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Humans and wildlife interact negatively, especially when humans transform natural wildlife habitats by establishing settlements and crop fields. Encroachment and habitat fragmentations caused by human activities decrease habitat size and quality for wildlife and reduce connectivity among protected areas. The major objective was to quantify economic loss inflicted by wildlife species to local communities in terms of crop and livestock losses. The influence of distance from the boundary of the protected area was also assessed. 240 copies of open and closed ended questionnaire were randomly administered in five selected villages in the Rungwa-Katavi Corridor between the Rungwa Game Reserve and Katavi National Park. The average loss to wildlife per household was 430 kg of crops, equivalent to US $126.23, as well as livestock, including cattle (0.9), goats (0.6), sheep (0.3), and donkeys (0.09) equivalent to US $260.23 per household per year. The reported incidences of crop damage and livestock attack varied among different age groups and between genders. The depredation and crop raiding incidences increased with proximity to the protected areas as contact with predators and vermin animals was higher closer to the protected areas. Implementing proper land use planning for livestock keepers, crop production and conservation land is recommended as an effective strategy to safeguard protected areas and minimize human-wildlife conflict. Copyright © 2019 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

Aims: To assess the influence of human-induced disturbances on bird communities. Study Design: Longitudinal study. Place and Duration of Study: Four forests; Kion/Zaraninge, Kwamsisi/Kwahatibu, Msumbugwe and Gendagenda in Pangani–Saadani ecosystem, from October 2010 to January 2011. Methodology: Eight permanent transects, each 500 m long stratified into forest core and forest edge habitats were used in each forest to identify types and quantify levels of human-induced disturbances, determine bird species composition, diversity and richness, and abundance. Therefore three circular plots, each 20 m radius were allocated at beginning, middle and end of each transect. The level of disturbance was assessed using four disturbance indicators; tree lopping, human trails, Pit-sawing and animal snaring while Research Article British Journal of Applied Science & Technology, 3(1): 48-64, 2013 49 bird species were identified by sight and call. One-way Analysis of Variance was used to test for differences in bird abundance between forests. Moreover, Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index (H’) was calculated for each forest to assess species diversity and evenness, and Bray-Curtis Cluster analysis was used to determine similarity in bird species composition between the forests. Results: A total of 564 individuals composed of 88 bird species distributed in ten Orders were recorded. The level of Pit-sawing and lopping differed significantly between forests (P

Serengeti National Park is a world class icon for wildlife tourism attracting a diverse group of tourists from all over the world. The park has played a pivotal role in protecting large populations of wildlife species of the Eastern African savannah and the globally outstanding biological phenomena such as the annual migration of wildebeest. However, the history of the park is also characterised by resource use conflicts and pressures that could threaten the current quality of the visitor environment. In this paper we examine the attitudes of international visitors toward the management and attributes of the park. Overall, the tourists report a high degree of satisfaction with most aspects of their trip. Yet, the current tourists are concerned about possible future changes that could alter the visitor environment and idealized images of the African wild lands. Basic environmental attitudes (degrees of ecocentrism) have effects on attitudes toward management of the park. Tourists expressing a high degree of ecocentrism are more likely to support management actions aimed at controlling tourism activities, access and impacts. They also express a stronger interest in experiencing nature, wilderness and local culture. The results are discussed in light of the major impact factors and conservation issues facing the management of Serengeti National Park; poaching, poverty in surrounding communities, increasing population pressure, habitat degradation, and wildlife diseases.

Hyperbilirubinemia at neonatal period is one of the major deteriorating factors of the auditory system. If left untreated, it may cause certain cerebral damage. This study aims to evaluate the impact of hyperbilirubinemia on the hearing of neonate. This study was conducted on 35 newborn babies with jaundice (bilirubin more than 20 mg/dL). Auditory brainstem response (ABR) and transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) tests were performed, after treatment and one year after. ABR test results indicated that 26 children (74.3%) had normal hearing but 9 (25.7%) suffered from an impairment. As for TEOAE test, 30 children (85.7%) passed whereas the remaining (14.3%) seemed to be failures. The comparative results of the two tests pointed to autonomic neuropathy /autonomic dysreflexia symptoms in 5 babies. Due to the high incidence of autonomic neuropathy/autonomic dysreflexia among hyperbilirubinemic babies, screening in this regard seems reasonable. Our result emphasizes the necessity of more experiments on the afflicted areas.

