Metal Content in Selected Tissues and Shell of Pern A Virwis (L) From Pondicherry, East Coast of India

Mussels are good bioaccumulators of metals and have been used as indicators for environmental monitoring. in this study on P. viridis from Pondicherry coast, metal content (aluminium, lead, cadmium, copper and zinc) were analysed in selected tissues and shell nacre for a period of one year. the metal content shows that digestive gland accumulates higher concentrations of metal ions followed by gill, mantle and shell. of the different components (digestive gland, gill, mantle and shell nacre) of the organism, only shell nacre exhibited a significant relationship with ambient levels and therefore can be applied to temporal monitoring of metal contamination.     

Treatment technologies for 1,4‐Dioxane: Fundamentals and field applications

1,4‐Dioxane is a synthetic industrial chemical frequently found at contaminated sites where 1,1,1‐trichloroethane was used for degreasing. It is a probable human carcinogen and has been found in groundwater at sites throughout the United States. The physical and chemical properties and behavior of 1,4‐dioxane create challenges for its characterization and treatment. It is highly mobile and has not been shown to readily biodegrade in the environment. In December 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI) prepared a report titled “Treatment Technologies for 1,4‐Dioxane: Fundamentals and Field Applications.” The report provides information about the chemistry of dioxane, cleanup goals, analytical methods, available treatment technologies, and site‐specific treatment performance data. The information may be useful to project managers, technology providers, consulting engineers, and members of academia faced with addressing dioxane at cleanup sites or in drinking water supplies. This article provides a synopsis of the US EPA report, which is available at http://cluin.org/542R06009 . © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Structural and molecular alterations in arsenic-induced hepatic oxidative stress in rats: a FTIR study

Arsenic (As) is an ubiquitously distributed environmental toxicant predominantly contaminating drinking water. A number of studies indicated that oral exposure of humans to inorganic As produced damage to various body tissues including liver. Oxidative stress is thought to play a major role in As-induced hepatotoxicity. In this study, Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy approach was applied to determine whether chronic As exposure at 25 ppm, intragastrically for 12 weeks, affected oxidative stress status in rat liver. Data demonstrated that chronic As administration exacerbated oxidative stress as was evidenced by suppressed antioxidant defense system and increased lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation. The FTIR study showed that peak area value of amide A decreased significantly followed by reduced amide I and amide II peak area in an As-treated rat liver suggesting altered protein profile. The change of Olefinic?CH stretching band and C?O stretching of triglycerides band indicated the altered lipid levels due to metallic exposure. The fall in the peak area of PO₂^? asymmetric stretching in the As-treated group might be due to compositional changes of nucleic acids. Hence, the results of this study indicate that As-induced oxidative stress was associated with structural and molecular modifications in proteins, lipids, and glycogen in a rat liver that may help to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying metal-mediated hepatic damage.     

Co-processing of plastic waste in a cement kiln: a better option

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This paper deals with the techniques to use plastic waste for co-processing in cement kiln for energy recovery. Plastics, a versatile material and...     

Multi-drug resistance,integron and transposon-mediated gene transfer in heterotrophic bacteria from Penaeus vannamei and its culture environment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Multi-drug resistance (MDR) in bacteria is regarded as an emerging pollutant in different food production avenues including aquaculture. One hundred...     

Starch-Chitosan Hydrogels for the Controlled-Release of Herbicide in Agricultural Applications: A Study on the Effect of the Concentration of Raw Materials and Crosslinkers

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Present work aims to synthesize the herbicide-loaded bio-based hydrogels and study the release mechanism. The different ratios of starch and chitosan were...