Long- and Short-Term Dynamics of the Wetlands in the Amboseli Savanna Ecosystem, Kenya

The wetlands of the semi-arid savanna ecosystem of Amboseli are the critical dry-season range for a diverse wildlife population, as well as for livestock and humans. Changes in the migratory patterns and increases in the population of the elephants in the ecosystem, as well as a shift in the lifestyle of the growing human population from predominantly nomadic pastoralist society to a sedentary agrarian community, has had far-reaching effects on the ecosystem and the wetlands. In this thesis, the current status of the wetlands and the changes in vegetation over the last four decades were examined using satellite imagery and long-term census data. Studies were also conducted to determine the impact of grazing by elephants and other large mammals on wetland vegetation, and the flooding patterns and extents of some of the wetlands were examined. Long-term aerial count data indicated that the wetlands that are currently protected by the Amboseli National Park have been under increasing use year-round by elephants since 1975. These wetlands showed a rapid increase in extent between 1950 and 1976. This corresponds to the elephant-driven decline in Acacia xanthophloea woodlands, which may have changed the hydrology of the area. Since then, only one of the wetlands, Longinye, has shown dynamic changes in extent. This is either the effect of the blockage of water flow by vegetation or the creation of new channels by elephants and hippopotami. The wetlands had a diverse range of wetland habitat from areas of open water with scattered tall Cyperus papyrus communities in the centre of one wetland to large expanses of seasonally inundated C. laevigatus and Cynodon dactylon dominated habitats fringing the wetlands. Most of the wetland habitats were composed of short sedges and grasses, which was shown to be the direct result of elephant grazing. Elephants tended to keep the vegetation of a control wetland short and of low biomass during both wet and dry seasons, whereas the vegetation in a treatment wetland, where elephants were excluded, showed a rapid increase in biomass and height. Other herbivores were shown to maintain conditions of short vegetation of low biomass through grazing pressure in the dry season. The impact of natural and simulated grazing on growth of the vegetation was studied and only under simulated grazing pressure was growth increased in the seasonally inundated C. dactylon grasslands, as well as the floating mat communities dominated by C. laevigatus that occur in the shallow water wetlands. This indicates that natural grazing may be detrimental either to the plants or the soil. The wetlands that are under human use had predominantly shallow water and seasonal wetland habitat. Deep water habitat with C. papyrus communities was only present in one of these wetlands, Kimana, which is also the only wetland outside the park that is used by livestock and wildlife, as well as to irrigate a large area of land around the wetland. Two other wetlands, Namelok and Lenkir that were predominantly used for irrigated agriculture, were largely composed of seasonally inundated wetland habitat. A fourth wetland, Esoitpus, has been almost completely drained and this has most likely resulted in the development of A. xanthophloea and C. dactylon dominated riverine and C. laevigatus / C. dactylon dominated seasonally inundated wetland communities. Overall, the wetlands in the park provide a measure of habitat diversity that may be useful for various invertebrate and vertebrate communities. However, the present lack of tall sedges may negatively impact the bird community. This state can be reversed by the exclusion of elephants from some wetlands for short periods of time. On the other hand, the wetlands outside the park appear to be facing rapid draw-down. Hence, there is an urgent need for sound water management practices for these wetlands

Effect of Magnetic activity on scintillation at Equatorial Region during Low Solar Activity

Single and dual frequency GPS receivers used in low-latitude regions can suffer from rapid amplitude and phase fluctuations known as scintillation. Intense signal fluctuations cause GPS receivers to stop tracking the signals from GPS satellites in a process sometimes called “loss of lock”. This may increase navigation errors or, in some cases, cause navigation failure. Data recorded from ground-based GPS scintillation monitors (GSV 4004A GPS receiver) installed at the Space Science Laboratory, Department of Physics, Barkatullah University, Bhopal (23.2ºN, 77.4ºE; Geomagnetic 14.2ºN) are used. Different phases of geomagnetic storms affect the generation and development of ionospheric irregularities differently. Results shows that occurrence of scintillation observed during summer months are relatively weak as compared to those recorded during winter and equinox months. The enhancement in magnetic activity leads to a suppression of pre-midnight scintillations during the equinox and during the winter, whereas as enhancement is observed in summer months. The generation or inhibition of irregularities during the main phase/recovery phase of a magnetic storm depends upon the location of the station and local time. Keywords: Scintillation, Geomagnetic storms, Magnetic activit

