Response of soil nematode community structure and metabolic footprint to nitrogen addition in alfalfa fields on the Loess Plateau.

Nematodes serve as key indicators of soil health in ecological studies. Therefore, the current study examined the community structure and metabolic footprint of soil nematodes in alfalfa fields across varying levels of N supply in the semi-arid Loess Plateau. The findings offer theoretical guidance for the sustainable management of artificial alfalfa grasslands in this region.

Organochlorine pesticide residues in plants and their possible ecotoxicological and agri food impacts.

Scientific investigations on levels of Organochlorine Pesticide (OCP) residues in plants largely consider the edible parts (crops, vegetables, and fruit plants). Though the non-edible parts of plants are not eaten by human beings directly, these parts are consumed by livestock and other animals, thereby facilitating the flow of chemical residues through the food chain. The objective of the present investigation was to evaluate the concentration of OCP residues in non-edible plant parts to provide insights on their potential ecotoxicological impacts.

Biosorption efficiency of nickel by various endophytic bacterial strains for removal of nickel from electroplating industry effluents: an operational study.

Realising the hazardous effect of nickel on human health, microbes and plants are effectively used for bioremediation. The endophytic microorganisms have an important role in the phytoremediation of nickel using Vigna radiata. Therefore, in order to harness the potential of microbial strains, the present study was designed to examine the metal biosorption ability of endophytic bacterial strains isolated from plants growing in nickel-contaminated soil.

Ingestion of microplastics by the estuarine polychaete, Namalycastis sp. in the Setiu Wetlands, Malaysia.

In this study, the ingestion of microplastics by the deposit-feeding polychaete Namalycastis sp. in the estuarine area of the Setiu Wetlands, Malaysia was confirmed. Samples were collected from six stations, covering the wetland from the south to the north, bimonthly between November 2016 and November 2017.

A preliminary investigation of marine litter pollution along Mandvi beach, Kachchh, Gujarat.

Marine debris is a global issue with adverse impacts on marine organisms, ecological processes, aesthetics, and economies of nations. Several studies have been conducted to quantify the plastic debris along Indian beaches. This baseline study describes the results of a survey conducted on the types of plastic litters and their quantification during January to March 2020 along Mandvi beach in Gujarat.

Potential human health hazard due to bioavailable heavy metal exposure via consumption of plants with ethnobotanical usage at the largest chromite mine of India.

Usage of native plant species for traditional medicine or nutritional supplement is a popular practice among various cultures. But consumption of plants growing on polluted soil can cause serious human health hazard due to bioaccumulation of toxic heavy metals. Present study deals with the ecological and human health impact of heavy metals, in six native plant species with ethnobotanical significance growing at the largest chromite mine of India.

Combating Climate Change-induced Heat Stress: Assessing Cool Roofs and Its Impact on the Indoor Ambient Temperature of the Households in the Urban Slums of Ahmedabad.

Background: The rising global temperature and frequent heatwaves are the adverse effects of climate change. The causalities and ill impacts of the heat stress were higher among the slum dwellers because of the vulnerable household structures, which were made by heat-trapping materials like tin sheets, cement sheet (asbestos), plastic, and tarpaulin. The houses are not only dwellings but also a source of livelihood for many slum dwellers as they are involved in home-based work.

Chelate-assisted phytoaccumulation: growth of Helianthus annuus L., Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek and Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br. in soil spiked with varied concentrations of copper.

Phytoextraction is an economic, environment-friendly and growing technology for clean-up of metal-contaminated soil. Several factors play pivotal role in making phytoextraction a successful technique. Soil fraction is an important parameter that may affect phytoextraction potential.

Association of metals with geochemical phases in wetland soils of a Ramsar site in India.

Mobilization of metals in wetland ecosystems is a function of the behaviour of a specific metal species and is dependent largely on the prevailing micro-environmental conditions. Apparently, five different chemical forms of metals are known with varying affinity to binding sites, mobility, bioavailability and toxicity. Quantification of these forms of metals in the soils is imperative in predicting their biogeochemical fate and toxicity.

Using mussel as a global bioindicator of coastal microplastic pollution.

