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This article asks whether the slow process of divesting Indian native schoolteachers of their traditional authority was only about new concepts and representations of education and knowledge. Following the methodological idea of constellations of affordances, emphasising a relational ontology, the article discusses whether changes in the shape and the relations of objects in Indian classrooms together with the arrival of new objects may have played a silent role in the process of erosion of schoolteachers' authority. Based on a wide range of official and missionary sources, but also referring to individual native voices, the article reconstructs more pervasive and subtle transformations of native elementary classrooms, focusing on surfaces for writing and on "books". The article argues that shifts in the materialities of elementary native schooling took place that repositioned old "gurus" in an unfavourable light before the take-off of teacher training institutions would provide for new definitions of their role as schoolmasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of any research, regardless of its domain such as health, technology, psychology, or any other subject, is to enhance the overall well-being of individuals. Rigorous processes are involved in conducting research ethically and in communicating its outcomes to society. However, as publishing research has become a mandatory requirement for career advancement and appointments, academics are resorting to several unethical practices to get substandard work published quickly. Consequently, predatory publishing markets have emerged, which publish data that is falsified and fabricated, along with plagiarised textual matter. The emergence of "paper mills" is a further step in the corruption of research, where a group of persons or automated systems generate papers for publication. Anyone desirous of publishing a paper can purchase one, akin to any desired fast-moving consumer product, with the added guarantee of publication in indexed journals. Therefore, paper mills and their unethical modus operandi are discussed in this paper in detail, with relevant examples. The article unfolds the consequences of publishing such fraudulent research papers and concludes with the challenges in combating paper mills.

The entire world seems to have responded to COVID-19 pandemic in a knee-jerk manner with a short mindset without building on the existing strengths of public health infrastructure. National governments cannot be blamed for this as we are dealing with a crisis that comes once in a lifetime. Realising this, the Organized Medicine Academic Guild (OMAG) an association of major health associations in this country has suggested measures for long-term solutions to COVID-19-like pandemics in the form of a policy paper by OMAG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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.)

The study on reading habits among higher secondary school students is a paper thought to access the use of library service and reading habits of higher secondary school students the findings from the table are differentiated into various categories and the table shows that the most of the students are very much enjoyable in reading books with fervor. therefore the study concluded that the reading habits of secondary school students should be given rapt attention because of the imminent danger of losing reading habits in the era of information & communication technology. the study recommends that there must be a fixed time for reading a variety of reading material that will appeal to students and that adopting different methods to arouse the interest of students could enhance their reading habit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The word inventory in accounting language refers to the stocks of the product (finished goods) of a firm offering for sale. In a manufacturing concern, it may include raw materials, work-in-process, finished goods and stores. Raw materials consist of those units or input which are used to manufacture goods that require further processing to give a shape of finished goods. Finished goods are products ready for sale. Inventory should neither be too low to effect the production adversely nor too high to block the funds unnecessarily. About 90 per cent part of working capital is invested in inventories. Therefore, it is necessary for management to give proper attention to inventory management. A proper planning of purchasing, handling, storing and accounting should form a part of inventory management. In India, there are 759 pulp and paper mills in India as on March, 2014 with an installed capacity of 12.7 MTPA (Million Tons Per Annum), producing around 10.90 MTPA paper, paper board and newsprint. The production is anticipated to grow up to 14.0 MTPA by the year 2016. The average annual turnover of the industry is approximately ₨ 30,000 crores, which accounts for approximately 0.37% of the national GDP. It contributes ₨ 3000 crores to exchequer and provides direct employment opportunities to about 0.37 Million people and indirect employment of over 1.2 Million people. The Indian paper share in World's production is just 2.6% only. In this connection, inventory is the major role play in the production process. Hence there is need to study the inventory management in paper industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper compares the characteristics of URLs cited in Indian LIS conference proceedings papers. A total of 15,745 references appended to 1,700 articles published in three Indian LIS conference proceedings published during 2001-2010 were selected. From these references we extracted a total of 5698 URLs and were further classified according to their top level domains, file formats and path depths for further analysis. The results showed that the percentage of articles with at least one URL increased from 39.10% in 2001 to 91.67% in 2010. There was a constant and continuous increase in the number of articles with URLs over the years during 2001-2010. Of the 1,700 articles published in conference proceedings, there were 1,011 (59.47%) articles with URLs. Study also reveals the fact that, of the 5,698 URLs, more than 50% were shared by .org and .com domains which accounted for 1,799 (31.57%) and 1,474 (25.87%) URLs respectively. The highest percentage of cited URLs belonged to HTML (68.50%) followed by .pdf files (8.86%). The path depth levels 0 (no path), 2 and 3 collectively accounted for 67.67% of the extracted URLs. URLs with path depth 1 and 4 put together accounted for 25.31% of all the 5,698 URLs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the use of paper for social communication in early modern India, with focus given to the circulation of puranic manuscripts, or Hindu religious manuscripts. The author demonstrates how paper influenced communication and helped develop an Indian public sphere in spite of a lack of Indian print culture in the early modern period. Particular focus is given to the movement of texts within the Brahman social networks of Maratha, India, as well as the Maratha state's efforts to regulate communication deemed subversive to Brahman elites.

