Low digestibility of phytate phosphorus,their impacts on the environment,and phytase opportunity in the poultry industry

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Phosphorus is an essential macro-mineral nutrient for poultry, needed for the body growth, development of bones, genomic function, good...     

SARS-CoV-2 variants and environmental effects of lockdowns,masks and vaccination: a review

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is continuously evolving and four variants of concern have been identified so far, including Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants. Here we review the indirect effect of preventive measures such as the implementation of lockdowns, mandatory face masks, and vaccination programs, to control the spread of the different variants of this infectious virus on the environment. We found that all these measures have a considerable environmental impact, notably on waste generation and air pollution. Waste generation is increased due to the implementation of all these preventive measures. While lockdowns decrease air pollution, unsustainable management of face mask waste and temperature-controlled supply chains of vaccination potentially increases air pollution.

     

Introducing urine-enriched biochar-based fertilizer for vegetable production: acceptability and results from rural Bangladesh

Improved agricultural practices that increase yields and preserve soils are critical to addressing food insecurity and undernutrition among smallholder farmer families. Urine-enriched biochar has been shown to be an accessible and effective fertilization option in various subtropical countries; however, it is new to Bangladesh. To better understand attitudes and experiences preparing and using urine-enriched biochar fertilizer, mixed-methods research was undertaken among smallholder farmers in northeastern Bangladesh in 2016/2017. In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 respondents who had compared the production of crops grown with biochar-based fertilizer to usual practice. In addition, in areas where trainings on biochar-based fertilization had been offered, 845 farmers were asked about their experience through a quantitative survey. Interview results indicated that cow urine-enriched biochar was favored over human urine because cow urine was perceived as clean and socially acceptable, whereas human urine was considered impure and disgusting. Respondents praised biochar-based fertilizer because it increased yields, cost little, was convenient to prepare with readily available natural materials, produced tastier crops, and allowed families to share their larger yields which in turn enhanced social and financial capital. Comparative field trials indicated a 60% yield benefit in both cabbage and kohlrabi crops. Challenges included uneven access to ingredients, with some respondents having difficulty procuring cow urine and biomass feedstock. The low social, health, and financial risk of adoption and the perceived benefits motivated farmers to produce and apply biochar-based fertilizer in their gardens, demonstrating strong potential for scale-up of this technology in Bangladesh.

     

Direct and Indirect Effects of Socioeconomic Factors on Age at First Marriage in Slum Areas,Bangladesh

This article attempts to examine the influence of some selected predictor variables on female age at first marriage in slum areas of Bangladesh. A path and multiple classification analysis （MCA） approach have been adopted. Authors thought that respondent＇s educational level and the mass media such as watching television have a significant direct impact on age at marriage, while the types of family and occupational status have an indirect effect on age at marriage.     

Breast cancer and persistent organic pollutants (excluding DDT): a systematic literature review

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a group of heterogeneous compounds of both natural and anthropogenic origin with highly persistent and bioaccumulative properties. They cause a range of adverse effects to human health and the environment around the world. There is growing concern that POPs may increase breast cancer risk due to their xenoestrogenic properties. The aim of this systematic literature review is to summarize and integrate the risks of breast cancer following environmental exposure to POPs (other than DDT) from primary epidemiological studies published between 2006 and 2015. After searching various databases, 14 case-control studies and one cohort study were included. Evidence of an association between increased breast cancer risk and environmental exposure to these chemicals is inconsistent and inadequate to conclude with certainty. However, most of the studies have examined exposure to the pollutants after diagnosis of breast cancer, overlooking exposure during critical windows of vulnerability. They have also largely focused on individual chemicals but ignored the combined effects of different chemicals. Therefore, major data gaps remain in examining exposure during critical windows of vulnerability and assessing combined effects of multiple chemicals. Development of better exposure assessment methods addressing these gaps is required for future research.     

Direct and Indirect Effects of Socioeconomic Factors on Age at First Marriage in Slum Areas,Bangladesh

This article attempts to examine the influence of some selected predictor variables on female age at first marriage in slum areas of Bangladesh. A path and multiple classification analysis (MCA) approach have been adopted. Authors thought that respondent’s educational level and the mass media such as watching television have a significant direct impact on age at marriage, while the types of family and occupational status have an indirect effect on age at marriage.     

