Zinc tolerance and uptake by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arabidopsis halleri ssp. gemmifera</Emphasis> grown in nutrient solution

Background, aim, and scope  

Zinc is an essential micronutrient element but its concentrations found in contaminated soils frequently exceed those required by the plant and soil organisms, and thus create danger to animal and human health. Phytoremediation is a technique, often employed in remediation of contaminated soils, which aims to remove heavy metals or other contaminants from soils or waters using plants. Arabidopsis (A.) halleri ssp. gemmifera is a plant recently found to be grown vigorously in heavy metal contaminated areas of Japan and it contained remarkably high amount of heavy metals in its shoots. However, the magnitude of Zn accumulation and tolerance in A. halleri ssp. gemmifera need to be investigated for its use as a phytoremediation plant.     

Effect of induction hydroxy and hydrogen along with algal biodiesel blend in a CI engine: a comparison of performance and emission characteristics

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Gaseous fuel as a combustion enhancer with a pilot fuel offers significant benefits in improving engine efficiency. Hydrogen and hydroxy are the two...     

Wood smoke as a source of particle-phase organic compounds in residential areas

The objective of this study was to investigate the organic composition of wood smoke emissions and ambient air samples in order to determine the wood smoke contribution to the ambient air pollution in the residential areas. From November 2005 to March 2006 particle-phase PM₁₀ samples were collected in the residential town Dettenhausen surrounded by forests near Stuttgart in southern Germany. Samples collected on pre-baked glass fibre filters were extracted using toluene with ultrasonic bath and analysed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). 21 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) including 16 USEPA priority pollutants, different organic wood smoke tracers, primarily 21 species of syringol and guaiacol derivatives, levoglucosan and its isomers mannosan, galactosan and dehydroabietic acid were detected and quantified in this study. The concentrations of these compounds were compared with the fingerprints of emissions from hardwood and softwood combustion carried out in test facilities at Universitaet Stuttgart and field investigations at a wood stove during real operation in Dettenhausen. It was observed that the combustion derived PAH was detected in higher concentrations than other PAH in the ambient air PM₁₀ samples. Syringol and its derivatives were found in large amounts in hardwood burning but were not detected in softwood burning emissions. On the other hand, guaiacol and its derivatives were found in both softwood and hardwood burning emissions, but the concentrations were higher in the softwood smoke compared to hardwood smoke. So, these compounds can be used as typical tracer compounds for the different types of wood burning emissions. In ambient air samples both syringol and guaiacol derivatives were found which indicates the wood combustion contribution to the PM load in such residential areas. Levoglucosan was detected in high concentrations in all ambient PM₁₀ samples. A source apportionment modelling, Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) was implemented to quantify the wood smoke contribution to the ambient PM₁₀ bound organic compounds in the residential area.     

A study on genotoxicity of textile dyeing industry effluents from Rajshahi,Bangladesh, by the Allium cepa test

Textile dye effluents are believed to be toxic as they might exert various harmful effects on living organisms including genotoxicity. These effluents are the main source of direct and continuous input of pollutants into the aquatic ecosystems. In this study, dye effluents from a local silk dyeing industry were analysed for their genotoxic potential by the Allium cepa genotoxicity test. The A. cepa test is characterised as a genotoxicity test where the roots of A. cepa are grown in different concentrations of the test material. The macroscopic results clearly showed that the toxicity of the dye effluents prompted A. cepa root growth inhibition, and this effect increased with higher concentrations of the effluents. At the cellular level, no dividing cells were found at higher concentrations such as 60%, 80% and 100% of the effluents. However, at a lower concentration of 20%, dividing cells were identified, although the mitotic index was much lower than that of the control. Microscopic analysis showed that the dye effluents induced chromosomal aberrations at significant levels. Taken together, these results revealed that the textile dyeing industry effluents are toxic to eukaryotic cells and these dyes have genotoxic properties that can potentially lead to cancer development and adverse health conditions.     

Utilization of Cellulosic Wastes in Textile and Garment Industries: 2. Synthesis and Characterization of Cellulose Acetate from Knitted Rag

Cellulose acetate (CA) was synthesized from knitted rag, a cellulosic waste of Textile and Garment industries, in the glacial acetic acid, and subsequently acetic anhydride (Ac₂O) in presence of concentrated H₂SO₄ reaction medium. A low to high substitution products were obtained from single step up to seven steps acetylation of cellulose. In this way, it was possible to produce low cost and different grades or substituted acetylation derivatives of cellulose. The synthesized CA was characterized and investigation of its physical characteristics was done. Solubility, acetyl content, acetic acid content, degree of substitution, and molecular weight of CA increased gradually with the increase of the number of reaction steps attaining optimum value at the fourth step. The acetyl and acetic acid content of CA were increased from 39.95 % to 44.25 %, and from 55.73 % to 61.73 % respectively. Similarly, degree of substitution and molecular weight of CA were increased from 2.47 to 2.94, and from 74,249 to 121,437 respectively.     

