Toxicological impact of anilofos on some physiological processes of a rice field cyanobacterium Anabaena torulosa

This study deals with the toxicological impact of the herbicide anilofos on photosynthesis, respiration, nitrogen assimilation, and antioxidant system in a diazotrophic rice field cyanobacterium Anabaena torulosa. Treatment of anilofos (1.25, 2.5, and 5?mg?L^?1) affected growth, photosynthetic pigments, photosynthesis, and respiration of the cyanobacterium. Although all the photosynthetic pigments were affected, a maximum effect of the herbicide was observed on phycocyanin (51% reduction) followed by the carotenoids. The effect of the herbicide on photosynthetic pigments resulted in 57% decrease in photosynthetic O₂ evolution. Studies on the photochemical activity demonstrated that both photosystems (PS I and PS II) were affected by the herbicide. Decrease in the photosynthesis rate resulted in decreased nitrogen assimilation, as revealed by reduced nitrate (20%) and ammonium (26%) uptake and decreased activities of nitrogenase (63% decrease) and glutamine synthetase (22% decrease). This ultimately resulted in the reduced growth of the organism. Activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase in the presence of anilofos increased by 1.8–3.5 times over control cultures. Proline content increased by 1.6 times, while the content of ascorbate decreased slightly. These results indicate that the organism was able to tolerate the herbicide stress by activating oxidative stress defense mechanism.     

Spore inhibition-based enzyme substrate assay for monitoring of aflatoxin M1 in milk

A spore germination-based concept and its transformation into a field level prototype for monitoring aflatoxin M₁ (AFM₁) in milk was developed. Initially, 15 strains of Bacillus spp. procured from different culture collection were screened for AFM₁ sensitivity using spot assay and marker strain showing inhibition at 0.5 ppb was selected based upon maximum zone of inhibition. The selected strain B. megaterium 2949 was further screened for different enzymes activities and subsequently its spores were produced to an extent of 73.13% ± 3.197% in newly developed sporulation medium containing beef extract (0.0075% ± 0.0004%), yeast extract (0.015% ± 0.001%), peptone (0.0375% ± 0.0016%), and sodium chloride (0.0375% ± 0.0018%). A spore germination-based concept/ assay was optimized by immobilizing spores in eppendorf with pretreated milk (80°C/15 min) containing germinant and chromogenic substrate followed by incubation at 37°C. The appearance of sky blue color within real time of 45 min indicated spores germination and release of specific marker enzyme such as acetyl esterase and its specific action on chromogenic substrate which demonstrates absence of AFM₁ in milk. However, if there was no color change, presence of AFM₁ at 0.5 ppb MRL was denoted by Codex. The developed concept on AFM₁ detection was validated and a correlation of 0.97 was established with AOAC approved Charm 6602 and ELISA at Codex MRL with minimal false positive and negative results. The cost effective test has potential application in dairy farms, manufacturing, and R&D units for routine monitoring of AFM₁ in milk.     

Uranium quantification in groundwater and health risk from its ingestion in Haryana,India

Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive element which may cause toxicological or radiological hazards to the public if present in drinking water. This study reports the quantification of uranium in groundwater of major towns of the district Fatehabad, Haryana, India. Uranium concentrations ranged between 0.3 and 48 μg L^?1. In 22% of the groundwater samples, uranium concentrations were higher than the World Health Organization maximum permissible limit of 30 µg L^?1. The radiological dose for males was found to be in the range of 4.8?×?10^?4–7.1?×?10^?2 mSv y^?1 and for females 3.5?×?10^?4–5.2?×?10^?2 mSv y^?1. The results showed that due to the ingestion of groundwater in the study area, radiological cancer risk is in the range of 9.1?×?10^?7–1.3?×?10^?4, lower than the risk limit. Uranium ingestion from groundwater varied from 0.02 to 3.5 µg kg^?1 day^?1, which is within acceptable limit.     

Assessment of potentially toxic elements in Swiss chard and sediments of Akaki River,Ethiopia

For the determination of 15 potentially toxic elements (V, Cr, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Ag, Cd, Sn, Hg, and Pb) in plant and sediment samples of the Akaki River, Ethiopia, inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry, and a RA-915+ mercury analyzer were applied. Sediment and plant samples were mineralized using a closed-vessel microwave-assisted digestion system. The elemental concentrations varied considerably in plant and sediment samples. The minimum concentration was observed for known toxic elements (As, Hg, and Cd) while the highest concentration was observed for the elements of relatively low toxicity Zn, Mn, and Fe. The concentration of Cr, Fe, Pb, Zn, and As in Swiss chard surpassed the maximum permissible levels at specific sites. At some of the sites, the sediment quality guidelines are surpassed for Cu, Zn, and Pb.     

