Microbial decomposition of crustacean shell for production of bioactive metabolites and study of its fertilizing potential

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Crustacean shell waste disposal is considered as biggest problem in seafood processing centers. Incineration and landfilling are the commonest ways of...     

Role of UPP pathway in amelioration of diabetes-associated complications

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is one of the most widely spread metabolic disorder also called as “life style” disease. Due to the alarming number...     

Design and evaluation of an atomization-based cutting fluid spray system in turning of titanium alloy

Tool life has been a vital issue in machining titanium alloys. Recently, an atomization-based cutting fluid (ACF) application has been found to be an effective approach for cooling and lubrication in micromachining operations. In this study, an ACF spray system is developed for macro-scale turning of Ti–6Al–4V. The spray system is designed to minimize interaction between the fluid droplets, and the gas nozzle to control the divergence of the fluid droplets. Experiments are conducted to study the effect of five specific ACF spray parameters including fluid flow rate, spray distance, impingement angle, and type and pressure level of the droplet carrier gas on cutting forces, tool life, and chip characteristics. It has been observed that the combination of lower pressure (150 psi) air-mixed CO₂ with a higher flow rate (20 ml/min) and a larger spray distance (35 mm) produces a significantly longer tool life and broken chips. The results also reveal that the ACF spray system can extend tool life up to 40–50% over flood cooling.     

Postural Stability of Sitting Women

The study examined the utility of stabilometric dimensions and explored whether the changes in sitting postures were manifested in functional measures of postural control. Eleven women participated in the study, which used 11 chair sitting postures: arms on laps or arms right angled; armrest at a height of 17, 20 and 23 cm; with or without backrest; slouch or straight back; legs right angled at knees or crossed legs. The backrest and armrest shifted 16.3% of body weight from a seat pan. The characteristics of stabilometric dimensions evaluated the influence of seat components and sitting behaviour on postural balance. The study attempted to evaluate stability and its application in human-seat interface design.     

Preparation of Economically Viable and Environment Friendly Composites from Effluents of Aleuritic Acid Industry

The synthesis of aleuritic acid from shellac is associated with generation of huge quantity of waste whose disposal leads to clogging of the sewage system and contaminates the water bodies into which the drain leads. The shellac waste, which was collected from the factory site and Jute fiber has been used to form a sustainable, eco-efficient and economical composite. Characterization of the resin and composite was done by FTIR, TG, DSC and SEM. Mechanical properties of the composites like tensile strength and impact strength etc. were measured.     

Influence and persistence of phorate and carbofuran insecticides on microorganisms in rice field

An experiment was conducted in microplots (4 m x 4 m) with two insecticides, phorate and carbofuran at rates of 1.5 and 1.0 kga.i.ha(-1) respectively, to investigate its effect on the population and distribution of bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi as well as the persistence of the insecticidal residues in rhizosphere soils of rice (Oryza sativa L., variety IR-50). Application of the insecticides stimulated the population of bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi in the rhizosphere soils, and the stimulation was more pronounced with phorate as compared to carbofuran. Both the insecticides did not have marked effect on the numbers of Streptomyces and Nocardia in the rhizosphere soils. However, the growth of Bacillus, Escherichia, Flavobacterium, Micromonospora, Penicillium, Aspergillus and Trichoderma with phorate and that of Bacillus, Corynebacterium, Flavobacterium, Aspergillus and Phytophthora with carbofuran were increased. On the other hand, the numbers of Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Fusarium, Humicola and Rhizopus under phorate and Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Micrococcus, Klebsiella, Fusarium, Humicola and Rhizopus under carbofuran were inhibited. Both the insecticides persisted in the rhizosphere soil for a short period of time and the rate of dissipation of carbofuran was higher than that of phorate in the soil depicting the half-life (T1/2) 9.1 and 10.4 days, respectively.     

Risk assessment and pathway study of arsenic in industrially contaminated sites of Hyderabad: a case study

Different areas in the industrial region of Patancheru near Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (A.P), India are contaminated with high concentration of arsenic, which is attributed to industrial source like veterinary chemicals, pharmaceuticals, pesticide industries, etc. Fourteen villages of this area of Patancheru were assessed for arsenic contamination by collecting samples of water (surface and ground), soil, fodder, milk, and vegetables. The total arsenic content in the whole blood, urine, hair, and nails of the residents showing arsenical skin lesions and other clinical manifestations were also studied. To understand the bioavailability of arsenic in this environment and its possible entry into human food chain, speciation studies of arsenic was carried out and the results are presented in this paper.     

