Fostering Research Integrity through Institutional Policies: The Case of a Selected Institution of Higher Education1

Truth, trust and integrity are essential to research at higher education institutions. These institutions have accordingly adopted several policies tofoster research integrity. This article explores the likelihood that relevant policies at a selected institution of higher education foster research integrity. The qualitative, single exploratory case study commences with a review of scholarly literature and results in a conceptual model used for a directed content analysis of relevant institutional policies. The findings indicate that these policies do complement each other in fostering research integrity. Further research will be necessary to establish whether policies indeed contribute to responsible researcher conduct

Ochratoxin production and taxonomy of the yellow aspergilli (Aspergillus section Circumdati)

AbstractAspergillus section Circumdati or the Aspergillus ochraceus group, includes species with rough walled stipes, biseriate conidial heads, yellow to ochre conidia and sclerotia that do not turn black. Several species are able to produce mycotoxins including ochratoxins, penicillic acids, and xanthomegnins. Some species also produce drug lead candidates such as the notoamides. A polyphasic approach was applied using morphological characters, extrolite data and partial calmodulin, β-tubulin and ITS sequences to examine the evolutionary relationships within this section. Based on this approach the section Circumdati is revised and 27 species are accepted, introducing seven new species: A. occultus, A. pallidofulvus, A. pulvericola, A. salwaensis, A. sesamicola, A. subramanianii and A. westlandensis. In addition we correctly apply the name A. fresenii (≡ A. sulphureus (nom. illeg.)). A guide for the identification of these 27 species is provided. These new species can be distinguished from others based on morphological characters, sequence data and extrolite profiles. The previously described A. onikii and A. petrakii were found to be conspecific with A. ochraceus, whilst A. flocculosus is tentatively synonymised with A. ochraceopetaliformis, despite extrolite differences between the two species. Based on the extrolite data, 13 species of section Circumdati produce large amounts of ochratoxin A: A. affinis, A. cretensis, A. fresenii, A. muricatus, A. occultus, A. ochraceopetaliformis (A. flocculosus), A. ochraceus, A. pseudoelegans, A. pulvericola, A. roseoglobulosus, A. sclerotiorum, A. steynii and A. westerdijkiae. Seven additional species produce ochratoxin A inconsistently and/or in trace amounts: A. melleus, A. ostianus, A. persii, A. salwaensis, A. sesamicola, A. subramanianii and A. westlandensis. The most important species regarding potential ochratoxin A contamination in agricultural products are A. ochraceus, A. steynii and A. westerdijkiae

A taxonomic and phylogenetic revision of Penicillium section Aspergilloides

AbstractSpecies belonging to Penicillium section Aspergilloides have a world-wide distribution with P. glabrum, P. spinulosum and P. thomii the most well-known species of this section. These species occur commonly and can be isolated from many substrates including soil, food, bark and indoor environments. The taxonomy of these species has been investigated several times using various techniques, but species delimitation remains difficult. In the present study, 349 strains belonging to section Aspergilloides were subjected to multilocus molecular phylogenetic analyses using partial β-tubulin (BenA), calmodulin (CaM) and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2) sequences. Section Aspergilloides is subdivided into 12 clades and 51 species. Twenty-five species are described here as new and P. yezoense, a species originally described without a Latin diagnosis, is validated. Species belonging to section Aspergilloides are phenotypically similar and most have monoverticillate conidiophores and grow moderately or quickly on agar media. The most important characters to distinguish these species were colony sizes on agar media, growth at 30 °C, ornamentation and shape of conidia, sclerotium production and stipe roughness

Quality of wheelchair services as perceived by users in rural Bangalore district, India: a cross-sectional survey

Background and aim This study investigated the current state of wheelchair services in Bangalore Rural district, as provided by Bangalore Baptist Hospital, and identified areas for improvement. Method a cross-sectional survey was held among 50 wheelchair users. Data was collected on demographics, satisfaction, wheelchair skills and level of disability using QUEST, WST-Q and CHART-SF questionnaires. Result Overall satisfaction can be described as more or less satisfied, scoring 3.8 out of 5. Wheelchair users were less satisfied with the services compared to the wheelchair itself. The skills a wheelchair users had were strongly correlated with satisfaction scores (p < 0.01). Differences in satisfaction between genders were observed and related to multiple factors. Conclusion Wheelchairs should be easy to use with support services being easily accessible. A wheelchair should be delivered together with a training program to provide the user with the skills to operate and maintain the wheelchair. There are gender-wise differences in satisfaction towards wheelchair services that influence satisfaction Implications for rehabilitation Training of wheelchair skills should be part of the delivery process as this positively impacts satisfaction of wheelchair users and increases their independent mobility. Requirements towards a wheelchair and its support service are gender specific. Recognizing and acting upon the differing needs between male and female wheelchair users should be an integral part of a wheelchair provision service. Wheelchair users should take part in the development and implementation of novel technologies, policies and service delivery schemes as their need is not always answered. This could lead to a reduced uptake, or even failure, of innovations in (wheelchair) services. The financial situation of a wheelchair user is a factor that influences satisfaction. Therefore, empowering and/or enabling wheelchair users to take part in activities that earns them an income should be part of a wheelchair service