The limited capacity of governments in developing countries to service primary health care has resulted in a rapid increase in use of indigenous medicinal plants. This increase, together with other biological and non-biological factors, has rendered these plants vulnerable to over-use and extirpation. Domestication is a conservation intervention that can relieve pressure on medicinal species. In order to ensure effectiveness and sustainability of an intervention, understanding the influencing factors is imperative. We examined the influence of gender and some socio-economic factors on domestication of medicinal plants in the West Usambara Mountains of northern Tanzania. Participatory wealth ranking, structured and semi-structured interviews, botanical surveys and participant observations were employed in data collection. Results showed that domestication has played a fundamental role in conservation of medicinal plants in the study area. Forty (89%) and twelve (27%) of forty-five indigenous plant species ...

The slogan “Serengeti shall not die” (German: Serengeti darf nicht sterben) is widely credited for alerting the global community to the urgency of conserving the Serengeti and its biological values for the benefit of local and global communities. The slogan has become popular since 1960 when Bernhard and Michael Grzimek authored a book, Serengeti Shall Not Die. However, despite this commitment the management challenges in Serengeti are growing, causing skepticism about the potential for realizing such a goal. These challenges include illegal hunting, habitat loss, and human-wildlife conflicts aggravated by human population growth and poverty. In addressing these challenges and therefore transforming the ambition “Serengeti shall not die” into reality, the multiple strategies required are presented in this paper. The paper starts by reviewing the challenges contradicting the ambition.

"nBackground: Zoonotic cutaneous leishmaniasis (ZCL) is an expanding disease and public health problem in Iran. In the current study, natural Leishmania infection rate and seasonal fluctuation of the infection in Rhombomys opimus population of a hyperendemic focus of ZCL in Iran was investigated."nMethods: The study was conducted from October 2006 to October 2008 in Esfahan Province, central part of Iran. An extensive sampling of rodents using Sherman traps was done in different seasons. Nested PCR assay was used for detection and identification of Leishmania species and the results were confirmed using PCR-RFLP."nResults: Leishmania infection rate was 58.6% (34 of 58) using nested PCR. 44.8% of the gerbils were infected only with L. turanica and 1.7% with L. gerbilli alone. A mixed natural infection with L. major and L. turanica was seen in 12.1% of the rodents. L. major infection alone was not seen in R. opimus population in the study area. The highest and lowest Leishmania infection rates were observed in fall and spring respectively. L. turanica infection was observed throughout the year whereas mixed infections with L. major and L. turanica was not seen in spring."nConclusion: It is concluded that in the study area, L. major, L. gerbilli and L. turanica circulate in the population of R. opimus. Leishmania major infection usually accompanied by L. turanica in naturally infected gerbils with the highest rate in fall. It is recommended that the role of L. turanica in the epidemiology and transmission of ZCL be revisited.

Both colonial and post-colonial conservation policies ignored the potential role of traditional African cultural practices in contributing to conservation goals. Recently, there has been a growing global interest in these practices, although recognition in official conservation policies is still minimal in many countries. This global interest is enthused by the reality that although the use of wild species and their habitats remains the foundation for human survival all over the world, there is a huge risk of losing these species. Factors such as rapid human population increase, inadequate local support for conservation policies, limited strategies for survival among local communities and inadequate capacity of the government to fund law enforcement operations against illegal activities subject the species and habitats to unsustainable use. Traditional cultural practices, among other strategies, have promising potential to enhance sustainable resource use and conservation and, therefore, realize the desir...

