Profenofos induced modulation in physiological indices,genomic template stability and protein banding patterns of Anabaena sp. PCC 7120

To understand the mechanism underlying organophosphate pesticide toxicity, cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120 was subjected to varied concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20 and 30 mg L^?1) of profenofos and the effects were investigated in terms of changes in cellular physiology, genomic template stability and protein expression pattern. The supplementation of profenofos reduced the growth, total pigment content and photosynthetic efficiency of the test organism in a dose dependent manner with maximum toxic effect at 30 mg L^?1. The high fluorescence intensity of 2′, 7′ –dichlorofluorescin diacetate and increased production of malondialdehyde confirmed the prevalence of acute oxidative stress condition inside the cells of the cyanobacterium. Rapid amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting and SDS-PAGE analyses showed a significant alteration in the banding patterns of DNA and proteins respectively. A marked increase in superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase activity and a concomitant reduction in glutathione content indicated their possible role in supporting the growth of Anabaena 7120 up to 20 mg L^?1. These findings suggest that the uncontrolled use of profenofos in the agricultural fields may not only lead to the destruction of the cyanobacterial population, but it would also disturb the nutrient dynamics and energy flow.     

Characterization of the pro-inflammatory potencies of purified Jatropha phorbol esters by a gene expression-based in vitro bioassay

The oil extracted from Jatropha seeds is an emerging biodiesel feedstock that also contains several pro-inflammatory phorbol esters. These phorbol esters can elicit adverse inflammatory responses through activation of the protein kinase C, as previously described for the prototypical phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. We extracted and purified the six phorbol esters identified in Jatropha oil and assessed their pro-inflammatory activities using a recently developed gene expression-based bioassay. Borrowing from an approach used for the assessment of dioxin toxicity, we expressed their pro-inflammatory potencies in relation to the potency of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (in terms of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate toxic equivalency factors). The pro-inflammatory potencies of Jatropha phorbol esters were orders of magnitudes below the potency of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. Interestingly, the cytotoxicity of phorbol esters did not appear to be directly related to their pro-inflammatory potencies. Calculations based on phorbol ester potencies and concentrations led to overestimation of the pro-inflammatory activity of Jatropha oil, as measured by the same gene expression-based bioassay. The preliminary results presented here suggest that further work on the described approach may lead to the development of valuable tools and metrics to quantify and predict the pro-inflammatory activities of complex phorbol ester mixtures.     

Influence of physico-chemical properties of soil clay fractions on the retention of dissolved organic carbon

This study investigated the effects of surface functional groups, cation exchange capacity (CEC), surface charge, sesquioxides and specific surface area (SSA) of three soil clay fractions (SCFs) (kaolinite–illite, smectite and allophane) on the retention of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in soils. Physico-chemical properties of the SCFs before and after removing native carbon and/or sesquioxides were characterised, and the DOC adsorption–desorption tests were conducted by a batch method. Native organic carbon (OC)/sesquioxide removal treatments led to a small change in the CEC values of kaolinite–illite, but significant changes in those of smectite and allophane. The net negative surface charge increased in all samples with an increase in pH indicating their variable charge characteristics. The removal of native OC resulted in a slight increase in the net positive charge on soil clay surfaces, while sesquioxide removal increased the negative charge. Changes in the functional groups on the SCF surfaces contributed to the changes in CEC and zeta potential values. There was a strong relationship (R ² = 0.93, p < 0.05) between the Langmuir maximum DOC adsorption capacity (Q _max) and SSA. The Q _max value also showed a moderately strong relationship (R ² = 0.55, p < 0.05) with zeta potential (at pH 7). Q _max was only poorly correlated with CEC and native OC content. Therefore, along with SSA, the surface charge and functional groups of SCFs played the key role in determining the adsorption affinity and hence retention of DOC in soils.     

Higher Pollution Episode Detection Using Image Classification Techniques

Image classification techniques have been applied to detect higher pollution episodes in modelled air pollution data. These techniques are widely used in video processing to find patterns in videos. An attempt for the first time has been made to apply these techniques by considering air pollution as continuous video frames as the spatio-temporal changes in the pollution are linked to its previous state of the atmosphere. The applicability of these techniques has been tested over Northern Italy to detect ozone pollution episodes in year 2004 using model simulated concentrations. The methods tested in this paper are pixel, block-based, histogram, pertinent pixel and twin-comparison method. While these techniques have some kind of merits and demerits, a modified pertinent pixel comparison algorithm has been proposed to detect pollution episodes. The proposed method has been validated to detect PM10 episodes over Milan metropolitan area during 2 months in 2008 and is able to detect PM10 episodic events as well as non-events. This method provides a single binary index that can be applied by the air quality modellers and decision makers to determine the pollution episode over a given domain.     

