Proteomic insights into Lysinibacillus sp.-mediated biosolubilization of manganese

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - There has been alarming depletion of manganese (Mn) reserves owing to the ongoing extensive mining operations for catering the massive industrial...     

Secondhand smoke exposure at home and public places among smokers and non-smokers in India: findings from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2016–17

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Secondhand smoke (SHS) accounts for 0.9 million deaths and 24 million disability adjusted life years (DALYs) annually. Nearly 30% of adults in India...     

Current scenario of CNG vehicular pollution and their possible abatement technologies: an overview

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Compressed natural gas is an alternative green fuel for automobile industry. Recently, the Indian government is targeting to replace all the...     

Purification of water contaminated with Hg using horizontal subsurface constructed wetlands

As a global pollutant, Hg (Hg) since the turn of the last century has received increased attention. Decreasing the emission of Hg into the food chain and the atmosphere is an effective way to reduce the Hg damage. The current study provided information about pilot-scale horizontal subsurface flow (HSSF) constructed wetlands (CWs) to remove different Hg species in polluted water. Synthetic wastewater was fed to two HSSF CWs, one was planted with Acorus calamus L and the other was unplanted as a control. The total Hg (THg), dissolved Hg (DHg), and particulate Hg (PHg) from five sites along the HSSF CWs were analyzed to describe the process of Hg removal. Results show that the CWs have high removal efficiency of Hg which is more than 90%. The removal efficiencies of THg and DHg from the unplanted CW were 92.1?±?3.6% and 72.4?±?13.1%, respectively. While, the removal efficiencies of THg and DHg in planted CW were 95.9?±?7.5% and 94.9?±?4.9%, which were higher than that in blank CW. The PHg was mainly removed in the first quarter of the CWs, which was also revealed by the partition coefficient K_d. To a certain extent, the effect of plants depends on the hydraulic retention time (HRT). The results in the current study show the potential of the HSSF-CWs for restoration from Hg-contaminated water.

     

The development and application of a simplified ozone modeling system (SOMS)

This paper describes the development and evaluation of a computationally efficient semi-empirical photochemical model that can be used as a screening tool to obtain quick estimates of the effect of a large number of VOC and NO_x emission control strategies on ozone concentrations. Selected control strategies can subsequently be examined with a more complex model. The model is one component of an ozone management system, the regional ozone decision model (RODM), designed to examine the costs and environmental consequences of alternate ozone abatement strategies.The model was developed by systematic simplification of a detailed photochemical model. At each step of the simplification, the simplified model was tested against observations and against results from the detailed model. The first major simplification was the introduction of a highly parameterized chemistry mechanism, originally developed by Azzi et al. (1992 Proc. 11th Int. Clean Air Conf., 4th Regional IUAPPA Conf.). This modification resulted in a factor of 5 improvement in the computational efficiency of the model. The model with the simplified chemistry was then tested by applying it to a photochemical oxidant episode in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Further improvements in computational speed and efficiency were obtained by uncoupling the chemistry from the transport of VOC and NO_x.     

Designing hydro-energy led economic growth for pollution abatement: evidence from BRICS

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Overutilized hydro-energy production through non-sustainable mode is detrimental for both the economy and the environment. Intermittent consumption of...     

Physico-chemical characteristics of pulverized coals and their interrelations—a spontaneous combustion and explosion perspective

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Characteristics of pulverized coals have significant influence on the spontaneous combustion and explosion processes. This paper presents an...     

2,3,7,8-TCDD-mediated toxicity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is alleviated by the antioxidants present in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gelidiella acerosa</Emphasis>: an in vitro study

Seaweeds have been used as a source of traditional medicine worldwide for the treatment of various ailments, mainly due to their ability to quench the free radicals. The present study aims at evaluating the protective effect of methanolic extract of Gelidiella acerosa, an edible red seaweed against 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD)-induced toxicity in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). For evaluating the protective effect of G. acerosa, PBMC were divided into four groups: vehicle control, TCDD (10 nM), TCDD?+?G. acerosa (300 μg/ml), and G. acerosa alone treated. Scavenging of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by TCDD was assessed by the dichloro-dihydro-fluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) method. Alterations at macromolecular level were quantified through lipid peroxidation (LPO) level, protein carbonyl content (PCC) level, and comet assay. The cellular morphology upon TCDD toxicity and G. acerosa treatment was obtained by light microscopy and histopathological studies. The chemical composition present in the methanolic extract of G. acerosa was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The results reveal that 10 nM TCDD caused significant (P?<?0.05) reduction in cell viability (94.10?±?0.99), and treatment with 300 μg/ml extract increased the cell viability (99.24?±?0.69). TCDD treatment resulted in a significant increase in the production of ROS, LPO (114?±?0.09), and PCC (15.13?±?1.53) compared to the control, whereas co-treatment with G. acerosa significantly (P?<?0.05) mitigated the effects. Further, G. acerosa significantly (P?<?0.05) prevented TCDD-induced genotoxicity and cell damage. GC-MS analysis showed the presence of n-hexadecanoic acid (retention time (RT) 13.15), cholesterol (RT 28.80), α-d-glucopyranose, 4-O-α-d-galactopyranosyl (RT 20.01), and azulene (RT 4.20). The findings suggest that G. acerosa has a strong protective ability against TCDD-induced cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, and DNA damage.     

Dissipation of chlorpyrifos in two soil environments of semi-arid India

The dissipation of chlorpyrifos (20 EC) at environment-friendly doses in the sandy loam and loamy sand soils of two semi-arid fields and the presence of pesticide residues in the harvested groundnut seeds, were monitored. The movement of chlorpyrifos through soil and its binding in the loamy sand soil was studied using 14C chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos was moderately stable in both loamy sand and sandy loam soils, with half-life of 12.3 and 16.4 days, respectively. With 20 EC treatments the dissipation was slower for standing crop than seed treatment, indicative of the high degradation rates in the bioactive rhizosphere. In soil, 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCP) was the principal breakdown product. Presence of 3,5,6-trichloro-2-methoxypyridine (TMP), the secondary metabolite, detected in the rhizospheric samples during this study, has not been reported earlier in field soils. The rapid dissipation of the insecticide from the soil post-application might have resulted from low sorption due to the alkalinity of the soil and its low organic matter content, fast topsoil dissipation possibly by volatilization and photochemical degradation, aided by the low water solubility, limited vertical mobility due to confinement of residues to the upper 15 cm soil layers and microbial mineralization and nucleophilic hydrolysis. Contrary to the reports of relatively greater mobility of its metabolites in temperate soils, TMP and TCP remained confined to the top 15 cm soil. The formation of bound residues (half-life 13.4 days) in the loamy sand soil was little and not "irreversible." A decline in bound residues could be correlated to decreasing TCP concentration. Higher pod yields were obtained from pesticide treated soils in comparison to controls. Post-harvest no pesticide residues were detected in the soils and groundnut seeds.