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Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant affecting the growth and development of aquatic macrophytes. The present study was designed to evaluate the toxic effect of BPA on Azolla filiculoides. The plants were exposed to different concentrations of BPA and the effect was evaluated in terms of plant growth, physiological and oxidative status, responses of the antioxidative system, and changes in key metabolites. The results have shown that BPA (≥ 20 mg L

It still remains an intriguing question in weather and climate research on identifying the convective rainfall from stratiform. In a future warmer climate, this will be important to know to predict the changing pattern of rain intensity and distribution and to plan an efficient usage of water resources. Although quite a few methods have been proposed to address this question, such as cloud top temperature value, height-integrated ice and cloud water paths, brightness temperature, drop size distribution etc., the fidelity and validity of those vary widely, and hence their applicability remains limited. In this work, we propose a method to identify these two rainfall regimes using a combination of surface and remote sensing measurements. We collected the rainwater samples daily at Port Blair, Sagar and Tezpur in India as part of a project CRP F31006, funded by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). We measured the 18O content in these collected rainwater samples by measuring its fractionation (δ18O) using a Triple Isotope Water Analyzer by Los Gatos Research, USA. Among these sites, Port Blair is an island on the Bay of Bengal near the tropics, Sagar is an inland location in central India's dry, arid climate and Tezpur is located in the wet and heavily forested northeast India. Whereas Port Blair is situated very close to the tropics, Sagar and Tezpur are closer to the subtropics. The dual-frequency precipitation radar in the global precipitation measurement (GPM) program provides the convective and stratiform rainfall records by looking at radar reflectivities. We utilize these records to estimate the area-averaged stratiform rainfall fraction over each of these locations. We find that the relation between rain intensity and stratiform rainfall fraction can be represented by a logarithmic regression, whereas, the relation between δ18O and rain intensity can be represented by linear regression. However, the logarithmic regression weakens with latitude, and, the slope of the linear relation changes from slightly negative to slightly positive. The three sites considered here are located under different environmental conditions (oceanic to continental, semi-arid to forest, southwest to northeast monsoon zones, etc.) and house different vegetation types. To better understand the underlying processes governing such relations, we also study the impact of different meteorological variables in regulating these relations. Based on our study, the δ18O can be used as a proxy to identify the relative contributions of convective and stratiform rain types in the total rainfall over a region.

The present study investigated the phycoremediation efficacy of two freshwater green microalgae Chlorella ellipsoidea and Desmodesmus opoliensis for treatment of water of Ellenga beel, a wetland lo...

Soil acts as an important source and sink for atmospheric carbon due to the activities of soil microorganisms. Any change on soil carbon cycle has a greater impact on the concentration of atmospheric carbon. These necessities the importance of soil biological parameters to predict the role of an ecosystem on carbon storage. However, there is dearth of information on seasonal dynamics of soil microbial properties and carbon mineralisation kinetics of semi-evergreen forests of North-east India that occupies about 25% of the countries forest cover. In this study, we collected soils from three natural ecosystems (grassland, forestland and wetland) of the Kaziranga National Park during pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon season for two consecutive years. In grassland and forestland ecosystem, soils were collected at two depths (0–15 cm) and (15–30 cm). The collected soils were analysed for soil microbial biomass carbon, extracellular enzyme activities and carbon mineralisation kinetics. The studied soil parameters significantly varied with season and ecosystem. However, this variation decreased with increasing soil depth. Conclusively, our findings documented that soil properties, microbial biomass carbon, extracellular enzyme activities, and carbon mineralisation kinetics significantly differ across the seasons and ecosystems of Kaziranga National Park. Further research is needed to explore the composition and function of soil microbial communities in different ecosystems over the seasons to accentuate our mechanistic comprehension of soil carbon dynamics of the studied ecosystems of Kaziranga National Park under changing climatic scenarios.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emission from mustard (variety TS 38) field was estimated under the application of soil amendments for two consecutive years (November to February 2018 and 2019). Woodchip biochars obtained from a bioenergy power plant as bioenergy by-product (MWG), and conventional technique (MWC) were tested against farmyard manure (FYM), a commonly used soil organic amendment. N2O gas samples from mustard field was collected at ten-day intervals from sprouting of mustard seeds until harvest. Plant growth parameters were recorded at different crop growth stages whereas soil sampling and analysis were performed after harvest. Emission of N2O was found to be highest during flowering stage of the crop in all the treatments. Plots without soil amendment i.e. control (C) recorded 11.45 g ha−1 of N2O throughout the crop growing period. While, treatment IF (inorganically fertilized plots) emitted 29% higher (14.81 g ha−1) N2O as compared to control. Application of biochars MWC (treatment biochar conventional; BCC) and MWG (treatment biochar gasification; BCG) at a rate of 10 t ha−1 showed 23.4–52.13% lesser (BCC = 5.48 g ha−1, BCG = 8.77 g ha−1) N2O flux whereas, addition of FYM at the same dose was able to reduce it up to 9% (10.42 g ha−1). However, mixing of both the biochars with FYM improved this reduction upto 18% (BCCF = 9.34 g ha−1, BCGF = 10.06 g ha−1). Highest seasonal emission of N2O (14.81 g ha−1) under treatment IF leads to greater global warming potential (GWP) i.e. 4.41 kg CO2 eq. ha−1, which decreased to 1.63–2.61 kg CO2 eq. ha−1 under lone application of biochars (treatment BCC and BCG). Recorded GWP of FYM treated plots was 3.10 kg CO2 eq. ha−1. Significant (≤ 0.05) correlation was found between N2O flux with the pH and electrical conductivity (EC) of the applied amendments. Higher reduction in N2O emission, better improvement in soil quality and mustard yield under application of conventionally made biochar (MWC) as compared to bioenergy by-product biochar (MWG) and FYM indicates its better prospect in mitigating global warming potential from acidic sandy loam soil.

