Screening bamboo species for salt tolerance using growth parameters,physiological response and osmolytes accumulation as effective indicators

Bamboos are potential species for reclamation of saline soils and water. In this study, the performances of three bamboo species, namely Dendrocalamus strictus (S1), Dendrocalamus longispathus (S2) and Bambusa bambos (S3), were investigated for salinity stress tolerance. After 14 days of treatment with 100?mM NaCl, reduction in shoot length was 66%, 100%, 77%, root length was 77%, 100%, 57%, number of leaves was 50%, 100%, 73% and fresh weight was 30%, 72%, 14% in S1, S2 and S3 species, respectively. Relative water content (RWC) in S1 and S3 species was 1.26 and 1.07 folds higher in 50?mM NaCl in comparison to control. In S2 species, total chlorophyll, chlorophyll_a and chlorophyll_b degradation were the highest (40.4%, 42.7%, 16.32%, respectively) in comparison to S3 (18.18%, 23%, 16.4%) and S1 (23.5%, 25%, 19.17%) species. In S3 and S1 species, the Chl_a/Chl_b ratio was maintained showing stabilisation of the net photosynthetic rate. Proline played a more important role than glycine betaine for salt tolerance of these bamboo species. On account of vegetative growth, proline accumulation and RWC, it is inferred that S1 and S3 species are salt tolerant while S2 is a sensitive species.

Abbreviations: SL: shoot length; RL: root length; NL: number of leaves; FW: fresh weight; RWC: relative water content; Chl_a: chlorophyll_a; Chl_b: chlorophyll_b; TC: total chlorophyll; GB: glycine betaine     

Flow injection online spectrophotometric determination of uranium after preconcentration on XAD-4 resin impregnated with nalidixic acid

In this work, spectrophotometer was used as a detector for the determination of uranium from water, biological, and ore samples with a flow injection system coupled with solid phase extraction. In order to promote the online preconcentration of uranium, a minicolumn packed with XAD-4 resin impregnated with nalidixic acid was utilized. The system operation was based on U(VI) ion retention at pH 6 in the minicolumn at flow rate of 15.2 mL min^?1. The uranium complex was removed from the resin by 0.1 mol dm^?3 HCl at flow rate of 3.2 mL min^?1 and was mixed with arsenazo III solution (0.05 % solution in 0.1 mol dm^?3 HCl, 3.2 mL min^?1) and driven to flow through cell of spectrophotometer where its absorbance was measured at 651 nm. The influence of chemical (pH and HCl (as eluent and reagent medium) concentration) and flow (sample and eluent flow rate and preconcentration time) parameters that could affect the performance of the system as well as the possible interferents was investigated. At the optimum conditions for 60 s preconcentration time (15.2 mL of sample volume), the method presented a detection limit of 1.1 μg L^?1, a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.8 % at 100 μg L^?1, enrichment factor of 30, and a sample throughput of 42 h^?1, whereas for 300 s of the preconcentration time (76 mL of sample volume), a detection limit of 0.22 μg L^?1, a RSD of 1.32 % at 10 μg L^?1, enrichment factor of 150, and a sampling frequency of 11 h^?1 were reported.     

Changes in arsenic fractionation, bioaccessibility and speciation in organo-arsenical pesticide amended soils as a function of soil aging

Although organoarsenical pesticides are being phased out, sites with high concentrations of organic arsenical residues still exist due to the long-term application of these pesticides. The biotic and abiotic speciation of dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) can result in the formation of inorganic arsenic (As) species. Oxidation state, retention, and thereby persistence, varies according to temporal changes, influencing the availability and toxicity of contaminants. The current greenhouse study aimed at evaluating temporal changes in the oxidation state of As, geochemical partitioning, and bioaccessibility. Four soils with varying physiochemical properties were contaminated with DMA at two concentrations (675 and 1500 mg kg⁻¹ of As). Rice plants were grown for a 6 months period, following which, the soils were allowed to age. The operationally defined forms of As and its bioaccessibility was analyzed at 0, 6 months, 1 year, and 3 years. Changes in oxidation state of As were evaluated immediately after spiking and after 3 years of soil-pesticide equilibration. Results show that geochemical partitioning of As was affected significantly (P < 0.05) by soil type, loading rates, and equilibration time. Arsenic was bound mainly to the poorly-crystalline Fe/Al-oxyhydroxides in the soil. However, these interactions did not affect As bioaccessibility, presumably due to the dissolution of the bound fractions of As in the acidic stomach. While 74-94% of the total bioaccessible As was transformed to As(V), 4-19% was transformed to the more toxic As(III). This study indicates that although aging affected the geochemical partitioning of As in the soil, bioaccesibility was controlled by the gastric pH.