Flow cytometric method to measure urea-resistant alkaline phosphatase from blood neutrophils for use in the prenatal screening of Down's syndrome

The histochemical measurement of urea-resistant alkaline phosphatase from maternal blood neutrophils is known to have a high detection rate for the prenatal detection of Down's syndrome pregnancies. However, because the histochemical method is laborious and subjective to use, it has not gained widespread acceptance in prenatal screening programmes. We present a simple and objective method for the measurement of urea-resistant alkaline phosphatase by flow cytometry. The method should allow the design of larger studies aimed at evaluating the role of neutrophil urea-resistant alkaline phosphatase in the prenatal screening for Down's syndrome.     

People's Perception About Participatory Developmental Programs: Lessons from the Mountain Risk Engineering Program in the Indian Central Himalaya

The Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) is suffering from environmental degradation due to population pressure and infra-structural needs. This is coupled with a natural setting, which creates problems of accelerated soil erosion and mass wasting. In view of these environmental difficulties and the growing concern for effective restoration, there has become an urgent need for multi-disciplinary coordinated improvement schemes. The mitigation of risk arising from hazardous mass wasting processes, through a careful and systematic approach, has helped in the development of the concept of Mountain Risk Engineering (MRE). The MRE practices involve an integrated approach to solving the infra-structural engineering problems of hilly and mountainous areas through environmentally conscious cost-effective and site-specific designs. However, the role of people's participation is extremely crucial for the success of such programs. This paper analyzes the perception of the local people about the approaches adopted in MRE participatory developmental programs and throws light on the intricacies of peoples' participation.     

The community vs. the market and the state: Forest use inUttarakhand in the Indian Himalayas

Most writers on resource management presume that local populations, if they act in their self-interest, seldom conserve or protect natural resources without external intervention or privatization. Using the example of forest management by villagers in the Indian Himalayas, this paper argues that rural populations can often use resources sustainably and successfully, even under assumptions of self-interested rationality. Under a set of specified social and environmental conditions, conditions that prevail in large areas of the Himalayas and may also exist in other mountain regions, community institutions are more efficient in managing resources than either private individuals or the central government. In advancing this argument, the paper undermines the often dogmatic belief in the universal superiority of private forms of ownership and management.     

The data not collected on community forestry

Conservation and development practitioners increasingly promote community forestry as a way to conserve ecosystem services, consolidate resource rights, and reduce poverty. However, outcomes of community forestry have been mixed; many initiatives failed to achieve intended objectives. There is a rich literature on institutional arrangements of community forestry, but there has been little effort to examine the role of socioeconomic, market, and biophysical factors in shaping both land‐cover change dynamics and individual and collective livelihood outcomes. We systematically reviewed the peer‐reviewed literature on community forestry to examine and quantify existing knowledge gaps in the community‐forestry literature relative to these factors. In examining 697 cases of community forest management (CFM), extracted from 267 peer‐reviewed publications, we found 3 key trends that limit understanding of community forestry. First, we found substantial data gaps linking population dynamics, market forces, and biophysical characteristics to both environmental and livelihood outcomes. Second, most studies focused on environmental outcomes, and the majority of studies that assessed socioeconomic outcomes relied on qualitative data, making comparisons across cases difficult. Finally, there was a heavy bias toward studies on South Asian forests, indicating that the literature on community forestry may not be representative of decentralization policies and CFM globally.     

ARCGIS‐SWAT: A GEODATA MODEL AND GIS INTERFACE FOR SWAT1

This paper presents ArcGIS‐SWAT, a geodata model and geographic information system (GIS) interface for the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The ArcGIS‐SWAT data model is a system of geodatabases that store SWAT geographic, numeric, and text input data and results in an organized fashion. Thus, it is proposed that a single and comprehensive geodatabase be used as the repository of a SWAT simulation. The ArcGIS‐SWAT interface uses programming objects that conform to the Component Object Model (COM) design standard, which facilitate the use of functionality of other Windows‐based applications within ArcGIS‐SWAT. In particular, the use of MS Excel and MATLAB functionality for data analysis and visualization of results is demonstrated. Likewise, it is proposed to conduct hydrologic model integration through the sharing of information with a not‐model‐specific hub data model where information common to different models can be stored and from which it can be retrieved. As an example, it is demonstrated how the Hydrologic Modeling System (HMS) ‐ a computer application for flood analysis ‐ can use information originally developed by ArcGIS‐SWAT for SWAT. The application of ArcGIS‐SWAT to the Seco Creek watershed in Texas is presented.     

Assessing the potential impact of fly ash amendments on Indian paddy field with special emphasis on growth, yield, and grain quality of three rice cultivars

Proper disposal and/or recycling of different industrial waste materials have long been recognized as a prime environmental concern throughout the world, and fly ash is major amongst them. In the present study, we tried to assess the feasibilities of possible effective and safe utilization of fly ash as soil amendment in Indian paddy field and its impact on rice plants, especially at growth and yield level. Our results showed that certain doses of fly ash amendments have significantly improved the physico-chemical and mineralogical properties of paddy field soil, and at lower level of amendments, fly ash induced the growth performances of three rice cultivars too. Grain yield and grain quality also responded similarly as per the growth responses. However, differential cultivar response was observed accordingly, and cultivar Sugandha-3 showed higher yield as compared with cultivars Sambha and Saryu-52. Based on the observed results, it was concluded that up to a certain level, fly ash amendments could be beneficial for Indian paddy field and can be utilized as feasible management strategy for the disposal of this major industrial waste.     

