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Plant redox homeostasis governs the uptake, toxicity and tolerance mechanism of toxic trace elements and thereby elucidates the remediation potential of a plant. Moreover, plant toxicity/tolerance mechanisms control the trace element compartmentation in edible and non-edible plant organs as well as the associated health hazards. Therefore, it is imperative to unravel the cellular mechanism involved in trace element toxicity and tolerance. The present study investigated the toxicity and tolerance/detoxification mechanisms of four levels of arsenic (As(III): 0, 5, 25 and 125 µM) in Brassica oleracea under hydroponic cultivation. Increasing As levels significantly decreased the pigment contents (up to 68%) of B. oleracea. Plants under As stress showed an increase in H2O2 contents (up to 32%) in roots while a decrease (up to 72%) in leaves because As is mostly retained in plant roots, while less is translocated toward the shoot, as evident from the literature. Arsenic treatments caused lipid peroxidation both in the root and leaf cells. Against As-induced oxidative stress, B. oleracea plants mediated an increase in the activities of peroxidase and catalase. Contradictory, the ascorbate peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities slightly decreased in the As-stressed plants. In conclusion and as evident from the literature data analysis, As exposure (especially high level, 125 µM) caused pigment toxicity and oxidative burst in B. oleracea. The ability of B. oleracea to tolerate As-induced toxicity greatly varied with applied treatment levels (As-125 being more toxic than lower levels), plant organ type (more toxicity in leaves than roots) and physiological response parameter (pigment contents more sensitive than other response variables). Moreover, the multivariate statistical analysis appeared to be a useful method to estimate plant response under stress and trace significant trends in the data set.

Water contamination by arsenic (As) is widespread and is posing serious health threats globally. Hence, As removal techniques/adsorbents need to be explored to minimize potentials hazards of drinking As-contaminated waters. A column scale sorption experiment was performed to assess the potential of three biosorbents (tea waste, wheat straw and peanut shells) to remove As (50, 100, 200 and 400 µg L

Date biochar (DB) was obtained by pyrolyzing date residues at four different temperatures (300, 400, 500, and 600°C referred as DB3; DB4; DB5; and DB6). Three experiments were performed: 1) assessm...

This study focusses on the production of biodiesel by reacting the heterogeneous based nano-catalysts with used cooking oil in the presence of methanol. The CZO nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by co-precipitation method and characterized by different techniques. Biodiesel was characterized by the gas chromatograph (GC) and Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy (FTIR). Optimum conditions for the maximum biodiesel yield (90%) were 0.2% (w/w) catalyst dose, 3:1 methanol to oil ratio, 50 °C reaction temperature, 150 min reaction time and 136 rpm stirring speed. The kinetic modeling and the thermodynamic factors like enthalpy (ΔH), activation energy (Ea), entropy (ΔS) and free energy (ΔG) were operated on all the data. Mean and standard deviation was used for analysis of data. The results indicate the maximum biodiesel yield under the optimum reaction conditions, which is promising to reduce the pollution such as air pollution and greenhouse effect for sustainable environmetal development.

Medicinal plants Ficus religiosa, Citrus paradisi, Vitis vinifera, Ficus benghalensis, Gardenia radicans, Ziziphus Jujuba, Morus alba, Punica granatum, and Psidium guajava were evaluated for their ...

Wastewater treatment coagulation is one of the most important physicochemical operations used in industry. The adsorption capability of marigold leaf powder, tea waste and ferrous sulfate was investigated for domestic and tannery effluents. These adsorbents significantly affected the pH, electrical conductivity (EC) and turbidity of wastewater. Maximum decrease in all the attributes was observed for 10 g of adsorbents application. All the adsorbents significantly affected the physiochemical attributes of both wastewaters. Similarly, maximum adsorption potential was observed in case of tea waste powder. Maximum decrease in all physiochemical attributes such as pH (15%), EC (21%), turbidity (54%), total dissolved solids (TDS; 36%), total suspended solids (TSS; 43%), total hardness (TH; 52%), chloride contents (59%) and phosphate contents (60%) was observed with the application of 10 g of tea waste. Regarding the heavy metals, maximum decrease for cadmium (Cd; 47%), lead (Pb; 81%), arsenic (As; 44%), copper (Cu; 75%), iron (Fe; 49%), chromium (Cr; 68%) and zinc (Zn; 64%) was observed in same treatment. The decreasing order in terms of their adsorption potential for coagulants was tea waste > marigold leaf powder > ferrous sulfate. However, for the wastewater, the maximum effect of adsorbents was observed in case of domestic wastewater as compared to the tannery water. Based on these data, it is suggested that tea waste has maximum adsorption potential for the remediation of wastewater.

