INTEGRATING FOREST RESOURCE VALUES INTO NATIONAL INCOME ACCOUNTING: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

The traditional System of National Accounts (.\"NA)neglects the Total EconomicValue (TEl) oftheforest resource, and any degradation to which it is subjected.This study proposes an Environmental and Natural Resource Accounting(ENRA) frameworkfor theforest resource in Sri Lanka. The economic values ofmarketed and non-marketed commodities are estimated by various techniques.Changes in the monetary value of the timber stock are computed from estimatedeconomic accounts, using the net price method. The results for 1995 put the TEVof the forest resource at Rs 13,-100 million. The total depreciation offoresttimber stock in 1995 was Rs -116 million. The true contribution of the forestresource to the National Income (NI) was 2.2-1% of the Gross Domestic Product((IDP). However, the contribution of the forest resource as estimated by thetraditional ,,)"iYAwas reported by the Central Bank ofSri Lanka as only 0.2% 0/the GDP. This misleading estimate may have led to under-investment in theforestry sector in the past. This past under-investment needs to be compensatedfor in thefuture national investment in forestry

Electrolytic Treatment And Biosurfactants Applied To The Conservation Of Eugenia Uniflora Fruit

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Microorganisms are the primary responsible for food poisoning and food spoilage. The purpose of this study was to evaluate different fruit washing methods with tap water, electrolyzed water and rhamnolipids solution produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa LBI, in order to inhibit microbial growth. The tested organism was Eugenia uniflora. The fruits were washed and periodically inoculated into culture media to evaluate and count the colonies on the fruit surface. It was also observed the deterioration level of the fruits after each treatment. The results showed that treatment with rhamnolipids were the most efficient, inhibiting the growth of fungi and bacteria. The electrolyzed water proved to be very efficient in bacterial inhibition at the initial time, but in the final time it did not present any inhibitory effect. The electrolyzed water was also not effective in eliminating fungus. Washing with tap water was the less efficient treatment of all. The only treatment that showed an increased durability has been with rhamnolipids, increasing shelf life by up to two days. Thus rhamnolipids are the most recommended method for fruits sanitation. © 2016, Sociedade Brasileira de Ciencia e Tecnologia de Alimentos, SBCTA. All rights reserved.363456460CAPES, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível SuperiorCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Impact of Caffeine Consumption on Type 2 Diabetes-Induced Spatial Memory Impairment and Neurochemical Alterations in the Hippocampus.

Diabetes affects the morphology and plasticity of the hippocampus, and leads to learning and memory deficits. Caffeine has been proposed to prevent memory impairment upon multiple chronic disorders with neurological involvement. We tested whether long-term caffeine consumption prevents type 2 diabetes (T2D)-induced spatial memory impairment and hippocampal alterations, including synaptic degeneration, astrogliosis, and metabolic modifications. Control Wistar rats and Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats that develop T2D were treated with caffeine (1 g/L in drinking water) for 4 months. Spatial memory was evaluated in a Y-maze. Hippocampal metabolic profile and glucose homeostasis were investigated by <sup>1</sup> H magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The density of neuronal, synaptic, and glial-specific markers was evaluated by Western blot analysis. GK rats displayed reduced Y-maze spontaneous alternation and a lower amplitude of hippocampal long-term potentiation when compared to controls, suggesting impaired hippocampal-dependent spatial memory. Diabetes did not impact the relation of hippocampal to plasma glucose concentrations, but altered the neurochemical profile of the hippocampus, such as increased in levels of the osmolites taurine (P < 0.001) and myo-inositol (P < 0.05). The diabetic hippocampus showed decreased density of the presynaptic proteins synaptophysin (P < 0.05) and SNAP25 (P < 0.05), suggesting synaptic degeneration, and increased GFAP (P < 0.001) and vimentin (P < 0.05) immunoreactivities that are indicative of astrogliosis. The effects of caffeine intake on hippocampal metabolism added to those of T2D, namely reducing myo-inositol levels (P < 0.001) and further increasing taurine levels (P < 0.05). Caffeine prevented T2D-induced alterations of GFAP, vimentin and SNAP25, and improved memory deficits. We conclude that caffeine consumption has beneficial effects counteracting alterations in the hippocampus of GK rats, leading to the improvement of T2D-associated memory impairment

VALUE ADDITION PATHWAYS OF Exacum trinervium (BINARA) AND Santaum abum (SANDLEWOOD)