Finding needles in haystacks: linking scientific names, reference specimens and molecular data for Fungi

DNA phylogenetic comparisons have shown that morphology-based species recognition often underestimates fungal diversity. Therefore, the need for accurate DNA sequence data, tied to both correct taxonomic names and clearly annotated specimen data, has never been greater. Furthermore, the growing number of molecular ecology and microbiome projects using high-throughput sequencing require fast and effective methods for en masse species assignments. In this article, we focus on selecting and re-annotating a set of marker reference sequences that represent each currently accepted order of Fungi. The particular focus is on sequences from the internal transcribed spacer region in the nuclear ribosomal cistron, derived from type specimens and/or ex-type cultures. Re-annotated and verified sequences were deposited in a curated public database at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), namely the RefSeq Targeted Loci (RTL) database, and will be visible during routine sequence similarity searches with NR_prefixed accession numbers. A set of standards and protocols is proposed to improve the data quality of new sequences, and we suggest how type and other reference sequences can be used to improve identification of Fungi

Taxonomic annotation of public fungal ITS sequences from the built environment - A report from an April 10-11, 2017 workshop (Aberdeen, UK)

The UNITE database community gratefully acknowledges support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. HN and CW gratefully acknowledges financial support from Stiftelsen Olle Engkvist Byggmästare, Stiftelsen Lars Hiertas Minne, Kapten Carl Stenholms Donationsfond, and Birgit och Birger Wålhströms Minnesfond. CW gratefully acknowledges a Marie Skłodowska-Curie post doctoral grant from the ERC. Leho Tedersoo is gratefully acknowledged for providing helpful feedback on an earlier draft of this manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Fungal Planet description sheets: 868-950