In the present investigation, silver nanoparticles were synthesized and a comparative analysis was performed of modified Turkevich and BRUST methods. Silver nitrate precursor was reduced by trisodium citrate dihydrate and ascorbic acid was used as a surfactant. Based on Turkevich and BRUST methods, the process variables, i.e., temperature, reducing agent concentration, stirring speed, mode of injecting reducing agent/precursor to large excess volume of either precursor/reducing agent were studied. The size of the particles was preliminarily ascertained by DLS studies and it was found that modified BRUST method yielded silver nanoparticles with average particle size of 25 nm, while modified Turkevich method furnished nanoparticles with average particle size of 15 nm. The silver nanoparticles were characterized by employing the UV/visible, Zeta sizer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive microscopy (EDX) techniques. Results revealed that the silver nanoparticles size can be controlled by optimizing the conditions of modified Turkevich and BRUST methods.

Insect responses to climate change are vital for knowing the response of agroecosystems to climate change. Although numerous insect species are pests in crops, yet they also play critical roles as parasitoids and predators for other key pest species. Changes in an insect population’s biochemistry, physiology, population dynamics, and biogeography may occur due to alterations in their distribution, among crop types and among the growing seasons . The response of an insect population to a quickly changing climate may also be inconsistent when insects have to interact with diverse competitors, parasitoids, and predators, and impose variable costs at a no. of life stages. The overall influence is on food production systems which can be already at acute risk from the influences of climate change. A significant limitation in improving crop production is the massive yield loss due to diseases, insect pests, and weeds all around the world. An unwise application of pesticides on crops has produced resistance among the insects and other pests and caused a severe effect on the economy of any country. This condition demands the need to endorse the idea of integrated pest management (IPM) among the farmers. IPM techniques are highly environment-sensitive that depend on the reasonable blend of physical, social, and biochemical control strategies utilized to control the pests, to minimize the economic loss and hazardous impact on the environment.

An experiment was conducted in a randomized factorial design with three replicates to elucidate the comparative tolerance of tomato genotypes and hybrids against salinity (NaCl) and nickel ...

In view of promising efficiency of advanced oxidation process (AOP), gamma radiation in combination with H2O2 was employed for the degradation of disperse red 73 (DR73) dye. Cs-137 gamma radiation source was used for dye aqueous solution irradiation. The process variables such as pH (3–9), H2O2 concentration (0.3–0.9 mL), gamma radiation absorbed dose (1–20 kGy) and DR73 initial concentration (50–150 mg/L) were optimized for maximum degradation of dye. The efficiency of AOP was evaluated on the basis of dye degradation, water quality parameters and toxicity reduction. Degradation of DR73 was achieved 69% using gamma radiation absorbed dose of 20 kGy and at the same dose 96.3% degradation was achieved in the presence of 0.9 mL/L H2O2. The dye degradation found to be dependent on dye initial concentration and pH of the medium. The radiolytic progress of DR73 was monitored by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and UV-Visible spectroscopy. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) were reduced significantly in response of treatment of dye at optimum conditions of process variables. The toxicity of treated and un-treated dye solution was monitored by haemolytic and Ames assays. Results revealed that the toxicity of DR73 dye was also reduced significantly after treatment. Findings revealed that the gamma radiation based AOPs are promising and could possibly be used for the remediation of textile wastewater contains toxic dyes.

Plant redox homeostasis governs the uptake, toxicity and tolerance mechanism of toxic trace elements and thereby elucidates the remediation potential of a plant. Moreover, plant toxicity/tolerance mechanisms control the trace element compartmentation in edible and non-edible plant organs as well as the associated health hazards. Therefore, it is imperative to unravel the cellular mechanism involved in trace element toxicity and tolerance. The present study investigated the toxicity and tolerance/detoxification mechanisms of four levels of arsenic (As(III): 0, 5, 25 and 125 µM) in Brassica oleracea under hydroponic cultivation. Increasing As levels significantly decreased the pigment contents (up to 68%) of B. oleracea. Plants under As stress showed an increase in H

