Open Access Research Paper

Habitat shrinkage, along with the loss of quality habitat, results in a higher human-wildlife conflict throughout the world. The Dibru-Saikhowa National Park of Assam once consisted of dense semi-evergreen forests, crane brakes, moist deciduous forests, and grasslands, now facing severe anthropogenic pressure that resulted in higher human-wildlife conflict. The study conducted in four suba (sub-village) of Laika and Dodhia villages found that wild buffalo was responsible for the highest degree of conflict (39.8%), followed by elephant 35% and wild boar 23.7% during 2016-17. The Pomuwa suba encountered the highest degree (94.6%) of human-wildlife buffalo conflict, followed by Tengabari suba 68.4%, Pasidiya 65.2%, and Rikbi 10.4%, which was found statistically significant between different subas (χ2=64.084, p≤0.05). A similar trend was also found in the case of human-elephant conflict, which was also found significant between different subas (χ2=83.829, p≤0.05). Although the extent of conflict was comparatively less, the Tengabari suba encountered the highest human-wild boar conflict and Rikbi suba human-leopard conflicts, which were also found to be statistically significant. However, crop depredation forms the major concern of human-wildlife conflict as compared to other kinds of conflict. The overall extent of conflict indicates that the Pomuwa suba is the highest sufferer as compared with other subas. A landscape-level policy and its proper execution along with timely disbursement of ex-gratia may help in mitigating human-wildlife conflict.

Farm animal productivity depends upon many factors including gut microbiome. It is well established that dysbiosis in the gut microbiome leads to compromised productivity and metabolic disorder. Microbial species with probiotic potential can be isolated from dung samples. From twelve cow dung samples total of nineteen bacterial strains were isolated on two different growth media (M17 and TSA). Only four gram-positive strains were isolated and conformed through 16S rDNA sequencing. Fully characterized strains QAULL04 (KP256013) and QAUEM01 (KP273582) were checked for their probiotic potential. QAULL04 and QAUEM01 has shown maximum mimic gut survival of 31.70% and 3.35% after two hours respectively while it reduces to 26.72% and 0% after 24 hours respectively. Cholesterol assimilation potential of QAULL04 was high (64.44%) in comparison with QAUEM01 (50%) while cell hydrophobicity of QAUEM01 was high (21.10%) than QAULL04 (4.712%). Cumulatively QAULL04 has shown better results for its probiotic application in animal feed.

The Barak valley is located in the southern part of Assam (India) and the phytogeographically, the valley belongs Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, harbours rich arboreal diversity and a strong tradition of ethnobotanical knowledge among certain local communities and the different tribes. The present study is to provide a comprehensive review that synthesizes available information on the ethnobotanical uses of threatened species and conservation status of tree species. A total of 290 tree species belonging to 206 genera and 70 families have been recorded from the valley, reflecting remarkable floristic richness. These tree species play a crucial role in the livelihood such as, providing food, medicine, timber, fuelwood, fodder, and cultural resources. IUCN Red list assessment reveals that as the threatened categories, 2% (7 species) Vulnerable, 3% (8 species) Endangered, and 1% (2 species) Critically Endangered and the majority of the species falls under the Least Concern category of 72% (206 species), while 16% (45 species) are Not Evaluated and 4% (10 species) are Data Deficient. The threatened species indicating that due to the increasing of anthropogenic pressure, habitat loss, overexploitation, illegal plantation, and lack of awareness on forest ecosystem are major threats to tree diversity in the valley. This review highlights the ethnobotanical knowledge of threatened species with scientific conservation strategies. The study establishes a valuable baseline dataset for ethnobotanical, future ecological monitoring, conservation planning, and sustainable utilization of tree resources in the valley.

SARS-CoV-2 caused millions of deaths and hundreds of millions of infections over the world. While many countries and regions were affected strongly by this new virus, Cambodia showed success in limiting the death and infection before going bad in the fourth wave of the pandemic. In order to understand this success, this study examines the genetic diversity of the Spike gene of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Cambodia. The results indicated the high-frequency haplotype and nucleotide diversity in Cambodia, respectively 0.8669 ± 0.0090 and 0.002761 ± 0.001392. In the S gene, 278 nucleotide polymorphisms were recorded, in which mutation A23403G (D614G) accounted for the highest frequency, corresponding to 97.50%. The gene regions coding for the corresponding positions in the protein are NTD, RBD, and Furin S1/S2 cleavage site (FCS), which are the regions where mutations occur. The genetic diversity of Spike gene of SARS-CoV-2 variants really supported the observation of the success in disease control.

