ID: 51502
Title: Effect of strychnos potatorum Linn. Seed Extracts on Water Samples from Different Sources and with Diverse Properties
Author: Gagan Sarawgi, Aanchal Kamra, Neha Suri, Ashmeen Kaur and Indira P. Sarethy
Editor: V.Subramanian
Year: 2009
Publisher: Capital Publishing Company, July 2009, Vol 6, No 3
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution
Keywords: Strychnos potatorum, coagulation, flocculation, polluted water, microbial count
Abstract: In developing countries, ground water, which is contaminated with domestic and industrial waste, is commonly used for drinking. Colour, turbidity and microbial content affect quality of potable water. Strychnos potatorum (Linn.) seeds are known to function as coagulants and clarify water. Our study investigated the effect of the seed powder (10-40 mg L-1) on water samples of varying colour, turbidity and microbial content. Samples studied were of river Yamuna, industrial effluent, a recreational pond, tap water and distilled water. pH was maintained within + 5 units while alkalinity was within one unit, showing that taste parameters were not affected. There was an 82-98% decrease in absorbance, denoting the seed ' s clarifying effect. The reduction in heterotrophic microbial load was 99% when 10 mg L-1 of seed powder was added. Ames test demonstrated non-toxicity of the seed at the concentrations tested. This simple method can help as an effective and affordable pre-treatment method and bring down the costs of secondary treatment.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51501
Title: Heavy Metal Pollution in Sediments at Ship Breaking Area of Bangladesh
Author: Noman Ahmad Siddiquee, Selina Parween, M.M.A.Quddus and Prabal Barua
Editor: V.Subramanian
Year: 2009
Publisher: Capital Publishing Company, July 2009, Vol 6, No 3
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution
Keywords: Trace metal, affected area, control site, heavy metal, alarming stage, ship breaking area
Abstract: The research was carried out to assess the trace metal concentration in sediments of ship breaking area in Bangladesh. The study areas were separated into Ship breaking Zone and Reference Site for comparative analysis. Metals like iron (Fe) was found at 11,932 to 41,361.71 ?g. g-1 in the affected site and 3393.37 ?g. g-1 in the control site. Manganese (Mn) varied from 2.32 to 8.25 ?g. g-1 in the affected site whereas it was recorded as 1.8 ?g. g-1 in the control area. Chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb) also varied from 22.89 to 86.72 ?g. g-1 ; 23.12 to 48.6; 83.78 to 142.85 and 36.78 to 147.83 ?g. g-1 respectively in the affected site whereas these were recorded as 19, 3.98, 22.22 and 8.82 ?g. g-1 in the control site. Copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) concentration varied from 21.05 to 39.85, 0.57 to 0.94 and 0.05 to 0.11 ?g. g-1 in the affected site and 33.0, 0.115 and 0.01 ?g. g-1 in the control site. It may be concluded that heavy metal pollution in sediments at ship breaking area of Bangladesh is at alarming stage.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51500
Title: Analysis of Sediment Contamination in the Harbour of Skikda
Author: M.Kherouf, R. Mansouri and M.Guenfoud
Editor: V.Subramanian
Year: 2009
Publisher: Capital Publishing Company, July 2009, Vol 6, No 3
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution
Keywords: Harbour of Skikda, sedimentation, contamination, risk levels, pollutant substances
Abstract: The aim of this work is the study of the vast pollution in harbours occurred due to the high intense hydrodynamism, which involves the sedimentation of pollutant substances. Some of these substances could have a toxic character, like heavy metals. In this work, chemical analyses were carried out on samples taken from the studied area. The results were treated using an approach, which enables us to distinguish the dredged sediment, according to their contamination level, and their potential toxicity. Using a simplified method, the already mentioned approach allows the determination of the risk levels, taking into account the actual codes, and also makes help to differentiate between dredged sediments, thus bringing a decision-making aid for managers.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51499
Title: Joint Forest Management: Issues and Experiences.