The potential of an economically cheap raw material (rice husk) was evaluated in the present study to remove dyes including reactive yellow 15 (RY15) and reactive red 241 (RR241) in single and multi-component systems. The adsorbent was modified and functionalized chemically using glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane, sulfur and silane to enhance the removal efficiency of pollutants. The modified rice husk was evaluated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Batch adsorption study showed that the modified rice husk with silane graft (RHSi) had highest removal efficiency of both dyes with 20% more removal compared to raw rice husk. The sorption correlated well with Langmuir, Freundlich, SIPS and Redlich-Peterson models for adsorption. Highest sorption was obtained at 10 mg L−1 of dye, 50 °C, 200 mg g−1 of adsorbent dose and pH 4. The mixture of two dyes poorly fit to the original Langmuir but fit best to the Langmuir-like model. This indicates that competitive Langmuir-like model considers that the capacities of adsorbents are equal. Results showed that the components compete for the available binding sites on adsorbent surface. It was also indicated that silane grafting can offer comparatively more binding sites compared to the raw rice husk and single-solute isotherm parameters cannot used for multi-component solute system.

Parthenium hysterophorus L. is a noxious annual weed rapidly spreading in cropped areas of the irrigated Punjab and other parts of Pakistan. It has become a major threat to grazing lands and crops in Punjab province. The main objective of this study was to explore the efficacy of different herbicides with various concentrations viz. pendimethalin, S-metolachlor + atrazine, bromoxynil + 2-methyl-4-chloorphenoxyacetic acid, and atrazine at their recommended (407, 711, 445 and 469 g a.i./ha, respectively), 50% lower and 50% higher doses against Parthenium hysterophorus L. Weeds were allowed to grow in a field for three years (2010-2013) where this spring maize experiment was conducted during the years 2013 and 2014. All herbicide treatments at their recommended and higher doses significantly reduced Parthenium dry weight. Minimum density (2.3 and 2.0/m) and dry biomass (39.74 and 43.47 g/m) of parthenium weed was observed with S-metolachlor + atrazine at 711.36 g/ha treatment during 2013 and 2014, respective...

This study focusses on antibacterial properties and wound healing potential of curcumin cross-linked with chitosan-PVA membranes. The crude curcumin was extracted from the rhizome of (Curcumin longa) and chitosan-PVA 80 was also prepared separately. The synergistic potential 10, 20 and 30 mg of curcumin alone and in combination with chitosan-PVA was determined. The antibacterial, scavenging potential of free radical, total phenolic and total flavonoids contents were documented through spectrophotometric methods. Finally, the wound healing potential was tested on experimental animal (rabbits). Rabbits were divided into different groups; untreated (control), treated with 10, 20 and 30 mg of curcumin and its combination with chitosan-PVA80. Chitosan-PVA exhibited significant antibacterial property against bacterial pathogens. Wound healing trials on 2nd degree burns showed chitosan as substantial wound healing agent for wound bandages. Results have shown that chitosan wound gauzes augmented the granule and fibrous connective tissues formation.

Land use/land cover (LULC) change has serious implications for environment as LULC is directly related to land degradation over a period of time and results in many changes in the environment. Monitoring the locations and distributions of LULC changes is important for establishing links between regulatory actions, policy decisions, and subsequent LULC activities. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) has the potential ability to identify the vegetation features of various eco-regions and provides valuable information as a remote sensing tool in studying vegetation phenology cycles. Similarly, the normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) may be used for quoting built-up land. This study aims to detect the pattern of LULC, NDBI, and NDVI change in Lodhran district, Pakistan, from the Landsat images taken over 40 years, considering four major LULC types as follows: water bodies, built-up area, bare soil, and vegetation. Supervised classification was applied to detect LULC changes observed over Lodhran district as it explains the maximum likelihood algorithm in software ERDAS imagine 15. Most farmers (46.6%) perceived that there have been extreme changes of onset of temperature, planting season, and less precipitation amount in Lodhran district in the last few years. In 2017, building areas increased (4.3%) as compared to 1977. NDVI values for Lodhran district were highest in 1977 (up to + 0.86) and lowest in 1997 (up to − 0.33). Overall accuracy for classification was 86% for 1977, 85% for 1987, 86% for 1997, 88% for 2007, and 95% for 2017. LULC change with soil types, temperature, and NDVI, NDBI, and slope classes was common in the study area, and the conversions of bare soil into vegetation area and built-up area were major changes in the past 40 years in Lodhran district. Lodhran district faces rising temperatures, less irrigation water, and low rainfall. Farmers are aware of these climatic changes and are adapting strategies to cope with the effects but require support from government.

