Increasing population and declining biological resources in the context of global change and globalization

In the context of over-consumption of natural resources in the name of development and rapid industrialization by a small section of the human population that is rapidly growing, the world is currently faced with a variety of environmental uncertainties. 'Global change' covering a whole variety of ecological issues, and 'globalization' in an economic sense, are two major phenomena that are responsible for these uncertainties. There is increasing evidence to suggest that the developing countries more than the developed, particularly the marginalized traditional (those living close to nature and natural resources) societies would be the worst sufferers. In order to cope with this problem in a situation where the traditional societies have to cope with rapidly depleting biodiversity on which they are dependant for their livelihood, there is an urgent need to explore additional pathways for sustainable management of natural resources and societal development. Such pathways should be based on a landscape management strategy, that takes into consideration the rich traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) that these societies have. This is critical because TEK is the connecting link between conservation and sustainable development. This paper explores the possibilities in this direction through a balanced approach to development, that links the 'traditional' with the 'modern', in a location-specific way

Sustainable mountain development: The Himalayan tragedy

Mountain systems in India, including the Himalayan region are characterized by highly complex socio-ecological systems, with rich cultural diversity linked with equally rich species of biological diversity. With a large number of ethnic societies having their own social, economic and cultural attributes placed in a highly heterogeneous mountain environment, any conservation-linked developmental initiative has to be based upon a value system that they understand, appreciate and therefore can participate. While textbook-based 'formal knowledge' has its value in this effort, the rich traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) derived through an experiential process and available with local communities forms a powerful connecting link between ecological and social systems. Converting TEK, often seen as location-specific into broad generalizations that are applicable across socio-ecological systems was the major step that was undertaken by this author to convert research results into policy formulations and developmental initiatives, as illustrated here. In the ultimate analysis, developmental initiatives that link cultural diversity with biological diversity are seen as the basis for ensuring human security in these socio-ecologically fragile mountain systems

The science behind rotational bush fallow agriculture system (jhum)

Rotational bush fallow agriculture variously termed as shifting agriculture, slash and burn agriculture are commonly known in India as jhum is a traditional agricultural system of the humid tropics and is extensively practised by the tribes of the north-eastern hill region. There is a renewed interest in this agricultural system as it has so much to offer in terms of concepts and ideas to modern agricultural organization. The science behind jhum is based on intuitive experience of the farmer based on long tradition. This paper looks at the science behind jhum with particular emphasis on the ecological and economic significance of mixed cropping, recycling of resources within the system and between jhum and animal husbandry, the non-weed concept weed potential under different cycles of jhum, and nutrient cycling. The distortions brought about by the shortening of the jhum cycle to 4-5 yr is considered. Alternate strategies for development with jhum as the focal point, with suitable modifications but without the present-day distortions, have been considered

Towards a New Spatial Representation of Bone Remodeling

Irregular bone remodeling is associated with a number of bone diseases such as osteoporosis and multiple myeloma. Computational and mathematical modeling can aid in therapy and treatment as well as understanding fundamental biology. Different approaches to modeling give insight into different aspects of a phenomena so it is useful to have an arsenal of various computational and mathematical models. Here we develop a mathematical representation of bone remodeling that can effectively describe many aspects of the complicated geometries and spatial behavior observed. There is a sharp interface between bone and marrow regions. Also the surface of bone moves in and out, i.e. in the normal direction, due to remodeling. Based on these observations we employ the use of a level-set function to represent the spatial behavior of remodeling. We elaborate on a temporal model for osteoclast and osteoblast population dynamics to determine the change in bone mass which influences how the interface between bone and marrow changes. We exhibit simulations based on our computational model that show the motion of the interface between bone and marrow as a consequence of bone remodeling. The simulations show that it is possible to capture spatial behavior of bone remodeling in complicated geometries as they occur \emph{in vitro} and \emph{in vivo}. By employing the level set approach it is possible to develop computational and mathematical representations of the spatial behavior of bone remodeling. By including in this formalism further details, such as more complex cytokine interactions and accurate parameter values, it is possible to obtain simulations of phenomena related to bone remodeling with spatial behavior much as \emph{in vitro} and \emph{in vivo}. This makes it possible to perform \emph{in silica} experiments more closely resembling experimental observations.Comment: Math. Biosci. Eng., 9(2), 201

