Identification of arsenic hyperaccumulating plants for the development of phytomitigation technology

Out of 35 plant samples collected from different districts of Bangladesh, only 14 species were arsenic (As) hyper accumulating. Species identified as hyperaccumulating were barnyard grass, water cress, cockle bur, Azolla, rice, water lettuce, water taro, taro, fern, water hyacinth and alligator weed. Maximum accumulation of As was in barnyard grass at 61.3 ppm, 67.9 ppm and 67.8 ppm in root, shoot and grain, respectively. From the chemical analysis of 35 naturally grown plants barnyard grass can mitigate soil As contamination. Water hyacinth, water cress, water lettuce and Azolla were able to absorb As from contaminated stagnant water. From this study an idea for phytoremediation of As by naturally grown plants has been found

Patterns of Land Use/Cover Dynamics in the Mountain Landscape of Tara Gedam and Adjacent Agro-Ecosystem, Northwest Ethiopia

This study analyzed land use/cover dynamics in the mountain landscape of Tara Gedam and adjacent agro-ecosystem of northwest Ethiopia over a period of 46 years (1957–2003). The changes were measured through interpretation of aerial photographs taken in 1957 and 1980, and Land-sat satellite image of 2003 using Arc gis 9.2 software, supported by focal group discussions and field visits. Three separate maps (for years 1957, 1980 and 2003) of the study area were produced and six major land use/cover classes were identified: dense forest, woodland, shrub land, grassland, riverine vegetation and cultivated and settlement land. The results indicated that the main land trajectory was from natural vegetation cover to settlement and cultivated land. The cultivated and settlement land coverage increased by 90.60% between 1957 and 2003. However, woodland, dense forest, riverine vegetation, shrub and grasslands coverage declined by 97.87, 71.04, 37.00, 9.02 and 3.03%, respectively. These could be mainly attributed to anthropogenic factors. Increasing demands of more land for cultivation and settlement, overgrazing, deforestation for fuel wood and construction have resulted in a dramatic shrinkage of the area under natural vegetation. The 1975 national land reform proclamation of the country had also contributed to the expansion of cultivated and settlement land. The implications of these changes are increased land degradation and loss of biodiversity affecting the livelihood of the community. It is suggested that the study area needs an immediate intervention for developing sustainable land use practices and to manage the remaining natural vegetation and to rehabilitate the degraded lands

The impact of nutritional counselling on serum lipids, dietary and physical activity patterns of school children

Eighty-eight school children and their parents who had been counselled regarding appropriate dietary and activity patterns aimed at reducing serum cholesterol were followed-up 21 months later to determine changes in dietary and activity patterns and in serum lipid levels. The decline in serum total cholesterol ranged from 8 to 14% in the different age and sex groups (P \u3c 0.05 to P \u3c 0.001). Serum triglycerides did not change significantly. Cholesterol intake decreased 36% and 54% in 10-14 year old boys and girls respectively (P \u3e 0.001). The activity level increased significantly in both the 5-9 year and 10-14 year olds (P \u3c 0.05 to P \u3c 0.005). These results show that nutrition education can bring about a change in dietary and activity patterns, resulting in a decline in serum cholesterol levels

Conjugate Effects of Heat and Mass Transfer on Natural Convection Flow Across an Isothermal Horizontal Circular Cylinder With Chemical Reaction

Natural convection flow across an isothermal cylinder immersed in a viscous incompressible fluid in the presence of species concentration and chemical reaction has been investigated. The governing boundary layer equations are transformed into a system of non-dimensional equations and the resulting nonlinear system of partial differential equations is reduced to a system of local non-similarity boundary layer equations, which is solved numerically by a very efficient implicit finite difference method together with the Keller-box scheme. Numerical results are presented by the velocity, temperature and species concentration profiles of the fluid as well as the local skin-friction coefficient, local heat transfer rate and local species concentration transfer rate for a wide range of chemical reaction parameter γ (γ = 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0), buoyancy ratio parameter N (N = −1.0, −0.5, 0.0, 0.5, 1.0), Schmidt number Sc (Sc = 0.7, 10.0, 50.0, 100.0) andPrandtl number Pr (Pr = 0.7, 7.0)

Cardiovascular risk factors in school children from low middle income families in Karachi, Pakistan

Serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and trigly cerides (TG) were determined on 239 school children aged 5-19 years belonging to lower middle class families. The mean TC, LDL-C, HDL-C and TG ranged from 3.70-4.37 mmol/L, 2.17- 2.70 mmol/L, 0.94-1.14 mmol/L, 1.07-1.26 mmol/L respectively. In general, girls had higher TC, LDL-C and HDL-C levels. There was no significant difference in the TG levels between boys and girls. Thirty-three percent of the girls and 22% of the boys had TC level _4.4 mmol/L, the level at which dietary intervention is recommended for children. Fifty-three percent of the girls and 37% of the boys bad TG levels _ than the 90th percentile of the levels for children of similar age and sex in North America. The HDL-C levels were low with 37% of the girls and 44% of boys having values _ the lath percentile of levels for North American children. The mean daily intake of cholesterol ranged from 241 mg to 364 mg/day. Except for the 5-9 year olds, boys had a higher cholesterol intake than girls (P\u3c0.005). Twenty-two percent of the boys and 32% of the girls were overweight but weight status was significantly associated with elevated TC levels only in the boys (P \u3c0.05). Activity level was not significantly related to TC levels but girls who were active had significantly higher HDL-C levels than girls who were sedentary (P \u3c0.02). Family history of cardiovascular disease was significantly associated with elevated cholesterol levels in girls (P \u3c0.05). The results show that the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in these school children is relatively high even though they belong to lower middle class families in a developing countr

Degradation of human kininogens with the release of kinin peptides by extracellular proteinases of Candida spp.

The secretion of proteolytic enzymes by pathogenic microorganisms is one of the most successful strategies used by pathogens to colonize and infect the host organism. The extracellular microbial proteinases can seriously deregulate the homeostatic proteolytic cascades of the host, including the kinin-forming system, repeatedly reported to he activated during bacterial infection. The current study assigns a kinin-releasing activity to secreted proteinases of Candida spp. yeasts, the major fungal pathogens of humans. Of several Candida species studied, C. parapsilosis and C. albicans in their invasive filamentous forms are shown to produce proteinases which most effectively degrade proteinaceous kinin precursors, the kininogens. These enzymes, classified as aspartyl proteinases, have the highest kininogen-degrading activity at low pH (approx. 3.5), but the associated production of bradykinin-related peptides from a small fraction of kininogen molecules is optimal at neutral pH (6.5). The peptides effectively interact with cellular B2-type kinin receptors. Moreover, kinin-related peptides capable of interacting with inflammation-induced B1-type receptors are also formed, but with a reversed pH dependence. The presented variability of the potential extracellular kinin production by secreted aspartyl proteinases of Candida spp. is consistent with the known adaptability of these opportunistic pathogens to different niches in the host organism

E-readiness to G-readiness: developing a green information technology readiness framework

Businesses are under increasing pressure from competitors, regulators and community groups to implement sustainable business practices. Balancing economic and environmental performance to be green and competitive is therefore a key strategic issue. The increased discussion on green information technology (IT) has sparked the interest of this research. Green IT is poised to influence not only technology but also competitive strategy and even the legality of some business strategic options. Understanding and leveraging Green IT is therefore critical for businesses¿ continued progress. Nevertheless, the principles, practices and value of Green IT is yet to be researched. This paper introduces the concept of Green IT and describes the main pillars of a g-readiness framework to help organisations evaluate their readiness for adopting Green IT. It argues that just as e-readiness has been, and continues to be, a critical quality in the digital economy, g-readiness is an equally critical quality in the low carbon digital economy. Without a clear understanding of g-readiness, organisations would approach Green IT initiatives on an ad hoc and somewhat reactive basis which is undesirable

Individual correlates of podoconiosis in areas of varying endemicity: a case-control study

BACKGROUND Podoconiosis is a non-filarial form of elephantiasis resulting in lymphedema of the lower legs. Previous studies have suggested that podoconiosis arises from the interplay of individual and environmental factors. Here, our aim was to understand the individual-level correlates of podoconiosis by comparing 460 podoconiosis-affected individuals and 707 unaffected controls. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS This was a case-control study carried out in six kebeles (the lowest governmental administrative unit) in northern Ethiopia. Each kebele was classified into one of three endemicity levels: 'low' (prevalence 5%). A total of 142 (30.7%) households had two or more cases of podoconiosis. Compared to controls, the majority of the cases, especially women, were less educated (OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.3 to 2.2), were unmarried (OR = 3.4, 95% CI = 2.6-4.6) and had lower income (t = -4.4, p<0.0001). On average, cases started wearing shoes ten years later than controls. Among cases, age of first wearing shoes was positively correlated with age of onset of podoconiosis (r = 0.6, t = 12.5, p<0.0001). Among all study participants average duration of shoe wearing was less than 30 years. Between both cases and controls, people in 'high' and 'medium' endemicity kebeles were less likely than people in 'low' endemicity areas to 'ever' have owned shoes (OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.4-0.7). CONCLUSIONS Late use of shoes, usually after the onset of podoconiosis, and inequalities in education, income and marriage were found among cases, particularly among females. There were clustering of cases within households, thus interventions against podoconiosis will benefit from household-targeted case tracing. Most importantly, we identified a secular increase in shoe-wearing over recent years, which may give opportunities to promote shoe-wearing without increasing stigma among those at high risk of podoconiosis