Human activities and interests within and around lakes of the Victoria and Kyoga basin and their consequences to sustainable fish production

Of all the great lakes, Lake Victoria has the highest population concentration on its fringes. This has resulted into serious human impacts on the ecosystem through intense agricultural activities (cultivation, livestock and over fishing), sporadic settlements, urbanization and industrial establishments. The consequences have been loss of animals and plant life, deforestation and general land degradation, pollution, loss of water quality and clean air. Aquatic life has become endangered and less guaranteeing to continued fish production. Awareness workshops and general talks have been done to a few selected communities by the lakes landing sites and in the catchment area to mitigate the deteriorating environmental conditions. Naturally the situation calls for reversal to the increasing stress of the ecosystem. As a result, every water body surveyed put forward some mitigation suggestions

Economic impacts of globalisation at the district, landing site and sub-sector enterprise levels on Lakes Kyoga, Albert and Victoria

The Globalisation and fish utilisation and marketing study is a collaboration between the Fisheries Resources Research Institute (FIRRI) and the Mike Dillon Associates Limited , with funding from the Department for International Development (DFID) of the Government of the United Kingdom. The study is designed to examine the impact of the development of the export fishery on the fish producers, processors, traders and consumers in the artisanal fishery in Uganda. FIRRI 's role is to collect field data relating to the livelihoods of artisanal fish producers, processors, traders and consumers. in particular data relating to income and revenue flow. The initial focus is on the eccnomic structure of fish landing sites. The purpose of this paper is to review the progress in implementation of the project and present the interim findings for discussion. During the first quarter, namely April to June, 2002, work was carried out on Lakes Kyoga and Albert and a report produced. During the second quarter, July to September, 2002, Lake Victoria was covered. In both phases, the focus has been on the economic structure of fish landings.

Effect of microbial activities on the mobility of copper in stabilised contaminated soil

Stabilisation, using a wide range of binders including wastes, is most effective for heavy metal soil contamination. Bioremediation techniques, including bioaugmentation to enhance soil microbial population, are most effective for organic contaminants in the soil. For mixed contaminant scenarios a combination of these two techniques is currently being investigated. An essential issue in this combined remediation system is the effect of microbial processes on the leachability of the heavy metals. This paper considers the use of zeolite and compost as binder additives combined with bioaugmentation treatments and their effect on copper leachability in a model contaminated soil. Different leaching test conditions are considered including both NRA and TCLP batch leaching tests as well as flow-through column tests. Two flow rates are applied in the flow-through tests and the two leaching tests are compared. Recommendations are given as to the effectiveness of this combined remediation technique in the immobilisation of copper. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group.

In vitro activities of small peptides from snake venom against clinical isolates of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

The recent re-emergence of tuberculosis, especially the multidrug-resistant cases, has highlighted the importance of screening effective novel drugs against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. In this study, the in vitro activities of small peptides isolated from snake venom were investigated against multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) were determined by the Bactec TB-460 radiometric method. A small peptide with the amino acid sequence ECYRKSDIVTCEPWQKFCYREVTFFPNHPVYLSGCASECTETNSKWCCTTDKCNRARGG (designated as vgf-1) from Naja atra (isolated from Yunnan province of China) venom had in vitro activity against clinically isolated multidrug-resistant strains of M. tuberculosis. The MIC was 8.5 mg/l. The antimycobacterial domain of this 60aa peptide is under investigation. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. and the International Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.

Rhinopithecus bieti at Tacheng, Yunnan: Diet and daytime activities

We collected data on diet and activity budget in a group of Rhinopithecus bieti at Tacheng (99degrees 18'E, 27degrees 36' N, between 2,700 - 3,700 m asl), Yunnan, from March 1999 to December 2000. We mainly recorded species-parts eaten with feeding scores from scanning state behaviors of one-male units in tree-crowns. We also conducted microscopic analysis of feces collected monthly. The subjects consumed 59 plant species, belonging to 42 genera in 28 families, of which 90 species-parts were distributed as follows: 21 in Winter, 38 in spring, 39 in Summer, 47 in autumn. Conversely, the group annually spent, on average, 35% of daytime feeding, 33% resting, 15% moving, and 13% in social activities. Seasonal changes are apparent in daytime budget and food item-related feeding time in tree-crowns, food remains in feces, and the number of species-parts eaten. Correlations within and between food items and time budget clearly indicate maximization of foraging effectiveness and minimization of energy expenditure. In consideration of reports from northern and southern groups, that which underlay the specific adaptation to the habitat appeared to be similar to those of other colobines. Thus, the ultimate factors for survival of the species are more hopeful than expected.

