A perspective review on medicinal plant resources for their antimutagenic potentials

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Mutagens present in the environment manifest toxic effects and are considered as serious threat for human health and healthcare. Recent reports reveal...     

Remediation of fly ash landfills through plantation

In India, a significant area of land is occupied by preexisting coal‐fired thermal power plants (TPPs) for the storage of fly ash slurry in ash ponds. However, the area available for storage of fly ash at these TPPs is limited. In addition, this type of fly ash disposal poses a problem due to restricted land availability and potential contamination issues. A viable alternative is the reclamation of fly ash ponds by plantation. A study at the Ramagundam Super Thermal Power Station (RSTPS) in Andhra Pradesh, India, on reclamation of a portion of an ash‐filled, low‐lying area has been performed. This article describes the characteristics of the RSTPS pond ash, ash leachates, and improvements in the fertility status of the reclaimed area over a three‐year period. Furthermore, morphometric observations of different planted species indicate that these types of ash‐filled, low‐lying areas can be suitably reclaimed and the nutrient‐rich leachate from ash‐filled areas potentially can be used for irrigation purposes. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Mutagenic factors in the environment impacting human and animal health

Environmental Science and Pollution Research -     

Phytoremediation and sequestration of soil metals using the CRISPR/Cas9 technology to modify plants: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Soil contamination by toxic metals is a major health issue that could be partly solved by using genetically-modified plants. For that, the recently developed...     

Planning rainwater conservation measures using geospatial and multi-criteria decision making tools

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The assessment of rainwater-harvesting demand (RWHD) map and the identification of appropriate priority-based locations for rainwater-harvesting (RWH)...     

Berberine-loaded liquid crystalline nanoparticles inhibit non-small cell lung cancer proliferation and migration in vitro

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is reported to have a high incidence rate and is one of the most prevalent types of cancer contributing towards 85%...     

Autoantibodies and autoimmune disorders in SARS-CoV-2 infection: pathogenicity and immune regulation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease associated with the respiratory system caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The aim of this...     

Application of sensory and microbial analysis to assess quality of fish in Siliguri city of West Bengal, India

Sensory and certain microbial analyses were applied to assess the quality of raw fish sold at a market in Siliguri cityof West Bengal, India. In regular surveys undertaken during June to August 2008, a particular fish species was randomly selected, its source was noted and a sensory analysis, the quality index method (QIM) was applied to assess its quality Raw fish samples were also collected and a small quantity (about 1 g) of scales oran upper layer of the skin surface (forscale-less fish samples), gill, liverand a portion of gut with gut-contents were aseptically removed for enumeration of the total aerobic heterotrophic bacteria, Aeromonas spp., Pseudomonas spp., Salmonella spp. and coliform counts. Oreochromis mossambicus and Tenulosa ilisha recorded significantly higher QIM scores, compared to other species (p<0.05). Riverine fish, Lepidocephalichthys guntea and Channa punctatus scored the lowest QIM scores (0) while scores for Puntius ticto and Mystus vittatus and pond cultured species like Cirrhinus mrigala, Catla catla, Labeo rohita, Labeo bata and Cyprinus carpio were very marginal (p<0.05). Aeromonas spp., Salmonella spp. and total coliforms were recorded from all the studied species while Pseudomonas spp. was isolated from only seven species. Among the tissues examined, the lowest counts of total heterotrophic bacteria, Aeromonas spp., Pseudomonas spp., Salmonella spp. and total coliforms were recorded from the skin in every fish species. Highest counts of pathogenic bacteria (except Pseudomonas spp.) were recorded in Tenulosa ilisha for all the tissues except liver. Since fish are properly cooked in Bengali households, the risk of disease from fish consumption is relatively less. However, some tribes residing in the region are known to consume undercooked fish and proper cooking methods should be followed in view of the present findings to avoid health risks. Besides, utmost care should be taken while handling fish.     

Assessing seasonal variation of fluoride in groundwater for irrigation uses through hydro-geochemical and multivariate statistical approach

Since a considerable amount of fluoride (Fl) intake also takes place through the ingestion of foods that are grown in the contaminated soil and irrigated with elemental contaminated water, this may lead to higher risk from Fl-mediated toxicity. Therefore, in the present study, a systematic delineation and characterization of Fl in agricultural tube wells in Unnao District, India, were carried out to examine seasonal variations of this element using graphical and multivariate statistical approach. The results suggested that different natural hydro-geochemical processes such as weathering of silicates, carbonates, and various ion exchange processes are the key factors responsible for the geochemistry of the groundwater in addition to the alkalinity of water. Of the water sampled, 27.3% and 18.2% were contaminated with Fl exceeding the desirable limit of 1 mg/L as prescribed by Bureau of Indian Standards during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon season. Fluoride displayed a significant positive correlation during both seasons and the water type of the majority of the samples in both seasons was bicarbonate.     

Post tsunami changes in soil properties of Andaman Islands, India

A post tsunami study was conducted to assess the changes in soil properties in the Andaman Island, in India. The present study reported tsunami led conversion of acid soils to saline acid soils and acid sodic soils to acid saline sodic soils in the areas South Andaman inundated during tsunami and permanently receded later and in the low-lying area submerged during high tides. Upon intense leaching acid saline soils and acid saline sodic may further develop typical characteristics of acidic soils and acidic sodic soil, respectively. The soil at Guptapara inundated almost due to tsunami with minimal pyrite oxidation has potential to develop into highly acidic soils upon drainage. The tsunami by and large has modified some depositional layer affecting the salt accumulation to a greater extent and iron to a lesser extent and least to sodicity.