Accumulation of heavy metals on naturally grown epiphytic lichens and its impact on their physiological integrity was examined. Lichen species collected from differently polluted areas (oil refinery, roadside) were compared with the species collected from relatively lesser polluted areas. Heavy metal buildup in lichens were found to have significant damaging effect on their physiological health. Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, Co, Ni and Cr concentrations were found to be higher in the lichen species collected from both the polluted areas. Metal accumulation in lichen thallus has positive correlation at p ≤ 0.01 (r = 0.417 to 0.772) with the recorded protein concentrations. Whereas, other studied parameters like chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations, membrane stability and pH documented negative correlation with the accumulated heavy metals. However, abundance of species Dirinaria applanata and Dirinaria sp. at polluted areas with better protein content indicates their tolerance towards heavy metal. Chlorophyll degradation and protein contents in the lichens were found to be efficient physiological parameters to correlate with the air quality of a region. Sensitivity to heavy metals may be the cause of sparsity of species Arthonia cinnabarina, Cryptothecia subnidulans and Lecanora sp. in the polluted areas. However, lesser sensitivity to heavy metals favored the growth of species Dirinaria applanata and Dirinaria sp. even in higher polluted areas.

Knowledge of first aid, which constitutes life-saving treatments for injuries or unexpected illnesses, is important for every individual at every age. First aid and basic life support are so important that teaching basic first aid should be compulsory in all schools. According to world health organization (WHO), injuries related to traffic accidents were ninth among the first 10 causes of global disease burden in 1990. They are expected to be ranked in third place after ischemic cardiac disease and unipolar major depression in 2020. Basic first aid training prepares students to react to situations and provide immediate, efficient management for a wide variety of incidents. Providing of knowledge and training about correct management of injuries and illnesses to students is important to improve their health knowledge which in turn may lead to healthy and save life. It is necessary to strengthen school health services through full participation of teachers and educators, providing them training sessions and update them by regularly interacting with them. Literature demonstrates that the widespread dissemination of first aid may have benefits for injury prevention in terms of reducing traffic crashes, lowering rates of workplace incidents, and increasing safety awareness. The present study revealed a perceived need for knowledge regarding first aid among school students and thus advocates that first-aid education should be made compulsory in school syllabus. It is reasonable to conclude that the ultimate goal of the first aid is neither to treat, nor to diagnose, but to stabilize the patient. Keywords: First aid, Knowledge, Training, Awareness, School children

