Feature Article

Fly ash is produced in huge quantities by the various thermal power stations in India. This thermal waste has been employed as a carrier material in the preparation of a biopesticidal water dispersible powder (WDP) formulation for use against mosquitoes. In the present investigation, this newly developed fly ash based WDP formulation was evaluated in natural breeding habitats of mosquito.

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Culex quinquefasciatus is one of the principal vectors of West Nile virus (WNV). The mosquito also acts as a bridge vector as it feeds on both birds and humans. In the background of the recent reports of WNV activity in Kerala and Assam with fatalities, a study was initiated to determine the growth kinetics and transmission mechanisms of three strains of WNV in two populations of Cx. quinquefasciatus.

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The deep ocean was once assumed to be lifeless and barren. Today we know that even the deepest waters teem with living creatures, some of them thought to be little changed from when life itself first appeared on the planet. The deep ocean is also essential to the earth’s biosphere—it regulates global temperatures, stores carbon, provides habitat for countless species, and cycles nutrients for marine food webs. Currently stressed by pollution, industrial fishing, and oil and gas development, these cold, dark waters now face another challenge: mining.

Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) occur in combined sewer systems when sewage and stormwater runoff are released into water bodies, potentially contaminating water sources. CSOs are often caused by heavy precipitation and are expected to increase with increasing extreme precipitation associated with climate change.

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In the recent past, the emerging India economy is highly dependent on conventional as well as renewable energy to deal with energy security. Keeping the potential of biomass and its plentiful availability, the Indian government has been encouraging various industrial sectors to generate their own energy from it. The Indian sugar industry has adopted and made impressive growth in bagasse (a renewable biomass, i.e. left after sugercane is crushed) based cogeneration power to fulfil their energy need, as well as to export a big chunk of energy to grid power.

Particular types of hormonal contraceptives (HCs) and genital tract infections have been independently associated with risk of HIV-1 acquisition. We examined whether immunity in women using injectable depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), combined oral contraceptives (COC), or no HCs differs by the presence of cervicovaginal infections. Immune mediators were quantified in cervical swabs from 832 HIV-uninfected reproductive-age Ugandans and Zimbabweans.

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Nitrogen fixation rates of the globally distributed, biogeochemically important marine cyanobacterium Trichodesmium increase under high carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in short-term studies due to physiological plasticity. However, its long-term adaptive responses to ongoing anthropogenic CO2 increases are unknown. Here we show that experimental evolution under extended selection at projected future elevated CO2 levels results in irreversible, large increases in nitrogen fixation and growth rates, even after being moved back to lower present day CO2 levels for hundreds of generations.

Lake Ontario's condition has fluctuated since European settlement, and our understanding of the linkages between observed ecosystem shifts and stressors is improving. Changes in the physical and chemical environment of the lake due to non-indigenous species, pollution, sedimentation, turbidity, and climate change altered the pelagic primary producers, so algal assessments have been valuable for tracking long-term conditions. We present a chronological account of algal assessments to summarize past and present environmental conditions in Lake Ontario.

Effects of pathogens on host life-history characteristics can be influenced by changes in the immune system that occur during development as well as by environmental factors that negatively affect immune system function. Amphibians worldwide are experiencing population declines from chytridiomycosis caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Disease outbreaks can be influenced by timing of exposure to B. dendrobatidis and by abiotic factors, such as pesticides, that could influence susceptibility. To examine the effects of larval pesticide exposure and timing of B.

This paper provides a concise review of the efficacy, effectiveness and affordability of health-care interventions topromote and assist tobacco cessation, in order to inform national guideline development and assist countries in planning their provision of tobacco cessation support. 

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