Commercially and medicinally significant aquatic macrophytes: Potential for improving livelihood security of indigenous communities in northern Bihar, India

The dispersed wetlands in the Darbhanga District of northern Bihar, India, provide a diversity of niches supporting substantial floral and faunal richness. The aquatic macrophytes of a representative range of perennial water bodies were surveyed fortnightly from June to September 2019, supported by a market survey undertaken with local stakeholders. A total of 61 species of vascular macrophytes was recorded, the majority of them Angiosperms (33 species of Dicotyledons from 21 families, and 26 Monocotyledons from 13 families) and two were Pteridophytes. This paper highlights the distribution pattern and potential commercial and medicinal values of aquatic macrophytes found in different wetland systems in northern Bihar. It further stresses their importance for subsistence, medicinal and economic purposes supporting the livelihoods of local people. Current trends and risks contributing to the degradation and loss of this diverse flora and its supporting habitats are considered. We recommend further assessment of the occurrence and values of this botanical resource, and extension of valuation to encompass the diverse additional ecosystem service benefits provided by the region’s wetland systems, as a basis for wetland conservation strategies founded on sustainable management and wise use, with particular reference to the potential for enhancing livelihood security of indigenous communities

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Removal of colour and detoxification of pulp and paper mill effluent by microorganisms in two step bioreactor

944-948Eight fungal isolates and a bacterial community comprising four strains were isolated from pulp and paper mill effluent. Decolourization and phenol reduction of pulp and paper mill effluent was determined by fungi and bacterial isolates. Among the fungi, Paecilomyces sp., exhibited significant reduction in phenol (40 per cent), lignin (66 per cent), COD (75 per cent) and colour (81 per cent) in 100 L sequential bioreactor supplemented with 1 per cent carbon and 0.2 per cent nitrogen source at 6 h retention time. However the treated effluent of fungus subsequently treated by bacterial strain, Microbrevis luteum, showed reduction in phenol (77 per cent), colour (84 per cent), COD (83 per cent) and lignin (72 per cent) on day one. Metabolites extracted from pulp and paper mill effluent were analyzed by HPLC which indicated the presence of at least three major contaminants, in which one of them, at RT 6.5, was utilized by fungus and bacteria

Differential toxicological endpoints of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) exposure in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines: Possible estrogen receptor α (ERα) independent modulations

1052-1061Wide spread use of Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) has made it a ubiquitous contaminant in today’s environment, responsible for <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">possible carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting effects. In the present investigation an integrative toxico-proteomic approach was made to study the estrogenic potential of DEHP. In vitro experiments carried out with DEHP (0.1-100 μM) induced proliferations (E-screen assay) in human estrogen receptors-α (ERα) positive MCF-7 and ERα negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells irrespective of their ERα status<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">. Further, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic" lang="EN-GB">DEHP suppressed tamoxifen (a potent anti-breast cancer drug) induced apoptosis in both cell types as shown by flowcytometric cell cycle analysis. Label-free quantitative proteomics analysis of the cell secretome of both the cell lines indicated a wide array of stress related, structural and receptor binding proteins that were affected due to DEHP exposure. The secretome of DEHP treated MCF-7 cells revealed the down regulation of lactotransferrin, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">an ERα responsive iron transport protein. The results indicated that toxicological effects of DEHP did not follow an ERα signaling pathway.<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic"> However, the differential effects in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines indicate that ERα might have an indirect modulating effect on DEHP induced toxicity. </span

Drying Characteristics of Plum Tomato under Different Physical Treatments for Producing Powder

Plum tomatoes were dried under hot air convection for producing powder. Different physical treatments were performed to achieve faster drying and milling. Initial moisture of tomato was 93.97 % with TSS of 4.6 %, which was dried to around 5 % moisture. Among the treatments, longitudinally cut in 16 pieces and cross-section slice segments took less time to dry and gave higher (6.4 %) drying yield. The effectiveness of treatments on drying characteristics and quality of tomato powder were examined. Mathematical models were employed by non-linear regression analysis to appropriately describe the drying behaviours. The physico-chemical quality characteristics of fresh and powder tomato were evaluated in terms of size and shape, peel pulp seed ratio, TSS, ascorbic acid, acidity, lycopene and solubility. The overall sensory perception revealed that all treatment samples of tomato powder reconstituted well in the form of soup-mix and achieved nearly equal scores on different quality attributes

Resource identification and assessment in floodplain of Kamla Balan river in Bihar

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Emerging role of Geographical Information System (GIS), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and spatial LCA (GIS-LCA) in sustainable bioenergy planning

Sustainability of a bioenergy project depends on precise assessment of biomass resource, planning of cost-effective logistics and evaluation of possible environmental implications. In this context, this paper reviews the role and applications of geo-spatial tool such as Geographical Information System (GIS) for precise agro-residue resource assessment, biomass logistic and power plant design. Further, application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in understanding the potential impact of agro-residue bioenergy generation on different ecosystem services has also been reviewed and limitations associated with LCA variability and uncertainty were discussed. Usefulness of integration of GIS into LCA (i.e. spatial LCA) to overcome the limitations of conventional LCA and to produce a holistic evaluation of the environmental benefits and concerns of bioenergy is also reviewed. Application of GIS, LCA and spatial LCA can help alleviate the challenges faced by ambitious bioenergy projects by addressing both economics and environmental goals. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved