Livestock guarding dogs (LSGDs) have been used for centuries to reduce depredation on livestock and more recently, to facilitate the conservation of threatened predator species. Conservation NGOs (non-government organisations) in southern Africa promote the use of Anatolian Shepherds as LSGDs. However, livestock farmers in Botswana have been using a variety of different breeds for this purpose, including the local mixed-breed “Tswana” dogs. Postal, telephonic and face-to-face interview questionnaires were administered to 108 livestock farmers in Botswana to gauge how their LSGDs were being used, in order to determine what factors contributed to the success and affordability of these dogs. Eighty-three percent of farmers had LSGDs which equaled or decreased livestock depredations on their farms, with an average reduction in livestock depredation of 75 percent per year. This equated to an average saving of US$2,017 annually per farm. The costs of purchasing (average US$27) and maintaining the 198 LSGDs in my study (average US$169/LSGD/year) were very low compared to other countries and helped contribute to the high profits obtained by farmers (average US$1,497/farm or US$789/LSGD). A unique investigation of different breeds was possible due to the diverse array of breeds in the sample (Anatolian Shepherds, Cross Breeds, Tswana dogs, Greyhounds and Pitbulls), with the crossbreed dogs (Crosses and Tswana LSGDs) performing the best. LSGDs that reduced depredation and had minimal behavioural problems were the most likely to incite positive changes in their owners in regards to attitudes towards predators. Sixty six percent of farmers stated that they were more tolerant of predators since obtaining a LSGD, and 51 percent reported that they were less likely to kill predators since obtaining a LSGD. My results indicate that successful, well-behaved LSGDs are a cost-effective tool that has the ability to increase farm productivity and improve predator-farmer conflicts in Botswana. The methods recommended in my thesis, in particular the benefits of using local breeds of dog as LSGDs, can be implemented on farming practices the world over to assist farming productivity and to promote conservation efforts.

Les forêts de montagne sont des ouvrages de protection naturels, qui en fonction des situations sont en mesure d'offrir une protection efficace vis-à-vis des risques naturels d'origine gravitaire : les chutes de pierres, les avalanches, les glissements de terrains, les laves torrentielles et l'érosion. Les interventions forestières, telles que les grands reboisements issus de la politique de Restauration des Terrains en Montagne (RTM) du XIXe siècle, ont démontré leur efficacité pour maîtriser l'érosion des versants en lien avec le phénomène de torrentialité. Depuis 2006, les nouveaux Guides des Sylvicultures de Montagne (GSM), français, suisse et italien, préconisent des nouvelles techniques sylvicoles pour la gestion et l'optimisation de la fonction de protection des peuplements forestiers de montagne. Ces préconisations concernent entre autre la réalisation d'ouvrages biologiques par l'utilisation des rémanents. Ces ouvrages ont pour vocation de limiter et le cas échéant de stopper la propagation de blocs rocheux, et de limiter le départ d'avalanches. Ils sont composés de grumes laissées au sol, parfois empilées les unes sur les autres, maintenues dans la pente par leur propres souches, d'autres souches ou des arbres encore sur pieds. Mais, si des directives techniques existent pour réaliser de tels ouvrages, aucune donnée scientifique n'était à ce jour disponible pour quantifier la pérennité de ces ouvrages.Ce travail de thèse s'inscrit dans la volonté de fournir ces connaissances scientifiques en se focalisant sur l'étude de la corrélation entre la durabilité des rémanents et leur dynamique de protection face aux chutes de blocs. L'objectif principal de cette thèse consiste à fournir des connaissances sur la cinématique de décomposition du bois et de proposer des modèles d'efficacité des rémanents en fonction du temps. A partir de mesures in situ, en laboratoire et d'une approche basée sur l'analyse de chronoséquences, nous avons étudié la cinématique de décomposition de trois espèces d'arbres présentes dans les Alpes (Pinus nigra, Picea Abies, Fagus sylvatica), et analysé les corrélations entre les variables physiques, chimiques et mécaniques qui ont été utilisées. Des premiers modèles prédictifs de l'évolution de l'efficacité des ouvrages pare-pierres en fonction du temps ont ainsi pu être construits. / Mountain forests are structures of natural protection, which are, depending on the situation, able to offer an effective protection against gravitational natural hazards: rockfalls, avalanches, landslides, debris flows and erosion. Forest interventions, like the reforestation policies of the Restauration des Terrains en Montagne (RTM) of the nineteenth century, have demonstrated their efficiency in controlling slope erosion in connection with the torrent phenomenon. Since 2006, the new Guides des Sylvicultures de Montagne (GSM), of French, Swiss and Italian origin, advocate new forestry techniques for managing and optimizing the protective function of mountain forest stands. These recommendations include the realization of biological works by the use of slash, among others. These structures are designed to limit and, if necessary, stop the propagation of rockfalls, and limit the trigger of an avalanche. They are composed of tree stems lying on the ground, sometimes stacked on one another, held onto the descent by their own stump, other stumps or standing trees. But, if guidelines exist to produce these structures, no scientific data has been available to quantify their longevity. This PhD thesis aims to provide additional scientific understanding, researching the correlation between the durability of slash and the protection dynamic against rockfall. The main objective of this thesis was to add to the body of knowledge on the kinematics of decaying wood and propose models of efficiency of slash over time. With field measurements, laboratory analysis, and chronosequence methods, we investigated the kinematic decomposition of three species in the Alps (Pinus nigra, Picea Abies, Fagus sylvatica) and analyzed the correlations between the physical, chemical and mechanical variables used. Initial predictive models of the evolution of the efficiency of rockfall structures over time have thus been built