India has a large number of paper manufacturing units, with mills varying in size of operations and type of product, scattered all over the length and breadth of the country. Present study deals with the survey of four different pulp and paper mills (Mill A, Mill B, Mill C and Mill D) in India, differing in their scale of operation as well as raw material usage. Physico-chemical characterization of wastewaters produced by different processing units like digestor house liquors, bleaching section, paper machine backwaters, combined inlet to the ETP and outlet to ETP, for all the four mills, was conducted. Different parameters like pH, Color, COD, BOD, percent Na, SAR, TDS and Total hardness were analyzed and compared. Highly significant differences were thus found between all the processing units of all four mills with p values < 0.01. This evaluation showed that though these mills have effluent treatment facilities installed in their premises, improvements are still needed to increase their efficiencies for treating the discharged wastewaters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advances in the area of Information Technology, the digital divide, i.e., the gap between the urban people (who have easy access to technology) and rural people (who do not have an easy access to technology) is increasing day-by-day. The success story of the Indian IT industry has benefitted only the urban populace, whereas the overall scenario for rural India is pathetic. Today, the Indian government authorities and organizations, and many NGOs are developing and experimenting with various business models, all over the country, with the objective of providing IT means and solutions to the rural masses; and at the same time taking care of their business interests. This paper examines and takes note of such IT initiatives, and highlights their basic approaches and makes distinction in terms of their objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the book "A New Map of the World," by Ian Linden. Linden has already moved on since writing the book, and if the book has emphases and approaches in it that are not mine, the development the paper seems to show brings people into almost complete agreement. Linden now, for example, draws into the analysis the enormously significant cases of India and China, which together make up about 40% of the world's population. Nor does he now lay so much emphasis on the Asian collapses of 1978.

