As-built design specification for Boundary Detection And Registration Program (BDARP1)

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Restoration of a brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) population to Loch Enoch, an acified Loch in Galloway, South-West Scotland

The authors present the findings of a restoration project in Loch Enoch in Scotland. There are historical references that brown trout was present in Loch Enoch up to the 1920s but it is believed the acidity of loch triggered the disappearance of Salmo trutta. The recent observed reduction in the acidity of L. Enoch to a level close to that found in nearby lochs with trout populations, suggested that trout might now survive in L. Enoch. For a population to survive, all stages in the life-cycle of a species must be able to develop. Accordingly, tests were undertaken, first with eggs and fry. The availability of food was also studied. In October 1994, 3,000 yearling trout of L. Grannoch origin which had been reared in a local hatchery were distributed throughout the loch. The fish population was studied from 1995-98. The authors conclude that survival of the trout population is possible if the acidity of the loch water remains low

Christian School Discipline: A Collaborative Approach to Improving Student Behavior

A Catholic elementary school systematically developed a comprehensive discipline program with input from the administrator, teachers, students, parents, and other members of the parish community. Developed around the themes of respect, spirituality, and responsibility, the program was systematically evaluated over the first year of a three-year period of implementation. Survey results of parents, teachers, and students indicate positive perceptions of the project by aU three groups

Bridging the biodiversity data gaps: Recommendations to meet users’ data needs

A strong case has been made for freely available, high quality data on species occurrence, in order to track changes in biodiversity. However, one of the main issues surrounding the provision of such data is that sources vary in quality, scope, and accuracy. Therefore publishers of such data must face the challenge of maximizing quality, utility and breadth of data coverage, in order to make such data useful to users. Here, we report a number of recommendations that stem from a content need assessment survey conducted by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Through this survey, we aimed to distil the main user needs regarding biodiversity data. We find a broad range of recommendations from the survey respondents, principally concerning issues such as data quality, bias, and coverage, and extending ease of access. We recommend a candidate set of actions for the GBIF that fall into three classes: 1) addressing data gaps, data volume, and data quality, 2) aggregating new kinds of data for new applications, and 3) promoting ease-of-use and providing incentives for wider use. Addressing the challenge of providing high quality primary biodiversity data can potentially serve the needs of many international biodiversity initiatives, including the new 2020 biodiversity targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the emerging global biodiversity observation network (GEO BON), and the new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)

Grade 10 Physical Science Learners’ Understanding and Application of Concepts of Evidence in Experimental Design

Student Number : 0107553H - MSc research report - School of Science Education - Faculty of ScienceOne of the most important challenges of the secondary school science teacher is to help learners to obtain, analyze and evaluate evidence using experimental and investigative methods. The understanding and application of concepts of evidence play a central role in setting up valid experiment and is usually ignored in the secondary school science curriculum. Recognizing the significance and value of an understanding of evidence in developing learners’ ability to carry out appropriate experimental work in science, the question arises of learners’ understanding of ‘concepts of evidence’ in experimental design. In this study the researcher endeavored to answer some of the questions concerning learners’ understanding of evidence: What understanding do learners entering the Further Education and Training (FET) band have of the concepts of validity in experimental design? What is the effect of an intervention on their understanding of concepts of validity? How well do learners show their ability to apply concepts of evidence to an assessment task? The study investigated the ability of a sample of grade 10 Physical Science learners, in one Gauteng Province secondary school to use and understand the concepts of evidence before and after an intervention, and their ability apply these ideas about evidence in an assessment sheet task. First, a survey of learners’ understanding of the concepts of validity was conducted using a written diagnostic test, consisting of three probes that had been previously used to diagnose learners’ understanding of validity in experimental design. Second, an evaluation of changes in such understanding due to a specific teaching intervention was completed using the same diagnostic test. Finally, the 2004 Grade 9 Common Tasks for Assessment (CTA) investigation task was administered to the same subjects in order to investigate whether or not their understanding of concepts of evidence would be apparent in this CTA investigation task. Several key findings emerged from the data. The major findings of this study were that the sample investigated began the study with a level of understanding equal to a group of Foundation University students tested in a previous study and that their understanding did not change much during the intervention. In fact, analysis of the results from the probes in the diagnostic test revealed that learners had little problem choosing the independent variable and controlling variables. However, the findings from the probes indicated that the intervention did not seem to have had a major effect since the difference in the number of responses between the pre-test and post- test was relatively small. Moreover, the results also revealed that it was possible to analyze learners’ responses using the existing model of learners’ understanding of validity, and that the majority of learners fell into Level C in the model which refers to the application of previous understanding in a new situation. The results from the CTA investigation task revealed that learners’ understanding of concepts of evidence could be demonstrated in new science context. In fact, the results revealed that learners showed ability to apply their understanding of concepts of evidence in experimental design to the assessment task. Moreover, the CTA results indicated that the understanding of identifying variables, constructing graphs; describing the relationship between variables in a graph; formulating the investigative questions were the most applied concepts of evidence by learners. Finally, the results of this study highlight the need for providing secondary science learners with opportunities to practice and develop concepts of evidence. In the light of these findings it is recommended that children need to be explicitly taught about the purpose of science investigations and introduced to important ideas about evidence if their ability to perform investigation tasks is to be improved