Legal instruments of the protection of water quality - Abstract The purpose of my thesis is to analyse a system of legal instruments of protection of quality ground and surface water. The reason for my research is fact that quality of water has an impact not only on every human being but also on the whole planet Earth because there is no life without it. The thesis is composed of six parts - introduction, four main chapters and conclusion, each of them dealing with different aspects of water protection. Short introduction outlines total amount of water and main problems lie with the actual amount of fresh water and quality of this water. Chapter One defines major sources of pollution which are point, non-point and emergency sources of pollution. The next two parts of this chapter contain actual state of quality both surface and ground water in Czech Republic. Chapter Two concentrate on relevant international, European and Czech legislation in water protection. The chapter consists of three parts. Part One focuses on international law which is based on bilateral and multilateral treaties. Part Two investigates the European Union water law with focusing on primary and secondary sources of law. Part Three looks at Czech water law. Chapter Three is subdivided into two parts and provides an outline of main aims...

One of the most important photosynthetic enzymes in a plant is ribulose-1,5¬bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco), which plays a key role in carbon fixation. Degradation of this enzyme leads to decreased carbon fixation and poor photosynthetic performance by the plant. It is therefore of interest to investigate possible ways of protecting this enzyme during stress conditions in order to generate plants that would perform better under extreme climates. In this study the effect of an expressed, exogenous rice cysteine proteinase inhibitor (OCI) in transformed tobacco plants on Rubisco stability/content under chilling and senescence was investigated. Results showed that there is no significant protective role for exogenous OCI on the degradation/content of Rubisco when tobacco plants were exposed to chilling. This result was found using native gel-based quantification procedures, as well as immuno-blotting, spot densitometric analysis, and a radioactive quantification assay as analysis techniques. The study, however, provided evidence for protection of Rubisco against degradation by expression of OCI under a more severe stress condition, such as senescence using native gel-based quantification procedures as detection techniques. Tobacco plants were also transformed with a newly designed vector allowing expressed OCI to be transported to the chloroplast. Failure to detect so far any OCI-¬expressing transformed plants and the idea that delay of senescence could prove beneficial to farmers by providing a more nutrient-dense crop with higher tolerance against stress-induced cell death are discussed. / Dissertation (MSc(Botany))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Plant Science / unrestricted

The thesis covers the field of the contract law known as the consumer credit law. It deals with the legal protection afforded to the consumer under current South African law with emphasis on the legal position in specific credit agreements contained in standard-form contracts. The thesis focuses on those credit contracts in which the legal relationship between the consumer and the dominant party is contained in the standard-form contracts, specifically credit agreements relating to money lending transactions in which the credit grantor’s rights are secured either by means of mortgage agreement, a suretyship contract, or a deed of cession. In South Africa the right to equality and human dignity, as opposed to the classical theories of contract: pacta sunt servanda and the principle of freedom of contract, are supported by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996 which entrenched democratic values permeating all areas of the law including contract law. In this thesis the harmonisation of these classical theories of contract law and the constitutional values of human dignity and equality have been considered. As has been shown in a number of cases, notably those relating to the contracts of suretyship, cession in securitatem debiti, and mortgage, the current law regulating the relationship between the credit grantors and the credit receivers is in need of law reform to fall in line with the constitutional values of equality and human dignity. The greatest difficulty inherent in this area of the law is the reluctance of the courts to intervene at the instance of consumers. The courts would only intervene in the clearest of the cases, and would only do so in the public interest. In this thesis the current South African Law is considered in the light of the developments elsewhere. The tendency of credit providers to alter the terms of the contracts unilaterally and the growing number of conflicting decisions of the Provincial Divisions of High Court has also been considered. The writer also considers the role of the newly created Consumer Affairs Court.

This research is aimed at analyzing the performance of the restricted earth fault relay used on a 400kV capacitor bank scheme used on the Eskom Transmission network. After the commissioning of two Capacitor Banks using the above mentioned scheme design the plant was energized. As a result of the energization the Shunt Capacitor Bank (SCB) then experienced spurious trips. The cause of the trips was found to be the operation of the restricted earth fault relay. In this research project, restricted earth fault protection on SCBs in the Eskom Transmission environment will be the area of interest. The proposed research will analyze the current SCB protection scheme in service specifically looking at the restricted earth fault circuit design and relay performance. An equivalent model of the SCB from primary plant perspective based on theory will be derived. Recording and analyzing of Comtrade transient waveforms respectively, when the bank is nergized, will be done in order to provide a reference base to work from. Manual alculations of various parameters from the derived model including transient inrush currents and fault currents will be performed to access applicable scheme parameters. Further calculations will include the voltage setting for the restricted earth fault relay. As a result of the analysis a recommendation will be made on a viable solution or a revised design will be put forward, based on the results, to improve the scheme’s performance. The protection scheme is used on the two 400kV 100MVAR capacitor banks 11 and 12 at Hydra Substation.

Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2015 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM / Unrestricted

Soucieux de moderniser le droit de l’arbitrage, le législateur OHADA a adopté des règles particulièrement libérales. Cette approche conforme à la protection des investisseurs, a été généralisée à toute forme d’arbitrage. Il s’ensuit que les règles visant à protéger une partie en position de faiblesse vis-à-vis de son contradicteur ont été peu envisagées. Qu’il s’agisse de la convention d’arbitrage ou du procès arbitral, le sort du faible n’a pas fait l’objet d’une attention particulière. En conséquence, en dépit de nombreuses avancées quant au régime de l’accord arbitral ou du déroulement du procès, le droit OHADA devrait être révisé dans la perspective de pondérer son libéralisme chaque fois la protection du faible est légitime. Cette démarche n’aura de sens que si le législateur OHADA adapte le droit de l’arbitrage à son environnement sociologique et économique. / In order to modernize arbitration law, the OHADA lawmaker adopted particularly liberal rules. This approach complies with the protection of investors, has been generalized to all forms of arbitration proceedings. It follows that the rules designed to protect a party in a weakness position vis-à-vis his opponent has been little considered. Whether the arbitration agreement or of the arbitral proceedings, the fate of the weak is not the subject of special attention. Accordingly, despite many advances as to the regime of the arbitration agreement or conduct of the trial, the OHADA law should be amended in order to mitigate its liberalism whenever the protection of the weak party is legitimate. This approach will only make sense if the OHADA lawmaker adapts the arbitration law to its sociological and economic environment.

En tant qu’organismes sessiles, les plantes doivent réagir rapidement et intensément, via des réponses défensives, pour repousser les pathogènes invasifs. Le système immunitaire des plantes peut être déclenché par des molécules élicitrices exogènes ou endogènes. Une autre classe d’éliciteurs, les éliciteurs synthétiques, contient également des composés promouvant une réponse défensive.Dans ce manuscrit, je décris la découverte et caractérisation d’une nouvelle famille de petits peptides endogènes potentiellement sécrétés(PROSCOOP), dont les membres incluent de petits peptides (SCOOP). Je démontre que les SCOOP sont impliqués dans les mécanismes de défense de la plante et le développement racinaire. Une variété de peptides SCOOP induit des réponses défensives de courtes et longues durées.De plus, des traitements avec le peptideSCOOP12 induisent une résistance à Pseudomonas syringae chez Arabidopsis.Dans la seconde partie de cette thèse, je démontre que le traitement des plantes avec un éliciteur synthétique peut mener à une mémoire transcriptionnelle à long terme, et que le challenge subséquent des plantes traitées par application d’un éliciteur exogène désactive cette mémoire transcriptionnelle. En conclusion, ma thèse présente (1) la diversité des fonctions que peuvent avoir ces éliciteurs et (2) l’impact sur les systèmes de défense de la plante et ses conséquences sur la mémoire et le développement de la plante. / As sessile organism, plants have to react quickly and strongly with defense responses to repel any invading pathogen. The plant immune system can be triggered by exogenous or endogenous elicitor molecules. Another class of elicitors are defense promoting compounds which are also known as synthetic elicitors. Here I describe the discovery and characterization of a novel family of potentially secreted small endogenous peptides (PROSCOOP) which members harbor small peptides (SCOOPs). I show that the SCOOP family is involved in plant defense and root development. Various SCOOP peptides induce short- and long-term defense responses. Moreover, treatments with the SCOOP12 peptide induce the resistance against Pseudomonas syringae in Arabidopsis. In the second part of this thesis, I show that treatments with a synthetic elicitor can lead to long-term transcriptional memory and that subsequent challenging of such plants with an exogenous elicitor reverted this transcriptional memory. In conclusion, my thesis shows (1) how diverse the function of these elicitors can be and (2) the impact the plant defense system and its triggers have on plant development and memory.

The protection zone of the Franklin Rod is widely used in practice due to its effectiveness and the wide usage. The theories are based on the mathematical approaches, regardless of physical inherence of lightning strokes. The study of this thesis is based on computer analysis of the field distribution in pre-breakdown stage, laboratory experiments of various test configurations and mathematical modeling. The impact of the Franklin Rod¡¯s height and the polarity of impulse are considered. New equations are developed to calculate the striking distance to Franklin Rod both under negative and positive polarity lightning strokes. The lightning protection zone of the Franklin Rod can be predicted by a proposed elliptical model. The experimental data coincides to the calculated protection zone by proposed equations. Finally, the dual-rod lightning protection system is studied. The protection zone of the dual-rod protection system can be evaluated by a combination of Rolling Sphere Circular Model and elliptical model.