The good,the bad and the ugly: science,aesthetics and environmental assessment

The question is raised, whether there are peculiarly scientific values which can be applied in environmental assessment. The use of the expression scientific interest is traced from its 19th century origins to modern British statutes. It is argued that attempts to replace expert judgements by objective scientific criteria (e.g., indices of biodiversity) can never be completely successful. In particular, interest is an aesthetic atribute particularly valued by scientists but incapable of precise measurement. While science provides the best framework for informed judgements on conservation issues, the judgements of scientists are inevitably distinct from their experimental results. Judgements rest on ethical and aesthetic values such as importance and interest, which are essential constituents of the scientific sub-culture, but which are not uniquely scientific.     

Effect of inoculation withGlomus mosseae on nitrogen fixation by field grown soybeans

Summary This field study was undertaken to determine the effect of inoculation withGlomus mosseae on N₂ fixation and P uptake by soybean. The inoculation withGlomus mosseae was achieved using a new type of inoculant, alginate-entrapped (AE) endomycorrhizal fungus. N₂ fixation was assessed using the A value method. In P-fertilized plots, inoculation with AEGlomus mosseae increased the harvest index based on dry weight (+20%) and N content of seeds (+17%), the A value (+31%) and %N derived from fixation (+75%). Inoculation with AEGlomus mosseae decreased the coefficient of variation for the A value and for the dry weights of the different plant parts.     

Chemical equilibrium and E value of Zn (ZnE) in inceptisols and entisols of tropical india

Summary The chemical equilibrium and E value for Zn was calculated in 9 soils of Haryana (India) which represented mainly entisol and inceptisols. The rate of isotopic exchange between⁶⁵Zn and native soil Zn was quite rapid and radioactivity reduced to about 0.2 per cent of initial activity after 3 days but total Zn concentration in soil solution did not decrease. In 5 out of 9 soils equilibrium was established in 2 to 3 days. In typic ustochrepts having high clay content (3,4) equilibrium was attained in two days. In typic udipsamments (2), typic camborthids (8) and aquic vertic ustichrepts (9) it took 3 days to set equilibrium. Typic ustochrepts (5) took 5 days for equilibrium whereas typic ustipssaments (6) and typic camborthids of high O.C. did not attain equilibrium even in 7 days. This indicated that the chemistry and availability of Zn in soil would depend on soil types. When Zn_E was estimated by applying activity after equilibrium with carrier Zn and by applying activity with carrier Zn before equilibrium was set, there was no agreement in Zn_E in two methods. Increasing Zn_E with increasing Zn dose was observed by both methods only in alkaline typic ustochrept (4). In some soils higher E values than added amounts were observed, whereas, in soil 8 negative E values were obtained. The E values become erratic and are over estimated where complex reactions take place due to high pH, high O.C. and high complex forming elements.     

Lipid participation in intracellular freezing avoidance mechanisms of lettuce seed

Freeze-fracture electron microscopy was used to study water content related freezing resistance in Grand Rapids lettuce seeds. Consistent and recognizable conformational changes occurred in lipid-water phases of lettuce seeds at different moisture contents. In air-dry lettuce seed cotyledons, the lipids lying in spherical lipid bodies near the cell wall appeared amorphous, while the structure was crystalline above 20% water content. The lipid bodies interassociated into membrane bilayers in seeds containing 20 to 25% water. Such lyotropic phase transitions in membrane lipids during lettuce seed hydration are believed to contribute to the biphasic freezing behavior observed in lettuce seeds at different moisture contents and to provide a natural freezing tolerance mechanism for highly desiccated plant tissues such as seeds.     

Relationships between culture density and the composition of three floating aquatic macrophytes

Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms, Pistia stratiotes (L.), and Lemna minor (L.) were cultured at four different densities each and analyzed for cell-wall fraction, crude protein, total available carbohydrate and ash. Cell-wall fraction increased and crude protein content decreased as density increased in Eichhornia and Pistia cultures. The cell-wall and crude protein content of Lemna did not change with increasing culture density. Differences in the trends of cell-wall and crude protein content of the three plants at increasing culture densities appear to be related to differences in growth form. There was no difference in the total available carbohydrate or ash content of the three species at different culture densities.     

Honey: Single food stuff comprises many drugs

Honey is a natural food item produced by honey bees. Ancient civilizations considered honey as a God gifted prestigious product. Therefore, a huge literature is available regarding honey importance in almost all religions. Physically, honey is a viscous and jelly material having no specific color. Chemically, honey is a complex blend of many organic and inorganic compounds such as sugars, proteins, organic acids, pigments, minerals, and many other elements. Honey use as a therapeutic agent is as old as human civilization itself. Prior to the appearance of present day drugs, honey was conventionally used for treating many diseases. At this instant, the modern research has proven the medicinal importance of honey. It has broad spectrum anti-biotic, anti-viral and anti-fungal activities. Honey prevents and kills microbes through different mechanism such as elevated pH and enzyme activities. Till now, no synthetic compound that works as anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal drugs has been reported in honey yet it works against bacteria, viruses and fungi while no anti-protozoal activity has been reported. Potent anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous activities of honey have been reported. Honey is not only significant as anti-inflammatory drug that relieve inflammation but also protect liver by degenerative effects of synthetic anti-inflammatory drugs. This article reviews physico-chemical properties, traditional use of honey as medicine and mechanism of action of honey in the light of modern scientific medicinal knowledge.     

Habitat ecological integrity and environmental impact assessment of anthropic activities: A GIS-based fuzzy logic model for sites of high biodiversity conservation interest

In literature, an effective method enabling the classification, based on a single indicator, of habitats that need a priority protection intervention has not been identified yet. Moreover, the excessive number of landscape metrics, used to quantify integrity of habitats, can cause confusion, often providing redundant and inconsistent results.The aim of this work is to develop a method for evaluating the ecological vulnerability of the habitats in sites of high biodiversity conservation interest. In the first phase, we selected and analyzed, by using principal component analysis (PCA) and fuzzy logic, the landscape metrics, in order to obtain the map of the intrinsic ecological vulnerability index. In the second step, the result of this intrinsic vulnerability was connected, through another fuzzy model, to anthropogenic impacts, obtaining the integrated ecological vulnerability index. We developed specific spatial indicators (landscape metrics), which can examine the mutual position and morphology of the habitats present, along with indicators of human pressure, related to the type and intensity of use of the anthropic territory, with reference to the habitat itself as well as to the areas immediately adjacent. The developed fuzzy models are innovative, compared to the current ecological studies, and examine landscape metrics as well as the impact of human activities.The case study is the “Val Basento-Ferrandina Scalo” Site of Community Importance, Ferrandina-SCI (Basilicata Region, Southern Italy). The results allowed us to build a rank of the habitats based on their intrinsic and integrated ecological vulnerability. Moreover, the results show that, in the Ferrandina-SCI, the most important source of concern is not human activities, but rather the inherent risk of ecological fragility caused by geographical and landscape features of the different patches of habitats themselves.This model aims to be a tool for decision support in sustainable landscape management. It is easy to use and to apply on other regions, although it should always be accompanied by a sensitivity analysis to reduce the subjectivity.