Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on water consumption behaviour

Access to drinking water is essential for life, and an adequate and constant distribution of water is necessary during the occurrence of contagious diseases and pandemic situations. Currently, COVID-19, caused by the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus, has spread throughout the world, and in Brazil, more than 5,300,000 cases and 157,000 deaths had been reported by 26th October 2020. Water is regarded as one of the most important resources in a pandemic, in order to provide the necessary sanitary conditions. Thus, the present study aims to analyse changes in hygiene behaviour in relation to the recommendations of the World Health Organisation and the impact on water consumption before and during the pandemic. The survey was conducted using a questionnaire, which was delivered online to 149 participants between June and July 2020. The results pointed to changes in hygiene behaviour, with a consequent effect on water consumption.

EFFECT OF NON-AUDIT SERVICES ON AUDITOR’S INDEPENDENCE: EVIDENCE FROM ACCOUNTING PRACTITIONERS IN ABIA STATE

This study investigates the effect of the provision on non-audit services on Auditor’s independence: evidence from accounting practitioners and consequent effect on the auditor’s objectivity and professional skepticism in the financial statement audited. The study used the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) domiciled in Abia State. The data for the study were generated from primary source: questionnaires were the major instrument for data collection. The instrument was subject to both content and faces validity by experts. Three questions were structured in Likert scale form and the formulated hypotheses were tested with ordinary Logistic regression using SPSS package. The study found that non-audit services have no effect on auditor’s independence, the auditor’s objectivity and professional skepticism. The study therefore recommends that the audit committee should have full oversight of the auditor’s independence, including the nature and extent of the work they do and their fees. The audit committee should make its charter public. The charter should give investor information about how the audit committee chooses its auditors and how it decides the type of service they can provide.

AhR Activation Leads to Alterations in the Gut Microbiome with Consequent Effect on Induction of Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells in a CXCR2-Dependent Manner

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a potent ligand for AhR and a known carcinogen. While AhR activation by TCDD leads to significant immunosuppression, how this translates into carcinogenic signal is unclear. Recently, we demonstrated that activation of AhR by TCDD in naïve C57BL6 mice leads to massive induction of myeloid derived-suppressor cells (MDSCs). In the current study, we investigated the role of the gut microbiota in TCDD-mediated MDSC induction. TCDD caused significant alterations in the gut microbiome, such as increases in Prevotella and Lactobacillus, while decreasing Sutterella and Bacteroides. Fecal transplants from TCDD-treated donor mice into antibiotic-treated mice induced MDSCs and increased regulatory T-cells (Tregs). Injecting TCDD directly into antibiotic-treated mice also induced MDSCs, although to a lesser extent. These data suggested that TCDD-induced dysbiosis plays a critical role in MDSC induction. Interestingly, treatment with TCDD led to induction of MDSCs in the colon and undetectable levels of cysteine. MDSCs suppressed T cell proliferation while reconstitution with cysteine restored this response. Lastly, blocking CXC chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2) impeded TCDD-mediated MDSC induction. Our data demonstrate that AhR activation by TCDD triggers dysbiosis which, in turn, regulates, at least in part, induction of MDSCs.

Morphological Integration in Human Skull and Its Possible Role in Etiogenesis of Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Deciphering the Link between Evolution, Development and Disease

Structure - function interdependence is a universal phenomenon in biological systems. Any alteration in structural features may result in change in functions–leading to natural selection of a particular trait, or dysfunctions thereof. Many such alterations arise during the course of evolution of a species and may meticulously be traced during embryonic development of an organism. Through the theoretical construct of morphological integration, a set of phenotypic traits alter in a coordinated and integrated manner during evolution and embryonic development of an organism yielding efficient environmentally adapted physiological functions pertinent to those structures. Such integration may go awry sometimes, setting the basis for genesis of diseases. Morphological integration in human skull has been established through various methods. The brain-skull co-development is handcuffed through evolution and development, and the very basis of a neuro-psychiatric disorder could be underlying in dysmorphogenesis of the skull, its consequent effect on structures, and thus functions of the pertinent brain components. Here we propose that morphological integration in human skull may be mechanistically implied in etiogenesis of certain neuro-psychiatric disorders and should be borne in mind during clinical diagnosis and therapeutic interventions.

Magnetic–Internal–Kinetic Energy Interactions in High-Speed Turbulent Magnetohydrodynamic Jets

The goal of this study is to investigate the interactions between turbulent kinetic, internal, and magnetic energies in planar magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) jets at different regimes of Mach and Alfvén Mach numbers. Toward this end, temporal simulations of planar MHD jets are performed, using two types of initial fluctuating velocity field: (i) single velocity perturbation mode with a streamwise wavevector and (ii) random, isotropic perturbations over a band of wavevectors. At low Mach numbers, magnetic tension work results in a reversible exchange of energy between fluctuating velocity and magnetic fields. At high Alfvén Mach numbers, this exchange results in the equipartition of turbulent kinetic and magnetic energies. At higher Mach numbers, dilatational kinetic energy is (reversibly) exchanged with internal and magnetic energies, by means of pressure-dilatation and magnetic-pressure-dilatation, respectively. Therefore, at high Mach and Alfvén Mach numbers, dilatational kinetic energy is seen to be in equipartition with the sum of turbulent internal and magnetic energies. In each of the regimes, the consequent effect of the interactions on the background Kelvin–Helmholtz vortex evolution is also identified.