A study of the workload of underground trammers in the Ranigang coal field area of West Bengal, India.

Thirty healthy trammers were examined in underground haulage mines during their normal activity. Physiological strain in terms of heart rate (HR) varied between 101.6 and 104.7 beats/min with mean net cardiac cost of 33.06 and 34.06 beats/min for younger and older groups respectively. The average relative cardiac cost was lower for younger subjects than for older ones. Oxygen consumption (VO2) was measured with an Oxylog-II machine (UK); subsequently values were estimated. Maximum aerobic capacity was estimated with an indirect method following a standard step test protocol. The responses revealed that the average VO2 during the activity was 0.75 and 0.8 L/min, which corresponded to energy expenditure (EE) of 3.8 and 3.97 Kcal/min for younger and older subjects respectively. The workload in terms of HR and EE was moderate, whereas the aerobic strain experienced by aged workers was above the acceptable level.     

Interaction of pH with mercuric chloride toxicity to penaeid prawns from a tropical estuary, East Coast of India: enhanced toxicity at low pH

Toxicity tests were conducted to study the interaction of pH and the response of two size groups of penaeid prawns i.e. Penaeus monodon and Penaeus indicus to different sets of five concentrations of HgCl2 (0.01-0.09 mg l(-1)) under a broad range of pH conditions (5-9). Behavioural responses varied according to test solution concentration and nominated values of pH. Abnormality was detected in the higher concentrations with lower pH in smaller size group of P. monodon. High mortality was observed at higher concentration of test solution with low pH. Irrespective of species and size group LC50 demonstrated similar trend of variation with respect to time period. At pH 9 the threshold limit for 65-75 mm size group of P. monodon and P. indicus was 0.043 and 0.049 mg l(-1) respectively while it was 0.041 and 0.035 mg l(-1) respectively at pH 8; and 0.038 and 0.044 mg l(-1) respectively at pH 7. Relative toxicities were significantly varied except for bigger size groups in the studied pH ranges. The result was pronounced at pH 5 with maximum 1.61 times for inter-hour relative toxicity in contrast to all. At pH below 7 of mercury resulted more toxic compared to high pH range (>7) might be due to acid toxicity itself. At each pH smaller size groups were sensitive while bigger shown tolerant. P. monodon were more sensitive than P. indicus. The toxic order of pH effect was 9<8<7<6<5. Toxicity increased significantly (p>0.01) in acidic medium compared to alkaline.     

Impacts of quicklime (CaO) on the toxicity of copper (CuSO4, 5H2O) to fish and fish food organisms

Static bioassays of 96 h duration were conducted in the laboratory using fry of common carp (Cyprinus carpio), adult tubificid worm (Branchiura sowerbyi) and adult copepod plankton (Cyclops viridis) to determine LC50 values of Cu and CaO to these organisms and effects of interaction between Cu and CaO. Ninety-six hour LC(50) values of Cu to fry of common carp, worm and copepod were found to be 1.40 mgl(-1), 0.08 mgl(-1) and 0.03 mgl(-1) respectively. CaO up to 500 mgl(-1) did not produce any mortality of the fry of common carp up to 96 h. But 96 h LC50 values of CaO to worm and copepod were 83.00 mgl(-1) and 27.80 mgl(-1) respectively. When common carp fry, worm and the copepod were exposed to respective LC50 dose of Cu in presence of varying concentration of CaO, mortality of the organisms significantly reduced and was found inversely correlated with the doses of CaO [y = 48.36-0.807x, r = -0.99 (n = 7) for fish; y = 44.46-0.146x, r = -0.97 (n = 7) for worm; y = 49.46-0.66x, r = -0.99 (n = 7) for the copepod]. The present results indicate that CaO is non-toxic to fish and is capable of reducing the toxicity of Cu to fish while CaO and Cu are antagonistic to each other for the worm and the copepod. Potential of using CaO as antitoxic agent for Cu in water is discussed.     