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Australia, Chaetomella pseudocircinoseta and Coniella pseudodiospyri on Eucalyptus microcorys leaves, Cladophialophora eucalypti, Teratosphaeria dunnii and Vermiculariopsiella dunnii on Eucalyptus dunnii leaves, Cylindrium grande and Hypsotheca eucalyptorum on Eucalyptus grandis leaves, Elsinoe salignae on Eucalyptus saligna leaves, Marasmius lebeliae on litter of regenerating subtropical rainforest, Phialoseptomonium eucalypti (incl. Phialoseptomonium gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus grandis × camaldulensis leaves, Phlogicylindrium pawpawense on Eucalyptus tereticornis leaves, Phyllosticta longicauda as an endophyte from healthy Eustrephus latifolius leaves, Pseudosydowia eucalyptorum on Eucalyptus sp. leaves, Saitozyma wallum on Banksia aemula leaves, Teratosphaeria henryi on Corymbia henryi leaves. Brazil, Aspergillus bezerrae, Backusella azygospora, Mariannaea terricola and Talaromyces pernambucoensis from soil, Calonectria matogrossensis on Eucalyptus urophylla leaves, Calvatia brasiliensis on soil, Carcinomyces nordestinensis on Bromelia antiacantha leaves, Dendryphiella stromaticola on small branches of an unidentified plant, Nigrospora brasiliensis on Nopalea cochenillifera leaves, Penicillium alagoense as a leaf endophyte on a Miconia sp., Podosordaria nigrobrunnea on dung, Spegazzinia bromeliacearum as a leaf endophyte on Tilandsia catimbauensis, Xylobolus brasiliensis on decaying wood. Bulgaria, Kazachstania molopis from the gut of the beetle Molops piceus. Croatia, Mollisia endocrystallina from a fallen decorticated Picea abies tree trunk. Ecuador, Hygrocybe rodomaculata on soil. Hungary, Alfoldia vorosii (incl.Alfoldia gen. nov.) from Juniperus communis roots, Kiskunsagia ubrizsyi (incl. Kiskunsagia gen. nov.) from Fumana procumbens roots. India, Aureobasidium tremulum as laboratory contaminant, Leucosporidium himalayensis and Naganishia indica from windblown dust on glaciers. Italy, Neodevriesia cycadicola on Cycas sp. leaves, Pseudocercospora pseudomyrticola on Myrtus communis leaves, Ramularia pistaciae on Pistacia lentiscus leaves, Neognomoniopsis quercina (incl. Neognomoniopsis gen. nov.) on Quercus ilex leaves. Japan, Diaporthe fructicola on Passiflora edulis × P. edulis f. flavicarpa fruit, Entoloma nipponicum on leaf litter in a mixed Cryptomeria japonica and Acer spp. forest. Macedonia, Astraeus macedonicus on soil. Malaysia, Fusicladium eucalyptigenum on Eucalyptus sp. twigs, Neoacrodontiella eucalypti (incl. Neoacrodontiella gen. nov.) on Eucalyptus urophylla leaves. Mozambique, Meliola gorongosensis on dead Philenoptera violacea leaflets. Nepal, Coniochaeta dendrobiicola from Dendriobium lognicornu roots. New Zealand, Neodevriesia sexualis and Thozetella neonivea on Archontophoenix cunninghamiana leaves. Norway, Calophoma sandfjordenica from a piece of board on a rocky shoreline, Clavaria parvispora on soil, Didymella finnmarkica from a piece of Pinus sylvestris driftwood. Poland, Sugiyamaella trypani from soil. Portugal, Colletotrichum feijoicola from Acca sellowiana. Russia, Crepidotus tobolensis on Populus tremula debris, Entoloma ekaterinae, Entoloma erhardii and Suillus gastroflavus on soil, Nakazawaea ambrosiae from the galleries of Ips typographus under the bark of Picea abies. Slovenia, Pluteus ludwigii on twigs of broadleaved trees. South Africa, Anungitiomyces stellenboschiensis (incl. Anungitiomyces gen. nov.) and Niesslia stellenboschiana on Eucalyptus sp. leaves, Beltraniella pseudoportoricensis on Podocarpus falcatus leaf litter, Corynespora encephalarti on Encephalartos sp. leaves, Cytospora pavettae on Pavetta revoluta leaves, Helminthosporium erythrinicola on Erythrina humeana leaves, Helminthosporium syzygii on a Syzygium sp. barkcanker, Libertasomyces aloeticus on Aloe sp. leaves, Penicillium lunae from Musa sp. fruit, Phyllosticta lauridiae on Lauridia tetragona leaves, Pseudotruncatella bolusanthi (incl. Pseudotruncatellaceae fam. nov.) and Dactylella bolusanthi on Bolusanthus speciosus leaves. Spain, Apenidiella foetida on submerged plant debris, Inocybe grammatoides on Quercus ilex subsp. ilex forest humus, Ossicaulis salomii on soil, Phialemonium guarroi from soil. Thailand, Pantospora chromolaenae on Chromolaena odorata leaves. Ukraine, Cadophora helianthi from Helianthus annuus stems. USA, Boletus pseudopinophilus on soil under slash pine, Botryotrichum foricae, Penicillium americanum and Penicillium minnesotense from air. Vietnam, Lycoperdon vietnamense on soil. Morphological and culture characteristics are supported by DNA barcodes

The influence of refuge sharing on social behaviour in the lizard Tiliqua rugosa

Refuge sharing by otherwise solitary individuals during periods of inactivity is an integral part of social behaviour and has been suggested to be the precursor to more complex social behaviour. We compared social association patterns of active versus inactive sheltering individuals in the social Australian sleepy lizard, Tiliqua rugosa, to empirically test the hypothesis that refuge sharing facilitates social associations while individuals are active. We fitted 18 neighbouring lizards with Global Positioning System (GPS) recorders to continuously monitor social associations among all individuals, based on location records taken every 10 min for 3 months. Based on these spatial data, we constructed three weighted, undirected social networks. Two networks were based on empirical association data (one for active and one for inactive lizards in their refuges), and a third null model network was based on hypothetical random refuge sharing. We found patterns opposite to the predictions of our hypothesis. Most importantly, association strength was higher in active than in inactive sheltering lizards. That is, individual lizards were more likely to associate with other lizards while active than while inactive and in shelters. Thus, refuge sharing did not lead to increased frequencies of social associations while lizards were active, and we did not find any evidence that refuge sharing was a precursor to sleepy lizard social behaviour. Our study of an unusually social reptile provides both quantitative data on the relationship between refuge sharing and social associations during periods of activity and further insights into the evolution of social behaviour in vertebrates