Piggery wastewater treatment in a tropical climate: biological and chemical treatment options.

A novel biological treatment system was developed for the treatment of piggery wastewater under tropical conditions. It consisted of three consecutive sponge-based floating biofilters. The Upflow Anaerobic/Anoxic/Aerobic Floating Filter (UA3FF) system was shown to be effective with carbonaceous and, particularly, nitrogenous matter. The rationale for the processes occurring in anoxic-aerobic reactors was based on the concept of nitritation-denitritation rather than nitrification-denitrification. The N-related microbial communities manipulated by changing DO concentration and hydraulic retention time were able to effect a considerable increase in the total and specific N-removal (70% and 0.6 kg N m(-3) filter media per day, respectively) as compared to data reported elsewhere. Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization and Polymerase Chain Reaction amplification of ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) gene were used to study interrelationships between N-related microbial groups in the system. Microbiological data was interpreted in terms of operational behavior and performance of the reactors. The N-removal efficiency of the biological UA3FF system was compared with a combined biological/physicochemical system based on (a) biological anaerobic pretreatment followed by (b) a chemical precipitation (CP) and (c) an air stripping. Both systems were scrutinized as to operational advantages and costs. The treatment options could produce effluent of a high quality (202 mg COD l(-1), 126 total-N l(-1) and 89 mg COD l(-1) 48 total-N l(-1) in the biological and combined biological/physico-chemical treatment options, respectively) amenable for the subsequent treatment at the municipal facilities. However, the UA3FF biological treatment system was superior to the combined system by a factor of 20 as far as costs are concerned.

Female sex pheromone of brinjal fruit and shoot borer, Leucinodes orbonalis blend optimization.

The brinjal fruit and shoot borer, Leucinodes orbonalis is the major pest of eggplant in South Asia. Analysis of female pheromone gland extracts prepared from insects of Indian and Taiwanese origin confirmed (E)-11-hexadecenyl acetate (E11-16:Ac) as the major pheromone component with 0.8 to 2.8% of the related (E)-11-hexadecen-1-ol (E11-16:OH), as previously reported from Sri Lanka. The average quantity of E11-16:Ac extracted per female was estimated to be 33 ng, with a range of 18.9 to 46.4 ng when collected 2 to 3 hr into the scotophase. In field trials conducted in India, blends containing between 1 and 10% E11-16:OH caught more male L. orbonalis than E11-16:Ac alone. At the 1,000 microg dose, on white rubber septa, addition of 1% E11-16:OH to E11-16:Ac was found to be more attractive to male L. orbonalis than either 0.1 or 10% E11-16:OH. Trap catch was found to be positively correlated with pheromone release rate, with the highest dose tested, 3,000 microg, on white rubber septa catching more male moths than lower doses. Field and wind tunnel release rate studies confirmed that E11-16:OH released from white rubber septa and polyethylene vials at approximately twice the rate of E11-16:Ac and that the release rate of both compounds was doubled in polyethylene vials compared to white rubber septa. This difference in release rate was reflected in field trials conducted in Bangladesh where polyethylene vial dispensers caught more male moths than either black or white rubber septa, each loaded with the same 100:1 blend of E11-16:Ac and E11-16:OH in a 3,000 microg loading.

Dermatoglyphics of the Naik Gond.

This paper deals with the finger and palm prints of the Naik Gond, a Dravidian speaking tribe of Chandrapur, Maharashtra. It represents a few dermatoglyphic characters such as pattern types, number of finger triradii, total finger ridge count, main-line index and ab ridge count which have expressed the usual trends of sexual dimorphism. The data have been compared with that of the neighbouring Raj Gond and the Pardhan who share common socio-linguistic traits with the Naik Gond. In dermatoglyphic characters the Naik Gond are found to be homogeneous with the Raj Gond and the Pardhan which lends support to the existing ethnohistoric information.

A proposed formulation of palmar patterns with special reference to Jatavs and other Indian populations.

Frequencies of patterns with triradii, that is, whorls, loops, and tented arches have been studied on palms of 58 males and 70 females of the Jatav population of Western U. P., India. It is demonstrated that simple presentation of pattern combinations on two hands permits evaluation of pattern frequencies simultaneously in individuals and on hands; derivation of average pattern value or number of loops per area, and computation of pattern intensity index for palms, which is related but not equal to the number of triradii. The bimanual, sexual and area-specific trends and their interrelations have been further elucidated by applying this method. The convention of recording frequencies of patterns and vestiges per hand lacks efficiency for clinical, genetical or anthropological analyses and overestimates sex difference. The present data have been broadly compared with published Indian material, eliminating subjective classes as far as practicable.