JUVENILE BLUEBACK HERRING (ALOSA AESTIVALIS) SURVIVAL VIA TURBINE AND SPILLWAY1

ABSTRACT: The 48 h survival of emigrating juvenile blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis) was estimated at 96 ± 6.7 percent in passage through a Kaplan-type turbine and at 88.3 ± 10.7 percent (90 percent confidence interval) over a spillway (3.7 m high and spillage of 1.2 m³/s) of a low-head hydro darn (8.3 m). These results suggest that diversion of juvenile alosids over spillways may not be assumed to be a totally benign strategy without obtaining site-specific data. A remarkable similarity in survival rates of fish observed through turbine routes in this study and others suggests that these trends may be common. However, due to a lack of sufficient data, such a conclusion cannot be made for survival over spillways.     

Comparative study of leaching of silver nanoparticles from fabric and effective effluent treatment

Nano silver (Ag_n) is employed as an active antimicrobial agent, but the environmental impact of Ag_n released from commercial products is unknown. The quantity of nanomaterial released from consumer products during use should be determined to assess the environmental risks of advancement of nanotechnology. This work investigated the amount of silver released from three different types of fabric into water during washing. Three different types of fabric were loaded with chemically synthesized Ag nanoparticles and washed repeatedly under simulated washing conditions. Variable leaching rates among fabric types suggest that the manufacturing process may control the release of silver reaching the waste water treatment plants. In an attempt to recover the Ag_n for reutilization and to save it from polluting water, the effluents from the wash were efficiently treated with bacterial strains. This treatment was based on biosorption and was very efficient for the elimination of silver nanoparticles in the wash water. The process ensured the recovery of the Ag_n leached into the effluent for reutilization, thus preventing environmental repercussions.     

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.     

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.     

Examination of the impact of photoexcited NO2 chemistry on regional air quality

Impact of the excited nitrogen dioxide (NO₂¹) chemistry on air quality in the U.S. is examined using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model for a summer month. Model simulations were conducted with and without the NO₂¹ chemistry. The largest impact of the NO₂¹ chemistry in the eastern U.S. occurred in the northeast and in the western U.S. occurred in Los Angeles. While the single largest daily maximum 8-h ozone (O₃) increased by 9 ppbv in eastern U.S. and 6 ppbv in western U.S., increases on most days were much lower. No appreciable change in model performance statistics for surface-level O₃ predictions relative to measurements is noted between simulations with and without the NO₂¹ chemistry. Based on model calculations using current estimates of tropospheric emission burden, the NO₂¹ chemistry can increase the monthly mean daytime hydroxyl radicals (OH) and nitrous acid (HONO) by a maximum of 28% and 100 pptv, respectively.     

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.     

Monitoring of organochlorine pesticides in and around Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India

Keoladeo National Park (KNP) is an important wintering ground for thousands of birds that undertake a perilous journey over the Himalaya to make a seasonal home in a wetland ecosystem. However, this wetland is now getting polluted by various types of contaminants such as pesticides because of the agricultural practices in the catchment area from where the park receives water. Keeping this in mind, the present study has been undertaken to assess the organochlorine pesticide (OCP) residues in the sediments inside and around KNP. Samples were collected from the different blocks of the park. The concentrations of α-HCH, β-HCH, γ-HCH, δ-HCH, S-HCH, aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor, hept.epoxide, endosulfan-I, endosulfan-II, endo.sulfate, S-endosulfan, endrin, 4,4'-DDE, 4,4'-DDD, and DDT were quantified using gas chromatography with electron capture detection. Analysis showed that the samples were contaminated with the above mentioned pesticides and that the concentration of total OCPs in the sediments varied from 0.1173 (dieldrin) to 5.558 ppm (γ HCH) in the samples collected from inside the park, whereas a range of pesticides varying in concentration from 0.1245 (4,4'-DDD) to 7.54 ppm (γ HCH) was found in samples from outside the park. Residues of S-HCH and S-endosulfan were not detected in any of the sediment samples. The occurrence of pesticides inside the park is a major threat to the park's biodiversity. Eco-friendly agriculture practices with minimal use of inorganic chemicals are suggested to minimize the pesticide residue levels in the park.     

Evaluation of the presence-absence (P-A) test: A simplified bacteriological test for detecting coliforms in rural drinking water of India

One thousand three-hundred and ninety-four drinking water sources comprising ground water, surface water and piped supplies were tested in order to compare the presence-absence (P-A) test with standard MPN method to detect coliforms as indicators of water quality. Out of 1394 samples, 1074 (77.04%) and 1030 (74.88%) were positive by the MPN and P-A test, respectively. The P-A test detected 96% of the positives detected by the MPN test. The P-A test may be effectively used as a rapid screening method to detect coliform contamination in less polluted sources such as ground water and piped supplies.     

Ecosystem studies on upper region of Ganga River,India

A multi-disciplinary research programme on the Ganga River Ecosystem was launched by the Government of India in 1983 to collect information on its attributes. Monitoring of the initial 509 km unpolluted and unmonitored region of the river falling in partly mountainous and partly upper plain stretches for two years revealed good water quality. The Song River (a tributary) catchment, a victim of extensive mining activity in the past, was found to add maximum mineral load. The Bhagirathi River was found to carry maximum suspended solid load. Organic pollution was low throughout, occasionally showing seasonal and local peaks. The river exhibited a high oxidative state with pH falling in a slightly alkaline range and nutrient levels being very low.Diatoms formed a major part of the encountered genera of phytoplankton. Zooplankton were mainly represented by protozoans. Saprophytic bacteria underwent large spatial and temporal fluctuations. Coliforms exhibited an increasing trend with downstream river distance. The source of pollution could not be specifically characterized from an FC/FS ratio. Only one sample tested positive for enteric virus. The forms of benthic macroinvertebrates indicated a clean stream environment. It was observed that diversity indices, together with evenness and community comparison, could provide a promising approach to determine the state of the community.Eight heavy metals investigated, Cu, Zn, Fe, Cd, Mn, Pb, Ni and Co, were found to be present in the river water and bed sediments. The prominent mode of metal transport was found to be via the suspended load. The concentration of dissolved metals was found within WHO permissible limits. The heavy metal status of the Ganga River was compared with other rivers of the world. Sorptive properties of sediments were found to be similar to the general sorptive behaviour of the clays. Laboratory studies exhibited reasonable short t ₉₀ values for coliform survival in Ganga water. Faecal streptococcus survived longer.     

Time,affluence and pollution in the theory of consumer's behavior

This paper extends Becker's analysis on the allocation of time to provide a theoretical basis for the phrase “affluence breeds effluence.” Many environmentalists fear that a pollutant tax is merely a license to pollute. Their fears are well-founded if we consider the effect of increased affluence of the society on the pollutant stock. Assuming that relatively pollutant intensive “commodities” are also relatively less time intensive, an assumption applicable to most of the affluent societies, it is shown that the pollutant tax policy will be ineffective if the effect of increased wage rate on pollutant stock is ignored in spite of the efficiency of such a tax as a policy tool.