Multiple drivers of decline in the global status of freshwater crayfish (Decapoda: Astacidea)

Rates of biodiversity loss are higher in freshwater ecosystems than in most terrestrial or marine ecosystems, making freshwater conservation a priority. However, prioritization methods are impeded by insufficient knowledge on the distribution and conservation status of freshwater taxa, particularly invertebrates. We evaluated the extinction risk of the world's 590 freshwater crayfish species using the IUCN Categories and Criteria and found 32% of all species are threatened with extinction. The level of extinction risk differed between families, with proportionally more threatened species in the Parastacidae and Astacidae than in the Cambaridae. Four described species were Extinct and 21% were assessed as Data Deficient. There was geographical variation in the dominant threats affecting the main centres of crayfish diversity. The majority of threatened US and Mexican species face threats associated with urban development, pollution, damming and water management. Conversely, the majority of Australian threatened species are affected by climate change, harvesting, agriculture and invasive species. Only a small proportion of crayfish are found within the boundaries of protected areas, suggesting that alternative means of long-term protection will be required. Our study highlights many of the significant challenges yet to come for freshwater biodiversity unless conservation planning shifts from a reactive to proactive approach

Mutant and chimeric recobinant plasminogen activatorsproduction in eukaryotic cellsand preliminary characterization

Mutant urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) genes and hybrid genes between tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and u-PA have been designed to direct the synthesis of new plasminogen activators and to investigate the structure-function relationship in these molecules. The following classes of constructs were made starting from cDNA encoding human t-PA or u-PA: 1) u-PA mutants in which the Arg156 and Lys158 were substituted with threonine, thus preventing cleavage by thrombin and plasmin; 2) hybrid molecules in which the NH2-terminal regions of t-PA (amino acid residues 1-67, 1-262, or 1-313) were fused with the COOH-terminal region of u-PA (amino acids 136-411, 139-411, or 195-411, respectively); and 3) a hybrid molecule in which the second kringle of t-PA (amino acids 173-262) was inserted between amino acids 130 and 139 of u-PA. In all cases but one, the recombinant proteins, produced by transfected eukaryotic cells, were efficiently secreted in the culture medium. The translation products have been tested for their ability to activate plasminogen after in situ binding to an insolubilized monoclonal antibody directed against urokinase. All recombinant enzymes were shown to be active, except those in which Lys158 of u-PA was substituted with threonine. Recombination of structural regions derived from t-PA, such as the finger, the kringle 2, or most of the A-chain sequences, with the protease part or the complete u-PA molecule did not impair the catalytic activity of the hybrid polypeptides. This observation supports the hypothesis that structural domains in t-PA and u-PA fold independently from one to another

Self-organized global control of carbon emissions

There is much disagreement concerning how best to control global carbon emissions. We explore quantitatively how different control schemes affect the collective emission dynamics of a population of emitting entities. We uncover a complex trade-off which arises between average emissions (affecting the global climate), peak pollution levels (affecting citizens' everyday health), industrial efficiency (affecting the nation's economy), frequency of institutional intervention (affecting governmental costs), common information (affecting trading behavior) and market volatility (affecting financial stability). Our findings predict that a self-organized free-market approach at the level of a sector, state, country or continent, can provide better control than a top-down regulated scheme in terms of market volatility and monthly pollution peaks.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

The Sustainability of donor-funding towards non-governmental organisations and their socio-economic impact in Botswana

Non-governmental organisations have met with immense growth over the past decades with increasing donor support towards their highly regarded work especially in developing countries. However, the social and economic impact of these entities has of late not faired as expected in Botswana. NGOs are frail and easily crippled in the face of volatile donor-funding from developing countries. This qualitative research therefore, adopted a case study research design to investigate the sustainability of Donor- Funding towards NGOs and their Socio-economic impact in Botswana. A sample of 10 NGOs was selected for the study. Structured questionnaires and interviews were used to gather data. Data was presented in form of graphs and tables. The study revealed that NGOs in Botswana are now struggling to reach out effectively to their beneficiaries as much as they are supposed to. Their ability to satisfy the needs of beneficiaries is desirable but gravely challenged principally by sustainability issues. BOCONGO as the coordinating body is in a dire state. It also interprets to less effective abilities to fulfil their own mandate of espousing the local NGOs together. While impartial comments were passed with some agreeing to the government as very supportive, some were differing. There was a general view that the government was moderately assisting towards the upkeep of the NGO sector. Laws and regulations governing CSR of the private sector were highlighted as desirable. Due to the departure of donors, NGOs in Botswana have turned to the private sector and to the government for assistance. There is need for diversification in the funding structures of NGOs to combat survival issues and ensure for sustainable socio-economic impact. As a result, the researchers recommended that NGOs should seriously look further into diversification of their funding strategies more if they are to be sustainable. Furthermore, instead of NGOs competing for resources and donor-funding, they need to employ a culture of endorsing each other’s work. Further research may look into NGOs in Botswana sector by sector so as to suggest tailor-made recommendations for their sustainability and funding diversification