Ecological status of a freshwater tectonic lake of the indo-burmese province: Implications for livelihood development.

Tectonic lakes are among the most geologically fascinating and environmentally versatile hydrobiological systems found on the earth's surface. We conducted a study on the limnology of Tasek Lake, a tectonic lake located in the Indo-Burma Province of the South Asian region. Physico-chemical parameters of the lake's water along with its plankton were considered for the study. Their relationship was analysed by understanding their seasonal variations and through linear regression models. The water quality index (WQI), plankton diversity indices and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) were computed. The ichthyofaunal diversity was also studied to get an insight into the lake's fishery potential. A preliminary assessment on the economic feasibility of converting Tasek Lake into a fishery was also completed. Results indicate moderate eutrophication in the lake and the plankton population is observed to be rich and abundant. The WQI value confirms the water to be of "very poor" quality. The CCA was done to analyze the relationships of physico-chemical parameters with months and seasons, and the relation between seasons and plankton assemblages. Results corroborate the results of WQI. Identified fish population suggest ample fishery potential of the lake. The economic assessment reveals that in order to maintain the ecological sustainability of the lake, it should be transformed into a recreational fishery, following a catch-and-release model. The study calls for urgent restoration of the lake so that not only its pristine ecology is survived but also its fishery potential is sustainably harnessed and local livelihood is improved.

On the construction of clinical life table for studying the survivability of diagnosed AIDS cases.

In this paper, an attempt has been made to estimate the various survival functions of clinically diagnosed AIDS cases by the life table method. The actuarial life table method has already been applied to clinical data for many decades. To exhibit computations for the clinical life table, we have used the clinical data gathered on diagnosed 731 male and female AIDS patients recorded from Dec.1993 up to Dec.2002 in Delhi. The method is also used to study the nature of the survival functions for the AIDS patients with different causes of death. The comparisons among various survival functions are shown with the help of the graphs.