Ethnobotanical Studies of the Tarai Region of Kumaun, Uttarakhand, India

An ethnobotanical study was conducted during 2008–2010 in the central tarai region of Kumaun (also known as Kumaon) Himalaya in Northern India to highlight the uses of the diverse flora. The study sites included Lalkuan in Nainital district and Kichha Tehsil (covering Pantnagar) of district Udham Singh Nagar, as these occupy the major part of central tarai and have undergone massive development and settlement of people of diverse culture. The entire study area consisted of three sites and eight communities. Interviews were conducted with knowledgeable persons in the study area. A total of 206 angiosperm species recorded in this study were found to be used for medicinal, economic (aromatic, timber, spices, fuel, condiments, cosmetics, etc.), fodder, firewood, timber, food, spiritual, or some other purpose. The information was collected both from migrant and local people

Environmental Justice and Information Technologies: Overcoming the Information Access Paradox in Urban Communities

Scientific studies and resident testimony suggest that urban residents in low-income and minority communities have been subject to an unequal burden of environmental pollution and inequitable environmental enforcement practices. A key component of the equitable development and implementation of environmental policies is the participation of citizens and community-based organizations in the policy process. Such participation rests upon equitable access to agency-generated environmental information and effective use of that information by citizens. This article focuses on the adoption of Internet technologies by environmental agencies as a mechanism for disseminating information and the implications for low-income and minority residents in urban communities. A framework is developed to guide a programmatic response to overcome these implications. The results from several community-based projects are described and analyzed for their capacity-building effectiveness. Analysis of the projects indicates improvement in community capacity for information access and use, which bolstered community participation in the environmental decision-making process

Environmental Justice and Information Technologies: Overcoming the Information Access Paradox in Urban Communities

Scientific studies and resident testimony suggest that urban residents in low-income and minority communities have been subject to an unequal burden of environmental pollution and inequitable environmental enforcement practices. A key component of the equitable development and implementation of environmental policies is the participation of citizens and community-based organizations in the policy process. Such participation rests upon equitable access to agency-generated environmental information and effective use of that information by citizens. This article focuses on the adoption of Internet technologies by environmental agencies as a mechanism for disseminating information and the implications for low-income and minority residents in urban communities. A framework is developed to guide a programmatic response to overcome these implications. The results from several community-based projects are described and analyzed for their capacity-building effectiveness. Analysis of the projects indicates improvement in community capacity for information access and use, which bolstered community participation in the environmental decision-making process

Vaginal leiomyoma, post hysterectomy, mimicking vault prolapse: case report

Leiomyomas are common benign smooth muscle tumours of the uterus. Leiomyoma of the vagina are very rare with only about 300 reported cases. Correct diagnosis and differentiation from urethral lesions are important but is usually difficult on clinical examination alone. A 40-year P3L3, with a previous history of abdominal hysterectomy 5 years back, for multiple fibroids presented with complaints of a mass descending per-vagina since the last 2 years. Since the last 6 months she had dyspareunia, dysuria and perineal discomfort. On external appearance the mass looked like a vault prolapse. However, on vaginal examination, it appeared as a single well circumscribed mass arising from the anterior vaginal wall and the vault. Transvaginal sonography showed a hypoechoic mass arising from the anterior vaginal wall of dimension 50×54×63 mm pressing on the urethra. Contrast CT revealed a rounded homogeneous well-defined soft tissue density mass lesion measuring approximately 63×52 mm in the region of the vaginal vault interposed between the bladder base and the rectum. Bilateral ovaries and adnexa appeared normal. Surgical excision of the tumour through the vagina was done. Histopathology confirmed leiomyoma.  The diagnosis of vaginal leiomyoma is based on careful examination and preoperative imaging both by ultrasonography and a CT scan/MRI for ascertaining its location, extent, its relationship to adjacent structures and characterization before attempting surgical excision. The correct clinical diagnosis of a vaginal fibroid is frequently overlooked in favour of much more common urethral diverticulum

Probing the hot circumgalactic medium of external galaxies in X-ray absorption II: a luminous spiral galaxy at z≈0.225z\approx 0.225

The circumgalactic medium (CGM) is the most massive baryonic component of a spiral galaxy, shock heated to about $10^6$K for an $\rm L^{\star}$ galaxy. The CGM of the Milky Way has been well-characterized through X-ray absorption line spectroscopy. However, the paucity of bright background sources makes it challenging to probe the CGM of external galaxies. Previously, using broad OVI absorption as a signpost, we successfully detected the CGM of one galaxy in X-rays. Here we report on the detection of the OVII $K\alpha$ absorption line at the redshift of a spiral galaxy at $z\approx0.225$ using 1.2 Ms of Chandra observations. This is a robust detection, clearly showing the presence of the hot gas. The mass in the hot phase is at least an order of magnitude larger than that in the cooler phases detected in the UV. The presence of hot gas $116h^{-1}$kpc from the center of this galaxy provides credence to the existence of the extended CGM of the Milky Way. There has been a report of the detection of OVII absorption from the warm-hot intergalactic medium in this sightline using stacking analysis on an older dataset. We argue that the absorption line is from the CGM of the $z\approx0.225$ galaxy instead.Comment: To be published in MNRAS Letter