Environment

Inflammation, one of the leading health issues in recent times call for concern. Many plants used in the management and treatment of inflammation in various parts of Nigeria have not been properly harnessed hence this review. The result of this review revealed that plants commonly used for the treatment of inflammation include: Zingiber officinale, Alstonia boonei, Plumbago zeylanica, Ocimum basilicum, Parquetina nigrescens, Peperomia pellucida, Abrus precatorius, Tetrapleura tetraptera, Alchornea cordifolia, Terminalia ivorensis, Aspilia africana, Ageratum conyzoides and Hymenocardia acida. Altogether 74 plant species are ethnobotanicals used in the management and treatment of inflammation. The plants were enumerated with their family names, common and local names, possible chemical constituents, part(s) used, route of administration and subsequent references where available.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ije.v4i2.12620 International Journal of Environment Vol.4(2) 2015: 1-18

The current operational practices in municipal solid waste landfills negatively impact environment due to uncontrolled land filling and other problems associated with solid waste disposal in developing countries. “Cover soil” application helps to control waste dispersion, release of gases and unattractive smell from landfills. One of the most important questions that occupy city officials is how to utilize landfill area after the completion of land filling. The problem may be more serious in Mediterranean cities due to high land prices caused by touristic activities. For example, landfill site of Antalya City is located in a forest ecosystem. Since forest ecosystems are more sensitive to environmental changes, the impact of Antalya City landfill is likely to be more severe on this ecosystem. The present study consisted of three steps. The first step was to collect detailed information of Antalya Kizilli Landfill site and surrounding environment. The second step was to investigate management status of landfill sites in local, national and international platforms. The last step was to determine the holistic approaches in the case of Antalya Kizilli Landfill site for rehabilitation efforts with a SWOT analysis. This paper evaluates some state agencies and organizations such as city municipalities, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, local forest institutes, related departments in universities, nongovernmental organizations and public stakeholders and their efforts on rehabilitation of solid waste landfill sites. The landfill management model proposed in this study for Antalya City could also be applied to cities that have similar facilities in the Mediterranean region.

Link of the paper: https://www.wflpublisher.com/Abstract/2181

The urban share of the Indian population jumped from 18% in 1961 to 31.16% in 2011 (Gupta et.al2013). This huge spurt in growth of the population is putting a huge demand on available land resource. Increasing population results in outward sprawl and growth of the town. This outward growth is causing the transformation of agricultural land and forest land into the habitant areas. An understanding of spatial extent of land cover changes at a regional scale is of great importance since it would facilitate the quantification of changes over a period of time and its analysis in terms of rate of change (Blaschkeet al., 2004; Khanday and Javed, 2009; Yuan et al., 1998). The hybrid Cellular Automata Markov (CA–Markov) method allows multiple classes and can replicate the alteration from one category to another. Thus this hybrid method is an important approach to model both spatial and temporal changes (Eastman, 2006). To predict urban growth in Gandhinagar, LANDSAT Multispectral, TM, ETM+, ...

Abstract  This study examines the link between social structural variables (gender, race, education, age, rural childhood), individual social psychology (altruism, self-interest, traditionality, and openness to change), and beliefs about the benefits of vegetarianism (for health, the environment, animals, and world hunger) and self-reported vegetarianism. Data from a random sample of 420 adult U.S. residents showed that 5.2 percent considered themselves vegetarian. The strongest predictor of vegetarianism as a dietary choice was the belief that vegetarianism is beneficial to the environment. None of the social structural variables had a direct influence on vegetarianism as a dietary choice. Of the four values studied, only altruism and traditional values influenced beliefs about the benefits of vegetarianism. Altruistic values increased, and traditional values decreased, beliefs that vegetarianism is beneficial to health, the environment, farm animals, and world hunger. Blacks were more likely than Whites to adhere to the beliefs that vegetarianism helps prevent cruelty to farm animals, is beneficial to personal health, and is beneficial to the environment. The race differences in beliefs persisted even with controls for values.

Pyrethroid insecticides are widely used in agriculture and in homes. Despite the neurotoxicity of these insecticides at high doses, few studies have examined whether lower-level exposures could adversely affect children's neurodevelopment. The PELAGIE cohort included 3421 pregnant women from Brittany, France between 2002 and 2006. When their children reached their sixth birthday, 428 mothers from the cohort were randomly selected, successfully contacted and found eligible. A total of 287 (67%) mothers agreed to participate with their children in the neuropsychological follow-up. Two cognitive domains were assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children: verbal comprehension and working memory. Five pyrethroid and two organophosphate insecticide metabolites were measured in maternal and child first-void urine samples collected between 6 and 19 gestational weeks and at 6years of age, respectively. Linear regression models were used to estimate associations between cogniti...