Author: None
Editor: P.Balaram
Year: 2009
Publisher: Current Science, Vol 97, No 2, 25 July 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: None
Abstract: None
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51498
Title: Indian Institute of Science Campus: A Botanist ' s Delight
Author: K.Sankar Rao
Editor: P.Balaram
Year: 2009
Publisher: Current Science, Vol 97, No 2, 25 July 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: None
Abstract: None
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51497
Title: Episodes of phosphorus accumulation in the Cauvery Basin, South India: implications on palaeoclimate, productivity and weathering
Author: Muthuvairavasamy Ramkumar,Doris Stiiben and Zsolt Berner
Editor: P.Balaram
Year: 2009
Publisher: Current Science, Vol 97, No 2, 25 July 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: Palaeoclimate, phosphorus, positive and negative excursion, weathering
Abstract: The Barremian-Danian strata of the Cauvery basin, exposed in the erstwhile Tiruchirapalli district, record three positive excursions of phosphorus, namely, during Albian, Cenomanian and Maastrichtian respectively, and a negative excursion across the Cretaceous- Tertiary boundary. Corroboration of the depositional history of the strata and comparison with the trends of relative sea level, Si, Sr and Corg revealed that while the Albian episode was related with reduced inflow of siliciclastics and prevalent oxygen minimum owing to the sea-level highstand, the other two positive excursions resulted from sea-level lowstand and concomitant redistribution of intraformational sediments. The negative excursion across the Cretaceous-Tertiary was due to higher faunal turnover.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51496
Title: Estimation of contribution of southwest monsoon rain to Bhagirathi River near Gaumukh, western Himalayas, India, using oxygen -18 isotopes
Author: S.P.Rai, Bhishm Kumar and Pratap Singh
Editor: P.Balaram
Year: 2009
Publisher: Current Science, Vol 97, No 2, 25 July 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: Glacier, ice, monsoon, snow, stable isotopes
Abstract: Gaumukh is the snout of the Gangotri glacier located at an altitude of 4000 m in the Himalayas from where the snow and glacier-fed Bhagirathi River emerges.Snow, ice, river discharge and rainfall samples were collected for stable isotope (?18O) analysis along with other hydrometeorological data during the ablation period (May to October) in 2004 and 2005 at Bhojwasa, 3 km downstream of Gaumukh. The variation in river isotopic composition (?18O) with time shows the varied percentage of snow, glacier and rain contribution in the flow of the Bhagirathi River during the ablation period. The discharge of the Bhagirathi River shows positive correlation with temperature and negative correlation with the rain event. The enriched ?18Ovalues of river flow (-12 to -13.0%) from May to June and its depletion afterwards reveal that snowmelt dominates the river discharge during May and June while ice/glacier melt domiates in the subsequent months of the ablation period. The contribution of rain was found maximum up to 40% of the total discharge of the river on the day of the rainfall. The complete hydrograph separated out for three rain events occurred in July and September 2005, revealed the rain contribution to the tune of 14-15% of the total river discharge. The contribution of the total rainfall which occurred during the ablation period was estimated to be only 3% of the total discharge. The results show that the melting rate of snow and glacier decreases due to decrease in temperature during the rainy period. This fact clearly explains the phenomenon of decrease in overall discharge of snow and glacier-fed rivers during the rainfall period at higher altitudes or near the snout.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51495
Title: Genetic diversity and conservation of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L., Fabaceae) landraces in Nilgiris
Author: Franklin Charles Jose, M.M.Sudheer Mohammed, George Thomas, George Varghese, N. Selvaraj and M. Dorai
Editor: P.Balaram
Year: 2009
Publisher: Current Science, Vol 97, No 2, 25 July 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: Genetic variation, germplasm conservation, multivariate analysis, Phaseolus vulgaris, RAPD markers
Abstract: Genetic diversity was studied among 20 common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) landraces collected from different traditional farming villages of Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu, India, with Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Evaluation of genetic diversity is essential for conservation, management and to trace the hybrids. Thirteen RAPD primers were selected from an initial screening with 72 primers. The PCR product revealed 102 bands, out of which 63 were found to be polymorphic (63.5%). Jaccard ' s pair-wise similarity coefficient (0.50 to 0.95) indicating an intra-specific genetic variation prevails in landraces of common bean in the Nilgiris biosphere reserve. No two accessions had a similarity of one or a distance of zero, showing that there were no duplicate entries. A dendrogram of the relationship of accessions constructed based on Jaccard ' s coefficients of 102 RAPD markers using the average distance method (UPGMA), separated the accessions into two major clusters, A and B, with Mesoamerican and Andean gene pools respectively. Principal coordinate analysis of the same dataset revealed similar results as those of the dendrogram, with the first two components accounting for 61.8% of the total variation. Among the 20 landraces, seven were Mesoamerican origin, 11 Andean origin, and two were possible recombinants between the two gene pools. A correlation was observed between RAPD dendrogram clustering and seed weight. The common bean population of the Nilgiris is highly diverse and the Nilgiris can be considered as a secondary centre of genetic diversity of common bean. A better knowledge of genetic aspects of common bean will help in genetic improvement and conservation programmes for its endangered landraces in the Nilgiris.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51494
Title: Biotechnology sector in India: strengths, limitations, remedies and outlook
Author: S.Natesh and M.K.Bhan
Editor: P.Balaram
Year: 2009
Publisher: Current Science, Vol 97, No 2, 25 July 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: Barriers, Indian biotechnology sector, limitations, outlook, strengths
