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Invasive plant Ageratina adenophora (Sprengel) R. King & H. Robinson has invaded majority of the temperate forests in Kumaun, Central Himalaya. Information on A. adenophora invaded forest types, their structural attributes, population demography and regeneration status are still at rudimentary level. Considering this, the present study was conducted to assess the impacts of A. adenophora on vegetational attributes and regeneration status of three forest types, viz., Oak (Quercus oblongata D. Don), Pine (Pinus roxburghii Sarg.) and Cypress (Cupressus torulosa D. Don). We selected three sites for each forest type and each site was further purposively stratified into paired sampling plots of 1 ha each i.e., A. adenophora invaded and uninvaded sites. Our results showed large densities of cut stumps or felled trees throughout invaded sites, but with fewer fire signs in comparison to uninvaded sites. In uninvaded sites, total density and basal area calculated for woody species were relatively higher than those in invaded sites, although results were insignificant (p>0.05). With the exception for Cypress forests, vegetation indices showed low woody species richness and diversity in invaded Oak and Pine forests. Also, regeneration of Q. oblongata, P. roxburghii and C. torulosa tree species did not differ significantly (p>0.05) between invaded and uninvaded sites. These insignificant differences clearly imply that A. adenophora's presence has not entirely changed the perennial plant communities in terms of composition, structure and natural regeneration. However, tree species with poor or no regeneration status requires special attention and needs management strategies involving control of invasive species in forest ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the composition of tropical dry forest woody species at adult, sapling, and seedling stages, in terms of plant diversity, distribution, and importance value index (IVI), and identified the dominant and ubiquitous species in the five study sites having variable edaphic properties. Species varied markedly in the composition and IVI at different sites. The semi-evergreen species,Shorea robusta, was dominant at the wettest site at all the three growth stages; at the driest site, highly deciduous speciesLannea coromandelicawas the dominant adult species andNyctanthis arbortrististhe dominant sapling and seedling species. Soil moisture content (SMC) altered the distribution of about 8% of the adult species. ANOVA indicated significant site-wise differences in the Shannon-Wiener index, Whittaker’s evenness, Margalef’s species richness, and β-diversity for the woody species at all the three stages. The Shannon-Wiener index, Whittaker’s evenness, Margalef’s species richness, and β-diversity were greater in seedlings as compared to adult and saplings of tree species. These variations in species composition and distribution are evidently on account of different levels of SMC as well as habitat heterogeneity as indicated by β-diversity which was independent of SMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial samples of surface and ground water collected from land disposal site of dye waste mixed sewage effluents at Binjhole, in Haryana, India were analyzed to evaluate its effect on quality of pond, hand pumps and ground waters for human health and irrigation purposes. It was found that average COD and TDS of dye houses discharge (310 and 3,920 mg/L) and treated sewage (428 and 1,470 mg/L) on mixing acquired the values of 245 and 1,780 mg/L and only Pb (0.24 μg/L) was above the permissible limit for irrigation purpose. Disposal of this mixed water to village pond changes the COD and TDS to 428 and 1,470 mg/L, respectively. COD and TDS of hand pump water samples were 264 and 1,190 mg/L, where as in tube well water these values were 151 and 900 mg/L. Though the ground water contamination seemed to decrease with the increasing distance from the pond but COD, TDS and BOD values continued to be quite high in water samples drawn from the hand pumps up to a distance of 500 m from pond. However, the major cause of the concern in these waters was Pb (0.11–0.45 ppm). Crops grown with this water shows accumulation of heavy metals like Pb,Cd, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, and Zn but in few crops they (Zn, Pb and Cd) exceed the safe limits. Regular consumption of these crop products may lead heavy metal toxicity. It was concluded from this study that the deep seepage of effluents led to deterioration of ground water quality for drinking purposes and the well waters rendered unfit for irrigation purposes within a span of 2 years. This warrants appropriate disposal measures for sewage and dye industry effluents in order to prevent deterioration of ground water and health of human and animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stem cells research is emerging as a new domain of biomedical research in India that has the potential to offer therapeutic options for noncurable disease like Parkinsonism, diabetes and injuries. However like other scientific programme, stem cells research programme has created many scientific controversies and has raised social, legal and ethical issues, thus creating challenges for regulatory bodies, policy makers and scientists for making a uniform guideline in view of potential application of stem cell research and development of advance center for research activities. An open dialogue between the scientific community, physicians, patients and their advocates, lawmakers, and the lay population should be done to raise and address important ethical and legal issues and to balance the benefits and risks associated with stem cell Research and Therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon forestry mitigation potential estimates at the global-level are limited by the absence or simplicity of national-level estimates, and similarly national-level estimates are limited by absence of regional-level estimates. The present study aims to estimate the mitigation potential for a large diverse country such as India, based on the GTAP global land classification system of agro-ecological zones (AEZs), as well the Indian AEZ system. The study also estimates the implications of carbon price incentive (US$50 and $100) on mitigation potential in the short-, medium- and long-term, since afforestation and reforestation (A & R) is constrained by lack of investment and financial incentives. The mitigation potential for short and long rotation plantations and natural regeneration was estimated using the GCOMAP global forest model for two land area scenarios. One scenario included only wastelands (29 Mha), and the second enhanced area scenario, included wastelands plus long fallow and marginal croplands (54 Mha). Under the $100 carbon price case, significant additional area (3.6 Mha under the wasteland scenario and 6.4 Mha under the enhanced area scenario) and carbon mitigation is gained in the short-term (2025) compared to the baseline when using the GTAP land classification system. The area brought under A & R increases by 85-100% for the $100 carbon price compared to $50 carbon price in the short-term, indicating the effectiveness of higher carbon price incentives, especially in the short-term. A comparison of estimates of mitigation potential using GTAP and Indian AEZ land classification systems showed that in the short-term, 35% additional C-stock gain is achieved in the $100 carbon price case in the enhanced area scenario of the Indian AEZ system. This difference highlights the role of the land classification system adopted in estimation of aggregate mitigation potential estimates, particularly in the short-term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on scavenging potential of hydrophytes for Copper removal from textile dye wastewaters. With the growing urbanization and industrialization, the contamination of the water resources by heavy metals, is becoming a grave problem, the world over. The development of a sustainable technology for their removal is of paramount importance; as conventional methods of their removal are either very expensive or ineffective, especially when the metal concentrations are very low. Keeping this in view, the present study was made to select the most appropriate, locally available aquatic macrophytes for scavenging copper from textile dye wastewaters in Sanganer, Jaipur; where it is posing a major threat to both surface and ground water resources.

