Evaluation of Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) as a tool to monitor pollution and green belt development: A review

Air pollution is a global phenomenon arising out of the unsustainable, unplanned and rapid develop-ment. The quality of air is deteriorating day by day because of rising concentrations of various gases in the atmos-phere. Presently, no such system has been developed ever that completely eliminates air pollutants, but nature has created many systems to deal with the harmful results of different anthropogenic activities up to a certain limit. Some plants can survive well with higher pollutant concentrations and act as pollution scavenger. Green plants act as a sink and filter to minimize air pollution by absorption, adsorption, detoxification, accumulation and/or metabolization without sustaining serious decline in growth, thus improving air quality by providing oxygen to the atmosphere. The plants which can withstand higher pollutant concentrations can serve as tolerant species and may be suggested to act as pollution scavengers. In the present study the air pollution tolerance index of some plants has been reviewed which are widely distributed throughout India and may prove helpful for the abatement of elevated air pollution levels such as Mangifera indica, Azardirachta indica, Saraca indica, Ficus religiosa, Ficus benghalensis, Shorea robusta and Bougainvillea spp. The wild indigenous species are superior performers in air pollution reduction as compared to the cultivated non indigenous species. The screening out of tolerant plant species from the sensitive ones can provide a database which may help landscapers to design green belts around industries and National Highways

Effect of wheat straw and FYM on growth and reproduction of Eisenia fetida during vermicomposting

Rapid growth of urbanization and industrialization has led to generation of large quantities of wastes. Major portion of organic waste is burned or dumped, creating huge amount of pollutants. The best possible alternative to reduce these pollutants is through vermicomposting. This experiment was done to investigate the effect of wheat straw and FYM (farm yard manure) in different combinations of 1:1, 1:1/2 and control on biological parameters viz., mean initial weight (mg/worm), maximum weight achieved (mg/worm), net weight gain (mg/worm), growth rate (mg/worm/day), duration of life cycle (in days), initiation of cocoon production (in days), total number of cocoons produced (in days), initiation of hatching (in days), hatching per cocoon, cocoons produced per worm, cocoons produced per day and period for vermicomposting along with physico-chemical parameters of vermicompost viz., pH,EC (dS m-1), nitrogen (kg/ha), phosphorous (kg/ha), potassium (kg/ha) and organic carbon (%). The study revealed that maximum period required for Eisenia fetida to complete its life cycle was 59.33±0.39 days in 1:1 combination (wheat straw: FYM), 62.33± 0.29 days in 1:1/2 combination (wheat straw: FYM) and 66±0.77days in control. Net weight gain and growth rate was higher in 1:1 combination. Initiation of cocoon production (23.66±0.14 ) and hatching (21±0.25) was recorded to be early in 1:1 combination. Total number of cocoons produced, cocoons produced per day and cocoons produced per worm was also higher in 1:1 combination. At the end, ready vermicompost showed decreased level of pH, EC, OC and increased level of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content. The maximum significant results were obtained in 1:1 combination. In 1:1 combination decrease in pH, EC and OC was 11.09 %, 41.45 % and 59.55 %, respectively and increase in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium was 250.84 %, 216.12 % and 168.75 %, respectively. Results indicate that E. fetida in 1:1 combination is more suitable for bioconversion of organic residues into useful manure due to its high growth, reproduction and nutritive potential

Comparison of stressful life events among family caregivers of cancer, mental retardation and schizophrenia patients leading to stress, anxiety and depression and its effect on quality of life

Background: Mental retardation (MR), schizophrenia and cancer are chronic disorders, requiring long term treatment along with family support. Principal caregiver is usually nonprofessional family person who play a pivotal role in supporting the patient medically, emotionally and financially which in turn affects their own health and quality of life. To identify stressful life events, level of anxiety, stress, depression and Quality of life in these family caregivers (FC), this study was planned.Methods: After gaining consent, the FC were assessed on Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale (PSLE), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS) and WHO Quality of Life -Bref Scale (WHOQOL-Bref). Data so gained was analyzed by SPSS-21 and results were drawn.Results: 66 FC of cancer patients, 39 FC of MR patients and 53 FC of Schizophrenia patients were assessed. All three groups were found to be matched socio-demographically. On PSLE Mean of total stressful life events for cancer FC was 7±1.5, for MR 6.02±1.5 and for schizophrenia FC was 5.75±1.70 and this difference was statistically significant. Mean of total undesirable life events was 5.31±1.3, 4.33±1.34 and 3.86±1.46 respectively and this difference was also statistically significant. Similarly difference in mean stress score of total life events and for undesirable events was also statistically significant. On DASS scale no statistically significant difference was found within the groups. Quality of life was significantly low depicting high impact on physical health and social life of these care givers.Conclusions: Family Caregivers of cancer, mental retardation and schizophrenia groups are highly affected and there is urgent need to address these issues for early diagnosis and treatment

Otkrivanje i analiza varijacija u otpornosti na antibiotike među izolatima bakterije Staphylococcus aureus životinja i ljudi

