Effect of sodium arsenite on adrenocortical activity in immature female rats: evidence of dose dependent response

ｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＡｒｓｅｎｉｃ，ａｍｅｔａｌｌｏｉｄ，ｉｓａｎｏｎｅｓｓｅｎｔｉａｌｔｒａｃｅｅｌｅｍｅｎｔ，ｈａｓｂｅｅｎｃｌａｉｍｅｄｔｏｂｅｏｆｃｌｉｎｉｃａｌｂｅｎｅｆｉｔｉｎｔｈｅｔｒｅａｔｍｅｎｔｏｆｓｙｐｈｉｌｉｓ，ａｍｏｅｂｉａｓｉｓａｎｄｏｔｈｅｒｔｒｏｐｉｃａｌｄｉｓｅａｓｅｓ（Ｋｌａａｓｓｅｎ，１９９０；Ｋｏｗａｇｕｃｈｉ，１９８１）．Ｂｅｓｉｄｅｉｔｓｃｌｉｎｉｃａｌｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｃｅ，ａｒｓｅｎｉｃｉｓｒｅｐｏｒｔｅｄｔｏｂｅａｎｉｍｐｏｒｔａｎｔｗａｔｅｒｐｏ…     

Modeling perceived collision risk in port water navigation

An increase in the likelihood of navigational collisions in port waters has put focus on the collision avoidance process in port traffic safety. The most widely used on-board collision-avoidance system is the automatic radar plotting aid which is a passive warning system that triggers an alert based on the pilot’s pre-defined indicators of distance and time proximities at the closest point of approaches in encounters with nearby vessels. To better help pilot in decision making in close quarter situations, collision risk should be considered as a continuous monotonic function of the proximities and risk perception should be considered probabilistically. This paper derives an ordered probit regression model to study perceived collision risks. To illustrate the procedure, the risks perceived by Singapore port pilots were obtained to calibrate the regression model. The results demonstrate that a framework based on the probabilistic risk assessment model can be used to give a better understanding of collision risk and to define a more appropriate level of evasive actions.     

Effect of noise exposure (85 dB ) on testicular adrenocortical steroidogenic key enzymes, acid and alkaline phosphatase activities of sex organs in mature albino rats

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＦｏｒｌａｓｔｔｗｏｄｅｃａｄｅｓ,ａｗａｖｅｏｆｔｈｅｅｘｐｅｒｉｍｅｎｔａｌｃｏｎｓｃｉｏｕｓｎｅｓｓｉｓｂｅｉｎｇｄｅｖｅｌｏｐｅｄｉｎｄｅｖｅｌｏｐｉｎｇｃｏｕｎｔｒｉｅｓｉｎｃｌｕｄｉｎｇＩｎｄｉａ.Ｍｏｄｅｒｎｔｅｃｈｎｏｌｏｇｙｈａｖｅｂｅｅｎｃｒｅａｔｅｄｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔａｌｐｏｌｌｕｔａｎｔ,ｏｆｗｈｉｃｈｎｏｉｓｅｉｓｃｏｎｓｉｄｅｒｅｄａｓｔｈｅｗｏｒｓｔｅｎｅｍｙｏｆｈｕｍａｎｈｅａｌｔｈａｎｄａｃｕｒｓｅｏｆｏｕｒｓｏｃｉｅｔｙ .Ｎｏｉｓｅｉ…     

Temporal modulation of turbulence structure over progressive erosion boundary under influence of wave current combined flow

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - The action of wave dominated flow on river bank leads to retreatment of the bankline thereby causing intense erosion issues. The understanding of the bank erosion...     

Application of waste aluminum cans based nano alumina as reinforcing filler in natural rubber composites

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The application of waste materials based fillers is unique way to achieve rubber composites, which reduces the amount of waste in the environment...     