Aim: Neonatal hypothermia is a preventable cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity, and wrapping neonates in newspaper sandwiched between cotton sheets is a simple intervention. This 2017 Indian pilot study tested the heat insulating property of sandwiched sheets., Methods: At birth, we randomised 100 neonates who were more than 32 weeks of gestation and needed neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) observation or care without a ventilator or bilevel positive airway pressure support into two groups of 50. The intervention and control groups were wrapped in two prewarmed sheets at birth that did or did not contain a layer of newspaper. Their axillary temperatures on arrival at the NICU and one hour after arrival were measured. Other environmental factors were similar., Results: The neonates wrapped in the sandwiched sheets showed significantly higher temperatures on arrival at the NICU than the control group (35.9°C versus 35.4°C, p < 0.01) and after one hour (36.5°C versus 36.3°C, p < 0.01). No change in behaviour or training was required for the healthcare staff to implement this initiative., Conclusion: Wrapping newborn infants in two cloth sheets with a newspaper layer resulted in a higher body temperature on arrival at the NICU and after one hour., (©2018 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The extended frozen semen (EFS) batches produced from infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) sero-positive cattle and buffalo bulls housed in various semen stations in India are transported to the testing laboratory in liquid nitrogen (LN 2 ) for screening bovine herpesvirus-1 (BoHV-1). This procedure is laborious and poses LN 2 related hazards. An alternative logistics for transportation of samples was investigated. Use of Flinders Technology Associates (FTA ® ) elute card was evaluated for transportation of extended bovine semen to screen BoHV-1 DNA by real-time PCR targeting gB gene and the method was compared with the OIE approved Chelex resin based method. A protocol for extraction of BoHV-1 DNA from FTA ® card spotted with extended semen was optimized. The viral DNA was found to be stable on FTA ® card for at least 28 days when the cards are stored at 4°-37 °C. The analytical sensitivity for the assay was determined using variable dilutions of BoHV-1 spiked semen and positive plasmid harbouring gB gene (97bp) spotted onto FTA ® card and it was found to be 10 0.8 TCID 50 /ml or 100 copies respectively in real-time PCR. The test could detect as low as 10 0.008 TCID 50 /ml or 1 copy of positive plasmid when more number of replicates (n = 6) of the same sample were tested. This sensitivity was found to be comparable to Chelex method and both the methods demonstrated a very strong correlation (r = 0.9774; 95% CI: 0.9620-0.9860) in terms of Ct value (p < 0.0001). The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the FTA method in comparison to the Chelex method was 83.08% (95% CI: 71.73%-91.24%) and 93.23% (95% CI: 89.38%-96.01%) respectively when 316 samples were screened by both the methods. The degree of agreement between these two tests was good (Kappa value: 0.738; 95% CI: 0.646-0.829). The method was found to be robust and highly repeatable in inter-assay and intra-assay precision testing. The result suggests that the FTA ® card holds promise as an alternative system for transportation of EFS for downstream screening of BoHV-1 DNA., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Detection of drug-resistant tuberculosis is essential for the control of the disease but it is often hampered by the limitation of transport and storage of samples from remote locations to the reference laboratory. We performed a retrospective field study to evaluate the performance of four supports enabling the transport and storage of samples to be used for molecular detection of drug resistance using the GenoType MTBDRplus., Methods: Two hundred Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains were selected and spotted on slides, FTA cards, GenoCards, and in ethanol. GenoType MTBDRplus was subsequently performed with the DNA extracted from these supports. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated and compared to the results obtained by drug susceptibility testing., Results: For all supports, the overall sensitivity and specificity for detection of resistance to RIF was between 95% and 100%, and for INH between 95% and 98%., Conclusion: The four transport and storage supports showed a good sensitivity and specificity for the detection of resistance to RIF and INH in M. tuberculosis strains using the GenoType MTBDRplus. These supports can be maintained at room temperature and could represent an important alternative cost-effective method useful for rapid molecular detection of drug-resistant TB in low-resource settings.

Reports that Lalkua, India-based Century Pulp and Paper ordered a complete paper machine for the production of writing and printing papers from Voith Paper Inc.

In the present study, plant-scale process integration was applied to an Indian paper mill using the water cascade analysis (WCA) technique. Three limiting constraints, chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), and adsorbable organic halides (AOX), were considered for the study. A nearest neighbor algorithm was used to distribute the freshwater and recycled water among the plant operations. It was found that the limiting critical constraint depends upon the types of processes and streams involved in the integration. The limiting critical constraint can differ for different sections of the same industry, and can differ in different schemes of integration. After process integration, a 55.6% reduction in effluent flow, a 36% reduction in COD, and a 73% reduction in AOX were observed. After process integration, a 35.21% reduction in pollution costs can be achieved and, assuming the average production of the mill to be 225 tons per day, a savings of Indian rupees (INR) 1.73 per kg of paper produced can be achieved by employing process integration. The water cess was calculated as INR 3024.77 per day without integration for the sections that were considered for integration, while after integration, a 41.53% savings in the form of water cess was calculated., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The present investigation aims to assess the phytoremediation potential of six aquatic macrophytes, viz. Eichhornia crassipes, Hydrilla verticillata, Jussiaea repens, Lemna minor, Pistia stratiotes and Trapa natans grown in paper mill effluent of JK Paper mill of Rayagada, Orissa, for remediation of heavy metals. The experiment was designed in pot culture experiments. Assessment of physico-chemical parameters of paper mill effluent showed significant decrease in pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, chlorine, sulphur, biological and chemical oxygen demand after growth of macrophytes for 20 days. Phytoremediation ability of these aquatic macrophytic species for copper (Cu) and mercury (Hg) was indicated by assessing the decrease in the levels of heavy metals from effluent water. Maximum reduction (66.5 %) in Hg content of untreated paper mill effluent was observed using L. minor followed by T. natans (64.8 %). L. minor showed highest reduction (71.4 %) of Cu content from effluent water followed by E. crassipes (63.6 %). Phytoextraction potential of L. minor was remarkable for Hg and Cu, and bioaccumulation was evident from bioconcentration factor values, i.e. 0.59 and 0.70, respectively. The present phytoremediation approach was considered more effective than conventional chemical treatment method for removing toxic contaminants from paper mill effluent.

