Feature Article

The alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay) was applied to study the genotoxic properties of silica in human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). The study was designed to evaluate the DNA damage of lymphocytes and the end points like micronuclei from buccal smears in a group of 45 workers, occupationally exposed to silica, from small mines and stone quarries. The results were compared to 20 sex and age matched normal individuals. There was a statistically significant difference in the damage levels between the exposed group and the control groups.

The present work aimed at to describe hearing threshold based on audiometry data of the mine workers based on their age, work station and years of working of an open cast chromite mine in Odisha, India.

The exposures of bio-aerosols have reported higher occupational health hazards, the association between serum total IgE levels and job categories and occupational health hazards of waste disposal area was limited. The present study was undertaken to assess the relationship between occupational health hazards and Serum total IgE in waste disposal area.

Today’s fast paced world is overly dependent on energy to fulfill its various requirements related to daily life. Biogas, a clean and renewable source comes as a efficient and cost effective method to generate power. This case study of a biogas bottling plant showcases the efforts of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to usher in new technological breakthroughs in the arena of renewable energy.

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a fairly new technology which uses the ocean’s natural thermal gradient to produce energy to drive a powerproducing cycle. Considering the fact that the ocean’s layers of water have different temperatures, an OTEC system can produce a significant amount of power. The oceans are thus a vast renewable resource, with the potential to help us produce billions of watts of electric power.

The article focuses on the great potential of geothermal energy and indicates the possible developments that can be achieved with greater benefits in terms of the use for the new renewable resource.

The use and applicability of geothermal energy in the context of the Indian scenario is described in the essay. The future prospects of this heat energy as a sustainable source of renewable energy is indeed promising.

Energy security is a major challenge that needs imaginative and innovative solutions for a country like India. Therefore, options for diversification of fuels and energy sources need to be pursued vigorously to enhance the economic growth rate for socio-economic development.

This paper examines the changes in the ways in which villagers have gained access to resources and services over time in what are now “villages in the city” within the city of Guangzhou. It compares and contrasts three periods: the clan-based traditional villages, the commune period and the period since the 1980s (which includes great economic success in many villages).

Constructed wetlands (cws) for wastewater treatment may be part of the answer to the urgent need for a change in the approach to wastewater treatment in developing countries. Although thailand has several cws, there have been no studies of their sustainability. To remedy this, the sustainability of three promising cws in very different settings was assessed. These were located at koh phi phi, a world-renowned international tourist and holiday resort; sakon nakhon, a northeastern provincial capital; and ban pru teaw, a small post-tsunami village on the andaman coast.