Inequality in water supply in India: an assessment using the Gini and Theil indices

Provision of drinking water is considered to be an essential public service. Ensuring adequate water supply remains a challenge in Indian cities that are experiencing rapid growth and often exhibit a mismatch between increasing demands and inadequate supply infrastructure. This study quantifies the existing inequality in water supply within Indian cities through Lorenz curve, Gini coefficient as well as Theil indices. Two types of Theil indices are estimated to gain different perspectives: water supply and population-weighted. Both the Theil indices are disaggregated, according to economic and regional categorisation of the cities, to explore the within- and between-group inequality. The water supply and population-weighted Theil indices provide different outlook of the inequality amongst the cities. But the population-weighted index is often better and pragmatic. Further, the inequality in access to tap water in India is studied by estimating modified Lorenz curves and Theil indices. Again, the Theil indices are decomposed into within and between components according to economic and regional grouping of states. The results suggest that there is disparity in supply of water in India, and infrastructure has to be boosted to meet the growing demand. This study is a step towards quantification of water supply inequality. The approach used in the study can contribute to monitoring of water supply equity as well as in formulating sustainable and equitable water policies.     

Performance evaluation of isoproturon-degrading indigenous bacterial isolates in soil microcosm

Isoproturon (IPU)-degrading soil bacteria were isolated from herbicide-applied wheat fields. These isolates were identified using cultural, morphological, biochemical and 16S rRNA sequencing methods. 16S rRNA sequences of both the bacterial isolates were compared with NCBI GenBank data base and identified as Bacillus pumilus and Pseudoxanthomonas sp. A soil microcosm study was carried out for 40 days in six different treatments. Experimental results revealed maximum 95.98% IPU degradation in treatment 6 where bacterial consortia were augmented in natural soil, followed by 91.53% in treatment 5 enriched with organic manure as an additional carbon source. However, only 14.03% IPU was degraded in treatment 1 (control) after 40 days. In treatments (2–4), 75.59%, 70.92% and 77.32% IPU degradation was recorded, respectively. IPU degradation in all the treatments varied significantly over the control. 4-Isopropylaniline was detected as IPU degradation by-product in the medium. The study confirmed that B. pumilus and Pseudoxanthomonas sp. performed effectively in soil microcosms and could be employed profitably for field-scale bioremediation experiments.     

Geotechnical properties of fresh municipal solid waste at Orchard Hills Landfill, USA

This paper presents the results of a laboratory investigation to determine the geotechnical properties of fresh municipal solid waste (MSW) collected from the working phase of Orchard Hills Landfill located in Davis Junction (Illinois, USA). Laboratory testing was conducted on shredded MSW to determine the compaction, hydraulic conductivity, compressibility, and shear strength properties at in-situ gravimetric moisture content of 44%. In addition, the effect of increased moisture content during leachate recirculation on compressibility and shear strength of MSW was also investigated by testing samples with variable gravimetric moisture contents ranging from 44% to 100%. Based on Standard Proctor tests, a maximum dry density of 420 kg/m(3) was observed at 70% optimum moisture content. The hydraulic conductivity varied in a wide range of 10(-8)-10(-4)m/s and decreased with increase in dry density. Compression ratio values varied in a close range of 0.24-0.33 with no specific trend with the increase in moisture content. Based on direct shear tests, drained cohesion varied from 31 to 64 kPa and the drained friction angle ranged from 26 to 30 degrees. Neither cohesion nor friction angle demonstrated any correlation with the moisture content, within the range of moisture contents tested. The consolidated undrained triaxial shear tests on saturated MSW showed the total strength parameters (c and phi) to be 32 kPa and 12 degrees, and the effective strength parameters (c' and phi') to be 38 kPa and 16 degrees. The angle of friction (phi) decreased and cohesion (c) value increased with the increase in strain. The effective cohesion (c') increased with increase in strain; however, the effective angle of friction (phi') decreased first and then increased with the increase in strain. Such strain-dependent shear strength properties should be properly accounted in the stability analysis of bioreactor landfills.     

Inter-species differences for polychlorinated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers in marine top predators from the Southern North Sea: Part 2. Biomagnification in harbour seals and harbour porpoises

Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) and harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) were found to differ in the ability to metabolize polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Biomagnification factors (BMFs), calculated between both predators and their prey (sole - Solea solea and whiting - Merlangius merlangus), had a large range of variation (between 0.5 and 91 for PCBs and between 0.6 and 53 for PBDEs). For the higher chlorinated PCBs and the highest brominated PBDEs, the BMF values in adult males were significantly higher than in the juvenile individuals of both species. BMF values of hexa- to octa-PCBs were the highest, suggesting reduced ability to degrade these congeners. Harbour porpoises had higher BMFs for lower chlorinated PCBs and for all PBDEs compared to harbour seals. Other factors, which may influence biomagnification, such as the octanol-water partition coefficients and the trophic level position measured through stable isotope (δ¹⁵N) analysis, were found to be of lesser importance to predict biomagnification in the studied food chain.     

