Environmental and genetic control of arsenic accumulation and speciation in rice grain:comparing a range of common cultivars grown in contaminated sites across Bangladesh, China, and India

The concentration of arsenic (As) in rice grains has been identified as a risk to human health. The high proportion of inorganic species of As (As(i)) is of particular concern as it is a nonthreshold, class 1 human carcinogen. To be able to breed rice with low grain As, an understanding of genetic variation and the effect of different environments on genetic variation is needed. In this study, 13 cultivars grown at two field sites each in Bangladesh, India, and China are evaluated for grain As. There was a significant site, genotype, and site by genotype interaction for total grain As. Correlations were observed only between sites in Bangladesh and India, not between countries or within the Chinese sites. For seven cultivars the As was speciated which revealed significant effects of site, genotype, and site by genotype interaction for percentage As(i). Breeding low grain As cultivars that will have consistently low grain As and low As(i), over multiple environments using traditional breeding approaches may be difficult, although CT9993-5-10-1-M, Lemont, Azucena, and Te-qing in general had low grain As across the field sites.

Analysis of nine NSAIDs in ungulate tissues available to critically endangered vultures in India

In 2006, India, Pakistan, and Nepal banned the manufacture of veterinary formulations of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac. This action was taken to halt the unprecedented decline of three Gyps vulture species that were being poisoned by diclofenac residues commonly present in carcasses of domestic livestock upon which they scavenged. To assess the affect of this ban and evaluate residue prevelances of other NSAIDs, we present a method to detect diclofenac and eight more NSAIDs by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and apply this to 1488 liver samples from carcasses of livestock taken across seven Indian states. Diclofenac was present in 11.1% of samples taken between April and December 2006, and meloxicam (4%), ibuprofen (0.6%), and ketoprofen (0.5%) were also detected. Although meloxicam is safe for a range of avian scavengers, including Gypsvultures, data regarding the safety of other NSAIDs is currently limited. If wild Gyps on the Indian subcontinent are to survive, diclofenac bans must be completely effective, and NSAIDs that replace it within the veterinary drug market must be of low toxicity toward Gyps and other scavenging birds.

Diclofenac residues in carcasses of domestic ungulates available to vultures in India

Gyps vulture populations across the Indian subcontinent are declining rapidly and evidence indicates that veterinary use of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) diclofenac is the major cause. Exposure of vultures to diclofenac is likely to arise from the consumption of livestock carcasses that have been treated shortly before death, however, detailed information regarding the prevalence and residual levels of diclofenac in carcasses available to vultures in India remains unreported. Here, we present data on diclofenac residues in 1848 liver samples taken from carcasses of dead livestock sampled at 67 sites in 12 states within India, between May 2004 and July 2005. Diclofenac residues were detected in carcasses in all states except Orisa, where only one site was sampled. The overall prevalence of detectable diclofenac (>10 microg kg(-1)) across all states was 10.1% and varied significantly among states, with up to 22.3% prevalence determined in Bihar. The geometric mean concentration of diclofenac found in samples in which the drug was detected was 352 microg kg(-1). The prevalence of carcasses containing diclofenac is similar to that previously proposed to be required to have caused the observed Gyps vulture declines in India. On the 11th of May 2006, the Drug Controller General (India) ordered the withdrawal of all licenses granted for the manufacture of diclofenac for veterinary use within India. However, if Gyps vultures are to be protected, potentially substantial existing stocks now need to be quickly and effectively removed from the Indian veterinary market.

Anti-VP6 IgG antibodies against group A and group C rotaviruses in South India

In an epidemiological survey from South India, 936 serum samples were tested for IgG against recombinant baculovirus-expressed VP6 proteins from human group A and group C rotaviruses. The overall seroprevalence for group A was 100% and for group C was 25.32% (95% CI 22.64-28.21). The lowest seroprevalence for group C was in children aged

Employment Growth, Education and Skills in India: Emerging Perspectives

Using the employment and unemployment panel data of the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), this paper attempts to map the spatial and temporal dimension of skills and education profiles of India’s workforce. After an assessment of India’s employment challenge, this study analyses the changing pattern of skill distribution among Indian workers by their gender, location, type, regions and broad sectors of the economy. The paper draws on the emerging literature and presents its empirical data to outline the essential skill and educational characteristics of workers, and its variations across broad sectors of the economy at both the national and sub-national levels.

'Dark Interpretations': Romanticism's Ambiguous Legacy in India

This essay argues that Romanticism’s legacy in modern Indian literature has been constructed under the shadow of its colonial heritage. Although the Romantic period witnessed the enthusiastic “discovery” of classical Indian literature by British Orientalists, Romantic imperialism (which went hand-in-hand with Romantic orientalism) played a darker role in instituting a colonial educational system in India which denigrated Indian languages and literatures. Modern Indian literature represented by popular fictional writers from R.K. Narayan to Arundhati Roy registers this complex colonial inheritance by its qualified and often ironic celebration of British Romantic literature along with its associated ideologies of freedom, truth, and beauty.

Arsenic Speciation in Food and Estimation of the Dietary Intake of Inorganic Arsenic in a Rural Village of West Bengal, India

Arsenic (As) species were quantified by HPLC-HG-AFS in water and vegetables from a rural area of West Bengal (India). Inorganic species predominated in vegetables (including rice) and drinking water; in fact, inorganic arsenic (i-As) represented more than 80% of the total arsenic (t-As) content. To evaluate i-As intake in an arsenic affected rural village, a food survey was carried out on 129 people (69 men and 60 women). The data from the survey showed that the basic diet, of this rural population, was mainly rice and vegetables, representing more than 50% of their total daily food intake. During the periods when nonvegetarian foods (fish and meat) were scarce, the importance of rice increased, and rice alone represented more than 70% of the total daily food intake. The food analysis and the food questionnaires administrated led us to establish a daily intake of i-As of about 170 mu g i-As day(-1), which was above the tolerable daily intake of 150 mu g i-As day(-1), generally admitted. Our results clearly demonstrated that food is a very important source of i-As and that this source should never be forgotten in populations depending heavily on vegetables (mainly rice) for their diet.