Landslide probability mapping by considering fuzzy numerical risk factor (FNRF) and landscape change for road corridor of Uttarakhand,India

Landslide poses severe threats to the natural landscape of the Lesser Himalayas and the lives and economy of the communities residing in that mountainous topography. This study aims to investigate whether the landscape change has any impact on landslide occurrences in the Kalsi-Chakrata road corridor by detailed investigation through correlation of the landslide susceptibility zones and the landscape change, and finally to demarcate the hotspot villages where influence of landscape on landslide occurrence may be more in future. The rational of this work is to delineate the areas with higher landslide susceptibility using the ensemble model of GIS-based multi-criteria decision making through fuzzy landslide numerical risk factor model along the Kalsi-Chakrata road corridor of Uttarakhand where no previous detailed investigation was carried out applying any contemporary statistical techniques. The approach includes the correlation of the landslide conditioning factors in the study area with the changes in land use and land cover (LULC) over the past decade to understand whether frequent landslides have any link with the physical and hydro-meteorological or, infrastructure, and socioeconomic activities. It was performed through LULC change detection and landslide susceptibility mapping (LSM), and spatial overlay analysis to establish statistical correlation between the said parameters. The LULC change detection was performed using the object-oriented classification of satellite images acquired in 2010 and 2019. The inventory of the past landslides was formed by visual interpretation of high-resolution satellite images supported by an intensive field survey of each landslide area. To assess the landslide susceptibility zones for 2010 and 2019 scenarios, the geo-environmental or conditioning factors such as slope, rainfall, lithology, normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI), proximity to road and land use and land cover (LULC) were considered, and the fuzzy LNRF technique was applied. The results indicated that the LULC in the study area was primarily transformed from forest cover and sparse vegetation to open areas and arable land, which is increased by 6.7% in a decade. The increase in built-up areas and agricultural land by 2.3% indicates increasing human interference that is continuously transforming the natural landscape. The landslide susceptibility map of 2019 shows that about 25% of the total area falls under high and very high susceptibility classes. The result shows that 80% of the high landslide susceptible class is contained by LULC classes of open areas, scrubland, and sparse vegetation, which point out the profound impact of landscape change that aggravate landslide occurrence in that area. The result acclaims that specific LULC classes, such as open areas, barren-rocky lands, are more prone to landslides in this Lesser Himalayan road corridor, and the LULC-LSM correlation can be instrumental for landslide probability assessment concerning the changing landscape. The fuzzy LNRF model applied has 89.6% prediction accuracy at 95% confidence level which is highly satisfactory. The present study of the connection of LULC change with the landslide probability and identification of the most fragile landscape at the village level has been instrumental in delineation of landslide susceptible areas, and such studies may help the decision-makers adopt appropriate mitigation measures in those villages where the landscape changes have mainly resulted in increased landslide occurrences and formulate strategic plans to promote ecologically sustainable development of the mountainous communities in India's Lesser Himalayas.

     

Effect of struvite and organic acids on immobilization of copper and zinc in contaminated bio-retention filter media

Few studies have been carried out to connect nutrient recovery as struvite from wastewater and sustainable utilization of the recovered struvite for copper and zinc immobilization in contaminated soil. This study revealed the effect of struvite on Cu and Zn immobilization in contaminated bio-retention soil in the presence of commonly exuded plant organic acids. The research hypothesis was that the presence of both struvite and organic acids may influence the immobilization of Cu and Zn in soil. The outcome of this research confirmed that more than 99% of Cu and Zn was immobilized in bio-retention filter media by struvite application. Water-soluble Cu and Zn concentrations of struvite treated soil were less than 1.83 and 0.86 mg/kg respectively, and these concentrations were significantly lower compared to the total Cu and Zn content of 747.05 mg/kg in the contaminated soil. Application of struvite to Cu- and Zn-contaminated soil resulted in formation of compounds similar to zinc phosphate tetrahydrate (Zn₃(PO₄)₂?4H₂O) and amorphous Cu and Zn phases. Struvite was effective in heavy metal remediation in acidic soil regardless of the presence of Ca impurities in struvite and the presence of plant organic acids in soil. Overall, this study revealed that struvite recovered from wastewater treatment plants has potential for use as an amendment for heavy metal remediation in contaminated bio-retention soil.     

Chorionic villus sampling: Improved method for preparation of karyotypes after short-term incubation

A method for the isolation and trypsin-Giemsa banding of metaphases obtained after short-term incubation (48 h) of cytotrophoblast cells from chorionic villus sample is described. A new slide-making instrument, developed expressly to enhance the spreading of chromosomes from metaphases released from small tissue pieces, is responsible for the increase yield of analysable metaphases in this protocol.     

Conservation implications of physiological carry‐over effects in bats recovering from white‐nose syndrome

Although it is well documented that infectious diseases can pose threats to biodiversity, the potential long‐term consequences of pathogen exposure on individual fitness and its effects on population viability have rarely been studied. We tested the hypothesis that pathogen exposure causes physiological carry‐over effects with a pathogen that is uniquely suited to this question because the infection period is specific and time limited. The fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans causes white‐nose syndrome (WNS) in hibernating bats, which either die due to the infection while hibernating or recover following emergence from hibernation. The fungus infects all exposed individuals in an overwintering site simultaneously, and bats that survive infection during hibernation clear the pathogen within a few weeks following emergence. We quantified chronic stress during the active season, when bats are not infected, by measuring cortisol in bat claws. Free‐ranging Myotis lucifugus who survived previous exposure to P. destructans had significantly higher levels of claw cortisol than naïve individuals. Thus, cryptic physiological carry‐over effects of pathogen exposure may persist in asymptomatic, recovered individuals. If these effects result in reduced survival or reproductive success, they could also affect population viability and even act as a third stream in the extinction vortex. For example, significant increases in chronic stress, such as those indicated here, are correlated with reduced reproductive success in a number of species. Future research should directly explore the link between pathogen exposure and the viability of apparently recovered populations to improve understanding of the true impacts of infectious diseases on threatened populations.     

