Assessing fisheries and environmental impacts and proposing policy recommendations for sustainable development of Mekong River Basin

Since its establishment in 1995, the Mekong River Commission (MRC) has been involved in the collection of data and the development of models, both conceptual and mathematical, aimed at demonstrating and improving the understanding of the functioning of aquatic ecosystems and links between the people and the river, and aiding policy and decision-making in the Lower Mekong River Basin. The objective of basin-wide fisheries and environmental assessment is to provide clear and comparable information on the impacts of proposed hydropower and other key sector developments on the aquatic ecosystems and their fisheries and other aquatic resources of Mekong River downstream of the China border, inclusive of the Tonle Sap Great Lake and the Mekong Delta. The DRIFT Flows process and Decision Support System (DSS) referred to in the MRC Council Study as the BioRA-DSS, were used to organise existing MRC data, information in the international scientific literature and expert opinion from a highly-qualified and experienced team of river scientists to provide a systemic and systematic picture for the LMB, Tonle Sap River, Tonle Sap Great Lake and the Mekong Delta ecosystems in terms of (1) their ecological condition; (2) possible future changes in condition as a result of development-driven changes in the water flow, sediment supply and transport, water quality, and lateral and longitudinal connectivity as described through the evaluation of the water-resource development scenarios; and (3) predictions of change in abundance/area/concentration (relative to baseline) for a range of key fish and other bioresources indicators. Last but not least, policy recommendations were proposed for Mekong countries’ Prime Ministers and Ministers of Water Resources for basin planning and sustainable management and development of the Mekong River Basin

Cambodia's aquarian reforms : the emerging challenges for policy and research

The main objective of the document is to make a modest attempt to highlight the challenges which are emerging with the current phase of Cambodia's aquarian reforms -- the most important component of which is the current transition from fishing lots to community fisheries. The challenges include the realms of institutional and policy reform, local action, innovation and research. We contextualize our effort by commencing with an assessment of the importance of the aquatic resources and by providing a brief historical background to the reforms. This is followed by an examination of the changes in the access and property rights and the system changes which have been brought about as a result of the reform. How some of the transitional changes can be assessed and the manner in which the efforts at community fisheries can be made more economically and socially viable are also addressed. We deal with the complex issue of social identity and the aspirations for creating a new sense of community. The new role of women, the importance of creating networks and closer collaboration with Cambodia's local governance structures and vibrant civil society organisations are also highlighted. The reforms have created new legal realms of local 'micro' ecosystem space and resource governance. But this should not detract from the need for an understanding of the larger 'global' context -- be it in relation to the ecosystem dynamics or governance priorities. We suggest that research and development priorities must be re-oriented to consider ways of dealing with the vast number of new and evolving 'local realities' and yet, link them up contemporaneously to the big 'global picture'. We end with a few recommendations addressed to different actors involved in the process of aquarian reforms. There is a call for a new mission and greater collaboration by research institutions; new methodologies for data collection; greater participation with local governance structures; an exit strategy for aid agencies and the need for setting up a national institute for co-management applications and training.Policies, Research, Cambodia,

Underestimated risks of rare-earth magnet ingestion in children: when does it need surgery?

This review discusses an underestimated risk of rare-earth magnet (henceforth, magnet) ingestion in children and its surgical indication. Due to the ubiquity of magnets, the incidence of magnet ingestion has rapidly increased. While most foreign body ingestions show spontaneous passage, multiple magnet ingestion requires surgery in 30%–70% of the cases. Multiple magnets can attract each other across the bowel wall, leading to pressure necrosis, and subsequently, fistula, perforation, obstruction or volvulus. After recognizing magnet ingestion, the number of magnets should be checked using radiographs. In case of multiple magnet ingestion, surgery should be promptly considered

Unleashing the full potential of Hsp90 inhibitors as cancer therapeutics through simultaneous inactivation of Hsp90, Grp94, and TRAP1

Cancer therapeutics: Extending a drug's reach A new drug that blocks heat shock proteins (HSPs), helper proteins that are co-opted by cancer cells to promote tumor growth, shows promise for cancer treatment. Several drugs have targeted HSPs, since cancer cells are known to hijack these helper proteins to shield themselves from destruction by the body. However, the drugs have had limited success. Hye-Kyung Park and Byoung Heon Kang at Ulsan National Institutes of Science and Technology in South Korea and coworkers noticed that the drugs were not absorbed into mitochondria, a key cellular compartment, and HSPs in this compartment were therefore not being blocked. They identified a new HSP inhibitor that can reach every cellular compartment and inhibit all HSPs. Testing in mice showed that this inhibitor effectively triggered death of tumor cells, and therefore shows promise for anti-cancer therapy. The Hsp90 family proteins Hsp90, Grp94, and TRAP1 are present in the cell cytoplasm, endoplasmic reticulum, and mitochondria, respectively; all play important roles in tumorigenesis by regulating protein homeostasis in response to stress. Thus, simultaneous inhibition of all Hsp90 paralogs is a reasonable strategy for cancer therapy. However, since the existing pan-Hsp90 inhibitor does not accumulate in mitochondria, the potential anticancer activity of pan-Hsp90 inhibition has not yet been fully examined in vivo. Analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas database revealed that all Hsp90 paralogs were upregulated in prostate cancer. Inactivation of all Hsp90 paralogs induced mitochondrial dysfunction, increased cytosolic calcium, and activated calcineurin. Active calcineurin blocked prosurvival heat shock responses upon Hsp90 inhibition by preventing nuclear translocation of HSF1. The purine scaffold derivative DN401 inhibited all Hsp90 paralogs simultaneously and showed stronger anticancer activity than other Hsp90 inhibitors. Pan-Hsp90 inhibition increased cytotoxicity and suppressed mechanisms that protect cancer cells, suggesting that it is a feasible strategy for the development of potent anticancer drugs. The mitochondria-permeable drug DN401 is a newly identified in vivo pan-Hsp90 inhibitor with potent anticancer activity

Deep-Ultraviolet AlGaN/AlN Core-Shell Multiple Quantum Wells on AlN Nanorods via Lithography-Free Method

We report deep ultraviolet (UVC) emitting core-shell-type AlGaN/AlN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) on the AlN nanorods which are prepared by catalyst/lithography free process. The MQWs are grown on AlN nanorods on a sapphire substrate by polarity-selective epitaxy and etching (PSEE) using high-temperature metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The AlN nanorods prepared through PSEE have a low dislocation density because edge dislocations are bent toward neighboring N-polar AlN domains. The core–shell-type MQWs grown on AlN nanorods have three crystallographic orientations, and the final shape of the grown structure is explained by a ball-and-stick model. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity of MQWs grown on AlN nanorods is approximately 40 times higher than that of MQWs simultaneously grown on a planar structure. This result can be explained by increased internal quantum efficiency, large active volume, and increase in light extraction efficiency based on the examination in this study. Among those effects, the increase of active volume on AlN nanorods is considered to be the main reason for the enhancement of the PL intensity