The study on importance of traditional practices in conservation of medicinal plants in West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania was conducted by using focus group discussions, interviews, participant observation, and botanical survey. Nine traditional practices for conservation of wild plants were identified as domestication; beliefs in sacredness of trees; beliefs in sacred forests; respect of cultural forests; protection of plants at the burial sites; selective harvesting; secrecy; collection of deadwood for firewood, and use of energy-saving traditional stoves. Through botanical surveys of sacred forests, cultural forests, farms/homesteads, and burial sites, some 1,518 wild plants belonging to 100 species were identified. A large proportion (85%) of these plants had medicinal value. Of the 173 respondents, 82%, 81%, 74%, and 71% believed that sustainable use and conservation of medicinal plants can be achieved through secrecy, plant protection at burial sites, sacredness of plants and domestication, respectively. About 89% of the respondents pursued domestication (at least five plants each) and 70% had retained sacred trees (at least one tree each), of which the majority had medicinal value. Few respondents were aware of the positive role played by sacred forests and cultural forests (38% and 21%, respectively) in conservation of medicinal plants. It is concluded that the traditional management practices have a significant role in the conservation of biodiversity. This conservation role has a direct connection with human health since most of the plant species have medicinal value, which a majority of the rural people rely on. The paper recommends that traditional management practices should be encouraged since they serve a dual purpose as important conservation strategy and as an essential component of primary health care.

Co-management arrangements are increasingly gaining popularity as an intervention to overcome the shortcomings of centralized management that impede harmonization of conflicting interests among the diverse stakeholder groups. The success of these arrangements depends, among other things, upon capitalizing on potentials existing in the area where they are intended to be implemented. This study was conducted in the western part of Serengeti National Park to analyze some potential for adopting the co-management approaches. We employed local communities' opinions, experience, knowledge, and attitudes to analyze these factors. The paper is framed around the premises that, among other things, co-management arrangements have the potential to work if: (i) the local communities have an outstanding level of awareness on the rationale of, and legal aspects pertaining to, wildlife conservation; (ii) the traditional institutions for management of natural resources exist and local communities have the ability to evaluate their performance, establish causes for inadequate performance and propose some workable solutions; (iii) local communities have the ability to evaluate different options for resource ownership and give valid reasons for opposing or supporting them. In conclusion we underscore the need for co-management approaches as an alternative intervention and a complement for current resource management approaches. We recommend promotion of local awareness on legal aspects of resource management, strengthening of traditional institutions for resource management and honoring people's choices of the types of resource ownership or rectifying the situations making them unpopular.

Summary Community-based management of protected areas has become a strong political objective worldwide. Many African countries have responded to this challenge, albeit with mixed results. Tanzania which is known for its abundant populations of wildlife in national parks has also developed several projects and institutions to improve people–park relationships. So far however, there is little evidence that community-based programmes have had any significant effect on management strategies, benefit distribution, or alleviating poverty. In this paper, we examine a part of this complex in the Western Corridor of Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. We address the basic questions of what is the extent of contact between park staff and the communities, what benefits are provided, and what needs do the communities see? There is little interaction between the park and adjacent communities, and while support is given to community projects, minimal benefits are distributed to the household or individual level. The current situation seems incapable of facilitating improved people–park relationships.

The adage ‘Serengeti shall never die’ is popular globally, both as a means and an end for survival of one of the world's flagship conservation areas. Further to its role in inspiring conservation commitment, the slogan has also served as a legendary marketing catch-phrase for Serengeti's terrific tourism attractions. Survival and prominence of Serengeti and its wildlife largely depend on the presence of a series of protected areas – tools construed as a solution to conservation problems. However, the fact that these areas are a source of numerous opportunity costs and other social and economic costs to local communities means that they have long been perceived as a liability. Conservation of these areas has, therefore, emerged as one of the key challenges, due to hostility and opposition towards the conservation policies. This challenge inspires the need for a thorough understanding of how local people perceive these costs. This will provide an entry point and a basis for workable management interventions...

