scholarly journals Phytotherapy and Polycyclic Logging: Implication on Genetic Multiplicity and Diversity of African Mahogany in Tropical Rainforest

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-25
Author(s):  
Amadu LAWAL ◽  
Victor A. J. ADEKUNLE ◽  
Oghenekome U. ONOKPISE

There are over 8,000 globally threatened tree species. For each species, there is a different story behind why they are threatened and what values we stand to lose if we do not find the means to save them. Mahogany, a member of Meliaceae, is a small genus with six species. Its straight, fine and even grain, consistency in density and hardness makes it a high valued wood for construction purposes. The bitter bark is widely used in traditional medicine in Africa. The high demand for bark has also led to the total stripping of some trees, complete felling of larger trees to get the bark from the entire length of the tree and bark removal from juvenile trees. These species are now threatened with extinction due to selective and polycyclic logging, and also excessive bark removal. The natural regeneration of mahogany is poor, and mahogany shoot borer Hypsipyla robusta (Moore) attacks prevent the success of plantations within the native area in West Africa. In developing countries, most of the Khaya species exists in the wild state; therefore, the regeneration and long-term conservation are at the mercy of the vagaries of nature and the profit driven herb collectors and timber merchants. It becomes urgently necessary by government of developing countries to place ban on further harvesting of mahogany species to allow the remaining few trees of mahogany in the forest to recuperate and produce substantial seeds for regeneration.

2018 ◽  
pp. 70-84
Author(s):  
Ph. S. Kartaev ◽  
Yu. I. Yakimova

The paper studies the impact of the transition to the inflation targeting regime on the magnitude of the pass-through effect of the exchange rate to prices. We analyze cross-country panel data on developed and developing countries. It is shown that the transition to this regime of monetary policy contributes to a significant reduction in both the short- and long-term pass-through effects. This decline is stronger in developing countries. We identify the main channels that ensure the influence of the monetary policy regime on the pass-through effect, and examine their performance. In addition, we analyze the data of time series for Russia. It was concluded that even there the transition to inflation targeting led to a decrease in the dependence of the level of inflation on fluctuations in the ruble exchange rate.


1994 ◽  
Vol 33 (4I) ◽  
pp. 327-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Lipsey

I am honoured to be invited to give this lecture before so distinguished an audience of development economists. For the last 21/2 years I have been director of a project financed by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and composed of a group of scholars from Canada, the United States, and Israel.I Our brief is to study the determinants of long term economic growth. Although our primary focus is on advanced industrial countries such as my own, some of us have come to the conclusion that there is more common ground between developed and developing countries than we might have first thought. I am, however, no expert on development economics so I must let you decide how much of what I say is applicable to economies such as your own. Today, I will discuss some of the grand themes that have arisen in my studies with our group. In the short time available, I can only allude to how these themes are rooted in our more detailed studies. In doing this, I must hasten to add that I speak for myself alone; our group has no corporate view other than the sum of our individual, and very individualistic, views.


Author(s):  
Kazuho Isono ◽  
Ryo Tsukimoto ◽  
Satoshi Iuchi ◽  
Akihisa Shinozawa ◽  
Izumi Yotsui ◽  
...  

Abstract Plants are often exposed not only to short-term (S-) heat stress but also to diurnal long-term (L-) heat stress over several consecutive days. To reveal the mechanisms underlying L-heat stress tolerance, we here used a forward genetic screening for sensitive to long-term heat (sloh) mutants and isolated sloh4. The mutant was hypersensitive to L- but not S-heat stress. The causal gene of sloh4 was identical to MIP3 encoding a member of the MAIGO2 (MAG2) tethering complex, which is composed of the MAG2, MIP1, MIP2, and MIP3 subunits and is localized at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. Although sloh4/mip3 was hypersensitive to L-heat stress, the sensitivity of the mag2-3 and mip1–1 mutants was similar to that of the wild type. Under L-heat stress, the ER stress and the following unfolded protein response (UPR) were more pronounced in sloh4 than in the wild type. Transcript levels of bZIP60-regulated UPR genes were strongly increased in sloh4 under L-heat stress. Two processes known to be mediated by INOSITOL REQUIRING ENZYME1 (IRE1)—accumulation of the spliced bZIP60 transcript and a decrease in the transcript levels of PR4 and PRX34, encoding secretory proteins—were observed in sloh4 in response to L-heat stress. These findings suggest that misfolded proteins generated in sloh4 under L-heat stress may be recognized by IRE1 but not bZIP28, resulting in initiation of the UPR via activated bZIP60. Therefore, it would be possible that only MIP3 in MAG2 complex has an additional function in L-heat tolerance, which is not related to the ER–Golgi vesicle tethering.


