Search

Our study assessed the effectiveness of species debarking in controlling species invasion and the change in seedling dynamics after application of the different treatments. A split plots design was used in two forest reserves to assess the effectiveness of three debarking treatments: complete ring debarking, partial ring debarking and a control (no debarking). The results reveal that ring debarking has the potential to be used to control invasive species such as Cecropia peltataL. and Broussonetia papyrifera(L.) Vent. The efficiency, however, was influenced by the extent of the wound created and the size of tree, especially if trees are partially debarked. The control method also stimulated natural regeneration of native species with higher regeneration of native species recorded compared to invasive species. Also, plots that had completely debarked trees had higher species diversity than the partially debarked and the control plots in one of the reserve. The fact that none of the trees in the control plots died is indication of the effectiveness of debarking in the control of invasive species considered here. The effectiveness of this method suggests it is a suitable option for killing small to medium size trees with little cost to the environment compared to the application of arboricides for instance and is therefore worth revisiting in silvicultural treatments where minimum environmental disturbance is required. We recommend more studies to compare the effectiveness of the control approaches on different invasive species and monitor how the native communities respond including in terms of species diversity and functional groups, since removal methods may impact differently on these plant community traits.

In this work, for the first time, we demonstrate light control of a therapeutic protein’s release from a depot in the subcutaneous layer of the skin. The subcutaneous layer is a standard location for therapeutic protein depots due to its large size and ease of access, but prior attempts to utilize this space failed because insufficient light can reach this deeper layer. An analysis of existing biophysical literature suggested that an increase of photoactivation wavelength from 365 to 500 nm could allow an increase of depot irradiation in the subcutaneous by >100-fold. We therefore used a green light-activated thio-coumarin-based material and demonstrated robust release of a therapeutic, insulin, in response to skin illumination with an LED light source. We further demonstrated that this release is ultrafast, as fast or faster than any commercially used insulin, while maintaining the native insulin sequence. This release of insulin was then accompanied by a robust reduction in blood glucose, demonstrating the retention of bioactivity despite the synthetic processing required to generate the material. In addition, we observed that the material exhibits slow basal release of insulin, even in the absence of light, potentially through biochemical or photochemical unmasking of insulin. Thus, these materials can act much like the healthy pancreas does: releasing insulin at a slow basal rate and then, upon skin irradiation, releasing an ultrafast bolus of native insulin to reduce postprandial blood glucose excursions.

ABSTRACTIntroductionOcular barriers hinder drug delivery and reduce drug bioavailability. This article focuses on enhancing drug absorption across the corneal and conjunctival epithelium. Both, transporter targeted prodrug formulations and nanomicellar strategy is proven to enhance the drug permeation of therapeutic agents across various ocular barriers. These strategies can increase aqueous drug solubility and stability of many hydrophobic drugs for topical ophthalmic formulations.Areas coveredThe article discusses various ocular barriers, ocular influx, and efflux transporters. It elaborates various prodrug strategies used for enhancing drug absorption. Along with this, the article also describes nanomicellar formulation, its characteristic and advantages, and applications in for anterior and posterior segment drug delivery.Expert opinionProdrugs and nanomicellar formulations provide an effective strategy for improving drug absorption and drug bioavailability across various ocular barriers. It will be exciting to see the efficacy of nanomicelles for treating back of the eye disorders after their topical application. This is considered as a holy grail of ocular drug delivery due to the dynamic and static ocular barriers, restricting posterior entry of topically applied drug formulations.

ABSTRACTThis paper sought to determine how different forest management regimes influence the pattern of forest degradation at different periods in Ghana. The paper tested the hypotheses that timber production forests degrade faster than protection forests and forest degradation slows down with time. For monitoring the changes in forest cover, Landsat TM, ETM+ and Landsat 8 with a spatial resolution of 30 m were used in the mapping of land use/land cover for the periods 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2014 using supervised classification technique. The results showed that forest degradation occurred at different rates within the period and was more rapid from 1990 to 2000 than from 2000 to 2010. Protected forests and Globally Significant Biodiversity Areas (GSBAs) declined in forest quality at the same rate as timber production forests and did not benefit from any extra protective measures. New strategies should be found to manage protection forests and GSBAs to ensure their optimum protection.

Mountain biking is popular in many natural areas, but remains controversial, at least in part, due to divergent views about its environmental impacts. In contrast to research assessing the risk of activities such as horse riding and hiking spreading weed seed, similar data for mountain bikes does not appear to be available in the academic literature. To start to address this gap, we present the results of a preliminary experiment comparing seed attachment to a horse and a mountain bike in dry conditions along 20 1m by 50m transects through areas where weeds are seeding. In total, seed from more than 12 species were found on the horse and more than 10 species on the bike. Per transect, a greater diversity of seed attached to the horse (6 vs 4 morphtaxa) than the bike, but they had similar numbers of seed (Average=22). When seed composition per transect was compared using ordinations, there were clear differences with more seed from non-native grasses such as Chloris virgateand Chloris gayana,the native grass Dicantheum scericeum, and the non-native herb Vicia sativaon the bike, while on the horse there tended to be more seed from the grass Poa queenslandica(native) and the Axonopus fissifolius(non-native). This pilot study demonstrates how mountain bikes can carry seed from a diversity of weeds in Australia. More extensive testing will better quantify the types and amount of seed that could be dispersed, as well as test the effect of factors such as weather conditions, timing and location of rides on seed dispersal by bikes. In the interim, recommendations for bikes to be regularly cleaned, including between rides in areas of high conservation value are likely to help reduce the risk of mountain biking spreading weed seed.

Understanding the attitude of stakeholders towards forest management is important for the conservation of forests. In this paper we examine attitudes of primary stakeholders towards forest conservation management in Ghana, with Subri Forest Reserve as the study area. Using a survey methodology, 300 households from 10 communities around the reserve were randomly selected and interviewed with structured questionnaires. The results revealed that primary stakeholders have positive attitudes towards forest management and this was not dependent on the location of the community. They support sanctioning people who degrade the forest and accept the need to get a permit before harvesting. However, they are not in favour of strict protection of the reserve. Their attitude towards forest management is influenced by their perception of forest values, concern about degradation of the reserve, economic benefits they derive from the reserve, exposure to resource-use conflicts and membership of conservation organizations. Our findings suggest that primary stakeholders are interested in forest conservation management. But, to achieve sustainable development, it will be necessary to identify the types and quantity of forest products used and their economic significance and to develop initiatives that will support rural livelihoods.

•Intensively managed plantation produce higher biomass and carbon stocks poorly managed plantation.•In terms of biomass accumulation forked trees irrespective of management practice store less carbon than non-forked trees.•Soils under intensively managed site are healthier than those in poorly managed site.•Plantation management practices impact significantly on both above and below ground biomass carbon accumulation.