The goal of this study was to optimize the coagulation-flocculation process in wastewater generated from the paper and pulp industry using a grey relational analysis (GRA)-based Taguchi method. Process parameters included types and doses of natural coagulants and coagulant aid, and pH. To track the efficiency of the treatment process, the following responses were chosen for optimization: chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS) and turbidity of wastewater, alone or in combination or all together. Analysis of variance showed that the type and dose of the coagulant aid were the most significant parameters, followed by pH and the dose of the coagulant; the type of coagulant used was found to be insignificant in the coagulation-flocculation process. Optimization of process parameters to achieve lower turbidity and greater removal of COD and TDS was verified in a separate confirmatory experiment, which showed improvements in COD and TDS removal and a decrease in turbidity of 8.2, 6.35 and 26.17%, respectively, with the application of the Taguchi method and GRA.

Currency (notes and coins) handling by people during transaction is one of the most mobile objects within the community, which has a potential of transmitting pathogens. A survey carried out recently in Nanded city (Maharashtra) revealed heavy contamination of currency notes and coins by important fungal pathogens of plants and man, i.e. Aspergillus niger (60.37%), A. flavus (3.98%), A.nidulans (0.2%), Penicillium citrinum (17.80%), Alternaria tenuis (0.20%), Curvularia pallescens (0.20%), Cladosporium cladosporioides (10.69%), Rhizopus stolonifer (1.04%), an unidentified Aspergillus species .1 (0.20%) and another unidentified Aspergillus species.2 (3.14%), Fusarium sp. (0.20%), Trichoderma viride (0.20%),white sterile mycelium (0.62%) and brown sterile mycelium (0.62%). The study highlights the importance of preventing and controlling fungal contamination of currency notes and coins in public health and plant protection. Currency notes or coins are rarely suspected as infection sources and often not quarantined at airport or seaport terminal. Possible transmission of pathogens or "alien", invasive species through currency across borders or across countries needs to be taken into consideration especially under circumstances of serious outbreak of important disease or when there is a threat of biological warfare.

Generally, handmade paper industries are considered as eco-friendly industries. These industries are known to use vegetable dyes which are thought to be safe and non-toxic. However, cardboard industries are considered as pollution-causing industries. The present study focuses on the genotoxic assessment of handmade paper and cardboard industry's effluent by Ames test using Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 and TA 100 strains. On mutagenicity analysis, effluents of both industries were found to be mutagenic with either one strain of Salmonella typhimurium or with both. Besides this, no significant difference was observed in effluent of both small-scale and large-scale handmade paper industries. Moreover, mutagenic compounds reach the nearby water body i.e. Amani Shah Drainage through connecting drain. Discharging of untreated effluent not only deteriorates the water quality but also reaches the food chain when used for irrigating nearby fields. Workers of these industries may suffer various health hazards when they are exposed to mutagenic effluent without having any information about it. Hence, discharging of effluents should thus be restricted or the workers while handling mutagenic substances should at least take proper precautions.

Pulp and paper mills generate varieties of pollutants depending upon type of the pulping process being used. This paper presents the characteristics of wastewater from South India Paper Mill, Karnataka, India which is using recycled waste paper as a raw material. The raw wastewater consists of 80-90 mg L( - 1) suspended solid and 1,010-1,015 mg L( - 1) dissolved solid. However, pH varied from 5.5-6.8. The biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand ranged from 200-210 and 1,120-1,160 mg L( - 1), respectively. Aerobic treatment of raw effluent attribute to significant reduction in suspended solid (range between 25 to 30 mg L( - 1)) and total dissolved solid (range between 360 to 390 mg L( - 1)). However, pH, temperature, and electrical conductivity were found superior after treatment. Copper, cadmium, iron, lead, nickel, and zinc were found in less quantity in raw effluent and were almost completely removed after treatment. The dendrogram of the effluent quality parameters clearly indicate that South India Paper Mill does not meet Minimal National Standard set by central Pollution Control Board to discharge in agricultural field.

