Breast cancer incidence and exposure to pesticides among women originating from Jaipur

Environmental contamination by pesticides has been documented in biotic and abiotic components. These persistent organic pollutants are lipid soluble, nonbiodegradable, and endocrine disrupters. The present study was therefore planned to determine whether the levels of these pesticides like DDT and its metabolites DDD and DDE, dieldrin, heptachlor, and HCH and its isomers (alpha, beta, and gamma) were higher in blood of breast cancer patients when compared with normal women who did not suffer from major diseases like blood pressure, tuberculosis, diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, arthritis, cancer, etc. and had not undergone any major surgery. The results indicated that organochlorine pesticides taken for analysis were found significantly high in breast cancer patients irrespective of age, diet, and geographic distribution.     

SALMONID SMOLT SURVIVAL RELATIVE TO TURBINE EFFICIENCY AND ENTRAINMENT DEPTH IN HYDROELECTRIC POWER GENERATION1

ABSTRACT: The hypotheses that fish survival probabilities may be lower (1) at less than peak operating turbine efficiency; (2) at deeper entrainment depth; and (3) with the deployment of extended‐length intake guidance screens, are not supported by results on yearling chinook salmon smolts (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) at Lower Granite Dam, Snake River, Washington. Estimated 96 h survival probabilities for the six test conditions ranged from 0.937 to 0.972, with the highest survival at turbine operating towards the lower end of its efficiency. A blanket recommendation to operate all Kaplan type turbines within ± 1 percent of their peak efficiency appears too restrictive. Cavitation mode survival (0.946) was comparable to that at peak operating efficiency mode (0.937), as was the survival between upper (0.947) and mid depths (0.937). Survival differed only slightly among three turbine intake bays at the same depth (0.937 to 0.954), most likely due to differential flow distribution. Extended‐length intake fish guidance screens did not reduce survival. However, the sources of injury somewhat differed with depth; probable pressure and shear‐related injuries were common on fish entrained at mid‐depth, and mechanically‐induced injuries were common at upper depth. Operating conditions that reduce turbulence within the turbine environment may enhance fish survival; however, controlled experiments that integrate turbine flow physics and geometry and the path entrained fish traverse are needed to develop specific guidance to further enhance fish passage survival.     

Adsorption of malachite green and chrysoidine-Y by Sn-pillared clay

The aim of this research was to pillar the bentonite clay (Bt) with polyhydroxy tin chloride. The synthesized Tin-pillared interlayer clay (Sn-PILC) was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectra (FT-IR), Brunauer-Emmer Teller (BET) analysis, Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Adsorption capacity of raw-Bt and tin pillared interlayer clay (Sn-PILC) was examined for two dyes, namely, Malachite Green (MG) and Chrysoidine-Y (CY) from their aqueous solutions. The effects of physicochemical parameters like solution pH, dose, and dye concentration were investigated. The maximum adsorption efficiency at equilibrium dye concentration for Sn-PILC was 66.229 mg g^–1 for MG and 63.792 mg g^–1 for CY. Sn-PILC obeyed Langmuir isotherm for both the dyes whereas raw-Bt followed Freundlich isotherm. On the other hand, both adsorbents followed PFO as well as PSO kinetic model, indicating physisorption assisted by chemisorption. Thermodynamic studies were performed to determine the adsorption behavior of Sn-PILC for both the dyes. Regeneration studies revealed 80% efficiency up-to five adsorption-desorption cycles.     

High reduction of ozone and particulate matter during the 2016 G-20 summit in Hangzhou by forced emission controls of industry and traffic

Many regions in China experience air pollution episodes because of the rapid urbanization and industrialization over the past decades. Here we analyzed the effect of emission controls implemented during the G-20 2016 Hangzhou summit on air quality. Emission controls included a forced closure of highly polluting industries, and limiting traffic and construction emissions in the cities and surroundings. Particles with aerodynamic diameter lower than 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) and ozone (O₃) were measured. We also simulated air quality using a forecast system consisting of the two-way coupled Weather Research and Forecast and Community Multi-scale Air Quality (WRF-CMAQ) model. Results show PM_2.5 and ozone levels in Hangzhou during the G-20 Summit were considerably lower than previous to the G-20 Summit. The predicted concentrations of ozone were reduced by 25.4%, whereas the predicted concentrations of PM_2.5 were reduced by 56%.     

