Marble industry effluents cause an increased bioaccumulation of heavy metals in Mahaseer (Tor putitora) in Barandu River,district Buner,Pakistan

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The present study was conducted to evaluate the impact of marble industry effluents on the accumulation of heavy metals in selected tissues of...     

Evaluation of Biogas Yield of Selected Ratios of Cattle,Swine, and Poultry Wastes

Production of biogas from animal wastes could lessen the problems of energy shortage and indiscriminate animal waste disposal. A study of anaerobic digestion of selected ratios of cattle, swine, and poultry wastes was carried out to evaluate their biogas yields. Cattle (C), swine (S), and poultry (P) wastes were mixed as C:S:P in the following ratios: 1:0:0 (control), 1:0:1, 4:1:3, 2:1:1, 4:3:1, and 1:1:0 by mass to obtain six samples of of 0.4 kg each, referred to as samples 1 to 6 respectively. A quantity (0.1 kg) of inoculum (obtained by pre-fermenting equal masses of poultry waste and water for 50 days under anaerobic condition) and 0.5 kg of water were added to each of the samples. The resulting slurries were digested in triplicates for 30 days in 1.3 L laboratory-scale anaerobic digesters. The volume of biogas produced was obtained by downward displacement of water in a measuring cylinder. The cumulative biogas yields of samples 1 to 6 were 332.5, 497.5, 487.5, 467.5, 457.5, and 430.0 cm³/kg slurry respectively. The cumulative biogas yields of samples 2 and 3 were significantly (p < 0.05) higher than those of the other samples but not significantly (p > 0.05) different from each other. However, the cumulative biogas yield of sample 1 was significantly (p < 0.05) lower than those of the other samples. The study revealed that a blend of equal masses of cattle and poultry wastes is optimum for biogas production.     

Oil-Induced environmental Kuznets curve in organization of petroleum exporting countries (OPEC)

This study investigates the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in 10 of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). To realize the study’s aims a time series model is built based on the period 1977–2008, utilizing the ecological footprint as an environmental indicator and income, labour, capital, oil consumption and oil price as economic indicators. Employing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach, by comparing the short and long-run income elasticities, the EKC hypothesis is present in six OPEC countries namely Algeria, Iraq, Venezuela, Nigeria, Qatar and Kuwait. Moreover, the Toda–Yamamoto–Dolado–Lütkepohl (TYDL) causality tests outcome show that, after oil consumption, the most significant factors in increasing ecological footprint are labor and capital. This implies the relocation of pollution intensive industries to almost all of the OPEC countries. However, oil prices reduce environmental damage by its negative effect on the ecological footprint. From the outcome of this study it is important for the investigated countries to reduce their consumption of fossil fuel energy since it represents an important source of pollution. This can be achieved by allocating more labor and capital in projects and investments on renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy saving.     

Human health risk from organ-specific accumulation of toxic metals and response of antioxidants in edible fish species from Chenab River,Pakistan

In the current study, the bioaccumulation of essential and nonessential metals and related antioxidant activity were analyzed in three organs (muscle, gills, and liver) of herbivorous (HF) and carnivorous (CF) edible fish of Chenab River. The comparative analysis revealed a more heterogeneous accumulation of metals in the muscles of HF fish than that of CF fish [chromium (Cr, 3.4 μg g^?1), cobalt (Co, 1.7 μg g^?1), copper (Cu, 3 μg g^?1), and iron (Fe, 45 μg g^?1) versus Cr (1.3 μg g^?1), Co (0.1 μg g^?1), Cu (1.1 μg g^?1), and Fe (33 μg g^?1), respectively, P?<?0.001]. These results implied an organ-specific accumulation of metals at different trophic levels. According to logistic regression analysis, the bioaccumulation of metals had marked differences in HF and CF. The antioxidant activity was significantly related to the tissue type and the metals to which the organs are exposed to. The liver of CF fish had a higher activity of antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH), and lipid peroxidase (LPO) than that of HF (P?<?0.05). LPO and guaiacol peroxidase (POD) in both groups were associated with a number of metals, but in HF, cadmium (Cd), Cr, Pb, and Zn were more related with the LPO and SOD activities. Moreover, Cd, Co, Fe, Pb, Ni, Cu, and Zn were above the permissible limits set by various agencies. In numerous cases, our results were even higher than those previously reported in the literature. The results provide an insight into the pollution pattern of Chenab River. These results may be helpful in the future to identify biomarkers of exposure in aquatic organisms.

Microbial contamination of drinking water in Pakistan—a review

Water pollution with pathogenic microorganisms is one of the serious threats to human health, particularly in developing countries. The main objective of this article is to highlight microbial contamination of drinking water, the major factors responsible for microbial contamination, and the resulting health problems in Pakistan. Furthermore, this study will be helpful for researchers and administrative agencies to initiate relevant studies and develop new policies to protect further deterioration of water supply with pathogenic microbes and ensure clean and safe drinking water to the public in Pakistan. In Pakistan, water at the source, in the distribution network, and at the consumer tap is heavily polluted with coliforms and fecal coliforms all over the country. An overview of more than 7,000 water samples reviewed here reveals that an average of over 71 and 58 % samples in the country was contaminated with total coliforms and fecal coliforms, respectively. Drinking water contamination accounts for 20 to 40 % of all diseases in the country, which causes national income losses of Rs 25–58 billion annually (US$0.25–0.58 billion, approximately 0.6–1.44 % of the country’s GDP). Improper disposal of industrial and municipal wastes is the most important factor responsible for water pollution in the country followed by cross-contamination due to old and leaking pipes and lack of water filtration and disinfection facilities. There is an urgent need for emergency steps to stop further deterioration of water quality and improve the existing water quality so as to protect the public from widespread waterborne diseases.     

Cytotoxicity,genotoxicity and oxidative stress of malachite green on the kidney and gill cell lines of freshwater air breathing fish Channa striata

The cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and oxidative stress of malachite green (MG) was investigated using the fish Channa striata kidney (CSK) and Channa striata gill (CSG) cell lines. Five concentrations ranging from 0.001 to 10 μg mL^?1 were tested in three independent experiments. Cytotoxicity was assessed by 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, Rhodamine 123 and Alamar Blue. The mitochondrial changes and apoptosis of MG-exposed cells were observed by Rhodamine 123 and acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) staining, respectively. In vitro potential DNA damaging effect of MG was tested using comet assay. Mitochondrial damage, apoptosis and DNA fragmentation increased in a concentration-dependent manner. Additionally, DNA electrophoretic mobility experiments were carried out to study the binding effect of MG to double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) of cells. DNA shift mobility experiments showed that MG is capable of strongly binding to linear dsDNA causing its degradation. Biochemical parameters such as lipid peroxidation (MDA), catalase (CAT) activity and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels were evaluated after exposure to MG. In CSK and CSG cell lines exposed to MG for 48 h, a significant increase in lipid peroxidation, which might be associated with decreased levels of reduced glutathione and catalase activity in these cell lines (p?相似文献   

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