Purpose
This article addresses the relationship of universities to their changing regulatory environments internationally.
Design/methodology/approach
This article updates analysis published in 2004 ...exploring the contrasting modes of, and key trends in, regulation of higher education across eight OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) states. The article offers a wider analysis of the changing patterns of regulation rooted in mutuality, oversight, competition and design, and the implications for the management of higher education institutions.
Findings
Since 2004, higher education has seen more growth in oversight-based and competition-based regulation, but also some decentralization of regulation as an increasing cast of actors, many international and transnational in character, have asserted themselves in key aspects of the regulatory environment. This article explores the implications of these changes in the regulatory mix over higher education for the ways that universities manage their regulatory environment, arguing first, that there is significant evidence of meta-regulatory approaches to regulating universities, and second, that such a meta-regulatory approach is consistent with an emphasis on university autonomy, raising a challenge for universities in how to use the autonomy (variable by country) they do have to manage their environment.
Originality/value
This article offers an original analysis of how universities might most appropriately respond, deploying their autonomy, however variable, to address their external regulatory environment. The author suggests we might increasingly see the external regulatory environment as meta-regulatory in character and universities making more use of reflexive governance processes.
The Gamma Exponent Model (“GEM”) is a recently developed methodology for failure pressure prediction of flaws in oil and gas pipelines. The model has previously demonstrated applicability for the ...assessment of axial surface breaking (or “part wall”) cracks and localized metal loss/corrosion. This work extends the applicability of the model to circumferential surface cracks. In addition, the GEM is shown to be consistent and complementary to the log-secant model for assessment of axial through wall cracks, developed by the NG18 Committee of the Battelle Institute in the early 1970s. The ongoing development of the GEM raises some important theoretical considerations related to understanding of the stress state at the flaw tip during the failure process. The current industry models are not explicit regarding the plane stress or plane strain conditions at the flaw tip, though this has a significant effect on model development. Analysts often assume plane stress conditions, due to oil and gas pipelines typically being considered “thin wall” pipe. However, this work confirms the theory that surface cracks are subject to plane strain conditions, and the selection of fracture toughness correlations from impact energy data becomes very important. The model is validated against available laboratory, hydrotest and in-service failure data. Statistical analyses demonstrate the mathematical form of the new model is valid. Failure pressure predictions are shown to be improved over current industry models. This can have a significant effect on the reliability pipeline integrity programs and improved efficiency in the form of cost savings.
The present study systematically investigated the effect of Si additions from 0 to 3 wt.% on the deformation mechanisms of a 0.2C-10Mn-3Al medium Mn steel. Two austenite-ferrite duplex ...microstructures, characterized by the different austenite characteristics (i.e. fraction and stability), were produced for different Si-alloyed steels by intercritical annealing and subsequently subjected to tensile testing. The influence of Si content on the activation and kinetics of transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) effect, the formation of deformation twins, as well as the strain partitioning between phase constituents during deformation was studied in detail. For the low austenite fraction (∼30%) duplex structure with a high austenite stability (low Ms temperature), the tensile strength was only slightly changed with Si levels, whereas the uniform elongation was significantly influenced, with first an increase followed by a decreasing trend with higher Si contents. This was attributed to changes in strain partitioning between austenite and ferrite and to different extent of deformation twinning in austenite, which were highly dependent on the solute Si contents and the related microstructural changes. It was found that strain partitioning in this type of microstructure can result in a substantially high strain hardening rate and high uniform elongation. Conversely, for the samples with a high austenite fraction (∼45%) and low stability, the tensile properties were insensitive to the Si content, being mainly controlled by the TRIP effect. In this structure, a higher fraction of martensite was formed at the beginning of the plastic deformation, which decreased the strain partitioning between austenite and ferrite. The TRIP effect after the Lüders strain is believed to be the main factor influencing the strain hardening rate of this type of structure.
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Since their first introduction in the mid 1950s, man-made
s
-triazine herbicides such as atrazine have extensively been used in agriculture to control broadleaf weed growth in different crops, and ...thus contributed to improving crop yield and quality. Atrazine is the most widely used
s
-triazine herbicide for the control of weeds in crops such as corn and sorghum. Although atrazine was initially found to be slowly and partially biodegradable, predominantly by nonspecific P450 monoxygenases which do not sustain microbial growth, microorganisms gradually evolved as a result of repeated exposure, started using it as a growth substrate and eventually succeeded in mineralizing it. Within three decades, an entirely new hydrolase-dependent pathway for atrazine mineralization emerged and rapidly spread worldwide among genetically different bacteria. This review focuses on the enzymes involved in atrazine mineralization and their evolutionary histories, the genetic composition of microbial populations involved in atrazine degradation and the biotechnologies that have been developed, based on these systems, for the bioremediation of atrazine contamination in the environment.
The correlation between the strain-induced martensite transformation (SIMT) and the Portevin-Le Chatelier (PLC) effect during tensile testing of a ferrite-austenite duplex medium manganese (Mn) steel ...was investigated in this study. A discontinuous SIMT phenomenon (D-SIMT) was observed in the steel by in situ magnetic induction measurements complemented with ex situ X-ray diffraction analysis. This unique behavior was due to the localized martensite formation in the PLC bands forming and propagating continuously during tensile straining. The PLC bands were characterized by the digital image correlation technique and their origin is further discussed.