Background: Previously, we showed cancer cells rely on the MTH1 protein to prevent incorporation of otherwise deadly oxidised nucleotides into DNA and we developed MTH1 inhibitors which selectively kill cancer cells. Recently, several new and potent inhibitors of MTH1 were demonstrated to be non-toxic to cancer cells, challenging the utility of MTH1 inhibition as a target for cancer treatment. Material and methods: Human cancer cell lines were exposed in vitro to MTH1 inhibitors or depleted of MTH1 by siRNA or shRNA. 8-oxodG was measured by immunostaining and modified comet assay. Thermal Proteome profiling, proteomics, cellular thermal shift assays, kinase and CEREP panel were used for target engagement, mode of action and selectivity investigations of MTH1 inhibitors. Effect of MTH1 inhibition on tumour growth was explored in BRAF V600E-mutated malignant melanoma patient derived xenograft and human colon cancer SW480 and HCT116 xenograft models. Results: Here, we demonstrate that recently described MTH1 inhibitors, which fail to kill cancer cells, also fail to introduce the toxic oxidized nucleotides into DNA. We also describe a new MTH1 inhibitor TH1579, (Karonudib), an analogue of TH588, which is a potent, selective MTH1 inhibitor with good oral availability and demonstrates excellent pharmacokinetic and anti-cancer properties in vivo. Conclusion: We demonstrate that in order to kill cancer cells MTH1 inhibitors must also introduce oxidized nucleotides into DNA. Furthermore, we describe TH1579 as a best-in-class MTH1 inhibitor, which we expect to be useful in order to further validate the MTH1 inhibitor concept. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved.

Anumerical model based on Cahn–Hilliard phase-field method is introduced for thefirst time in the literature to investigate the hydrodynamics and heat transfercharacteristics of a vaporized elongated bubble in a rectangular microchannel. In thesimulations, the initially nucleated bubble starts growing as it comes in contact withsuperheated water. The effects of the water inlet velocity and the bubble contact angleon the temporal evolution of the average heat transfer coefficient are also reported.Both qualitative and quantitative comparisons indicated that the numerically obtainedbubble shape and the growth rate are in very good agreement with the experimentalresults available in the literature.

A hybrid element-free Galerkin–finite elementmethod is presented for solving the complete electrodemodel of electrical impedance tomography.

Serengeti, a World Heritage Site and a Biosphere Reserve, is increasingly being threatened by human factors, which undermine its natural resource base and, therefore, contradict the ambition contained in Grzimeks' popular book 'Serengeti Shall Not Die'. We discuss five forces against the ambition: rapid human population growth, poverty, illegal hunting, habitat destruction, and wildlife diseases. We also review some of the current strategies adopted in view of pre-empting the negative outcomes resulting from these forces by pointing out their deficiencies. We conclude that, although human population growth and poverty are underlying factors threatening the Ecosystem, the current mitigative strategies barely address them adequately. We, therefore, recommend that, for Grzimeks' ambition to remain valid, the two factors should take priority. We also call for more research to establish the reasons making people exhibit unsustainable behaviours toward the resources. We further suggest learning from past mistak...

BACKGROUND: Reports from the health center of Yazd province of increasing cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) cases led us to carry out an epidemiological study using standard techniques in Ardakan County, central Iran, during 2001. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data was collected on the prevalence of scars and ulcers over a period of 14 months among 621 households in three villages around Ardakan County. Smears were prepared by scraping the edges of the ulcers. We collected the same data on all school children aged 7 to 11 years old in the area. To determine the reservoir host of the disease, rodents and dogs were caught and examined. Sandflies were collected biweekly from indoor and outdoor locations in the study area, and then identified. Parasites isolated from human and rodents were characterized by RAPD-PCR technique. RESULTS: The prevalence of scars and ulcers were 30.4% and 24.6%, respectively, in 3024 individuals in the three villages. Individuals 10 to 14 years of age were the most highly infected age group, with a rate of 28.4%. Males and females were equally infected. Examination of 892 students in primary schools showed a rate of 22.9% for scars and 23.7% for ulcers. Meriones libycus (42.2%) and Rhombomys opimus (57.8%) were present around the villages. Both were infected with Leishmania. Three of 19 M. libycus (15.7%) and 3 out of 26 R. opimus (11.5%) had positive results. The active season of sandflies was late April to late November. Phlebotomus papatasi and Sergentomyia sintoni were the dominant species indoors and outdoors. Natural leptomonad infection was found in P. caucasicus and S. sintoni from gerbil and Jird burrows. CONCLUSION: Based on this survey, there is an epidemic of zoonotic CL in the area, with Leishmania major as the agent, M. libycus and R. opimus as the reservoir hosts, and most probably Phlebotomus papatasi as the vector because about 77% of indoor sandflies were of this species.

