A framework for efficient wastewater treatment and recycling systems

Water reuse / Wastewater / Recycling / Pricing / Water allocation / Cost benefit analysis / Wastewater irrigation / Developing countries / Developed countries / Case studies

Fungal diversity notes 1512-1610: taxonomic and phylogenetic contributions on genera and species of fungal taxa

This article is the 14th in the Fungal Diversity Notes series, wherein we report 98 taxa distributed in two phyla, seven classes, 26 orders and 50 families which are described and illustrated. Taxa in this study were collected from Australia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Cyprus, Egypt, France, French Guiana, India, Indonesia, Italy, Laos, Mexico, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. There are 59 new taxa, 39 new hosts and new geographical distributions with one new combination. The 59 new species comprise Angustimassarina kunmingense, Asterina lopi, Asterina brigadeirensis, Bartalinia bidenticola, Bartalinia caryotae, Buellia pruinocalcarea, Coltricia insularis, Colletotrichum flexuosum, Colletotrichum thasutense, Coniochaeta caraganae, Coniothyrium yuccicola, Dematipyriforma aquatic, Dematipyriforma globispora, Dematipyriforma nilotica, Distoseptispora bambusicola, Fulvifomes jawadhuvensis, Fulvifomes malaiyanurensis, Fulvifomes thiruvannamalaiensis, Fusarium purpurea, Gerronema atrovirens, Gerronema flavum, Gerronema keralense, Gerronema kuruvense, Grammothele taiwanensis, Hongkongmyces changchunensis, Hypoxylon inaequale, Kirschsteiniothelia acutisporum, Kirschsteiniothelia crustaceum, Kirschsteiniothelia extensum, Kirschsteiniothelia septemseptatum, Kirschsteiniothelia spatiosum, Lecanora immersocalcarea, Lepiota subthailandica, Lindgomyces guizhouensis, Marthe asmius pallidoaurantiacus, Marasmius tangerinus, Neovaginatispora mangiferae, Pararamichloridium aquisubtropicum, Pestalotiopsis piraubensis, Phacidium chinaum, Phaeoisaria goiasensis, Phaeoseptum thailandicum, Pleurothecium aquisubtropicum, Pseudocercospora vernoniae, Pyrenophora verruculosa, Rhachomyces cruralis, Rhachomyces hyperommae, Rhachomyces magrinii, Rhachomyces platyprosophi, Rhizomarasmius cunninghamietorum, Skeletocutis cangshanensis, Skeletocutis subchrysella, Sporisorium anadelphiae-leptocomae, Tetraploa dashaoensis, Tomentella exiguelata, Tomentella fuscoaraneosa, Tricholomopsis lechatii, Vaginatispora flavispora and Wetmoreana blastidiocalcarea. The new combination is Torula sundara. The 39 new records on hosts and geographical distribution comprise Apiospora guiyangensis, Aplosporella artocarpi, Ascochyta medicaginicola, Astrocystis bambusicola, Athelia rolfsii, Bambusicola bambusae, Bipolaris luttrellii, Botryosphaeria dothidea, Chlorophyllum squamulosum, Colletotrichum aeschynomenes, Colletotrichum pandanicola, Coprinopsis cinerea, Corylicola italica, Curvularia alcornii, Curvularia senegalensis, Diaporthe foeniculina, Diaporthe longicolla, Diaporthe phaseolorum, Diatrypella quercina, Fusarium brachygibbosum, Helicoma aquaticum, Lepiota metulispora, Lepiota pongduadensis, Lepiota subvenenata, Melanconiella meridionalis, Monotosporella erecta, Nodulosphaeria digitalis, Palmiascoma gregariascomum, Periconia byssoides, Periconia cortaderiae, Pleopunctum ellipsoideum, Psilocybe keralensis, Scedosporium apiospermum, Scedosporium dehoogii, Scedosporium marina, Spegazzinia deightonii, Torula fici, Wiesneriomyces laurinus and Xylaria venosula. All these taxa are supported by morphological and multigene phylogenetic analyses. This article allows the researchers to publish fungal collections which are important for future studies. An updated, accurate and timely report of fungus-host and fungus-geography is important. We also provide an updated list of fungal taxa published in the previous fungal diversity notes. In this list, erroneous taxa and synonyms are marked and corrected accordingly

