A focus of lymphatic filariasis in a tea garden worker community of central Assam

A survey for lymphatic filariasis was conducted among tea garden workers of central Assam. Of the 656 night blood samples examined, 31 were found positive for Wuchereria bancrofti parasite (microfilaria rate 4.7%). Microfilaria rate was higher in male (7.3%) than females (2.1%). Culex quinquefasciatus was incriminated as vector mosquito.     

Induced alkaloid defence inAtropa acuminata in response to mechanical and herbivore leaf damage

Summary Measurement of tropane alkaloid content in leaves ofAtropa acuminata after mechanical damage showed a maximum increase to 153% of the control 8 days later. There were no changes in the root or stem after similar damage. The plant responded to repeated mechanical damage by doubling its alkaloid content at 11 days after the initial wounding. But on further treatments, there was a slight decrease in alkaloid content with time. Mollusc feeding produced an increase of 164% in alkaloid content after 4 days. These results indicate that induced defence systems in angiosperms can vary considerably from plant species to plant species and that the effects of mechanical damage may differ in different parts of the same plant.     

Estimation of probabilities and likely consequences of a chain of accidents (domino effect) in Manali Industrial Complex

Chains of accidents (the domino effect) have been occurring with ever increasing frequency in chemical process industries. This is reflected in several accidents ‘J Loss Prevent Process Ind 12 (1999a) 361’; the world's worst industrial accident of the 1990s — the Vishakhpatnam disaster — also involved the domino effect ‘J Loss Prevent Process Ind 12 (1999a) 361; and Process Safety Prog 18 (1999b) 135’. Such chains of accidents have a greater propensity to cause damage than stand-alone accidents ‘Process Safety Prog 17(2) (1998a) 107; and J Loss Prevent Process Ind 12 (1999a) 361’.In order to assess the likelihood of occurrence of the domino effect and its damage potential, use of deterministic models in conjunction with probabilistic analysis is required. Recently we have proposed a systematic methodology called ‘domino effect analysis’ (DEA). A computer-automated tool, DOMIFFECT, has also been developed by us based on DEA ‘Process Safety Prog 17(2) (1998a) 107; Environment Model Software 13 (1998b) 163; and Risk assessment in chemical process industries: advanced techniques. Discovery Publishing House (1998c)’.This paper illustrates the application of DEA and DOMIFFECT to an industrial complex comprising 16 different industries. Out of 12 credible accident scenarios envisaged in three different industries — namely Madras Refineries Limited (MRL), UB Petrochemicals (UBP) and Indian Organic Chemicals Limited (IOCL), eight scenarios are likely to cause the domino effect. A further detailed analysis reveals that accidents in the storage of liquified petroleum gas and propylene and in the reflux drum units of MRL may cause domino effects. Similarly, propylene storage of UBP and monoethylene glycol storage of IOCL are also likely to cause domino effects. The impact of various chains of accidents has been forecast which reveals that in several cases the accidents may be catastrophic, harming the entire industrial complex of 16 industries. The study leads to the identification of ‘hot spots’ — units that pose the greatest risk — in turn forewarning the industries concerned and enabling them to prioritize and augment accident-prevention steps.     

Dynamic temperature model for proton exchange membrane fuel cell using online variations in load current and ambient temperature

This paper presents a dynamic temperature model for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system. The proposed model overcomes the complexity of conventional models using first-order expressions consisting of load current and ambient temperature. The proposed model also incorporates a PEMFC cooling system, which depends upon the temperature difference between events. A dynamic algorithm is developed to detect load changing events and calculate instantaneous PEMFC temperature variations. The parameters of the model are extracted by employing the lightning search algorithm (LSA). The temperature characteristics of the NEXA 1.2 kW PEMFC system are experimentally studied to validate model performance. The results show that the proposed model output and the temperature data obtained from experiments for linear and abrupt changes in PEMFC load current are in agreement. The root-mean-square error between the model output and experimental results is less than 0.9. Moreover, the proposed model outperforms the conventional models and provides advantages such as simplicity and adaptability for low and high sampling data rates of input variables, namely, load current and ambient temperature. The model is not only helpful for simulations but also suitable for dynamic real-time controllers and emulators.     

Energy policies and environmental security: A multi-criteria analysis of energy policies of Pakistan

Access to affordable and efficient energy is a basic human right and an imperative for human development. The energy policies usually ponder technical, economic, environmental, and social aspects for successful procurement of energy and endowment of energy resources. The objectives of this paper are to analyze energy policies in Pakistan and assess their relationship with environmental security and development. An empirical and multi-criteria decision analysis was used to unfold the strong interactions of energy security with development and environment. The energy policies in Pakistan are more equipped with economic and technical aspects, fairly framed with social aspects and poorly pampered with environmental facets. The dearth of environmental aspects will not only results in environmental degradation but also lag the development and achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.     

