Effect of trivalent and hexavalent chromium on renal and hepatic tissue glycogen metabolism of a fresh water teleost Anabas scandens

The in vivo toxic impact of chromium in its two forms (trivalent and hexavalent) on glycogen metabolism in the liver and kidney of a fresh water teleost Anabas scandens was studied. In a sub-chronic exposure of 30 days, depletion of glycogen and glucose reserves reflected in the activity patterns of glycogen phosphorylases a and ab. While both forms of chromium induced alterations in enzyme activities and metabolite levels in the two tissues, Cr⁺⁶ exerted greater effects in the kidney.School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad - 500 134, India     

Manufacturing system sustainability through lean and agile initiatives

Sustainability is one of the most critical issues facing manufacturers today. The industries must develop new and innovative approaches to ensure sustainability in economic, environmental and social aspects. The operational excellence strategies such as Lean and Agile manufacturing can be applied in the industries that add value to the product by eliminating waste and quickly respond to dynamic changes in demand. This paper presents a framework that builds and assesses the sustainability of the manufacturing system with combined lean and agile concepts. Analytical Hierarchy Process and Analytical Network Process are identified as suitable methodologies to analyze the model. The model is validated in an Ayurveda Pharmaceutical industry to identify the most important factors of lean and agile manufacturing that build and enable the sustainability dimensions such as Economic, Environmental, Social, Technological and Ethical. The results show that the industry focuses more on economic aspects of sustainability followed by social, environmental, ethics and technological dimensions of sustainability in the case of a lean perspective. For an agile perspective, the weightage is more for social dimension followed by ethics, economic, technological and environmental dimensions of sustainability.     

In vivo effects of trivalent and hexavalent chromium on renal and hepatic atpases of a freshwater teleost Anabas scandens

The in vivo toxic effect of trivalent and hexavalent chromium (25 mg/L) on the renal and hepatic tissue ATPases of an edible teleost Anabas scandens was studied. In an exposure span of 30 days Na⁺-K⁺ ATPase activity exhibited a progressive inhibition in the kidney, but marked inhibition in Na⁺-K⁺ ATPase activity was observed in the liver. Mg²⁺ ATPase activity, however, exhibited an elevation on early exposures, with a later inhibition.     

Effects of sheep and goat grazing on the species diversity in the alpine meadows of Western Himalaya

This paper deals with effects of sheep and goat grazing on plant species diversity, species richness and species composition in two important conservation areas of the Western Himalaya; the Valley of Flowers (VOF) National Park and the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP). The VOF is a completely Protected Area as it is devoid of livestock grazing whereas, 20,000 sheep and goats annually graze in GHNP. Both the National Parks possess sub-alpine and alpine vegetation that is distributed in 13 major habitat types. Present investigations indicate that all the habitat types in VOF are higher in plant species diversity and richness compared to habitat types in GHNP. Similarly, all three eco-climatic zones in VOF are higher in species diversity and richness compared to GHNP. Species diversity also decreases with increasing altitude in both the National Parks. The findings of this study are discussed in the light of the management and conservation of alpine meadows of the Western Himalayas.     

Accumulation pattern of persistent organochlorine pesticides in liver tissues of various species of birds from India

As part of a large study on assessing the impact of environmental contaminants in Indian avifauna, the presence of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in liver tissues of 16 species of birds collected from Ahmedabad, India during 2005–2007 was quantified. The higher concentrations of total organochlorine pesticides were detected in livers of shikra Accipiter badius (3.43?±?0.99 μg/g wet wt) and the lower levels in white ibis Pseudibis papillosa (0.02?±?0.01 μg/g wet wt). Marked differences in the concentrations of total OCPs occurred among species (p?<?0.05). Concentrations of DDT and its metabolites, hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and isomers, dieldrin, and heptachlor epoxide were lower than the concentrations reported for various species of birds in India. Accumulation pattern of organochlorine pesticides in birds was, in general, in the order HCH > DDT > heptachlor epoxide > dieldrin. Among various pesticides analyzed, p,p′-DDE and β-HCH contributed maximum towards the total OCPs and study indicates the continuous use of lindane and DDT for agriculture and public health purpose, respectively. Although no serious threat is posed by any of the organochlorine pesticides detected in the present study species, continued monitoring is recommended.     

Evaluation of the seasonal variation on the geochemical parameters and quality assessment of the groundwater in the proximity of River Cooum, Chennai, India

The seasonal variations of the chemical budget of ions were determined from the hydrochemical investigation of the groundwater. Though the effect of monsoon does not change the order of abundance of cations, but it does change the concentration of various ions and it is found that there was a considerable change in the case of all major ions. The unique characteristic of the ground water is the linear relationship among the principal ions. Hydrochemical characteristics of ions in the groundwater were studied using 1:1 equiline diagrams. The nature of the water samples were determined using the piper diagram. The correlation studies and R-mode factor analysis were carried out on the various groundwater parameters. The study of factor scores reveals the extent of influence of each factors on the overall water chemistry at each sampling stations. The trace metal concentration in the water was determined. The quality of the groundwater in the study area has been assessed using Percent sodium, SAR and Wilcox diagrams. The groundwater results of the premonsoon shows the dominance of excessive evaporation, silicate weathering and anthropogenic activities whereas in postmonsoon, dilution predominates over that of other factors.