Study of Ionospheric Variability during the Storm of January, 2005 using GPS and DEMETER Satellite Measurements

The dual frequency Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver provides an opportunity to determine Total Electron Content (TEC) over the crest of equatorial ionization anomaly region Bhopal by taking advantage of the dispersive nature of the ionospheric medium. The TEC values observed for the geomagnetic storm of the January 2005 is used in this paper to discuss the behaviour of ionospheric total electron content (TEC) during geomagnetically disturbed period. Variation of TEC is studied in correlation with the geomagnetic index Dst and southward component of interplanetary magnetic field Bz. The TEC variability is found to vary between with the maximum negative excursion of Dst index during the geomagnetic storms days. Positive phase is observed. Maximum TEC variability is observed during the recovery phase of the storms. Electron and ion density measurements from the DEMETER satellite are compared with the TEC measurements. The study of storm time TEC behaviour is very important due to recent increase in satellite-based navigation applications. Keywords: Ionosphere, geomagnetic storms, GPS, DEMETER, TE

Introduction [Emerging science for sustainable water resource management: a guide for water professionals and practitioners in India]

Chapter 1. “Why must we sustainably manage our freshwater?” is an easy enough question to answer when you first consider it: water is essential for life, we need water for everything from food, to health, to culture and wellbeing, and energy. However, according to a UN report on the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we are failing on each of the six global indicators for SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation (United Nations 2021). Every day we hear more bad news about the state of the planet’s water, ecosystems, species, and climate. The more challenging question is, therefore, “how can we sustainably manage our water?

Regulation of Gene Expression and Inhibition of Experimental Prostate Cancer Bone Metastasis by Dietary Genistein

AbstractProstate cancer frequently metastasizes to the bone, and the treatment outcome for metastatic prostate cancer has been disappointing so far. Dietary genistein, derived primarily from soy product, has been proposed to be partly responsible for the low rate of prostate cancer in Asians. Our previous studies have shown that genistein elicits pleiotropic effects on prostate cancer cells, but there are no studies documenting comprehensive gene expression profiles and antitumor effects of dietary genistein on human prostate cancer grown in human bone environment. In this study, we investigated the effects of genistein on PC3 prostate cancer cells and experimental PC3 bone tumors created by injecting PC3 cells into human bone fragments previously implanted in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice (SCID human model). We found that genistein significantly inhibited PC3 bone tumor growth using both prevention and intervention strategies. By using microarray and real-time polymerase chain reaction technology, we found that genistein regulated the expression of multiple genes involved in the control of cell growth, apoptosis, and metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. For example, the expression of various metalloproteinases (MMPs) in PC3 bone tumors was inhibited by genistein treatment, whereas osteoprotegerin was upregulated. MMP immunostaining and transfection experiments also demonstrated that MMP-9 expression was inhibited in PC3 cells in vitro and PC3 bone tumors in vivo after genistein treatment. These results, particularly the in vivo results, demonstrate that dietary genistein may inhibit prostate cancer bone metastasis by regulating metastasis-related genes. Genistein may thus be a promising agent for the prevention and/or treatment of prostate cancer

Improving global hydrological simulations through bias-correction and multi-model blending

