Feature Article

Proxy records of temperature from the Atlantic clearly show that the Younger Dryas was an abrupt climate change event during the last deglaciation, but records of hydroclimate are underutilized in defining the event. Here we combine a new hydroclimate record from Palawan, Philippines, in the tropical Pacific, with previously published records to highlight a difference between hydroclimate and temperature responses to the Younger Dryas.

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Human-induced climate change is increasingly recognized as a fundamental driver of biological processes and patterns. Historic climate change is known to have caused shifts in the geographic ranges of many taxa and future climate change is expected to result in even greater redistributions of species. As a result, predicting the impact of climate change on future patterns of biodiversity will greatly aid conservation planning.

Interannual variation of Indian summer monsoon rainfall (ISMR) is linked to El Niño-Southern oscillation (ENSO) as well as the Equatorial Indian Ocean oscillation (EQUINOO) with the link with the seasonal value of the ENSO index being stronger than that with the EQUINOO index. We show that the variation of a composite index determined through bivariate analysis, explains 54% of ISMR variance, suggesting a strong dependence of the skill of monsoon prediction on the skill of prediction of ENSO and EQUINOO.

Dynamics of heavy metals such as Fe, Mn, Zn, Cr, Cu, Co, Ni, Pb, and Cd in surface water of Mahanadi River estuarine systems were studied taking 31 different stations and three different seasons. This study demonstrates that the elemental concentrations are extremely variable and most of them are higher than the World river average. Among the heavy metals, iron is present at highest concentration while cadmium is at the least.

The Male to Female (MTF) Transgenders in India commonly known as the Hijras are one of the hardly researched, abused, scorned, and callously neglected groups in Indian Society. This paper is part of the doctoral research submitted to the University of Mumbai entitled ‘The Status of Hijras in Civil Society: A Study of Hijras in Greater Mumbai.’ The objectives of this paper are to showcase briefly the socio economic status of hijras and to understand the problems faced by them with specific reference to their health and the harassment hijras face due to the Police.

Present study consists the survey conducted in coastal villages from Dhanushkodi to Kannyakumari in the Gulf of Mannar and from Dhanushkodi to Kodikkarai in the Palk Bay for understanding status of dugong. Survey provided sighting, distribution and population status of dugong in the GoM and the Palk Bay.

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Elemental composition of PM2.5 and PM10 was measured from 16 locations in Greater Kolkata in Eastern India. Sampling was carried out in the winter months of 2013–2014. PM2.5 and PM10 mass concentrations ranged from 83–783 μg/m3 and 167–928 μg/m3 respectively. 20 elements were measured with an Agilent 7700 series ICP–MS equipped with a 3rd generation He reaction/collision cell following closed vessel microwave digestion.

Coconut is an important oil crop that supports the livelihoods of the majority of coastal people in Tanzania. Despite of the efforts made by the government of Tanzania in coconut sub-sector promotion, little is known about the current production and factors affecting the production. Therefore this study aims to assess the production of coconuts and factors affecting the production of coconut and to advise suitable research and development areas in coconut sub-sector in Tanzania. A diagnostic survey was conducted using a questionnaire, focus group discussion and interview of key informants.

Obesity is not a homogeneous condition across individuals since about 25–40% of obese individuals can maintain healthy status with no apparent signs of metabolic complications. The simple anthropometric measure of body mass index does not always reflect the biological effects of excessive body fat on health, thus additional molecular characterizations of obese phenotypes are needed to assess the risk of developing subsequent metabolic conditions at an individual level.

Elevated blood pressure (BP) in the young predicts serious cardiovascular events in the adults. High prevalence of adult hypertension reported from Assam, North east (NE) India may be linked with elevated blood pressure in the childhood. The present study was an attempt to describe the distribution of BP and correlates of hypertension in children aged 5-14 yr.

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