Enrichment and isolation of endosulfan degrading and detoxifying bacteria

In the present study, degradation of endosulfan by a mixed culture isolated from a pesticide-contaminated soil was studied in batch experiments. After two weeks of incubation, the mixed culture was able to degrade 73% and 81% of alpha and beta endosulfan respectively. Endodiol was identified by GC/MS as degradation intermediate. The toxicity studies of endosulfan before and after degradation were carried out using micronucleus assay on human polymorphonuclear cells. The findings suggested that the metabolism of endosulfan isomers by the mixed culture was accompanied by significant reduction in the toxicity. Studies were also carried out to quantify the degradation potential of the individual species in the mixed bacterial culture. Two cultures identified by 16S rRNA as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Rhodococcus erythropolis were found to be responsible for majority of the degradation by the mixed culture. S. maltophilia showed better degradation efficiency compared to that by R. erythropolis. This is the first report of endosulfan degradation using the above-mentioned organisms.     

Distribution of detoxifying genes polymorphism in Maharastrian population of central India

The present study is aimed at evaluating the genotype frequency of detoxifying genes such as GSTM1, GSTT1 and NQO1 in Maharastrian population of central India. The study revealed about 64.6% of GSTM1-positive and 35.4% GSTM1-null population. GSTT1-positive genotype was found to be 87.5% and GSTT1-null showed 12.5%. The NQO1 genotype of Maharastrian population showed 52.3% of C/C, 42.48% C/T and 5.18% T/T. The NQO1 of this population does not deviate from the expected Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The genotype frequencies GSTM1 and GSTT1 of the population when compared with other ethnic groups of Asia and Caucasians show distinct nature of Maharastrian population from other Asian and Caucasian population.     

Optimal power flow model incorporating wind,solar, and bundled solar-thermal power in the restructured Indian power system

A new optimal power flow model for wind, solar, and solar-thermal bundled power scheduling and dispatch is proposed, incorporating the deviation incentive/penalty charges for renewable energy introduced in India. The multiobjective function is solved using the flower pollination algorithm; the scheme is successfully tested on the IEEE 30-bus and Indian utility 30-bus systems. The forecasting error constraints introduced in renewable energy scheduling and dispatch are demonstrated to be beneficial in several aspects. Solar-thermal bundling is shown to create win-win situations for thermal and solar generators. The effectiveness of the flower pollination algorithm in solving optimal power flow models is proved.     

Effect of pendimethalin and quizalofop on N<Subscript>2</Subscript>-fixing bacteria in relation to availability of nitrogen in a <Emphasis Type="Italic">Typic Haplustept</Emphasis> soil of West Bengal,India

An experiment was conducted under laboratory conditions to investigate the effect of two systemic herbicides viz., pendimethalin and quizalofop, at their recommended field rates (1.0 kg and 50 g active ingredient ha^− 1, respectively) on the growth and activities of non-symbiotic N₂-fixing bacteria in relation to mineralization and availability of nitrogen in a Typic Haplustept soil. Both the herbicides, either singly or in a combination, stimulated the growth and activities of N₂-fixing bacteria resulting in higher mineralization and availability of nitrogen in soil. The single application of quizalofop increased the proliferation of aerobic non-symbiotic N₂-fixing bacteria to the highest extent while that of pendimethalin exerted maximum stimulation to their N₂-fixing capacity in soil. Both the herbicides, either alone or in a combination, did not have any significant difference in the stimulation of total nitrogen content and availability of exchangeable NH₄ ⁺ while the solubility of NO₃ ⁻ was highly manifested when the herbicides were applied separately in soil.     

Cellular alterations and modulation of protein expression in bitumen-challenged human osteoblast cells

Purpose

There are many arguments on the carcinogenic potential of bitumen extract. The mechanism of bitumen-induced damage is not well understood at the molecular level. Therefore, in the present study, cell-transforming and tumor-inducing potential of bitumen extract was studied using in vitro [human osteosarcoma (HOS) cells] and in vivo [nude and severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice] models.

Methods

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis was carried out to find out the existence of carcinogenic compounds in the bitumen extract. Cell transformation test, anchorage independence assay, karyotyping assay, tumorigenicity assay, and 2-DE analysis were used to find out the effect of bitumen using the in vitro and in vivo models.

