Farmers’ vulnerability to climate variability in Dimapur district of Nagaland, India

Certain parts of the State of Nagaland situated in the northeastern region of India have been experiencing rainfall deficit over the past few years leading to severe drought-like conditions, which is likely to be aggravated under a climate change scenario. The state has already incurred considerable losses in the agricultural sector. Regional vulnerability assessments need to be carried out in order to help policy makers and planners formulate and implement effective drought management strategies. The present study uses an ‘index-based approach’ to quantify the climate variability-induced vulnerability of farmers in five villages of Dimapur district, Nagaland. Indicators, which are reflective of the exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of the farmers to drought, were quantified on the basis of primary data generated through household surveys and participatory rural appraisal supplemented by secondary data in order to calculate a composite vulnerability index. The composite vulnerability index of village New Showba was found to be the least, while Zutovi, the highest. The overall results reveal that biophysical characteristics contribute the most to overall vulnerability. Some potential adaptation strategies were also identified based on observations and discussions with the villagers.     

Nitric oxide–secreting probiotics as sustainable bio-cleaners for reverse osmosis membrane systems

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Membrane biofouling in water purification plants is a serious issue of worldwide concern. Various chemical, physical, and biochemical processes are...     

An agent-based model of red colobus resources and disease dynamics implicates key resource sites as hot spots of disease transmission

The effect of anthropogenic landscape change on disease in wildlife populations represents a growing conservation and public health concern. Red colobus monkeys (Procolobus rufomitratus), an endangered primate species, are particularly susceptible to habitat alteration and have been the focus of a great deal of disease and ecological research as a result. To infer how landscape changes can affect host and parasite dynamics, a spatially explicit agent-based model is created to simulate movement and foraging of this primate, based on a resource landscape estimated from extensive plot-derived tree population data from Kibale National Park, Uganda. Changes to this resource landscape are used to simulate effects of anthropogenic forest change. With each change in the landscape, disease outcomes within the simulated red colobus population are monitored using a hypothetical microparasite with a directly transmitted life cycle. The model predicts an optimal distribution of resources which facilitates the spread of an infectious agent through the simulated population. The density of resource rich sites and the overall heterogeneity of the landscape are important factors contributing to this spread. The characteristics of this optimal distribution are similar to those of logged sections of forest adjacent to our study area.     

Design and development of novel insect growth regulators: Synthesis,characterization and effect of benzoyl thymyl thioureas and ureas on total haemocyte count of Dysdercus koenigii

Insect-growth regulators (IGRs) have been receiving foremost attention as potential means of selective insect control. Benzoyl phenyl urea (BPU) is a well-known IGR having chitin synthesis inhibitor activity. Mimics of BPU have been synthesized by suitable derivatization of a naturally occurring monoterpenoid, thymol (2-isopropyl-5-methyl phenol) to form a = series of substituted benzoyl thymyl thioureas (BTTUs) [IVa-f] and benzoyl thymyl ureas (BTUs) [Va-f]. The synthesized compounds have been characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR, LC-MS and elemental analysis. These derivatives have been screened for their effect on total haemocyte count of Dysdercus koenigii. It has been observed that the introduction of substituted benzoyl thiourea and urea linkage into a thymol ring via an amino group results in higher activity than the parent compound thymol and a comparable pattern of results with the standard insect-growth regulators, Penfluron. Urea [Va-f] compounds exhibited greater effect on Total Haemocyte Count (THC) than thiourea [IVa-f]. Fluoro substitution enhanced the effect on THC more than chloro substituted compounds, while ortho-substitution resulted in a better effect than para-substitution. The results described in this paper are promising and provide new array of synthetic chemicals that may be utilized as insect growth regulators.     

Industrial complexes and their relevance for pulp and paper mills

Advantages and disadvantages of the concept of an industrial complex are discussed. From an environmental standpoint an ideal industrial complex is one containing a group of compatible industrial plants utilizing completely each other's wastes and products as raw materials and manufacturing products with no adverse environmental impact and at a minimum of cost. A typical complex centering about a pulp and papermill is pictured in this paper. This complex produces six products for external sale and four products for internal use. In addition, all major wastes of suspended solids, cooking liquor, fillers, heat and bark are reused within the complex in the manufacture of these products. A literature review evolved typical concentrations of recoverable suspended solids in various process effluents. A mass balance was prepared assuming that the total production of fine paper is 907.2 kg × 10³ (1000 tons) per day. Little or no air or water pollution results from this complex. In addition, it is anticipated that no expensive waste-water treatment plant would be required for this complex. Ten additional practices are described which, when used, will reduce operating costs even further. A continuing study with more precise data on the production requirements for the service plants in the complex will yield a more balanced and realistic system.     

Preparation of Fe oxide nanoparticles for environmental applications: arsenic removal

The objective of this study is to examine the adsorption–desorption behavior of a magnetically active hybrid sorbent (MAHS) material, prepared by dispersing colloid-like hydrated iron oxide particles in the outer periphery of a macroporous ion-exchange resin (Amberlite XAD-2). The experimental results show that the new sorbent material can simultaneously remove arsenic (V) and a chlorinated organic compound (2,6-dichlorophenol [2,6-DCP]) from aqueous solutions at around neutral pH. The recovery of arsenic and 2,6-DCP from MAHS was conducted using a regenerant containing 50% (v/v) CH₃OH + 3% (w/v) NaOH. In less than 10 bed volumes of regenerant, more than 90% of As(V) and 2,6-DCP were recovered.     

Unboxing the molecular modalities of mutagens in cancer

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The etiology of the majority of human cancers is associated with a myriad of environmental causes, including physical, chemical, and biological...     

Autotrophic Biological Denitrification for Complete Removal of Nitrogen from Septic System Wastewater

The overall objective of this research was to develop a reliable, robust, and maintenance-free passive system for biological denitrification in on-site wastewater treatment systems. The process relies on sulfur oxidizing denitrifying bacteria in upflow packed bioreactors. Since this process consumes alkalinity, it is necessary to add a solid-phase buffer that can scavenge the H⁺ as it is generated by the biologically-mediated reaction and arrest the drop in the pH value. This study investigated the use of limestone, marble chips and crushed oyster shell as solid-phase buffers that provide alkalinity. Two bench-scale upflow column reactors and two field-scale bioreactors were constructed and packed with sulfur pellets and an alkalinity source. The pilot scale bioreactors (∼200 L each) were installed at the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center (MASSTC) in Sandwich, MA. The pilot-scale bioreactors performed better when oyster shell was used as the solid-phase buffer vis-à-vis marble chips. In both (pilot-scale and laboratory-scale) systems, denitrification rates were high with the effluent NO₃ ⁻ —N concentration consistently below 8 mg/L.     

Mesoporous carbon nanospheres derived from agro-waste as novel antimicrobial agents against gram-negative bacteria

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Porous carbon nanospheres were synthesized from agro-waste garlic peels by a one-pot facile and easy to scale-up pyrolysis method. Surface morphology...     

Sustainable Waste Management of Engineering Plastics Generated from E-Waste: A Critical Evaluation of Mechanical,Thermal and Morphological Properties

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - The major roadblock for recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipments (WEEE) depends on the viability of sorting process, which is a complex...