Dumped munitions: Effects, metabolism and detection of explosive compounds and chemical warfare agent-related chemicals in fish from the Baltic Sea

Dumped munitions in the marine environment, a legacy mainly originating from World Wars I and II, constitute a contemporary environmental problem affecting marine biota, maritime infrastructure and economy, and humans. The disposal mainly took place in the aftermath of the war as legal practice until the 1970s and environmental consequences played a minor role in this situation. Nowadays, due to the permanent exposure of the munition shells to seawater, many shells are corroded and the corrosion will continue in the future. Where shells are broken, the compounds they contain leak into the marine environment leading to exposure of marine organisms, including fish. This risk posed by dumped munitions exists at various locations around the world, often in coastal waters. With hundreds of thousands of tons of dumped munitions, both conventional explosives and chemical warfare agents (CWAs), the Baltic Sea is an important area of investigation. Conventional munitions contain organic explosive compounds such as the nitroaromatic 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and the nitramines hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine (HMX). CWAs are part of chemical weapons (CW), which were also dumped on large scale in the Baltic Sea and often contain sulphur mustard (Mustard Gas) or arsenic-based warfare agents like Clark I and II and Adamsite. Both compounds from conventional munitions and chemical warfare agents are known to cause toxic effects in humans and wildlife. However, toxicity studies of nitroaromatic compounds in fish are mainly limited to their acute effects and the toxicity of CWAs in fish is completely unknown. To date, information on the distribution and condition of munitions is scarce. Most of the countries affected lack coordinated action by political stakeholders to develop a management concept for the future. In order to provide solutions for these unsolved challenges, the international DAIMON project (Decision Aid for Marine Munitions), involving research institutions from countries bordering the Baltic Sea, aimed to establish a scientific basis for decisions on the future management of dumped munitions in the sea. This also includes improving our understanding of the effects and fate of munition compounds in fish, which are an essential part of the marine environment. This thesis was carried out in the framework of the DAIMON project and focused mainly on TNT as a frequently occuring component of conventional munitions. It investigated: 1) the genotoxicity of nitroaromatic compounds in fish, 2) the metabolism of munition compounds in fish liver and 3) the detection of munition compounds in fish from the Baltic Sea

Connecting the “Big Easy”: Lessons from the people surrounding the Lafitte Greenway in New Orleans, Louisiana

The 3.1-mile (4.99-kilometer) linear Lafitte Greenway, one of the first revitalization projects since Hurricane Katrina (2005), is designed to become a vibrant bicycle and pedestrian transportation corridor linking users to the world-famous French Quarter and central business district. As an emerging city, New Orleans generally developed sections of swamp land starting near the French Quarter and growing outward in most directions. The resulting transect of neighborhoods with access to the Lafitte Greenway begins with areas associated with early development, such as Fauborg Tremé and Bayou St. John, to 20th Century development found within the Navarre and Mid City Neighborhoods. In all, the Greenway directly impacts nine distinct neighborhoods with several documented sub-districts, including the Tremé neighborhood which has the distinction of being the first freed black neighborhood in America, a hot spot in the southern civil rights movement, and the starting point of a great jazz tradition. A multi-disciplinary team of landscape architects, civil engineers, ecologists, economists, crime prevention experts, park management consultants, and public engagement specialists incorporated public input, synthesized measurable objectives, and worked across a range of scales to plan and design one of the most important planned public spaces since the hurricane. The project began in spring 2009 and is scheduled to begin the first phase of construction in the fall of 2013

Vesicular-arbuscular Mycorrhizal Inoculation of Hawaiian Plants: A Conservation Technique for Endangered Tropical Species

Forty species of plants (including 28 species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands) were evaluated in the greenhouse for their response to inoculation with the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices Schenck & Smith. Seedlings, cuttings, and established plants were inoculated. Several kinds of growth media were used. Increased growth and survival most frequently occurred when plants were grown in a gravel or fine sand medium that included calcined clay (up to 50% by volume) or sphagnum peat (up to 20%). Significant increases in height, weight, leaf number and size, and survival were noted in 10 of 14 species of seedlings grown in media in which peat content was 20% or less. Mycorrhizae were only rarely present in the noninoculated plants except for plants grown from cuttings. The latter routinely formed mycorrhizae in the absence of added inoculum. Addition of mycorrhizal fungi to potting mixes appears to have value as a conservation technique for some plants that are difficult to propagate

