A report on socioeconomic attributes and gender inequality in Kondh-dominated villages: A comparative analysis of tribals and non-tribals in the Phulbani district, Orissa, India

Reports on results of a survey, completed in 2000, of wives in three villages in the Phulbani district, Orissa, India. These villages are dominated by the Kondh scheduled tribe but some also contain members of the scheduled caste, called Dombs in Orissa. The article reports on the total responses and comparative responses of these groups to a structured questionnaire. The article provides background information for the villages surveyed, and reports information in relation to wives and their families about property rights, assets and incomes, economic conditions and survival strategies, aspects of credit, production and marketing, social dynamics and eduction. In addition, children’s affairs, including the treatment and entitlements of female and male children, are considered as well as additional aspects of the socioeconomic status of wives.

Microbiology and application of the anaerobic ammonium oxidation ('anammox') process

Ten years ago, an anaerobic ammonium oxidation ('anammox') process was discovered in a denitrifying pilot plant reactor. From this system, a highly enriched microbial community was obtained, dominated by a single deep-branching planctomycete, Candidatus Brocadia anammoxidans. Phylogenetic inventories of different wastewater treatment plants with anammox activity have suggested that at least two genera in Planctomycetales can catalyse the anammox process. Electron microscopy of the ultrastructure of B. anammoxidans has shown that several membrane-bounded compartments are present inside the cytoplasm. Hydroxylamine oxidoreductase, a key anammox enzyme, is found exclusively inside one of these compartments, tentatively named the 'anammoxosome'.

Supervisory control of wastewater treatment plants by combining principal component analysis and fuzzy c-means clustering

In this paper a methodology for integrated multivariate monitoring and control of biological wastewater treatment plants during extreme events is presented. To monitor the process, on-line dynamic principal component analysis (PCA) is performed on the process data to extract the principal components that represent the underlying mechanisms of the process. Fuzzy c-means (FCM) clustering is used to classify the operational state. Performing clustering on scores from PCA solves computational problems as well as increases robustness due to noise attenuation. The class-membership information from FCM is used to derive adequate control set points for the local control loops. The methodology is illustrated by a simulation study of a biological wastewater treatment plant, on which disturbances of various types are imposed. The results show that the methodology can be used to determine and co-ordinate control actions in order to shift the control objective and improve the effluent quality.

Promoters for pregenomic RNA of banana streak badnavirus are active for transgene expression in monocot and dicot plants

Two putative promoters from Australian banana streak badnavirus (BSV) isolates were analysed for activity in different plant species. In transient expression systems the My (2105 bp) and Cv (1322 bp) fragments were both shown to have promoter activity in a wide range of plant species including monocots (maize, barley, banana, millet, wheat, sorghum), dicots (tobacco, canola, sunflower, Nicotiana benthamiana, tipu tree), gymnosperm (Pinus radiata) and fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia). Evaluation of the My and Cv promoters in transgenic sugarcane, banana and tobacco plants demonstrated that these promoters could drive high-level expression of either the green fluorescent protein (GFP) or the beta -glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene (uidA) in vegetative plant cells. In transgenic sugarcane plants harbouring the Cv promoter, GFP expression levels were comparable or higher (up to 1.06% of total soluble leaf protein as GFP) than those of plants containing the maize ubiquitin promoter (up to 0.34% of total soluble leaf protein). GUS activities in transgenic in vitro-grown banana plants containing the My promoter were up to seven-fold stronger in leaf tissue and up to four-fold stronger in root and corm tissue than in plants harbouring the maize ubiquitin promoter. The Cv promoter showed activities that were similar to the maize ubiquitin promoter in in vitro-grown banana plants, but was significantly reduced in larger glasshouse-grown plants. In transgenic in vitro-grown tobacco plants, the My promoter reached activities close to those of the 35S promoter of cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV), while the Cv promoter was about half as active as the CaMV 35S promoter. The BSV promoters for pregenomic RNA represent useful tools for the high-level expression of foreign genes in transgenic monocots.

Operating space diagrams: a tool for designers of wastewater treatment plants

Recent years have seen the introduction of new and varied designs of activated sludge plants. With increasing needs for higher efficiencies and lower costs, the possibility of a plant that operates more effectively has created the need for tools that can be used to evaluate and compare designs at the design stage. One such tool is the operating space diagram. It is the aim of this paper to present this tool and demonstrate its application and relevance to design using a simple case study. In the case study, use of the operating space diagram suggested changes in design that would improve the flexibility of the process. It also was useful for designing suitable control strategies.

