Helminth infection in coldwater fishes of Suru river Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, India

A helminthological survey of coldwater fishes of Ladakh was carried out from November 2007 to April 2009 (18 months). A total of 93 fishes belonging to two species viz., Schizothorax plagiostomus and Diptychus maculatus were collected and examined from different collection sites of Suru river, Kargil. A total of 2 helminth species viz., Neoechinorhynchus yalei Datta, 1936 and Rhabdochona himalayai Fotedar & Dhar, 1977 belonging to two helminth groups, i-e. Acanthocephala and Nematode were reported. It was found that out of 93 hosts examined, 31 were found infected with 43 parasites recovered in total, with an overall prevalence, mean intensity and abundance of 33.33%, 1.38 and 0.46 respectively. Distribution of helminth infection and its relation with sex and size of host was analysed. The helminth infection showed no significant relationship with sex of hosts however it showed mostly significant relation to size of host

Narrative modelling: A comparison of high and low mass dwelling solutions in Afghanistan and Peru

Displaced populations are housed in various constructions, including lightweight predesigned structures. Theoretically, self-built heavyweight structures should ensure better temperatures and be closer to cultural norms. To examine this directly for the first time, lightweight pre-designed solutions are compared with high-mass self-built alternatives in Afghanistan and Peru, via monitoring, dynamic simulation, occupant surveys, the Shelter Assessment Matrix (SAM) and ShelTherm. Lightweight solutions increase peak summer temperatures, but only by 2°C, but reduce minimum temperatures by up to 5°C. Simulations only provided a qualitatively similar time series to the monitoring, because identical homes showed a large variance in temperatures. This questions the benefit of simulation compared to approaches which concentrate on whether shelters exacerbate or ameliorate external temperatures. In addition, a dwelling provides more than comfort, it supports family life, which is best addressed by tools like SAM, not thermal simulation. Hence it might be ideal to recommend high-mass self-build if possible, and to focus modelling efforts on qualitative aspects of simulation time-series, such as whether the building suppresses or exacerbates external conditions, and equally on psycho-cultural aspects. The term narrative modelling is introduced to describe this new approach which will be of direct benefit to the humanitarian community