The variability in nutrient composition of Anaerobic Digestate granules produced from high shear granulation

This study investigates the production of organic fertilizer using Anaerobic Digestate (as a nutrient source) and limestone powder as the raw materials. A two-level factorial experimental design was used to determine the influence of process variables on the nutrient homogeneity within the granules. Increasing the liquid-to-solid ratio during granulation resulted in increased granule nutrient homogeneity. Increasing the processing time and the impeller speed were also found to increase the nutrient homogeneity. In terms of nutrients release into deionized water, the granules effectively released both potassium and phosphate into solution.     

Prenatal DNA Sequencing: Clinical,Counseling, and Diagnostic Laboratory Considerations

Clinical diagnostic laboratories are producing next-generation sequencing-based test results that are becoming increasingly incorporated into patient care. Whole genome and exome sequencing on fetal material derived from amniocytes, chorionic villi, or products of conception is starting to be offered clinically in specialized centers, but it has not yet become routine practice. The technical, interpretation, and ethical challenges are greatest in the area of prenatal medicine because the fetus has a limited health history, and the physical examination is only indirectly available via prenatal sonography. Here, we provide an overview of these challenges and highlight the clinical utility, reporting, and counseling issues associated with prenatal DNA sequencing. Future considerations are also discussed. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Direct toxicity of amyloid beta peptide on rat brain mitochondria: preventive role of Mangifera indica and Juglans regia

Role of mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress has been well documented in various cognitive-related disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Evidence indicates that Aß formation impairs mitochondrial function and that mitochondrial dysfunction is an early event in the pathogenesis of AD. The present study was, therefore, designed to investigate the direct toxicity of Aß peptide on isolated mitochondria obtained from rat brain. Various mitochondrial toxicity/integrity parameters such as succinate dehydrogenase activity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, mitochondrial membrane potential collapse (MMP), mitochondrial swelling, and cytochrome c release were measured following the addition of Aß peptide on isolated mitochondria and then, mitoprotective effect of aqueous extracts of Mangifera indica and Juglans regia against mitochondrial toxicity endpoints parameters induced by Aß peptide were assessed. Our results showed that exposure to Aß peptide (30 nM) in isolated brain mitochondria induced mitochondrial ROS formation, MMP collapse, mitochondrial swelling, and cytochrome c release which is the starting point of apoptosis signaling. All these mitochondrial toxic endpoints induced by Aß peptide inhibited by aqueous extracts of Mangifera indica (100–400 µg/ml) and Juglans regia (200–400 µg/ml). To our knowledge, this is one of the first apparent studies to claim directly targeting of brain mitochondria and induction of apoptosis by Aß peptide as a new hypothesis for etiology of AD and other related neurodegenerative diseases as well as mitopreventive role of common antioxidant nutritional products including walnut and mango.     

Involvement of mitochondrial-mediated caspase-3 activation and lysosomal labilization in acrylamide-induced liver toxicity

Acrylamide (ACR) is a chemical frequently used in both industrial and synthetic processes and may be produced during food processing. ACR at very high concentrations is postulated to exert its toxicity through the stimulation of an oxidative stress. ACR in excessive doses induces the central nervous system, reproduction, and genetic toxicity. However, ACR effects on the liver, a major organ of drug metabolism, have not been adequately explored. In addition, the role of mitochondria in an ACR-mediated hepatotoxicity is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the cytotoxic mechanisms attributed to ACR using isolated rat hepatocytes. Hepatocytes were isolated by the collagenase perfusion method and incubated with an EC50_2hr concentration of ACR for 3 hr. The EC50_{2 hr} of ACR on isolated rat hepatocytes was determined to be 1 mM. Based on our results, hepatocytes cytotoxicity of ACR (1 mM) was mediated by a reactive oxygen species formation and lipid peroxidation. Incubation of hepatocytes with ACR produced rapid hepatocyte glutathione depletion which is another marker of the cellular oxidative stress. ACR cytotoxicity was also associated with mitochondrial injury as evidenced by the decline of mitochondrial membrane potential and lysosomal membrane leakiness. Our results also showed that ACR induced caspase-3 activation, the final mediator of apoptosis signaling. These findings contribute to a better understanding underlying mechanisms involved in ACR hepatotoxicity originating from the oxidative stress and ending in mitochondrial/lysosomal damage and cell death signaling.     

Aerobic treatment of palm oil mill effluent

In this study treatment of palm oil mill effluent (POME) was investigated using aerobic oxidation based on an activated sludge process. The effects of sludge volume index, scum index and mixed liquor suspended solids during the acclimatizing phase and biomass build-up phase were investigated in order to ascertain the reactor stability. The efficiency of the activated sludge process was evaluated by treating anaerobically digested and diluted raw POME obtained from Golden Hope Plantations, Malaysia. The treatment of POME was carried out at a fixed biomass concentration of 3900+/-200mg/L, whereas the corresponding sludge volume index was found to be around 105+/-5mL/g. The initial studies on the efficiency of the activated sludge reactor were carried out using diluted raw POME for varying the hydraulic retention time, viz: 18, 24, 30 and 36h and influent COD concentration, viz: 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000 and 5000mg/L, respectively. The results showed that at the end of 36h of hydraulic retention time for the above said influent COD, the COD removal efficiencies were found to be 83%, 72%, 64%, 54% and 42% whereas at 24h hydraulic retention time they were 57%, 45%, 38%, 30% and 27%, respectively. The effectiveness of aerobic oxidation was also compared between anaerobically digested and diluted raw POME having corresponding CODs of 3908 and 3925mg/L, for varying hydraulic retention time, viz: 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54 and 60h. The dissolved oxygen concentration and pH in the activated sludge reactor were found to be 1.8-2.2mg/L and 7-8.5, respectively. The scum index was found to rise from 0.5% to 1.9% during the acclimatizing phase and biomass build-up phase.     

