A comparison of the neuroprotective efficacy of newly developed oximes (K117, K127) and currently available oxime (obidoxime) in tabun-poisoned rats

The potency of newly developed bispyridinium compounds (K117, K127) to reduce tabun-induced acute neurotoxic signs and symptoms was compared with currently available oxime (obidoxime) using functional observational battery. The neuroprotective effects of atropine alone and atropine combined with one of three bispyridinium oximes (K117, K127, obidoxime) on rats poisoned with tabun at a sublethal dose (180 μg/kg i.m.; 80% of LD50 value) were studied. Tabun-induced neurotoxicity was monitored using a functional observational battery and automatic measurement of motor activity at 24 h following tabun challenge. The results indicated that all tested oximes combined with atropine enabled tabun-poisoned rats to survive 24 h following tabun challenge while one tabun-poisoned rats died within 24 h after tabun poisoning when the rats were treated with atropine alone. Newly developed oxime K127 combined with atropine was the most effective in decreasing tabun-induced neurotoxicity in the case of sublethal poisonings among all oximes tested. Nevertheless, the differences of neuroprotective efficacy between K127 and obidoxime are not sufficient to replace obidoxime by K127 for the treatment of acute tabun poisonings

Bottom shrimp trawling impacts on species distribution and fishery dynamics; Ungwana Bay fishery Kenya before and after the 2006 trawl ban

The Malindi-Ungwana Bay fishery Kenya is one of the most important marine fisheries of the Western Indian Ocean. There are two fishing grounds: Formosa and Malindi, with a designated 5-nMno-trawl zone offshore. However, the fishery was faced with numerous resource use conflicts and a decline in catches, culminating in a trawl ban in 2006. This study analyses catches and fishery dynamics before and after the 2006 trawl ban. Results show that artisanal landings declined before the ban, but rapidly recovered within 2 years after the ban was imposed. However, shrimp landings in the artisanal fishery remain low. Commercial shrimp landings gradually declined before the ban: similar to 550 t in 2001 to 250 t in 2006, and the shrimp: fish bycatch ratio was 1:1.5 compared to early reports of 1:7 in 1999. SIMPER analyses shows that 6 and 16 families (groups) accounted for 91.0 and 90.2% of the similarity in catch within the Formosa and Malindi fishing grounds, respectively. Formosa was important for Claridae, Cichlidae and Protopteridae, while Malindi recorded Carangidae, Siganidae, Carcharhinidae and Lethrinidae as the main families. Future studies should therefore embark on analyses of the factors driving the spatio-temporal distributions of the species and assess the impacts of bottom trawling on fishery dynamics before the trawl ban can be lifted