Cost Effective Production of Poly-β-Hydroxybutyrate by Bacillus subtilis NG05 Using Sugar Industry Waste Water

The present study describes the treatment of sugar industry waste water and its use as a potential low cost substrate for production of bioplastic by Bacillus subtilis NG05. The B. subtilis NG05 grow at the rate of 0.14 g h^?1 L^?1 of production media used and accumulate the 50.1 % of poly β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB). The phase contrast microscopy revealed the presence of PHB granules in B. subtilis NG05 which was further confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance. The polymer was further analysed by differential scanning calorimetry. PHB production yield was achieved up to 4.991 g L^?1 with Sugar industry waste water as sole nutrient source. Thus the process provided dual benefits of conversion of a waste material into value added product, PHB and waste management.     

Semen quality of environmentally exposed human population: the toxicological consequence

Human data on the relationship of semen quality with pesticide and metals are mostly inconsistent. The purpose of the study is to confirm the toxicity of organochlorine pesticide β- and γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), DDE and DDD, and metals lead or cadmium on sperm motility in epidemiological study among fertile and infertile men and to determine whether in vivo and in vitro results are in the same direction. Semen analysis and estimation of the toxicants were done in 60 fertile and 150 infertile men. In the in vitro studies, sperm were exposed to the highest levels of these toxicants found in vivo, as well as five and ten times higher, and to the mixture of all compounds. The study assesses sperm viability and motility for a period ranging between 30 min and 96 h. Epidemiological data showed an inverse correlation of toxicant with sperm motility. In vitro study showed that γ-HCH and lead after 12 h, cadmium after 8 h, and coexposure to toxicants after 6 h of exposure caused significant concentration- and duration-dependent decline in sperm motility. Data of in vitro study were concurrent with epidemiological finding that might be useful in establishing the possible association between exposure and effect of these selected pollutants on sperm motility.     

Real-time bias-adjusted O3 and PM2.5 air quality index forecasts and their performance evaluations over the continental United States

The National Air Quality Forecast Capacity (NAQFC) system, which links NOAA’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) meteorological model with EPA’s Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, provided operational ozone (O₃) and experimental fine particular matter (PM_2.5) forecasts over the continental United States (CONUS) during 2008. This paper describes the implementation of a real-time Kalman Filter (KF) bias-adjustment technique to improve the accuracy of O₃ and PM_2.5 forecasts at discrete monitoring locations. The operational surface-level O₃ and PM_2.5 forecasts from the NAQFC system were post-processed by the KF bias-adjusted technique using near real-time hourly O₃ and PM_2.5 observations obtained from EPA’s AIRNow measurement network. The KF bias-adjusted forecasts were created daily, providing 24-h hourly bias-adjusted forecasts for O₃ and PM_2.5 at all AIRNow monitoring sites within the CONUS domain. The bias-adjustment post-processing implemented in this study requires minimal computational cost; requiring less than 10 min of CPU on a single processor Linux machine to generate 24-h hourly bias-adjusted forecasts over the entire CONUS domain.The results show that the real-time KF bias-adjusted forecasts for both O₃ and PM_2.5 have performed as well as or even better than the previous studies when the same technique was applied to the historical O₃ and PM_2.5 time series from archived AQF in earlier years. Compared to the raw forecasts, the KF forecasts displayed significant improvement in the daily maximum 8-h O₃ and daily mean PM_2.5 forecasts in terms of both discrete (i.e., reduced errors, increased correlation coefficients, and index of agreement) and categorical (increased hit rate and decreased false alarm ratio) evaluation metrics at almost all locations during the study period in 2008.