Introduction: The emerging infection of COVID-19 was initiated from Wuhan, China, have been spread to more than 210 countries around the globe including India. Now India is 4th position in the world scenario of COVID-19 with 426910 infected cases and 13,703 deaths by 22 June 2020. In the northeast, Assam is in highest position with 5,586 cases and 9 deaths till now. Awareness is the key factor for prevention of spread of COVID-19 among general people. In view of these contexts, the present study was undertaken to assess awareness of COVID-19 among general population of Northeast India. The aim of the study was to assess the level of awareness among general population of Northeast India regarding COVID-19. Materials and Methods: A web based survey was conducted among 185 people of deferent states of northeast during the period of April and May 2020. A self-structured validated questionnaire used for collecting information. Descriptive analysis was performed to represent the study characteristics. Awareness among the study population was categories into 3 Levels i.e Adequate, Moderately Adequate and Inadequate. Level of Adequate awareness considered as > (Mean + SD, Moderately Adequate as (Mean-SD)-(Mean + SD) and Inadequate as < (Mean-SD. Results & Discussion: Overall awareness on COVID-19, majority of respondents, 97(52.4%) have moderately adequate awareness. 49(26.5%) of respondents have adequate awareness and 39(21.1%) have inadequate awareness. It reveals that overall level of awareness is not satisfactory. Less than half of people were aware adequately about the COVID-19. Highest percentage of adequate, 36(44.4%) and inadequate, 21(25%) awareness reported from Manipur, Highest percentage of moderately adequate awareness reported from Nagaland, 17 (85%). Slightly more than half of respondents were aware about the general information, 102 (67.45%) and risk factors, 119 (64.3%) of COVID-19. Most of the respondents were aware about the mode of transmission, 176(95.1%), meaning of community transmission, 135 (72.9%), common sign and symptoms, 154(83.2%), and incubation periods 164(88.6%) of COVID-19. Regarding prevention of COVID-19, average awareness of total respondents was 154 (83.24%). Similar percentage of all levels of awareness have seen in male and female both. Conclusion: The virus is primarily spread between people during close contact, most often via small droplets produced by coughing, sneezing, and talking. Lack of awareness and negligence of general people regarding mode of transmission of COVID-19 which created community transmission. General people of Northeast still required awareness regarding COVID-19. There is a need of regular awareness programme among the general population by the health care professionals.

“Today’s children are tomorrow’s citizen”. The future pillars of the nation and future of the nation rests on the hands of the children health today. School children being more active and adventuresome, they are prone to falls, sports injury, drowning, vehicle accidents, etc. At this age, children may think they are invincible and that accidents and injuries happen to other people and not to them. First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. It is important to know First Aid so that you can be a help to yourself or others that may be injured. Every school establishment shall have as a minimum one member of staff who is a trained first aider and two emergency first aiders in the work place. In our study Pre-experimental one group pre-test post-test research design and quantitative evaluative research approach was undertaken among school teachers in Radiant International School and Rajdhani Public School, Sonapur, Kamrup (M), Assam. The sample consisted of 62 school teachers and convenience sampling technique was adopted to select the samples. The tools used for data collection was demographic proforma and structured knowledge questionnaire regarding selected first aid measures. The objective of the study is to assess the effect of structured teaching programme (STP) on knowledge regarding selected first aid measures among school teachers. The results showed that there was marked increase in post-test knowledge. In knowledge,the mean post-test knowledge score (22.76) was higher than the mean pre-test knowledge score (13.35) and mean difference between the pre-test and post-test score was 9.41. The calculated ‘t-value’ was 4.10 and p value was 0.000062 at 0.05 level of significance. This indicates that the structured teaching programme regarding selected first aid measures was effective in improving the knowledge of school teachers. The present study concluded that structured teaching programme (STP) regarding selected first aid measures has an effect in enhancing the knowledge among school teachers. Hence, the structured teaching programme can be utilized by school teachers to provide first aid measures in emergency situation and prevent its complication among school children.

The effect of forest litter biochar on seed germination and early growth of two tree species (Trewia nudiflora and Lagerstroemia speciosa) was examined in a selected forest area of Nameri National ...

