The effect of copper toxicity on the growth and morphology of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) in solution culture

A solution culture experiment was conducted to examine the effect of Cu toxicity on Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana), a pasture species used in mine site rehabilitation. The experiment used dilute, solution culture to achieve external nutrient concentrations which were representative of the soil solution, and ion exchange resins to maintain stable concentrations of Cu in solution. Copper toxicity was damaged plant roots, with symptoms ranging from disruption of the root cuticle and reduced root hair proliferation, to severe deformation of root structure. A reduction in root growth was observed at an external Cu concentration of

Where next for PSMs - a grass-roots revolution?

Over the last 30 years, the field of problem structuring methods (PSMs) has been pioneered by a handful of 'gurus'—the most visible of whom have contributed other viewpoints to this special issue. As this generation slowly retires, it is opportune to survey the field and their legacy. We focus on the progress the community has made up to 2000, as work that started afterwards is ongoing and its impact on the field will probably only become apparent in 5–10 years time. We believe that up to 2000, research into PSMs was stagnating. We believe that this was partly due to a lack of new researchers penetrating what we call the 'grass-roots community'—the community which takes an active role in developing the theory and application of problem structuring. Evidence for this stagnation (or lack of development) is that, in 2000, many PSMs still relied heavily on the same basic methods proposed by the originators nearly 30 years earlier—perhaps only supporting those methods with computer software as a sign of development. Furthermore, no new methods had been integrated into the literature which suggests that revolutionary development, at least by academics, has stalled. We are pleased to suggest that from papers in this double special issue on PSMs this trend seems over because new authors report new PSMs and extend existing PSMs in new directions. Despite these recent developments of the methods, it is important to examine why this apparent stagnation took place. In the following sections, we identify and elaborate a number of reasons for it. We also consider the trends, challenges and opportunities that the PSM community will continue to face. Our aim is to evaluate the pre-2000 PSM community to encourage its revolutionary development post-2006 and offer directions for the long term sustainability of the field.

Measurement of key compositional parameters in two species of energy grass by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

Two energy grass species, switch grass, a North American tuft grass, and reed canary grass, a European native, are likely to be important sources of biomass in Western Europe for the production of biorenewable energy. Matching chemical composition to conversion efficiency is a primary goal for improvement programmes and for determining the quality of biomass feed-stocks prior to use and there is a need for methods which allow cost effective characterisation of chemical composition at high rates of sample through-put. In this paper we demonstrate that nitrogen content and alkali index, parameters greatly influencing thermal conversion efficiency, can be accurately predicted in dried samples of these species grown under a range of agronomic conditions by partial least square regression of Fourier transform infrared spectra (R2 values for plots of predicted vs. measured values of 0.938 and 0.937, respectively). We also discuss the prediction of carbon and ash content in these samples and the application of infrared based predictive methods for the breeding improvement of energy grasses.

The role of the English language in the context of national development vision 2025 with specific reference to agriculture in Tanzania

After thirty years of vacillation, the Tanzanian government has made a firm decision to Swahilize its secondary education system. It has also embarked on an ambitious economic and social development programme (Vision 2025) to transform its peasant society into a modern agricultural community. However, there is a faction in Tanzania opposed to Kiswahili as the medium of education. Already many members of the middle and upper class their children to English medium primary schools to avoid the Kiswahili medium public schools and to prepare their children for the English medium secondary system presently in place. Within the education system, particularly at university level, there is a desire to maintain English as the medium of education. English is seen to provide access to the international scientific community, to cutting edge technology and to the global economy. My interest in this conflict of interests stems from several years' experience teaching English to students at Sokoine University of Agriculture. Students specialise in agriculture and are expected to work with the peasant population on graduation. The students experience difficulties studying in English and then find their Kiswahili skills insufficient to explain to farmers the new techniques and technologies that they have studied in English. They are hampered by a complex triglossic situation in which they use their mother tongue with family and friends, Kiswahili, the national language for early education and most public communication within Tanzania, and English for advanced studies. My aim in this thesis was - to study the language policy in Tanzania and see how it is understood and implemented; - to examine the attitudes towards the various languages and their various roles; - to investigate actual language behaviour in Tanzanian higher education. My conclusion is that the dysfunctionality of the present study has to be addressed. Diglossic public life in Tanzania has to be accommodated. The only solution appears to be a compromise, namely a bilingual education system which supports from all cases of society by using Kiswahili, together with an early introduction of English and its promotion as a privileged foreign language, so that Tanzania can continue to develop internally through Kiswahili and at the same time retain access to the globalising world through the medium of English.

