Growth, yield and photosynthesis of Panicum maximum and Stylosanthes hamata under elevated CO2

Plant height, biomass production, assimilatory functions and chlorophyll accumulation of Panicum maximum and Stylosanthes hamata in intercropping systems was influenced significantly under elevated CO2 (600 +/- 50 ppm) in open top chambers (OTCs). The plant height increased by 32.0 and 49.0% over the control in P. maximum and S. hamata respectively in intercropping system under elevated CO2 over open field grown crops (Ca). P. maximum and S. hamata produced 67 and 85% higher fresh and dry biomass respectively under elevated CO2. Rates of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance increased in both the crop species in intercropping systems under elevated CO2. The canopy photosynthesis (photosynthesis x leaf area index) of these crop species increased significantly under elevated CO2 over the open grown crops. The chlorophyll a and b accumulation were also higher in the leaves of both the crop species as grown in OTC with elevated CO2. The increased chlorophyll content, leaf area index and canopy photosynthesis led to higher growth and biomass production in these crop species under elevated CO2. The total carbon sequestration in crop biomass and soils during the three years was 21.53 Mg C/ha under elevated CO2. The data revealed that P. maximum and S. hamata intercropping system is the potential as a sink for the increasing level of CO2 in the atmosphere in the semi-arid tropics.     

Source identification of particulate matter and associated intake of elements through inhalation in an industrial area of Odisha,India

Particulate matter concentrations were measured in an industrial region in the Ganjam district of Odisha. The average levels of suspended particulate matter (SPM) were measured to be 142 ± 8 and PM₁₀ of particulate matter with a size of less than 10 micrometers (PM₁₀) to be 50 ± 15 μg m^?3. Out of the 14 elements determined, Ca, Na, Mg, Fe, and K contributed more than 95% of the total weight. In enrichment factors, the trace elements, i.e., Zn, Pb, Cd, and Hg were observed to be highly enriched in the SPM and PM₁₀. Factor analysis indicates that more than 75% of the variance was due to five component factors, which have eigenvalues greater than 1. Intake of elements through inhalation route to adults has been estimated.     

Acute toxicity evaluation of triazophos,deltamethrin and their combination on earthworm,Eudrilus eugeniae and its impact on AChE activity

The acute toxicity of three formula grade pesticides namely, triazophos (an organophosphate, OP), deltamethrin (a pyrethroid) and combined pesticide (triazophos?+?deltamethrin) was determined in earthworm, Eudrilus eugeniae. They were exposed to different concentrations of these pesticides for 48 h by paper contact toxicity method. The LC₅₀ values for triazophos, deltamethrin and of combination were determined as 0.076, 0.031 and 0.065?μg/cm², respectively. To study the sublethal effect of these pesticides, E. eugeniae were exposed to 5% and 10% of LC₅₀ of pesticides for 48 h. Morphological alterations such as coiling, clitellar swelling, mucus release and bleeding followed by body segmentation were observed in exposed earthworm. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity assayed in different regions of body segment exhibited a significant (p?<?0.05) decrease in its activity particularly in the pre-clitellar region as compared to other regions. The altered behavioural responses in pesticides exposed earthworms would have been due to decline in AChE activity of the nervous system.     

Rural energy transitions in developing countries: a case of the Uttam Urja initiative in India

In most developing countries, at the household level, traditional burning of biomass or use of inefficient technologies for domestic applications like lighting is common, triggering concerns related to fuel or technology switching. The paper focuses on opportunities to promote cleaner energy options through development of value chains delivering improved energy efficiency and access in developing countries. We discuss the example of Uttam Urja, a field project involving the dissemination of photovoltaic lighting technologies in rural areas of India. We focus on the challenges of introducing radical innovations into the residential energy sector in developing countries. For the purpose of this paper the Uttam Urja project is conceptualized as an ‘experiment’ and analysed using the Strategic Niche Management (SNM) framework. The paper emphasizes that to effect socio-technical transitions to clean energy options on the ground, it is desirable to focus on technology customization and innovative financing to cater to the needs and concerns of end users.     

Influence of the wastewater composition on denitrification and biological P-removal in the S-DN-P process： （c） Dissolved and undissolved substrates

The denitrification and P-removal in the sorption-denitrification-P-removal (S-DN-P) process were carried out under various wastewater compositions. It is noted that P-removal largely depends on the wastewater composition as well to the quantity of the substrates present in wastewater fraction. Three different wastewater fractions are obtained as: raw wastewater, dissolved wastewater (obtained with filtration using 0.45 μm filter), and undissolved wastewater (i.e., infiltrate obtained by above filtration). ...     

Study on concentration of ambient NH 3 and interactions with some other ambient trace gases

We present diurnal variation of ambient ammonia (NH₃) in relation with other trace gases (O₃, CO, NO, NO₂, and SO₂) and meteorological parameters at an urban site of Delhi during winter period. For the first time, ambient ammonia (NH₃) was monitored very precisely and continuously using ammonia analyzer, which operates on chemiluminescence method. NH₃ estimation efficiency of the chemiluminescence method (>90%) is much higher than the conventional chemical trapping method (reproducibility 4.5%). Ambient NH₃ concentration reaches its maxima (46.17 ppb) at night and minimum during midday. Result reveals that the ambient ammonia (NH₃) concentration is positively correlated with ambient NO (r ²?=?0.79) and NO₂ (r ²?=?0.91) mixing ratio and negatively correlated with ambient temperature (r ²?=???0.32). Wind direction and wind speed indicates that the nearby (~500 m NW) agricultural fields may be major source of ambient NH₃ at the observational site.     