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5-Deazaflavin cofactors enhance the metabolic flexibility of microorganisms by catalyzing a wide range of challenging enzymatic redox reactions. While structurally similar to riboflavin, ...5-deazaflavins have distinctive and biologically useful electrochemical and photochemical properties as a result of the substitution of N-5 of the isoalloxazine ring for a carbon. 8-Hydroxy-5-deazaflavin (Fo) appears to be used for a single function: as a light-harvesting chromophore for DNA photolyases across the three domains of life. In contrast, its oligoglutamyl derivative F420 is a taxonomically restricted but functionally versatile cofactor that facilitates many low-potential two-electron redox reactions. It serves as an essential catabolic cofactor in methanogenic, sulfate-reducing, and likely methanotrophic archaea. It also transforms a wide range of exogenous substrates and endogenous metabolites in aerobic actinobacteria, for example mycobacteria and streptomycetes. In this review, we discuss the physiological roles of F420 in microorganisms and the biochemistry of the various oxidoreductases that mediate these roles. Particular focus is placed on the central roles of F420 in methanogenic archaea in processes such as substrate oxidation, C1 pathways, respiration, and oxygen detoxification. We also describe how two F420-dependent oxidoreductase superfamilies mediate many environmentally and medically important reactions in bacteria, including biosynthesis of tetracycline and pyrrolobenzodiazepine antibiotics by streptomycetes, activation of the prodrugs pretomanid and delamanid by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and degradation of environmental contaminants such as picrate, aflatoxin, and malachite green. The biosynthesis pathways of Fo and F420 are also detailed. We conclude by considering opportunities to exploit deazaflavin-dependent processes in tuberculosis treatment, methane mitigation, bioremediation, and industrial biocatalysis.
A huge amount of intellectual effort is currently being devoted to the study of medium and high manganese steels due to the diverse and impressive mechanical properties that can be achieved with ...these steels ...
•A systematic review was conducted to understand the disease surveillance efforts within the bushmeat trade and wet markets.•Reported bushmeat studies were biased towards Africa, with data gaps in ...Asia and South America.•Of the 58 species of bushmeat investigated, 48 species were found to host one or more pathogens.•Perceived health risks are low among traders and consumers.•The need to address the nexus between bushmeat, wet markets, and disease control should be emphasized.
The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is the third coronavirus this century to threaten human health, killing more than two million people globally. Like previous coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 is suspected to have wildlife origins and was possibly transmitted to humans via wet markets selling bushmeat (aka harvested wild meat). Thus, an interdisciplinary framework is vital to address the nexus between bushmeat, wet markets, and disease. We reviewed the contemporary scientific literature to: (1) assess disease surveillance efforts within the bushmeat trade and wet markets globally by compiling zoonotic health risks based on primarily serological examinations; and (2) gauge perceptions of health risks associated with bushmeat and wet markets. Of the 58 species of bushmeat investigated across 15 countries in the 52 articles that we analyzed,one or more pathogens (totaling 60 genera of pathogens) were reported in 48 species, while no zoonotic pathogens were reported in 10 species based on serology. Burden of disease data was nearly absent from the articles resulting from our Scopus search, and therefore was not included in our analyses. We also found that perceived health risks associated with bushmeat was low, though we could not perform statistical analyses due to the lack of quantitative perception-based studies. After screening the literature, our results showed that the global distribution of reported bushmeat studies were biased towards Africa, revealing data deficiencies across Asia and South America despite the prevalence of the bushmeat trade across the Global South. Studies targeting implications of the bushmeat trade on human health can help address these data deficiencies across Asia and South America. We further illustrate the need to address the nexus between bushmeat, wet markets, and disease to help prevent future outbreaks of zoonotic diseases under the previously proposed “One Health Framework”, which integrates human, animal, and environmental health. By tackling these three pillars, we discuss the current policy gaps and recommend suitable measures to prevent future disease outbreaks.
A search of the Irish State Administration Database (ISAD,
), which records the origins, life cycle, policy domain and functions of all central public organisations since the foundation of the Irish ...state over a century ago, reveals that, following the formative and turbulent year of 1922, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General was the first new agency formally established in 1923. The primacy given to what we might now refer to as a supreme audit institution (SAI) for the public sector reflects the importance of financial control to the effective functioning and legitimacy of the executive organs of the nascent state. In this paper we analyse the changing range and scope of functions undertaken by the Comptroller and Auditor General in its first century. We examine first the sustained growth in the number and type of public bodies subject to Comptroller and Auditor General scrutiny. Second, we look at the broadening in scope of audit functions beyond the traditional concerns of regularity, ensuring the money was spent for the purposes for which it was given (financial and compliance audit), to encompass wider values such as efficiency, economy and effectiveness and even performance, more broadly conceived. Finally, as well as the instrumental perspective on the role of the Comptroller and Auditor General’s Office, we reflect on the key relationships and cultural and symbolic dimensions of the Office’s work across time. From this analysis we draw some conclusions about the nature of financial control in the contemporary state, as compared with the early Irish state.
Utilising one-carbon substrates such as carbon dioxide, methane, and methanol is vital to address the current climate crisis. Methylotrophic metabolism enables growth and energy generation from ...methanol, providing an alternative to sugar fermentation. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an important industrial microorganism for which growth on one-carbon substrates would be relevant. However, its ability to metabolize methanol has been poorly characterised. Here, using adaptive laboratory evolution and
C-tracer analysis, we discover that S. cerevisiae has a native capacity for methylotrophy. A systems biology approach reveals that global rearrangements in central carbon metabolism fluxes, gene expression changes, and a truncation of the uncharacterized transcriptional regulator Ygr067cp supports improved methylotrophy in laboratory evolved S. cerevisiae. This research paves the way for further biotechnological development and fundamental understanding of methylotrophy in the preeminent eukaryotic model organism and industrial workhorse, S. cerevisiae.
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