An integrated fuzzy-stochastic modeling approach for risk assessment of groundwater contamination

An integrated fuzzy-stochastic risk assessment (IFSRA) approach was developed in this study to systematically quantify both probabilistic and fuzzy uncertainties associated with site conditions, environmental guidelines, and health impact criteria. The contaminant concentrations in groundwater predicted from a numerical model were associated with probabilistic uncertainties due to the randomness in modeling input parameters, while the consequences of contaminant concentrations violating relevant environmental quality guidelines and health evaluation criteria were linked with fuzzy uncertainties. The contaminant of interest in this study was xylene. The environmental quality guideline was divided into three different strictness categories: "loose", "medium" and "strict". The environmental-guideline-based risk (ER) and health risk (HR) due to xylene ingestion were systematically examined to obtain the general risk levels through a fuzzy rule base. The ER and HR risk levels were divided into five categories of "low", "low-to-medium", "medium", "medium-to-high" and "high", respectively. The general risk levels included six categories ranging from "low" to "very high". The fuzzy membership functions of the related fuzzy events and the fuzzy rule base were established based on a questionnaire survey. Thus the IFSRA integrated fuzzy logic, expert involvement, and stochastic simulation within a general framework. The robustness of the modeling processes was enhanced through the effective reflection of the two types of uncertainties as compared with the conventional risk assessment approaches. The developed IFSRA was applied to a petroleum-contaminated groundwater system in western Canada. Three scenarios with different environmental quality guidelines were analyzed, and reasonable results were obtained. The risk assessment approach developed in this study offers a unique tool for systematically quantifying various uncertainties in contaminated site management, and it also provides more realistic support for remediation-related decisions.     

Integrated Approach for Prioritizing Watersheds for Management: A Study of Lidder Catchment of Kashmir Himalayas

The Himalayan watersheds are susceptible to various forms of degradation due to their sensitive and fragile ecological disposition coupled with increasing anthropogenic disturbances. Owing to the paucity of appropriate technology and financial resources, the prioritization of watersheds has become an inevitable process for effective planning and management of natural resources. Lidder catchment constitutes a segment of the western Himalayas with an area of 1,159.38 km². The study is based on integrated analysis of remote sensing, geographic information system, field study, and socioeconomic data. Multicriteria evaluation of geophysical, land-use and land-cover (LULC) change, and socioeconomic indicators is carried out to prioritize watersheds for natural resource conservation and management. Knowledge-based weights and ranks are normalized, and weighted linear combination technique is adopted to determine final priority value. The watersheds are classified into four priority zones (very high priority, high priority, medium priority, and low priority) on the basis of quartiles of the priority value, thus indicating their ecological status in terms of degradation caused by anthropogenic disturbances. The correlation between priority ranks of individual indicators and integrated indicators is drawn. The results reveal that socioeconomic indicators are the most important drivers of LULC change and environmental degradation in the catchment. Moreover, the magnitude and intensity of anthropogenic impact is not uniform in different watersheds of Lidder catchment. Therefore, any conservation and management strategy must be formulated on the basis of watershed prioritization.     

Sorption of ametryn and imazethapyr in twenty-five soils from Pakistan and Australia.

Sorption of ametryn and imazethapyr in 25 soils from Pakistan and Australia was investigated using the batch method. The soils varied widely in their intrinsic capacities to sorb these herbicides as shown by the sorption coefficients, Kd, which ranged from 0.59 to 47.6 for ametryn and 0.02 to 6.94 for imazethapyr. Generally the alkaline soils of Pakistan had much lower Kd values of both herbicides than the soils of Australia. Both soil pH and soil organic carbon (SOC) were correlated significantly with the sorption of ametryn, whereas only soil pH was strongly correlated with imazethapyr sorption. No correlation was found between Kd values of the herbicides and the clay contents of the soils. Multiple regression analysis showed that Kd values were better correlated (r2=0.94 and 0.89 for ametryn and imazethapyr, respectively) if SOC and pH were simultaneously taken into account. The study indicated that sorption of these herbicides in the alkaline soils of Pakistan was low and consequently there is considerable risk of groundwater contamination.     

Determination of organochlorine and organophosphate pesticide residues in fruits, vegetables and sediments.

A method is described for the determination of organochlorine and organophosphate pesticide residues in fruits, vegetables and sediments. The concentrated solvent extract was sealed in a polymeric membrane tube, dialysed in cyclohexane and the solvent replaced with hexane. The organophosphates were analysed on a specific thermionic detector without further clean-up. For the organochlorine pesticides the extract was eluted through 3 g of alumina and analysed on GC/ECD. The clean-up for sediment extract was carried out on a 10 g alumina column with 100 mL hexane containing 5% acetone and the eluate was concentrated to 5 mL. The detection limit for organophosphates on a 40 g sample and a final volume of 10 mL was on the average 0.01 mg/kg. The detection limit for organochlorine pesticides, with the final volume of 25 mL, was 0.005 mg/kg for all pesticides except for p,p'-DDT and endosulfan sulphate, which was 0.01 mg/kg. The detection limit for organochlorine pesticides in sediment, with the final volume of 2 mL, was less than 1 microgram/kg and for organophosphate pesticides less than 10 micrograms/kg when the final volume was made to 0.5 mL. At the detection limits the method produced a very high coefficient of variation for both organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides.