Mitigation options for enteric methane emissions from dairy animals: an evaluation for potential CDM projects in India

Enteric fermentation in livestock is an important source of anthropogenic methane emission. India, with its large livestock population, is estimated to contribute 10.8 Tg of methane annually from this source. An evaluation of various methane mitigation options indicate that some of the available technologies like, diet supplementation with feed additive and molasses urea product are highly cost effective in reducing enteric methane emissions. The gross cost of methane abatement from use of feed additive monensin premix ranges from €0.6 to €1.8/ton CO2 equivalent, for buffaloes and indigenous cows, respectively. The gross cost of enteric methane mitigation from supplementing molasses urea products and dietary manipulation through increased concentrate feeding is much higher. But, as the monetary value of the increased milk production on application of these technologies was higher than the annual cost of reduction strategy for buffaloes and crossbred cows, the net costs of the former mitigation option was negative for buffaloes (€-28.1/ton CO2) and of the latter for crossbred cows (€-7.0/ton CO2,). The availability of cost-effective technologies suggest that the methane mitigation projects under CDM, can be planned in the Indian dairy sector to the mutual benefit of countries with emission targets and India. The vast dairy animal population of India and resulting methane emissions provide good opportunity these countries to buy reasonable quantum of emission credits from projects in India. Such projects will work to the benefit to India by providing a tool for technology transfer to increase animal productivity and attract capital that assists in more prosperous and environmental friendly milk production in the country

Light and electron microscopic findings in five cases of cryoglobulinemic glomerulonephritis

Renal tissue from five patients with cryoglobulinemia was studied by light and electron microscopy and immunofluorescence. None of the histologic features observed at the light microscopic level seems to be specific for cryoglobulinemia. Electron microscopic investigations have shown very large electron dense deposits in almost every examined lobule in all cases. The deposits displayed two main patterns; a homogeneous texture in two cases and tubular or annular structures in three cases. The patients with typically structured deposits had IgG-IgM cryoglobulinemia (2 cases) or monoclonal IgM cryoglobulinemia (1 case). The presence of IgM in cryoglobulinemia may be the cause of the peculiar structure of the deposits