Transport of metanil yellow in the rat plasma and interaction of its metabolite,p‐aminodiphenylamine with serum proteins

Binding affinity of metanil yellow and its breakdown product p‐aminodiphenylamine to serum proteins has been studied employing chromatographic separation on Sephadex G‐200 and by paper and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Metanil yellow has more affinity towards albumin than to globulins. The complexing is presumably through electrostatic forces. p‐Aminodiphenylamine on the other hand, preferably binds to globulin fractions of serum protein. However, a stable binding with BSA alone was also observed. The binding was quite stable and was accompanied by a shift in absorbance from 430 nm to 500 nm. Aspartic acid moiety of protein was found to be one of the units involved in the binding of p‐ADPA to proteins.     

Evaluation of fodder quality of straw of different landraces of rice (Oryza sativa L.) under cultivation in the Kumaun Region of Indian Central Himalaya

Thirty landraces of rice collected from various locations, across an elevational gradient (1150–2400 m asl), in Kumaun, Central Himalaya and VL-206 (a high-yielding variety recommended for rainfed mountain area) have been evaluated, both in terms of quantity and nutritional quality of straw. Data were collected to estimate the percentage share of fodder in the overall biomass produced. The total biomass harvested at maturity was taken as productivity. In view of the severe scarcity of fodder in hill regions, particularly during winter months, straw was also examined for quality-linked biochemical parameters and dry matter digestibility (DMD) of fodder. The Crude Protein (CP) values ranged from 2.21% (Nandhani) to 6.33% (Dalbadal), and in saceo DMD (nylonbag technique) was highest in Kaladur (48.84%) and lowest in Kantolia (32.25%). While the CP in VL206 was within the range recorded for various landraces (3.61%), DMD value (27.29%) was lower than that of all the landraces tested. In saceo DMD data indicate that the fodder quality of landraces is better than that of the introduced variety. The values for neutral detergent fibre (NDF) ranged from 63.64% (Sabhawati) to 78.46% (Chhotiya) among the rainfed landraces, while in the irrigated landraces, Thapchini had more NDF (87.50 %), as compared to Kantolia (73.88%) and VL206 (74.91%). Values for the acid detergent fibre (ADF) varied from 42.70% (Danbasmati) to 54.58% (Nandhani) in the rainfed group; ADF was slightly higher in Thapchini (49.41%) in comparison to Kantolia (47.19) and VL206 had the highest (56.80%) ADF content. The observed differences with respect to straw productivity, chemical composition and in saceo DMD in various landraces, even when grown under similar conditions at one place, clearly indicate the richness of the gene pool of rice being maintained, through cultivation, in the Kumaun hills. It may be mentioned that agriculture in the hills is biomass based, and livestock form an integral component of subsistence farming.     

Assessing the relative impacts of the factors affecting MIS adoption process

Micro-irrigation systems (MIS) have been at the forefront of policy-making and social research in exploring determinants that could potentially impact the adoption of MIS technologies in the field to fulfil the basic aim of enhanced agricultural productivity and enriched nutritional quality of the produce with optimal adoption of natural resources. Therefore, this study was undertaken to determine why MIS technologies have not been adopted to the extent anticipated, so that suitable policy schemes, promotional schemes and socio-technical frameworks could be formulated for their enhanced adoption to enhance the socio-economic status of the farming community in the Dahod district of Gujarat State, India. A study of 350 non-MIS (NMIS) and 350 MIS farmers was conducted to identify factors affecting the MIS adoption process. The logit model was fitted using XLSTAT software (XLSTAT 2014.1.04) to the explanatory variables (determinants) of the MIS adoption process. Type III analysis and ANOVA were conducted to test the relative significance of the explanatory variables adopted. It was found that total income had the highest weight (or beta coefficient, i.e. 0.625) followed by total land area (0.546), motor horsepower (0.499), dependency ratio (0.397), and education (0.295) and age of household head (0.207). Furthermore, to assess the efficacy of the logit model, the ROC curve was also developed and the AUC was found to be 0.881, and therefore the model was considered to discriminate well in identifying the factors affecting the MIS adoption process. The study found that higher total income and education level increase the likelihood of MIS adoption and agricultural water management, and therefore special training programmes on installation, as well as repair and maintenance, of MIS systems and agricultural water management can be planned at the institutional/organisation level. The total cultivable area is also one of the important determinants in MIS adoption, and therefore the adoption of MIS schemes should not be restricted to large farmers only, but rather should be extended to both small and marginal farmers.     

