Engaging local communities in aquatic resources research and activities: a technical manual

This document is part of a series of 5 technical manuals produced by the Challenge Program Project CP34 “Improved fisheries productivity and management in tropical reservoirs”. The objective of this technical manual is to relay the field experience of a group of scientists who have worked extensively in small fisheries in sub-Sahara Africa and Asia and lay out a series of simple and pragmatic pointers on how to establish and run initiatives for community catch assessment. The manual relies in particular on practical experience gained implementing Project 34 of the Challenge Programme on Water and Food: Improved Fisheries Productivity and Management in Tropical Reservoirs. (PDF contains 26 pages

Participatory diagnosis and adaptive management of small-scale fisheries in the Niger River Basin

In a broad sense, analysis of ‘resilience’ is about the capacity of systems to adapt to shocks, recognizing that disturbance and change are integral component of complex systems. More formally, resilience analysis proposes to focus on mechanisms and processes that help systems absorbing perturbations and shocks, and coping with uncertainty and risks. Defined in such a way, the concept of resilience thus appears particularly useful for the management of small-scale fisheries. However, while the resilience concept is appealing, particularly in the face of the failure of current management approaches, the danger is that it remains largely academic and theoretical, and not of a great help in effectively improving the way natural resources are managed on the ground. The challenge, therefore, lies in a pragmatic approach to operationalizing the concept of resilience and making its implementation on the ground practical and meaningful. In this project we propose a framework aimed at this objective and we test it in the specific context of small-scale fisheries in the Niger River Basin

Impact of diet and nutraceutical supplementation on inflammation in elderly people. Results from the RISTOMED study, an open-label randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Eating habits may influence the life span and the quality of ageing process by modulating inflammation. The RISTOMED project was developed to provide a personalized and balanced diet, enriched with or without nutraceutical compounds, to decrease and prevent inflammageing, oxidative stress and gut microbiota alteration in healthy elderly people. This paper focused on the effect on inflammation and metabolism markers after 56 days of RISTOMED diet alone or supplementation with three nutraceutical compounds. METHODS:A cohort of 125 healthy elderly subjects was recruited and randomized into 4 arms (Arm A, RISTOMED diet; Arm B, RISTOMED diet plus VSL#3 probiotic blend; Arm C, RISTOMED diet plus AISA d-Limonene; Arm D, RISTOMED diet plus Argan oil). Inflammatory and metabolism parameters as well as the ratio between Clostridium cluster IV and Bifidobacteria (CL/B) were collected before and after 56 days of dietary intervention, and their evolution compared among the arms. Moreover, participants were subdivided according to their baseline inflammatory parameters (erythrocytes sedimentation rate (ESR), C-Reactive Protein, fibrinogen, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alfa (TNF-α), and Interleukin 6) in two clusters with low or medium-high level of inflammation. The evolution of the measured parameters was then examined separately in each cluster. RESULTS:Overall, RISTOMED diet alone or with each nutraceutical supplementation significantly decreased ESR. RISTOMED diet supplemented with d-Limonene resulted in a decrease in fibrinogen, glucose, insulin levels and HOMA-IR. The most beneficial effects were observed in subjects with a medium-high inflammatory status who received RISTOMED diet with AISA d-Limonene supplementation. Moreover, RISTOMED diet associated with VSL#3 probiotic blend induced a decrease in the CL/B ratio. CONCLUSIONS:Overall, this study emphasizes the beneficial anti-inflammageing effect of RISTOMED diet supplemented with nutraceuticals to control the inflammatory status of elderly individuals

Inner structure of the Puy de Dˆome volcano: cross-comparison of geophysical models (ERT, gravimetry, muon imaging)

International audienceMuon imaging of volcanoes and of geological structures in general is actively being developed by several groups in the world. It has the potential to provide 3-D density distributions with an accuracy of a few percent. At this stage of development, comparisons with established geophysical methods are useful to validate the method. An experiment has been carried out in 2011 and 2012 on a large trachytic dome, the Puy de Dˆome volcano, to perform such a comparison of muon imaging with gravimetric tomography and 2-D electrical resistivity tomography. Here, we present the preliminary results for the last two methods. North-south and east-west resistivity profiles allow us to model the resistivity distribution down to the base of the dome. The modelling of the Bouguer anomaly provides models for the density distribution within the dome that are directly comparable with the results from the muon imaging. Our ultimate goal is to derive a model of the dome using the joint interpretation of all sets of data

