Synthesis and characterization of ZnO decorated reduced graphene oxide (ZnO-rGO) and evaluation of its photocatalytic activity toward photodegradation of methylene blue

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Photocatalytic treatment is one of the techniques used for the treatment of dyes-contaminated wastewater. It is important to develop an effective...     

Integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) as an environmentally friendly system for sustainable aquaculture: functionality,species, and application of biofloc technology (BFT)

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, and its prominent role has been proven in supplying food for the growing world...     

Assessment of major food crops production-based environmental efficiency in China,India, and Pakistan

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Global warming and food security have led to increasing concern about agricultural crop production efficiency, especially wheat and rice farming. The...     

Preparation and Optimization of Starch/Poly Vinyl Alcohol/ZnO Nanocomposite Films Applicable for Food Packaging

Pollution and destruction of the environment due to the accumulation of non-degradable plastics are some of the most important concerns in the world. A significant amount of this waste is related to the polymers used in food packaging. Therefore, experts in the food industry have been looking for suitable biodegradable alternatives to synthetic polymers. Preparing biocompatible and biodegradable films based on starch is a good choice. In this study, various factors affecting films of starch/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/containing ZnO nanoparticles such as the amount of starch, PVA, glycerol, and ZnO were evaluated by response surface methodology (RSM). Film formation by solvent casting method, mechanical properties, swelling, solubility, and water vapor permeability (WVP) were selected as responses of RSM. The results showed that hydrogen bonding interactions between polyvinyl alcohol and starch improved the film formation. The effect of glycerol and PVA content on the mechanical strength was contrary to each other. As the amount of PVA increased, the tensile strength first decreased and then increased. The value of WVP was for all Runs from 0 to 6.77?×?10^??8 g m^??1 s^??1 Pa^??1. Finally, films with high film formation, maximum tensile strength, and high elongation at break, minimum solubility, permeability, and swelling were optimized.

     

Proteomics study of Southern Punjab Pakistani cobra (Naja naja: formerly Naja naja karachiensis) venom

Because of the potential of significant geographic variation in the compositions of snake venoms, much insight can be gained by examining individuals originating from diverse locations, and detailed characterization of any species can only be done by including animals from the entire range. Pakistani N. naja (formerly N. naja karachiensis) venom was decomplexed by applying diverse techniques and found a concoction of proteins (a total of 43 venomous proteins comprising 11 super families) from 6 to 200 kilodaltons in size. Among them three finger toxins (58%), phosphoplipses A₂ (19%), snake venom metalloproteinases (5%), l-amino acid oxidases (5%), helvepryns (3%), vespryns (2%), cobra venom factor (2%), 5′-nucleotidases (2%), venom nerve growth factor (2%), and Kunitz type serine protease inhibitor (2%) were included. It is the first report that this venom possesses significantly higher percentage of three finger toxins belonging to the cytotoxins (32% overall) and α‐neurotoxins (32% overall, predominately long chain neurotoxins, 24% overall) compared to N. naja from other geographic locations. Better understanding of intraspecific variations in venom can improve the development of location-specific anti-venoms. Furthermore, this pool of diverse toxins could potentially be a source of novel drug candidates for the treatment of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors mediated nervous disorders.     

Fate of selenium in biofortification of wheat on calcareous soil: an isotopic study

Selenium (Se) biofortification of staple cereal crops can improve the Se nutritional status of populations. A field trial employing an enriched stable isotope of Se (⁷⁷Se) was undertaken over three consecutive cropping seasons in a coarse-textured, calcareous soil in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. The objectives were to (1) assess the feasibility and efficiency of Se biofortification, (2) determine the fate of residual Se, and (3) assess the consequences for dietary Se intake. Isotopically enriched ⁷⁷Se (⁷⁷Se_Fert) was applied, either as selenate or as selenite, at three levels (0, 10, and 20 g ha^?1) to a wheat crop. Residual ⁷⁷Se_Fert availability was assessed in subsequent crops of maize and wheat without further ⁷⁷Se_Fert addition. Loss of ⁷⁷Se_Fert was c.35% by the first (wheat) harvest, for both selenium species, attributable to the practice of flood irrigation and low adsorption capacity of the soil. No ⁷⁷Se_Fert was detectable in subsequent maize or wheat crops. The remaining ⁷⁷Se_Fert in soil was almost entirely organically bound and diminished with time following a reversible (pseudo-)first-order trend. Thus, repeat applications of Se would be required to adequately biofortify grain each year. In contrast to native soil Se, there was no transfer of ⁷⁷Se_Fert to a recalcitrant form. Grain from control plots would provide only 0.5 µg person^?1 day^?1 of Se. By contrast, a single application of 20 g ha^?1 Se^VI could provide c. 47 µg person^?1 day^?1 Se in wheat, sufficient to avoid deficiency when combined with dietary Se intake from other sources (c. 25 µg day^?1).

     

Sulfonated tea waste: A low-cost adsorbent for purification of biodiesel

In the present work, the crude biodiesel produced from spent fish frying oil through alkaline catalyzed transesterification was purified using a low-cost adsorbent viz. sulfonated tea waste. After separating the glycerol, the crude biodiesel was purified using the suggested adsorbent. Various methods of purification using the said adsorbent were applied such as purification using adsorption column chromatography and shaking methods. The results showed that purification using adsorption column chromatography exhibited the bst result. Properties of the purified fuels were determined and found conformed to those specified by the ASTM standards. For the sake of comparison, purification using zeolite and water washing method was also investigated. The result indicated that the suggested adsorbent was more successful on purification of the crude biodiesel compared to other methods.     

Optimal design of additional sampling pattern for drinking-water quality control

A crucial step in complementary studies of the water quality determination is to design the additional sampling pattern or, in other words, to determine the number and location of the additional samples. Since location and number of samples highly affect decisions’ uncertainties, and because sampling process is quite costly and time-consuming, optimization of the sampling pattern will enhance the efficiency and productivity. Solution of such an optimization problem requires defining an objective function and constraints. There exist many previous studies regarding locating additional samples in other environmental problems wherein the objective function is defined as the minimization of the kriging variance (based on the problem nature), but the point is that kriging variance is not sensitive to local variability. Since manner and extent of small-scale variations are both important and necessary in water quality studies, it is required to resolve this shortcoming of the traditional objective function. Solution is to make use of the combined variance consisting of kriging and local variances. In this study, the applicability and efficiency of the minimization of combined variance as the objective function of the additional sampling was adopted and proved for a salt marsh (east of Iran) on the basis of a simulated annealing-based algorithm. It was shown, practically, that the locational distribution of additional sampling points is quite logical and more compatible with experts’ proposed methods using this objective function (compared to the traditional one).     

Induction of apoptosis and cytokine markers in colon cancer cells by magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles

Magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgONP) are predominantly utilized in industrial products. This study was undertaken to elucidate the mechanisms underlying toxic effect of MgONP in human colon cancer (HT 29) cells over 48 hr period. Cytotoxicity was evaluated by using MTT and neutral red uptake assays. Data demonstrated that MgONP reduced cell viability in concentration- and time-dependent manner. MgONP induced oxidative stress by decreasing glutathione (GSH) concentrations and elevation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid peroxidation levels. Increased caspase-3 enzyme activity and greater condensed, damaged chromosome was observed following MgONP exposure in HT 29 cells. The level of interleukin-4 (IL-4), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and DNA fragmentation were significantly higher in MgONP incubated cells. The results showed that MgONP-induced toxicity in HT 29 cells may be mediated through oxidative stress.