Potential immunological consequences of pharmacological suppression of gastric acid production in patients with multiple sclerosis

Corticosteroids are standard treatment for patients with multiple sclerosis experiencing acute relapse. Because dyspeptic pain is a common side effect of this intervention, patients can be given a histamine receptor-2 antagonist, proton pump inhibitor or antacid to prevent or ameliorate this disturbance. Additionally, patients with multiple sclerosis may be taking these medications independent of corticosteroid treatment. Interventions for gastric disturbances can influence the activation state of the immune system, a principal mediator of pathology in multiple sclerosis. Although histamine release promotes inflammation, activation of the histamine receptor-2 can suppress a proinflammatory immune response, and blocking histamine receptor-2 with an antagonist could shift the balance more towards immune stimulation. Studies utilizing an animal model of multiple sclerosis indicate that histamine receptor-2 antagonists potentially augment disease activity in patients with multiple sclerosis. In contrast, proton pump inhibitors appear to favor immune suppression, but have not been studied in models of multiple sclerosis. Antacids, histamine receptor-2 antagonists and proton pump inhibitors also could alter the intestinal microflora, which may indirectly lead to immune stimulation. Additionally, elevated gastric pH can promote the vitamin B12 deficiency that patients with multiple sclerosis are at risk of developing. Here, we review possible roles of gastric acid inhibitors on immunopathogenic mechanisms associated with multiple sclerosis

Household food security and wastewater-dependent livelihood activities along the Musi River in Andhra Pradesh, India

This study focuses on landless and smallholder households who use wastewater generated from the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad in the semi-arid tropics of Andhra Pradesh state for agriculture and the contribution of the wastewater to their food security. Three locations in the urban, peri-urban and rural areas were chosen to get a comprehensive view of wastewater use and users. The study revealed that in the research sites, about 920 hectares of land is irrigated with wastewater and about 48,000 people are directly or indirectly dependent on wastewater for their food security. In the peri-urban and urban areas, the income generated by labor on wastewater irrigated fields and by the sale of produce such as vegetables, para grass, coconut fronds and banana leaves from wastewater-irrigated fields contributes to the household food security of the wastewater users. All of the vegetable producers surveyed retain a part of their produce for their own consumption and the rest is sold. Many of the leafy vegetable producers engage in barter, exchanging part of their produce for other vegetables to add variety to their diet. Vegetable producers in the urban and peri-urban areas save about 20% of household expenditure which they would have had to spend on the purchase of vegetables. Most of the households in the urban and peri-urban area with livestock use wastewater irrigated para grass as fodder and earn income through the sale of the milk. Typically, 25% of the milk produced (assuming a household of 6 members owns one buffalo) is retained for household consumption and 75% is sold. Many of the farmers also grow certain fruits like lemon, mango, coconut and custard apple which they retain for household consumption. In the rural areas, 43% of the total food consumed by a household is wastewater-irrigated paddy. Many of the small farmers in the rural areas used part of their land for vegetable cultivation for household consumption. Migrants who come from drought hit areas work as laborers in the wastewater-irrigated paddy fields and are paid in rice which contributes to their food security. At the end of the harvest season, each laborer carries home about 2 bags or 140 kg of paddy

Conservation agriculture and sustainable intensification of smallholder farming systems in Pacific countries - final report

There is an opportunity and an urgent need for transformational change of the current farming systems in Pacific Island Countries (PIC) to increase food and nutritional security, to be better adapted to climate change and to be less emissive of greenhouse gases. Substantial global evidence indicates that Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification (CASI) systems are better adapted, but their effectiveness in PIC is yet to be fully evaluated. The overall aim of this Small Research Activity (SRA) was to undertake a targeted assessment to explore the opportunities for implementing CASI in smallholder farming systems as an adaptive and potentially transformational climate change response in PIC. This SRA was a Proof of Concept which identified and evaluated the research, technological, social and policy interventions required for future implementation and scaling of these more regenerative agrifood systems. It also identified key research and development sites for future work to compare the performance of CASI practices with the current commonly used systems