Land degradation, conservation and globalization: a Mediterranean perspective LOCAL ENVIRONMENTS, SUSTAINABILITY AND GLOBAL TRADES: THEORETICAL ISSUES LAND DEGRADATION, CONSERVATION AND GLOBALIZATION: A MEDITERRANEAN PERSPECTIVE

To cite th is article / Pou r citer cet article ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT The era of globalization poses new challenges to the sustainable use of soil and water as rapid population growth, expansion of urban areas and creation of new markets, both local and afar, elevate production demand and expectations on the fragile soils. One of the main objectives of the Concerted Action has been to co-ordinate research efforts on the sustainable use of soil and water at the interface between urbanization, agriculture and tourism. But how have existing attempts to manage soil and water resources faired? The paper explores the conflicts between the control of land use for the sustainable use of soil and water and the pressure for land use change exerted by opportunities in the globalizing economy. Promoting sustainable use of soil and water is a difficult task in the Mediterranean environments as it requires a sound basis for the scientific judgement of sustainability, alternatives to market controls on land use decisions and effective dissemination of appropriate measures and technologies

Erosion assessment and administration in subtropical China : as case study from Fuijan Province.

Soil erosion continues to represent a major environmental issue in China. This paper considers some of the practical difficulties of assessing the severity of soil erosion in subtropical southern China, with particular reference to a case study in Fujian Province. The administration of soil and water conservation and procedures for erosion evaluation in an area of southern China are outlined. Although the hierarchy of bodies involved in soil conversation is impressive compared to other countries in subtropical environments, little is known about the dynamics of erosion, its impact on productivity or its contribution to sediment yields

Catchment-scale deposition and redistribution of Chernobyl radiocaesium in upland Britain.

Fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident in April 1986 resulted in a significant increase in the inventory of radiocaesium in many areas of upland Britain. Caesium-137 derived from nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s and 1960s has been widely used as a sediment tracer to monitor soil erosion. The presence of Chernobyl fallout provides an opportunity to examine the short-term, post-input behaviour of radiocaesium in upland soils and assess its potential for investigating sediment transfer in upland systems. Sampling undertaken in the catchment of Lake Vyrnwy, North Wales considered the vertical distribution of radiocaessium in different soil types, the catchment-wide variation in Chernobyl fallout deposition, and the radiocaesium content of sediment from a variety of slope and fluvial environments. Whilst uncertainty surroungding the estimation of baseline inventories limits the detailed interpretation of short-term sediment dynamics, it is apparent that the sediment-associated redistribution of Chernobyl radioactivity may result in its accumulation in certain parts of the catchment over longer timescales

Development of gene expression assays measuring immune responses in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta)

As scavengers, spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are exposed to a wide array of pathogens but exhibit low mortality rates due to infectious disease. This suggests that this species exhibits a unique and robust immune response to pathogens. However, few tools exist to measure cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in hyenas and we aimed to develop a gene expression assay to quantify antigen-specific responses. Whole blood from five Mycobacterium bovis-sensitised hyenas was incubated in Nil and TB antigen tubes of the QuantiFERON®-TB Gold (QFT) system. Using qPCR, the relative expression stability of the reference genes ACTB, GAPDH, YWHAZ and TBP in these samples was determined as well as the mean fold change in the expression of IFNG, CXCL8, CXCL9, CXCL10 and CXCL11 in M. bovis-antigen stimulated blood. The expression of YWHAZ and TBP showed greatest stability, and YWHAZ was selected as a reference for further analysis. The expression of CXCL9 and CXCL11 showed greatest upregulation in antigen-stimulated blood and the assay results for these genes were strongly correlated. The measurement of antigen-induced CXCL9 and CXCL11 expression, relative to that of YWHAZ, can be used to measure CMI responses to infectious diseases in spotted hyenas.Keywords: bovine tuberculosis (bTB), cell-mediated immunity (CMI), CXC chemokine, Mycobacterium bovis, relative qPCR, YWHA

The characterisation of lead fatty acid soaps in 'protrusions' in aged traditional oil paint

Lead(II) carboxylate soaps of two fatty acids, palmitic (C15H31COOH) and stearic acids (C17H35COOH), and a dicarboxylic acid, azelaic acid (HOOCC7H14COOH), have been synthesised and characterised by FTIR spectroscopy. These acids are all encountered in aged traditional oil paint, the azelaic acid resulting from the oxidative degradation of unsaturated fatty acids in the oil. Lead(II) azelate synthesised by hydrothermal methods was characterised by single crystal structure determination. This has a 3D polymeric structure with lead(II) ions linked by carboxylate bridges to form an infinite stack of (PbO4)(n) units. These layers are connected to adjacent layers by an infinite number of parallel C(CH2)(7)C chains arranged perpendicularly to the stacks. The lead(II) ions display an unusual 7-fold coordination. The first direct evidence that the 'protrusions' encountered in aged traditional lead-containing oil paints contain lead soaps is reported. Their mechanism of formation is discussed