Policy Analysis for Performance Assessment of Integrated Coastal Zone Management Initiatives for Coastal Sustainability

AbstractIntegrated Coastal Management (ICZM) is a process which ensures a balance between coastal demands related to the socio economic and environmental aspects. Throughout the globe, coastal zones are of strategic importance because of their aesthetic attributes. An ICZM policy is regarded as a way to improve the quality of life of communities dependent on coastal zone resources and maintain the existing biodiversity and ecosystems. It is also a guide of concerted future actions from stakeholders that may be adopted to attain the goals of ICZM. The ICZM process in many countries has known difficulties owing to loopholes at different levels. In this paper, an analysis of ICZM policies for three countries has been carried out. The results also show that ICZM in the three countries are at different levels of progress in terms of performance and reveals a series of factors that either hinders or promotes the process of ICZM

Policy Analysis for Performance Assessment of Integrated Coastal Zone Management Initiatives for Coastal Sustainability

AbstractIntegrated Coastal Management (ICZM) is a process which ensures a balance between coastal demands related to the socio economic and environmental aspects. Throughout the globe, coastal zones are of strategic importance because of their aesthetic attributes. An ICZM policy is regarded as a way to improve the quality of life of communities dependent on coastal zone resources and maintain the existing biodiversity and ecosystems. It is also a guide of concerted future actions from stakeholders that may be adopted to attain the goals of ICZM. The ICZM process in many countries has known difficulties owing to loopholes at different levels. In this paper, an analysis of ICZM policies for three countries has been carried out. The results also show that ICZM in the three countries are at different levels of progress in terms of performance and reveals a series of factors that either hinders or promotes the process of ICZM

Impacts of sea-level rise on coastal zones of Mauritius: insights following calculation of a coastal vulnerability index

Whilst climate change has been regarded as a growing concern in recent years due the disruptive and detrimental effects experienced across the globe, one of its most compelling and threatening evidence is Sea Level Rise (SLR). This phenomenon is more prominent in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and such islands are already facing escalating associated environmental threats, causing social and economic disruptions as well as insecurities. Amongst the SIDS, the coastal areas of Mauritius are considered among the most vulnerable to SLR, where statistics showed that between the years 1987 and 2007, an annual increase of 2.1mm in the sea level has been observed around Mauritius. Although SLR has various associated impacts, limited work has been undertaken to assess the coastal vulnerability of the impacts of SLR for Mauritius and to compute the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) of the island. Taking cognizance of this limitation, the purpose of this paper is to quantify, prioritize and critically assess the vulnerability of key impacts of sea level rise on the coastal areas of Mauritius following computation of a CVI. In this process, five key research questions are answered towards calculating the CVI of the island to eventually conceptualize a framework with the aim to reduce the adverse impacts of SLR on coastal zones of Mauritius. Findings of this study aim at the advancement of resilience and increased sustainability of coastal areas to the impacts of SLR

Sustaining anti-littering behavior within coastal and marine environments: through the macro-micro level lenses

Being regarded as a problem of global dimensions, marine litter has been a growing concern that affects human beings, wildlife and the economic health of coastal communities to varying degrees. Due to its involvement with human behavior, marine littering has been regarded as a cultural matter encompassing macro and micro level aspects. At the micro or individual level, behavior and behavioral motivation of an individual are driven by perception of that person while at the macro or societal level, aspects including policies and legislations influence behavior. This paper investigates marine littering through the macro-micro level lenses in order to analyze and recommend how anti-littering behavior can be improved and sustained. Using Coleman's model of micro-macro relations, research questions are formulated and investigated through a social survey. Results showed important differences in perceptions among participating groups and to address key issues, potential actions are proposed along with a framework to sustain anti-littering behavior

Assessment of Environmental and Health Risks Associated with the Management of Medical Waste in Mauritius

AbstractThe management as well as the associated Environmental and health risks of medical waste are of global concern. There exist critical steps for safe and scientific management of medical waste which healthcare establishment can adopt. Medical waste may be disposed using different methods which many countries have adopted. However, the disposal of medical waste needs to be carried out in a way that neither the environment nor the health conditions of people are put at risk as they are hazardous. This paper focuses on the assessment of potential risks associated with medical waste management in Mauritius. Two medical institutions: one private and one public have been purposely chosen for proper analysis. Observations have been made on how they manage their medical waste through visits in those institutions. Results have demonstrated that both institutions manage their medical waste differently. Recommendations on how to improve the practices of these two medical institutions of Mauritius have also been made

Metformin Attenuates Palmitate-Induced Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress, Serine Phosphorylation of IRS-1 and Apoptosis in Rat Insulinoma Cells