Growth of subtropical ECM fungi with different nitrogen sources using a new floating culture technique

Eight species of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi in the genera Amanita. Gymnoboletus, Lactarius, and Russula were isolated from subtropical plant communities in eastem Australia. Two species were isolated from each of rainforest, Nothofagus forest, Eucalyptus forest, and Eucalyptus dominated wallum (heath) forest. These communities differ strongly in their soluble soil nitrogen (N) composition. The ability of the fungi to use inorganic (nitrate, ammonium) and organic (amide, peptide, protein) nitrogen sources was determined. As the fungi did not grow in liquid culture, a 'floating culture' technique was devised that allows hyphal growth on a screen floating on liquid medium. With some exceptions, fungal biomass production in floating culture closely reflected fungal growth on solid media assessed by total colony glucosamine content. Most isolates grown in floating culture had similar glucosamine concentrations on all N sources, with isolate specific concentrations ranging from 6 to 12 mug glucosamine g(-1) DW. However, Russula spp. had up to 1.7-fold higher glucosamine concentrations when growing with glutamine or ammonium compared to nitrate, glutathione or protein. Floating cultures supplied with 0.5, 1.5. 4.5, or 10 mm N mostly produced greatest biomass with 4.5 mM N. In vitro nitrate reductase activity (NRA) ranged from very low (0.03 mumol NO2- g(-1) fw h(-1)) in Russula sp. (wallum) to high (2.16 mumol NO2- g(-1) fw h(-1)) in Gymnoboletus sp. (rainforest) and mirrored the fungi's ability to use nitrate as a N source. All Russula spp. (wallum, Nothofagus and Eucalyptus forests), Lactarills sp, (rainforest) and.4manita sp. (wallum) utilized ammonium and glutamine but had little ability to use other N sources. In contrast,Amanita species (Nothofagus and Eucalyptus forests) grew on all N sources but produced most biomass with ammonium and glutamine. Only Gymnoboletus sp. (rainforest) showed similar growth with nitrate and ammonium as N sources. Fungal N source use was not associated with taxonomic groups, but is discussed in the context of soil N sources in the different habitats.

A hedging point strategy - balancing effluent quality, economy and robustness in the control of wastewater treatment plants

An operational space map is an efficient tool to compare a large number of operational strategies to find an optimal choice of setpoints based on a multicriterion. Typically, such a multicriterion includes a weighted sum of cost of operation and effluent quality. Due to the relative high cost of aeration such a definition of optimality result in a relatively high fraction of the effluent total nitrogen in the form of ammonium. Such a strategy may however introduce a risk into operation because a low degree of ammonium removal leads to a low amount of nitrifiers. This in turn leads to a reduced ability to reject event disturbances, such as large variations in the ammonium load, drop in temperature, the presence of toxic/inhibitory compounds in the influent etc. Hedging is a risk minimisation tool, with the aim to "reduce one's risk of loss on a bet or speculation by compensating transactions on the other side" (The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1995)). In wastewater treatment plant operation hedging can be applied by choosing a higher level of ammonium removal to increase the amount of nitrifiers. This is a sensible way to introduce disturbance rejection ability into the multi criterion. In practice, this is done by deciding upon an internal effluent ammonium criterion. In some countries such as Germany, a separate criterion already applies to the level of ammonium in the effluent. However, in most countries the effluent criterion applies to total nitrogen only. In these cases, an internal effluent ammonium criterion should be selected in order to secure proper disturbance rejection ability.

Molecular evidence for the common origin of snap-traps among carnivorous plants

The snap-trap leaves of the aquatic waterwheel plant (Aldrovanda) resemble those of Venus' flytrap (Dionaea), its distribution and habit are reminiscent of bladderworts (Utricularia), but it shares many reproductive characters with sundews (Drosera). Moreover, Aldrovanda has never been included in molecular phylogenetic studies, so it has been unclear whether snap-traps evolved only once or more than once among angiosperms. Using sequences from nuclear 18S and plastid rbcL, atpB, and matK genes, we show that Aldrovanda is sister to Dionaea, and this pair is sister to Drosera. Our results indicate that snap-traps are derived from flypaper-traps and have a common ancestry among flowering plants, despite the fact that this mechanism is used by both a terrestrial species and an aquatic one. Genetic and fossil evidence for the close relationship between these unique and threatened organisms indicate that carnivory evolved from a common ancestor within this caryophyllid clade at least 65 million years ago.

Dry matter production and boron concentrations of vegetative and reproductive tissues of canola and sunflower plants grown in nutrient solution

Canola (Brassica napus L.) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), two important oilseed crops, are sensitive to low boron (B) supply. Symptoms of B deficiency are often more severe during the reproductive stage, but it is not known if this is due to a decreased external B supply with time or an increased sensitivity to low B during this stage. Canola and sunflower were grown for 75 days after transplanting (DAT) in two solution culture experiments using Amberlite (IRA-743) B-specific resin to maintain constant B concentration in solution over the range 0.6 - 53 muM. Initially, the vegetative growth of both crops was good in all treatments. With the onset of the reproductive stage, however, severe B deficiency symptoms developed and growth of canola and sunflower was reduced with less than or equal to 0.9 and less than or equal to 0.7 muM B, respectively. At these concentrations, reproductive parts failed to develop. The critical B concentration (i.e. 90% of maximum shoot dry matter yield) in the youngest opened leaf was 18 mg kg(-1) in canola and 25 mg kg(-1) in sunflower at 75 DAT. The results of this study indicate that the reproductive stage of these two oilseed crops is more sensitive than the vegetative stage to low B supply.