Value addition pathways of Exacum trinervium (binara) and Santa/um album (sandlewood) werestudied using information from literature, participatory discussions and indigenous knowledgevia personal communication. Exacum trinervium is em endemic and endangered species. Valueaddition pathways of E. trinervium includes direct selling of wild plants, breeding forornamental usage in Sri Lanka and the Netherlands, and for medicinal usage. Price of the plantscollected from wild ranges from Rs.2S-S0 per plant whereas prices of locally bred plants are Rs.60-70 per plant. Price of a pot of E. trinervium in the Netherlands is around Rs. 3500. ForSanta/um album collection, extraction of sandlewood oils for beauty-cultural industry,indigenous medicinal usage, woodcarving and export of timber to Pakistan are the value additionpathways. Price of a sandlewood at the age of 15 years ranges from Rs. 500-1000. Single tree ofsandlewood can yield about 11 of sandlewood oil. 'Pie price of 11of sandlewood oil is aroundRs. 40,000 in local market and US$ 4325 in interr ational market, which is mainly used forbeauty-cultural activities where there is no other synthetic or natural substance, has been foundto replace its fixative ability of sandlewood oil. Luxurious cosmetics, perfumes and sandlewoodsoap are produced using small amount of sandlewood oil. Timber of S. album is sold at Rs. 150-200 per kg, which is used for woodcarving. The carved items of sandlewood are priced at Rs.3000 per kg. These two species exemplifies the presence of various value addition pathwaysproviding ample opportunities for development of new industries and generation of incomethose have to be explored carefully.

Role of Modified Chaplygin Gas as a Dark Energy Model in Collapsing Spherically Symmetric Cloud

In this work, gravitational collapse of a spherical cloud, consists of both dark matter and dark energy in the form of modified Chaplygin gas is studied. It is found that dark energy alone in the form of modified Chaplygin gas forms black hole. Also when both components of the fluid are present then the collapse favors the formation of black hole in cases the dark energy dominates over dark matter. The conclusion is totally opposite to the usually known results.Comment: 7 Latex Pages, RexTex style, No figure

"high Doses Of Riboflavin And The Elimination Of Dietary Red Meat Promote The Recovery Of Some Motor Functions In Parkinson's Disease Patients. C.g. Coimbra And V.b.c. Junqueira. Brazilian Journal Of Medical And Biological Research, 36: 1409-1417, 2003"

[No abstract available]37912971299Coimbra, C.G., Junqueira, V.B.C., High doses of riboflavin and the elimination of dietary red meat promote the recovery of some motor functions in Parkinson's disease patients (2003) Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, 36, pp. 1409-1417Pare, S., Burr, S.I., Ross, S.E., Effect of day-time protein restriction on nutrient intakes of free-living Parkinson's disease patients (1992) American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 55, pp. 701-707Simon, N., Gantcheva, R., Bruguerolle, B., Viallet, F., The effects of a normal protein diet on levodopa plasma kinetics in advanced Parkinson's disease (2004) Parkinsonism and Related Disorders, 10, pp. 137-142Fahn, S., Elton, R.L., Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (1987) Recent Developments in Parkinson's Disease, 2, pp. 153-164. , Members of the UPDRS Development Committee Fahn S, Marsden CD, Calne DB & Goldstein M (Editors), MacMillan Health Care Information, Florham Park, NJ, USABaldereschi, M., DiCarlo, A., Vanni, P., Ghetti, A., Carbonin, P., Amaducci, L., Inzitani, D., Italian longitudinal study on aging working group. Lifestyle related risk factors for Parkinson's disease: A populational study (2003) Acta Neurologica Scandinavica, 108, pp. 239-244Tsai, C.H., Lo, S.K., See, L.C., Chen, H.Z., Chen, R.S., Weng, Y.H., Chang, F.C., Lu, C.S., Environmental risk factors of young onset Parkinson's disease (2002) Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery, 104, pp. 328-333Tanner, C.M., Epidemiological clues to the cause of Parkinson's disease (1994) Movement Disorders 3, pp. 124-146. , Marsden CD & Fahn S (Editors) Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UKGolbe, L.I., Farrel, T.M., Davis, P.H., Case-control study of early life dietary factors in Parkinson's disease (1988) Archives of Neurology, 45, pp. 350-353Abbot, R.D., Ross, G.W., White, C.R., Sanderson, W.T., Burchfiel, C.M., Kashon, M., Sharp, D.S., Petrovitch, H., Environment, lifestyle, and physical precursors of clinical Parkinson's disease: Recent findings from the Honolulu-Asia aging study (2003) Journal of Neurology, 250 (SUPPL. 3), pp. III30-III3