Assessment of sunflower germplasm for phytoremediation of lead-polluted soil and production of seed oil and seed meal for human and animal consumption

Phytoremediation is a valuable technology for mitigating soil contamination in agricultural lands, but phytoremediation without economic revenue is unfeasible for land owners and farmers. The use of crops with high biomass and bioenergy for phytoremediation is a unique strategy to derive supplementary benefits along with remediation activities. Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is a high-biomass crop that can be used for the phytoremediation of polluted lands with additional advantages (biomass and oil). In this study, 40 germplasms of sunflower were screened in field conditions for phytoremediation with the possibility for oil and meal production. The study was carried out to the physiological maturity stage. All studied germplasms mopped up substantial concentrations of Pb, with maximum amounts in shoot?>?root?>?seed respectively. The phytoextraction efficiency of the germplasm was assessed in terms of the Transfer factor (TF), Metal removal efficiency (MRE) and Metal extraction ratio (MER). Among all assessed criteria, GP.8585 was found to be most appropriate for restoring moderately Pb-contaminated soil accompanied with providing high biomass and high yield production. The Pb content in the oil of GP.8585 was below the Food safety standard of China, with 59.5% oleic acid and 32.1% linoleic acid. Moreover, amino acid analysis in meal illustrated significant differences among essential and non-essential amino acids. Glutamic acid was found in the highest percentage (22.4%), whereas cysteine in the lowest percentage (1.3%). Therefore, its efficient phytoextraction ability and good quality edible oil and meal production makes GP.8585 the most convenient sunflower germplasm for phytoremediation of moderately Pb-contaminated soil, with fringe benefits to farmers and landowners.     

Elemental carbon and sulfate aerosols over a rural mountain site in the northeastern United States: Regional emissions and implications for climate change

The effect of elemental carbon (EC) on global as well as regional climate forcing is potentially very important. However, the EC data for northeastern U.S. is sparse. Daily EC concentrations, [EC], and [SO₄] were measured in the northeastern U.S. at a regionally representative rural site, Whiteface Mountain (WFM; 44.366°N, 73.903°W, 1.5 km amsl, above mean sea level), New York (NY), for 1997. The air mass origin was determined using 6-h backward in time air trajectories obtained from the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model (HYSPLIT 4). [EC] and [SO₄] were highly variable and influenced by synoptic–scale meteorology (rainy vs dry periods). The maximum daily [EC] and [SO₄] were 364 ± 55 and 28,800 ± 3000 ng m^?3, respectively. [EC] and [SO₄] also showed seasonal variations at WFM. Occurrences of high daily [EC] were mainly in spring months, while peak daily [SO₄] concentrations occurred in summer months. This behavior of aerosols is due to the fact that the sources of EC and SO₄ are not the same and also due to the enhanced photochemical activity during summer months that increased the production of SO₄ from SO₂. High [EC] and [SO₄] values were associated with westerly air flow from the industrialized Midwestern U.S. Sector analysis using HYSPLIT 4 air trajectories showed that regions lying between the southwest and northwest of the WFM contributed 81% and 83% of the [EC] and [SO₄], respectively. The monthly net direct radiative forcing for shortwave (SW) due to EC and SO₄ aerosols at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) varied from ?0.05 to ?0.50 W m^?2, with an annual average of ?0.20 ± 0.15 W m^?2 that gives a net cooling effect. Average net radiative forcing at WFM for clear sky is lower than the global average radiative forcing reported by IPCC (Foster and Ramaswamy, 2007).     

Assessment of impacts of invasive fishes on the food web structure and ecosystem properties of a tropical reservoir in India

A network model of trophic interactions in a tropical reservoir in India was developed with the objective to quantify matter and energy flows between system components and to study the impact of invasive fishes on the ecosystem. Structure of flows and their distribution within and between trophic levels were analysed by aggregating single flows into combined flows for discrete trophic levels. The trophic flows primarily occurred in the first four trophic level (TL) and the food web structure in this reservoir ecosystem was characterized by the dominance of low TL organisms, with the highest TL of only 3.57 for the top predator. Highest system omnivory index (SOI) was observed for indigenous catfishes (0.422), followed by the exotic fish Mozambique Tilapia (0.402). Nile Tilapia and Pearl spots show the highest niche overlap which suggests high competition for similar resources. The mixed trophic impact routine reveals that an increase in the abundance of the African catfish would negatively impact almost all fish groups such as Indian major carps, Pearl spots, indigenous catfishes and Tilapines. The other invasive fish Mozambique Tilapia adversely affects the indigenous catfishes. The most interesting observation in this study is that the most dominant invasive fish in this reservoir, the Nile Tilapia does not negatively impact any of the fish groups. In fact it positively impacts the Indian major carps. The direct and indirect effects of predation between system components (i.e. fish, invertebrates, phytoplankton and detritus) are quantitatively described and the possible influence and role in the ecosystem's functioning of the invasive fish species are discussed.