Comprehensive characterization of Napier grass as a feedstock for thermochemical conversion

Study on Napier grass leaf (NGL), stem (NGS) and leaf and stem (NGT) was carried out. Proximate, ultimate and structural analyses were evaluated. Functional groups and crystalline components in the biomass were examined. Pyrolysis study was conducted in a thermogravimetric analyzer under nitrogen atmosphere of 20 mL/min at constant heating rate of 10 K/min. The results reveal that Napier grass biomass has high volatile matter, higher heating value, high carbon content and lower ash, nitrogen and sulfur contents. Structural analysis shows that the biomass has considerable cellulose and lignin contents which are good candidates for good quality bio-oil production. From the pyrolysis study, degradation of extractives, hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin occurred at temperature around 478, 543, 600 and above 600 K, respectively. Kinetics of the process was evaluated using reaction order model. New equations that described the process were developed using the kinetic parameters and data compared with experimental data. The results of the models fit well to the experimental data. The proposed models may be a reliable means for describing thermal decomposition of lignocellulosic biomass under nitrogen atmosphere at constant heating rate.

Spatial ecological complexity measures in GRASS GIS

Good estimates of ecosystem complexity are essential for a number of ecological tasks: from biodiversity estimation, to forest structure variable retrieval, to feature extraction by edge detection and generation of multifractal surface as neutral models for e.g. feature change assessment. Hence, measuring ecological complexity over space becomes crucial in macroecology and geography. Many geospatial tools have been advocated in spatial ecology to estimate ecosystem complexity and its changes over space and time. Among these tools, free and open source options especially offer opportunities to guarantee the robustness of algorithms and reproducibility. In this paper we will summarize the most straightforward measures of spatial complexity available in the Free and Open Source Software GRASS GIS, relating them to key ecological patterns and processes.

Pyrolysis of Napier grass in a fixed bed reactor:effect of operating conditions on product yields and characteristic

This study presents a report on pyrolysis of Napier grass stem in a fixed bed reactor. The effects of nitrogen flow (20 to 60 mL/min), and reaction temperature (450 to 650 degrees C) were investigated. Increasing the nitrogen flow from 20 to 30 mL/min increased the bio-oil yield and decreased both bio-char and non-condensable gas. 30 mL/min nitrogen flow resulted in optimum bio-oil yield and was used in the subsequent experiments. Reaction temperatures between 450 and 600 degrees C increased the bio-oil yield, with maximum yield of 32.26 wt% at 600 degrees C and a decrease in the corresponding bio-char and non-condensable gas. At 650 degrees C, reductions in the bio-oil and bio-char yields were recorded while the non-condensable gas increased. Water content of the bio-oil decreased with increasing reaction temperature, while density and viscosity increased. The observed pH and higher heating values were between 2.43 to 2.97, and 25.25 to 28.88 MJ/kg, respectively. GC-MS analysis revealed that the oil was made up of highly oxygenated compounds and requires upgrading. The bio-char and non-condensable gas were characterized, and the effect of reaction temperature on the properties was evaluated. Napier grass represents a good source of renewable energy when all pyrolysis products are efficiently utilized.

Comparative administrative reform: The rhetoric and reality of the Civil Service reform programs in Uganda and Tanzania

Administrative reform is a challenging endeavor for both developed and developing countries alike. For developing countries, the challenge is greater because numerous reforms are implemented concurrently sometimes under conditions of resource scarcity and political instability. So far there is no consensus as to what makes some reforms succeed and others fail. The current study seeks to fill that gap by offering an empirical comparative analysis of the administrative reforms initiated in Uganda and Tanzania since the early 1990s. The purpose of the study is to explain the similarities and differences, and give reasons for the successes and failures of the reform programs in the two countries. It focuses on four major areas; the size of the civil service, pay reform, capacity building, and ethics and accountability. Data were collected via in-depth face to face interviews with 35 key government officials and the content analysis of various documents. The results indicate that the reforms generated initial substantial reduction in the size of the public services in both countries. In Uganda, the traditional civil service was reduced from 140,500 in 1990 to 41,730 in 2004; while in Tanzania Ministries, Departments, and Agencies were reduced by 25%. Pay reform has generated substantial increases in civil servants' salaries in both countries but in Uganda, the government has not been able to abide by the pay strategy while in Tanzania the strategy guides the increments. Civil Service capacity building efforts have focused on enhancing the skills of the personnel. Training needs assessments were undertaken in all ministries in Uganda and a training policy was formulated. In Tanzania, the training needs assessments are still under way and a training policy has not yet been developed. Ethics and accountability are great challenges in both countries, but in Tanzania, there is more political will and commitment to improve the integrity of the civil service. The findings reveal that although Uganda started the reform with much more rigor and initial success, Tanzania has surpassed it and has a more stable, consistent, and promising reform record. This is because Uganda's leadership lacks political legitimacy. The country has since the late 1990s experienced a civil war in the northern and western parts of the country while Tanzania has benefitted from relative peace and high level political legitimacy.