Calibration of the length of a chain of single gold atoms

Using a scanning tunneling microscope or mechanically controllable break junctions it has been shown that it is possible to control the formation of a wire made of single gold atoms. In these experiments an interatomic distance between atoms in the chain of ~3.6 Angstrom was reported which is not consistent with recent theoretical calculations. Here, using precise calibration procedures for both techniques, we measure length of the atomic chains. Based on the distance between the peaks observed in the chain length histogram we find the mean value of the inter-atomic distance before chain rupture to be 2.6 +/- 0.2 A . This value agrees with the theoretical calculations for the bond length. The discrepancy with the previous experimental measurements was due to the presence of He gas, that was used to promote the thermal contact, and which affects the value of the work function that is commonly used to calibrate distances in scanning tunnelling microscopy and mechanically controllable break junctions at low temperatures.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

VALUE ADDITION TO BIODIVERSITY PRODUCTS FOR BIOPROSPECTING AND BENEFIT SHARING

Sri Lanka has been identified as a biodiversity hotspot in the world. This is because of her richdiversity at genes, species and ecosj stem levels and unprecedented rate of loss ofSuch biodiversity. Sharing of benefits and increase in the recognized value of resources havebeen considered as one of the most effective pathways to foster conservation and utilization ofbiodiversity. Bioprospecting is searching for new genes, species and lor products for utilization,which has been practiced for centuries in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. However, to reach theoptimum benefit of bioprospecting and benefit sharing, it is essential to understand the valueaddition processes to biodiversity products. Value addition is considered as a step taken toincrease the value of a raw product any time between the harvesting and sale of the finalproduct. Value added products not only offer a higher return, but also open new markets, createbrand recognition and add variety. Value addition to biodiversity products can be rewarding andbenefits accrue from matching under-utili sed resources with potential marketsThe objectives of this study were to explore different value addition pathways of biodiversityproducts and identify sharing of benefits in each value addition process using Exacumtrinervium (binara), Salacia reticulate (kotalahimbutu), Munronia pinnata (binkohomba),Santalum a/bum (suduhandun) and Coscinium fenestratum (venival gata). Information wascollected from personal communication (indigenous knowledge), literature survey and brainstorming discussions.Potential value addition pathways were identified for all species. Sharing of benefits occursthroughout the value addition processes, although magnitude of sharing between different stepsvaries with species. In majority of species higher level of benefits is received by middlemanwhere as inM pinnata, collectors share high level of benefits. Results of the study also revealedthat there are no benefits provided in return to the area of conservation, which is a key factor ofdetermining sustainability of conservation. Implications of understanding of value additionprocesses of biodiversity prospecting, requirements of establishment of national legislation onbiodiversity prospecting, value addition and benefit sharing, and development of procedures andinstitutional capacities to implement such legislation are also discussed in this paper

Gravitational Collapse in Higher Dimensional Husain Space-Time

We investigate exact solution in higher dimensional Husain model for a null fluid source with pressure $p$ and density $\rho$ are related by the following relations (i) $p=k\rho$, (ii) $p=k\rho-\frac{B(v)}{\rho^{\alpha}}$ (variable modified Chaplygin) and (iii) $p=k\rho^{\alpha}$ (polytropic). We have studied the nature of singularity in gravitational collapse for the above equations of state and also for different choices of the of the parameters $k$ and $B$ namely, (i) $k=0$, $B=$ constant (generalized Chaplygin), (ii) $B=$ constant (modified Chaplygin). It is found that the nature of singularity is independent of these choices of different equation of state except for variable Chaplygin model. Choices of various parameters are shown in tabular form. Finally, matching of Szekeres model with exterior Husain space-time is done.Comment: 12 latex pages, No figure, RevTex styl

Using metabarcoding to assess Viridiplantae sequence diversity present in Antarctic glacial ice

Antarctica contains most of the glacial ice on the planet, a habitat that is largely unexplored by biologists. Recent warming in parts of Antarctica, particularly the Antarctic Peninsula region, is leading to widespread glacial retreat, releasing melt water and, potentially, contained biological material and propagules. In this study, we used a DNA metabarcoding approach to characterize Viridiplantae DNA present in Antarctic glacial ice. Ice samples from six glaciers in the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula were analysed, detecting the presence of DNA representing a total of 16 taxa including 11 Chlorophyta (green algae) and five Magnoliophyta (flowering plants). The green algae may indicate the presence of a viable algal community in the ice or simply of preserved DNA, and the sequence diversity assigned included representatives of Chlorophyta not previously recorded in Antarctica. The presence of flowering plant DNA is most likely to be associated with pollen or tissue fragments introduced by humans