Mine Action and Land Rights in South Sudan: Key Findings and Recommendations

In March 2013, GICHD and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) undertook a joint mission to South Sudan on land rights and mine action in order to provide mine action organisations with analysis on land related conflict and practical guidance on how they can ensure their mine action operations “do no harm” and take land issues into consideration. This report summarises the key findings and recommendations from that mission

Relationship between Human Aging Muscle and Oxidative System Pathway

Ageing is a complex process that in muscle is usually associated with a decrease in mass, strength, and velocity of contraction. One of the most striking effects of ageing on muscle is known as sarcopenia. This inevitable biological process is characterized by a general decline in the physiological and biochemical functions of the major systems. At the cellular level, aging is caused by a progressive decline in mitochondrial function that results in the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by the addition of a single electron to the oxygen molecule. The aging process is characterized by an imbalance between an increase in the production of reactive oxygen species in the organism and the antioxidant defences as a whole. The goal of this review is to examine the results of existing studies on oxidative stress in aging human skeletal muscles, taking into account different physiological factors (sex, fibre composition, muscle type, and function)

Using geographical information system for spatial evaluation of canine extruded disc herniation

Disc herniation is one of the most common pathologies of the vertebral column in dogs. The aim of this study was to develop a geographical information system (GIS)-based vertebral canal (VC) map useful for spatial evaluation of extruded disc herniation (EDH) in dogs. ArcGIS® was used to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional maps, in which the VC surface is divided into polygons by lines representing latitude and longitude. Actual locations and directions of the herniated disc material were assessed by a series of 142 computer tomographies of dogs collected between 2005 and 2013. Most EDHs were located on the cervical and transitional regions (thoraco-lumbar and lumbo-sacral) and shown at the level of the ven- tro-cranial and ventro-central polygons created. Choropleth maps, highlighting the distribution and the location/direction patterns of the EDHs throughout the VC, were produced based on the frequency of the ailment. GIS proved to be a valuable tool in analysing EDH in dogs. Further studies are required for biomechanical analysis of EDH patterns

Seasonal pattern of vitamin D in male elite soccer players

The phopho-calcium metabolism and the maintenance of bone mass is not the only important role vitamin Dplays. Vitamin D is also known for its anti-inflammatory function and for modulating the immune defence system. The vitamin D deficit is to be referred not simply to a bone tissue worsening, but to cardiovascular diseases, various types of tumours and some autoimmune diseases. In the sport life, a vitamin D deficit is often related to muscular problems, neuromuscular pains, predisposition to injuries, and can affect one’s performance. Since indoor athletes have reduced exposition to sun rays, they are more likely to be subjected to these risks than outdoor athletes. However, in soccer, the athletes can experience vitamin D deficit not just during the winter but in other periods too, most likely due to several reasons such as, dark complexion, coming from high altitude championships, injuries, or inadequate exposition to sun rays during the summer. The purpose of this study was to examine the vitamin D shortage and BMC variations in Italian Serie A elite male soccer player

Climate and land-use change during the late Holocene at Lake Ledro (southern Alps, Italy)

International audienceThis paper investigates the relative influences of climatic and anthropogenic factors in explaining environmental and societal changes in the southern Alps, Italy. We investigate a deep sediment core (LL081) from Lake Ledro (652 m a.s.l.). Environmental changes are reconstructed through multiproxy analysis, that is, pollen-based vegetation and climate reconstruction, magnetic susceptibility (MS), lake level, and flood frequency, and the paper focuses on the climate and land-use changes which occurred during the late Holocene. For this time interval, Lake Ledro records high mean water table, increasing amount of pollen-based precipitation, and more erosive conditions. Therefore, while a more humid late Holocene in the southern Alps has the potential to reinforce the forest presence, pollen evidence suggests that anthropogenic activities changed the impact of this regional scenario. Land-use activity (forest clearance for pastoralism, farming, and arboriculture) opened up the large vegetated slopes in the catchment of Lake Ledro, which in turn magnified the erosion related to the change in the precipitation pattern. The record of an almost continuous human occupation for the last 4100 cal. BP is divided into several land-use phases. On the one hand, forest redevelopments on abandoned or less cultivated areas appear to be climatically induced as they occurred in relation with well-known events such as the 2.8-kyr cold event and the ‘Little Ice Age’. On the other hand, climatically independent changes in land use or habitat modes are observed, such as the late-Bronze-Age lake-dwellings abandonment, the human population migration at c. 1600 cal. BP, and the period of the Black Death and famines at 600 cal. BP

Antihepatotoxic and Antioxidant Activities of Methanol Extract and Isolated Compounds from Ficus chlamydocarpa

Free radicals, in particular radical oxygen species (ROS), play an important role in the aetiology and pathogenesis of various diseases. Current research in many countries focuses on the use of local medicinal plants as a promising source of liver protective agents. This paper describes the hepatoprotective effects of the methanol extract and four isolated compounds from Ficus chlamydocarpa on CCl4-induced liver damage, as well as the possible antioxidant mechanisms involved in this protection. The DPPH test, along with the ß-Carotene-Linoleic Acid Model System and Ferric-Reducing Antioxidant Power assays, as well as the inhibition of microsomal lipid peroxidation were used to measure radical-scavenging and antioxidant activities. Pretreatment of rats with the methanol extract of F. chlamydocarpa before CCl4administration, significantly prevented serum increase of hepatic enzyme markers, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT) and glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), in a dose-dependent manner. The hepatoprotection was also associated with a significant enhancement in hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH) and a marked decrease of liver malondialdehyde (MDA). Among the four compounds 1-4, isolated from the methanol extract, α-amyrin acetate (1) and luteolin (4) showed a significant hepatoprotective activity, as indicated by their ability to prevent liver cell death and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage during CCl4intoxication