Anomalous low tropospheric column ozone over Eastern India during the severe drought event of monsoon 2002: a case study

Background, aim, and scope  

The present study is an attempt to examine some of the probable causes of the unusually low tropospheric column ozone observed over eastern India during the exceptional drought event in July 2002.     

Agro-economic evaluation of water resource project--a modeling approach

Feasibility of an irrigation project is evaluated by two criteria viz., reservoir capacity to irrigate its command area and economic returns by incremental crop production versus capital investment for dam construction. The annual water requirement of different crops in the command area is estimated and compared with the availability of water from the dam for irrigation purpose. The annual crop water requirement is estimated as the sum of evapotranspiration for crops and transmission and other losses. Evapotranspiration is estimated by modified Penman formula. Economics of crop production is analyzed by first estimating the monetary value of existing crop production under current rain fed conditions and then estimating the incremental production of irrigated command area for the proposed crop pattern. The proposed cropping pattern is prepared so as to maximize the benefit of crop production and fodder requirement while maintaining a better crop rotation to improve and maintain physical, chemical, and biological conditions of the soil. The dam is to be used for irrigation and water supply only. Command area served by this reservoir will be 76,500 ha. The existing annual agricultural return is Rs. 2995.56 lakhs and with the proposed irrigation scheme, it is estimated as Rs. 1,77,91.90 lakhs. The incremental annual return would be Rs. 1,47,96.35 lakhs i.e., 642.68% increase in annual return.     

Ovarian changes in response to heavy metal exposure to the fish,Notopterus notopterus (Pallas)

The ovarian and hepatic protein, lipid and cholesterol content were estimated in the fish, N. notopterus after exposing it to heavy metals at sublethal concentrations. The protein, lipid and cholesterol content of ovary and liver got reduced and amongst the three exposures (mercuric chloride, cadmium chloride and their combination) it was significantly reduced in the order of (HgCl2>HgCl2>+CdCl2>CdCl2>control). The above results indicated that HgCl2 is highly toxic and its toxicity gets reduced in combination.     

Temporal variation in density and diversity of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in lakes at Nagpur (Maharashtra State), India

Toxic cyanobacteria (TCB) are known worldwide for the adverse impacts on humans and animals. Species composition and the seasonal variation of TCB in water bodies depend on interactions between physical and chemical factors. The present investigation delineates temporal variations in physico-chemical water quality parameters, viz. nutrients and density, diversity, and distribution of toxic cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins in Lake Ambazari (21°7′52″N, 79°2′22″E) and Lake Phutala (21°9′18″N, 79°2′37″E) at Nagpur (Maharashtra State), India. These lakes are important sources of recreational activities and fisheries. Toxic cyanobacterial diversity comprised Anabaena, Oscillatoria, Lyngbya, Phormidium, and Microcystis, a well-known toxic cyanobacterial genus, as dominant. Chlorophyll-a concentrations in the lakes ranged from 1.44 to 71.74 mg/m³. A positive correlation of Microcystis biomass existed with orthophosphate-P (p?<?0.05) and nitrate-N (p?>?0.05). Identification and quantification of microcystin variants were carried out by high performance liquid chromatography equipped with photodiode array detector. Among all the tested toxin variants, microcystin-RR (arginine–arginine) was consistently recorded and exhibited a positive correlation (p?<?0.05) with Microcystis in both the water bodies. Microcystis bloom formation was remarkable between post-monsoon and summer. Besides nutrient concentrations governing bloom formation, the allelopathic role of microcystins needs to be established.     

Effect of cortisol on female freshwater fish Notopterus notopterus

In the present study, effect of cortisol on the ovary of the freshwater fish Notopterus notopterus was studied during four phases of the reproductive cycle. The hormone was injected 60microg/fish for ten days. Cortisol in fish is known to increase the metabolic activity. After the hormone treatment the ovarian somatic index and the hepatosomatic index increases during non breeding phase. The young oocytes transferred into vitellogenic oocytes in all the phases after cortisol treatment. The cortisol induced increased ovarian activity may be due to increase in the metabolic activity through the involvement of hepatic cells specially during non-breeding period providing support for energy production for reproductive activity in the freshwater fish N. notopterus.     

Characterisation of submarine groundwater discharge offshore south-eastern Sicily

A complex approach in characterisation of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) off south-eastern Sicily comprising applications of radioactive and non-radioactive tracers, direct seepage measurements, geophysical surveys and a numerical modelling is presented. SGD fluxes in the Donnalucata boat basin were estimated by direct seepage measurements to be from 4 to 12Ls(-1), which are comparable with the total SGD flux in the basin of 17Ls(-1) obtained from radon measurements. The integrated SGD flux over the Donnalucata coast estimated on the basis of Ra isotopes was around 60m(3)s(-1) per km of the coast. Spatial variations of SGD were observed in the Donnalucata boat basin, the average (222)Rn activity concentration in seawater varied from approximately 0.1kBqm(-3) to 3.7kBqm(-3) showing an inverse relationship with salinity. The continuous monitoring carried out at the site closest to the coast has revealed an inverse relationship of (222)Rn activity concentration on the tide. The (222)Rn concentrations in seawater varied from 2.3kBqm(-3) during high tides to 4.8kBqm(-3) during low tides, thus confirming an influence of the tide on submarine groundwater discharge. Stable isotopes (delta(2)H and delta(18)O) showed that SGD samples consist up to 50% of groundwater. Geo-electrical measurements showed a spatial variability of the salt/fresh water interface and its complex transformation in the coastal zone. The presented results imply that in the studied Donnalucata site there are at least two different sources of SGD, one superficial, represented by mixed fresh water and seawater, and the second one which originates in a deeper limestone aquifer.     

How to address data privacy concerns when using social media data in conservation science

Social media data are being increasingly used in conservation science to study human–nature interactions. User-generated content, such as images, video, text, and audio, and the associated metadata can be used to assess such interactions. A number of social media platforms provide free access to user-generated social media content. However, similar to any research involving people, scientific investigations based on social media data require compliance with highest standards of data privacy and data protection, even when data are publicly available. Should social media data be misused, the risks to individual users' privacy and well-being can be substantial. We investigated the legal basis for using social media data while ensuring data subjects’ rights through a case study based on the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation. The risks associated with using social media data in research include accidental and purposeful misidentification that has the potential to cause psychological or physical harm to an identified person. To collect, store, protect, share, and manage social media data in a way that prevents potential risks to users involved, one should minimize data, anonymize data, and follow strict data management procedure. Risk-based approaches, such as a data privacy impact assessment, can be used to identify and minimize privacy risks to social media users, to demonstrate accountability and to comply with data protection legislation. We recommend that conservation scientists carefully consider our recommendations in devising their research objectives so as to facilitate responsible use of social media data in conservation science research, for example, in conservation culturomics and investigations of illegal wildlife trade online.     

Gonadosomatic and hepatosomatic indices of the freshwater fish Notopterus notopterus (Pallas) in response to some heavy metal exposure

Area wise, the measurement of LC50 for pollutants is of great value in predicting the safe concentration dose of the contaminant in the environment on different aquatic species. The lethality of toxic substances including heavy metals to the aquatic organisms are usually assessed by following static bio-assay or continuous flow methods. The toxicity tests for mercuric chloride (HgCl2), cadmium chloride (CdCl2) and their mixture on Notopterus notopterus was determined by using 96h LC50 concentration on fish N. notopterus which indicated that cadmium chloride (CdCl2) was less toxic and mercuric chloride (HgCl2) was most highly toxic. The order of toxicity is mercuric chloride > mixture > cadmium chloride. On the basis of gonadosomatic index the reproductive cycle of N. notopterus can be categorised into immature, developing, maturing, mature, ripe and spent stages. Liver forms important organ of the body, which has a role in the ovarian development. On exposure to heavy metals at sublethal concentration both GSI (gonadosomatic index) and HSI (hepatosomatic index) are reduced.     

Prenatal diagnosis of 45,X/46,XX mosaicism in the fetus. Should the pregnancy be terminated?

45,X/46,XX True mosaicism was found in the amniotic fluid cell culture study in our patient and was confirmed by rapid fetal blood karyotyping. Elective termination of the pregnancy revealed a morphologically normal female fetus with true mosaicism but no features of Turner's syndrome.     

Influence of agro-waste amendment on soil microbial population in relation to plant growth response

Introductions of high yielding inorganic fertilizer are not cheap and leave behind a large amount of dry matter for disposal. Thus there is a need to utilize these plant residues to save fertilizers and maintain a satisfactory level of soil fertility. Hence, with the view of in-situ manuring as well as to recycle the agricultural residue, pot experiments were conducted to study the effect of wheat husk amendments on soil microbial population and seedling vigour index (SVI) of wheat. Results of pot experiment showed the improvement in soil fungal population followed by bacterial and actinomycetal counts. Statistical significant increase in plant growth was also recorded as compared to unamended control, which indicates the practical possibility in utilizing wheat husk for improvement is soil fertility