Spatio-temporal analysis of fire events in India: implications for environmental conservation

Information on fires in different geographic regions of India is relatively scarce. This study quantifies spatial and temporal patterns in fire occurrences covering different states and districts in India. Two important scientific questions are answered in this study: (1) how are the fire events distributed across different geographical regions? (2) are there any specific districts where fire events clustered across space and time? To address these questions, Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) derived satellite fire counts from 1997–2006 were used and the datasets were analysed using spatial scan statistic. Spatial scan statistic provides a test statistic for most likely ‘hotspot’ spatial clusters, based on the likelihood ratio test and Monte Carlo simulation. Results from geographical analysis based on state boundaries suggested Maharastra state had the highest number of fires followed by Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Orissa, etc., during the 10-year period. Among the several districts, the spatial scan statistic identified the most likely cluster of fire events in Dausa, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur, Bharatpur and Alwar in addition to several other secondary clusters, with high statistical significance. These results are based on a large sample of cases, and they provide convincing evidence of spatial clustering of fire events in the Indian region. Results relating to hotspot areas of fire risk can guide policy makers towards the best management strategies for avoiding damages to forests, human life and personal property in the ‘hotspot’ districts.     

Equity and productivity assessments in the Olifants River basin, South Africa

Emerging approaches to water resources development and management typically highlight equity and productivity as two main objectives. In the context of integrated water resources management within a river basin, managers and stakeholders often need a comparative assessment of different options for water augmentation and/or allocation. Pitting such options against predefined objectives, such as equity and productivity, requires an assessment of the effects that available options will have on these objectives. Available documentation indicates that not only does the interpretation of such objectives vary widely, but also the available methods for assessing equity and productivity run into significant limitations in the availability of adequate data. This limitation has largely kept decision makers from gaining a comprehensive overview of equity and productivity scenarios, whether within or across sectors, that could facilitate better‐informed decisions. To address this methodological gap, this article scrutinizes different notions associated with equity and water productivity, and limitations in prevalent assessment methods with the view to develop and demonstrate pragmatic methodologies for assessing equity and productivity in data‐scarce contexts. The discussion and findings are based on a review of relevant literature and empirical and consultative research work in the Olifants River basin in South Africa. The demonstrated methodologies for assessing equity and productivity, besides being useful in data‐scarce contexts, are insightful for initiating several policy measures and also for exploring the relationship between equity and water productivity.     

Concentration of organochlorines in Ganges River dolphins from Patna,Bihar

Concentrations of DDT, HCH, aldrin and endosulfan were determined in river dolphins from the River Ganges, Patna. Among the organochlorines studied in the dolphins, DDT concentration was highest followed by HCH. This shows exposure of dolphins to these organochlorine pesticides. Presences of organochlorines to higher degree in tissues suggest that the river dolphins be at greater risk due to pesticidal contamination of the river system.     

Interaction of different forms of graphene with chicken embryo red blood cells

With the rapid development of graphene synthesis and functionalization approaches, graphene and its related derivatives have shown great potential in many applications in material science, including biomedical applications. Several in vitro and in vivo studies clearly showed no definitive risks, while others have indicated that graphene might become health hazards. In this study, we explore the biocompatibility of graphene-related materials with chicken embryo red blood cells (RBC). The hemolysis assay was employed to evaluate the in vitro blood compatibility of reduced graphene, graphene oxide, and reduced graphene oxide, because these materials have recently been used for biomedical applications, including injectable graphene-related particles. This study investigated structural damage, ROS production and hemolysis of chicken embryo red blood cells. Different forms of graphene, when incubated with chicken embryo RBC, were harmful to cell structure and induced hemolysis.     

Studies on influence of natural biowastes on cellulase production by Aspergillus niger

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of natural biowaste substrates such as banana peel powder and coir powder at varying environmental parameters of pH (4-9) and temperature (20-50 degrees C) on the cellulase enzyme production by Aspergillus niger. The cellulase enzyme production was analyzed by measuring the amount of glucose liberated in IU ml(-1) by using the dinitrosalicylic acid assay method. The substrates were pretreated with 1% NaOH (alkaline treatment) and autoclaved. The maximum activity of the enzyme was assayed at varying pH with temperatures being constant and varying temperatures with pH being constant. The highest activity of the enzyme at varying pH was recorded at pH 6 for banana peel powder (0.068 +/- 0.002 IU ml) and coir powder (0.049 +/- 0.002 IU ml(-1)) and the maximum activity of the enzyme at varying temperature was recorded at 35 degrees C for both banana peel powder (0.072 +/- 0.001 IU ml(-1)) and coir powder (0.046 +/- 0.003 IU ml(-1)). At varying temperatures and pH the high level of enzyme production was obtained at 35 degrees C and pH 6 by using both the substrates, respectively. However among the two substrates used for the production of cellulases by Aspergillus niger banana peel powder showed maximum enzymatic activity than coir powder as substrate.