellectual disability were, however, not well represented by either viewpoint, suggesting that shared zones may pose a potential barrier to participation for this group