An assessment of nanotechnology-based interventions for cleaning up toxic heavy metal/metalloid-contaminated agroecosystems: Potentials and issues.

Heavy metals (HMs) are among the most dangerous environmental variables for a variety of life forms, including crops. Accumulation of HMs in consumables and their subsequent transmission to the food web are serious concerns for scientific communities and policy makers. The function of essential plant cellular macromolecules is substantially hampered by HMs, which eventually have a detrimental effect on agricultural yield.

Sedimentation of metals in Sundarban mangrove ecosystem: Dominant drivers and environmental risks.

Metal contamination from upstream river water is a threat to coastal and estuarine ecosystem. The present study was undertaken to unveil sedimentation processes and patterns of heavy metal deposition along the salinity gradient of a tropical estuary and its mangrove ecosystem. Sediment columns from three representative sites of differential salinity, anthropogenic interference, and sediment deposition pattern were sampled and analyzed for grain size distribution and metal concentrations as a function of depth.

Arsenic contamination, impact and mitigation strategies in rice agro-environment: An inclusive insight.

Arsenic (As) contamination and its adverse consequences on rice agroecosystem are well known. Rice has the credit to feed more than 50% of the world population but concurrently, rice accumulates a substantial amount of As, thereby compromising food security. The gravity of the situation lays in the fact that the population in theAs uncontaminated areas may be accidentally exposed to toxic levels of As from rice consumption.

Variety-specific arsenic accumulation in 44 different rice cultivars (O. sativa L.) and human health risks due to co-exposure of arsenic-contaminated rice and drinking water.

Arsenic (carcinogenic) is a global health concern due to its presence in groundwater and subsequent accumulation in cultivated-rice via irrigation. The present work focused on the evaluation of arsenic concentration in groundwater, different cultivated-rice varieties (studied together for the first-time) and related health-risks. Arsenic in groundwater (0.

Assessment of lead tolerance in gamma exposed & .

Present study deals with the role of gamma irradiation in modulating lead (Pb) tolerance of and . After being exposed to gamma absorbed doses those fungal strains were subjected to heavy metal uptake efficacies and anti-oxidative study. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra and Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) studies were also evaluated.

Seed priming with Se mitigates As-induced phytotoxicity in rice seedlings by enhancing essential micronutrient uptake and translocation and reducing As translocation.

We laid down this investigation to explore the promotive and antagonistic aspect of selenium (Se) when supplemented through seed priming technology in rice before sowing into arsenic (As) free and As spiked soil. Findings suggest that As stress inhibits germination (35.38%), seedling growth (38.

Rice seed priming with Se : A novel approach to mitigate As induced adverse consequences on growth, yield and As load in brown rice.

The current investigation was laid down to investigate the consequences of cultivating selenium (Se) primed seedlings of two contrasting rice varieties in arsenic (As) free and As spiked pot soil. At maturity, Se primed seedlings (both tested varieties) cultivated alike the controls (in As free condition) were found to posses significantly (p < 0.001) greater amount of chlorophyll, biomass, tiller number, panicle weight and test weight beside these, also having longer plant height than the control.

Effect of selenium induced seed priming on arsenic accumulation in rice plant and subsequent transmission in human food chain.

The south-east Asian countries are facing a serious threat of arsenic (As) toxicity due to extensive use of As contaminated groundwater for rice cultivation. This experiment was configured to assess the consequences of rice seed priming with selenium (Se) and cultivation in As free and As contaminated soil. The experiment was arranged in a factorial complete randomized design having two factors viz.

Assessment of potential health risk of fluoride consumption through rice, pulses, and vegetables in addition to consumption of fluoride-contaminated drinking water of West Bengal, India.

A study was conducted in fluoride-affected Bankura and Purulia districts of West Bengal to assess the potential health risk from fluoride exposure among children, teenagers, and adults due to consumption of rice, pulses, and vegetables in addition to drinking water and incidental ingestion of soil by children. Higher mean fluoride contents (13-63 mg/kg dry weight) were observed in radish, carrot, onion bulb, brinjal, potato tuber, cauliflower, cabbage, coriander, and pigeon pea. The combined influence of rice, pulses, and vegetables to cumulative estimated daily intake (EDI) of fluoride for the studied population was found to be 9.

A study to investigate fluoride contamination and fluoride exposure dose assessment in lateritic zones of West Bengal, India.

To assess the status of severity of fluoride contamination in lateritic Bankura and Purulia districts of West Bengal, concentrations of fluoride in different water sources and agricultural field soils were investigated. The fluoride content (mg/l) was observed to differ with aquifer depths: 0.19-0.

Seasonal perspective of dietary arsenic consumption and urine arsenic in an endemic population.

Exposure to arsenic in arsenic endemic areas is most remarkable environmental health challenges. Although effects of arsenic contamination are well established, reports are unavailable on probable seasonal variation due to changes of food habit depending on winter and summer seasons, especially for endemic regions of Nadia district, West Bengal. Complete 24-h diets, drinking-cooking water, first morning voided urine samples, and diet history were analyzed on 25 volunteers in arsenic endemic Chakdah block of Nadia district, once in summer followed by once in winter from the same participants.