Senior Recital:Krista Koske, Mezzo-Soprano

Kemp Recital Hall Saturday Afternoon April 10, 1999 2:00p.m

Boran Pastoral Innovations in Response to Climate Change: A Case of Merti Division, Isiolo County, Kenya

Pastoralism is the main source of livelihood for Boran community inhabiting Northern Kenya. Over time, they have developed coping strategies aimed at minimising losses from aridity. Although the strategies may have served the community well in the past, they are presently perceived as inadequate in the light of climate change. This study investigated necessary adjustments in the strategies and innovations among the Boran in Merti Division of Isiolo County. Specific objectives are to investigate innovations by Boran pastoralist’ in response to climate change, to find out the main drivers of innovation practices and to establish the relationships between herders’ innovation practices, climate change and livelihood strategies Qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied. The target population was 400 from which a random sample of 80 herders was drawn. All the 6 local chiefs and 6 community leaders in the area were also interviewed. Data was collected using semi structured questionnaires and key Informant interviews. The resulting data was coded and statistically analyzed using the statistical package for a social scientist (SPSS). Then the results were analysed, discussed and presented in graphs, pie charts and tables. The results showed that there were main drivers of innovations among Boran pastoralists in Merti Division. They include prolonged droughts, conflicts and invasive species which are linked to climatic changes. There were also response strategies which were found to be improvement in their usual drought coping strategies while others are newly emerging strategies. The innovation practices include agreement between herders and ranchers, livelihood diversification, inter-community negotiations, change in mobility, among others. The study established that 53% of the pastoralists were aged over 40 years while 47% were aged below 40 years though there was no significant difference between the two groups (p=0.0921). On the period the respondents had worked as pastoralist, the results showed that majority (52%) had worked for more than 9 years while the rest had worked for less than 9 years as pastoralists. Further, the results of the study established that climate change was a key driver of herders led innovation practices. The study established that a unit deterioration of the climate change would lead to an increase in the herders led innovation practices by 4.5 units with this being significant at 5% level of significance (p=0.000). On the other hand, livelihood strategies were also to be significantly associated with herder led innovation with a p-value of 0.000. The study concluded that climate change has had an impact on Boran pastoralists’ forcing them to improve their existing drought coping mechanisms and adopt newly emerging strategies. Some of the key recommendations are increasing participation of pastoralist in development of pastoral policies, reducing obstacles that hinder pastoral mobility and strengthening of security and peaceful existence in Northern Kenya in order to enhance adaptation to climate change. Keywords: Climate Change, Boran, Pastoralism, Pastoral Innovations, Merti, Keny

Unlocking Potentials through Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Kenyan County Governments

Since the promulgation of the (Government of Kenya , 2010), there have been many changes in Kenya. The greatest of these changes is devolution which has been received with mixed reaction. With the onset of County governments, the constitution demands that each county despite their diversity takes responsibility of running their affairs to meet the objectives of devolution. This calls for change in perception in governance, hence innovation and entrepreneurship is mandatory through embracing new ideas, new ways of doing things and technology towards unlocking the county potential for sustainable devolution. This paper therefore discusses how innovation and entrepreneurship can support county governments in improving governance and utility of available resource in serving people for effective devolution. Innovation and entrepreneurship promotes institutional competiveness and boosts development. Innovative ways would encourage entrepreneurship that matches the current global needs and ensures Kenyan counties met its obligation and can compete favourably with other nations. Keywords: Innovation, entrepreneurship, devolution, unlocking potentia

Mycorrhizal Status of Gunnera petaloidea in Hawai'i

Eight collections of the endemic Hawaiian angiosperm Gunnera petaloidea ssp. kauaiensis were examined for mycorrhizae. Soil-inhabiting roots of all specimens possessed extensive vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae 01AM). Aerial roots lacked mycorrhizae. Soil from the root zones of the plants contained propagules of VAM fungi, and spores of two species of VAM fungi were found in the soil. The discovery of mycorrhizae in Gunnera adds another symbiont to the Gunnera-Nostoc symbiosis

