Fuelwood Use in the Cities of the Developing World: Two Case Studies from India

A number of studies of traditional fuel supply and demand in rural areas of developing countries have been undertaken, but little has been done to make comparable studies for urban populations. This paper reports on two studies undertaken on fuelwood supplies, their transporation and distribution and utilization in the Indian cities of Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Substantial amounts of fuelwood—200 000 tonnes in Hyderabad and 450 000 tonnes in Bangalore—are consumed. Seventy-eight percent of the fuelwood is consumed by households where it is a major source of energy for cooking and heating for low income families. While the researchers did not visit the forest areas which are the source of fuelwood, the quantity consumed is so large as to indicate that deforestation is possibly severe. Recommendations are made to deal with the problem.     

Surveillance of the Health and Nutritional Status of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh

Early in 1992, Bangladesh experienced an influx of Burmese refugees, reaching a total of 263,000 by May. As the health and nutritional status of the refugee population was reportedly poor, a need was felt to collect dependable data through epidemiological surveillance, on which interventions could be based. The nutritional and health status of children was dramatically poor in all camps surveyed and a deterioration was expected in the coming monsoon. Several problem areas could be identified. Based on these findings it was possible to undertake appropriate action and to avert threatening calamities. Epidemiological surveillance is an important monitoring tool to provide reliable data on the health and nutritional status of refugee populations and to help the organizations involved to prioritize and evaluate their actions.     

Enrichment and Isolation of a Mixed Bacterial Culture for Complete Mineralization of Endosulfan

In the present study, we isolated three novel bacterial species, namely, Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus circulans–I, and Bacillus circulans–II, from contaminated soil collected from the premises of a pesticide manufacturing industry. Batch experiments were conducted using both mixed and pure cultures to assess their potential for the degradation of aqueous endosulfan in aerobic and facultative anaerobic condition. The influence of supplementary carbon (dextrose) source on endosulfan degradation was also examined. After four weeks of incubation, mixed bacterial culture was able to degrade 71.82 ± 0.2% and 76.04 ± 0.2% of endosulfan in aerobic and facultative anaerobic conditions, respectively, with an initial endosulfan concentration of 50 mg l^?1. Addition of dextrose to the system amplified the endosulfan degradation efficiency by 13.36 ± 0.6% in aerobic system and 12.33 ± 0.6% in facultative anaerobic system. Pure culture studies were carried out to quantify the degradation potential of these individual species. Among the three species, Staphylococcus sp. utilized more beta endosulfan compared to alpha endosulfan in facultative anaerobic system, whereas Bacillus circulans–I and Bacillus circulans–II utilized more alpha endosulfan compared to beta endosulfan in aerobic system. In any of these degradation studies no known intermediate metabolites of endosulfan were observed.     

Biodiversity and Conservation of Plants in Brazil

Abstract:  With more than 56,000 species (excluding fungi), Brazil has one of the richest floras in the world—nearly 19% of the world flora. Our knowledge of the diversity and status of nonvascular plants in Brazil is still fragmentary, although localized studies on algae have revealed loss of species resulting from environmental pollution. Emphasis on local floral surveys, rather than wider taxonomic studies, has obscured estimates of national totals for most taxonomic groups. Knowledge of angiosperms, especially monocotyledons (of which 45% of the species are endemic), is more complete than most. For this group figures are more reliable, with some distribution patterns, endemism levels, and centers of diversity identified. Much, however, still awaits discovery. Coordinated efforts to catalog Brazil's flora are in progress and include projects such as the conservation priority-setting workshops of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, which have identified key conservation areas in the major biomes; development of threatened species lists for plants; and the assembly of type data on species of northeastern Brazil through the Darwin Initiative—all of which greatly assist in increasing our knowledge. These initiatives also underline the urgent need to expand the numbers and geographic spread of projects on plant systematics and taxonomy in Brazil, a measure that demands adequate provision of funding and training programs for plant specialists. Finally, Brazil's environmental agency (IBAMA) could play a proactive role in opening protected areas under its jurisdiction, thereby facilitating botanical research by university departments and research institutes.     

