The attitudes of riparian communities to the presence of water hyacinth in the Wouri River Basin,Douala, Cameroon

Since publication of the first record of Eichhornia crassipes in Cameroon in 1997, the weed has become highly invasive in the Wouri River Basin. Between June and September 2014, a socio-economic survey using participatory and qualitative methods was undertaken in the riparian villages of the Wouri River Basin to assess the perception of respondents to the presence of water hyacinth. The survey revealed that water hyacinth was a significant threat to activities along the river, which included fishing, sand extraction and river transportation. The presence of water hyacinth mats reduced catch rates of several common fish species, river transportation by 75%, and significantly reduced the income for sand extraction. Cameroon employs manual clearing of water hyacinth; however, respondents indicated they would consider other control methods, provided they do not have any negative impacts.     

Membrane vesicles containing matrix metalloproteinase‐9 and fibroblast growth factor‐2 are released into the extracellular space from mouse mesoangioblast stem cells

Certain proteins, including fibroblast growth factor‐2 (FGF‐2) and matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9), have proved very effective in increasing the efficacy of mesoangioblast stem cell therapy in repairing damaged tissue. We provide the first evidence that mouse mesoangioblast stem cells release FGF‐2 and MMP‐9 in their active form through the production of membrane vesicles. These vesicles are produced and turned over continuously, but are stable for some time in the extracellular milieu. Mesoangioblasts shed membrane vesicles even under oxygen tensions that are lower than those typically used for cell culture and more like those of mouse tissues. These findings suggest that mesoangioblasts may themselves secrete paracrine signals and factors that make damaged tissues more amenable to cell therapy through the release of membrane vesicles. J. Cell. Physiol. 224:144–151, 2010 © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Evaluation of an enrichment programme for a colony of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) in a rescue centre

Primates - Long-tailed macaques are highly social primates that are commonly used in biomedical research as animal models. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of different kinds of...