This paper examines the factors that affect human–wildlife conflict and its socio-ecological consequences, including impacts on the daily lives of rural people, farming activities, children’s schooling, and livestock rearing. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed. Data were collected from secondary sources, primarily the Uttarakhand State Forest Department and the Forest Survey of India, covering 25 years (2000–2025). Information on wildlife species, their populations, and the number of people killed or injured by wildlife was obtained. The author visited some affected areas of human–wildlife conflict in July 2024 and January 2025. A perception study was conducted in which 212 people from five villages were interviewed. A map of human–wildlife conflict hotspots was also prepared. Three districts of Uttarakhand—Pauri, Almora, and Tehri—were identified as human-wildlife conflict hotspots. This study reveals that elephants dominate the plains—namely the Doon Valley and the Tarai region—whereas leopards and bears dominate the middle Himalayan region in terms of human–wildlife conflict. Wild boars and langurs are also found in the same region. Snow leopards are confined to the Greater Himalayan region. Every day, one or more people are killed by wildlife, and the number of injured people is considerably high. Fatalities from leopard attacks are highest, followed by bear attacks, mainly in the middle Himalayan region. The study suggests that both the Forest Department and local communities can play significant roles in managing wildlife through awareness programmes and improved forest management.
Synthetic biology increasingly pursues the construction of engineered biological systems, yet the field lacks operational categories for interpreting claims of “life creation”. Rather than asking whether life has already been created in the laboratory, this article argues that synthetic biology requires a pragmatic framework that distinguishes modification, reconstruction, assembly, and autonomous synthesis of biological systems. Building on a historical analysis of recurring life-creation claims throughout twentieth-century biology, we develop a taxonomy that situates contemporary synthetic biology and xenobiology along a continuum of increasing engineering depth. Current achievements—including genome rewriting, orthogonal translation systems, and expanded genetic codes—represent a deep reconstruction of living systems, but do not yet constitute fully autonomous synthetic life. To clarify these distinctions, we introduce several conceptual tools: the Pasteurian Wall separating living from non-living systems, the Genetic Firewall as a biosafety principle for engineered organisms, and an Expanded Chemoton framework that provides an engineering-oriented operational definition of life based on metabolic autonomy, informational closure, and evolvability. Together, these elements allow experimental systems to be positioned along a functional continuum from sophisticated biochemical artifacts to genuinely alternative living systems. By replacing metaphor-driven narratives with operational categories, this framework aims to strengthen conceptual clarity, experimental comparability, and governance of emerging synthetic life technologies.
The versatile applications of nitrogen-containing heterocycles in different industries have engendered a lot of research. Benzimidazole derivatives, as isostructural pharmacophores of naturally occurring active biomolecules, are popular chemotherapeutic drugs. The present study focuses on a green methodology for the synthesis of NiFe2O4 nanocomposite using Combretum indicum leaf extract, and for the synthesis of 2-aryl benzimidazole derivatives via the condensation of aromatic aldehydes and O-phenylenediamine. The synthesized catalyst was characterized through various analytical techniques, including FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TEM, and BET. It has several advantages, including a rapid reaction at room temperature, easy work-up, high product yield, simple purification, and a reusable catalyst. The catalyst was reused for up to six consecutive cycles, with the yield decreasing only marginally from 95% (fresh catalyst) to 89% (sixth reuse).
In the present study, lamellar hydrates were designed via curing regimes and additives. Structural and high-temperature fracture behavior analyses were employed to elucidate the influence of initial lamellar hydrates on microstructural evolution and thermal stress resistance at elevated temperatures. Key findings reveal that: Pure CAC cured at 25 °C for 24 h predominantly forms metastable CAH10 and C2AH8, whereas under the two-step curing regime, the hydration products are granular C3AH6 and lamellar AH3. Incorporating CaCO3 and MgO under two-step curing promotes the simultaneous generation of micro/nano-lamellar C4AcH11 and Mg-Al Hydrotalcite (M-A-H). The enhanced extent of hydration and pore-filling effect of M-A-H refines matrix porosity, increasing the volume fraction of 5–100 nm pores and elevating the fractal dimension (Ds). This microstructural optimization improves bonding strength, as evidenced by an 82% increase in demolding strength in the designed samples compared with the R samples. C4AcH11 and M-A-H serve as reactive CaO and MgO sources, respectively, facilitating the interlocking distribution of in-situ CA6 and MgAl2O4 at 1600 °C and optimizing pore structure. The hierarchical pore structure and refined crystals synergistically enhance thermal stress resistance by increasing crack deflection, dissipating energy, and improving plastic deformation capacity.