Simplified Fabrication of Optically Transparent Composites Reinforced with Nanostructured Chitin

Optically transparent films reinforced with micro to nano scale chitin particles were successfully developed in this study. Chitin composites based on micro scale particles which are larger than the optical wavelength do not cause light scattering provided that chitin particles are composed of nano structure networks which allow monomer impregnation and polymerization. This could lead a simplified process for fabricating transparent composites. The composites reinforced by the chitin micro particles not only retained the transparency of the plastic but also helped the effectiveness of its co-efficient of thermal expansion as similar to chitin nanofibers. Furthermore, chitin nanofibers transparent films are thermally stable against temperature as high as 200 °C for a long period of time. This could lead to number of important commercial applications, and is a significant move towards the sustainable utilization of marine bio-resources.     

Removal of thiobencarb in aqueous solution by zero valent iron

A cost-effective method with zero valent iron (ZVI) powder was developed for the purification of thiobencarb (TB)-contaminated water. The removal treatment was performed in the batch system. A sample solution of 10 ml containing 10 microg ml(-1) of TB could be almost completely treated by 100mg of ZVI at 25 degrees C for 12h of treatment time. Since the formation of chloride ion in the aqueous solution during the treatment of TB was observed, the removal of TB with ZVI may contain two processes: reduction (degradation) and adsorption. Because the present treatment for TB is simple, easy handling and cheap, the developed technology with ZVI can contribute to the treatment of agricultural wastewaters.     

Arsenic in shallow aquifer in the eastern region of Bangladesh: insights from principal component analysis of groundwater compositions

Probable sources and mechanisms of arsenic (As) release in shallow aquifer in eastern Bangladesh are evaluated using statistical analysis of groundwater compositions. Dissolved As in 39 samples ranged from 8.05 to 341.5 μg/L with an average of 95.14 μg/L. Ninety seven percent of wells exceed the WHO limit (10 μg/L) for safe drinking water. Principal component analysis is applied to reduce 16 measured compositional variables to five significant components (principal components—PCs) that explain 86.63% of the geochemical variance. Two component loadings, namely PC 1 and PC 2 (45.31% and 23.05%) indicate the natural processes within the aquifers in which organic matter is a key reactant in the weathering reactions. Four groups of wells are defined by the PCA and each group of wells represents distinct physicochemical characteristics. Among them, group III groundwater shows higher As concentration together with high concentrations of Fe, Mn, dissolved organic carbon, $\text{PO}_{4}^{3-}$ and $\text{HCO}_{3}^{-}$ than groups I and II. Speciation calculations suggest that only wells of group III are saturated with respect to siderite, and all groups of samples are supersaturated with respect of rhodochrosite. The relationship of As with these parameters in the different groups of wells of the study area suggests that reductive dissolution of Fe–Mn oxyhydroxides with microbially mediated degradation of organic matter is considered to be the dominant processes to release As in groundwater.     

Mercury contamination in the estuaries and coastal sediments of the Strait of Malacca

Fishers’ local ecological knowledge (LEK) is an additional tool to obtain information about cetaceans, regarding their local particularities, fishing interactions, and behavior. However, this knowledge could vary in depth of detail according to the level of interaction that fishers have with a specific species. This study investigated differences in small-scale fishers’ LEK regarding the estuarine dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) in three Brazilian northeast coastal communities where fishing is practiced in estuarine lagoons and/or coastal waters and where dolphin-watching tourism varies from incipient to important. The fishers (N?=?116) were asked about general characteristics of S. guianensis and their interactions with this dolphin during fishing activities. Compared to lagoon fishers, coastal fishers showed greater knowledge about the species but had more negative interactions with the dolphin during fishing activities. Coastal fishing not only offered the opportunity for fishers to observe a wider variety of the dolphin’s behavior, but also implied direct contact with the dolphins, as they are bycaught in coastal gillnets. Besides complementing information that could be used for the management of cetaceans, this study shows that the type of environment most used by fishers also affects the accuracy of the information they provide. When designing studies to gather information on species and/or populations with the support of fishers, special consideration should be given to local particularities such as gear and habitats used within the fishing community.