The genetic and functional diversity of Bacillus and Bacillus-derived genera was analyzed in soil samples collected from three different fields near Century Paper Mill, Lal Kuan, Uttarakhand, India. Two had been subjected to concentrated and diluted effluent irrigation for the past 25 years and were designated as a concentrated effluent irrigated field (CEIF) and a dilute effluent irrigated field (DEIF), respectively. The field irrigated with fresh water was designated as a water irrigated field (WIF). Increase in pH, Na and Zn content and decrease in Fe content was observed due to effluent irrigation. The population count of Bacillus and Bacillus-derived was maximum in DEIF followed by WIF and CEIF. Variations in plant growth-promoting traits and extracellular enzymes were observed among the isolates from the three different field soils. Based on the amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) with three restriction enzymes, all the selected 104 isolates were clustered into 14 groups. The sequencing of the representative isolates revealed that the majority belonged to the genus Bacillus, while three isolates belonged to Paenibacillus, Lysinibacillus and Orthinibacillus. There were a few species like Orthinibacillus contaminans, B. oleronius, B. safensis, B. methylotrophicus, B. stratosphericus, B. aryabhattai, B. asahii and B. bataviensis that were prevalent only in DEIF and CEIF but not in WIF field soil. The diversity index parameters like the Shannon Index, indices of species richness and species evenness based on biochemical profiling and ARDRA profiling revealed that Bacillaceae members in the fresh water irrigated field were diverse.

Rice crop (var. Luit) was grown under controlled conditions in paper mill effluent contaminated soil and irrigated with undiluted paper mill effluent as well as normal water and compared the results against a control treatment consisting of similar unaffected soil irrigated with normal water. The effluent was alkaline (pH 7.5), containing high soluble salts (EC 2.93 dS m(-1)), chloride (600 mg L(-1)) and total dissolved solids (1875 mg L(-1)). At maximum tillering (MT) stage effluent irrigation significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the leaf numbers per hill and leaf area by 19.8 and 36.4 %, respectively. Tiller number and maximum root length were reduced by 19.3% and 12.5%, respectively at fifty percent flowering (FF) stage. Effluent irrigated crop recorded significant reduction in the dry matter production (17.5-24.9%) and grain yield (19%). Unfilled grain was increased by 10.7%. Higher concentration of sodium, calcium and magnesium in the effluent irrigated soil affected K uptake. Available soil P was lowest while available N, K, S and exchangeable and water soluble Na, K, Ca, Mg were highest in effluent irrigated soil. Chloride content found to increase (3-7 folds) while microbial biomass carbon reduced (10-37%). The adverse effect of the paper mill effluent on the crop as well as on the affected soil could be reduced significantly through normal water irrigation.

The purpose of this study is to construct an approach and a methodology to estimate the future outflows of electronic waste (e-waste) in India. Consequently, the study utilizes a time-series multiple lifespan end-of-life model proposed by Peralta and Fontanos for estimating the current and future quantities of e-waste in India. The model estimates future e-waste generation quantities by modeling their usage and disposal. The present work considers two scenarios for the approximation of e-waste generation based on user preferences to store or to recycle the e-waste. This model will help formal recyclers in India to make strategic decisions in planning for appropriate recycling infrastructure and institutional capacity building. Also an extension of the model proposed by Peralta and Fontanos is developed with the objective of helping decision makers to conduct WEEE estimates under a variety of assumptions to suit their region of study. During 2007-2011, the total WEEE estimates will be around 2.5 million metric tons which include waste from personal computers (PC), television, refrigerators and washing machines. During the said period, the waste from PC will account for 30% of total units of WEEE generated., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In the present study the effect of laboratory exposure to wastewaters from Aligarh (AWW) and Saharanpur (SWW) on the activities of cytochrome P450 (CYP450) isozymes like ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylase (EROD), pentoxyresorufin-o-deethylase (PROD) and N-nitrosodimethylamine demethylase (NDMA-d) were investigated in the liver and kidney of rats. The industrial wastewater samples from Saharanpur city of northern India resulted 12, 3.5 and 1.5-fold rise in the EROD (CYP1A1), PROD (CYP2B1) and NDMA-d (CYP2E1) activity, respectively, in the liver of treated animals. Renal EROD and PROD activities were found to be enhanced by around 5 and 7-folds, respectively, as a result of SWW treatment. On the other hand, Aligarh samples showed significant inhibition in these test CYP450 enzymes both in hepatic as well as renal tissues. Strong induction of CYP1A1 (>10-fold) suggests that EROD can serve as a potent biomarker of SWW in the liver of treated animal. However, PROD and EROD can also act as fairly good biomarkers in case of renal tissue. Marked elevation of EROD activity in SWW treated animals strongly suggests the overwhelming levels of EROD inducers in the Saharanpur sample while a meagre amount of inducers accompanied with significant levels of inhibitors in the Aligarh sample., (Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Developing countries are facing a rise in noncommunicable diseases (NCD), which is a cause for concern. The World Health Organization has recommended a stepwise approach for NCD risk factor surveillance. Screening for risk factors in remote populations is difficult due to lack of resources and technical expertise, including standardized laboratory facilities. The collection of samples on filter paper for the assessment of risk factors circumvents the need for blood processing, storage, and shipment at ultralow temperatures., Method: Samples were collected on 3-mm Whatman filter paper from one industry (National Thermal Power Corporation) located in the periphery of Delhi as part of a surveillance carried out in industries from different parts of India. Total cholesterol was measured in serum and dried blood by the cholesterol oxidase/p-aminophenazone method and triglycerides by the glycerophosphate oxidase-peroxidase/aminophenazone method. Values obtained by the two methods were compared using Pearson correlation, and Bland-Altman plots were prepared to assess bias., Results: The correlation coefficient "r" was 0.78 for cholesterol and 0.94 for triglycerides between dried blood spots and serum. Bland-Altman plots suggest that differences in values obtained by the two methods were within two standard deviations for most of the samples., Conclusions: Blood samples dried on filter paper can be a successful option for population screening in remote areas, provided preanalytical variations arising due to the method of blood spot preparation and storage are well controlled., ((c) 2010 Diabetes Technology Society.)