1978 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Garmany

This article discusses some of the issues involved in the choice of technology in developing countries, especially those in Africa, and the relationship of this to employment and output. The problem is to find an optimum combination of productive resources that comes nearest to satisfying two objectives: the full and economically efficient utilisation of such resources, and the creation of as much surplus as possible over current consumption, thereby making possible new investment and long-term growth.


2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1733) ◽  
pp. 1560-1566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Koren ◽  
Shinichi Nakagawa ◽  
Terry Burke ◽  
Kiran K. Soma ◽  
Katherine E. Wynne-Edwards ◽  
...  

Potential mechanistic mediators of Darwinian fitness, such as stress hormones or sex hormones, have been the focus of many studies. An inverse relationship between fitness and stress or sex hormone concentrations has been widely assumed, although empirical evidence is scarce. Feathers gradually accumulate hormones during their growth and provide a novel way to measure hormone concentrations integrated over time. Using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, we measured testosterone, corticosterone and cortisol in the feathers of house sparrows ( Passer domesticus ) in a wild population which is the subject of a long-term study. Although corticosterone is considered the dominant avian glucocorticoid, we unambiguously identified cortisol in feathers. In addition, we found that feathers grown during the post-nuptial moult in autumn contained testosterone, corticosterone and cortisol levels that were significantly higher in birds that subsequently died over the following winter than in birds that survived. Thus, feather steroids are candidate prospective biomarkers to predict the future survival of individuals in the wild.


2021 ◽  
pp. 83-89
Author(s):  
Abeer Ali Khan

As the high demand of energy of the developing countries is met by importing energy and different energy technology, it has become increasingly necessary to discuss the environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of those technologies and make better decisions. Developed in the late 1960s, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has become a wide-ranging tool used to determine impacts of products or systems over several environmental and resource issues. The LCA approach has become more prevalent in research, industry and policy with growing concern for the environment. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to introduce the use of LCA in the decision-making process while selecting an energy technology. In this way, more environmentally conscious decisions will be made as LCAs can provide a better basis for this process.


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 33-38
Author(s):  
Anna Alexandrovna Antsiferova ◽  
Marina Yurievna Kopaeva ◽  
Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Kochkin ◽  
Pavel Konstantinovich Kashkarov

Introduction. Since the beginning of the XXI century, silver nanoparticles have been widely used in various industries, medicine and pharmaceuticals due to their pronounced antibacterial, antiviral and fungicidal properties. In connection with such a high demand for the use of silver nanoparticles, it is very important to understand the associated potential risks from their use. Materials and methods. In the course of the work, there has been a study of the effects of the long-term oral administration of a commercially produced dietary supplement based on silver nanoparticles with a size of 34 nm and stabilized with polyvinylpyrrolidone in an amount of 50 μg/day/animal on the cognitive functions of C57Bl/6 mice, as well as their accumulation in the brain by the method of instrumental neutron activation analysis. The dietary supplement used is recommended for people as a treatment for gastrointestinal infections. Results. It was found that after 180 days of administration, silver nanoparticles impair long-term contextual memory, and over time, the content of silver in the brain increases. Conclusion. Presumably impaired cognitive function with accumulation of silver in the brains of mice. This poses the risk of prolonged oral use of the silver nanoparticles.


2018 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 01022
Author(s):  
Nga Ian Tam

The phenomenological case study covers the limited research on Chinese students‟ experiences of nature in a tropical rainforest in Thailand. Macau is a very small place with only 20 % of natural resources remaining but Chinese students are born to be detached from these natural environments. Their comfortable lifestyle leads to a rise of unsustainable behavior such as an increased in consumption and household waste. With numerous researches that review the benefits of nature including an enhancement in environmental friendly behavior, a 7 d self-funded experiential learning program in a tropical rainforest in Thailand in 2015 was initiated in fostering 12 Chinese students‟ pro-environmental identity and behavior. Findings show the majority of students‟ pro-environmental identity and behavior is enhanced and they are trying to reconnect with the natural environment more often than before.


2010 ◽  
Vol 49 (4II) ◽  
pp. 405-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tahseen Ajaz ◽  
Eatzaz Ahmad

Developing countries are typically unable to generate sufficient amount of revenue from taxation because these countries face a number of institutional problems in the process of revenue generation. One of the main problems is corruption in tax administration. The two important components of revenue generation are tax administration and tax system reforms [Brondolo, et al. (2008)]. The main objective of these is to increase the efficiency of tax administrations, specifically by reducing corruption and tax evasion. The second main problem of low revenue generation is political instabilities in developing countries. One of the important characteristics of political instability is unstable and governments and, hence, incoherent policy framework, which hinder in the process of long-term reforms in the system. The quality of governance as a whole is also relevant in this context. It is widely agreed that the presence of tax evasion and corruption of public officials is a social phenomenon that can significantly reduce tax revenue and seriously hurt economic growth and development.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document