A wide gap exists between production and consumption of vegetable oils in Pakistan. Thereby, a significant proportion (2.28 million tons) of vegetable oils is being imported at the cost of 2257 million US$. Therefore, the present study was conducted to quantify the comparative performance of various sunflower hybrids as influenced by various levels of nitrogen (N) fertilizer under different agro-environments. The experimental treatments consisted of three sunflower hybrids (Hysun33, Hysun38, and Pioneer-64A93) and five levels of N fertilizer (0, 60, 120, 180, 240 kg N ha−1), arranged in a randomized complete block design in a split plot with four replications. The field trials were conducted for two consecutive crop seasons under three different agro-ecologies (arid, semi-arid, and sub-humid) in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. The results of the study demonstrated that the productivity of sunflower hybrids varied greatly in response to N fertilization and different ecologies. Maximum achene yiel...

Ecological and human health risks associated with Ni-affected soils are one of the major attention seeking issues nowadays. The current investigation is based on the usage of biochar (BR), chitosan (CN), bentonite (BE), and their mixture to immobilize Ni in a Ni-polluted soil and accordingly contracted Ni distribution in lentil plant parts, improved grain nutritional quality, antioxidant defense system, and soil enzymatic activities. The soil was initially amended with CN, BE, and BR and later lentil was grown in this soil in pots. Results depicted the highest significance of BE+CN treatment in terms of reducing the Ni distribution in the roots, shoots, grain, and DTPA-extractable fractions, relative to control treatment. Contrarily, the BR+CN treatment displayed the minimum oxidative stress and the utmost plant growth, chlorophyll contents in the leaves, relative water content (RWC), micronutrient concentrations, and grain biochemistry. The BR+CN indicated the highest activities of soil enzymes. Based on the results, we recommend BE+CN treatment to reduce the Ni distribution in the lentil plant. Although, improvement in plant growth, grain quality, soil enzymes, and a significant reduction in plant oxidative stress can only be gained with BR+CN.

Abiotic stresses are taken as the major limitations to crop productivity worldwide. Different types of abiotic stress like drought stress, salinity stress, heavy metal stress, cold stress, and heat stress have negative impacts on different growth and morphological aspects in rice plants. These conditions have been intensified due to the drastic fluctuations in global climate. Drought and heat are considered as the most significant types among all stresses that have the most negative impacts on growth, morphological, biological, biochemical, and physiological characterizes of rice plant. Abiotic stresses affect 70% of rice crops by disturbing seed germination, young seedling, root and shoot length and height, flowering, grain filling, maturity, harvesting and ultimately the final yield of rice crop. So, it is important to recognize the growth and morphological interventions associated with abiotic stresses for better management in the agricultural sector. This chapter provides a comprehensive interpretation of plant responses to drought, salinity, heavy metal, cold, and heat stresses with special focus on effects of these stresses on different growth and morphological changes.

