Impact of water control projects on fisheries resources in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is a very flat delta built up by the Ganges—Brahmaputra—Meghna/Barak river systems. Because of its geographical location, floods cause huge destruction of lives and properties almost every year. Water control programs have been undertaken to enhance development through mitigating the threat of disasters. This structural approach to flood hazard has severely affected floodplain fisheries that supply the major share of protein to rural Bangladesh, as exemplified by the Chandpur Irrigation Project. Although the regulated environment of the Chandpur project has become favorable for closed-water cultured fish farming, the natural open-water fishery loss has been substantial. Results from research show that fish yields were better under preproject conditions. Under project conditions per capita fish consumption has dropped significantly, and the price of fish has risen beyond the means of the poor people, so that fish protein in the diet of poor people is gradually declining. Bangladesh is planning to expand water control facilities to the remaining flood-prone areas in the next 15–20 years. This will cause further loss of floodplain fisheries. If prices for closed-water fish remain beyond the buying power of the poor, alternative sources of cheap protein will be required.     

Myco- and phyco-remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls in the environment: a review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are toxic organic compounds and pose serious threats to environment and public health. PCBs still exist in different...     

Spatial distribution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in coastal marine sediments receiving industrial and municipal effluents in Kuwait

Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) concentrations were measured in surficial sediments from coastal sediments receiving industrial and municipal effluents in Kuwait. The summation PBDE concentrations varied by two orders of magnitude ranging from 80 to 3800 pg g(-1)dw. The congener distribution was dominated by BDE 183, with minor contributions from BDEs 154 and 153. The similarity between the congener profile to that of the technical octa formulation (Bromkal 79-8DE) suggests a source of this product in Kuwait. The observed gradient in concentration distribution, with high summation PBDE concentrations near the shore and an exponential decrease seaward, indicates that wastewater discharge from industrial activities in the study area is the primary source of these compounds in the sediments.     

Biomarkers of pyrethroid toxicity in fish

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Pesticides contribute to human welfare by reducing vector-borne diseases and protecting crops against pests. Insecticides are the most widely employed pesticides...     

Studies on oxidative stress induced nerve conduction deficits in cigarette smokers

An important role of oxidative stress for the development of vascular and neurological complications has encouraged us to undertake a study to assess the oxidative stress induced nerve conduction deficits among cigarette smokers. Eighteen regular male cigarette smokers and twenty nine male non-smokers were diagnosed for clinical neuro-physiological tests viz., motor and sensory nerve conduction velocity (MNCV and SNCV) and redox status. Significant depletion of reduced glutathione (GSH) level (p < 0.05) and significant increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) level (p < 0.01) was found in smokers compared to non-smokers. Motor and sensory nerve conduction velocity showed no significant difference among smokers compared to non-smokers. The present study shows that smoking can induce oxidative stress among smokers but could not exacerbate to nerve conduction deficits.     

Application of a “closed-can” technique for measuring radon exhalation from mine samples of Punjab, Pakistan

Using the closed-can technique, radon exhalation rate measurements have been carried out for shale and coal samples collected from various mines located in the Chakwal and Makarwal areas of Pakistan. For the two areas, the measured average values of the exhalation rates from shale are 1.45±0.13 and 0.67±0.25 Bq m⁻² h⁻¹ and for coal are 1.0±0.03 and 0.65±0.32 Bq m⁻² h⁻¹, respectively. These values are much lower than the measured exhalation rates from alum-shale-based Nordic concrete which has values in the 50–200 Bq m⁻² h⁻¹ range. The lower values of the measured exhalation rates from the shale and coal deposits in the Chakwal and Makarwal areas are indicative of their lower uranium contents and mine workers in these areas do not face any abnormal health hazard due to radon since the exhalation rates have been found to be on the low side.     

Controlling bacterial leaf blight of rice and enhancing the plant growth with endophytic and rhizobacterial Bacillus strains

This study was conducted to assess efficacy of biological control against bacterial leaf blight (BLB) of rice produced by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. Five endophytic strains (A1, A2, A3, A13 and A15) and two rhizospherial Bacilli (D29 and H8) were tested for their antagonistic activities against BLB in vitro and in vivo. All seven strains showed high potential of antagonistic activity against X. oryzae pv. oryzae and three phytopathogenic fungi in vitro. Test of 16SrRNA gene sequence were assigned isolates A1, A3 and A13 as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens while isolates A2 and A15 as B. methylotrophicus and B. subtilis, respectively. In greenhouse, four strains of displayed 50.29%–57.86% inhibition rate against the pathogen and significantly increased plant fresh weight from 50.03% to 73.11% and dry weight from 64.11% to 86.65% in treated rice plants. In addition, these strains demonstrated strong capability to produce indole-3-acetic acid, siderophores, solubilizing phosphate and also colonize roots. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction revealed that expression of defense-related genes including OsAOS2, OsJMT1, OsNPR1 and OsPR1b were significantly up-regulated in leaves of D29-exposed rice plants, suggesting that treatment of rice with D29 suppressed BLB through systemic activation of the plant defense system. Therefore, data suggest that Bacillus isolates A13, A15, D29 and H8 support effective antagonistic activity against BLB under greenhouse conditions in addition to their potential to promote growth of rice plants.     

The nexus of renewable and nonrenewable energy consumption,trade openness,and CO2 emissions in the framework of EKC: evidence from emerging economies

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Emerging economies are experiencing considerable economic changes due to change in energy demand and CO2 emissions. To explore the link between energy...     

Enhanced uptake of Cd,Cr, and Cu in Catharanthus roseus (L.) G.Don by Bacillus cereus: application of moss and compost to reduce metal availability

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Heavy metals (HMs) being the notorious and toxic are being introduced into the environment credited to natural and anthropogenic activities. The use...