On the occurrence of a double parasitism (copepod and isopod) on the anchovy fish in India

A double parasitism (isopod and copepod) on anchovy fish, Stolephorus commersonii Lacepede, 1803 was recorded from Parangipettai (India) coastal waters during June, 2004. This is the first report from this region and the infestation is discussed in relation to environmental parameters in this short communication.     

Efficient water use in industries: cases from the Indian agro-based pulp and paper mills

Agro-based pulp and paper mills in India are one of the most polluting industries; in addition, they are high consumers of raw water. Growing scarcity of high quality freshwater as well as stringent regulatory standards is compelling these units to explore appropriate water management options. Based on data obtained through a questionnaire survey and plant visits, this work provides an overview of the water use and effluent treatment status in Indian agro-residue and recycled pulp and paper mills. The challenges faced by this sector are reviewed and practices adopted by progressive units to minimize freshwater use are illustrated through case studies.     

Determination of ozone in outdoor and indoor environments using nitrite-impregnated passive samplers followed by ion chromatography

An improved ion chromatographic (IC) method has been developed for the separation of nitrate in filter extracts in the presence of high concentrations of nitrite. This analytical method was successfully used for an indirect measurement of ozone (O3) in outdoor and indoor air, following its collection using a nitrite-impregnated passive sampler. The limit of detection and the limit of quantification, using the modified IC method, were 6 microg l(-1) (3sigma) and 20 microg l(-1) (10sigma), respectively. Improved detection limits and low baseline noise were obtained with the use of eluent generator and high-capacity ion exchange column. The optimized method was used for assessing O3 concentration in both indoor and outdoor environments of 28 child care centers (CCCs) located in different parts of Singapore. The O3 concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 11.95 parts per billion (ppb) in indoor and from 3.2 to 21.7 ppb in outdoor environments during the study period. It was found that, among the CCCs investigated in this study, air-conditioned CCCs and those located in close proximity to traffic emissions had significantly lower O3 concentrations indoors.     

Experimental investigation on CO2 absorption and physicochemical characteristics of different carbon-loaded aqueous solvents

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) denseness in the earth’s atmosphere is increasing day-to-day by combusting fossil fuels for power...     

Enhancement of in vitro high-density polyethylene (HDPE) degradation by physical,chemical, and biological treatments

Partially degraded high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was collected from plastic waste dump yard for biodegradation using fungi. Of various fungi screened, strain MF12 was found efficient in degrading HDPE by weight loss and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrophotometric analysis. Strain MF12 was selected as efficient HDPE degraders for further studies, and their growth medium composition was optimized. Among those different media used, basal minimal medium (BMM) was suitable for the HDPE degradation by strain MF12. Strain MF12 was subjected to 28S rRNA sequence analysis and identified as Aspergillus terreus MF12. HDPE degradation was carried out using combinatorial physical and chemical treatments in conjunction to biological treatment. The high level of HDPE degradation was observed in ultraviolet (UV) and KMnO₄/HCl with A. terreus MF12 treatment, i.e., FT10. The abiotic physical and chemical factors enhance the biodegradation of HDPE using A. terreus MF12.     

Size fraction of hazardous particulate matter governing the respiratory deposition and inhalation risk in the highly polluted city Delhi

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Delhi has been identified as one of the highly polluted cities in the world and recently associated with the highest population weighted PM2.5...     

Photocatalytic degradation of p-nitrophenol using biologically synthesized ZnO nanoparticles

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The present work deals with the photocatalytic degradation of p-nitrophenol as it is a United States Environmental Protection Agency-listed priority...     

A rapid and sensitive analytical method for the quantification of residues of endosulfan in blood

A new sensitive analytical procedure has been developed for the determination of residues of endosulfan in human blood samples. The method involves the extraction of residues of endosulfan from blood samples by the addition of 60% sulfuric acid at 10 degrees C, liquid/liquid partitioning by using hexane and acetone mixture (9:1) and quantification by using GC-ECD. Residues of endosulfan in blood samples were quantified as the sum of alpha-endosulfan, beta-endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate and endosulfandiol. The influence of temperature during the extraction has been studied. Recovery experiments were conducted over the concentration range 1.0-50 ng ml(-1) and the relative standard deviation calculated. The method was found to be sufficiently sensitive to quantify the residue of total endosulfan up to the 1.0 ng ml(-1) level. The recovery was 92% with a calculated relative standard deviation of 1.96%. Conversion of endosulfan to endosulfandiol is found to be less than 0.5% under the defined conditions. The method was applied to the analysis of residue contents of endosulfan and its metabolites in blood samples collected from the exposed population. The data obtained has been confirmed by GC-MS-EI in selective ion monitoring (SIM) mode.     

Macroalgal release of dissolved organic carbon in coral reef and its interaction with the bacteria associated with the coral Porites lutea

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Macroalgae supersede corals in the reefs worldwide, converting the coral-dominant systems into algal-dominant ones. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC)...