In Côte d’Ivoire, agroforestry parklands dominated by the Vitellaria paradoxa (shea tree) play a role in smallholder agriculture, soil conservation and food security within the Sudanian and Sudan–Guinean zones. Despite its ecological and socio-economic importance, this species, listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, is increasingly threatened by overexploitation, habitat degradation, recurrent bush fires, poor natural regeneration and climate change, raising concerns about its long-term persistence. To assess the current and future distribution of V. paradoxa in Côte d’Ivoire, 135 occurrence records from the CNF herbarium and GBIF were modelled using multiple algorithms and WorldClim v2.1 bioclimatic variables under current and future climate scenarios (SSP245 and SSP585). Multicollinearity was reduced using Pearson correlation coefficients and variance inflation factors (|r| < 0.7; VIF < 8), and model performance was evaluated through bootstrap-based random subsampling (70% training, 30% validation) using AUC and TSS metrics. The results showed that eight predictors were retained, dominated by temperature variables, particularly temperature seasonality (45%), followed by precipitation. Temperature and precipitation are the dominant drivers, while wind plays a secondary role, indicating a narrow ecological niche and high sensitivity to climate change. Currently, suitable habitats cover 36,673 km² in northern and central Côte d’Ivoire. Projections indicate a northward expansion by 2050, reaching 179,568 km²under SSP-245-2050 and 144,338 km² under SSP-585-2050. They also reveal a more pronounced reduction in habitat suitability as the intensity of climate change increases. These results provide spatially explicit guidance for climate-adaptive agroforestry planning, identifying priority areas for conservation, regeneration, and sustainable shea-based expansion.

The potential of mangrove forests to sequester carbon must be recognized by local government units and other stakeholders. Awareness on this aspect will promote participation among stakeholders in the conservation efforts for this ecosystem. The current study presents the carbon stock assessment of a mangrove forest in Cotabato City, Philippines. There were 3 study sites purposively selected for this study. A total of 12 sampling plots with a size of 5m × 40m each were established in the three study sites. Above ground and below ground biomass were determined. Two soil samples were obtained in each plot for soil carbon analysis. Mean total biomass density is about 605 Mg ha-1 with mean total carbon stored of about 491 MgC ha-1 and the mean carbon saturation deficit is 0.45. These figures show the importance of this mangrove ecosystem in sequestering substantial amount of atmospheric carbon, thus the coordinated efforts of Local Government Units, residents and private organizations are necessary for the sustainability of these natural resources.

Chitosan-based banana fruit peel synthesis by Sol-gel process on chitosan-based banana fruit peel waste in super nanocomposite is the focus of the current study. The waste products from banana fruit peels that were based on chitosan were examined for dye adsorption and described using FTIR spectroscopy, TGA, and SEM. A number of variables, including dosages, pH and temperature, were examined in relation to dye adsorption. According to the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm, adsorption happens on a homogeneous surface through monolayer sorption in the absence of sorbed molecule interaction. The Langmuir equation outperformed the Freundlich equation in terms of fit. The maximum adsorption capacity was computed at various temperatures, pH levels, and dosages. Chitosan-based banana fruit peel has a higher adsorption capacity under the same experimental conditions, making it a potentially more beneficial material than inexpensive adsorbents for dye adsorption from aqueous solutions.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) and atherosclerosis-related diseases are among the most diagnosed diseases persisting globally. In agreement with earlier publications, we wanted to determine the prevalence of SSc and atherosclerosis. Thorough systematic searches of published studies across various countries in Embase, Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed were performed to update our systemic review from January 1990 to December 2020. The author/s, year of publication, sampling size, Mortality, Study design, the prevalence of a particular Sex in that study, mean age, follow up years, limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis (LcSSc) patients, disease duration, body mass index, the prevalence for various symptoms of SSc and NOS of the selected study were explored in this study. The search yielded 1191 articles among which 81 articles were finally encompassed in this study. Among these selected 81 articles, 63 were related to Atherosclerosis among which 29 and 34 articles were prospective and retrospective studies respectively. The studies related to atherosclerosis involved a total of 43, 60,282 participants with their average age of mortality as 54.68 patients per 1000 individuals among the prevalent persons of the disease. However, 18 articles were related to Systemic Sclerosis involving 5821 patients with mean age 53.79 years. This study revealed that the SSc and atherosclerosis symptoms correlate with each other and SSc increases the prevalence of atherosclerosis. SSc patients are at higher risk of having atherosclerotic diseases especially cardiovascular diseases and on the diagnosis of SSc in the patients. As a result, preventative actions for atherosclerotic disorders must be adopted.

This exploratory study look into the nature and variation of Manila Clams (Venerupis philippinarum), an edible species of saltwater clam native to Japan but has been cultivated, commercially harvested and considered as the second most important bivalve grown in aquaculture in the Philippines also worldwide. Fluctuating Asymmetry (FA) is apopular tool to estimate the quality, health of individuals and populations and used to measure developmental stability or the organism’s ability to buffer environmental and genetic perturbations. This study demonstrated the use of FA for monitoring developmental stability of bivalve species V. philippinarum. It investigated the differences of FA of three different morphotypes from one population. Fifteen anatomical landmarks were used and were subjected to Procrustes superimposition and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) using “Symmetry and Asymmetry in Geometric Data” (SAGE) program. Results yield significant evidence of FA for all the morphotypes. Possible explanation for high levels of FA detected may rise from the differences in genetic composition of the populations resulting in different tolerance to stress. Results revealed that all morphotypes exhibited high FA value thus, relatively considered unstable morphotypes with poor developmental homeostasis. Hence, indicate genetic and environmental stress and has the inability to buffer such stress. In this context, it is perceived that there is a direct relationship between FA and developmental instability. Along this line, morphotype B have relatively the lowest FA compared to other morphotypes, providing that stabilizing selection is at work and thus, relatively fit for cultivation to maximize yield for food production.