Fuelwood assessment at micro-watershed level in Northeast Himalaya: a case study in Manipur,India

Fuelwood is one of the major sources of energy in the domestic sector across the rural areas, especially in the developing regions across the world. The Northeastern Himalayan state of Manipur is dominated by the tribal population that largely depends on fuelwood from the nearby forest area. The entire dependence on forests for energy resources is affecting the sustainability of the forest ecosystem in the region, thus indicating the livelihood conditions. Since land-use land-cover change is the key driver to the change in resource availability of a region, the present study has tried to analyze the land-cover changes over a period 28 years. The second major component affecting resource availability is the increasing population pressure that leads to changes in the land dynamics, which directly affect the resource production. Based on the existing consumption pattern, the total consumption of fuelwood in the watershed ranges from a minimum of 289.992 tons/year to a maximum of 3545.719 tons/year with an average of 1561.956 tons/year in the year 2009 and simulated fuelwood consumption for the year 2021 is around 1469.260 tons/year. Nine different probable scenarios of resource are proposed to calculate the stress value that can be used by the policy-makers and planners for suitable policy implementation at the micro level with a complex social system.     

Modelling optimal exploitation of petroleum resources in India

In this paper, the exploitation of petroleum resources in India is analyzed by developing a dynamic optimization modeling framework—PETEX. This model combines the practical aspects in determining optimal rates of extraction of oil and gas from a reservoir with a hybrid approach to estimating the discovery rate of petroleum resources in the future, additionally incorporating a stochastic specification to capture the uncertainty associated with discovery. The model acts as an aid to joint production–investment decision making for the entire supply process from drilling through production and in determining the import requirement to meet the country’s oil demand. The model results and sensitivity analysis suggest an acute requirement of sustained infusion of investment into the various upstream activities at a rate much higher than the current levels in order to bridge the demand—supply gap for crude oil. With the opening up of the Indian economy, it is hoped that the participation of the private sector in upstream activities would increase thereby increasing the investments available for upstream activity.     

Petrosia testudinaria as a biomarker for metal contamination at Gulf of Mannar, southeast coast of India

Coastal marine ecosystems in many parts of the world are under unrelenting stress caused by urban development, pollutants and other ecological impacts such as building of infrastructure, land reclamation for port and industrial development, habitat modification, tourism and recreational activities. The present work is a first extensive field study using the marine sponge, Petrosia testudinaria as a biomarker to detect heavy metal pollution between near and off shore environment of 'Gulf of Mannar', India. Sponges were collected from near shore (0.5-1 km) and offshore (5-7 km), locations and their metal concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICPMS). Our results show that the near shore sponge accumulated greater concentrations of heavy metals (Al, Fe, Mn, As, Ni, Co, Cu, Se) ranging from 0.13 to 64 times higher concentration than the sponges located away from the shore. The results indicate that the accumulated metals alter the macromolecule composition (sugars, proteins and lipids) in near shore sponges. Frequent monitoring is necessary to assess the eco-health of the marine environment by choosing bioindicator species like sponges, which provide accurate, reliable measurement of environmental quality.     

Biochemical alterations in euryhaline fish, Oreochromis mossambicus exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of an organophosphorus insecticide, monocrotophos

The euryhaline fish, Oreochromis mossambicus was exposed to sub-lethal concentration (1.15 mg l(-1)) of a organophosphorus insecticide, monocrotophos (MCP) for 30 days and allowed to recover for seven days. Alanine aminotransferase (ALAT), aspartate aminotransferase (AAT), acid phosphatase (AcP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), glycogen, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Reduced glutathione (GSH), gluthathione-S-transferase (GST) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), were assayed in plasma and different tissues at regular intervals of day -3, -7, -15, -30 and after recovery period of seven days. The ALAT and AAT activities were increased in plasma and kidney, where as liver and gill showed decrease. Increase in AcP and ALP activities were observed in plasma, gill and kidney, and reduction of 42% and 50% was observed in liver. Glycogen was depleted in plasma, liver and gill indicates of typical stress related response of the fish with pesticide. LDH activity was decreased in liver and muscle, indicating tissue damage and muscular harm, but a significant increase in LDH activity in gill and brain was observed. Depletion in GSH activity was observed in all the tissues, there by enhancing the lipid peroxidation resulting in cell damage. The induction in hepatic GST levels indicates the protection against the toxicity of xenobiotic-induced lipid peroxidation. There was a significant recovery in all the above biochemical parameters studied in plasma and different tissues, after seven days recovery period. These results revealed that MCP affects the intermediary metabolism of O. mossambicus and that the assayed enzymes can work as good biomarkers of organophosphorus contamination.     