Growing awareness of sustainability in the landfill cover system has increased the use of biochar amendment for degraded landfill surface soils. Hydraulic and vegetative benefits of biochar on cover soil have been studied in the past, while ignoring mechanical characteristics, which is important to understand progressive failure of landfill infrastructure. In this study, the mechanical characteristics of four soil–biochar composites were investigated by conducting 81 unconfined compressive strength test. The results based on four in-house produced biochar were used to study the effect of compaction state (density, moisture content) and biochar percentage (5% and 10%) on unconfined compressive strength of soil–biochar. The ductility of soil–biochar was investigated for all the four biochars. Results from this study indicate a contrasting observation of strength gain depending on the type of biochar. The unconfined compressive strength of soil–biochar is potentially influenced by the different surface functional groups of biochar (hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity) and soil-biochar interlocking. It was noted that the peanut shell biochar gave comparable unconfined compressive strength of soil–biochar with that of bare soil for different compaction state. However, a diminution in the unconfined compressive strength was observed for all the other three soil–biochar sourced from water hyacinth, saw dust, and poultry litter. The study indicates that the use of biochar in soils does not ensure an improvement in the strength of soil–biochar. Enhancement in ductility was found for all the four soil–biochar irrespective of compaction state. Improvement in ductility was maximum when the soil–biochar is compacted at the dry state of optimum. Plant-based biochar has higher potency to increase the ductility of soil as compared to the animal-based biochar. Our study identifies peanut shell biochar ideal for landfill cover amendment material, considering its mechanical characteristics and design criterion. Soil biochar composite from water hyacinth, saw dust, and poultry litter can be used for potential application in green-infrastructure.

Evapotranspiration denotes the transport of water vapor between an ecosystem and atmosphere comprising the biotic (transpiration) and abiotic (evaporation) components. Additionally, the water vapor transports the energy used for its vaporization, the latent heat. In the present study we compare the ecohydrological cycle of a mangrove on the Bay of Bengal coast in southeast India with a broadleaf deciduous forest in northeast India using eddy covariance flux measurement for the very first time. Similar to a semi-arid ecosystem the evapotranspiration from mangrove is dominated by the dry sensible heat flux throughout the year, except pre-monsoon when it behaves like a well-watered ecosystem with evapotranspiration dominating the sensible heat flux. Such behavior is in stark contrast with the broadleaf deciduous forest which provides stronger evapotranspirative heating than sensible heat throughout the year including the dry seasons. The evaporative fraction remains consistently much lower at the mangrove than the broadleaf deciduous forest. Compared to the broadleaf deciduous forest, the mangrove ecosystem remains tighter coupled with the atmosphere. Transpiration contributes the larger share to the evapotranspiration of mangrove even in the dry seasons, whereas transpiration and evaporation contribute maximum to the evapotranspiration of broadleaf deciduous forest periodically through the year. Based on principal component analysis we show that both transpiration and evaporation at the mangrove are most strongly coupled with salinity, much different from the broadleaf deciduous forest where transpiration and evaporation are most tightly coupled with root-zone soil moisture and wind speed, respectively. The salinity regulation of transpiration has an important implication for the carbon cycle of mangrove and its appropriate parameterization in ecosystem and climate models.

Infants experience pain similarly and probably more intensely than older children and adults. Pain management in young babies has been largely neglected in more clinical settings, despite subjecting them to painful procedures. Also, invasive procedures has done a lot during neonates and infancy period and it is to believed that the non-pharmacological methods as administration of oral glucose before and during procedures may relieve the infants pain and provide a safe way to analgesia. This review article will help us in assuring the effectiveness of oral glucose on pain response in infants during invasive procedures.

Music is one of the few activities that involve using the whole brain. It is intrinsic to all cultures and can have surprising benefits not only for learning language, improving memory and focusing attention, but also for physical coordination and development. It is also effective therapy for pain, reducing blood pressure, medicine for the heart, stroke, alzheimer, autism, speeds post-stroke recovery, chronic headaches & migraine remedy. Music boosts immunity, enhances intelligence, learning and IQ. Music improves concentration, athletic performance, body movement and coordination, productivity, fatigue fighter, mood and decreases depression. Relaxing music induces sleep and reduces stress and aids relaxation. Listening to music helps control negative aspects of our personalities like worry, bias and anger. Of course, music can be distracting if it's too loud or too jarring, or if it competes for our attention with what we're trying to do. But for the most part, exposure to many kinds of music has beneficial effects.

