Corporate governance practices in Fiji: An empirical investigation

This study investigates the nature and extent of compliance to the principle-based corporate governance initiatives by the listed companies in the South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPSE) in Fiji. Three important questions are addressed: (i) whether listed companies in Fiji have complied with the principle-based governance practices: (ii) did compliance with principle based recommendations lead to an improvement in the listed company‟s financial performance? and (iii) how the institutional factors have contributed towards corporate governance practices in Fiji? Panel data for the SPSE companies over the period 2008-2010 are analysed using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. Tobin‟s Q, Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE) and Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation to Total Revenue (EBITDA2REV) metrics are used as dependent variables. Findings indicate that listed companies have adopted the Capital Market Development Authority‟s (CMDA) recommendations, establishing subcommittees for audit and remuneration, and having nonexecutive/ independent directors on the board. The result supports the view that the CMDA recommendations of board sub-committees (Audit and Remuneration) have had positive influence on company performance measured by Tobin‟s Q. The findings of this study give support to the principle-based corporate governance practices adopted in Fiji. The results of this study provide useful insights to both regulators and policy analysts (in Fiji and internationally) seeking to enhance both governance and firm performance in their own jurisdiction

Novel application of Nerium leaf and Image J software in drop collapse assay for rapid screening of biosurfactant producing microorganisms

484-492Biosurfactants are attractive molecules with varied applicationsmainly oil degradation, emulsification, bioremediation, therapeutics and conjugation of nanoparticles. The existing screening methods for biosurfactants are inappropriate and too tedious. Here, we have explored a novel approach with drop collapse assay wherein we replaced the microtiter well plate with the naturally hydrophobic Nerium (Nerium oleander L.) leaf. The stability of beaded drops on the leaf indicates negative phenomenon, and spreading of drop indicates positive phenomenon for surfactant property, as confirmed by the measuring drop diameter using Image J software. Fifty five bacterial cultures isolated from oil contaminated site were screened through this novel approach which revealed that the isolates DNM49 (6.75±0.29 mm), DNM50 (7.45±0.19 mm) and DNM51 (6.14±0.82 mm) were the best in terms of surface tension reduction, although thirty other isolates were also found to be positive. A gradation of activity in terms of surface tension reduction was also established based on drop diameter. The results demonstrated promising application of Nerium leaf with Image J software in drop collapse assay as an eco-friendly and cost-effective and technically authenticated alternative to the existing assays

Genome-Wide Divergence and Linkage Disequilibrium Analyses for Capsicum baccatum Revealed by Genome-Anchored Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms

Principal component analysis (PCA) with 36,621 polymorphic genome-anchored single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified collectively for Capsicum annuum and Capsicum baccatum was used to show the distribution of these 2 important incompatible cultivated pepper species. Estimated mean nucleotide diversity (π) and Tajima’s D across various chromosomes revealed biased distribution toward negative values on all chromosomes (except for chromosome 4) in cultivated C. baccatum, indicating a population bottleneck during domestication of C. baccatum. In contrast, C. annuum chromosomes showed positive π and Tajima’s D on all chromosomes except chromosome 8, which may be because of domestication at multiple sites contributing to wider genetic diversity. For C. baccatum, 13,129 SNPs were available, with minor allele frequency (MAF) ≥0.05; PCA of the SNPs revealed 283 C. baccatum accessions grouped into 3 distinct clusters, for strong population structure. The fixation index (FST) between domesticated C. annuum and C. baccatum was 0.78, which indicates genome-wide divergence. We conducted extensive linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis of C. baccatum var. pendulum cultivars on all adjacent SNP pairs within a chromosome to identify regions of high and low LD interspersed with a genome-wide average LD block size of 99.1 kb. We characterized 1742 haplotypes containing 4420 SNPs (range 9–2 SNPs per haplotype). Genome-wide association study of peduncle length, a trait that differentiates wild and domesticated C. baccatum types, revealed 36 genome-wide SNPs significantly associated. Population structure, identity by state (IBS) and LD patterns across the genome will be of potential use for future genome-wide association study of economically important traits in C. baccatum peppers

Re-evaluation of the role of Indian germplasm as center of melon diversification based on genotyping-by-sequencing analysis