Understanding transitions in farming systems and their effects on livestock rearing and smallholder livelihoods in Telangana,India

Increasing food demands are causing rapid transitions in farming systems, often involving intensified land and resource use. While transitioning has benefits regarding poverty alleviation and food outputs, it also causes environmental and social issues over time. This study aims to understand the transitions in farming systems in a region in Telangana, from 1997 to 2015, and their effect on livestock rearing and smallholder livelihoods. We also examine the impact of the transitions on lower caste groups and women in particular. We collected data using a combination of methods, i.e., a household survey, focus group discussions, and secondary data sources, to build a comprehensive picture of the transitions in the region. We found that subsistence mixed farming systems transitioned to market-orientated specialized systems over a short time span. As the transition process gained momentum, households either intensified their production or got marginalized. Technological interventions, development programs with integrated approaches, and market demand for certain agricultural produce triggered increased regional production but also led to the scarcity of water, land, and labor. The transitions marginalized some of the households, changed the role of livestock in farming, and have been inclusive of both lower caste groups and women in terms of increased ownership of large ruminants and access to technologies. However, for women specifically, further increase in workload in the context of farming is also found.     

美国工业废水预处理制度实施经验及对我国的启示

美国工业废水预处理制度对工业废水间接排放管控成效显著,主要特点包括:明确划分各实施主体的责任,形成全过程有效监管机制;预处理标准以基于技术和基于水质为双重约束;对工业用户实施重点分类管理,细化工业用户合规要求;授权公共污水处理厂直接管控工业用户,提高制度执行效率;注重污染源头控制,鼓励废水和污泥回收利用。对我国启示如下:健全我国工业废水预处理制度体系,强化纳管企业主体责任;在污水处理厂规划设计阶段,开展工业废水来源调查,编制纳管企业名单;在污水处理厂运行管理阶段,开展进水水质跟踪评估,建立污染负荷溯源机制;加大对工业废水间接排放的监督执法力度。     

Prenatal diagnosis using interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH): 2-year multi-center retrospective study and review of the literature

Since 1993, the position of the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) has been that prenatal interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is investigational. In 1997, the FDA cleared the AneuVysion^® assay (Vysis, Inc.) to enumerate chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X and Y for prenatal diagnosis. Data is presented from the clinical trial that led to regulatory clearance (1379 pregnancies) and from retrospective case review on 5197 new pregnancies. These studies demonstrated an extremely high concordance rate between FISH and standard cytogenetics (99.8%) for specific abnormalities that the AneuVysion assay is designed to detect. In 29 039 informative testing events (6576 new and 22 463 cases in the literature) only one false positive (false positive rate=0.003%) and seven false negative results (false negative rate=0.024%) occurred. A historical review of all known accounts of specimens tested is presented (29 039 using AneuVysion and 18 275 specimens tested with other probes). These performance characteristics support a prenatal management strategy that includes utilization of FISH for prenatal testing when a diagnosis of aneuploidy of chromosome 13, 18, 21, X or Y is highly suspected by virtue of maternal age, positive maternal serum biochemical screening or abnormal ultrasound findings. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

奎河水资源化工程采用水质指标的再讨论

分析了奎河水质变清含义、不同含义对奎河水质的要求，讨论了实现不同含义奎河水变清方案及其可行性和可靠性。作者认为，奎河水变清和全河道水质达标是一个很高的污染治理目标，需要通过对奎河污染控制系统的不断研究改进，水质指标的逐步提高才能逐渐逼近这一目标。     

某省高危含砷爆炸物污染农田评价及分布研究

利用不同的评价标准和方法评价了吉林省某地含砷高危爆炸物造成的砷污染,同时借助GIS软件绘制了砷污染指数分布图。结果表明:以土壤环境背景值的上限值为评价标准,平均污染累积指数为2.61,最大为65.38,约57.38%的土壤受到人为外源砷的干扰;以(GB 15618-2008)中砷的二级标准作为评价标准,平均污染指数为1.01,最大污染指数达15.27,超标率为23.87%,表明该区存在严重的砷污染;地累积指数污染评价结果也表明该地存在明显的外源砷污染,受到污染的比例达41.57%;3种评价方法结果基本一致。污染指数分布表明,该地重污染区集中在中部区域,并形成了一个西北-东南方向分布的污染带。     

油品脱酸工艺研究进展

综述了国内外油品脱酸技术发展历程和研究现状,分析了各种技术工艺的优点和不足,随着环保、节能减排思想的深入,新的绿色脱酸分离技术将是以后发展的主要趋势。