Background: Infection with Staphylococcus aureus was initially considered a major problem in hospitals, but over the last few decades the incidence of community-acquired infection has also increased. Paper currency has recently been identified as another mode of spread by which community-acquired S. aureus infection may be transmitted, since paper currency is frequently transferred from one person to another. In the present study, S. aureus strains were isolated from paper currency and screened to detect virulence-associated genes., Methods: Paper currency was collected randomly from operators in mutton shops, vegetable shops, hospitals, medical stores, snacks corners, and restaurants in the two cities of India, Dehradun and Delhi. Samples were screened for pathogenic S. aureus by various biochemical assays. Three isolates were used to study the survival of S. aureus on paper currency. Virulence genes were amplified by PCR. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined against nine antibiotics by the disk diffusion method., Results: Sixty-seven isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from paper currency from the two Indian cities. The maximum number of isolates was recovered from hospitals, followed by mutton shops, and the minimum from restaurants. The test isolates could survive on paper currency for eight days under in vitro conditions (27 degrees C temperature and 30% relative humidity). A set of four virulence genes viz. cna (16 isolates), icaA (19 isolates), hlg (21 isolates), and sdrE (18 isolates) was amplified using gene-specific primers. Only eight isolates possessed all four virulence genes. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed that those isolates having all the tested virulence genes were more resistant., Conclusions: This study clearly suggests that paper currency can serve as a carrier for the spread of resistant bacterial pathogens.

Agro-based pulp and paper mills in India are one of the most polluting industries; in addition, they are high consumers of raw water. Growing scarcity of high quality freshwater as well as stringent regulatory standards is compelling these units to explore appropriate water management options. Based on data obtained through a questionnaire survey and plant visits, this work provides an overview of the water use and effluent treatment status in Indian agro-residue and recycled pulp and paper mills. The challenges faced by this sector are reviewed and practices adopted by progressive units to minimize freshwater use are illustrated through case studies.

Paper industries using different raw materials such as hard wood, bamboo, baggase, rice-straw and waste papers and bleaching chemicals like chlorine, hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, hydrogen peroxide, sulphite and oxygen were studied to estimate organic pollution load and Adsorbable Organic Halides (AOX) per ton of production. The hard wood based paper industries generate higher Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) loads (105-182 kg t(-1)) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) loads (32.0-72 kg t(-1)) compared to the agro and waste paper based industrial effluents. The bleaching sequences such as C-EP-H-H, C-E-H-H, C-E-Do-D1 and O-Do-EOP-D1 are adopted in the paper industries and the molecular elemental chlorine free bleaching sequence discharges low AOX in the effluent. The range of AOX concentration in the final effluent from the paper industries was 0.08-0.99 kg t(-1) of production. Water consumption was in the range of 100-130 m(3) t(-1) of paper production for wood based industries and 30-50 m(3) for the waste paper based industries. Paper machine effluents are partially recycled after treatment and pulp mill black liquor are subject to chemical recovery after evaporation to reduce the water consumption and the total pollution loads. Hypochlorite bleaching units of textile bleaching processes generate more AOX (17.2-18.3 mg l(-1)) and are consuming more water (45-80 l kg(-1)) whereas alkali peroxide bleaching hardly generates the AOX in the effluents and water consumption was also comparatively less (40 l kg(-1) of yarn/cloth).

