Biophysical and human factors determine the distribution of poached elephants in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya

This study investigates the distribution of poached elephants as well as the biophysical and anthropogenic factors that determine the distribution of the poached elephants in Tsavo East National Park (TENP), Kenya. Data on the distribution of poached elephants, from 1990 to 2005, were acquired from elephant mortality database of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS). The distribution of poached elephants was not random but exhibited a clustered pattern. Poaching of elephants was higher in the central and northern areas of TENP. Poaching hotspots occurred along the main rivers (i.e. Tiva, Galana and Voi Rivers). During the wet season, a high density of poached elephants was recorded within the grassland, bushland and open bushland. In the dry season, the density of poached elephants was highest in the woodland, bushland, open bushland and grassland environments. The distribution of poached elephants was significantly correlated with land cover, proximity to main rivers, surface water, ranger patrol bases, park gates, roads and park boundaries. Priority security patrols should be performed along the Galana, Tiva and Voi River

Maximal rank for ΩPn

International Mathematical Forum, Vol. 6, 2011, no. 8, 389 - 398Full Tex

High Efficacy of Combined Albendazole and Ivermectin Treatment Against Gastrointestinal Nematodes in Vervet Monkeys and Baboons

Conventional treatment that eliminates other gastrointestinal nematodes has failed to show adequate efficacy against Trichuris trichura in non-human primates (NHPs). We investigated the efficacy of albendazole and ivermectin against natural infestation of nematodes in non human primates. 18 vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops) and 21 baboons (Papio anubis) were divided into three treatment groups comprising of 6 vervets and 7 baboons per group. Albendazole (ABZ, 7.5mg/kg) was administered orally, and ivermectin (IVM, 300μg/kg) subcutaneously, each for three consecutive days. Group I animals were treated with a combination of albendazole and ivermectin, Group II ABZ alone, while Group III animals were treated with IVM alone. Faecal samples were collected at 0, 7, 14 and 28 days post treatment (dpt) and analysed for the presence of faecal eggs using the McMaster and formol ether acetyl (FEA) methods. Faecal egg count reduction percentage (FECR (%)) and cure rate (CR (%) i.e. percentage of faecal egg negative individuals after treatment) were used to determine the efficacy of the treatment regimens. The FEA method was found to be a more sensitive assessment method than the McMaster technique. When both methods were used the helminths observed included Trichuris trichura (100% in both NHPs) and strongyles (29.4% in vervets and 28.6% in baboons). In vervets, the FECR of T. trichura at 28 dpt was 100% (Group I), 75% (Group II) and 0% (Group III) while the CR (at the same time point) was 100% (Group I), 60% (Group II) and 0% (Group III). In baboons, the FECR% and CR% of T. trichura at 28dpt, for groups I, II, III was 100%, 100%, 0%, respectively. All the three drug regimens were curative (100%) of strongyles at 28 dpt. It is concluded that a combined ivermectin and albendazole treatment for 3 days is effective in treating T. trichura and strongyles infections in vervet monkeys and baboons. Further trials should be conducted using a bigger sample size as well as in other primates including humans

Siting Transmission Lines in a Changed Milieu: Evolving Notions of the "Public Interest" In Balancing State and Regional Considerations

This Article discusses how state public utility law presents a barrier to the siting of new high voltage transmission lines to serve renewable resources, and how states could approach its evolution in order to preserve a role for state regulators in a new energy economy in which renewable energy will play a significant role. The traditional approach to determining the "public interest" in siting transmission lines is well on its way to obsolescence. Two developments over the past fifteen years have begun to challenge this paradigm. First, policies at the federal level and in many states have encouraged increased competition in generation, contributing to de-monopolization of the bulk power side of the industry. Second, the increased emphasis on environmental, energy independence, and other public policy objectives, has resulted in a dramatically increased demand for renewable energy, particularly given heightened attention to climate change. Given that wind power -- the most economically viable renewable resource on a bulk power basis -- is feasible predominantly in locations far removed from, load centers, the demand for new multistate transmission facilities has been brought clearly into focus. After an introduction in Part I, Part II describes the existing arrangements in several resource rich Western states for siting new transmission lines, and the coexistence of those arrangements with a conventional understanding of the public interest in determining need and addressing environmental concerns under traditional state transmission siting laws. Part III discusses transmission issues related to the competitive wholesale market and increased attention to climate change and highlights how federal law has expanded to accommodate some of these concerns. Part IV emphasizes the need for a new definition of the public interest which might better reflect these new market circumstances and opportunities, and highlights the two main barriers to this: 1) legislative and/or regulatory inertia and 2) an outdated cost-allocation model. The public interest under most state siting statutes is sufficiently capacious to give regulators some flexibility to evolve, but in other instances legislative action may be needed. In addition, the state cost-of-service ratemaking model must evolve to a more regional approach to allocating the costs of new transmission

Distribution, characterization and the commercialization of elite Rhizobia strains in Africa

Grain legumes play a significant role in smallholder farming systems in Africa because of their contribution to nutrition and income security and their role in fixing nitrogen. Biological Nitrogen Fixation (BNF) serves a critical role in improving soil fertility for legumes. Although much research has been conducted on rhizobia in nitrogen fixation and their contribution to soil fertility, much less is known about the distribution and diversity of the bacteria strains in different areas of the world and which of the strains achieve optimal benefits for the host plants under specific soil and environmental conditions. This paper reviews the distribution, characterization, and commercialization of elite rhizobia strains in Africa

NSTX Report on FES Joint Facilities Research Milestone 2010

Annual Target: Conduct experiments on major fusion facilities to improve understanding of the heat transport in the tokamak scrape-off layer (SOL) plasma, strengthening the basis for projecting divertor conditions in ITER. The divertor heat flux profiles and plasma characteristics in the tokamak scrape-off layer will be measured in multiple devices to investigate the underlying thermal transport processes. The unique characteristics of C-Mod, DIII-D, and NSTX will enable collection of data over a broad range of SOL and divertor parameters (e.g., collisionality ν*, beta β, parallel heat flux q||, and divertor geometry). Coordinated experiments using common analysis methods will generate a data set that will be compared with theory and simulation

Characteristics of the Scrape-Off Layer in DIII-D High-Performance Negative Central Magnetic Shear Discharges

In this paper the authors present measurements of the global power and particle balance in the high-performance phase of negative central magnetic shear (NCS) discharges and compare with reference VH-mode discharges. The principal differences observed are that NCS has a much lower fraction of the total input power flowing into the boundary, less core radiation, and larger rate of stored energy increase as a fraction of total power. Scrape-off layer (SOL) temperature and divertor heat flux profiles, and radiation profiles at the midplane, are similar to VH-mode. Due to the good core particle confinement and efficient fueling by neutral beam injection (NBI), with little gas puffing, the gas load on the walls and the recycling are very low during the NCS discharges. This results in a rate of density rise relative to beam fueling at the L to H transition time which is 1/3 of the value for VH transitions, which is in turn 1/2 that for L-to-ELMing-H-mode transitions