Haptoglobin (Hp) is a plasma glycoprotein, the main biological function of which is to bind free hemoglobin (Hb) and prevents the loss of iron and subsequent kidney damage following hemolysis. In human, the Hp locus is polymorphic with two co-dominant alleles (Hp1 & Hp2) that yield three distinct genotype/ phenotype (Hp 1-1, Hp 2-1, Hp 2-2).The haptoglobin phenotype of Indian patients of malaria with complications like semi consciousness, coma, and uncomplicated falciparum malaria and those of uninfected randomly selected individual, were determined by electrophoresis of sera on a polyacrylamide gel (PAGE) followed by benzidine staining of the gels. Among 51 malaria (pediatric cases, 1- 8 years age group) patients, the proportion of cases with various haptoglobin phenotype, namely Hp1-1, Hp2-1, Hp2-2 were 9.5 %, 29.7% and 60.8 % respectively where as these distributions among 51 controls individual were 55.8% (Hp1- 1), 18.2% (Hp2-1) and 26.0 % (Hp2-2). The available gel electrophoresis data differ in different individuals and altered in case of cerebral malaria. Hence the association of the Haptoglobin phenotype 2-2 with cerebral malaria cannot be ruled out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine the effects of spatial and temporal variability in edaphic, and climatic attributeson soil net nitrogen mineralization rate, and to understand the pattern of fine root decomposition of dominant and co-dominant tree species, and its influence on the nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. Study was carried out at four different sites in sub-tropical forest ecosystems of Shorea robusta, in foothills of Central Himalayan region, India. Co-dominant tree species at four sites were Mallotus philippensis (site A), Glochidion velutinum (site B), Holarrhena pubescens (site C), and Tectona grandis (site D). Buried bag technique was used for nitrogen mineralization, while fine root decomposition was determined using fine root mesh bags. Seasonal variation, soil depth, soil characteristics, and site variability, all significantly (p < 0.05) affected nitrogen mineralization rates. Fine root decomposition was significantly affected by nutrient concentration of fine roots. Total mineral nitrogen was maximum at site D (16.24 ± 0.96 μg g -1 soil), while minimum at site C (10.10 ± 0.84 μg g -1 soil). Maximum nitrogen mineralization (13.18 ± 0.18 μg g -1  month -1 ) was recorded during summer season at site D, while the minimum nitrogen mineralization (3.20 ± 0.46 μg g -1  month -1 ) was recorded during rainy season at site C. Inorganic-N and net nitrogen mineralization was relatively higher in 0-20 cm soil layer than 20-40 cm and 40-60 cm soil layer. The fine roots showed 70.61-74.82 % weight loss on completion of 365 days of decomposition process. Maximum fine root decomposition was observed in the G. velutinum, and minimum in T. grandis. A significant positive correlation (p < 0.05) was observed between root nitrogen and carbon content, and decomposition rates per month. This study concluded that the spatial and temporal variability in soil nitrogen mineralization rates and fine root decomposition optimises nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems, which can contribute to the development of sustainable forest management practices., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Dust is considered as one of the most widespread air pollutants. The objective of the study was to analyse the effect of dust load (DL) on the leaf attributes of the four tree species planted along the roadside at a low pollution Banaras Hindu University (BHU) campus and a highly polluted industrial area (Chunar, Mirzapur) of India. The studied leaf attributes were: leaf area, specific leaf area (SLA), relative water content (RWC), leaf nitrogen content (LNC), leaf phosphorus content (LPC), chlorophyll content (Chl), maximum stomatal conductance (Gs(max)), maximum photosynthetic rate (A (max)) and intrinsic water-use efficiency (WUEi). Results showed significant effect of sites and species for DL and the leaf attributes. Average DL across the four tree species was greater at Chunar, whereas, the average values of leaf attributes were greater at the BHU campus. Maximum DL was observed for Tectona grandis at Chunar site and minimum for Syzygium cumini at BHU campus. Across the two sites, maximum value of SLA, Chl and Gs(max) were exhibited by S. cumini, whereas, the greatest value of RWC, LNC, LPC, A (max) and WUEi were observed in Anthocephalus cadamba. A. cadamba and S. cumini exhibited 28 and 27 times more dust accumulation, respectively, at the most polluted Chunar site as compared to the BHU campus. They also exhibited less reduction in A (max) due to dust deposition as compared to the other two species. Therefore, both these species may be promoted for plantation along the roadside of the sites having greater dust deposition.