The present study was undertaken with the objective to study the characteristics of the effluent of Century Pulp and Paper Mill, Lalkuan (Uttarakhand) in different seasons. The variations in the physicochemical characteristics were observed and monitored up to 12 months at three different sites. Mean values of temperature, pH, chlorides and total phenols of the effluent were found below, whereas colour, BOD5, COD and lignin concentrations were above the minimum national standards (MINAS).

The seasonal physico-chemical and microbial quality of Gola river water has been analyzed after confluence of pulp paper mill waste. The study revealed that it has enhanced 20-30 times pollution load of BOD, COD, TDS, TSS, sulphate, chloride, sodium, nitrate, potassium, lignin and phenol after mixing of pulp paper mill waste with river water in all season. Further, it induced the bacterial growth by increasing most probable number value of E. coli was 1.57 x 10(4), 1.6 x 10(4), 1.37 x 10(4) and SPC count was 1.68 x 10(4), 1.64 x 10(4), 1.67 x 10(4)/100 ml during summer, monsoon, winter respectively. While the most probable number value in river water before mixing of pulp paper mill waste was 1.4 x 10(2), 1.82 x 10(2), 1.5 x 10(2) and SPC count was 2.8 x 10(3), 2.89 x 10(3), 2.78 x 10(3)/100 ml during summer, monsoon and winter respectively. This indicated from 88-114 fold increase in most probable number value of E. coli and 56.55-60.0 times increase in SPC count of river water after mixing of effluent in summer, monsoon and winter. Moreover, the most probable number value in effluent itself before mixing was 3.4 x 10(2), 3.3 x 10(2), 2.8 x 10(2) and SPC count was 6 x 10(4), 6.5 x 10(4), 6 x 10(4)/100 ml during summer, monsoon, winter, respectively. Furthermore, it was revealed that the seasonal variation also regulated the bacterial population dynamics as per the physico-chemical quality, in which E. coli was found highest at the rate of (5.9 x 10(4)), E. aerogenes (5.3 x 10(4)), P. aeruginosa (1.3 x 10(4)), S. aureus (3.2 x 10(3)), K. pneumoniae (2.6 x 10(4)), Enteritidis (1.1 x 10(4)) on monsoon season and V. cholerae (7.4 x 10(2)), V. vulnificus (9.2 x 10(2))/100 ml in river water when contaminated with pulp paper mill waste in monsoon season. Thus, the monsoon season showed presence of FC and TC indicated the thermo-tolerant and disease causing group of bacterial population in effluent and its sequence was observed as monsoon>summer>winter. This indicated the growth of many pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria for health hazards with contamination of pulp paper waste in aquatic ecosystem within the vicinity of pulp paper mill industry.

The indiscriminate discharge of large volumes of highly putrescible liquid waste from the Sanjai Paper & Chemical Industries Ltd. created serious pollution problem in river Ami near Maghar town area in the district Sant Kabir Nagar of U.P., India. The river is originated from Sikahra Tal near Hallaur (Tehsil - Dumariaganj) of Siddharthnagar district U.P. and disappears into Rapti river near Kouriram of Gorakhpur district U.P. In present investigation an attempt has been made to ascertain the present water quality condition of river Ami in relation to paper mill effluent discharge. The samples were collected from the upstream and downstream of the flow-path of the river from point source of pollution by the mill. The high degree of water quality degradation is reflected by the changes in values of BOD, COD, DO, nitrogen contents and chlorides etc in downstream.

In continuation of their studies on Biodegradation of cellulosic waste materials, the authors have presented their experimental data on biodegradation on waste paper pulp. Greater efficiency in the cow dung and M3 culture experimental setups have been pointed out and discussed. Necessity of detailed data evaluation of temperature, pH, dry weight, cellulose, protein, carbohydrate, Nitrate, Phosphate & Potassium levels is suggested. Derivation of %, absolute and increase/decrease % of BOO, COD and VS have been pointed out for the first time in solid waste Biodegradation. Further data evaluation and derivation of critical reaction rate kinetics have been recommended for further studies in solid waste-degradation to achieve quicker Bioconversion of cellulosic wastes into compost.