Toxicological evaluation of entomotoxic silica nanoparticle

Pest management researchers currently reappraise the use of inert dust-based insecticides because of the growing problem of environmental pollution and increasing insect resistance associated with conventional insecticides. Diatomaceous earth, which is amorphous micron-sized silica derived from fossilized phytoplankton, has become popular as an alternative insecticidal agent in European countries. In this investigation the insecticidal efficacy of amorphous lipophilic silica nanoparticle was examined on red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum), a stored grain insect pest. The biosafety of this silica nanoparticle formulation was studied in MRC-5 cell line with water-soluble tetrazolium and lactate dehydrogenase activity assays. Acute oral toxicity of these nanocides was studied in mice model following OECD guidelines for testing of chemicals as well as the effects of particle exposure on mouse blood parameters, serum biochemical levels, and histopathological changes in various organs.     

Arsenic bioaccumulation in rice and edible plants and subsequent transmission through food chain in Bengal basin: a review of the perspectives for environmental health

Arsenic (As) is a metalloid that poses serious environmental threats due to its behemoth toxicity and wide abundance. The use of arsenic-contaminated groundwater for irrigation purpose in crop fields elevates arsenic concentration in surface soil and in the plants. In many arsenic-affected countries, including Bangladesh and India, rice is reported to be one of the major sources of arsenic contamination. Rice is much more efficient at accumulating arsenic into the grains than other staple cereal crops. Rice is generally grown in submerged flooded condition, where arsenic bioavailability is high in soil. As arsenic species are phytotoxic, they can also affect the overall production of rice, and can reduce the economic growth of a country. Once the foodstuffs are contaminated with arsenic, this local problem can gain further significance and may become a global problem, as many food products are exported to other countries. Large-scale use of rainwater in irrigation systems, bioremediation by arsenic-resistant organisms and hyperaccumulating plants, and the aerobic cultivation of rice are some possible ways to reduce the extent of bioaccumulation in rice. Investigation on a complete food chain is urgently needed in the arsenic-contaminated zones, which should be our priority in future researches.     

An assessment to prioritise the critical erosion-prone sub-watersheds for soil conservation in the Gumti basin of Tripura,North-East India

Erosion-induced land degradation problem has emerged as a serious environmental issue across the world. Assessment of this problem through modelling can generate valuable quantitative information for the planners to identify priority areas for proper soil conservation measures. The Gumti River basin of Tripura falls under humid tropical climate and experiences soil erosion for a prolonged period which has turned into a major environmental issue. Increased sediment supply through top soil erosion is one of the major reasons for reduced navigability of this river. Thus, the present study is an attempt to prioritize the sub-watersheds of the Gumti basin by estimating soil loss through the USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) model. For that purpose, five parameters of the USLE model were processed, computed and overlaid in a GIS environment. The result shows that potential mean annual soil loss of the Gumti basin ranges between 0.03 and 114.08 t ha^?1 year^?1. The resultant values of soil loss were classified into five categories considering the minimum and maximum values. It has been identified that low, moderate, high, very high and severe soil loss categories occupy 68.71, 8.94, 5.86, 5.02 and 11.47% of the basin respectively. Moreover, it has been recognised that sub-watersheds like SW7, SW8, SW12, SW21, SW24 and SW29 fall under very high priority class for which mitigation measures are essential. Therefore, the present study recommends mitigation measures through terrace cultivation, as an alternative of shifting cultivation in the hilly areas and through construction of check dams at the appropriate sites of the erosion prone sub-watersheds. Moreover, proper afforestation programmes that have been implemented successfully in other parts of Tripura through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Joint Forest Management, and National Afforestation Programme should be initiated in the highly erosion-prone areas of the Gumti River basin.     

Antifeedant activity of plant extracts to an insect Helopeltis theivora

The different solvent extracts (viz Petroleum ether Ethyl acetate and Methanol) obtained from leaves and flowers of Heliotropium indicum and Spilanthes calva were screened for antifeedant activity against Helopeltis theivora. All the six different extracts showed antifeedant activity at four different concentrations. The methanolic extracts of leaves of Heliotropium indicum and Spilanthes calva exhibited significant activity at 4% concentration. The numbers of spots produced were only 18.67 and 22.67 respectively which are significantly less than the numberof spots produced in control (104.00 and 93.33 respectively). The treatment with methanolic extracts of flowers of both the plants significantly reduced the number of feeding spots to 22.33 and 23.67 respectively in comparison to the control values of 101.33. All the activities are dose dependent. The mean results with SEM (mean +/- SE) were statistically significant at 1% level (p<0.01) for three observations.