Economic Impacts Of Air Pollution on Human Health and Property Values

The objectives of the present study are to provide a systematic descriptive documentation of the nature of air pollution of the Cochin industrial agglomeration, estimate the willingness to pay for morbidity reduction due to air pollution in observed and hypothetical markets and to estimate the value of welfare loss in the purchase of property due to reduced air quality. This study is an attempt to examine economic impacts of air pollution on the human health and property values in the industrial capital of Kerala. The process of industrialization in Kerala and the increase in air pollution created damages to human, natural and economic resources in the state. The study documents the extent of air pollution and applied econometric approaches to estimate economic impacts of air pollution on human health and property values. The Important sources of air pollution identified in Cochin are emissions from industries and automobiles.

Distribution, Extracellular Virulence Factors and Drug Resistance of Motile Aeromonads in Fresh Water Ornamental Fishes and Associated Carriage Water

During last decades there has been a continuous growth of aquaculture industries all over the world and taking into consideration the spurt in freshwater ornamental fish aquaculture and trade in Kerala, the present study was aimed to assess the prevalence of various motile Aeromonas spp. in fresh water ornamental fishes and associated carriage water. The extracellular virulence factors and the antibiogram of the isolates were also elucidated. Various species of motile aeromonads such as Aeromonas caviae, A. hydrophila, A. jandaei, A. schubertii, A. sobria, A. trota and A. veronii were detected. Aeromonas sobria predominated both fish and water samples. Extracellular enzymes and toxins produced by motile aeromonds are important elements of bacterial virulence. The production of extracellular virulence factors - proteases, lipase, DNase and haemolysin by the isolates were studied. All the isolates from both fish and water samples produced gelatinase and nuclease but the ability to produce lipase, caseinase and haemolysins was found to vary among isolates from different sources. Among the 15 antibiotics to which the isolates were tested, all the isolates were found to be sensitive to chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin and gentamicin and resistant to amoxycillin. Local aquarists maintain the fish in crowded stressful conditions, which could trigger infections by the obligate/ opportunistic pathogenic members among motile aeromonads

Distribution, extracellular virulence factors and antibiogram of motile aeromonads in fresh water ornamental fishes and immune response of Cyprinus carpio against Aeromonas hydrophila infection

The thesis deals with the prevalence and distribution of motile aeromonads in selected ornamental fishes. The presence of motile aeromonads in ornamental fishes and associated carriage water is well documented. Though aeromonads are a part of autochthonous flora of natural waters, disease outbreak occurs as a result of environmental stress on the cultured species and virulence of the pathogens. While ornamental aquaculture in many parts of the world is highly organized and practiced scientifically, it is highly unorganized in India. The culture ponds/tanks are often maintained in very poor manner and the fishes are subjected to high degree of stress during transportation from the production facility to retail vendors. The situation is no better at retail outlets, where fishes are maintained in crowded condition without proper aeration or food. All these could result in high prevalence of diseases caused by motile aeromonads. No systematic study has been carried out to understand the prevalence of motile aeromonads in ornamental fishes and carriage water . It also gives an account of the production of extracellular virulence factors and the antibiogram of the different species of motile aeromonads isolated. The growth characteristics and virulence potential of a representative strain of Aeromonas hydrophila is also studied. The nucleotide sequencing of the strain was carried out and sequences deposited in Genbank. Survival and immune response of Cyprinus carpio under different stress conditions and on probiotic treatment with Bacillus NL110, when challenged with A. hydrophila is also dealt within this thesis.