Deforestation ranks at the top in the global environmental agenda. Its importance is prompted by economic and ecological roles played by the forests and the notable adverse effects caused by deforestation on human and other species. These effects include biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, disruption of water cycles, increasing soil erosion and disruption of livelihoods. Deforestation rate is more serious in tropical countries where human population growth is high with extreme poverty. Tanzania, one of the tropical countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, is not exempted from these scenarios. This chapter provides some insights on deforestation problem in Tanzania with emphasis on status and trends, major drivers, ecological impacts and current efforts geared towards addressing this problem. Finally, the chapter offers some recommendations to pre-empt further impacts associated with the problem.

Tanzania rangelands are a stronghold for biodiversity harbouring a variety of animal and plant species of economic, ecological and socio-cultural importance. Efforts to protect these resources against destruction and loss have involved, among other things, setting aside some tracks of land as protected areas in the form of national parks, nature reserves, game reserves, game controlled and wildlife management areas. However, these areas and adjacent lands have long been subjected to a number of emerging issues and challenges, which complicate their management, thus putting the resources at risk of over exploitation and extinction. These issues and challenges include, among other things, government policies, failure of conservation (as a form of land use) to compete effectively with alternative land uses, habitat degradation and blockage of wildlife corridors, overexploitation and illegal resource extraction, wildfires, human population growth, poverty, HIV/AIDS pandemic and human-wildlife conflicts. In this paper, we review the emerging issues and challenges in biodiversity conservation by drawing experience from different parts of Tanzania. The paper is based on the premise that, understanding of the issues and challenges underpinning the rangelands is a crucial step towards setting up of plausible objectives, strategies and plans that will improve and lead to effective management of these areas. We conclude by recommending some proactive measures that may enhance the sustainability of the rangeland resources for the benefit of the current and future generations.

Background: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) represents the most frequent vector borne parasitoses in Iran. The ob-jective of this study was to determine the epidemiological features of CL including human infection and the reservoir host in the city of Bushehr, Bushehr Province, Iran during 2010–2011. Methods: Studies on human infection was carried out on 2962 school children aged 7–14 years old from 60 primary schools and among 400 households with a total population of 1568 in four infected districts of the city in December 2010. Serosity materials from patients on glass slides were collected for molecular identification of causative agent. Rodents were caught by Sherman traps and examined for identification of the parasite. Results: Prevalence of scars and ulcers among the inhabitants were 5.86% and 0.12% respectively. Molecular study indicated the presence of two coexisting species: Leishmania major and L. tropica among patients. The scar rate was 1.24% but no ulcers were seen among the students. Nineteen rodents were caught and identified as Tatera indica (47.4%) and Rattus norvegicus (52.6%). Specimens from 7 T. indica and 9 R. norvegicus were examined by two techniques, microscopic examination and nested-PCR. Out of 7 T. indica, 14.3% were infected with L. major and 42.9% with L. turanica by nested-PCR. Out of 9 R. norvegicus 22.2% were infected with L. turanica and 11.1% with L. gerbilli. Conclusion: Based on this survey L. major and L. tropica are the causative agents of the disease among patients and T. indica plays a predominant role in the dissemination of L. major in the city.