[EN] BackgroundThe importance of Indian germplasm as origin and primary center of diversity of cultivated melon is widely accepted. Genetic diversity of several collections from Indian has been studied previously, although an integrated analysis of these collections in a global diversity perspective has not been possible. In this study, a sample of Indian collections together with a selection of world-wide cultivars to analyze the genetic diversity structure based on Genotype by Sequence data.ResultsA set of 6158 informative Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) in 175 melon accessions was generated. Melon germplasm could be classified into six major groups, in concordance with horticultural groups. Indian group was in the center of the diversity plot, with the highest genetic diversity. No strict genetic differentiation between wild and cultivated accessions was appreciated in this group. Genomic regions likely involved in the process of diversification were also found. Interestingly, some SNPs differentiating inodorus and cantalupensis groups are linked to Quantitiative Trait Loci involved in ripening behavior (a major characteristic that differentiate those groups). Linkage disequilibrium was found to be low (17kb), with more rapid decay in euchromatic (8kb) than heterochromatic (30kb) regions, demonstrating that recombination events do occur within heterochromatn, although at lower frequency than in euchromatin. Concomitantly, haplotype blocks were relatively small (59kb). Some of those haplotype blocks were found fixed in different melon groups, being therefore candidate regions that are involved in the diversification of melon cultivars.ConclusionsThe results support the hypothesis that India is the primary center of diversity of melon, Occidental and Far-East cultivars have been developed by divergent selection. Indian germplasm is genetically distinct from African germplasm, supporting independent domestication events. The current set of traditional Indian accessions may be considered as a population rather than a standard collection of fixed landraces with high intercrossing between cultivated and wild melons.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO)-FEDER grant AGL2015-64625-C2-R to AJM (project conception, experiments, data acquisition and analysis, manuscript writing, publication costs), AGL2017-85563-C2-1-R and the PROMETEO/2017/078 grant funded by Generalitat Valenciana (Conselleria d'Educacio, Investigacio, Cultura i Esport) to BP (project conception, provide samples and manuscript drafting). AD was supported by a Jae-Doc contract from CSIC (experiments and manuscript drafting).Gonzalo, M.; Díaz Bermúdez, A.; Dhillon, NPS.; Reddy, UK.; Picó Sirvent, MB.; Monforte Gilabert, AJ. (2019). Re-evaluation of the role of Indian germplasm as center of melon diversification based on genotyping-by-sequencing analysis. 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Are We Looking at a Paradigm Shift in the Management of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis? Comprehensive Retrospective Analysis of 75 Patients of Nonfusion Anterior Scoliosis Correction with 2–5-Year Follow-up: A Single Center Experience

Study Design Retrospective cohort study. Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and radiological outcomes of nonfusion anterior scoliosis correction (NFASC) in patients with idiopathic scoliosis and comprehensively analyze its principles. Overview of Literature NFASC is a novel revolutionary motion-preserving surgery for idiopathic scoliosis. However, clinical data related to this procedure remain scarce, with no conclusive guidelines regarding case indications, proper technique, and possible complications. Methods This study included patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) who were treated with NFASC for a structural major curve (Cobb angle, 40°–80°) with more than 50% flexibility on dynamic X-rays. The mean follow-up was 26±12.2 months (range, 12–60 months). Clinical and radiological data such as skeletal maturity, curve type, Cobb angle, surgery details, and Scoliosis Research Society-22 revised (SRS-22r) questionnaire were collected. Statistically significant trends were examined by post hoc analysis following repeated measures analysis of variance test. Results A total of 75 patients (70 females, five males) were included, with a mean age of 14.96±2.69 years. The mean Risser and Sanders scores were 4.22±0.7 and 7.15±0.74, respectively. The mean main thoracic Cobb angles at the first and second follow-up (17.2°±5.36° and 16.92°±5.06°, respectively) were significantly lower than the preoperative Cobb angles (52.11°±7.74°) (p<0.05). Similarly, the mean thoracolumbar/lumbar Cobb angle significantly improved from the preoperative period (51.45°±11.26°) to the first follow-up (13.48°±5.11°) and last follow-up (14.24°±4.85°) (p<0.05). The mean preoperative and postoperative SRS-22r scores were 78.0±3.2 and 92.5±3.1, respectively (p<0.05). None of the patients had any complications until the most recent follow-up. Conclusions NFASC offers promising curve correction and curve progression stabilization in patients with AIS, with a low risk for complications and preservation of spinal mobility and sagittal parameters. Thus, it proves to be a favorable alternative to fusion modality

Characterization of the small RNA component of leaves and fruits from four different cucurbit species