CADMIUM ACCUMULATION AND TOXICITY IN SUBMERGED PLANT HYDRILLA VERTICILLATA (l.f.) ROYLE

Cadmium accumulation and its toxicity in relation tochlorophyll, protein, cysteine contents and in vivo nitrate reductaseactivity were studied under controlled conditions in Hydrillaverticillata, a submerged commonly occurring macrophyte. Plants weresubjected to six different concentrations of Cd ranging from 1.0 to 25.0 µM for 24, 48, 72 and 168 h. Tissue Cd concentration was maximum (13.71 µmoles/g dw) at 25 µM background concentration. At this concentration, a decrease of approximately 79 and 72% was found in chlorophyll and protein content. In vivo nitrate reductase activity was stimulated at 1.0 µM; however, the activity gradually declined beyond this concentration. Exposure to various cadmium concentrations resulted in an increase in cysteine content of the plant.     

Review of ozone and temperature lidar validations performed within the framework of the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change

The use of assimilation tools for satellite validation requires true estimates of the accuracy of the reference data. Since its inception, the Network for Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC) has provided systematic lidar measurements of ozone and temperature at several places around the world that are well adapted for satellite validations. Regular exercises have been organised to ensure the data quality at each individual site. These exercises can be separated into three categories: large scale intercomparisons using multiple instruments, including a mobile lidar; using satellite observations as a geographic transfer standards to compare measurements at different sites; and comparative investigations of the analysis software. NDSC is a research network, so each system has its own history, design, and analysis, and has participated differently in validation campaigns. There are still some technological differences that may explain different accuracies. However, the comparison campaigns performed over the last decade have always proved to be very helpful in improving the measurements. To date, more efforts have been devoted to characterising ozone measurements than to temperature observations. The synthesis of the published works shows that the network can potentially be considered as homogeneous within +/-2% between 20-35 km for ozone and +/-1 K between 35-60 km for temperature. Outside this altitude range, larger biases are reported and more efforts are required. In the lower stratosphere, Raman channels seem to improve comparisons but such capabilities were not systematically compared. At the top of the profiles, more investigations on analysis methodologies are still probably needed. SAGE II and GOMOS appear to be excellent tools for future ozone lidar validations but need to be better coordinated and take more advantage of assimilation tools. Also, temperature validations face major difficulties caused by atmospheric tides and therefore require intercomparisons with the mobile systems, at all sites.     

Kinetic and equilibrium isotherm studies for the adsorptive removal of Brilliant Green dye from aqueous solution by rice husk ash

The present study deals with the adsorption of Brilliant Green (BG) on rice husk ash (RHA). RHA is a solid waste obtained from the particulate collection equipment attached to the flue gas lines of rice husk fired boilers. Batch studies were performed to evaluate the influences of various experimental parameters like initial pH (pH0), contact time, adsorbent dose and initial concentration (C0) on the removal of BG. Optimum conditions for BG removal were found to be pH0 approximately 3.0, adsorbent dose approximately 6 g L(-1) of solution and equilibrium time approximately 5 h for the C0 range of 50-300 mg L(-1). Adsorption of BG followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. Intra-particle diffusion does not seem to control the BG removal process. Equilibrium isotherms for the adsorption of BG on RHA were analyzed by Freundlich, Langmuir, Redlich-Peterson (R-P), Dubnin-Radushkevich (D-R), and Temkin isotherm models using a non-linear regression technique. Langmuir and R-P isotherms were found to best represent the data for BG adsorption onto RHA. Adsorption of BG on RHA is favourably influenced by an increase in the temperature of the operation. Values of the change in entropy (DeltaS0) and heat of adsorption (DeltaH0) for BG adsorption on RHA were positive. The high negative value of change in Gibbs free energy (DeltaG0) indicates the feasible and spontaneous adsorption of BG on RHA.