Purification, characterization and biological activities of the L-amino acid oxidase from Bungarus fasciatus snake venom

L-Amino acid oxidases (LAAOs) are widely distributed in snake venoms, which contribute to the toxicity of venoms. However, LAAO from Bungarus fasciatus (B. fasciatus) snake venom has not been isolated previously. In the present study, LAAO from B. fasciat

Exploring key sustainable development themes through learning activities

The Masters programme in Engineering for Sustainable Development at Cambridge University explores a number of key themes, including dealing with: complexity, uncertainty, change, other disciplines, people, environmental limits, whole life costs, and trade-offs. This paper examines how these concepts are introduced and analyses the range of exercises and assignments which are designed to encourage students to test their own assumptions and abilities to develop competencies in these areas. Student performance against these tasks is discussed and student feedback is also presented, with a focus on how their awareness of the themes are met through a range of activities.

Exploring key sustainable development themes through learning activities

Purpose: The paper examines how a number of key themes are introduced in the Masters programme in Engineering for Sustainable Development at Cambridge University through student centred activities. These themes include dealing with complexity, uncertainty, change, other disciplines, people, environmental limits, whole life costs, and trade-offs. Design/methodology/approach: The range of exercises and assignments designed to encourage students to test their own assumptions and abilities to develop competencies in these areas are analysed by mapping the key themes onto the formal activities which all students undertake throughout the core MPhil programme. The paper reviews the range of these activities that are designed to help support the formal delivery of the taught programme. These include residential field courses, role plays, change challenges, games, systems thinking, multi criteria decision making, awareness of literature from other disciplines and consultancy projects. An axial coding approach to the analysis of routine feedback questionnaires drawn from recent years has been used to identify how student’s own awareness develops. Also results of two surveys are presented which tests the students’ perceptions about whether or not the course is providing learning environments to develop awareness and skills in these areas. Findings: Students generally perform well against these tasks with a significant feature being the mutual support they give to each other in their learning. The paper concludes that for students from an engineering background it is an holistic approach to delivering a new way of thinking through a combination of lectures, class activities, assignments, interactions between class members, and access to material elsewhere in the University that enables participants to develop their skills in each of the key themes. Originality /value: The paper provides a reflection on different pedagogical approaches to exploring key sustainable themes and reports students own perceptions of the value of these kinds of activities. Experiences are shared of running a range of diverse learning activities within a professional practice Masters programme.

Effect of water temperature on the growth performance and digestive enzyme activities of Chinese longsnout catfish (Leiocassis longirostris Gunther)

The present study was carried out to investigate the influence of water temperature on the growth performance and digestive enzyme (pepsin, trypsin and lipase) activities of Chinese longsnout catfish. Triplicate groups of Chinese longsnout catfish (35.6 +/- 0.48 g, mean +/- SE) were reared at different water temperatures (20, 24, 28 and 32 degrees C). The feeding rate (FR), specific growth rate (SGR) and feed efficiency ratio (FER) were significantly affected by water temperatures and regression relationships between water temperature and FI, SGR as well as FER were expressed as FR=-0.016T2+0.91T-10.88 (n=12, R2=0.8752), SGR=-0.026T2+1.39T-17.29 (n=12, R2=0.7599) and FER=-0.013T2+0.70T-8.43 (n=12, R2=0.7272). Based on these, the optimum temperatures for FR, SGR and FER were 27.66, 26.69 and 26.44 degrees C respectively. The specific activities of digestive enzymes at 24 or 28 degrees C were significantly higher than that at 20 or 32 degrees C. In addition, there was a significant linear regression between FR or SGR and specific activities of pepsin and lipase, which indicated that pepsin and lipase played important roles in regulating growth through nutrient digestion in Chinese longsnout catfish.

CHARACTERISTICS OF FATTY ACID METHYL ESTERS (FAMEs) AND ENZYMATIC ACTIVITIES IN SEDIMENTS OF TWO EUTROPHIC LAKES

Enzymatic activities and fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) in the sediments of two eutrophic lakes in Wuhan city were investigated. The results showed phosphatase and dehydrogenase activities in the lotus zone and plant floating bed zone were significantly lower than those in other sites, and urease activity was the highest where microorganism agents were put in. Fatty acid group compositions indicated the predominance of aerobic bacteria in the surface sediments in shallow lakes. The ratios of FAMEs specific for bacteria and Gram-positive bacteria exibited significant differences between the two lakes. The results of trans to cis indicated that the microorganisms in Lake Yuehu could adapt themselves to environmental stress better. The enzymatic activities and FAMEs showed differences in different sites, indicating that ecological restoration measures and environmental conditions could affect lake sediment to some extent. But the monitoring, work would be done in series to exactly evaluate the effect of the remediation measures.