Mapping the scarcity of data on antibiotics in natural and engineered water environments across India

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing public health concern, increasingly recognized as a silent pandemic across the globe. Therefore, it is important to monitor all factors that could contribute to the emergence, maintenance and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Environmental antibiotic pollution is thought to be one of the contributing factors. India is one of the world’s largest consumers and producers of antibiotics. Hence, antibiotics have been detected in different environments across India, sometimes at very high concentrations due to their extensive use in humans and agriculture or due to manufacturing. We summarize the current state of knowledge on the occurrence and transport pathways of antibiotics in Indian water environments, including sewage or wastewater and treatment plants, surface waters such as rivers, lakes, and reservoirs as well as groundwater and drinking water. The factors influencing the distribution of antibiotics in the water environment, such as rainfall, population density and variations in sewage treatment are discussed, followed by existing regulations and policies aimed at the mitigation of environmental antimicrobial resistance in India, which will have global benefits. Then, we recommend directions for future research, development of standardized methods for monitoring antibiotics in water, ecological risk assessment, and exploration of strategies to prevent antibiotics from entering the environment. Finally, we provide an evaluation of how scarce the data is, and how a systematic understanding of the occurrence and concentrations of antibiotics in the water environment in India could be achieved. Overall, we highlight the urgent need for sustainable solutions to monitor and mitigate the impact of antibiotics on environmental, animal, and public health

DataSheet_1_Mapping the scarcity of data on antibiotics in natural and engineered water environments across India.zip

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing public health concern, increasingly recognized as a silent pandemic across the globe. Therefore, it is important to monitor all factors that could contribute to the emergence, maintenance and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Environmental antibiotic pollution is thought to be one of the contributing factors. India is one of the world’s largest consumers and producers of antibiotics. Hence, antibiotics have been detected in different environments across India, sometimes at very high concentrations due to their extensive use in humans and agriculture or due to manufacturing. We summarize the current state of knowledge on the occurrence and transport pathways of antibiotics in Indian water environments, including sewage or wastewater and treatment plants, surface waters such as rivers, lakes, and reservoirs as well as groundwater and drinking water. The factors influencing the distribution of antibiotics in the water environment, such as rainfall, population density and variations in sewage treatment are discussed, followed by existing regulations and policies aimed at the mitigation of environmental antimicrobial resistance in India, which will have global benefits. Then, we recommend directions for future research, development of standardized methods for monitoring antibiotics in water, ecological risk assessment, and exploration of strategies to prevent antibiotics from entering the environment. Finally, we provide an evaluation of how scarce the data is, and how a systematic understanding of the occurrence and concentrations of antibiotics in the water environment in India could be achieved. Overall, we highlight the urgent need for sustainable solutions to monitor and mitigate the impact of antibiotics on environmental, animal, and public health.</p

Studies on Inter-traits Relationship and Path Co-efficient for Fruit Yield and its Related Traits in Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duch ex. Poir)

In the summer of 2019, a field experiment was carried out at the Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology of&nbsp;Main Experiment Station in Kumarganj, Ayodhya (U.P), India. The research material consisted of twenty-eight genotypes, including three standard checks viz., Azad Kaddu, Arka Chandan, and Pusa Vikash, conducted in a Completely Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three independent replications. The germplasm of pumpkin was collected from different sources to study path co-efficient analysis of different characters on fruit yield per plant at the phenotypic and genotypic levels for different quantitative traits. The path co-efficient analysis revealed that the highly positive direct contribution towards fruit yield came from average fruit weight (0.781) followed by the number of fruit per plant (0.750) but also as well as fruit equatorial circumference (0.021) and flesh thickness (0.048) was exerted a positive direct effect on fruit yield per plant and these traits might be considered as a high yield symbols of pumpkin and might be used as selection criteria in the breeding program to improve the yield in pumpkin

Detoxification of toxic nerve agent sarin utilizing cupric oxide functionalized activated carbon fabric composite for advanced NBC Protective Clothing

This investigation delves into the development of cupric oxide functionalized activated carbon fabrics (ACF@CuO) as a filter material for self-decontaminating protective clothing designed to counter chemical warfare agents (CWAs). Three variants of samples were developed by controlling functionalization levels (7.5%, 13.0%, 16.0% w/w) through optimized precursor concentrations, integrating CuO particles onto ACF surfaces. Comprehensive analysis using techniques like FTIR, BET surface area, SEM, EDX, STEM, XRD, TGA, and XPS explored the material’s properties. The studies concentrated on evaluating the performance through kinetic studies of self-detoxification of CWA Sarin (GB) using developed ACF@CuO materials analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). ACF@CuO with 16% w/w functionalization exhibited superior self-decontamination against GB, achieving 92.87% efficiency within 18 hours, in contrast to 26.55% for ACF alone. Additionally, materials were tested for tensile strength, air-permeability, and Sulfur Mustard breakthrough time (HDBTT) as per IS 17377:2020 standard. The material with 13% w/w functionalization emerged as the recommended filter layer for CWA protective clothing designed for defense and civilian safety applications. The significant improvements in the self-decontamination efficiency of the material were attributed to the synergistic effects of ACF’s adsorption capabilities combined with the decontamination properties of CuO rod-shaped crystals embedded in the surface of ACF.</p