In consideration of the importance of Staphylococcus aureus regarding its contribution to antibiotic resistance, the present study was designed to find variability among S. aureus isolates in relation to their multidrug resistance patterns. A total of 157 species-specific 23S rRNA based confirmed S. aureus isolates from various clinical and non- clinical animal sources (cattle, buffalo, goat, sheep, dog, camel, pig and horse), human and pieces of meat from butcher shops were included in the present study. Overall more than 95% isolates were recorded resistant to ampicillin and penicillin-G, while approximately 100% isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol, meropenem and nitrofurantoin. The isolates from different sources showed highly significant (P≤0.01) variation in their resistance patterns for 39 antibiotics, significant variation (P≤0.05) for levofloxacin and nitrofurantoin, and no significant variation (P>0.05) for clindamycin. In Bonferroni correction, human isolates were significantly variable with a P˂0.0001 probability level of variance in relation to other pieces of meat and animal origin sources for most of the antibiotics. Human isolates had the highest (0.40) MAR index. A highly significant difference was observed in the antibiogram pattern between different sources of S. aureus, which may indicate the pattern and frequency of use of various antibiotics in humans and animals.S obzirom na važnost bakterije Staphylococcus aureus u smislu otpornosti na antibiotike, cilj je ovog istraživanja bio otkriti varijacije među njezinim izolatima s obzirom na rezistenciju prema brojnim lijekovima. Istraživanje je obuhvatilo ukupno 157 vrsno specifičnih 23S rRNA S. aureus izolata iz različitih kliničkih i nekliničkih izvora životinja (goveda, bivoli, koze, ovce, psi, deve, svinje i konji), ljudi i mesa iz mesnica. Zabilježeno je više od 95 % izolata otpornih na ampicilin i penicilin-G dok je gotovo 100 % izolata bilo osjetljivo na kloramfenikol, meropenem i nitrofurantoin. Izolati iz različitih izvora pokazali su znakovite varijacije (P ≤ 0,01) u rezistenciji na 39 antibiotika, znakovite varijacije (P ≤ 0,05) za levofloksacin i nitrofurantoin, no nije bilo znakoviith varijacija (P > 0,05) za klindamicin. Primjenom Bonferronijeve korekcije izolati iz ljudi bili su znakovito različiti (P ˂ 0,0001) u odnosu na uzorke iz mesa i drugih izvora animalnog podrijetla za većinu antibiotika. Izolati podrijetlom od ljudi imali su najviši MAR indeks (0,40). Uočena je vrlo znakovita razlika u antibiogramima među različitim izvorima bakterije S. aureus što može uputiti na način i učestalost primjene različitih antibiotika u ljudi i životinja

ASSESSMENT OF IONIZED CALCIUM STATUS IN FEBRILE SEIZURES

Introduction: Epilepsy is one of the most common disorders of the brain1. One of every ten people will have at least one epileptic seizure during a normal lifespan, and a third of these will develop epilepsy. In children the most common forms of convulsion are febrile seizures. Water electrolyte imbalance occurs during acute febrile illness and hypocalcaemia is one of them. Hypocalcaemia is also present in cases of seizures. To find out significance of calcium levels in cases of seizures this study was conducted. Aims and objectives: To assess the level of ionized calcium in cases of febrile seizure. Methods: This Case - Control study was conducted on fifty cases of febrile seizures and fifty age, weight matched controls at Department of Biochemistry, Varun Arjun Medical College, Shahjahanpur,U.P., India. Results: Mean ionized calcium level was 4.62 ±0.26mg/dl and 4.88 ±0.27 mg/dl in study and control groups respectively and this difference was found statistically highly significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: The findings suggest that a considerable percentage of children having febrile seizures suffer from calcium deficiency

ASSESSMENT OF IONIZED CALCIUM STATUS IN FEBRILE SEIZURES

Introduction: Epilepsy is one of the most common disorders of the brain1. One of every ten people will have at least one epileptic seizure during a normal lifespan, and a third of these will develop epilepsy. In children the most common forms of convulsion are febrile seizures. Water electrolyte imbalance occurs during acute febrile illness and hypocalcaemia is one of them. Hypocalcaemia is also present in cases of seizures. To find out significance of calcium levels in cases of seizures this study was conducted. Aims and objectives: To assess the level of ionized calcium in cases of febrile seizure. Methods: This Case - Control study was conducted on fifty cases of febrile seizures and fifty age, weight matched controls at Department of Biochemistry, Varun Arjun Medical College, Shahjahanpur,U.P., India. Results: Mean ionized calcium level was 4.62 ±0.26mg/dl and 4.88 ±0.27 mg/dl in study and control groups respectively and this difference was found statistically highly significant (p<0.001). Conclusion: The findings suggest that a considerable percentage of children having febrile seizures suffer from calcium deficiency

Preparation and tensile properties of guar gum hydrogel films

Guar gum hydrogels may be dried to form polymer films which have the potential for use as biodegradable alternatives to polymers such as low-density polyethylene. In this study, the tensile strength and tensile modulus of guar gel films having moisture contents ranging between 15% and 18% (wet basis) were measured at a strain rate of 1 mm min⁻¹. Mean tensile strengths of the films ranged between 25 MPa and 40 MPa (dependent on composition) which is of similar magnitude to the tensile strength data for polyethylene and cellophane that are reported in the literature. The mean tensile modulus of the films (1.5–2.5 GPa) was higher than the tensile modulus values reported for low-density polyethylene but comparable to those for cellophane (3 GPa)

Recent Advancements in Electrochemical Conversion of Carbon Dioxide

Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide into eco-friendly and clean products is a promising approach to eradicate pollution. Although carbon dioxide emission is inhibited by the advent of renewable sources of energy, it is present in the atmosphere and needs to be cleaned. The reduction of carbon dioxide from atmospheric gases can be accomplished by its adsorption and subsequent transportation to electrolytic chambers, where it is reduced to hydrocarbons, organic acids or carbonates. This review focuses on developing a three compartment electrochemical cell to reduce carbon dioxide used as a catholyte. Various factors affecting the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide and recent advancements in this field are deliberated