This paper presents the application of a new methodology for coastal multi-hazard assessment & management under a changing global climate on the state of Karnataka, India. The recently published methodology termed the Coastal Hazard Wheel (CHW) is designed for local, regional and national hazard screening in areas with limited data availability, and covers the hazards of ecosystem disruption, gradual inundation, salt water intrusion, erosion and flooding.

This communication reports on the Mycetoma Research Centre of the University of Khartoum, Sudan experience on 6,792 patients seen during the period 1991–2014.The patients were predominately young (64% under 30 years old) males (76%). The majority (68%) were from the Sudan mycetoma belt and 28% were students.

The complex and unresolved evolutionary origins of the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic exposed major gaps in our knowledge of the global spatial ecology and evolution of influenza A viruses in swine (swIAVs). Here we undertake an expansive phylogenetic analysis of swIAV sequence data and demonstrate that the global live swine trade strongly predicts the spatial dissemination of swIAVs, with Europe and North America acting as sources of viruses in Asian countries.

Developmental processes in the placenta and the fetal brain are shaped by the same biological signals. Recent evidence suggests that adaptive responses of the placenta to the maternal environment may influence central nervous system development. The researchers studied the association between in utero exposure to fine particle air pollution with a diameter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and placental expression of genes implicated in neural development.

Pesticides have been associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD), but there are few data on important exposure characteristics such as dose-effect relations. It is unknown whether associations depend on clinical PD subtypes. The researchers examined quantitative aspects of occupational pesticide exposure associated with PD and investigated whether associations were similar across PD subtypes.

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Displacing the use of polluting and inefficient cookstoves in developing countries is necessary to achieve the potential health and environmental benefits sought through clean cooking solutions. Yet little quantitative context has been provided on how much displacement of traditional technologies is needed to achieve targets for household air pollutant concentrations or fuel savings. The objective of this paper provides instructive guidance on the usage of cooking technologies required to achieve health and environmental improvements.

The Karakoram and the Himalayan mountain range accommodate a large number of glaciers and are the major source of several perennial rivers downstream. To interactively describe to response of glaciers to climate change, a glacier parameterization scheme has been developed and implemented into the regional climate model REMO. The scheme simulates the mass balance as well as changes of the areal extent of glaciers on a subgrid scale. The parameterization scheme is for the first time applied to the region.

Increasing ubanisation and industrialisation are widening the rift between demand for and supply of water

We extended our research on the architecture, growth and age of trees belonging to the genus Adansonia, by starting to investigate large individuals of the most widespread Malagasy species. Our research also intends to identify the oldest baobabs of Madagascar. Here we present results of the radiocarbon investigation of the two most representative Adansonia rubrostipa (fony baobab) specimens, which are located in south-western Madagascar, in the Tsimanampetsotse National Park. We found that the fony baobab called "Grandmother" consists of 3 perfectly fused stems of different ages.

Rainfall variations in the Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand were studied for a period of six years from 2008 to 2013. The rainfall data were obtained through a dense network of rain gauges installed by India Meteorological Department (IMD), New Delhi, are spreaded over seven districts of Uttarakhand, combined with the data from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) rain gauge located at Ghuttu, Garhwal Himalaya.

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