Knowledge of the temporal and spatial characteristics of chokka squid (Loligo vulgaris reynaudii) biology in South African waters is limited, so the possibility of there being a geographically fragmented stock was examined by investigating the distribution of maturity patterns for the species, covering all known spawning areas and using both historical and recent data. Gonadosomatic indices (GSI) varied between year-round consistency and apparent seasonal peaks in both summer and winter; there was no clear spatial pattern. Monthly percentage maturity provided further evidence for two peak reproductive periods each year, although mature squid were present throughout. Sex ratios demonstrated great variability between different areas and life history stages. Male-biased sex ratios were only apparent on the inshore spawning grounds and ranged between 1.118:1 and 4.267:1. Size at sexual maturity was also seasonal, squid maturing smaller in winter/spring than in summer/autumn. Also, squid in the east matured smaller than squid in the west. Although the results from the present study do not provide conclusive evidence of distinct geographic populations, squid likely spawn over a significantly larger area of the Agulhas Bank than previously estimated, and squid on the west coast of South Africa may return to spawn on the western portion of the Agulhas Bank. It remains likely, however, that the east and west coast populations are a single stock and that migration of juveniles to the west coast and their subsequent return as sub-adults is an integral but non-essential and variable part of the life history.

This study examines the use of age-structured maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches for stock assessment of the Namibian monkfish, Lophius vomerinus, resource with questionable data, in which time series are short, abundance indices are variable, and research data conflict with commercial data. Bayesian approaches with both noninformative and informative priors are investigated to determine if they enhance estimation stability. Three data scenarios are assessed: commercial and research survey data, research survey data only, and commercial data only. Both statistical approaches show that resource abundance has decreased with exploitable biomass estimated at approximately 44% of pristine levels. The maximum likelihood and the Bayesian approach with noninformative priors result in similar estimates. As the abundance data contained little information pertaining to possible density dependence within the stock–recruit relationship, only a Bayesian approach with informative priors reduces uncertainty in the steepness parameter h. Estimated management quantities are sensitive both to the set of data sources and whether prior information was informative or not. The strengths of the Bayesian approach include the integration of prior information with uncertain data, the exploration of data conflicts, and the ability to show the uncertainty in estimates of management parameters. Its weakness is that estimation stability is dependent on the choice of priors, which alters some posterior distributions of management quantities.

Indigenous forests and savannas, along with plantation forests, offer numerous benefits to rural communities and society at large. Yet, the role of forests and forestry in contributing to sustainable livelihoods and poverty alleviation are widely debated. However, much of the debate pertains to lessons from the humid tropics, with little consideration of the widespread dry forests and savannas. This paper considers the role of dry forest types, including savannas, using South Africa as a case example. It concludes that a large proportion of the population makes use of forests and the resources from them. These are vital components of local livelihoods, which probably prevent people from slipping into deeper poverty. Moreover, for a measurable proportion, engagement in informal forest activities, as well as the formal forestry sector, has resulted in them being able to move out of poverty. Additionally, the generally dry nature of forests in South Africa, coupled with the high unemployment rate, limit the extent of alternative locally based livelihood options, thereby magnifying the contributions from forests and forest products. The depressing effects of widespread HIV/AIDS on labour availability, economic activities and livelihoods has exacerbated peoples' dependence on forest products.

Adenosine triphosphate-sulphurylase (ATPS) plays a major role in dissimilatory sulphate reduction. In this study, the level of ATPS activity was monitored in a time course study using a biosulphidogenic batch bioreactor system. A coincident decrease in ATPS activity with a decline in sulphate concentration and an increase in sulphide concentration as biosulphidogenesis proceeded was observed. Flask studies further showed sulphate to be stimulatory to ATPS, while sulphide proved to be inhibitory. The effect of ions (Ca^(2+), Cl^(−), Fe^(2+) and Zn^(2+)) on the ATPS activity was also investigated. Most of the ions studied (Ca^(2+), Cl^(−) and Fe^(2+)) were stimulatory at lower concentrations (40–120 mg/l) but proved toxic at higher concentrations (>120 mg/l). In contrast, Zn^(2+) was inhibitory even at low concentrations ( 40 mg/l). ATPS may potentially be used as an enzymatic marker for biological sulphate reduction in sulphate-rich wastewaters and natural environments (anaerobic systems such as soils and sediments found in freshwater and marine systems), providing all residual sulphide and interfering ions are removed using a simple preparative step.

This paper describes the construction of a carbon paste electrode (CPE) impregnated with nanoparticles of iron(II) phthalocyanine (nanoFePc). The new electrode (nanoFePc-CPE) revealed interesting electrocatalytic behaviour towards amitrole; pure catalytic diffusion-controlled process, with high Tafel slope (235 mV/decade) suggesting strong binding of amitrole with nanoFePc catalyst. The effects of catalyst loading, varying pH and electrolytes were studied. The mechanism for the interaction of amitrole with the nanoFePc is proposed to involve the Fe[superscript (III)]Pc/Fe[superscript (II)]Pc redox process. Using chronoamperometry (E = +0.42 V versus Ag/AgCl) technique, the sensor was reliably employed for amitrole assay at pH 12.0 phosphate buffer (with sodium sulphate as the supporting electrolyte) for up to 12 nM amitrole with excellent sensitivity (ca. 3.44 μA/nM) and low detection limit (3.62 ± 0.11 nM, i.e. 0.305 μg L[superscript (−1)] using the YB + 3σB criterion and 0.85 ± 0.03 nM, i.e. 70 ng/L with the Y[subscript B] + 2[subscript σB] criterion) as well as satisfactory amperometric selectivity coefficient (K[subscript amp] ≈ 7.4 × 10[superscript (−4)] for ammonium thiocyanate, a component of many amitrole herbicides, and 3.2 × 10[superscript (−3)] for asulam pesticide). The surface of the electrode can easily be regenerated by simple polishing on an alumina paper, obtaining a fresh surface ready for use in a new assay. The proposed electrode was successfully applied in the quantification of amitrole in its commercial formulation as well as in tap water samples.

Anomalous behaviour displayed by a thermoluminescence (TL) glow peak as radiation dose increases in a Nigerian quartz is presented. The glow curves of the phosphor have four clear glow peaks. The peak temperatures of the first three glow peaks were found to be constant with change in radiation dose at 82, 148 and 200ºC for the sample readout at a heating rate of 1ºCs[superscript (-1)]. The peak temperature of the fourth peak, which is at around 320ºC for a sample irradiated to a dose of 63 Gy and heated at 1ºCs[superscript (-1)], displays anomalous behaviour with increase in dose relative to the first three peaks. The temperature at which this peak occurs increases with dose to about 335ºC for 177 Gy and then decreases thereafter as dose is further increased. The change is explained on the assumption that the peak may be complex consisting of several overlapping first-order glow peaks each with different TL behaviour.

This report describes the applications of cobalt tetracarboxylic acid phthalocyanine (CoTCAPc) self-assembled monolayer (SAM) immobilized onto a preformed 2-mercaptoethanol (Au-ME) SAM on gold surface (Au-ME-CoTCAPc SAM) as a potential amperometric sensor for the detection of hydrogen peroxide (H[subscript 2]O[subscript 2]) at neutral pH conditions. The Au-ME-CoTCAPc SAM sensor showed a very fast amperometric response time of approximately 1 s, good linearity at the studied concentration range of up to 5 μM with a coefficient R² = 0.993 and a detection limit of 0.4 μM oxidatively. Also reductively, the sensor exhibited a very fast amperometric response time (~1 s), linearity up to 5 μM with a coefficient R² = 0.986 and a detection limit of 0.2 μM. The cobalt tetracarboxylic acid phthalocyanine self-assembled monolayer was then evaluated as a mediator for glucose oxidase (GOx)-based biosensor. The GOx (enzyme) was immobilized covalently onto Au-ME-CoTCAPc SAM using coupling agents: N-ethyl-N(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC) and N-hydroxy succinimide (NHS), and the results demonstrated a good catalytic behavior. Kinetic parameters associated with the enzymatic and mediator reactions were estimated using electrochemical versions of Lineweaver–Burk and Hanes equation, and the stability of the sensor was tested. The biosensor (Au-ME-CoTCAPc-GOx SAM) electrode showed good sensitivity (7.5 nA/mM) with a good detection limit of 8.4 μM at 3σ, smaller Michaelis–Menten constant (4.8 mM from Hanes plot) and very fast response time of approximately 5 s.

Following the democratic transition in South Africa in the early 1990s the government has implemented a widespread electrification programme, as well as introduced a free basic electricity allowance as a means of poverty alleviation. Yet there are limited longitudinal studies on the impacts of the introduction of electricity on the patterns of household energy use, and even more so in the neglected rural sector. This study reports on the patterns of household energy use in five rural settlements in 1991 and again in 2002. Results indicate a changing pattern of energy use for lighting and powering entertainment appliances, more specifically from dry-cell batteries and paraffin to electricity. Yet for thermal needs, most notably cooking, fuelwood has remained the most widespread fuel, and the amount used per month has not changed, despite increasing scarcity of wood in the local environment. There has been an increase in the proportion of households purchasing fuelwood as opposed to collecting their own. Overall, the mean total number of fuel types used per household has increased, indicating that electricity is simply viewed as an additional energy, rather than an alternative. Yet, electricity accounted for approximately 60% of expenditure on energy sources in 2002, despite the government's policy of a free basic allowance of 5–6 kWh per month. This has implications for energy supply costing, as well as the poverty alleviation dimensions of the whole programme.

We discuss the search for optimal stocking regimes in semi-arid grazing lands. We argue that ‘one size does not fit all’ and that different stocking regimes are appropriate under different conditions. This paper is an attempt to move beyond polarization of the current debate towards a more integrative and flexible approach to grazing management. We propose five different conditions as major influences on grazing regimes: environmental variability and predictability; degradation and thresholds; property right regimes; discount rates; and market stability and prices. We suggest a lack of connection between the micro-economics literature and natural science and social-anthropological literature. It is timely to achieve greater integration around some key questions and hypotheses, and recognize that policy prescriptions at national or even regional levels are likely to have limited value due to context specificity.

Nickel tetrakis(benzylmercapto)phthalocyanine (NiTBMPc) and nickel tetrakis(dodecylmercapto)phthalocyanine (NiTDMPc) complexes were synthesized and their spectral and electrochemical properties reported. The CV showed four or five redox processes for NiTBMPc and NiTDMPc, respectively. For the first time, spectroelectrochemistry gave evidence for the formation of Ni[superscript II]/Ni[superscrpt I] process in a NiPc complex. The rest of the processes were ring based. The NiTBMPc complex was successfully deposited on both gold and glassy carbon electrodes by electropolymerisation while NiTDMPc complex was deposited on gold electrode only. The films were electro-transformed in aqueous 0.1 M NaOH solution to the O–Ni–O oxo bridged form. The modified electrodes were characterized using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and the results showed typical behavior for modified electrodes. Electrodes with poly-Ni(OH)Pcs films exhibited higher charge transfer resistance values, Rp than their corresponding poly-NiPcs films counterparts. All the modified electrodes showed improved catalytic activities than the unmodified electrodes towards nitrite ions electrooxidation. Better catalytic activities were observed for the modified electrodes when they were transformed to O–Ni–O oxo bridge form. All the modified electrodes exhibited high resistance to electrode surface passivation.