The effects of three sympatric ladybird species on oviposition by Menochilus sexmaculatus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Oviposition site selection has a strong impact on the spatial distribution and sustenance of a species. This site selection by ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is known to be well mediated amongst other factors by the oviposition deterring pheromones present in conspecific larval tracks. It would be also useful to the organism to be sensitive to heterospecific larval tracks, to protect from intraguild predation; however, this has not yet garnered much attention and there are only a few scattered studies with ambiguous results. The present study thus investigates the oviposition deterring effects of heterospecific presence and semiochemicals of heterospecific life stages (eggs, fourth instar larvae, pupae, adult males and females) of ladybird species, viz. Coccinella septempunctata, C. transversalis, Propylea dissecta on females of Menochilus sexmaculatus. Results reveal that the presence of all heterospecific life stages inhibits oviposition of M. sexmaculatus and the inhibition is density dependent. Semiochemicals of eggs, larval and adult tracks also show density-dependent inhibitory effects. The semiochemical-induced oviposition inhibition was stage specific with respect to the degree of inhibition. Of all heterospecific species tested, maximum and minimum oviposition deterrence of M. sexmaculatus was against C. septempunctata and P. dissecta, respectively. Comparison of our previously published results on oviposition inhibition in M. sexmaculatus due to conspecific presence with the current ones revealed increased inhibition in conspecific presence than heterospecific indicating ability to differentiate.     

Nanosystems for drug delivery of coenzyme Q10

Coenzyme Q10 is an antioxidant present in the human body. Coenzyme Q10 has an essential role in various biochemical reactions. The deficiency of coenzyme Q10 in the body leads to disorders including neurological degeneration, ageing and cancer. Clinical trials have tested coenzyme Q10 as a drug or a dietary supplement. However, the major pharmaceutical issue of coenzyme Q10 delivery is its high molecular weight and poor water solubility. This limitation leads to its poor oral bioavailability. Several methods have been designed to overcome the poor water solubility of coenzyme Q10, such as size reduction and ionization. This article presents nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems for coenzyme Q10 with special emphasis on pharmacokinetic perspectives and clinical relevance. Systems include nanoparticles, solid dispersions, liposomes, nanoemulsions, self-emulsifying drug delivery systems, nanostructured lipid carriers, cyclodextrins and nanocapsules.     

Role of blue green algae biofertilizer in ameliorating the nitrogen demand and fly-ash stress to the growth and yield of rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants

Rice is a major food crop throughout the world; however, accumulation of toxic metals and metalloids in grains in contaminated environments is a matter of growing concern. Field experiments were conducted to analyze the growth performance, elemental composition (Fe, Si, Zn, Mn, Cu, Ni, Cd and As) and yield of the rice plants (Oryza sativa L. cv. Saryu-52) grown under different doses of fly-ash (FA; applied @ 10 and 100 tha(-1) denoted as FA(10) and FA(100), respectively) mixed with garden soil (GS) in combination with nitrogen fertilizer (NF; applied @ 90 and 120 kg ha(-1) denoted as NF(90) and NF(120), respectively) and blue green algae biofertilizer (BGA; applied @ 12.5 kg ha(-1) denoted as BGA(12.5)). Significant enhancement of growth was observed in the plants growing on amended soils as compared to GS and best response was obtained in amendment of FA(10)+NF(90)+BGA(12.5). Accumulation of Si, Fe, Zn and Mn was higher than Cu, Cd, Ni and As. Arsenic accumulation was detected only in FA(100) and its amendments. Inoculation of BGA(12.5) caused slight reduction in Cd, Ni and As content of plants as compared to NF(120) amendment. The high levels of stress inducible non-protein thiols (NP-SH) and cysteine in FA(100) were decreased by application of NF and BGA indicating stress amelioration. Study suggests integrated use of FA, BGA and NF for improved growth, yield and mineral composition of the rice plants besides reducing the high demand of nitrogen fertilizers.