Food and feeding of Amphiesma stolatum (Linnaeus 1758)

The food and feeding behaviour of Amphiesma stolatum was studied. A total of 117 snakes were examined to analyse the diet composition. Ten live snakes were maintained in enclosure for evaluating the feeding habit, choice of food and rate of assimilation. The anurans constituted the major diet of the food spectrum. In captivity, fishes (fry), amphibians and reptiles were consumed by the snakes. A. stolatum exihibited Elaphe type of hunting behaviour. In most cases the snake struck the prey at its head. The assimilation rate with frog was highest.     

Dental fluorosis in bovine of Nayagarh district of Orissa

Chronic fluoride toxicity in the form of dental fluorosis was observed in cattle from nine (9) villages under two (2) blocks of Nayagarh district of Orissa. Out of 1117 cattle, 221 (18.09%) showed the signs of dental fluorosis. In all affected villages, the prevalence of dental fluorosis in calves (< 1 year age) was greater than adults. There was significant difference in prevalence in respect to age. The commonly observed signs of dental fluorosis were brown discoloration, mottling, attrition or uneven wearing of teeth with or without pitting. None of the affected animals showed characteristic signs of osteofluorosis. The mean serum and urine fluoride concentration of affected animals were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than those of control animals. Fluoride levels (mean) of ground water and surface water in two blocks were 1.30 +/- 0.16 ppm, 0. 66 +/- 0.08 ppm and 1.12 +/- 0.19 ppm, 0. 48 +/- 0.05 ppm respectively. The fluoride content of grass samples of affected and control (non-endemic) area was comparable. There was a highly positive correlation (r = + 0.664) between prevalence of dental fluorosis and fluoride content of ground water. It was concluded that fluoride intake through the water especially ground water contributed to the development of fluorosis in cattle.     

Use of Biotic Community Structure as a Measure of Ecological Degradation

The benthic macroinvertebrate communities of two lotic aquatic habitats,namely,the Churni River(C-R)and the Jalangi River(J-R)were compared in this study.One lotic aquatic system(C-R)was polluted by organic pollutants due to discharge of unprocessed sewage water,while the other(J-R)was not affected by such pollution.Evaluations of various physico-chemical properties of water,sediment and different macroinvertebrate communities of the two tropical lotic systems were done in a period from January,2002 to December,2003.A long term temporal change in the macroinvertebrate communities was recorded due to increase in sediment rH value.Sediment redox potential affected by the anthropogenic activities was found to be an important factor for alteration of macroinvertebrate communities in these aquatic ecosystems.A positive correlation has been established between rH and Margalef index in this study.Potassium and the total count of coliform bacteria in water showed significantly higher values for the polluted Churni River than those for the Jalangi River.Fig 3,Tab 4,Ref 34     

Effects of chromium and nickel on germination and growth in tolerant and non-tolerant populations of Echinochloa colona (L.) Link

The tolerance of populations of a grass, Echinochloa colona, growing abundantly on chromite minewaste dumps, was tested in two separate experiments. Seed-based experiments indicate that the populations growing naturally on uncontaminated sites, germinated better in nutrient solutions without metal than those collected from minewaste dumps. Metal tolerance indices were greater in the plant populations derived from metal contaminated sites and better growth of these plants was noted on mine spoil soil-mix in the ratio of 1:1; the percentage of seed germination and the rate of seedling growth, however, declined in a soil compost containing 25% mine spoil and 75% uncontaminated (control) soil. Populations of Echinochloa colona occurring naturally on chromite mine spoils, therefore, appear to have developed metal tolerance. It is maintained by a balanced and stable genetic system built up and adjusted by natural selection. Such material is very suitable to be used in restoration work designed to produce an effective vegetation cover to improve the derelict land and to reduce erosion. This finding might be useful in revegetation programmes on metalliferous minewastes.     

Post tsunami mangrove evaluation in coastal vicinity of Andaman Islands,India

The present study was carried out to determine the mangrove area water quality, mangrove diversity and density at Minnie Bay, Lalaji Bay and Aerial Bay (Andaman Islands, India). The physicochemical parameters such as salinity, nitrate, inorganic phosphate and total phosphorus varied significantly. Mangrove diversity was high at Minnie Bay while density at Aerial Bay. Rhizophora mucronata dominated at all three sites during the study period. Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H′?=?2.261) and Pielou’s evenness (J′?=?0.8348) were high at Minnie Bay. The higher species density cover (5.679 Nos./m²) was recorded at Aerial Bay. Bray-Curtis cluster analysis showed 63.35 % similarity and formed two clusters. Though uplift and subsidence of coastal land due to the Mw 9.3 Sumatra earthquake in 2004 has affected the mangrove vegetation, its rejuvenation was observed in the newly formed inter-tidal areas due to changes in coastal geomorphology. The comparative study on physicochemical parameters, mangrove coverage and conservation are discussed in detail.     

Measurement of the leaching behaviour of granular solid wastes

Leaching of granular solids can be described in terms of specific mass transfer functions of a simple mathematical form.

The parameters can be determined by column leaching experiments under well known flow conditions.

Initially available concentrations are obtained from batch experiments at high dilution. Total concentrations in the solids are determined independently to calculate the available fractions.

The determination of the flow pattern is done by radiotracer measurements. Leachates are analyzed by various analytical methods including AAS and INAA. Total concentrations in the solids are determined by INAA preferably.     

Modeling estuarine-shelf exchanges in a deltaic estuary: Implications for coastal carbon budgets and hypoxia

The export of wetland-derived materials to the coastal ocean (i.e., the “Outwelling” hypothesis) has received considerable attention over the past several decades. While a number of studies have shown that estuaries export appreciable amounts of nutrients and carbon, few studies have attempted to estimate the importance of estuarine sources for the coastal carbon budgets in river-dominated coastal ecosystems. A novel tidal prism model was developed to examine estuarine-shelf exchanges in the Barataria estuary, a deltaic estuary located in the north-central Gulf of Mexico. This estuary has been the site of a massive wetland loss, and it has been hypothesized that carbon export from the eroding coastal wetlands supports the development of a large hypoxic zone in the coastal Gulf of Mexico. The model results show that the Barataria estuary receives nitrogen through the tidal passes and releases carbon to the coastal ocean. The mean calculated tidal water discharge of 6930 m³ s⁻¹ is equivalent to about 43% of the lower Mississippi River discharge. The annual total organic carbon (TOC) export is 109 million kg, or 57 gC m² yr⁻¹ when prorated to the total water area of the estuary. This carbon export is equivalent to a loss of 0.5 m of wetland soil horizon over an area of 8.4 km², and accounts for about 34% of the observed annual wetland loss in the estuary between 1978 and 2000. Compared to the lower Mississippi River, the Barataria estuary appears to be a very small source of TOC for the northern Gulf of Mexico (2.7% of riverine TOC), and is unlikely to have a significant influence on the development of the Gulf's hypoxia.     

An Ergonomie Study on Posture-Related Discomfort Among Preadolescent Agricultural Workers of West Bengal,India

In India, particularly in West Bengal, preadolescents are primarily associated with agricultural work in rural areas. Owing to poor socio-economic conditions, they are compelled to carry out a considerable number of manual, rigorous tasks in agricultural fields. The main aim of this study was to investigate postures adopted by preadolescent agricultural workers during individual agricultural activities and to analyze the causes of discomfort related to those postures. Fifty male and 50 female preadolescent agricultural workers were randomly selected and a detailed posture analysis was performed with the Ovako Working Posture Analysis System (OWAS). It was observed that those workers worked continuously in awkward postures during certain agricultural activities. Consequently they suffered from discomfort in different parts of their body. Even though they were very young, they were likely to suffer from serious musculoskeletal disorders in the future.