Mercury (Hg) is one of the most toxic heavy metals to living organisms and its conspicuous effect was inhibition of seedling growth. Twenty rice genotypes were grown under different Hg conditions to investigate the relative biomass of the root, shoot and entire plant, and the results indicated that different genotypes showed different relative biomass under different Hg conditions. Two Hg-tolerant (IR64 and 9311) and one Hg-sensitive (Azucena) rice varieties were screened. To investigate the genetic basis of Hg tolerance in rice at the seedling stage in nutrient solutions with or without 80 µM of HgCl2, a population of 96 doubled haploid lines derived from the cross between a Hg-tolerant indica variety IR64 and a Hg-sensitive japonica variety Azucena with 284 molecular markers was used to identify the quantitative trait loci (QTLs). A total of seven QTLs for the relative parameters of the shoot height (SH), root biomass (RB), shoot biomass (SB) and total biomass (TB) were detected on chromosomes 1, 3, 6 and 8 with LOD score ranging from 2.70 to 9.45 and the phenotypic variance explained from 6.94 to 36.17%. The positive contributions of five QTLs were from the tolerant parent IR64. A major QTL on chromosome 1 between R210 and AMY1B for relative total biomass (RTB) could explain 36% of the phenotypic variation. The Hg-tolerant variety IR64 had higher Hg concentration (p<0.01) in both shoot and root than the sensitive variety Azucena. Three QTLs for Hg accumulation including two for Hg concentration in leaf (HgL) and one for Hg concentration in root (HgR) were also determined. Two of three accumulation alleles were contributed by the Hg-tolerant parent IR64. These results provide an insight into the genetic basis of Hg tolerance and accumulation in rice and will be useful in identifying genes associated with Hg tolerance and accumulation.

Link of the paper: https://www.wflpublisher.com/Abstract/2202

This study investigated the possible use of local cellulosic wastes for the cultivation of P. eryngii. For the propagation of the main culture, 2.0% malt-extract agar was used whereas wheat grains were used for the propagation of spawn. For the formation of basidiocarp, wheat straw (W), soybean straw (S), corn stalk (C), bean stalk (B), millet straw (M), cotton stalk (P) and bran of rice (RB) were used as culture media. Six types of compost were prepared, consisting of a mixture of W, W-S (1:1), W-C (1:1), W-B (1:1), W-M (1:1) and W-P (1:1). The six compost types were also supplemented with 10.0 and 20.0% of rice bran (RB). The shortest mycelium growing period was 8.0 days on W-B (1:1) + 10.0% RB and the longest one 12.6 days on W-P (1:1) + 10.0% RB. The shortest period for the formation of primordium was 26.2 days on W and the longest one 44.2 days on W-C (1:1) + 20.0% RB. The shortest harvest period was 37.4 days on W, while the longest one was 54.8 days on W-C (1:1) + 20.0% RB. In the total yield, the lowest yield per 100 g of material (70% moisture) was 14.4 g on W, while the highest one was 25.6 g on W-M (1:1) + 10.0% RB. The highest biological efficiency (BE) was 85.2% on W-M (1:1) + 10.0% RB and the lowest one 48.0% on W. Based on the results, various cellulosic wastes can be used for the cultivation of P. eryngii, and also there was a relationship between yield and the materials used for growing mushroom. Therefore, mixed materials may be used in culture of mushrooms. According to data obtained, the main reason for different results is due to the use of different materials in culture medium.

Link of the paper : https://www.wflpublisher.com/Abstract/1362

This paper is in compliance with the given RCRANRM Module Assignment for the course subject and the topic where has to be presented based on the relevance of the question to a discussion on what are the characteristics of a well-designed climate-risk management program in the process of an effective climate change adaptation and mitigation for the current global issues, which is climate change.

Farmer Terms of Trade (FTT) in this study is the margin between changes (%) in prices paid by the farmers for required agricultural inputs and prices received for per units of products. Number of farmers’ suicides in Maharashtra state of the India (-0.58) and share in national figures (-0.6) is negatively associated with FTT and positively (0.76) with increasing input prices. Negative status of FTT is linked to increasing prices of agricultural inputs (-0.33) and profit is associated (0.60) with changes in prices of agricultural outputs. These, adverse economic conditions are major causes of indebtedness, deterioration of economical and social status, psychological depressions and suicides. Therefore, controlled prices of agricultural inputs and stabilized steadily growth in output prices matching to input prices are the key solutions in rescue the farmers and agriculture from its current stage.

Outside the Frame: A Critical Analysis of Urban Image Surveys Phoebe Crisman Aided by digital technology, designers and planners are making ever greater use of photographic images to depict and envision proposals for urban change. Yet, even as such presentations have become increasingly central to community planning efforts, the methods for employing photographs and their precise construction have not been adequately analyzed. Discussing the new reliance on imaging techniques in architecture, Cambridge Professor Andrew Saint recently noted, “the long-term challenge for the architectural pro- fession…is to ride this exciting, undisciplined, licentious, and dangerous beast, to control this irresponsible lust for image that pervades our culture.” 1 Several imaging methods have gained widespread cur- rency in the design of public places. This essay specifi- cally examines what have become known as urban image surveys. The inclusive and participatory intentions of Above: +6.1 This mixed-u...

Les boues de station d&#39;épuration sont constituées de sédiments résiduaires issus des traitements des eaux usées. En France, chaque habitant génère environ 50 g de matières sèches de boues par jour et ces résidus représentent environ 850 000 t de matières sèches par an. Actuellement, 60% des boues de station d&#39;épuration produites en France sont épandues en agriculture alors que 20 à 25% sont mises en décharges et 15 à 20% sont incinérées. L&#39;impact de la politique européenne en matière de traitement des eaux usées se traduit par une augmentation de la production des boues qui dépasserait, en France, un million de tonnes de matières sèches en 2005. Dans ce contexte général d&#39;augmentation des quantités de boues, d&#39;une part, et devant l&#39;abandon progressif de la mise en décharge des déchets non ultimes, d’autre part, on voit difficilement comment la part de l&#39;épandage pourrait diminuer. Cependant, la controverse qui s&#39;est développée au cours des dernières a...