Hydrocarbon biodegradation and dynamic laser speckle for detecting chemotactic responses at low bacterial concentration

We report on the biodegradation of pure hydrocarbons and chemotaxis towards these compounds by an isolated chlorophenol degrader,Pseudomonas strain H.The biochemical and phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence identified Pseudomonas strain H as having 99.56% similarity with P.aeruginosa PA01.This strain was able to degrade n-hexadecane,1-undecene,1-nonene,1-decene,1-dodecene and kerosene.It grew in the presence of 1-octene,while this hydrocarbons is toxic to other hydrocarbons degraders.Pseudomonas strain H was also chemotactic towards n-hexadecane,kerosene,1-undecene and 1-dodecene.These results show that this Pseudomonas strain H is an attractive candidate for hydrocarbon-containing wastewater bioremediation in controlled environments.Since the classical standard techniques for detecting chemotaxis are not efficient at low bacterial concentrations,we demonstrate the use of the dynamic speckle laser method,which is simple and inexpensive,to confirm bacterial chemotaxis at low cell concentrations (less than 105 colony-forming unit per millilitre (CFU/mL)) when hydrocarbons are the attractants.     

Downscaling and visioning of mountain snow packs and other climate change implications in North Vancouver, British Columbia

This paper provides an overview of a collaborative study on visualizing climate change at the local scale. A conceptual framework has been developed, in which local scenarios and visualizations of climate change impacts and response were created to facilitate local dialogue on incorporating climate change into long-term planning and implementation of community development decisions. As part of a larger effort to generate a new integrated participatory visioning process, this paper describes a case study of the District of North Vancouver which created visualizations of changing mountain snow and landscape conditions, and provides new insights on issues and dilemmas in using realistic landscape visualizations to depict scientific modelling projections, local responses to climate change, and uncertainty. Results from this study suggest that the visualizations, and subsequent dialogue sessions, did influence emotional response to climate change as well as self-assessed understanding of adaptation and mitigation response options. However, there is a need to test this visioning process with larger heterogeneous groups of participants in order to better assess its effectiveness in enabling dialogue on local responses to climate change.     

A male gift to its partner? Cyanogenic glycosides in the spermatophore of longwing butterflies (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Heliconius</Emphasis>)

Males of several insect species transfer nuptial gifts to females during mating, typically in the form of a protein-rich spermatophore. In chemically defended species, males could potentially enhance such a gift with chemicals that help protect the female, her eggs, or both. This was shown for lepidopteran species that accumulate pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Most Heliconius butterflies are presumably protected from predators by virtue of de novo synthesized and/or sequestered cyanogenic glycosides. Males of Heliconius species are known to transfer nutritional gifts to the females but whether defensive chemicals could also be transferred is not known. To ascertain whether transfer of cyanogens occurs, we dissected freshly mated females from nine different Heliconius species and analyzed spermatophores for cyanogenic glycosides. We found cyanogens in the spermatophores of all nine species. This is the first time cyanogenic glycosides are reported in the spermatophores of arthropods. We discuss the implications of these findings for Heliconius biology and for other cyanogenic insects as well. We suggest that chemically defended species commonly lace their nuptial gifts with defensive chemicals to improve gift quality.     

Transport of atmospheric fine particulate matter: part 2--findings from recent field programs on the intraurban variability in fine particulate matter

Air quality field data, collected as part of the fine particulate matter Supersites Program and other field measurements programs, have been used to assess the degree of intraurban variability for various physical and chemical properties of ambient fine particulate matter. Spatial patterns vary from nearly homogeneous to quite heterogeneous, depending on the city, parameter of interest, and the approach or method used to define spatial variability. Secondary formation, which is often regional in nature, drives fine particulate matter mass and the relevant chemical components toward high intraurban spatial homogeneity. Those particulate matter components that are dominated by primary emissions within the urban area, such as black carbon and several trace elements, tend to exhibit greater spatial heterogeneity. A variety of study designs and data analysis approaches have been used to characterize intraurban variability. High temporal correlation does not imply spatial homogeneity. For example, there can be high temporal correlation but with spatial heterogeneity manifested as smooth spatial gradients, often emanating from areas of high emissions such as the urban core or industrial zones.     

The impact of sewage irrigation on the uptake of mercury in corn plants (Zea mays) from suburban Beijing

The impact of sewage irrigation on the uptake and translocation of mercury (Hg) in corn plants (Zea mays) was investigated. Corn plants were harvested the same day from two nearby fields in suburban Beijing, one irrigated historically with sewage effluent, and one irrigated solely with groundwater. Hg content was analyzed in the soil, roots and stems, while percent moisture and soil organic content were analyzed in the soil samples. The concentration of Hg in the soil and roots, and the soil organic content were not significantly different between the two fields, despite the historic practice of sewage irrigation. Hg content in roots was positively correlated with soil Hg concentration (r=0.95, n=6). The transfer coefficients between roots and stems were significantly higher in the control site (control: 2.06, sewage-irrigated: 0.44, p<0.05), indicating that the barrier effect of the roots was not consistent between the two fields.