Evaluating hydrological alterations and recommending minimum flow release from the Ujjani dam to improve the Bhima River ecosystem health.

Numerous anthropogenic activities like the construction of large dams, storages, and barrages changed the watershed characteristics impacting ecosystem health. In this study, the hydrological alterations (HAs) that have occurred in the Bhima River due to the construction of the Ujjani dam were analyzed. The hydraulic analysis is also performed to determine the hydraulic parameter and recommend the lowest flow release from the dam for improving ecosystem health. Fifty-eight years of data starting from the year 1960 to 2018 were gathered at Yadgir station, which is located downstream of the Ujjani dam. The data were divided into pre- and post-construction river flow discharge. To check for the change in the river flow regime for the post-dam construction period, HA was calculated using Flow Health Software (FHS). The results demonstrate that the dam impoundment reduces high flows primarily by storing flood flow for water supply, irrigation, etc. The velocity and depth provided by the environmental design flow for a flow health (FH) score of 0.62 give a very good habitat to fishes. A minimum release of 24.8 m3/s from the dam is recommended. This study will help policymakers mitigate the impacts of degrading ecosystem health of the Bhima River.

Tannery wastewater treatment by cavitation combined with advanced oxidation process (AOP).

Studies on the degradation of organic pollutants (phenolic, tannins etc.,) present in the wastewater released from tannery industry have been carried out in this work. The combined effect of cavitation and magnetic stirring with the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) has been compared. The different parameters that affect the chemical oxidation process of the tannery wastewater, like pH, ultrasound irradiation time and dosage of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) were studied. The samples were treated by two different approaches by varying these parameters. In the first approach, wastewater was treated in the presence of cavitation using ultrasound probe sonicator and in the second approach in the presence of magnetic stirring using magnetic stirrer was used. In both the cases, the suspended total organic carbon (TOC) was measured before and after varying the parameters to ensure the destruction of organic pollutants present in the wastewater sample. The optimum conditions obtained with ultrasonic cavitation was further used in hydrodynamic cavitation set-up in order to increase the efficiency. The experimental results show that the combination of cavitation and H2O2gives a higher reduction in suspended TOC values of tannery wastewater than with addition of only hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).

Improved detection of Mycobacterium spp. using the Bactec MGIT 960 system.

Until 1987, the notification rate for mycobacterial infection was on the decline; however, it now appears to be increasing once more. The reason for this may be multifactoral and include improved reporting of diagnosed cases, increased infection of an ageing population, homelessness, immunosuppression (e.g. due to human immunodeficiency virus infection), and immigration of people from countries where tuberculosis is endemic. This rising incidence and the increasing importance of resistant organisms mean that rapid identification by the clinical microbiology laboratory is required, and this is where an automated detection system can be an advantage. Over a two-year period, 2743 clinical specimen were examined for Mycobacterium spp. using the Bactec MGIT 960, and 286 were positive. Time to detection ranged from three to 14 days (mean: 9.3 days), and M. tuberculosis was recovered from 214 (75.5%). Contamination rate was higher (8.6%) than with manual methods, however. On balance, the Bactec MGIT 960 system proved a valuable tool in the routine microbiology laboratory.