Activation of peat soil carbon and production of carbon nanostructures using a flying jet cold plasma torch

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Non-thermal plasma, also named cold plasma, finds applications in industrial, environmental and health sectors. Non-thermal plasma is a remarkable catalysing and...     

Responses of oxidative stress,genotoxicity and immunotoxicity as biomarkers in Theba pisana snails dietary exposed to silver nanoparticles

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are now being of a great interest by ecotoxicological researchers. Their potential hazards to humans and other non-target organisms had led to crucial concerns. In this research, white radish leaf extract was used for the green synthesis of AgNPs. UV–Vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been utilised to characterise the biosynthesised AgNPs. Furthermore, the present study aimed to investigate the ecotoxicological effects of 1?mM biosynthesised AgNPs on the land snail, Theba pisana after two weeks of exposure and one week recovery with respect to oxidative stress parameters; lipid peroxidation (LPO), reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), cytogenetic parameters; DNA content and micronucleus test, as well as immunological parameters; cell death, phagocytosis, lysosomal membrane stability (LMS), lectins, superoxide anion (O₂^?) generation, phenoloxidase (PO), peroxidase (POD) and haemocyanin (Hc) were examined. AgNPs have been biosynthesised successfully; the UV–vis spectrum exhibited a single and broad absorption band located between 375 and 415?nm, TEM image shows AgNPs formed were nearly spherical in shape with a mean size of 2.18–19.87?nm and the crystalline nature of nanoparticles was confirmed by XRD. After two weeks exposure, the result showed that AgNPs significantly increased LPO level as well as CAT and GST activities, cell death, cell abnormalities and Hc level, whereas, significant decline was found in DNA and GSH contents, phagocytic activity, LMS, lectins, O₂^? generation, POD and PO activities compared to the controls. After a week of recovery, most of the tested biomarkers in AgNP-exposed snails did not completely return to the control levels. The multiple measured parameters could be effectively used as sensitive biomarkers in the risk assessment of contaminants in the terrestrial ecosystem.     

Management of oxidative stress and inflammation in cardiovascular diseases: mechanisms and challenges

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have diverse physiopathological mechanisms with interconnected oxidative stress and inflammation as one of the common...     

Realization of participation and spatiality in participatory forest management – a policy–practice analysis from Zanzibar,Tanzania

The efforts in sustainable natural resource management have given rise to decentralization of forest governance in the developing world with hopes for better solutions and effective implementation. In this paper, we examine how spatially sensitive participation is realized from policy to practice in the process of establishing participatory forest management in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Our policy–practice analysis shows that the policies in Zanzibar strongly support decentralization and local level participation has in practice been realized. However, the policy does not emphasize participatory process design nor address the possibilities of using spatial information and technologies to ensure wider participation. Thus, the practices fall short in innovativeness of using site-sensitive information with available technologies. Reflecting the Zanzibari Community Forest Management Agreements (CoFMA) context with examples of participatory use of spatial information and technologies in other parts of the world, we discuss ways to improve the Zanzibari CoFMA process towards increased participation, communication, local sense of ownership and more sustainable land management decisions, and argue for the future implementation of CoFMA as a spatially sensitive participatory process.     

Impacts of horseradish peroxidase immobilization onto functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as a biocatalyst for dye degradation

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - To enhance the dye removal efficiency by natural enzyme, horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was immobilized onto amine-functionalized superparamagnetic iron...