Department Of Environmental Science And Technology
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Item Urban to rural COVID-19 progression in India: The role of massive migration and the challenge to India's traditional labour force policies(John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2021-09-15T00:00:00) Sahoo, Prafulla Kumar; Biswal, Suchismita; Kumar, Hemant; Powell, MikeThe coronavirus disease?2019 (COVID-19) has emerged as a deadliest disease in the 21st century. Initially in India, this disease was concentrated in major urban cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Gujarat, and Chennai, which were the national hotspots for the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in subsequent months, returning migrants (mainly day labour) brought the disease back to their home; this vector triggered significant spread to semi-urban and rural areas. This highlighted serious concerns in rural India, where access to sophisticated healthcare and mitigation strategies were lacking. There is little data on this new pattern of disease spread. This article provides a short review for tracking the spread of COVID-19 into major rural states in India based on understanding urban-rural workforce migration relative to the growing proportion of the nation's COVID-19 caseload between May-September 2020. � 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Item Air Pollution, Climate Change, and Human Health in Indian Cities: A Brief Review(Frontiers Media S.A., 2021-08-13T00:00:00) Kaur, Rajveer; Pandey, PuneetaClimate change and air pollution have been a matter of serious concern all over the world in the last few decades. The present review has been carried out in this concern over the Indian cities with significant impacts of both the climate change and air pollution on human health. The expanding urban areas with extreme climate events (high rainfall, extreme temperature, floods, and droughts) are posing human health risks. The intensified heat waves as a result of climate change have led to the elevation in temperature levels causing thermal discomfort and several health issues to urban residents. The study also covers the increasing air pollution levels above the prescribed standards for most of the Indian megacities. The aerosols and PM concentrations have been explored and hazardous health impacts of particles that are inhaled by humans and enter the respiratory system have also been discussed. The air quality during COVID-2019 lockdown in Indian cities with its health impacts has also been reviewed. Finally, the correlation between climate change, air pollution, and urbanizations has been presented as air pollutants (such as aerosols) affect the climate of Earth both directly (by absorption and scattering) and indirectly (by altering the cloud properties and radiation transfer processes). So, the present review will serve as a baseline data for policy makers in analyzing vulnerable regions and implementing mitigation plans for tackling air pollution. The adaptation and mitigation measures can be taken based on the review in Indian cities to reciprocate human health impacts by regular air pollution monitoring and addressing climate change as well. Copyright � 2021 Kaur and Pandey.Item COVID-19 lockdown: a rare opportunity to establish baseline pollution level of air pollutants in a megacity, India(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2021-02-22T00:00:00) Sahoo, P.K.; Salom�o, G.N.; da Silva Ferreira J�nior, J.; de Lima Farias, D.; Powell, M.A.; Mittal, S.; Garg, V.K.This paper analyses air quality data from megacity�Delhi, India, during different periods related to the COVID-19, including pre-lockdown, lockdown and unlocked (post-lockdown) (2018�2020) to determine what baseline levels of air pollutants might be and the level of impact that could be anticipated under the�COVID-19 lockdown�emission scenario. The results show that air quality improved significantly during the lockdown phases, with the most significant changes occurring in the transportation and industrially dominated areas. A pronounced decline in PM2.5 and PM10 up to 63% and 58%, respectively, was observed during the lockdown compared to the pre-lockdown period in 2020. When compared to 2018 and 2019, they were lower by up to 51% and 61%, respectively, dropping by 56% during unlock. Some pollutants (NOx and CO) dropped significantly during lockdown, while SO2 and O3 declined only slightly. Moreover, when compared between the different phases of lockdown, the maximum decline for most of the pollutants and air quality index occurred during the�lockdown phase 1; thus, this period was used to report the�COVID-19 baseline threshold values�(CBT; threshold value is the upper limit of baseline variation). Of the various�statistical methods used median + 2 median absolute deviation (mMAD)�was most suitable, indicating CBT values�of 143 and 75 ug/m3 for PM10 and PM2.5, respectively. This results although preliminary, but�it�gives a positive indication that temporary lockdown can be considered as a boon to mitigate the damage we have done to the environment. Also, this baseline levels can be helpful�as a first line of information�to set future�target limits�or to�develop effiective management policies for achieving better air quality in urban centres like Delhi. � 2021, Islamic Azad University (IAU).Item Taxonomical establishment and compositional studies of a new cordyceps (ascomycetes) species from the northwest himalayas (India)(Begell House Inc., 2016) Sharma, S.K.; Gautam, N.; Atri, N.S.; Dhancholia, S.During a frequent survey in the northwest Indian Himalayan region, a new species-Cordyceps macleodganensis-was encountered. This species is described on the basis of its macromorphological features, microscopic details, and internal transcribed spacer sequencing. This species showed only 90% resemblance to Cordyceps gracilis. The chemical composition of the mycelium showed protein (14.95 ? 0.2%) and carbohydrates (59.21 ? 3.8%) as the major nutrients. This species showed appreciable amounts of ?-carotene, lycopene, phenolic compounds, polysaccharides, and flavonoids. Mycelial culture of this species showed higher effectiveness for ferric-reducing antioxidant power, DPPH radical scavenging activity, ferrous ion-chelating activity, and scavenging ability on superoxide anion-derived radicals, calculated by half-maximal effective concentrations. ? 2016 Begell House, Inc.Item Response of diatoms to water quality in Khajiyar lake, Himachal Pradesh(EM International, 2016) Bhardwaj, A.; Chauhan, R.The present investigation was carried out to study the presence, abundance and distribution of diatoms in relation to the water quality of Khajiyar Lake, Himachal Pradesh during April, 2011 to January, 2012. The lake is about 2000 m above sea level and is situated at 32? 32? 53? N and 76? 3? 34?E. Surface water samples were collected from the Khajiyar lake for six months over the year in the month of April-May in summers, July-August during rainy season and December-January in winters. The diatoms presence, abundance and distribution were found to be greatly influenced by the physico-chemical regime of the lake. The diatoms density showed highly significant and positive relationship with conductivity (r = 0.869, p<0.01), and chloride (r= 0.857, p<0.01) and positive relationship with nitratenitrogen and total phosphate-phosphorus. The higher values of free carbon dioxide (11.0-26.8 mg/L), chloride (20.2-33.1mg/L), nitratenitrogen (0.098-0.485mg/L), total phosphate-phosphorus (0.62-2.32mg/L), very low percentage of oxygen indicators species and the presence and abundance of pollution indicator diatom species such as Diatoma vulgare (5%), Navicula gracilis (24%), Navicula gibba (8%), Pinnularia nobilis (12%), Nitizschia sigmoidea (3%), Gomphonema geminatum (23%), Frustulia rhomboides (2%), Tabellaria fenestrata (2%) and Cylinderotheca gracilis (4%) throughout the investigation indicated highly deteriorated water quality of the lake ecosystem. Study thus demonstrated response of diatoms to changing water quality and their role as bio-indicators.Item Evaluation of mycelial nutrients, bioactive compounds, and antioxidants of five Himalayan entomopathogenic ascomyceteous fungi from India(Begell House Inc., 2015) Sharma, S.K.; Gautam, N.; Atri, N.S.In this study, using standard methods, mycelial nutrients, bioactive compounds, and antioxidants were analyzed for the first time for five fungal species: Isaria sinclairii (Berk.) Lloyd, I. tenuipes Peck, I. japonica Yasuda, I. farinosa (Holmsk) Fr. and Cordyceps tuberculata (Lebert) Maire. All of these species were low in fat content and rich in protein, fiber, ash, and carbohydrates. Mineral elements (Fe, Mg, Cu, Mn, and Ca) were detected in appreciable amounts. All three types of fatty acids (saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated) as well as bioactive compounds (ascorbic acid, ?-carotene, lycopene, phenolic compounds, and polysaccharides) were detected for each species. The investigated species showed high ferric-reducing antioxidant power as well as 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity. Although differences were observed in the values of each species, each species showed richness in one or more components. ? 2015 Begell House, Inc.