The Three Gorges Dam (TGD) is a remarkable, far-reaching project in China. This study was conducted to assess the impact of TGD on changes in the ecological environment, snail distribution and schistosomiasis transmission in Dongting Lake area.

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Snakebite is a major problem affecting the rural poor in many of the poorest countries in the tropics. However, the scale of the socio-economic burden has rarely been studied. We undertook a comprehensive assessment of the burden in Sri Lanka.

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ideR, an essential gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is an attractive drug target as its conditional knockout displayed attenuated growth phenotype in vitro and in vivo. To the best of our knowledge, no inhibitors of IdeR are identified. We carried out virtual screening of NCI database against the IdeR DNA binding domain followed by inhibition studies using EMSA. Nine compounds exhibited potent inhibition with NSC 281033 (I-20) and NSC 12453 (I-42) exhibiting IC50 values of 2 µg/ml and 1 µg/ml, respectively.

Growing international and national focus on quantitatively measuring and improving ocean health has increased the need for comprehensive, scientific, and repeated indicators to track progress towards achieving policy and societal goals. The Ocean Health Index (OHI) is one of the few indicators available for this purpose.

Recently, increasing attention has been paid to the welfare of farm animals, which have been evaluated using behavioral and physiological measures. However, so far, the measures have almost always been used to estimate poor welfare. In this review, firstly we focus on how oxytocin (OT) relates to positive social behavior, pleasure, and stress tolerance, and second on which management factors stimulate OT release.

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The leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) ranges widely throughout the Indian Ocean, although nesting appears restricted to a few scattered areas. In the northeast Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia, leatherbacks nest on the Indian mainland (small numbers), Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sri Lanka, western coast of Thailand (small numbers), Sumatra, and Java. The current situation in Myanmar with regards to leatherback reproduction is unclear.

Accidental entanglement of turtles in abandoned fshing nets has been, and will likely continue to be, a major threat to sea turtles. Te impact of abandoned or lost nets, also known as ghost nets, can occur far from their point of origin as nets may drif far distances with ocean currents. Turtles that swim through ghost nets may get their body or fippers snagged in the net, potentially leading to lost circulation and injury to fippers, drowning, or prevention from feeding to the point of starvation.

The increase of urban areas and dominance of the landscape of cities by dense built forms, roads, impermeable surfaces results in the phenomenon of urban heat island wherein the built areas experience higher temperature than the surrounding suburbs.

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Hamtah and Chhota Shigri are two nearby, well monitored glaciers of western Himalaya, lying in the same climatic zone and driven by the same climatic conditions. In this study, topographical characteristics of both the glacier have been explored to understand the role of topography in controlling the glacier response.

Ever increasing power demand coupled with CO2 emission from coal-based power plants is a critical challenge for worldwide energy sector. This is even more critical for a country like India where a large coal reserve exists and about 60% of the total power produced is from coal. Meeting energy demand and simultaneously satisfying CO2 emissions target, India has to develop power from coal using more advanced technology than existing subcritical pulverized coal fired one. IGCC with CO2 capture emerges as a prospective option for using coal with reduced CO2 emissions.