Chemical characterization and health risk assessment of soil and airborne particulates metals and metalloids in populated semiarid region,Agra, India

Rapid industrialization and urbanization have contaminated air and soil by heavy metals and metalloids from biogenic, geogenic and anthropogenic sources in many areas of the world, either directly or indirectly. A case study was conducted in three different microenvironments, i.e., residential sites, official sites and official sites; for each sites, we choose two different locations to examine the elemental concentration in fine particulate matter and soil and health risk assessment. The concentration values of heavy metals and metalloid in the air and soil in the Agra region were measured using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrophotometry. The exposure factor and health risk assessment for carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects due to heavy metals and metalloid contaminants have been calculated for both children and adults by following the methodology prescribed by USEPA. For the elements As, Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb selected for the carcinogenic health risk assessment, the calculated results lie above the threshold ranges. We observed the lifetime exposure to heavy metals through mainly three pathways, ingestion, inhalation and dermal contact of soil and air from that particular area. Therefore, the overall hazard quotient (HQ) values for children are more than that of adults. The assessment of health risk signifies that there were mainly three exposure pathways for people: ingested, dermal contact and inhalation. The major exposure pathway of heavy metals to both children and adults is ingestion. The values of HQ are higher than the safe level (=1), indicating a high risk exists in present condition. Meanwhile, HQs value for children is higher than that for adults, indicating that children have higher potential health risk than adults in this region.

     

Requirement of exogenous inducers for metamorphosis of axenic larvae and buds of Cassiopea andromeda (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa)

Planula larvae and asexually-produced buds of the rhizostome scyphozoan Cassiopea andromeda (collected throughout the year in Eilat, Israel) have the ability, under axenic conditions, to attach to a substrate and undergo morphogenetic development to form a polyp (=scyphistoma) in: (1) the presence of unidentified inducers found in the adult habitat and (2) the presence of cefined organic compounds. Axenic planulae and buds were unable to settle and complete metamorphosis in autoclaved artificial or natural seawater from the North Sea when maintained without food, but continued swimming while decreasing in size and protein content, eventually dying within three months. When maintained in autoclaved seawater from the Red Sea, between 25 and 46% of the planulae and 4 and 11% of the buds metamorphosed within 30 d. Axenic solutions of cholera toxin, thyroid stimulating hormone, and pancreatic casein hydrolysate peptides in artificial seawater induced morphogenic development of 20 to 100% of planulae and buds within 2 to 18 d. The natural inducer(s) in Red Sea seawater, though unidentified, may have characteristics similar to the large proteins and small peptide inducers used in this study. Planulae and buds older than 20 d metamorphosed sooner and responded to lower concentrations of pancreatic casein hydrolysate peptides than younger individuals. This may be a physiological mechanism for enhancing metamorphosis and survival in nature. The data show that settlement and metamorphosis can be induced by solutions of cholera toxin and thyroid stimulating hormone, suggesting that, as in mammalian systems, the mechanism of action of these chemicals may involve cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) as an intermediate messenger. However, dibutyric cAMP, which is capable of passing through membranes and functioning normally inside the cell, did not induce metamorphosis of buds, and the levels of intracellular cAMP in buds and larvae typically increased slowly during induction of metamorphosis, unlike the high and rapid increases associated with cAMP-mediated biochemical events in mammalian cells. These results suggest that the observed cAMP changes seen were associated with metamorphic development, but not with the triggering mechanism.     

Multivariate statistics and entropy theory for irrigation water quality and entropy-weighted index development in a subtropical urban river,Bangladesh

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Currently, a well-developed combination of irrigation water quality index (IWQIs) and entropy water quality index (EWQIs) for surface water appraisal...     

Environmental geochemistry of higher radioactivity in a transboundary Himalayan river sediment (Brahmaputra,Bangladesh): potential radiation exposure and health risks

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This study of a downstream segment (Brahmaputra, Bangladesh) of one of the longest transboundary (China-India-Bangladesh) Himalayan rivers reveals...     

A review on impacts of COVID-19 on global agricultural system and Scope for Bangladesh after pandemic

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on the global food production system. Large-scale food producing countries restricted exports for food...