Air shower simulation for background estimation in muon tomography of volcanoes

International audienceOne of the main sources of background for the radiography of volcanoes using atmospheric muons comes from the accidental coincidences produced in the muon telescopes by charged particles belonging to the air shower generated by the primary cosmic ray. In order to quantify this background effect, Monte Carlo simulations of the showers and of the detector are developed by the TOMUVOL collaboration. As a first step, the atmospheric showers were simulated and investigated using two Monte Carlo packages, CORSIKA and GEANT4.We compared the results provided by the two programs for the muonic component of vertical proton-induced showers at three energies: 1, 10 and 100 TeV. We found that the spatial distribution and energy spectrum of the muons were in good agreement for the two codes

Experimental demonstration of quantum correlations over more than 10 km

Energy and time entangled photons at a wavelength of 1310 nm are produced by parametric downconversion in a KNbO3 crystal and are sent into all-fiber interferometers using a telecom fiber network. The two interferometers of this Franson-type test of the Bell-inequality are located 10.9 km apart from one another. Two-photon fringe visibilities of up to 81.6 % are obtained. These strong nonlocal correlations support the nonlocal predictions of quantum mechanics and provide evidence that entanglement between photons can be maintained over long distances.Comment: 5 pages, REVTeX, 3 postscript figures include

Rethinking irrigation modernisation: Realising multiple objectives through the integration of fisheries

Irrigation has been, and will remain, instrumental in addressing water security (Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6), food insecurity (SDG 2) and poverty (SDG 1) goals. However, the global context in which irrigation takes place is changing rapidly. A call for healthier and more sustainable food systems is placing new demands on how irrigation is developed and managed. Growing pressures from competing water uses in the domestic and industrial sectors, as well increasing environmental awareness, mean irrigation is increasingly called on to perform better, delivering acceptable returns on investment and simultaneously improving food security, rural livelihoods and nutrition, as well as supporting environmental conservation. Better integration of fisheries (including aquaculture) in irrigation planning, investment and management can contribute to the modernisation of irrigation and the achievement of the multiple objectives that it is called on to deliver. A framework illustrating how fisheries can be better integrated with irrigation, and how the two can complement each other across a range of scales, from scheme to catchment and, ultimately, national level, is presented

Protons in near earth orbit

The proton spectrum in the kinetic energy range 0.1 to 200 GeV was measured by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) during space shuttle flight STS-91 at an altitude of 380 km. Above the geomagnetic cutoff the observed spectrum is parameterized by a power law. Below the geomagnetic cutoff a substantial second spectrum was observed concentrated at equatorial latitudes with a flux ~ 70 m^-2 sec^-1 sr^-1. Most of these second spectrum protons follow a complicated trajectory and originate from a restricted geographic region.Comment: 19 pages, Latex, 7 .eps figure

Search for antihelium in cosmic rays

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) was flown on the space shuttle Discovery during flight STS-91 in a 51.7 degree orbit at altitudes between 320 and 390 km. A total of 2.86 * 10^6 helium nuclei were observed in the rigidity range 1 to 140 GV. No antihelium nuclei were detected at any rigidity. An upper limit on the flux ratio of antihelium to helium of < 1.1 * 10^-6 is obtained.Comment: 18 pages, Latex, 9 .eps figure

Study of Inclusive Strange-Baryon Production and Search for Pentaquarks in Two-Photon Collisions at LEP

Measurements of inclusive production of the Lambda, Xi- and Xi*(1530) baryons in two-photon collisions with the L3 detector at LEP are presented. The inclusive differential cross sections for Lambda and Xi- are measured as a function of the baryon transverse momentum, pt, and pseudo-rapidity, eta. The mean number of Lambda, Xi- and Xi*(1530) baryons per hadronic two-photon event is determined in the kinematic range 0.4 GeV < pt< 2.5 GeV, |eta| < 1.2. Overall agreement with the theoretical models and Monte Carlo predictions is observed. A search for inclusive production of the pentaquark theta+(1540) in two-photon collisions through the decay theta+ -> proton K0s is also presented. No evidence for production of this state is found