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding small RNAs involved in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression critical for plant growth and development, stress responses and other diverse biological processes in plants. The Cucurbitaceae or cucurbit family represents some of economically important species, particularly those with edible and medicinal fruits. Genomic tools for the molecular analysis of members of this family are just emerging. Partial draft genome sequence became available recently for cucumber and watermelon facilitating investigation of the small RNA component of the transcriptomes in cucurbits.Results: We generated four small RNA libraries from bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), Cucurbita moschata, Cucurbita pepo, and, watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus) in order to identify conserved and novel lineage specific miRNAs in these cucurbits. Deep sequencing of small RNA libraries from these species resulted in 1,597,263, 532,948, 601,388, and 493,384 unique sRNA reads from bottle gourd, moschata, pepo and watermelon, respectively. Sequence analysis of these four libraries resulted in identification of 21 miRNA families that are highly conserved and 8 miRNA families that are moderately conserved in diverse dicots. We also identified 4 putative novel miRNAs in these plant species. Furthermore, the tasiRNAs were identified and their biogenesis was determined in these cucurbits. Small RNA blot analysis or q-PCR analyses of leaf and fruit tissues of these cucurbits showed differential expression of several conserved miRNAs. Interestingly, the abundance of several miRNAs in leaves and fruits of closely related C. moschata and C. pepo was also distinctly different. Target genes for the most conserved miRNAs are also predicted.Conclusion: High-throughput sequencing of small RNA libraries from four cucurbit species has provided a glimpse of small RNA component in their transcriptomes. The analysis also showed considerable variation within four cucurbit species with regards to expression of individual miRNAs.Peer reviewedBiochemistry and Molecular Biolog

Simple sequence repeat markers useful for sorghum downy mildew (Peronosclerospora sorghi) and related species

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A recent outbreak of sorghum downy mildew in Texas has led to the discovery of both metalaxyl resistance and a new pathotype in the causal organism, <it>Peronosclerospora sorghi</it>. These observations and the difficulty in resolving among phylogenetically related downy mildew pathogens dramatically point out the need for simply scored markers in order to differentiate among isolates and species, and to study the population structure within these obligate oomycetes. Here we present the initial results from the use of a biotin capture method to discover, clone and develop PCR primers that permit the use of simple sequence repeats (microsatellites) to detect differences at the DNA level.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the 55 primers pairs designed from clones from pathotype 3 of <it>P. sorghi</it>, 36 flanked microsatellite loci containing simple repeats, including 28 (55%) with dinucleotide repeats and 6 (11%) with trinucleotide repeats. A total of 22 microsatellites with CA/AC or GT/TG repeats were the most abundant (40%) and GA/AG or CT/TC types contribute 15% in our collection. When used to amplify DNA from 19 isolates from <it>P. sorghi</it>, as well as from 5 related species that cause downy mildew on other hosts, the number of different bands detected for each SSR primer pair using a LI-COR- DNA Analyzer ranged from two to eight. Successful cross-amplification for 12 primer pairs studied in detail using DNA from downy mildews that attack maize (<it>P. maydis & P. philippinensis</it>), sugar cane (<it>P. sacchari</it>), pearl millet (<it>Sclerospora graminicola</it>) and rose (<it>Peronospora sparsa</it>) indicate that the flanking regions are conserved in all these species. A total of 15 SSR amplicons unique to <it>P. philippinensis </it>(one of the potential threats to US maize production) were detected, and these have potential for development of diagnostic tests. A total of 260 alleles were obtained using 54 microsatellites primer combinations, with an average of 4.8 polymorphic markers per SSR across 34 <it>Peronosclerospora, Peronospora and Sclerospora </it>spp isolates studied. Cluster analysis by UPGMA as well as principal coordinate analysis (PCA) grouped the 34 isolates into three distinct groups (all 19 isolates of <it>Peronosclerospora sorghi </it>in cluster I, five isolates of <it>P. maydis </it>and three isolates of <it>P. sacchari </it>in cluster II and five isolates of <it>Sclerospora graminicola </it>in cluster III).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to extensively develop SSR markers from <it>Peronosclerospora </it>genomic DNA. The newly developed SSR markers can be readily used to distinguish isolates within several species of the oomycetes that cause downy mildew diseases. Also, microsatellite fragments likely include retrotransposon regions of DNA and these sequences can serve as useful genetic markers for strain identification, due to their degree of variability and their widespread occurrence among sorghum, maize, sugarcane, pearl millet and rose downy mildew isolates.</p