Assessing the genotoxic potentials of arsenic in tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) using alkaline comet assay and micronucleus test

This experiment was conducted to study the genotoxic potentials of sodium arsenite (NaAsO₂) in freshwater fish Oreochromis mossambicus by using alkaline comet assay and micronucleus (MN) test. Fish were exposed to three different concentrations (3 ppm, 28 ppm and 56 ppm) of arsenic and gill, liver and blood tissue samples were collected after 48 h, 96 h and 192 h of exposure. Arsenic exposure induced DNA damage in all tissues examined in a concentration dependent manner. A significant (p < 0.05) increase in the comet tail DNA (%) of the exposed fish liver, gill, and blood was observed after 48 h and 96 h of exposure, but a decline in DNA damage was recorded in all the tissues at all the three concentrations studied after 192 h of exposure. Liver tissue exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) higher DNA damage at all the concentrations examined, followed by gill and blood. Higher liver tail DNA (51.38 ± 0.21%) refers that it is more prone to injury to arsenic toxicity than the gill and blood. In blood samples arsenic induced micronucleus formation in a concentration dependent manner and highest (5.8 ± 0.46%) value was recorded in 56 ppm after 96 h of exposure, whereas, it was decreased after 192 h of exposure at all the three concentrations of NaAsO₂ examined which refers to the DNA repairing ability of fish to arsenic toxicity. The results of this study depict the genotoxic potentials of arsenic to fish which in turns provide insight on advanced study in aquatic toxicology.     

Measuring environmental degradation by using principal component analysis

The objective of the paper is to measure environmental degradation on the basis of some selected indicators by the application of a simple multivariate technique known as Principal Component Analysis. For this purpose the study considered six variables, namely, GDP per capita, fuel consumption, total fertility rate, water supply, sanitation, and electricity. However, because of unavailability of data, the variables such as technology relating to environment, waste disposal, air pollution, women/gender issues relating to environment, corruption, democracy etc. could not be considered. The results show that principal components explain about 62% of the variations in the level of environmental degradation. The variables like GDP per capita, fuel consumption, water supply and electricity played a major role in classifying the countries in terms of environmental degradation compared to the variables, sanitation and total fertility rate. The findings show that countries which have high GDP per capita, low fuel consumption, higher percentage of people having access to water supply and sanitation as well as electricity ranked higher in terms of environmental quality despite high fertility rate as shown by the spectacular example of Saudi Arabia. By contrast, those countries which have low percentage of population having access to safe water and sanitation as well as electricity, high fuel consumption and high fertility were ranked lower in terms of environmental quality despite high per capita income, as shown by the example of Angola which is placed in lowest position among the 51 selected countries. The results also show that correlation between poverty and environmental degradation is particularly acute in African countries where high population growth is acting as an exacerbating factor. The study concluded that high fertility has much impact on environmental degradation in case of poorer countries than in case of rich countries.

Genetic damage induced by lead chloride in different tissues of fresh water climbing perch Anabas testudineus (Bloch)

The present investigation was undertaken to study the induction of DNA damage by lead chloride (PbCl(2)) in freshwater climbing perch Anabas testudineus using alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (comet assay). Based on the LC(50) values of lead chloride of A. testudineus three different concentrations viz., 0.1, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/L were selected to expose fish. The DNA damage was observed in the gill, kidney and liver tissue as the percentage of DNA in comet tails and comet heads in the tissue of the exposed fish. DNA damage at different concentrations showed sensitivity to particular tissue. The liver tissue exhibited significantly (p < 0.01) higher DNA damage, followed by kidney and gill. However, the DNA damage was found to be dose dependent; at 2 mg/L of PbCl(2) the tail and head DNA of liver tissue were 57.84% and 39.49%, in kidney tissue the values were 52.36% and 44.97% whereas in gill tissue the values were 48.86% and 48.96% respectively. The current study explored the utility of the comet assay for in vivo laboratory studies using A. testudineus species for screening the genotoxic potential of lead chloride.     

COVID-19, the firestone in 21st century: a review on coronavirus disease and its clinical perspectives

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak began in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, and have since spread globally. Deep...