Vapour absorption refrigeration system for rural cold storage: a comparative study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Value addition of agro products improves the livelihood opportunities for rural farmers. Cold Storage is one of the techniques to improve the shelf...     

Application of an Improved Micro-amount of Virion Enrichment Technique (MiVET) for the Detection of Avian Influenza A Virus in Spiked Chicken Meat Samples

Food and Environmental Virology - Highly sensitive detection of pathogens is effective for screening meat during quarantine inspection and export. The “micro-amount of virion enrichment...     

Unusual sonographic features of ARPKD

The classic sonographic appearance of the kidneys in fetuses with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) has been well described. We report a case of enlarged kidneys with pyramidal hyperechogenicity quite similar to medullary nephrocalcinosis found in a fetus at 34 weeks' gestation. At 39 weeks, a female neonate was delivered and died after 22 h due to pulmonary insufficiency secondary to severe oligohydramnios. On pathological analysis, the gross and microscopic findings were typical of ARPKD with diffuse dilatation of tubules throughout. The fetal renal lobulation was prominent and on section, the pyramids were delineated within each lobule, accounting for the clear image of the pyramids observed on sonography. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental psychology with a Latin American taste

This paper describes and analyzes the actual and potential contributions of Latin American environmental psychology (EP) to the study of environment–behaviour interactions. Latin America is a richly socoi- and bio-diverse region; the multitude of problems caused by threats to its diversity requires especial conceptual and methodological approaches for studying and solving those problems. Latin American environmental psychologists have contributed ideas and studies according to the specificities (indigenous psychologies) of their nations. These specificities include Latin American traditions of collective participation, holistic worldviews, emotional attachment to places and other individuals, biospheric attitudes and preference for diversity, among others, in addition to the cultural traditions inherited from Europe. These traditions are considered in EP studies conducted by Latin American authors, which are described and commented upon. The importance of formative programs for a professionalizing environmental psychology in the area is discussed. Finally, this paper envisions the future of EP in Latin America. Such a forecast includes our vision of how environmental psychologists in the region could contribute to the general development of a universal environmental psychology.     

Treatment of trinitrotoluene by crude plant extracts

Crude plant extract solutions (spinach and parrotfeather) were prepared and spiked with 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) (20 mgl(-1)). 90-h TNT removal by these solutions was compared to controls. Spinach and parrotfeather extract solutions removed 99% and 50% of the initial TNT, respectively; TNT was not eliminated in the controls or in extract solutions where removal activity was deactivated by boiling. A first-order removal constant of 0.052 h(-1) was estimated for spinach extract solutions treating 20 mgl(-1) TNT concentrations, which compared favorably to intact plant removal. Concentration variation was described by Michaelis-Menton kinetics. Detectable TNT degradation products represented only a fraction of the total TNT transformed, and the transformation favored the formation of 4-aminodinitrotoluene. The results indicated that crude plant extracts transform TNT, without the presence of the live plant.     

Improving the TMDL Process Using Watershed Risk Assessment Principles

Ecological risk assessment (ERA) evaluates potential causal relationships between multiple sources and stressors and impacts on valued ecosystem components. ERAs applied at the watershed scale have many similarities to the place-based analyses that are undertaken to develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), in which linkages are established between stressors, sources, and water quality standards, including support of designated uses. TMDLs focus on achieving water quality standards associated with attainment of designated uses. In attempting to attain the water quality standard, many TMDLs focus on the stressor of concern rather than the ecological endpoint or indicators of the designated use that the standard is meant to protect. A watershed ecological risk assessment (WERA), at least in theory, examines effects of most likely stressors, as well as their probable sources in the watershed, to prioritize management options that will most likely result in meeting environmental goals or uses. Useful WERA principles that can be applied to TMDL development include: development and use of comprehensive conceptual models in the Problem Identification step of TMDLs; use of a transparent process for selecting Numeric Targets for TMDLs based on assessment endpoints derived from the management goal or designated use under consideration; analysis of co-occurring stressors likely to cause beneficial use impairment based on the conceptual model; use of explicit uncertainty analyses in the Linkage Analysis step of TMDL development; and frequent stakeholder interactions throughout the process. WERA principles are currently most applicable to those TMDLs in which there is no numeric standard and, therefore, indicators and targets need to be developed, such as many nutrient or sediment TMDLs. WERA methods can also be useful in determining TMDL targets in situations where simply targeting the water quality standard may re-attain the numeric criterion but not the broader designated use. Better incorporation of problem formulation principles from WERA into the TMDL development process would be helpful in improving the scientific rigor of TMDLs.