The ubiquity and high bioavailability of microplastics have an unknown risk on the marine environment. Biomonitoring should be used to investigate biotic impacts of microplastic exposure. While many studies have used mussels as indicators for marine microplastic pollution, a robust and clear justification for their selection as indicator species is still lacking.

Distribution of heavy metals and associated human health risk in mine, agricultural and roadside soils at the largest chromite mine of India.

This study accessed the levels of Cd, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn concentration in soils of different locations (mine, roadside, agricultural and control sites) of Sukinda chromite mine (the India's largest Chromite mine and listed among the world's ten most polluted regions). Geo-accumulation (I) index indicates that the mine, agricultural and roadside soils are 'heavily to extremely contaminated' due to Cr, Ni, Pb and Cd, hence human residing/working in this region can have health hazards due to contaminated soil via different exposure pathways. The concentration of heavy metals (mg/kg) in mine site vary between 52.

Levels of persistent organic pollutants in breast milk of Maya women in Yucatan, Mexico.

In this study, 24 breast milk samples, obtained from rural Maya women, from municipalities of Yucatan, Mexico, were analyzed for organochlorine pesticide (OCP) residues by gas chromatography. Recent studies have shown that Maya communities have a poor perception about the proper usage and handling of OCP. The karstic soil in this area has a high vulnerability to groundwater pollution by the use of OCP in agriculture and livestock activities.

Monitoring of organochlorine pesticides in blood of women with uterine cervix cancer.

In Yucatan, Mexico, chronic exposure of Mayan population to pesticides is expected as about 30 per cent are drinking polluted water. Residues of organochlorine pesticides (OCP) were monitored in 18 municipalities of Yucatan with high mortality rates due to uterine cervix cancer. 70 blood samples collected from Mayan women living in livestock, agricultural and metropolitan area were analyzed for OCP.

DNA barcoding of macrofauna act as a tool for assessing marine ecosystem.

Nowadays, marine ecosystem monitoring and assessment are increasingly depending on variety of molecular tools. With these background, DNA barcoding play a key role in species identification with increasing speed and accuracy, and although the suitability for developing genetic tools like genomic AMBI (gAMBI). Presently we have submitted 13 benthic polychaete species using mtCOI to GenBank.

Meteorology drives ambient air quality in a valley: a case of Sukinda chromite mine, one among the ten most polluted areas in the world.

The ambient air quality (AAQ) assessment was undertaken in Sukinda Valley, the chromite hub of India. The possible correlations of meteorological variables with different air quality parameters (PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2 and CO) were examined.

Phosphate solubilizing microbes: sustainable approach for managing phosphorus deficiency in agricultural soils.

Phosphorus is the second important key element after nitrogen as a mineral nutrient in terms of quantitative plant requirement. Although abundant in soils, in both organic and inorganic forms, its availability is restricted as it occurs mostly in insoluble forms. The P content in average soil is about 0.

Response surface methodology for optimization of culture conditions for dye decolorization by a fungus, Aspergillus niger HM11 isolated from dye affected soil.

Background And Objectives: Discharge of wastewater from textile dyeing industries has been a problem in terms of pollution and treatment of these waters is a great task. Keeping this in mind, the aim of our current research is to study the effect of various bioprocess variables on decolorization of an azo dye, Congo red, by a fungal isolate, Aspergillus niger HM11.

Materials And Methods: CENTRAL COMPOSITE DESIGN (CCD) AND RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY (RSM) HAVE BEEN APPLIED TO DESIGN EXPERIMENTS TO EVALUATE THE INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF THE OPERATING VARIABLES: on the decolorization of Congo red.

Multivariate ordination approach for identification of sub-regional homogeneities in Gujarat, western India.

Identification of homogeneous invariant geographical units assumes considerable importance in the context of current attempts at developing environmental indices to monitor changes. Data on the edaphic and climatic parameters for the state of Gujarat--a predominantly arid to semi-arid province in western India--has been used to elaborate an approach that employs principal component analysis (PCA) as the basis for unbiased clustering of similar geographic units at sub-regional scales. PCA identified different sets of edaphic and climatic variables responsible for separating one unit from another.