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INTRODUCTION:Madagascar possesses a land of exceptional endemism for flora and fauna representing 90% of its whole wildlife, which can be considered as one of the highest rates in the world (Annik Schnitzler, 2015). By the splendor of its ecosystem, Madagascar was once called the Green Island. But this name is now changed into the so-called "Red Island' because of the pressure of population on the environment (Bernard Moizo, 2011). One aspect of that pressure is the illegal exploitation of precious wood, rosewood and ebony. The rosewood known under the scientific name Dalbergia of Madagascar (Dalbergia. spp), for decades has become the main target of illegal operations. This rosewood belongs to the rainforest type. Rosewood has a lot of function; among the others, it represents the place where animals like Simpona, Indri Indri and many others dwell. Therefore, it is practically important to protect and preserve it against illegal activities, especially if it is associated with World Heritage areas, namely Marojejy and Masoala National Parks (NPs).Derek S. and Porter P. Lowry II acknowledge an increase rate of illegal logging in the SAVA region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where abundant rosewood has been exploited and exported for the last decade ( Derek S. and Porter P. Lowry II, 2009). Confiscated wood has been apprehended in both protected areas of Marojejy and Masoala as suggested by various tangible evidences. (Patel, 2007). Besides, poor local people in the vicinity of the parks as well as several well-organized criminal networks have unceasingly seized on forests exploitation (Derek Schuurman and Porter P. Lowry II, 2009). It is illegal because the illegal logging is defined as the harvest, transport, sale or purchase of timber in contravention to national laws (John Innes, 2010). The Malagasy Law No. 97-017 of 8 August 1997 revising forest legislation has clearly cited in article 17 that, strict nature reserves, national parks, special reserves and protected forests in respect of international conventions as well as land and water areas defined in Article 2 are not likely to distraction (Ministry of Water and Forests, 2015) whereas the logging in question is operated inside the PAs. Environmental Investigation Agency and Global Witness has discovered the illegal harvest of rosewood is about 100 to 200 trees per day in northern Madagascar, according to the survey conducted in 2009 (Global Witness and Environmental Investigation Agency, 2009).This means that these woods are from Marojejy and Masoala, and also from the place around the sites. Thousands of trees are cut illegally, and tons of timbers are exported outside the country in the same way. According to the Ministry of Water and Forest, between 87% of the exploited forests, 60% is for the rosewood only (Brodbeck, 1999 cited in Randriamalala and Zhou). Currently, Madagascar is already suffering serious land degradation due to illegal operations inspite of the presentt laws in vigor governing the protection of forest. Since 2009, rosewood trafficking has never ceased growing. The number of exploiters increases, for instance, in 2009, operators were in total of 13, but in 2012, that number has increased from 19 to 103, or 542% (Hery F. Randriamalala, 2013). The vast majority of rosewood exploitation source, representing 98,5% of them are considered as illegal, according to Rakotondramanga, 2002, while Jerome Ballet et al. 2010, shared the same views emphasizing to an extreme but chaotic illegal exploition of such invaluble wood since the year 2009. Therefore, this present study aimed to, firstly, analyze the reason why the forestry regulation and management policies on rosewood trees are not effective and stop the problems of forest harvesting in Madagascar. Secondly, it proposes recommendations on how to protect the Protected Areas (PAs) of Marojejy and Masoala from illegal logging.MATERIALS AND METHODS:DATA COLLECTION:The data was collected in Madagascar. …

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers throughout the world with rarely efficient therapies currently available. Gene therapy on pancreatic cancer through small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based RNA interference (RNAi) has shown great potential and attracted much attention. However, due to the fragile nature of nucleic acid, the application of RNAi as a safe and efficient carrier faces great challenges. In this contribution, a self-assembly regime, which is based on well-defined cationic polylactides (CPLAs) with tertiary amine groups, has been used to encapsulate and protect siRNAs from fast degradation. CPLA is a safe and degradable formulation that allowed us to deliver siRNAs targeting the proangiogenic chemokine interleukin-8 (IL-8) to pancreatic cancer cells for gene therapy. Stable IL-8 siRNA-CPLA nanoplexes were successfully formed by electrostatic force and high gene transfection efficiencies were shown on two pancreatic cancer cell lines. We did not observe any cytotoxicity from these CPLAs over a large concentration range via cell viability evaluations. More importantly, the silencing of IL-8 gene expression significantly attenuated the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells. Our preliminary results support the future development of gene therapy that might provide an effective and safe treatment approach towards pancreatic cancer.

A Percoll density gradient was employed for selecting large numbers of viable insulin-producing RINm5F cells. Homogenates of these cells were then subjected to gradient centrifugation and two clearly visible bands were obtained. The light fraction was essentially composed of mitochondria banded at a density of about 1.06 g/ml. The heavier fraction banded at 1.09 to 1.10 g/ml and contained lysosomes and a small number of secretory granules. The distribution of Percoll particles was restricted to the extracellular space and there was no adsorption to any membrane structures. The distribution pattern of marker enzymes for the mitochondria and lysosomes was similar to that of normal pancreatic beta-cells. With the use of a Percoll density gradient it was thus possible to isolate a purified mitochondrial fraction from viable RINm5F cells.