Today, television has emerged as the major source of entertainment and learning in our country. It has changed the lifestyle of people and become a major influence on the culture. Some students use Television and an educational tool, on the other hand, some uses it as a leisure tool. In particular, televisions impact on young people has garnered the most attention by academia and has been one area of intense study and debate. In fact, there are thousands of studies about television and its impact on young children and adolescence teenagers. For example, scholars know how many hours of television children and young students’ alike watch each day and how many television sets are in the average household. Moreover, they know where in the household these devices are located and much about children’s access to them. They know the types of programming they view and what kinds of programming different groups prefer. According to recent studies, almost every single student in the world watches television each and every day. Kinds of television programs, especially the serials, film clipping, news and news based programmes, sports and cartoons, affect people irrespective of gender, age and other demographic variables. Many people arises question as to whether television is really beneficial or does it has an actual impact on the viewer. This review article will provide us with an insight to some of the question that arises.

Algae are photosynthetic prokaryotic or eukaryotic ubiquitously found group of organisms. Their enormous potentiality in coping up with various environmental crises has been well documented. Algae have proven to be ideal for biomonitoring of water pollution and help in removing the pollutants with their process of bioremediation apart from the production of eco-friendly sources of energy. Industries like food and pharmaceuticals are exploiting algae for producing several value-added products. The agricultural sector is also highly benefited from microalgae, as they are the good promoters of crop growth. The CO

Introduction and Objectives: Birth weight is an important determinant of child survival and development. Low birth weight is an index of our status of public health, maternal health and nutrition. The major challenge in the field of public health is to identify the factors influencing low birth weight and to institute remedial measures. The study was attempted to assess prevalence of low birth weight and its risk factors affecting low birth weight was conducted among 300 mothers and their respective live born baby in GMCH, Guwahati metro, Assam. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study design was carried out in a government hospital among 300 mothers using interviewer administered questionnaire. All 300 postnatal mothers who delivered in the hospital during study period were included in the study except still births. All babies were weighted on standard beam balance within 24 hours of delivery and mother’s height was measured by height measuring stand. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was employed to identify the predictors at p Results and Analysis: The prevalence of low birth weight was found as 26.0% (95%, CL=21.36-31.24) in 300 samples. 50% of LBW was found in the age group of mothers OR=1.44, 95%CI: 0.35-5.90), status of previous birth (OR=2.73, 95%CI: 0.81-9.14), were found to be higher risk of LBW. Discussion and Conclusion: The prevalence of low birth weight was found to be very high and it was associated with many risk factors related to maternal health and services. Hence it is recommended to improve maternal health through strengthening the existing maternal services at the basic level of community.

Among the natural ecosystems, forests and wetlands emit a sizable amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) through autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration and bacterial activities. Interestingly, some evidence suggests that a significant amount of CH4 is generated by the trees in forested ecosystems. The net ecosystem exchange (NEE), measured by the eddy covariance (EC) method, typically represents the net CO2 flux arising from the photosynthetic and respiration processes in the biosphere. This flux is subsequently partitioned into two components, the respired carbon and the assimilated carbon. However, the usual method of partitioning introduces significant errors in each of these fluxes. The present study was undertaken to address this issue where the NEE partitioning was constrained by using the carbon isotopic ratios of CO2. We used a real‐time in situ analyzer in a tropical forest in northeast India, the Kaziranga National Park. The greenhouse gas analyzer provided CO2 and CH4 concentrations, as well as their carbon isotopic ratios. The isotopic data were used to partition the EC‐derived NEE values and derive the isoflux values. Additionally, the isotopic data provided evidence of plant‐generated CH4 in conformity with some recent studies, which requires further investigation.

Child abuse consists of any act of commission or omission that endangers or impairs a child’s physical or emotional health and development. Child abuse includes any damage done to a child which cannot be reasonably explained and which is often represented by an injury or series of injuries appearing to be non-accidental in nature.1Teachers have a vital role to identify and protect the child who are abused. The main objective of the study was to assess the level of knowledge of teachers regarding child abuse and to assess the effectiveness of PTP on child abuse. The research design adopted was pre-experimental one group pre-test post-test design. The assessment of knowledge was done using structured knowledge questionnaire. The findings showed that the mean post-test knowledge score (28) is higher than the mean pre-test knowledge score (15.5), similarly the standard deviation of post-test is higher than pre-test knowledge. There was significant difference between the pre-test and post-test knowledge score with paired t-value of 20.9125 and found it to be significant at p