Dietary arsenic consumption and urine arsenic in an endemic population: response to improvement of drinking water quality in a 2-year consecutive study.

We assessed the association between arsenic intake through water and diet, and arsenic levels in first morning-void urine under variable conditions of water contamination. This was done in a 2-year consecutive study in an endemic population. Exposure of arsenic through water and diet was assessed for participants using arsenic-contaminated water (≥50 μg L(-1)) in a first year (group I) and for participants using water lower in arsenic (<50 μg L(-1)) in the next year (group II).

In vitro assessment on the impact of soil arsenic in the eight rice varieties of West Bengal, India.

Rice is an efficient accumulator of arsenic and thus irrigation with arsenic-contaminated groundwater and soil may induce human health hazard via water-soil-plant-human pathway. A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted on three high yielding, one hybrid and four local rice varieties to investigate the uptake, distribution and phytotoxicity of arsenic in rice plant. 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40 mg kg(-1) dry weights arsenic dosing was applied in pot soil and the results were compared with the control samples.

Arsenic-induced health crisis in peri-urban Moyna and Ardebok villages, West Bengal, India: an exposure assessment study.

Drinking of arsenic (As)-contaminated groundwater has adverse effects on health of millions of people worldwide. This study aimed to determine the degree of severity of As exposure from drinking water in peri-urban Moyna and Ardebok villages, West Bengal, India. Arsenic concentrations in hair, nail and urine samp les of the individuals were determined.

Risk from winter vegetables and pulses produced in arsenic endemic areas of Nadia District: field study comparison with market basket survey.

Arsenic contaminated groundwater uses for irrigation potentially lead the incidence of arsenic into food chain. In present study we examined total arsenic concentrations in 32 types of vegetables and 7 types of pulses. Range of total arsenic concentration in edible parts of vegetables collected from grown fields was 0.

Human exposure to arsenic through foodstuffs cultivated using arsenic contaminated groundwater in areas of West Bengal, India.

The widespread incidence of chronic arsenicosis in the Bengal Delta has led to intensive research on arsenic (As) enrichment in groundwater as well as accumulation in foodstuffs, as there are potential health risks associated with exposure to As from both sources. This study deals with human As exposure through the drinking of groundwater, consumption of locally grown foodstuffs (e.g.

The potential for reductive mobilization of arsenic [As(V) to As(III)] by OSBH(2) (Pseudomonas stutzeri) and OSBH(5) (Bacillus cereus) in an oil-contaminated site.

Microbial reduction of arsenate [As(V)] plays an important role in arsenic (As) mobilization in aqueous environments. In this study, we investigated reduction of arsenate by different bacterial isolates such as OSBH(1) (GU329913), OSBH(2) (GU329914), OSBH(3) (GU329915), OSBH(4) (GU329916) and OSBH(5) (GU329917), isolated from the oil sludge of a sewage treatment plant operated by the China Petroleum Refinery Company in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan. Bacterial strains of pure culture were identified by 16S rRNA analysis (≥99 % nucleotide similarity).

Effects of gamma radiation on fungi infected rice (in vitro).

Purpose: This work focuses on the effect of gamma radiation on seed born fungi (in vitro) on Oryza sativa (Swarna, Initial Evaluation Trial-5656).

Materials And Methods: The responses of fungi to gamma radiation (0-4.2 kGy; 0.

Assessment of total mercury level in fish collected from East Calcutta Wetlands and Titagarh sewage fed aquaculture in West Bengal, India.

Total mercury levels were quantified in Tilapia mossambicus, Cirrhinus mrigela and Labio rohita, captured from East Calcutta Wetlands and Titagarh sewage fed aquaculture ponds. The bioconcentration factor of collected fish was assessed. Total mercury level ranged from 0.

Metallic components of traffic-induced urban aerosol, their spatial variation, and source apportionment.

This study proposes a practical method to estimate elemental composition and distribution in order to attribute source and quantify impacts of aerosol particles at an urban region in Kolkata, India. Twelve-hour total particulates were collected in winter (2005-2006) and analyzed by energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence technique to determine multi-elemental composition, especially trace metals. The aerosols consist of various elements including K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, and Pb which exhibit significant concentration at various sites (p < 0.

Distribution of actinomycetes, their antagonistic behaviour and the physico-chemical characteristics of the world's largest tidal mangrove forest.

We examined the relationship between distribution of actinomycetes and antagonistic behaviour with the physico-chemical characteristics of the Sundarbans, off the Bay of Bengal, India. Soil/sediment samples were collected from three regions: near to the sea, intertidal regions and mangrove forests. For the enumeration of actinomycetes, four treatments combining dilution with distilled or sea water with or without heating followed by plating onto starch-casein, glycerol-arginine and starch-nitrate media were done.