Selenium status in soils of northern districts of India

The HG-AAS technique was used to estimate the soil selenium status of the agricultural lands of northern parts of India. The drier lands where lesser rains were received or where less irrigation water was available in Rajasthan and southern parts of the Haryana states had above normal soil selenium levels. These soils were also found to be alkaline. Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and northern parts of the Haryana states had normal levels of selenium in their soils, except with slightly lower selenium levels in a few areas that were affected by floods along the river Yamuna. The results were also confirmed using the ICP-OES technique.     

Livestock excreta management through vermicomposting using an epigeic earthworm Eisenia foetida

In India, millions of tones of livestock excreta are produced. Our study explores the potential of an epigeic earthworm Eisenia foetida to compost different livestock excreta (cow, buffalo, horse, donkey, sheep, goat and camel) into value added product (vermicompost) at the laboratory scale. Vermicomposting resulted in lowering of pH, electrical conductivity, potassium and C:N ratio and increase in nitrogen and phosphorus contents. Total K was lower in the final cast than in the initial feed. C:N ratios of the vermicomposts ranged from 16.2 ± 2.17 to 75.4 ± 6.84. Microbial activity measured as dehydrogenase activity in buffalo, donkey and camel wastes increased with time up to day 90. But in sheep and goat wastes, maximum dehydrogenase activity was recorded on day 60 and decreased thereafter. The cocoons and hatchlings production by Eisenia foetida in different excreta were also investigated. The greatest number and biomass of hatchlings was recorded in horse excreta followed by cow, goat and sheep excreta. Thus, cow, horse, sheep and goat excreta show potential as good substrates in vermicomposting using Eisenia foetida, although further research is required to explore the feasibility of use of buffalo, donkey and camel excreta in combination with cow/sheep/goat excreta.     

Removal of fluoride by thermally activated carbon prepared from neem (Azadirachta indica) and kikar (Acacia arabica) leaves

The present investigation deals with fluoride removal from aqueous solution by thermally activated neem (Azadirachta indica) leaves carbon (ANC) and thermally activated kikar (Acacia arabica) leaves carbon (AKC) adsorbents. In this study neem leaves carbon and kikar leaves carbon prepared by heating the leaves at 400 degrees C in electric furnace was found to be useful for the removal of fluoride. The adsorbents of 0.3 mm and 1.0 mm sizes of neem and kikar leaves carbon was prepared by standard sieve. Batch experiments done to see the fluoride removal properties from synthetic solution of 5 ppm to study the influence of pH, adsorbent dose and contact time on adsorption efficiency The optimum pH was found to be 6 for both adsorbents. The optimum dose was found to be 0.5g/100 ml forANC (activated neem leaves carbon) and 0.7g/100 ml forAKC (activated kikar leaves carbon). The optimum time was found to be one hour for both the adsorbent. It was also found that adsorbent size of 0.3 mm was more efficient than the 1.0 mm size. The adsorption process obeyed Freundlich adsorption isotherm. The straight line of log (qe-q) vs time at ambient temperature indicated the validity of langergren equation consequently first order nature of the process involved in the present study. Results indicate that besides intraparticle diffusion there maybe other processes controlling the rate which may be operating simultaneously. All optimized conditions were applied for removal of fluoride from four natural water samples.     

Acute toxicity levels and ethological responses of Channa striatus to fertilizer industrial wastewater

The present paper deals with the toxicity of fertilizer's industrial wastewater on snake head fish Channa striatus (Bloch) previously named as Ophiocephalus sp., at different concentrations viz., 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 percent on the behavioural changes and mortality. The exposed fish showed hyperactivity viz., jumping, operculum movement, distance travelling, somersaulting at higher concentration such as 60, 80, and 100 percent within 48 hr. At lower concentrations such as 20 and 40 percent exposed fish showed hyperactivities viz., linear movement and eye movement within 48 hr. The LC50 values of industrial wastewater were also determined viz. 89, 75, 70 and 69 percent at different duration of exposure time i.e. 48, 72, 96 and 120 hr respectively. The obtained data revealed that LC50 value decreased with increase of exposure.     

Pilot project at Hazira,India, for capture of carbon dioxide and its biofixation using microalgae

The objective of the present study was to set up a small-scale pilot reactor at ONGC Hazira, Surat, for capturing CO₂ from vent gas. The studies were carried out for CO₂ capture by either using microalgae Chlorella sp. or a consortium of microalgae (Scenedesmus quadricauda, Chlorella vulgaris and Chlorococcum humicola). The biomass harvested was used for anaerobic digestion to produce biogas. The carbonation column was able to decrease the average 34 vol.% of CO₂ in vent gas to 15 vol.% of CO₂ in the outlet gas of the carbonation column. The yield of Chlorella sp. was found to be 18 g/m²/day. The methane yield was 386 l CH₄/kg VS_fed of Chlorella sp. whereas 228 l CH₄/kg VS_fed of the consortium of algae.     

Effect of heavy metals and phenol on bacterial decolourisation and COD reduction of sucrose-aspartic acid Maillard product

Melanodins are amino-carbonyl complex, predominantly present in sugarcane molasses based distillery wastewater as major source of colourant. The microbial decolourisation of melanoidin is a challenge due to its binding property with other co-pollutants of distillery waste. Results revealed that the presence of Zn2+ (2.00-20.00 mg/L) in melanoidin solution (1200 mg/L) stimulated the bacterial growth and sucrose-aspartic acid Maillard product (SAA) decolourisation as compared to control, while Fe 3+ and Mn2+ at the same concentration inhibited the process. However, the presence of phenol (100 mg/L) along with Zn2+ , Fe3+ and Mn2+ suppressed the bacterial growth, SAA decolourisation and MnP activity. The shrinkage and reduced number of bacterial cell count at higher concentration of heavy metals in presence of phenol was also observed under scanning electron microscope.     

Physicochemical characteristics of paper industry effluents��a case study of South India Paper Mill (SIPM)

Pulp and paper mills generate varieties of pollutants depending upon type of the pulping process being used. This paper presents the characteristics of wastewater from South India Paper Mill, Karnataka, India which is using recycled waste paper as a raw material. The raw wastewater consists of 80?C90 mg L^???1 suspended solid and 1,010?C1,015 mg L^???1 dissolved solid. However, pH varied from 5.5?C6.8. The biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand ranged from 200?C210 and 1,120?C1,160 mg L^???1, respectively. Aerobic treatment of raw effluent attribute to significant reduction in suspended solid (range between 25 to 30 mg L^???1) and total dissolved solid (range between 360 to 390 mg L^???1). However, pH, temperature, and electrical conductivity were found superior after treatment. Copper, cadmium, iron, lead, nickel, and zinc were found in less quantity in raw effluent and were almost completely removed after treatment. The dendrogram of the effluent quality parameters clearly indicate that South India Paper Mill does not meet Minimal National Standard set by central Pollution Control Board to discharge in agricultural field.     

Trends and Perspectives of Biosensors for Food and Environmental Virology

Food and environmental virology has become a very important and interesting area of research because of food safety and public health concerns. During the last few decades, increasing foodborne diseases and environmental generated illnesses are considered to be highly challenging issues. Biosensor technology holds great promise for the healthcare market, and the security sector. Similar to clinical diagnostic tools, biosensors are being developed for the rapid, reliable, yet inexpensive identification and enumeration of pathogenic viruses which are adulterating environment, food and feed commodities. In this modern era, bio-and nano-technologies play a pivotal role in virological diagnostics of food industry, environmental and veterinary samples. This review covers the recent advances and future prospects of nanotechnology-based bioanalytical microsystems for food and environmental virology.