PERFORMANCE AND PERSISTENCE OF GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN （gfp） MARKED AZOTOBACTER CHROOCOCCUM IN STERILIZED AND UNSTERILIZED WHEAT RHIZOSPHERIC SOIL

ThepracticaluseofAzotobacterchroococcumasbiofertilizer hasbeenincreasinglyidentifiedinrecentyears.Oftentheefficacy ofthesebacteriaisassessedonthebasisofcropresponseswithout knowingthesurvival,persistenceandcompetitiveabilityofthein troducedstrain.Inoculat…     

Studies on Rhizospheric Mycoflora of Tea (Camellia sinensis):In vitro Antagonism with Dominant Bacteria

The rhizospheres of established tea bushes have some specificcharacteristics which are associated with the long lived nature of teaplants,viz.,negative rhizospheric effect,lowering of soil pH,antagonistic activities among microbial communities and dominan…     

Butachlor Degradation in Tropical Soils: Effect of Application Rate,Biotic-Abiotic Interactions and Soil Conditions

The degradative characteristics of butachlor (N-Butoxymethyl-2-chloro-2′,6′-diethyla- cetanilide) were studied under controlled laboratory conditions in clay loam alluvial (AL) soil (Typic udifluvent) and coastal saline (CS) soil (Typic endoaquept) from rice cultivated fields. The application rates included field rate (FR), 2-times FR (2FR) and 10-times FR (10FR). The incubation study was carried out at 30°C with and without decomposed cow manure (DCM) at 60% of maximum water holding capacity (WHC) and waterlogged soil condition. The half-life values depended on the soil types and initial concentrations of butachlor. Butachlor degraded faster in AL soil and in soil amended with DCM under waterlogged condition. Microbial degradation is the major avenue of butachlor degradation from soils.     

发展减少能源消费所带来的环境影响:能源效率在清洁生产中的作用

工业界提高能源效率、削减污染的活动起始于1970年代.但这些活动通常是各自独立地开展的.合理使用能源的要求以及要求采取预防性措施削减污染促使人们发起并推广清洁生产.本文讨论了把清洁生产能力建设方法结合到专业培训课程、学术课程之中的方式.     

Microbial Biomass,P-Nutrition,and Enzymatic Activities of Wheat Soil in Response to Phosphorus Enriched Organic and Inorganic Manures

Compost was prepared from wheat straw enriched with Rajasthan rock phosphate and Aspergillus awamori. The resulting phospho-compost along with phosphorus enriched FYM, mineral fertilizer (rock phosphate) and super phosphate were evaluated for their individual contribution in improving organic matter status, P availability, and enzymatic activities of soil under wheat crop grown in a micro plot. The results showed that total organic carbon, nitrogen, microbial biomass, and humus content (an index of organic matter status of soil) of soil was highest when farmyard manure (FYM) after its enrichment with 12.5% rock phosphate was applied. Microbial enriched phospho-compost was the product yielding highest soil available phosphorus, phosphorus uptake, urease, and cellulase activities. However, FYM amended with 25% rock phosphate resulted in the greatest enhancement of β-glucosidase. Measured parameters indicated a sure improvement of chemical and biological activities of soil after the application of phosphorus enriched organic amendments compared to the commercial fertilizer commonly used by the Indian farmers.     

Phototransformation of Alphacypermethrin as Thin Film on Glass and Soil Surface∗

Photodegradation of alphacypermethrin ((RS)-α cyano-3-phenoxy benzyl (1RS) cis-3-(2,2,dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethyl cyclopropane carboxylate) was studied as a thin film on glass surface and on black and red soil surfaces. A number of photoproducts from glass surfaces have been isolated, characterized and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). However, only two of them viz. 3-phenoxy benzyl alcohol and [2,2-dichlorovinyl-3(2,2,dimethyl) cyclopropane carboxylate] could be identified from both the soil. Rate of photodegradation on glass and soil surface under UV and sunlight followed first order kinetics with significant correlation coefficients. The rate of photodegradation was greater on black than on red soil.