Oxidation of SO2 in Clouds at Whiteface Mountain

In-cloud oxidation of SO₂ byH₂O₂ was investigated using a tracertechnique based on SO^2– ₄/Se ratios atWhiteface Mountain, New York during summer months from1990 to 1998. Cloud water samples collected at themountain's summit (1.5 km above mean sea level) andaerosols at a below cloud site (Lodge) located at 0.6km amsl and in cloud interstitial air at the summitwere analyzed for SO^2– ₄ and selectedtrace elements. Gaseous SO₂ andH₂O₂were measured in realtime. Cloud water pH wasgenerally below 5.0 with a mean value of 3.6. Theresults show that significant in cloud oxidation occursin clouds during summer months varying from belowdetection to 62% with on average approximately 24% ofthe cloud water SO^2– ₄ produced from in-situ SO₂ oxidation. During summer the clouds wereoxidant limited for approximately one third of thetime.     

Comparative studies on biomass productivity and lipid content of a novel blue-green algae during autotrophic and heterotrophic growth

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Algae have long been acclaimed as the attractive renewable source for generating third-generation biofuels, particularly biodiesel. Under the present...     

A comparative study on the decomposition of edible and non-edible oil cakes in the Gangetic alluvial soil of West Bengal

An experiment has been conducted under laboratory conditions to investigate the effect of decomposition of two edible oil cakes, viz. mustard cake (Brassica juncea L) and groundnut cake (Arachis hypogaea L), and two non-edible oil cakes, viz. mahua cake (Madhuca indica Gmel) and neem cake (Azadirachta indica Juss), at the rate of 5.0 t ha^?1 on the changes of microbial growth and activities in relation to transformations and availability of some plant nutrients in the Gangetic alluvial (Typic Haplustept) soil of West Bengal, India. Incorporation of oil cakes, in general, highly induced the proliferation of total bacteria, actinomycetes, and fungi, resulting in greater retention and availability of oxidizable C, N, and P in soil. As compared to untreated control, the highest stimulation of total bacteria and actinomycetes was recorded with mustard cake (111.9 and 84.3 %, respectively) followed by groundnut cake (50.5 and 52.4 %, respectively), while the fungal colonies were highly accentuated due to the incorporation of neem cake (102.8 %) in soil. The retention of oxidizable organic C was highly increased due to decomposition of non-edible oil cakes, more so under mahua cake (14.5 %), whereas edible oil cakes and groundnut cake in particular exerted maximum stimulation (16.7 %) towards the retention of total N in soil. A similar trend was recorded towards the accumulation of available mineral N in soil and this was more pronounced with mustard cake (45.6 %) for exchangeable NH₄ ⁺ and with groundnut cake (63.9 %) for soluble NO₃ ^?. The highest retention of total P (46.9 %) was manifested by the soil when it was incorporated with neem cake followed by the edible oil cakes; while the available P was highly induced due to the addition of edible oil cakes, the highest being under groundnut cake (23.5 %) followed by mustard cake (19.6 %).     

Bio-mediated silver nanoparticle synthesis: mechanism and microbial inactivation

Even though plenty of literature is available on the biosynthesis of metal nanoparticles, there are serious lacunae on the mechanisms of their formation. In the present study, the mechanism of formation of mono-crystalline silver nanoparticles using a fruit extract of the ornamental tree Thevetia peruviana is emphasized, i.e. how the pH of the reaction mixture affected reaction kinetics and size of the nanoparticles. The facilitation of formation of Ag₂O at higher pH resulted in a faster rate of particle formation. The diameter of the bare particles at neutral pH determined by field emission scanning electron microscopy and the hydrodynamic diameter determined by dynamic light scattering were 53 and 104 nm, respectively. The silver nanoparticles exhibited good inactivation of Escherichia coli due to participation of free radicals as evidenced by electron spin resonance spectroscopy.     

Monitoring and evaluating the spatiotemporal variations of the water quality of a stretch of the Bhagirathi-Hugli River,West Bengal,India, using geospatial technology and integrated statistical methods

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Water quality is a critical environmental issue because all forms of life depend on the water. The present study primarily focused on the...