Protein degradation and turnover under various environmental stresses is basically regulated by ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), of which SKP1 is a very essential component. Isolation and cloning of an identified potential stress responsive candidate gene SKP1, was successfully done for the first time to fathom the role of SKP1 in drought tolerance at genetic level in drought tolerant mungbean cultivar Pratap, which was screened after a detailed physio-biochemical screening amongst seven popular mungbean cultivars. The cloned gene SKP1 (accession number KX881912) is 550 bp in length, encodes 114 amino acids. It shows high sequence homology with SKP1 from Zea mays (NP_001148633). The protein expression of isolated SKP1 was confirmed by GUS fused expression using a Histochemical assay under control as well as under drought stress. Further, up-regulation in relative expression level of SKP1 in different plant parts under drought stress confirmed its utility as a potential drought responsive candidate gene certainly demanding extensive genetic research for further incorporation in breeding programs. Moreover, the structure of VrSKP1 (Vigna radiata SKP1) has been modelled, validated and an Essential Dynamics (ED) was done on the Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulation trajectories for filtering large-scale concerted motions. Free-energy calculations on the ED revealed a complex free-energy landscape (FEL) implying the conformational diversity of the modelled VrSPK1 protein.

Pyrolysis is one of the well-known technologies used for bio-oil production, where temperature, heating rate, and nitrogen flow rate are the crucial parameters governing its kinetics. Optimization of design is important for a pyrolyzer to achieve higher bio-oil yield, which necessities the importance of the information such as interactive effects of controlling parameters. Though quite a good number of studies were conducted to analyze the individual impact of these parameters on pyrolysis, their interactive effects have not been addressed well. Also, there are barely any studies investigating such interactive effects using a local grass species Saccharum ravannae, especially in slow pyrolysis. On this perspective, the present study comprises of experiments followed by analysis of data using artificial neural networks. Here, the data obtained from pyrolysis experiments was used to develop a model which can predict the bio-oil yield for a given temperature, nitrogen flow rate, and heating rate. Initially, an experimental program was conducted to study the yield of bio-oil at various temperature regimes, nitrogen flow rates, and heating rates using pyrolyzer. This experimental data was used to train the neural networks, followed by development of an in-house program in C language of trained networks, to predict the yield. Both response surface regression and artificial neural networks (ANN) were used to develop a model and interactive effects of parameters were investigated. An optimum condition of temperature 505 °C with a heating rate of 6.36 °C/min and a nitrogen flow rate of 311 ml/min to obtain maximum yield of 45.69% by wt of bio-oil from Saccharum ravannae was obtained by the optimization analysis of ANN. Regression model has performed better than ANN model. Results of univariate tests show the significant terms in the developed regression equation. From sensitivity analysis, temperature is noted as the highly significant factor contributing to yield followed by nitrogen flow rate.

Continuous application of phosphate fertilizer and bio-solids leads to cadmium (Cd) accumulation in agricultural soil. Acidic soil environment makes the situation worsen due to the conversion of higher soil Cd to plant available form. Therefore, identifying effective and economical methods to reduce the bioavailability of soil Cd is imperative. This pot experiment was conducted in an acidic soil (pH 5.69) with three different soil additives [biochar, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and ZnSO4] under three levels (6, 12 and 18 mg kg−1) of Cd on common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Falguni). Biochar and ZnSO4 were mixed with soil at 5.5 and 0.1 Mg ha−1, respectively, before seed sowing, while PGPR was applied as a seed coating. A significant reduction in plant morpho-physiological and biochemical parameters and soil chemical and biological properties was recorded with increasing Cd levels. Biochar, PGPR and ZnSO4 addition resulted in substantial improvement in the studied plant and soil parameters in Cd-treated soil by significantly reducing the bioavailability of soil Cd. ZnSO4 addition recorded improved (51%) plant growth in terms of total biomass with lower (57% shoot and 42% reduction in root) plant accumulation of Cd. The highest reduction in bioavailability of soil Cd was recorded with the application of biochar (34–97% reduction) compared with ZnSO4 (14–89%). Though application of PGPR reduced the Cd bioavailability to 94% at the lowest contamination, it increased Cd bioavailability by 2% at the highest level of contamination. Thus, biochar application (5.5 Mg ha−1) as soil additive is an effective means to mitigate Cd toxicity in acidic soils.

