Incidence of keratinophilic fungi in waterlogged condition of paddy soil

Prevalence of keratinophilic fungi was observed in paddy field soil during different stages of cultivation viz., transplanting, tillering, milking and maturation. Out of total 76 soil samples, 65 soil samples were found to be positive for the keratinophilic fungi. Fourteen species belonging to a single genus Chrysosporium were isolated through out the cropping season. C. keratinophilum (17.1%) followed by C. tropicum (13.15%) were found to be the most dominating geophilic species. The highest percent distribution of keratinophilic fungi appeared during the milking stage (100%) of paddy cultivation, followed by the maturation stage (89.47%).     

Influence of mercury from fly ash on cattle reared nearby thermal power plant

Cattle grazing nearby coal-fired power stations are exposed to fly ash. The present investigation aims to assess the environmental and health impacts of fly ash containing mercury emitted from thermal power plant. The health effect of fly ash were studied using 20 lactating cattle reared within a 5-km radius of s thermal power plant for the possible effect of fly ash such as the alterations in hematological and biochemical parameters of blood, milk, and urine. Results indicated that the hemoglobin levels (6.65?±?0.40?g/dl) were significantly reduced in all the exposed animals. Biochemical parameters viz., blood urea nitrogen (27.35?±?1.19?mg/dl), serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (43.39?±?3.08?IU/l), albumin, and creatinine were found to be increased, whereas serum glutamate pyruvic transaminase (29.26?±?2.02) and Ca²⁺ were observed to be statistically insignificant in exposed animals. Mercury concentrations estimated in the blood, milk, and urine of exposed (n?=?20) and control (n?=?20) animals were 7.41?±?0.86, 4.75?±?0.57, 2.08?±?0.18, and 1.05?±?0.07, 0.54?±?0.03, 0.20?±?0.02?μg/kg, respectively. The significant increase (P?<?0.01) in the levels of mercury in blood, milk, and urine of exposed animals in comparison to control indicated that the alterations of biochemical parameters in exposed cattle could be due to their long term exposure to fly ash mercury which may have direct or indirect impact on human populations via food chain.     

Climate policy in India: what shapes international, national and state policy?

At the international level, India is emerging as a key actor in climate negotiations, while at the national and sub-national levels, the climate policy landscape is becoming more active and more ambitious. It is essential to unravel this complex landscape if we are to understand why policy looks the way it does, and the extent to which India might contribute to a future international framework for tackling climate change as well as how international parties might cooperate with and support India's domestic efforts. Drawing on both primary and secondary data, this paper analyzes the material and ideational drivers that are most strongly influencing policy choices at different levels, from international negotiations down to individual states. We argue that at each level of decision making in India, climate policy is embedded in wider policy concerns. In the international realm, it is being woven into broader foreign policy strategy, while domestically, it is being shaped to serve national and sub-national development interests. While our analysis highlights some common drivers at all levels, it also finds that their influences over policy are not uniform across the different arenas, and in some cases, they work in different ways at different levels of policy. We also indicate what this may mean for the likely acceptability within India of various climate policies being pushed at the international level.     

A New Mathematical Model of Air Pollution Concentration

Abstract

Submicron particles play a major role in soiling processes and contribute to corrosion, current leakage and shorts in electronic equipment. For more than a year, optical particle counters have been used to continuously measure the concentrations of submicron particles at a telecommunications facility in Southern California. Separate instruments have simultaneously sampled at four locations: the outdoor air intake, immediately upstream of the HVAC filters, immediately downstream of the HVAC filters, and inside the office. The indoor concentrations can be explained in the context of a one-compartment mass balance model. Key parameters in the model (e.g., the air exchange rate) were monitored throughout the sampling period. In the latter part of this study, the particle counters were used as feedback elements in the HVAC system. An estimate of the concentration of indoor submicron particles, based on measurements of outdoor submicron particles, has been used as a control variable. When this variable exceeds a preset value, the outdoor air damper is partially closed, reducing the amount of outdoor air entering the building. That is, the position of the damper is based on the concentration of outdoor particles as well as the outdoor temperature. As a consequence, the average indoor concentration of submicron particles has been significantly reduced within this facility.     

Modeling microbiological and chemical processes in municipal solid waste bioreactor,part II: Application of numerical model BIOKEMOD-3P

Biodegradation process modeling of municipal solid waste (MSW) bioreactor landfills requires the knowledge of various process reactions and corresponding kinetic parameters. Mechanistic models available to date are able to simulate biodegradation processes with the help of pre-defined species and reactions. Some of these models consider the effect of critical parameters such as moisture content, pH, and temperature. Biomass concentration is a vital parameter for any biomass growth model and often not compared with field and laboratory results. A more complex biodegradation model includes a large number of chemical and microbiological species. Increasing the number of species and user defined process reactions in the simulation requires a robust numerical tool. A generalized microbiological and chemical model, BIOKEMOD-3P, was developed to simulate biodegradation processes in three-phases (Gawande et al. 2009). This paper presents the application of this model to simulate laboratory-scale MSW bioreactors under anaerobic conditions. BIOKEMOD-3P was able to closely simulate the experimental data. The results from this study may help in application of this model to full-scale landfill operation.     

