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Background: Health care providers worldwide are rapidly adopting electronic medical record (EMR) systems, replacing paper record-keeping systems. Despite numerous benefits to EMRs, the environmental emissions associated with medical record-keeping are unknown. Given the need for urgent climate action, understanding the carbon footprint of EMRs will assist in decarbonizing their adoption and use., Objective: We aimed to estimate and compare the environmental emissions associated with paper medical record-keeping and its replacement EMR system at a high-volume eye care facility in southern India., Methods: We conducted the life cycle assessment methodology per the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 14040 standard, with primary data supplied by the eye care facility. Data on the paper record-keeping system include the production, use, and disposal of paper and writing utensils in 2016. The EMR system was adopted at this location in 2018. Data on the EMR system include the allocated production and disposal of capital equipment (such as computers and routers); the production, use, and disposal of consumable goods like paper and writing utensils; and the electricity required to run the EMR system. We excluded built infrastructure and cooling loads (eg. buildings and ventilation) from both systems. We used sensitivity analyses to model the effects of practice variation and data uncertainty and Monte Carlo assessments to statistically compare the 2 systems, with and without renewable electricity sources., Results: This location's EMR system was found to emit substantially more greenhouse gases (GHGs) than their paper medical record system (195,000 kg carbon dioxide equivalents [CO 2 e] per year or 0.361 kg CO 2 e per patient visit compared with 20,800 kg CO 2 e per year or 0.037 kg CO 2 e per patient). However, sensitivity analyses show that the effect of electricity sources is a major factor in determining which record-keeping system emits fewer GHGs. If the study hospital sourced all electricity from renewable sources such as solar or wind power rather than the Indian electric grid, their EMR emissions would drop to 24,900 kg CO 2 e (0.046 kg CO 2 e per patient), a level comparable to the paper record-keeping system. Energy-efficient EMR equipment (such as computers and monitors) is the next largest factor impacting emissions, followed by equipment life spans. Multimedia Appendix 1 includes other emissions impact categories., Conclusions: The climate-changing emissions associated with an EMR system are heavily dependent on the sources of electricity. With a decarbonized electricity source, the EMR system's GHG emissions are on par with paper medical record-keeping, and decarbonized grids would likely have a much broader benefit to society. Though we found that the EMR system produced more emissions than a paper record-keeping system, this study does not account for potential expanded environmental gains from EMRs, including expanding access to care while reducing patient travel and operational efficiencies that can reduce unnecessary or redundant care., (©Cordelia Kwon, Lernik Essayei, Michael Spencer, Tom Etheridge, Rengaraj Venkatesh, Natrajan Vengadesan, Cassandra L Thiel. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 06.02.2024.)

This article questions the economic rationale of colonial experimentation and prison labor, arguing that for many administrators a prison-based experiment's success mattered less than its existence. It examines the position of convict labor and penal discipline within colonial industrial experiments in colonial India, where convicts performed experiments for what one administrator described as "the most penal" form of labor, papermaking. The belief that Indian fibers could open a new export market for global papermaking meant that prisons became prominent sites of experimentation with new pulps. Regional prisons gained state monopolies for handmade paper, often decimating local independent producers. Yet prison and industrial officers counterintuitively positioned the frequent failures of papermaking experiments as a continuing potential source for industrial improvement. They argued that the failures demonstrated the need to improve discipline and supervision. Prison experiments slotted convicts into repetitive, mechanized roles that served European investigations into the utility of Indian products.

Background: Catfishes (order Siluriformes) are among the most diverse and widely distributed fish groups in the world. They are not only used for human consumption but are also a major part of the ornamental fish trade. Being a Biodiversity Hotspot, the North Eastern Region of India is home to a diverse population of ornamental fishes. Catfishes contain a humongous number of species; in this study, the authors have tried to elucidate the phylogenetic relationship of some important ornamental catfishes found in North East India using DNA barcodes., Methods and Results: In this study, we have tried to explore the phylogenetic history of 13 species (41 specimens) of ornamental catfishes spanning 12 genera and 9 families of Siluriformes using DNA barcoding. Pairwise genetic distances using Kimura 2-Parameter (K2P) were calculated at intra-specific and inter-specific levels. A Neighbor-Joining tree was constructed to understand the phylogenetic relationship among the nine different catfish families. All the specimens under this study clustered with their respective species under the same family and formed three sub-clades. However, Olyra longicaudata, belonging to the Bagridae family, did not cluster with other species from the same family. In this study, the authors have suggested a revision of the classification of O. longicaudata back to its original family, Olyridae., Conclusions: In this study, the maximum intraspecific genetic distance of 0.03 and the minimum interspecific genetic distance of 0.14 were observed among the species. Therefore, it is evident that there is a barcoding gap among the species, which helped in the correct identification of the species. Thus, DNA barcoding helped complement the phenetic approach and also revealed a different phylogenetic relationship among the catfishes belonging to the Bagridae family., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

Asian countries are facing difficulties in attaining sustainable development goals (SDGs), and India is not an exception to it, with environmental degradation being one of the primary issues. Therefore, a policy-level reorientation may be required to address it. From this standpoint, fiscal policy instruments may come in handy towards fully integrating the SDGs into its agenda. The present investigation designs an SDG framework for India that could serve as an example for other Asian nations. This study introduces a new investigation exploring the relationship between fiscal policy instruments and environmental quality in India by examining the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis from 1990 to 2021. A nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model is applied for empirical examination. The findings indicate that positive and negative shocks in fiscal policy instruments have significant impact on carbon emissions in both the long and short run. The study has also found evidence of an "inverted U-shape" EKC for India. These results are valuable from a policy perspective for India and other Asian countries to address environmental issues. The study has also outlined potential outcomes that may benefit India's fiscal policy in resolving environmental issues and attaining better economic growth. In the end, the study proposes a policy framework that supports SDG 7, SDG 8, SDG 12, SDG 13, and SDG 17 objectives., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Changing climate exerts significant pressure on coastal wetland fishery, ecosystems and livelihood at the eco-regional level. In the present study, an indicator and scoring-based vulnerability assessment framework was developed to assess climate change-induced potential impacts and vulnerability of the coastal wetlands through stakeholder perception and primary data collection on ecology and fisheries. The study was conducted in 12 coastal wetlands in the Gangetic estuarine regions of eastern India. Analysis of rainfall, temperature and extreme climatic events was also carried out. The climate variability in the region was analysed and discussed in the context of ecosystem health and sustainability indicators. The results indicated that anthropogenic stress has a greater influence on ecosystem services than climatic stress. However, the nature and degree of vulnerability of fishers to climate change vary with their capacity to adapt to such changes and alternate sources of livelihood. Altogether, 34 fish species were documented, belonging to 11 taxonomic orders, and categorized as per intensity of resilience using selected criteria. Perception-based climate-resilient adaptation strategies have also been discussed. Developing appropriate adaptation policies and implementing climate-resilient practices and management can minimize vulnerability and increase the adaptive capacity of fishers ensuring sustainable livelihood options., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to International Society of Biometeorology.)

This paper analyses findings of the 'PROWELLMIGRANTS' 2 project, which qualitatively investigated COVID-19 impacts on migrants' well-being and mental health in Kerala, India. It draws on a novel conceptual framework that combines assemblage-thinking with theories of social contracts in disasters. The paper first explores how past development processes and contemporary migration policies in Kerala, and India more widely, generated conditions of vulnerability for migrant workers in Kerala prior to the pandemic. Next it shows that Government of Kerala interventions, in some cases supported by the central Government of India, temporarily addressed these vulnerabilities during the pandemic. In acknowledging the helpful response of the Kerala government, we problematise its stance on migrant workers during 'normal' times and speculate that permanently addressing these conditions of vulnerability would be a more logical approach. We acknowledge this involves overcoming many wider barriers. Thus, the paper also contains national-level policy implications., (© 2023 The Authors. Disasters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of ODI.)

The study focused on the composition of soil mesofauna within changing cropping systems influenced by urbanization in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India during the rabi season of 2020 (October)-2021 (February). Four major cropping systems, namely pulses (red gram), vegetables (tomato and ridge gourd), horticulture (grapes and chickoo), and agriculture + horticulture crops, (coconut + fodder plantation), were examined across urban, peri-urban, and rural zones in Bengaluru. The research uncovered a total of 714 individuals belonging to 16 different soil mesofauna taxa among the crops studied. Collembolans were found to be the most abundant members of the mesofauna community, with mites following closely. In terms of population dynamics, the highest mesofauna population was observed in December 2020, totaling 248 individuals, while the lowest count was recorded in February 2021, with 104 individuals. Among the crops studied, the highest number of individuals was found in Horticulture systems, with 277 individuals, closely followed by the Agri + horticulture cropping system, which had 158 individuals. When considering the geographical zones, the highest number of individuals was recorded in the urban zones, with 270 individuals, followed by peri-urban areas with 229 individuals, and the rural zone had the lowest count, totaling 225 individuals. From the results, less disturbed soil environment in horticulture cropping system, post-monsoon conditions in December (2020), and the urban heat in urban zone appeared to favor the proliferation of soil mesofauna., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