Sources and characteristics of carbonaceous aerosols at Agra “World heritage site” and Delhi “capital city of India”

Agra, one of the oldest cities “World Heritage site”, and Delhi, the capital city of India are both located in the border of Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) and heavily loaded with atmospheric aerosols due to tourist place, anthropogenic activities, and its topography, respectively. Therefore, there is need for monitoring of atmospheric aerosols to perceive the scenario and effects of particles over northern part of India. The present study was carried out at Agra (AGR) as well as Delhi (DEL) during winter period from November 2011 to February 2012 of fine particulate (PM_2.5: d?<?2.5 μm) as well as associated carbonaceous aerosols. PM_2.5 was collected at both places using medium volume air sampler (offline measurement) and analyzed for organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC). Also, simultaneously, black carbon (BC) was measured (online) at DEL. The average mass concentration of PM_2.5 was 165.42?±?119.46 μg m^?3 at AGR while at DEL it was 211.67?±?41.94 μg m^?3 which is ~27 % higher at DEL than AGR whereas the BC mass concentration was 10.60 μg m^?3. The PM_2.5 was substantially higher than the annual standard stipulated by central pollution control board and United States Environmental Protection Agency standards. The average concentrations of OC and EC were 69.96?±?34.42 and 9.53?±?7.27 μm m^?3, respectively. Total carbon (TC) was 79.01?±?38.98 μg m^?3 at AGR, while it was 50.11?±?11.93 (OC), 10.67?±?3.56 μg m^?3 (EC), and 60.78?±?14.56 μg m^?3 (TC) at DEL. The OC/EC ratio was 13.75 at (AGR) and 5.45 at (DEL). The higher OC/EC ratio at Agra indicates that the formation of secondary organic aerosol which emitted from variable primary sources. Significant correlation between PM_2.5 and its carbonaceous species were observed indicating similarity in sources at both sites. The average concentrations of secondary organic carbon (SOC) and primary organic carbon (POC) at AGR were 48.16 and 26.52 μg m^?3 while at DEL it was 38.78 and 27.55 μg m^?3, respectively. In the case of POC, similar concentrations were observed at both places but in the case of SOC higher over AGR by 24 in comparison to DEL, it is due to the high concentration of OC over AGR. Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) was 42 % higher at AGR than DEL which confirms the formation of secondary aerosol at AGR due to rural environment with higher concentrations of coarse mode particles. The SOA contribution in PM_2.5 was also estimated and was ~32 and 12 % at AGR and DEL respectively. Being high loading of fine particles along with carbonaceous aerosol, it is suggested to take necessary and immediate action in mitigation of the emission of carbonaceous aerosol in the northern part of India.     

Development and modification of permanent magnet brushed DC motor for hybrid photovoltaic-operated solar systems

A modified brushed permanent magnet DC (PMDC) motor has been developed and fabricated for a photovoltaic (PV)-operated solar systems. The conventional PMDC motor has been plagued with constraints, the most critical being ingestion of vapours of working fluid inside the rotor and stator, damaging the insulation of windings and forming a thin film of moisture between commutator and brushes. This flaw results into a very low mean time between failures of the motor. In the past, many attempts have been made where-in variety of seals to isolate the working fluid vapours from inner parts of motor have been tried out, but to no avail. Even Brushless DC motors have been designed in the past but their exorbitant cost makes the entire arrangement not viable economically. The modification attempted in this article overcomes the problem of working fluid ingestion inside the motor. It is found that mass flow rate of working fluid obtained at maximum peak sunshine hours is 17.5 l/min at 3030 rpm of motor driven by a PV module of 40 W at 16.20 V. This low-cost modified PMDC motor has been robust with high mean time between failures as no breakdown observed during 18 months of operation.     

Microbe-induced changes in metal extractability from fly ash

A low cost and eco-friendly technology to bioremediate toxic metals associated with fly ash dumps that contaminate ground and surface water in and around fly ash settling ponds, was investigated. The impact of augmentation of fly ash tolerant bacterial strains, isolated from Typha latifolia growing naturally on fly ash dumps, was studied for metal extractability. It was observed that most of the bacterial strains either induced the bioavailability of Fe, Zn and Ni or immobilized Pb, Cr, Cu, Cd in the fly ash. However, there were few exceptions also. In case of Ni, eight strains enhanced metal mobility, while others caused metal immobilization. The findings also suggest that metal solublization and immobilization are specific to bacterial strains. While induced bioavailability of metals by bacteria may be used to accelerate the phytoextraction of metals from fly ash by hyper accumulator plants, immobilization of metals can check their migration to water reservoirs and reduce the human suffering in affected areas. Thus, bacteria serve the dual purpose and may result in the microbe- assisted phytoremediation of contaminated sites.