Results

GC/MS analysis showed the existence of carcinogenic compounds in the bitumen extract. HOS cells were treated with different concentrations (25, 50, and 100???l/ml) of bitumen extract. Compared to the parental HOS cells, bitumen transformants (HOS T1 and HOS T2) showed the characteristics of anchorage independency, chromosomal anomaly, and cellular transformation. Interestingly, bitumen transformants were not able to form tumor in nude/SCID mice. Proteomic analysis revealed the existence of 19 differentially expressed proteins involved in progression of cancer, angiogenesis, cell adhesion, etc.

Conclusions

Exposure of bitumen extract to HOS cells results in the cellular transformation similar to cancer cells and can modulate proteins involved in the progression of cancer. We state that the non-tumorogenic potential of bitumen transformant in nude/SCID mice can be attributed to the downregulation of galectin-1, chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 1-like gene, and membrane-associated guanylate kinase 2 protein.     

Insular Pine Forests of the Southern Urals and Ribbon Pine Forests of the Altai as Objects of Dendroclimatic Research

Russian Journal of Ecology - It has recently become a matter of discussion whether it is correct to use regional tree-ring chronologies in spatiotemporal climate reconstructions, since natural and...     

Micro-treatment options for components of organic fraction of MSW in residential areas

There is a growing interest in management of MSW through micro-treatment of organic fraction of municipal solid wastes (OFMSW) in many cities of India. The OFMSW fraction is high (>80%) in many pockets within South Indian cities like Bangalore, Chikkamagalur, etc. and is largely represented by vegetable, fruit, packing and garden wastes. Among these, the last three have shown problems for easy decomposition. Fruit wastes are characterized by a large pectin supported fraction that decomposes quickly to organic acids (becomes pulpy) that eventually slow down anaerobic and aerobic decomposition processes. Paper fraction (newsprint and photocopying paper) as well as paddy straw (packing), bagasse (from cane juice stalls) and tree leaf litter (typical garden waste and street sweepings) are found in reasonably large proportions in MSW. These decompose slowly due to poor nutrients or physical state. We have examined the suitability of these substrates for micro-composting in plastic bins by tracking decomposition pattern and physical changes. It was found that fruit wastes decompose rapidly to produce organic acids and large leachate fraction such that it may need to be mixed with leachate absorbing materials (dry wastes) for good composting. Leaf litter, paddy straw and bagasse decompose to the tune of 90, 68 and 60% VS and are suitable for composting micro-treatment. Paper fractions even when augmented with 10% leaf compost failed to show appreciable decomposition in 50 days. All these feedstocks were found to have good biological methane potential (BMP) and showed promise for conversion to biogas under a mixed feed operation. Suitability of this approach was verified by operating a plug-flow type anaerobic digester where only leaf litter gathered nearby (as street sweepings) was used as feedstock. Here only a third of the BMP was realized at this scale (0.18 m³ biogas/kg VS 0.55 m³/kg in BMP). We conclude that anaerobic digestion in plug-flow like digesters appear a more suitable micro-treatment option (2–10 kg VS/day) because in addition to compost it also produces biogas for domestic use nearby.     

Quantifying the connections—linkages between land-use and water in the Kathmandu Valley,Nepal

Land development without thoughtful water supply planning can lead to unsustainability. In practice, management of our lands and waters is often unintegrated. We present new land-use, ecological stream health, water quality, and streamflow data from nine perennial watersheds in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, in the 2016 monsoon (i.e., August and September) and 2017 pre-monsoon (i.e., April and May) periods. Our goal was to improve understanding of the longitudinal linkages between land-use and water. At a total of 38 locations, the Rapid Stream Assessment (RSA) protocol was used to characterize stream ecology, basic water quality parameters were collected with a handheld WTW multi-parameter meter, and stream flow was measured with a SonTek FlowTracker Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter. A pixel-based supervised classification method was used to create a 30-m gridded land use coverage from a Landsat 8 image scene captured in the fall of 2015. Our results indicated that land-use had a statistically significant impact on water quality, with built land-uses (high and low) having the greatest influence. Upstream locations of six of the nine watersheds investigated had near natural status (i.e., river quality class (RQC) 1) and water could be used for all purposes (after standard treatments as required). However, downstream RSA measurements for all nine watersheds had RQC 5 (i.e., most highly impaired). Generally, water quality deteriorated from monsoon 2016 to pre-monsoon 2017. Our findings reinforce the importance of integrated land and water management and highlight the urgency of addressing waste management issues in the Kathmandu Valley.