Assessing Economic Viability of Pasture Enterprise as Adaptation Strategy in Dry Land Ecosystems - A Case of Ijara, Kenya

To adapt to impacts of climate change and variability that outwit traditional coping mechanisms, communities in the semi-arid Ijara, spontaneously took to pasture enterprise strategy. The spontaneity translated into unclear costs and benefits that impeded management of the scarce resources. The study clarified costs and benefits by isolating them for analysis and measuring the strategies’ viability for adaptation. The objective was to measure costs incurred and benefits gained from avoided damages through adoption of the strategy at community farm-level. Costs-benefit-analysis was the design used, complemented by the financial market-driven 15% discounting rates and net present values. Also co-ordinated regional downscaling experiment models were used to ascertain climate performance and projection. Household questionnaire was administered to 240 sample size calculated from 9000 farmer population.  Fifty-seven per cent pastoralists had  embraced agro-pastoralism to incorporate on-farm rain-fed Sudan grass, whose input costs were US$1333/ha/season with estimated yields of 1.8 tons/ha of dry matter. Cash flow across three rain-fed seasons netted US$21390, US$45214 and US$67820 per hectare from one, two and three seasons respectively. Overall net present value was US$ 2000p.a. Equal to 50.5% agro-pastoralists produced fodder that cushioned against the high costs on inter-county importation.  Land size inadequacy and the communal tenure  upset 86.26% producers  whereas 47.5%  were concerned that drought raised production costs the most after that lack of skills 53.08%, feed deficit at 30.41%, and diseases 20.41% in that order. Overall benefits from the strategy exceeded costs, making the investment viable for adaptation. Going forward and considering the limited adaptation capacities, disease control and feed deficit costs, policies need to focus on formulating livestock improvement guidelines to include revitalizing traditional grazing management practices. Other pertinent investment opportunities include strategic value-chain linkages and infrastructure, promotion of rain-fed and irrigated fodder production technologies incorporating climate-smart water harvesting, supporting post-harvest feed reserves technologies, reviewing land tenure system and investing in local farmer-friendly weather data collection and application Keywords: Adaptation strategy, benefits and costs, climate change, pasture enterpris

A new third order rotatable design in five dimensions through balanced incomplete block designs

Response surface methodology (RSM) is a collection of statistical and mathematical techniques useful for developing, improving and optimising processes. To cut on costs, an experimenter has to make a choice of the  experimental design prior to experimentation. The most extensive applications of RSM are in the particular situations where several inputvariables potentially influence some performance measure or quality characteristic of the process. The field of RSM consists of the experimental strategy for exploring the space of the process or independent variables and empirical statistical modeling to develop an appropriate relationship between the yield and the process variables and optimisation methods for finding the values of the process variables that produce desirable values of the response. The fitting of the response surface can be complex and tedious if done haphazardly. The use of rotatable designs has been suggested. These designs ensure equal precision on the response estimates. The advent of high speed computers, the realisation of the importance and need to choose and adopt an experimental design that is best according to some well defined statistical criterion, led to the  development of a subject like optimality of designs. In view of the massive research effort in improving the statistical tools for investigation of  response surfaces, it would be hoped that experimenters would beincreasingly using the sophisticated developed statistical tools, which is not the case in general terms. Experiments of this kind could be widely  applicable in human medicine, veterinary medicine, agriculture and in general, product research-innovation development for optimum resource utilisation based industrialisation process in line with the Kenya Vision 2030. In this paper, a third order rotatable design in five dimensions from a third order rotatable design in lower dimensions is constructed through balanced incomplete block designs (BIBDS). The result of the experiment in lower dimensional design need not be discarded. RSM will be appropriate to the study of phenomena that are presently not well  understood to permit the mechanistic approach where the mechanistic  approach is itself used when the mechanisms of some scientific  phenomena are understood sufficiently well