Introduction:The emerging infection of COVID-19 was initiated from Wuhan, China, have been spread to more than 210 countries around the globe including India. Now India is 4thposition in the world scenario of COVID-19 with 426910 infected cases and 13,703 deaths by 22 June 2020. In the northeast, Assam is in highest position with 5,586 cases and 9 deaths till now. Awareness is the key factor for prevention of spread of COVID-19 among general people. In view of these contexts, the present study was undertaken to assess awareness of COVID-19 among general population of Northeast India. The aim of the study was to assess the level of awareness among general population of Northeast India regarding COVID-19. Materials and Methods: A web based survey was conducted among 185 people of deferent states of northeast during the period of April and May 2020. A self-structured validated questionnaire used for collecting information. Descriptive analysis was performed to represent the study characteristics. Awareness among the study population was categories into 3 Levels i.e Adequate, Moderately Adequate and Inadequate. Level of Adequate awareness considered as > (Mean + SD, Moderately Adequate as (Mean-SD)-(Mean + SD) and Inadequate as < (Mean-SD. Results & Discussion:Overall awareness on COVID-19, majority of respondents, 97(52.4%) have moderately adequate awareness. 49(26.5%) of respondents have adequate awareness and 39(21.1%) have inadequate awareness. It reveals that overall level of awareness is not satisfactory. Less than half of people were aware adequately about the COVID-19. Highest percentage of adequate, 36(44.4%) and inadequate, 21(25%) awareness reported from Manipur, Highest percentage of moderately adequate awareness reported from Nagaland, 17 (85%). Slightly more than half of respondents were aware about the general information, 102 (67.45%) and risk factors, 119 (64.3%) of COVID-19. Most of the respondents were aware about the mode of transmission, 176(95.1%), meaning of community transmission, 135 (72.9%), common sign and symptoms, 154(83.2%), and incubation periods 164(88.6%) of COVID-19. Regarding prevention of COVID-19, average awareness of total respondents was 154 (83.24%). Similar percentage of all levels of awareness have seen in male and female both. Conclusion: The virus is primarilyspreadbetween people during close contact, most often viasmall dropletsproduced by coughing,sneezing, and talking.Lack of awareness and negligence of general people regarding mode of transmission of COVID-19 which created community transmission. General people of Northeast still required awareness regarding COVID-19. There is a need of regular awareness programme among the general population by the health care professionals.&nbsp

Amongst all the anthropogenically produced greenhouse gases (GHGs), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are the most important, owing to their maximum contribution to the net radiative forcing of the Earth. India is undergoing rapid economic development, where fossil fuel emissions have increased drastically in the last three decades. Apart from the anthropogenic activities, the GHGs dynamics in India are governed by the biospheric process and monsoon circulation; however, these aspects are not well addressed yet. Towards this, we have measured CO2 and CH4 concentration at Sinhagad, located on the Western Ghats in peninsular India. The average concentrations of CO2 and CH4 observed during the study period are 406.05 ± 6.36 and 1.97 ± 0.07 ppm (µ ± 1σ), respectively. They also exhibit significant seasonal variabilities at this site. CH4 (CO2) attains its minimum concentration during monsoon (post-monsoon), whereas CO2 (CH4) reaches its maximum concentration during pre-monsoon (post-monsoon). CO2 poses significant diurnal variations in monsoon and post-monsoon. However, CH4 exhibits a dual-peak like pattern in pre-monsoon. The study suggests that the GHG dynamics in the western region of India are significantly influenced by monsoon circulation, especially during the summer season.

Amongst all the anthropogenically produced greenhouse gases (GHGs), carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are the most important, owing to their maximum contribution to the net radiative forcing of the Earth. India is undergoing rapid economic development, where fossil fuel emissions have increased drastically in the last three decades. Apart from the anthropogenic activities, the GHGs dynamics in India are governed by the biospheric process and monsoon circulation; however, these aspects are not well addressed yet. Towards this, we have measured CO2 and CH4 concentration at Sinhagad, located on the Western Ghats in peninsular India. The average concentrations of CO2 and CH4 observed during the study period are 406.05 ± 6.36 and 1.97 ± 0.07 ppm (µ ± 1σ), respectively. They also exhibit significant seasonal variabilities at this site. CH4 (CO2) attains its minimum concentration during monsoon (post-monsoon), whereas CO2 (CH4) reaches its maximum concentration during pre-monsoon (post-monsoon). CO2 poses significant diurnal variations in monsoon and post-monsoon. However, CH4 exhibits a dual-peak like pattern in pre-monsoon. The study suggests that the GHG dynamics in the western region of India are significantly influenced by monsoon circulation, especially during the summer season.