PM<Subscript>2.5</Subscript> pollution from household solid fuel burning practices in Central India: 2. Application of receptor models for source apportionment

USEPA’s UNMIX, positive matrix factorization (PMF) and effective variance-chemical mass balance (EV-CMB) receptor models were applied to chemically speciated profiles of 125 indoor PM_2.5 measurements, sampled longitudinally during 2012–2013 in low-income group households of Central India which uses solid fuels for cooking practices. Three step source apportionment studies were carried out to generate more confident source characterization. Firstly, UNMIX6.0 extracted initial number of source factors, which were used to execute PMF5.0 to extract source-factor profiles in second step. Finally, factor analog locally derived source profiles were supplemented to EV-CMB8.2 with indoor receptor PM_2.5 chemical profile to evaluate source contribution estimates (SCEs). The results of combined use of three receptor models clearly describe that UNMIX and PMF are useful tool to extract types of source categories within small receptor dataset and EV-CMB can pick those locally derived source profiles for source apportionment which are analog to PMF-extracted source categories. The source apportionment results have also shown three fold higher relative contribution of solid fuel burning emissions to indoor PM_2.5 compared to those measurements reported for normal households with LPG stoves. The previously reported influential source marker species were found to be comparatively similar to those extracted from PMF fingerprint plots. The comparison between PMF and CMB SCEs results were also found to be qualitatively similar. The performance fit measures of all three receptor models were cross-verified and validated and support each other to gain confidence in source apportionment results.     

GENETIC PROGRAMMING AND ITS APPLICATION IN REAL‐TIME RUNOFF FORECASTING1

ABSTRACT: Genetic programming (GP), a relatively new evolutionary technique, is demonstrated in this study to evolve codes for the solution of problems. First, a simple example in the area of symbolic regression is considered. GP is then applied to real‐time runoff forecasting for the Orgeval catchment in France. In this study, GP functions as an error updating scheme to complement a rainfall‐runoff model, MIKE11/NAM. Hourly runoff forecasts of different updating intervals are performed for forecast horizons of up to nine hours. The results show that the proposed updating scheme is able to predict the runoff quite accurately for all updating intervals considered and particularly for updating intervals not exceeding the time of concentration of the catchment. The results are also compared with those of an earlier study, by the World Meteorological Organization, in which autoregression and Kalman filter were used as the updating methods. Comparisons show that GP is a better updating tool for real‐time flow forecasting. Another important finding from this study is that nondimensionalizing the variables enhances the symbolic regression process significantly.     

Organically Modified Nanoclay and Aluminum Hydroxide Incorporated Bionanocomposites towards Enhancement of Physico-mechanical and Thermal Properties of Lignocellulosic Structural Reinforcement

A range of bio-nanocomposites were prepared by incorporation of organo modified montmorillonite nanoclay (OMMT) with or without use of aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)₃) within polylactic acid (PLA) solution. Furthermore, the solution was employed for modification of ligno-cellulosic (jute) fabric structural reinforcements. The successful incorporation of nanofillers within the host polymer, polylactic acid (PLA) was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Water uptake and swelling behaviour studies revealed that the water uptake and swelling ratio of bio-composites reduced significantly as compared to pristine jute fabric, whereas upon incorporation of OMMT and Al(OH)₃, the water barrier properties reduced even further in the developed bio-nanocomposites. The flexural strength of the bio-nanocomposites also showed improved mechanical and dimensional stability. Synergistic effects of OMMT and Al(OH)₃ were observed in enhancing the aforementioned physico-mechanical properties. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies revealed microstructural details of developed samples. Similarly, the thermo-gravimetric analysis and linear burning rate studies of Al(OH)₃ treated bio-nanocomposite materials revealed enhanced thermal resistance and reduced flammability respectively compared to both pristine woven jute fabric and fabrics treated with PLA alone or those without Al(OH)₃. From the above results it can safely be said that the bio-nanocomposite material can be a prospective candidate for development of flame retardant biopackaging.     

Tigers,Tribes, and Bureaucrats: the voluntariness and socioeconomic consequences of village relocations from Melghat Tiger Reserve,India

Relocations of indigenous peoples from protected areas to promote wildlife conservation have typically resulted in negative socioeconomic results for those displaced. The international indigenous peoples’ movement has begun to coalesce around the use of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) as a legal mechanism to prevent disadvantageous relocations. In 2006, India’s parliament passed the Forest Rights Act, which requires any village relocation of tribal people be conditional upon their FPIC. I used household surveys and qualitative interviews of relocated and forest (not-yet relocated) villagers from Melghat Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra, to examine (a) the extent to which putatively voluntary relocations were conditional upon FPIC and (b) how such relocations affect socioeconomic metrics and overall quality of life for those relocated. I found that while consent to relocate was mostly free, consent was not fully informed across the villages examined. The socioeconomic results indicate that relocated villagers make a trade-off, leaving a familiar, healthier environment for better access to modern services and employment. Finally, I found that forest villagers in favor of relocation emphasized how the social and economic costs of remaining in the forest had become greater due to the relocation of neighboring villages. This field study suggests that strong implementation of FPIC and state responsiveness post-relocation are both necessary to safeguard forest-dwelling people from disadvantageous relocations.     

Second International Conference on “Recent Trends in Environment and Sustainable Development” (RTESD 2019)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -