Environmental Impacts of Intensive Cardamom (Small) Cultivation in Indian Cardamom Hills: The Need for Sustainable and Efficient Practices

The recent intensification of small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton) farming, and the prospects of intensification, will have the major detrimental impacts on the Indian cardamom hills (ICH) ecosystem. The increased (4 fold) cardamom production during the past 30 years was associated with a several fold increase in the consumption of fertilizers and pesticides as well as drastic reduction in erstwhile rainforest land and canopy cover. Based on simple linear extension of past trends, and the anticipated future demand of cardamom would be associated with approximately 3 fold increase in both nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer rates as well as pesticides ( 4-5 fold increase in number of spray rounds) and further reduction in forest canopy cover (40%). These projected changes would have dramatic impacts on the functioning of the cardamom ecosystem because of complete loss of biodiversity and land and forest degradation. The largest impacts would be on fresh water ecosystem, which would be greatly eutrophied by high rates of nitrogen and phosphorus release from cardamom and tea plantations, and contaminated with various toxic pesticides. These detrimental environmental impacts of intensive cardamom agriculture can be minimized only if there is much more efficient use and recycling of nutrients between forest and soil

Bioactivity in Echinoderms

Man in his pursuit for knowledge of newer and better drugs for eradicating diseases to which he is prone to has turned to the sea, which is a more potential treasure house of drugs due to its vast and diverse range of marine life. Many marine organisms exhibit toxicity as well as bioactivity. Some are toxic and lethal to terrestrial animals as well as to the man. The Phylum Echinodermata consists of sea cucumbers (holothurians), star lishes and sea urchins. These are known for their toxicity. This report deals with the results of the screening of 10 species of echinoderms collected from Gulf of Mannar area for biotoxicity to fishes and mice and also for hemolytic activity. The results showed that all the parts of Holothuria atra H. spinifera and Behadschia marmorata exhibited a high degree of toxicity to fish fingerlings and mice and also destructive action on erythrocyte cells

Cross sectional, qualitative thematic analysis of patient perspectives of disease impact in juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis

BACKGROUND: Chronic health conditions in children can have a significant impact on their quality of life. The aim of this study was to explore the subjective experience of children and young people being treated for chronic, non-infectious uveitis associated with a systemic disease such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. METHODS: A semi-structured interview was conducted with 10 children and young people aged between 6 and 18 years of age and their parents. RESULTS: Preliminary thematic analysis indicated that both the treatment and complications of the disorder have a significant impact on the quality of life and emotional well-being of patients, not only in terms of the discomfort experienced but also in perceptions of social isolation, anxiety and sense of injustice. CONCLUSION: This study shows that themes including "impact on school", "social factors" and "emotional reactions" are important domains influencing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children with chronic uveitis. Inclusion of questions relating to these domains should be considered in future uveitis-specific tools examining HRQoL in these patients

Clinical features & risk factors associated with cryptosporidiosis in HIV infected adults in India

Background & objectives: Cryptosporidiosis is a leading cause of protracted, life threatening diarrhoea in HIV infected patients. Although data on prevalence are available for Indian patients, no information on risk factors for transmission exists. We therefore undertook this study to identify risk factors for transmission of cryptosporidiosis in HIV infected adults. Methods: Both symptomatic (diarrhoeal) and asymptomatic HIV infected patients were screened for cryptosporidiosis. All Cryptosporidium spp. positive cases were enrolled in the study and interviewed to record socio-demographic information, water supply and animal contact. Data were analysed to study clinical features and potential association with species and genotype. Results: Of the 28 cryptosporidial infections identified on screening 111 HIV positive patients with diarrhoea, 10 (35.7%) had chronic diarrhoea, 14 (50%) had associated fever and 8 (28.6%) had nausea. Symptomatic patients had a significantly higher number of co-infections with other enteric parasites (P=0.04) than 20 asymptomatics of 423 HIV positive individuals screened. Eleven of 17 (64%) patients with potentially zoonotic infections had diarrhoea. Patients with zoonotic species (64%) also tended to have fever more frequently than those infected with C. hominis (58%). Association between area of residence, rural or urban, water source and contact with animals and acquisition of cryptosporidiosis was not statistically significant. Interpretation & conclusions: Cryptosporidiosis is an important cause of morbidity in HIV infected individuals in India, resulting in chronic diarrhoea. Risk factors for potentially zoonotic transmission of cryptosporidiosis were described in this study, but larger studies need to be done for a clearer understanding of the transmission dynamics of different cryptosporidial species in developing countries

Environmental Impacts of Intensive Cardamom (Small) Cultivation in Indian Cardamom Hills: The Need for Sustainable and Efficient Practices

The recent intensification of small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton) farming, and the prospects of intensification, will have the major detrimental impacts on the Indian cardamom hills (ICH) ecosystem. The increased (4 fold) cardamom production during the past 30 years was associated with a several fold increase in the consumption of fertilizers and pesticides as well as drastic reduction in erstwhile rainforest land and canopy cover. Based on simple linear extension of past trends, and the anticipated future demand of cardamom would be associated with approximately 3 fold increase in both nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer rates as well as pesticides ( 4-5 fold increase in number of spray rounds) and further reduction in forest canopy cover (40%). These projected changes would have dramatic impacts on the functioning of the cardamom ecosystem because of complete loss of biodiversity and land and forest degradation. The largest impacts would be on fresh water ecosystem, which would be greatly eutrophied by high rates of nitrogen and phosphorus release from cardamom and tea plantations, and contaminated with various toxic pesticides. These detrimental environmental impacts of intensive cardamom agriculture can be minimized only if there is much more efficient use and recycling of nutrients between forest and soil

Biotoxicity in Marine Organisms

The results from the screening of 118 marine organisms (corals, alcyoniarians, mollusks, echinoderms, flagellates) found in the coastal waters of India for their toxicity on fish and mice fingerlings as well as their hemolytic activities are presented

Effect of elevated temperature on mechanical properties of normal strength concrete: An overview

Concrete is frequently used in construction owing to its advantageous mechanical characteristics, including its high compressive strength, durability, workability, and fire resistance. Nevertheless, sustained exposure to fire can result in these qualities deteriorating, which poses a serious risk to concrete buildings. As a result, it is critical that researchers investigate how exposure to fire affects the mechanical characteristics of concrete in order to address this problem. Temperature, environmental conditions, the composition of the concrete mixture, and other factors all have an impact on the thermal and mechanical characteristics of concrete. This work seeks to give an overview of how exposure to fire affects the mechanical characteristics of concrete and to highlight areas that require further research. According to the study, there are three main stages that normal concrete strength goes through. The first stage sees a slight increase in strength between 20 and 300°Celsius, followed by a sharp decrease between 300 and 800°Celsius, and finally a complete loss of strength above 800°. Moreover, the fire response of concrete is strongly influenced by factors including the kind of aggregate, moisture content, concrete grade, additives, heating rate, and heating time. By making optimal use of admixtures, the fire behavior can be significantly improved

Biotoxicity in echinoderms

Ten species of echinoderms viz. Holothuria atra, H. scabra, Bahadschia marmorata, Actinocucumls typhus, Pentoceraster regulus, Tropiometra carinata, Astropecten indiciis, Goniodiscaster scaber and Stomopnemtes variolaris have been screened for the biotoxicity of their various organs. Four series of bioassays were carried out. They were tested for toxicity to Chanos and Tilapia fingerlings, toxicity to mice and hemolytic activity. The gradation strongest to weakest toxic species is H. atra (both body wall and viscera), B. marmorata (both body wall and cuvierian tubules), H. spinifera (both body wall and viscera), H. scabra (body wall alone), P. regulus (body wall alone), A. typicus (body wall a lone), A. indicus, H. scabra (viscera), P. regulus (viscera), S. variolaris (viscera), G. scaber, T. carinata and A. typicus. Further detailed analysis is being pursued on isolation aod characterisation in order to determine the variation In toxicity and the causative factor responsible for the same