The European Council completed the legislative procedure to establish the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on April 25, 2023, which will be launched in 2027. The iron and steel sector is the main target of the forthcoming CBAM due to the industry's energy-intensive consumption with high carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. However, minimal existing research has been conducted in this regard. This study employs GTAP-e 11.0 and TOPSIS models to estimate the effects of CBAM implementation on the major nations around the world from 2027 to 2030, examining countries' GDP, social welfare, iron and steel production, trade balance, and CO 2 emissions to the global environment. This study concludes: (1) The GDP and social welfare of important iron and steel trade partners throughout the world will be significantly impacted by the application of CBAM. Most nations, including those in the EU, will experience negative GDP effects, with China undergoing the most pronounced social welfare declines followed by India. In contrast, the EU27 will benefit the most in terms of social welfare, followed by the US, Japan, and Russia. (2) Iron and steel production will decrease in all countries outside the EU, but it will have a positive impact on the trade balance of most countries. (3) The CO 2 emissions of all countries except for the EU and Japan will decrease, with a positive impact on preventing carbon leakage in the international iron and steel trade. (4) Comprehensive analysis demonstrates that the EU will benefit the most, and China will suffer the most from CBAM application. Based on the above conclusions, this study proposes corresponding policy recommendations., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Changes in glacier area, glacial lakes, debris cover, and geomorphological features such as debris fans have a significant impact on glacial dynamics. Therefore, precise and timely observation and tracking of glacier surface changes is a necessity. The availability of high spatial resolution remote sensing images has made it viable to analyse the glacier surface changes at a local level. However, with an increase in spatial resolution, the spectral variability increases, giving rise to additional challenges (such as false changes and misregistration) in the change detection process. These challenges can preferably be dealt with using an object-based change detection (OBCD) approach rather than the conventional pixel-based change detection approach. Therefore, this study has proposed an OBCD methodology using high-spatial-resolution remote sensing images to detect changes in glacier features. Variability in glacier features has been further analysed by associating it with important climate variables, that is, air temperature and precipitation. As a case study, the changes in Gangotri Glacier (Uttarakhand Himalayas in India) features have been studied using high-spatial-resolution WorldView-2 and Linear Imaging Self-Scanning System (LISS)-4 images for a 3-year period 2011-2014. The spectral correspondences between glacier surface and non-glacier surface have been handled by considering brightness temperature and slope as ancillary data to improvise their distinction. A change detection accuracy of ~ 84% has been obtained using the OBCD approach. Results further show that the variations in glacier features are in congruence with the climatic observations., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

India is a global hotspot for irrigation-induced groundwater withdrawal, leading to widespread lowering of water levels, in turn resulting in disproportionate access to irrigation supplies among farming communities. Efforts to mitigate the situation, however, have fallen short, largely due to technocentric vision (e.g. microirrigation adoption) of the regulatory authorities (RAs), which does little to integrate the vast groundwater-dependent socioecologies with the decision making system. In view of that, we invite the RAs to deliberate upon a cap-and-trade mechanism that proposes to mobilize the farmers at every aspect of planning and execution, while to tackling multiple challenges simultaneously: (a) restrict groundwater pumping to a pre-defined safe level (cap), (b) creating a shared space/quotas for all to pump (allocation); and (c) making provisions for trade of allocations. The latter further augments farmers' access to groundwater (and irrigation). Using a systematic bibliometric analysis of relevant world literature and contextual appraisal of groundwater-irrigation landscape in India, we develop a conceptual framework of cap-and-trade in three parts. In the first Pre-implementation stage, we emphasize a reality check study to assess ground conditions, if favorable for a cap-and-trade approach (existing social, economic, institutional circumstances). Next, in the Implementation stage, (1) we recommend an integrated hydrogeological-hydrometeorological modeling to determine flexible capping arrangements, with the possibility of delineating certain priority regions (coastal ecosystems); (2) for allocations, a reasonable fraction of the cap over a defined period; we envision a thoroughly participatory arrangement, centering on four action areas: identifying, informing, consulting, and involving the farmers, alongside all stakeholders engaged in the groundwater-irrigation decision making; (3) for trade, we urge the RAs to create win-win situations for both the sellers and buyers; develop the transaction protocols on certain foundational principles (e.g. simplicity, transparency and consistency); strengthening of local institutions, and development of targeted financial support schemes. We consider the third part of the narrative, Post-implementation stage, as a real game changer, comprising of a monitoring, auditing (performance benchmarking) component coupled with multitiered outreach-mentoring drives that demonstrate to the farmers the benefits of becoming part of the cap-and-trade program. Overall, a main motivation to present this research is to shatter the age-old socio-cognitive beliefs/taboos around groundwater pumping (My land, My Water), breaking the hegemony of the water sellers (rich/wealthy large landholder clans), to potentially, create a social norm whereby the farmers realize the value of restricting groundwater pumping and sharing for mutual prosperity., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)