Canonical representation for electrons and its application to the Hubbard model

A new representation for electrons is introduced, in which the electron operators are written in terms of a spinless fermion and the Pauli operators. This representation is canonical, invertible and constraint-free. Importantly, it simplifies the Hubbard interaction. On a bipartite lattice, the Hubbard model is reduced to a form in which the exchange interaction emerges simply by decoupling the Pauli subsystem from the spinless fermion bath. This exchange correctly reproduces the large $U$ superexchange. Also derived, for $U=\pm\infty$, is the Hamiltonian to study Nagaoka ferromagnetism. In this representation, the infinite-$U$ Hubbard problem becomes elegant and easier to handle. Interestingly, the ferromagnetism in Hubbard model is found to be related to the gauge invariance of the spinless fermions. Generalization of this representation for the multicomponent fermions, a new representation for bosons, the notion of a `soft-core' fermion, and some interesting unitary transformations are introduced and discussed in the appendices.Comment: 10+ pages, 3 Figure

Weed-crop behaviour in pure and mixed stands of maize and Echinochloa colona link

The interference between maize and Echinochloa colona was studied by growing the two species in pure and mixed stands under varied nutritional levels in the soil. Both the species responded to density stress in pure stands by mortality and plasticity. Density dependent mortality was comparatively higher for maize than for E. colona. The higher mortality rate of maize was related to the higher growth rate in this species. The dry matter production was also more sensitive to density stress for maize than for E. colona. The generally higher mortality in the more fertile soil was explained as due to the better expression of genotypic individual differences and the consequent elimination of the weaker individuals by more vigorous ones. In mixed stands, whilst the reciprocal effects of the weed and the crop were brought out due to suitable experimental design, the effect of the weed on the crop was less marked as compared to the reverse effect. This was due to differences in size and growth habit of the two competing species. Whilst the effect of the weed on the crop may be purely a competition by roots for nutrients from the soil the reverse effect could be primarily due to shading of the weed by the crop. The plasticity and mortality responses of the two competing species are discussed and it was shown that: (i) the effect of the weed on the crop was enhanced due to an early start that the former may receive in the mixture and the adverse effect was realized in cob characters and (ii) the interference from the weed to the crop is a continued risk throughout the life cycle and that longer the period of association between the two, greater the damage done to crop yield

Effect of Ni-doping on magnetism and superconductivity in Eu0.5K0.5Fe2As2

The effect of Ni-doping on the magnetism and superconductivity in Eu0.5K0.5Fe2As2 has been studied through a systematic investigation of magnetic and superconducting properties of Eu0.5K0.5(Fe1-xNix)2As2 (x = 0, 0.03, 0.05, 0.08 and 0.12) compounds by means of dc and ac magnetic susceptibilities, electrical resistivity and specific heat measurements. Eu0.5K0.5Fe2As2 is known to exhibit superconductivity with superconducting transition temperature Tc as high as 33 K. The Ni-doping leads to a rapid decrease in Tc; Tc is reduced to 23 K with 3% Ni-doping, and 8% Ni-doping suppresses the superconductivity to below 1.8 K. In 3% Ni-doped sample Eu0.5K0.5(Fe0.97Ni0.03)2As2 superconductivity coexists with short range ordering of Eu2+ magnetic moments at Tm ~ 6 K. The suppression of superconductivity with Ni-doping is accompanied with the emergence of a long range antiferromagnetic ordering with TN = 8.5 K and 7 K for Eu0.5K0.5(Fe0.92Ni0.08)2As2 and Eu0.5K0.5(Fe0.88Ni0.12)2As2, respectively. The temperature and field dependent magnetic measurements for x = 0.08 and 0.12 samples reflect the possibility of a helical magnetic ordering of Eu2 moments. We suspect that the helimagnetism of Eu spins could be responsible for the destruction of superconductivity as has been observed in Co-doped EuFe2As2. The most striking feature seen in the resistivity data for x = 0.08 is the reappearance of the anomaly presumably due to spin density wave transition at around 60 K. This could be attributed to the compensation of holes (K-doping at Eu-site) by the electrons (Ni-doping at Fe site). The anomaly associated with spin density wave further shifts to 200 K for x = 0.12 for which the electron doping has almost compensated the holes in the system.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure