The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Using good and Cooperative Governance to improve Environmental Governance of South African World Heritage sites: A Case Study of the Vredefort Dome

South Africa became a signatory to and ratified the World Heritage Convention, 1972 (WHC) in 1997. It thereby voluntarily agreed to identify and conserve world heritage areas of universal value for the benefit of mankind. This article presents a case study of the Vredefort Dome, one of South Africa's World Heritage Sites (WHS) and specifically its governance strategies to ensure proper and sustainable governance. Firstly, the issue of fragmentation of the environmental governance regime applicable to WHS is discussed, and in doing so, refers to the various legislative and common law responsibilities and institutional structures related to environmental governance of WHS. Secondly, it briefly discusses the concept of good governance and the concept of cooperative governance as a sub-component of good governance. Finally it comprehensively proposes various strategies to ameliorate the current fragmented and unsustainable environmental governance effort relating to WHS.  &nbsp

Nanoencapsulated capsaicin changes migration behavior and morphology of madin darby canine kidney cell monolayers

We have developed a drug delivery nanosystem based on chitosan and capsaicin. Both substances have a wide range of biological activities. We investigated the nanosystem’s influence on migration and morphology of Madin Darby canine kidney (MDCK-C7) epithelial cells in comparison to the capsaicin-free nanoformulation, free capsaicin, and control cells. For minimally-invasive quantification of cell migration, we applied label-free digital holographic microscopy (DHM) and single-cell tracking. Moreover, quantitative DHM phase images were used as novel stain-free assay to quantify the temporal course of global cellular morphology changes in confluent cell layers. Cytoskeleton alterations and tight junction protein redistributions were complementary analyzed by fluorescence microscopy. Calcium influx measurements were conducted to characterize the influence of the nanoformulations and capsaicin on ion channel activities. We found that both, capsaicin-loaded and unloaded chitosan nanocapsules, and also free capsaicin, have a significant impact on directed cell migration and cellular motility. Increase of velocity and directionality of cell migration correlates with changes in the cell layer surface roughness, tight junction integrity and cytoskeleton alterations. Calcium influx into cells occurred only after nanoformulation treatment but not upon addition of free capsaicin. Our results pave the way for further studies on the biological significance of these findings and potential biomedical applications, e.g. as drug and gene carriers

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Using good and Cooperative Governance to improve Environmental Governance of South African World Heritage sites: A Case Study of the Vredefort Dome

South Africa became a signatory to and ratified the World Heritage Convention, 1972 (WHC) in 1997. It thereby voluntarily agreed to identify and conserve world heritage areas of universal value for the benefit of mankind. This article presents a case study of the Vredefort Dome, one of South Africa's World Heritage Sites (WHS) and specifically its governance strategies to ensure proper and sustainable governance. Firstly, the issue of fragmentation of the environmental governance regime applicable to WHS is discussed, and in doing so, refers to the various legislative and common law responsibilities and institutional structures related to environmental governance of WHS. Secondly, it briefly discusses the concept of good governance and the concept of cooperative governance as a sub-component of good governance. Finally it comprehensively proposes various strategies to ameliorate the current fragmented and unsustainable environmental governance effort relating to WHS

The colonic groove of the plains viscacha (Lagostomus maximus): Histochemical evidence of an abrupt change in the glycosylation pattern of goblet cells

The ascending colon of most rodent species shows a longitudinal colonic groove that works as a retrograde transport pathway for a mixture of bacteria and mucus toward the cecum. We describe the morphology and glycosylation pattern of the colonic groove of Lagostomus maximus to analyze the role of mucins in this anatomical feature. We also studied the distribution pattern of the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) to evaluate their regulatory influence on gut motility. The groove originated near the cecocolic junction and extended along the mesenteric side of the ascending colon, limited at both ends by nonpapillated ridges. These ridges divided the lumen of the ascending colon into two compartments: a narrow channel and a large channel, called the groove lumen and the main lumen, respectively. The histochemical analysis showed differences in the glycosylation pattern of the goblet cells inside and outside the groove. Unlike the mucosa lining the main lumen of the colon, the groove was rich in goblet cells that secrete sulfomucins. The PA/Bh/KOH/PAS technique evidenced an abrupt change in the histochemical profile of goblet cells, which presented a negative reaction in the groove and a strongly positive one in the rest of the colonic mucosa. The anti-c-kit immunohistochemical analysis showed different ICC subpopulations in the ascending colon of L. maximus. Of all types identified, the ICC-SM were the only cells located solely within the colonic groove.Fil: Tano de la Hoz, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencia Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Flamini, Mirta Alicia. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Zanuzzi, Carolina Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: Díaz, Alcira Ofelia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencia Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; Argentin

Time trees and Clock genes: a Systematic Review and Comparative Analysis of Contemporary Avian Migration Genetics (Dataset)

Complete dataset of Clock and Adcyap1 alleles, distance matrices, and migration data used in the review and meta-analysis "Time trees and Clock genes: a Systematic Review and Comparative Analysis of Contemporary Avian Migration Genetics"