Scenario of heavy metal contamination in agricultural soil and its management

Soil is a complex structure and contains mainly five major components i.e. mineral matter, water, air, organic matter and living organisms. The quantity of these components in the soil does not remain the same but varies with the locality. Soil possesses not only a nucleus position for existence of living being but also ensures their future existence. Therefore, it is essential to make an adequate land management to maintain the quality of soil in both rural and urban soil. The presence of different kinds of heavy metals such as Cd, Cu, Mn, Bi and Zn etc. in trace or in minimum level is a natural phenomenon but their enhanced level is an indicator of the degree of pollution load in that specific area. The precise knowledge of these kinds of heavy metals, their forms and their dependence on soil provides a genuine base for soil management. The heavy metals have potent cumulative properties and toxicity due to which they have a potential hazardous effect not only on crop plants but also on human health. The metal contaminants can be reduced by immobilization of contaminants using macrophytes and also by using genetically engineered microorganisms

Rich dynamics of an SIR epidemic model

This paper aims to study an SIR epidemic model with an asymptotically homogeneous transmission function. The stability of the disease-free and the endemic equilibrium is addressed. Numerical simulations are carried out. Implications of our analytical and numerical findings are discussed critically

Study of algal flora of Navapur, District Nandurbar,Maharashtra, India.

The river Rangawali from Navapur of Nandurbar district ( the district Nandurbar formerly known as west Khandesh lies in upper Tapi basin in the North-West corner of Maharashtra) was selected for taxonomical enumeration of algae. Algal samples were collected from five stations of Rangawali river for a period of one year (October 2006- September 2007). In this communication chlorophyceae is studied taxonomically. 27 species belonging to 10 genera were recorded. Genus Scenedesmus was observed dominant. This is first report from this rural area of Khandesh of Maharashtra

The in vivo Effect of Ultraviolet Irradiation (290-350 nm) on Epidermal Chromatin

In vivo ultraviolet radiation (290-350 nm, 800 J/m2 ) in the absence of any exogenously added sensitizer induced oross-ltnkirng of DNA to protein in chromatin isolated from guinea pig epidermis. The chemical properties and the biologic activity of epidermal chromatin isolated from both irradiated and non-irradiated specimens were examined. One hour post-irradiation the lesion was no more detectable, indicating that a repair process was effective 1n the viable mammalian epidermis

The in vivo Effect of Ultraviolet Irradiation (290-350 nm) on Epidermal Chromatin

In vivo ultraviolet radiation (290-350 nm, 800 J/m2 ) in the absence of any exogenously added sensitizer induced oross-ltnkirng of DNA to protein in chromatin isolated from guinea pig epidermis. The chemical properties and the biologic activity of epidermal chromatin isolated from both irradiated and non-irradiated specimens were examined. One hour post-irradiation the lesion was no more detectable, indicating that a repair process was effective 1n the viable mammalian epidermis

The Mechanism Design Approach to Student Assignment

The mechanism design approach to student assignment involves the theoretical, empirical, and experimental study of systems used to allocate students into schools around the world. Recent practical experience designing systems for student assignment has raised new theoretical questions for the theory of matching and assignment. This article reviews some of this recent literature, highlighting how issues from the field motivated theoretical developments and emphasizing how the dialogue may be a road map for other areas of applied mechanism design. Finally, it concludes with some open questions.National Science Foundation (U.S.

Massive Subcutaneous Emphysema, Pneumothorax and Pneumoscrotum: Diagnostic Dilemma on Autopsy

Background: Subcutaneous emphysema is when gas or air in the layer under the skin. It literally means trapped air in the tissues beneath skin. It has characteristic crackling feel to touch, a sensation that has been described as similar to touching to Rice Krispies; this sensations under skin is called as subcutaneous crepitation.Case Report: A 50-years old male sustained injuries allegedly as a result of vehicular accident and was taken to a nearby private hospital. He was intubated there and then referred to a tertiary care hospital. He succumbed to death during transportation and was declared as brought dead on arrival. His body was brought for autopsy.Conclusion: There was massive subcutaneous emphysema, pneumothorax and pneumoscrotum. Their origin created a dilemma on autopsy due to various reasons. It is discussed in detail and tried to track the origin

Evaluation of polycaprolactone matrices for the intravaginal delivery of metronidazole in the treatment of bacterial vaginosis

Microporous, poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) matrices loaded with the antibacterial, metronidazole were produced by rapidly cooling suspensions of drug powder in PCL solutions in acetone. Drug incorporation in the matrices increased from 2.0% to 10.6% w/w on raising the drug loading of the PCL solution from 5% to 20% w/w measured with respect to the PCL content. Drug loading efficiencies of 40-53% were obtained. Rapid 'burst release' of 35-55% of the metronidazole content was recorded over 24 h when matrices were immersed in simulated vaginal fluid (SVF), due to the presence of large amounts of drug on matrix surface as revealed by Raman microscopy. Gradual release of around 80% of the drug content occurred over the following 12 days. Metronidazole released from PCL matrices in SVF retained antimicrobial activity against Gardnerella vaginalis in vitro at levels up to 97% compared to the free drug. Basic modelling predicted that the concentrations of metronidazole released into vaginal fluid in vivo from a PCL matrix in the form of an intravaginal ring would exceed the minimum inhibitory concentration of metronidazole against G. vaginalis. These findings recommend further investigation of PCL matrices as intravaginal devices for controlled delivery of metronidazole in the treatment and prevention of bacterial vaginosis

Global genetic variation of select opiate metabolism genes in self-reported healthy individuals

CYP2D6 is a key pharmacogene encoding an enzyme impacting poor, intermediate, extensive and ultrarapid phase I metabolism of many marketed drugs. The pharmacogenetics of opiate drug metabolism is particularly interesting due to the relatively high incidence of addiction and overdose. Recently, trans-acting opiate metabolism and analgesic response enzymes (UGT2B7, ABCB1, OPRM1 and COMT) have been incorporated into pharmacogenetic studies to generate more comprehensive metabolic profiles of patients. With use of massively parallel sequencing, it is possible to identify additional polymorphisms that fine tune, or redefine, previous pharmacogenetic findings, which typically rely on targeted approaches. The 1000 Genomes Project data were analyzed to describe population genetic variation and statistics for these five genes in self-reported healthy individuals in five global super- and 26 sub-populations. Findings on the variation of these genes in various populations expand baseline understanding of pharmacogenetically relevant polymorphisms for future studies of affected cohorts.Peer reviewe