Impacts of industrial waste resources on maize (Zea mays L.) growth,yield, nutrients uptake and soil properties

Discharging untreated highly acidic (pH < 4.0), organic and nutrients rich monosodium glutamate wastewater (MW), and highly alkaline (pH > 10.0) paper-mill wastewater (PW) causes environmental pollution. When acidity of MW neutralized (pH 6.5 ± 0.1) with PW and lime (treatments represented as MW + PW and MW + Lime), then MW may be utilized as a potential source of nutrients and organic carbon for sustainable food production. Objectives of this study were to compare the effects of PW and lime neutralized MW and chemical fertilizers on maize (Zea mays L. cv. Snow Jean) plant growth, yield, nutrients uptake, soil organic matter and humic substances. The field experiment was carried out on maize using MW at 6000 L ha^?1. Impacts of the MW application on maize crop and soil properties were evaluated at different stages. At harvest, plant height, and plant N and K uptake were higher in MW treatment. Leaf area index at 60 days after sowing, plant dry matter accumulation at harvest, and kernels ear^?1 and 100-kernel weight were higher in MW + Lime treatment. Kernel N, P, K, Mn, Fe and Zn, and plant Zn uptake were highest in MW + Lime. Plant Fe uptake, and soil organic matter and humic substances were highest in MW + PW. The MW + PW and MW + Lime treatments exhibited comparable results with chemically fertilized treatment. The MW acidity neutralized with lime showed positive impacts on growth, yield and nutrients uptake; nevertheless, when MW pH neutralized with PW has an additional benefit on increase in soil organic matter and humic substances.     

Assessment of mining activities on tree species and diversity in hilltop mining areas using Hyperion and Landsat data

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The tree species and its diversity are two critical components to be monitored for sustainable management of forest as well as biodiversity...     

Removal of sulfadimethoxine in soil mediated by extracellular oxidoreductases

Sulfadimethoxine (SDM) is an antibiotic commonly used in concentrated animal feeding operations and released into the environment via manure application on agricultural lands. Transformation of antibiotics in soil impacts the likelihood of their entry to water bodies, uptake by plants, and thus their effect on terrestrial and aquatic organisms. We conducted experiments to incubate SDM in a sandy loam soil in the presence of humification enzymes commonly found in natural soil, laccase, horseradish peroxidase, and lignin peroxidase. Incubation with the enzymes led to significant reduction in the fraction of SDM extractable from soil, indicating the formation of bound residues. Such transformation was enhanced when the organic matter content in soil is increased or when certain chemical mediators were used along with laccase. The study provided a basis for understanding the environmental fate of sulfonamides and help with the development of remediation methods to mitigate the release of sulfonamides from soil to water.     

Differential toxicity of cadmium to mustard (Brassica juncia L.) genotypes under higher metal levels

Cadmium application inhibited various growth and biochemical parameters in seedlings of five cultivars of Brassicajuncia L. with different magnitude at lower Cd supply, however, at higher metal applications the variation in Cd toxicity ranged with minor differences. The seedling vigour index (SVI) was inhibited more severely in Gangotri (62.25% over control) and least in Pusa Jai Kisan (8.95%) at 1.0 mM CdCI2. The SVI of all five mustard cultivars, however, severely inhibited (84.29-91.80%) at 5.0 mM Cd. The root and shoot elongation in 7 days old seedlings were inhibited by 32.39-40.38 and 11.83-56.40% respectively at 1.0 mM CdCI2. whereas the varietal differences in root and shoot elongation were 76.71-82.47 and 71.57-78.91 respectively at 5.0 mM CdCI2 The genotypic differences at lower Cd level were more pronounced in shoot elongation than that in the root elongation. The dry weight and moisture content of the seedlings, however, does notshow much varietal differences even at lower Cd level, though the Cd toxicity increased at higher level of Cd application. The metal tolerance index (MTI) and % phytotoxicity of 3 days old seedlings ranged between 43.30-98.37 and 1.63-56.70% respectively at 1.0 mM CdCI2 for different mustard genotypes, whereas at 5.0 mM CdCI2 these factors ranged between 12.26-20.92 and 80.08-87.74% respectively. The varietal differences of MTI and % phytotoxicity was, however, less pronounced at all the metal levels when the seedling attained an age of 7 days. Asimilar trend of genotypic variation was noticed in Cd accumulation in the seedlings at lower and higher levels of Cd supply to the seedlings.Amongst some biochemical parameters e.g. photosynthetic pigments, carbohydrates and proteins in the leaves, the photosynthetic pigments i.e. chlorophylls and carotenoids were decreased more drastically. The carbohydrate content of leaves, however, was the least affected component. Our data indicate that the differential toxicity of cadmium to Indian mustard genotypes was dependent on the level of contamination and growth phases.