Lipotoxicity refers to cellular dysfunctions caused by elevated free fatty acid levels playing a central role in the development and progression of obesity related diseases. Saturated fatty acids cause insulin resistance and reduce insulin production in the pancreatic islets, thereby generating a vicious cycle, which potentially culminates in type 2 diabetes. The underlying endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response can lead to even β-cell death (lipoapoptosis). Since improvement of β-cell viability is a promising anti-diabetic strategy, the protective effect of metformin, a known insulin sensitizer was studied in rat insulinoma cells. Assessment of palmitate-induced lipoapoptosis by fluorescent microscopy and by detection of caspase-3 showed a significant decrease in metformin treated cells. Attenuation of β-cell lipotoxicity was also revealed by lower induction/activation of various ER stress markers, e.g. phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and induction of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein (CHOP). Our results indicate that the β-cell protective activity of metformin in lipotoxicity can be at least partly attributed to suppression of ER stress

The dual-acting chemotherapeutic agent Alchemix induces cell death independently of ATM and p53

YesTopoisomerase inhibitors are in common use as chemotherapeutic agents although they can display reduced efficacy in chemotherapy-resistant tumours, which have inactivated DNA damage response (DDR) genes, such as ATM and TP53. Here, we characterise the cellular response to the dual-acting agent, Alchemix (ALX), which is a modified anthraquinone that functions as a topoisomerase inhibitor as well as an alkylating agent. We show that ALX induces a robust DDR at nano-molar concentrations and this is mediated primarily through ATR- and DNA-PK- but not ATM-dependent pathways, despite DNA double strand breaks being generated after prolonged exposure to the drug. Interestingly, exposure of epithelial tumour cell lines to ALX in vitro resulted in potent activation of the G2/M checkpoint, which after a prolonged arrest, was bypassed allowing cells to progress into mitosis where they ultimately died by mitotic catastrophe. We also observed effective killing of lymphoid tumour cell lines in vitro following exposure to ALX, although, in contrast, this tended to occur via activation of a p53-independent apoptotic pathway. Lastly, we validate the effectiveness of ALX as a chemotherapeutic agent in vivo by demonstrating its ability to cause a significant reduction in tumour cell growth, irrespective of TP53 status, using a mouse leukaemia xenograft model. Taken together, these data demonstrate that ALX, through its dual action as an alkylating agent and topoisomerase inhibitor, represents a novel anti-cancer agent that could be potentially used clinically to treat refractory or relapsed tumours, particularly those harbouring mutations in DDR genes

Circulating tumor cells detected by lab-on-adisc: Role in early diagnosis of gastric cancer

[Background] The use of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) as an early diagnostic biomarker and prognostic indicator after surgery or chemotherapy has been suggested for various cancers. This study aimed to evaluate CTCs in patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer and to explore their clinical usefulness in the early diagnosis of gastric cancer. [Methods] A total of 116 patients with gastric cancer who underwent gastrectomy and 31 healthy volunteers were prospectively included between 2014 and 2015. Peripheral blood samples were collected before gastrectomy, and CTCs were examined using a centrifugal microfluidic system with a new fluid-assisted separation technique. [Results] After creating a receiver operating characteristic curve to identify the discriminative CTC value needed differentiate patients with gastric cancer from healthy volunteers, sensitivity and specificity were nearly optimized at a CTC threshold of 2 per 7.5 mL of blood. Of the 102 persons with a CTC level >= 2 per 7.5 mL of blood, 99 (97.1%) had gastric cancer, and of the 45 persons with a CTC level <2 per 7.5 mL of blood, 28 (62.2%) were healthy controls. Accordingly, the sensitivity and specificity for the differentiation of patients with gastric cancer from healthy controls were 85.3% and 90.3%, respectively. However, the presence of CTCs was not associated with any clinicopathologic features such as staging, histologic type, or mucin phenotype. [Conclusion] Although we could not prove the clinical feasibility of CTCs for gastric cancer staging, our results suggest a potential role of CTCs as an early diagnostic biomarker of gastric cancer

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

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Enersave API: Android-based power-saving framework for mobile devices

Power consumption is a major factor to be taken into consideration when using mobile devices in the IoT field. Good Power management requires proper understanding of the way in which it is being consumed by the end-devices. This paper is a continuation of the work in Ref. [1] and proposes an energy saving API for the Android Operating System in order to help developers turn their applications into energy-aware ones. The main features heavily used for building smart applications, greatly impact battery life of Android devices and which have been taken into consideration are: Screen brightness, Colour scheme, CPU frequency, 2G/3G network, Maps, Low power localisation, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The assessment of the power-saving API has been performed on real Android devices and also compared to the most powerful power-saving applications e DU Battery Saver and Battery Saver 2016 e currently available on the Android market. Comparisons demonstrate that the Enersave API has a significant impact on power saving when incorporated in android applications. While DU Battery Saver and Battery Saver 2016 help saving 22.2% and 40.5% of the battery power respectively, the incorporation of the Enersave API in android applications can help save 84.6% of battery power