Feature Article

The textile industry’sexcessive water use and contribution to ever-worsening environmental degradation in countries of production, particularly the so-called global South, is increasingly putting it under public scrutiny. However, this sector of the economy also provides important income opportunities to skilled and unskilled labor alike, not least women, and brings much-wanted economic growth. India was the third largest exporter of textiles in 2015and the sector generates direct employment to more than 45 million people, making it the second largest after agriculture.

A minimum of eight units, in Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts were selected through probability proportional to size sampling technique (PPS) to study the work profile of nettle units in Uttarakhand. Fifty per cent of nettle units were established in the years 2007-2008. It was observed that 72.50 per cent and 62.50 per cent of nettle fibres were used in Uttarakashi and Chamoli respectively. They used 100 per cent nettle fibre which is a harvest wild growth in this area.

Present investigation was carried out in three blocks; Hiranagar, Dinga Amb and Marheenof Kathuadistrict of Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir located in the sub-tropical zone to identify and document the under-utilized forest tree species and their multiple traditional uses. Study revealed that people in the study area make multiple traditional uses of eight tree species which are ordinarily considered under-utilized, viz. Aegle marmelos L., Carissa spinarum L.; Cordia dichotoma var. wallichii, Ficus palmata Forsk. syn . F.

Chinese coastal waters support vast fisheries and vital economies, but their productivity is threatened by increasingly frequent harmful algal blooms (HABs). Here we provide direct experimental evidence that atmospheric deposition, along with riverine input, opens new niches for bloom-forming dinoflagellates and diatoms in the East China Sea (ECS) by increasing the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus (N:P), inducing severe P limitation, and altering trace metal micronutrient inventories.

Recent cohort studies have used exposure prediction models to estimate the association between long-term residential concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and health. Because these prediction models rely on PM2.5 monitoring data, predictions for times before extensive spatial monitoring present a challenge to understanding long-term exposure effects. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Federal Reference Method (FRM) network for PM2.5 was established in 1999.

Metabolism of inorganic arsenic (iAs) is subject to inter-individual variability, which is explained partly by genetic determinants. Researchers investigated the association of genetic variants with arsenic species and principal components of arsenic species in the Strong Heart Family Study (SHFS).

Original Source

Most studies on breastfeeding over the past few decades have focused on the advantages of breastfeeding and how to get more women to breastfeed their babies. Relatively few women worldwide meet the World Health Organization’s recommendation that infants breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months of life, with continued breastfeeding combined with appropriate foods thereafter for 2 years or more—even those who intend to do so at the outset.

Yaws is targeted for eradication by 2020. The mainstay of the eradication strategy is mass treatment followed by case finding. Modeling has been used to inform programmatic requirements for other neglected tropical diseases and could provide insights into yaws eradication. We developed a model of yaws transmission varying the coverage and number of rounds of treatment.

Original Source

During November–December 2015, as part of the 2015 cholera outbreak response in Iraq, the Iraqi Ministry of Health targeted ≈255,000 displaced persons >1 year of age with 2 doses of oral cholera vaccine (OCV). All persons who received vaccines were living in selected refugee camps, internally displaced persons camps, and collective centers. We conducted a multistage cluster survey to obtain OCV coverage estimates in 10 governorates that were targeted during the campaign. In total, 1,226 household and 5,007 individual interviews were conducted.

Using national surveillance data for 120,111 human anthrax cases recorded during 1955−2014, we analyzed the temporal, seasonal, geographic, and demographic distribution of this disease in China. After 1978, incidence decreased until 2013, when it reached a low of 0.014 cases/100,000 population. The case-fatality rate, cumulatively 3.6% during the study period, has also decreased since 1990. Cases occurred throughout the year, peaking in August. Geographic distribution decreased overall from west to east, but the cumulative number of affected counties increased during 2005−2014.