There is an immediate need to develop accurate and reliable global hydrological forecasts in light of the future vulnerability to hydrological hazards and water scarcity under a changing climate. As a part of the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Global Hydrological Status and Outlook System (HydroSOS) initiative, we investigated different approaches to blending multi-model simulations for developing holistic operational global forecasts. The ULYSSES (mULti-model hYdrological SeaSonal prEdictionS system) dataset, to be published as “Global seasonal forecasts and reforecasts of river discharge and related hydrological variables ensemble from four state-of-the-art land surface and hydrological models” is used in this study. The first step for improving these forecasts is to investigate ways to improve the model simulations, as global models are not calibrated for local conditions. The analysis was performed over 119 different catchments worldwide for the baseline period of 1981–2019 for three variables: evapotranspiration, surface soil moisture and streamflow. This study evaluated blending approaches with a performance metric based (weighted) averaging of the multi-model simulations, using the catchment's Kling-Gupta Efficiency (KGE) for the variable to define the weight. Hydrological model simulations were also bias-corrected to improve the multi-model blending output. Weighted blending in conjunction with bias-correction provided the best improvement in performance for the catchments investigated. Applying modelled weights during blending original simulations improved performance over ungauged catchments. The results indicate that there is potential to successfully and easily implement the bias-corrected weighted blending approach to improve operational forecasts globally. This work can be used to improve water resources management and hydrological hazard mitigation, especially in data-sparse regions

Can nature-based solutions contribute to water security in Bhopal?

Bhojtal, a large man-made lake bordering the city of Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh state, central India), is important for the city’s water supply, connoted the lifeline of the city. Despite the dry though not arid and markedly seasonal climate, soil impermeability hampers infiltration into the complex geology underlying the Bhojtal catchment. Rural communities in the catchment are nonetheless high dependent on underlying aquifers. This paper develops baseline understanding of trends in the ecology, water quality and uses of Bhojtal, discussing their implications for the long-term wellbeing of the Bhopal city region. It highlights increasing dependency on water diverted from out-of-catchment sources, and also abstraction across the Bhojtal catchment in excess of replenishment that is depressing groundwater and contributing to reported declining lake level and water quality. Despite some nature-based management initiatives, evidence suggests little progress in haltering on-going groundwater depression and declines in lake water level and quality. Significant declines in ecosystem services produced by Bhojtal are likely without intervention, a major concern given the high dependency of people in the Bhopal region on Bhojtal for their water supply and socio-economic and cultural wellbeing. Over-reliance on appropriation of water from increasingly remote sources is currently compensating for lack of attention to measures protecting or regenerating local resources that may provide greater resilience and regional self-sufficiency. Improved knowledge of catchment hydrogeology on a highly localised scale could improve the targeting and efficiency of water harvesting and other management interventions in the Bhojtal catchment, and their appropriate hybridisation with engineered solutions, protecting the catchment from unintended impacts of water extraction or increasing its carrying capacity, and also providing resilience to rising population and climate change. Ecosystem service assessment provides useful insights into the breadth of benefits of improved management of Bhojtal and its catchment

Vulval elephantiasis as a result of tubercular lymphadenitis: two case reports and a review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Elephantiasis as a result of chronic lymphedema is characterized by gross enlargement of the arms, legs or genitalia, and occurs due to a variety of obstructive diseases of the lymphatic system. Genital elephantiasis usually follows common filariasis and lymphogranuloma venereum. It may follow granuloma inguinale, carcinomas, lymph node dissection or irradiation and tuberculosis but this happens rarely. Vulval elephantiasis as a consequence of extensive lymph node destruction by tuberculosis is very rare. We present two very unusual cases of vulval elephantiasis due to tuberculous destruction of the inguinal lymph nodes.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>Two Indian women - one aged 40 years and the other aged 27 years, with progressively increasing vulval swellings over a period of five and four years respectively - presented to our hospital. In both cases, there was a significant history on presentation. Both women had previously taken a complete course of anti-tubercular treatment for generalized lymphadenopathy. The vulval swellings were extremely large: in the first case report, measuring 35 × 25 cm on the right side and 45 × 30 cm on the left side, weighing 20 lb and 16 lb respectively. Both cases were managed by surgical excision with reconstruction and the outcome was positive. Satisfactory results have been maintained during a follow-up period of six years in both cases.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Elephantiasis of the female genitalia is unusual and it has rarely been reported following tuberculosis. We report two cases of vulval elephantiasis as a consequence of extensive lymph node destruction by tuberculosis, in order to highlight this very rare clinical scenario.</p