Atmospheric deposition of heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) in Varanasi City, India

Rapid growth in urbanization and industrialization in developing countries may significantly contribute in heavy metal contamination of vegetables through atmospheric depositions. In the present study, an assessment was made to investigate the spatial and seasonal variations in deposition rates of heavy metals and its contribution to contamination of palak (Beta vulgaris). Samples of bulk atmospheric deposits and Beta vulgaris for analysis of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb were collected from different sampling locations differing in traffic density and land use patterns. The results showed that the sampling locations situated in industrial or commercial areas with heavy traffic load showed significantly elevated levels of Cu, Zn and Cd deposition rate as compared to those situated in residential areas with low traffic load. The deposition rates of Cu, Zn and Cd were significantly higher in summer and winter as compared to rainy season, however, Pb deposition rate was significantly higher in rainy and summer seasons as compared to winter season. Atmospheric depositions have significantly elevated the levels of heavy metals in B. vulgaris collected during evening as compared to those collected in morning hours. The study further showed that local population has maximum exposure to Cd contamination through consumption of B. vulgaris. The present study clearly points out the urban and industrial activities of a city have potential to elevate the levels of heavy metals in the atmospheric deposits, which may consequently contaminate the food chain and thus posing health risk to the local population.     

Economic evaluation of sewage treatment processes in India

This paper evaluates the total annual cost including capital and operation and maintenance (O&M) costs for the up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) and waste stabilization pond (WSP) systems operated in India. It also compares UASB and WSP systems with the activated sludge process (ASP) and biological aerated filter (BAF) systems in terms of total annual cost and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal cost by assuming various annual interest rates and land prices. It was found that the relationship between capital and O&M costs per unit size of a UASB or WSP system and its treatment capacity can be established by a first-order equation. The relation between the cost of organic removal and capital or O&M cost for various sewage treatment systems at various annual interest rates revealed that, for the Indian context, UASB could be the most suitable option in terms of expenses and treatment efficiency.     

Protection of palak (Beta vulgaris L. var Allgreen) plants from ozone injury by ethylenediurea (EDU): Roles of biochemical and physiological variations in alleviating the adverse impacts

Ameliorative effects of ethylenediurea (N-[2-(2-oxo-1-imidazolinidyl) ethyl]-N′ phenylurea, abbreviated as EDU) against ozone stress were studied on selected growth, biochemical, physiological and yield characteristics of palak (Beta vulgaris L. var Allgreen) plants grown in field at a suburban site of Varanasi, India. Mean eight hourly ozone concentration varied from 52 to 73 ppb which was found to produce adverse impacts on plant functioning and growth characteristics. The palak plants were treated with 300 ppm EDU at 10 days after germination at 10 days interval up to the plant maturity. Lipid peroxidation in EDU treated plants declined significantly as compared to non-EDU treated ones. Significant increment in F_v/F_m ratio in EDU treated plants as compared to non-EDU treated ones was recorded. EDU treated plants showed significant increment in ascorbic acid contents and reduction in peroxidase activity as compared to non-EDU treated ones. As a result of the protection provided by EDU against ozone induced stress on biochemical and physiological characteristics of palak, the morphological parameters also responded positively. Significant increments were recorded in shoot length, number of leaves plant⁻¹, leaf area and root and shoot biomass of EDU treated plants as compared to non-EDU treated ones. Contents of Na, K, Ca, Mg and Fe were higher in EDU treated plants as compared to non-EDU treated ones. The present investigation proves the usefulness of EDU in partially ameliorating ozone injury in ambient conditions.     

Effects of sewage sludge amendment on heavy metal accumulation and consequent responses of Beta vulgaris plants

Use of sewage sludge, a biological residue produced from sewage treatment processes in agriculture is an alternative disposal technique of waste. To study the usefulness of sewage sludge amendment for palak (Beta vulgaris var. Allgreen H-1), a leafy vegetable and consequent heavy metal contamination, a pot experiment was conducted by mixing sewage sludge at 20% and 40% (w/w) amendment ratios to the agricultural soil. Soil pH decreased whereas electrical conductance, organic carbon, total N, available P and exchangeable Na, K and Ca increased in soil amended with sewage sludge in comparison to unamended soil. Sewage sludge amendment led to significant increase in Pb, Cr, Cd, Cu, Zn and Ni concentrations of soil. Cd concentration in soil was found above the Indian permissible limit in soil at both the amendment ratios.

The increased concentration of heavy metals in soil due to sewage sludge amendment led to increases in heavy metal uptake and shoot and root concentrations of Ni, Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb and Zn in plants as compared to those grown on unamended soil. Accumulation was more in roots than shoots for most of the heavy metals. Concentrations of Cd, Ni and Zn were more than the permissible limits of Indian standard in the edible portion of palak grown on different sewage sludge amendments ratios. Sewage sludge amendment in soil decreased root length, leaf area and root biomass of palak at both the amendment ratios, whereas shoot biomass and yield decreased significantly at 40% sludge amendment. Rate of photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and chlorophyll content decreased whereas lipid peroxidation, peroxidase activity and protein and proline contents, increased in plants grown in sewage sludge-amended soil as compared to those grown in unamended soil.

The study clearly shows that increase in heavy metal concentration in foliage of plants grown in sewage sludge-amended soil caused unfavorable changes in physiological and biochemical characteristics of plants leading to reductions in morphological characteristics, biomass accumulation and yield. The study concludes that sewage sludge amendment in soil for growing palak may not be a good option due to risk of contamination of Cd, Ni and Zn and also due to lowering of yield at higher mixing ratio.