Abstract: The establishment of an independent Department of Biotechnology within the Ministry of Science and Technology as early as 1986 helped in creating a scientific workforce, a large infrastructure network, and strong support to R & D in life sciences. The private sector with several home-grown companies, meanwhile, has done well mainly leveraging its strengths in services and manufacturing. Its strong impact has been on promoting low cost vaccines and other novel healthcare products and forcing price reduction on bioproducts of MNCs. Clearly, it is time to take decisive steps towards discovery and innovation and yet in doing so, India faces several barriers. In September 2007, the government approved the National Biotechnology Development Stratergy, which seeks to build coherence and connectivity between disciplines, bring together the variegated skills across sectors to enhance synergy and address a number of challenges. Many of the promises made in the strategy have already been acted upon. The national government has taken several bold and far-reaching steps on a hitherto unprecedented scale. In that sense, India is engaged in a phase of ' operation rational redesign ' of its science enterprise, firmly committed to knowledge creation and application. Whether and how far it succeeds depends on a number of factors. Judging by recent developments there is reason to believe that the country will rise to the occasion.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51493
Title: Disturbance, diversity and stability of ecological systems-the need for a uniform hypothesis
Author: Shijo Joseph and K.Anitha
Editor: P.Balaram
Year: 2009
Publisher: Current Science, Vol 97, No 2, 25 July 2009
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Current Science
Keywords: None
Abstract: None
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51492
Title: Butterflies of Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctury, Assam
Author: Kushal Choudhury and Sonali Ghosh
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Butterflies, Environmental factors, cross-pollination, Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary, alpha-diversity
Abstract: Butterflies are charismatic creatures and perhaps the most conspicuous and colorful insects of nature which belong to the order Lepidoptera. They have been referred to as flagship taxa. Butterflies play an important role in helping cross-pollination of flowering plants and a few of them, in their larval stage, act as pests of certain economically important plants (Balasubramanian, 1992). Butterflies show distinct patterns of habitat utilization. Nature of vegetation and climatic factors like temperature, wind, moisture and humidity play important roles on their distribution, feeding and reproductive behaviour. Butterflies are regarded as indicator species because of their sensitivity to even the slightest change in environmental factors (Sparrow et al., 1994; Haribal, 1992). They are the important food component of birds, reptiles, spiders and predatory insects (Kittur et al., 2006). Very little study has been done so far on the butterflies of the North Eastern region. Earlier, many scientists viz., Tytler (1911-1915), Varshney and Chanda (1971), Haribal (1992) published a list of butterflies including all families from different parts of the region, but there is no information regarding the present status of these natural beauties form this region. Therefore, this study reveals the alpha-diversity (species richness) of butterfly fauna present in Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary of Assam.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51491
Title: Prospects of Heriteria fomes plantation in Indian Sunderbans
Author: A.K.Lahiri and S.Bandopadhay
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: None
Abstract: None
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51490
Title: Constraints for people ' s participation in wasteland afforestation programme
Author: S.B.Singh
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Forestry plantation, National Forest Policy (1988),National Commission on Agriculture and guidelines of Government of India (June, 1990), wasteland
Abstract: People ' s participation in forestry plantation and its protection is not new. By the middle of the 1900s, shrinking of land under forests reached an alarming rate and around 1960 talks for people ' s interest started appearing in forestry literature. During the 1970s and 1980s, people started gaining importance for their participation in plantation and protection. National Forest Policy (1988), National Commission on Agriculture and guidelines of Government of India (June, 1990) have successively paved the way for linking people with the forest plantations and in development of wasteland. People ' s participation in the afforestation now becomes a regular feature. This paper deals with legal, administrative, social and policy aspects of constraints for people ' s participation in wastelands afforestation programme.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51489
Title: Influence of morphologically superior and inferior trees on germination, storability and seedling performance of Neem (Azadirachta indica, A. Juss) seed
Author: Devendra Kumar and Dhruv Kumar Mishra
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Neem (Azadirachta Indica, A. Juss), Morphologically Superior and Inferior Trees, Germination, Storability, Seedling Performance of Seed.
Abstract: A study was undertaken to find out the impact of physiologically superior and inferior neem (Azadirachta indica, A. Juss) trees on their seed performance in laboratory as well as in nursery. Germination percentage, mean germination time (MGT) and germination value were taken as seed parameters. Seedlings parameters taken were viz. total seedling length, number of leaves, collar diameter, total biomass and vigour index. Freshly collected seeds of both superior and inferior trees showed insignificant difference in respect of seed and seedling performance. Inferior trees showed significantly higher decline in seed performance as compared to superior trees after 30 and 60 days of storage. Seedlings raised from stored seeds of superior and inferior trees showed no effect on seedling performance. However, vigour index showed significantly lower value after storage seeds of inferior trees. Further, seed collected from inferior trees showed rapid seed deterioration in storage (P50 , 172 days) as compared to superiors (P50 , 271 days).
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None
ID: 51488
Title: Studies on ethnoveterinary uses of plant resources of Sikkim
Author: Kumar Avinash Bharati and B.L.Sharma
Editor: Dr.V.R.R.Singh
Year: 2009
Publisher: The Indian Forester, Vol 135, May 2009, No 5
Source: Centre for Ecological Science,Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore-12
Reference: None
Subject: Forestry
Keywords: Plant resources, Ethnoveterinary uses,Sikkim
Abstract: A field study was done to study and document the indigenous knowledge of various ethnic groups of Sikkim regarding animal healthcare. A large number of plants was collected and the information on their ethno-veterinary uses was gathered from local inhabitants.The information about folk medicinal use, vernacular names of plants and the parts of the plants used are documented. During the investigation, a well developed ethno-veterinary system among tribal people was observed. 19 species of plants were recorded, which are used by local people to cure various diseases and disorders. The basic aim of the study was to document knowledge and conserve these medicinal plants.
Location: 241
Literature cited 1: None
Literature cited 2: None