Paddy soils have a heterogenous nature, with complex physico-chemical interactions and varying soil characteristics. Paddy soils remain flooded and are considered as rich sources of nutrients for plant growth. The nutrient levels mostly depend on different management practices, such as fertilizer application, irrigation, and tillage, and the movement of nutrients in the soils. These paddy soils normally show less movement of applied nutrients out of the medium than other soils, because of stagnant water that reduces the mobility rate. Paddy soils can become polluted by anthropogenic practices such as the use of sewage wastewater; industrial wastewater containing heavy metals; fertilizers; and pesticides, and the leakage of petrochemicals. Some natural pollutants can be oxidized by microbial activity, but most pollutants do not undergo biotic and chemical degradation. Inorganic (heavy metals) and organic pollutants (polychlorinated biphenyls, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, and polychlorinated dibenzofurans) are the major types of pollutants in paddy soils. The numerous organic and inorganic pollutants resulting from anthropogenic activities can remain for long periods in nature and can be transported over long distances. In particular, organic pollutants can be bioaccumulated and biomagnified, thus reaching high levels that can be dangerous for human wellbeing and biological communities. Inorganic pollutants such as the heavy metals Pb, Cr, As, Zn, Cd, Cu, Hg, and Ni cause hazards for human health, for plants, for animals, and for the fertility status of the soil. These heavy metals are common pollutants in paddy soil and they bioaccumulate; in this way the concentrations of these pollutants increase in living systems, owing to their retention rates being higher than their discharge rates in these systems. The fate of these pollutants depends on their bioavailability, degradation by microorganisms, adsorption, desorption, leaching, and runoff. The transport and degradation of these pollutants in paddy soils and groundwater results in contamination. The physico-chemical characteristics of the paddy soil framework; for example, the water content, soil organic matter, presence of clay, and pH, influence the sorption or desorption and degradation of pollutants and also influence leaching to the groundwater and runoff to surface waters. The translocation of natural pesticides in paddy soils depends upon the ionic or neutral behavior of the soil constituents, on the pesticides’ solubility in water, extremity on the substance, and the colloidal nature of the paddy soils.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were immobilized on polyurethane foam (PUF) and employed for the degradation of Acid black 1 dye (AB1). The ZnO/PUF was characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) techniques. Process variables i.e., dye concentration, pH, concentration of H2O2, irradiation time were optimized for maximum degradation of dye. ZnO/PUF showed promising efficiency for the degradation of AB1 dye and up to 86% and 65% dye degradation was achieved under UV and solar light irradiation at neutral pH, 4% H2O2, 240 min/sunlight and 75 min/UV irradiation time using 40 mg l−1 dye initial concentration. The optimum conditions were applied for the treatment of textile wastewater and biological oxygen demand (BOD) and total organic carbon (TOC) were reduced up to 70% and 80%, respectively. In view of promising photocatalytic activity (PCA), ZnO/PUF could possibly be used for the treatment of wastewater contains dyes.

Etching/hydrogen termination of All-(111) surface silicon nanowire field effect (SiNW-FET) devices developed by conventional photolithography and plane dependent wet etchings is studied with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and electrical and electrochemical measurements. All measurements were carried out before and after etching with 1% HF, 40% NH4F, and 40% NH4F (N2) solutions and ozone surface treatments. AFM studies showed higher etching rates for the apex of the triangular nanowires. Stability of as prepared hydrogen terminated SiNW-FET surfaces and their electrical conductivity were considered. Surface etched devices were operated efficiently in an aqueous 0.02 M KCl solution within a small potential window and a reference electrode was found to be essential. Retention of surface positive charges and inversion of p-type to n-type device character have been discussed.

Seedling emergence and seedling establishment are twoimportant phases for the good crop stand and final maize crop harvest. A fieldstudy was conducted to explore the effects of different tillage practices andpoultry manure levels on the seedling emergence, growth, development, yield,and economics of the spring planted maize during 2010 and 2011. Experimentaltreatments include four tillage treatments (zero, minimum, conventional anddeep tillage) and three poultry manure amendments (control (no manure), 5 Mg·ha-1 and 10 Mg·ha-1). Seedling emergence was linearly affected as thetillage intensity was increased. Significant relationship of tillage with leafarea index, leaf area duration, crop growth rate, net assimilation rate andtotal dry matter was recorded during the both years. Poultry manure at the rateof 10 Mg·ha-1 produced the higher leaf area index, leaf areaduration, crop growth rate, total dry matter and grain yield as compared to 5 Mg·ha-1 and control. Moreover, experimental results concluded that the deep tillagepractice has taken less time to start emergence. Similarly, higher values trendof leaf area index, leaf area duration, crop growth rate, total dry matteraccumulation and grain yield was shifted from deep tillage to conventional, minimumand zero tillage practices during both years. Economically, the minimum tillagewith poultry manure at rate of 10 Mg·ha-1 gave the better benefit tocost ratio and crop productivity as compared to conventional, deep and zerotillage. The experiment suggested the minimum tillage with poultry manure atthe rate of 10 Mg·ha-1 may ensure the maize grain yieldsustainability.

Purpose The present research aimed to assess the influence of two phosphorous (P) amendments on metal speciation in rhizosphere soil and the soil–plant transfer of metals.

Contamination by chlorophenols of surface water and groundwater is an emerging issue in environmental science and engineering. After their usage as pesticide, herbicide and disinfectant, these organic compounds subsequently enter the aquatic environment through a number of routes. Some of the chlorophenols are slightly biodegradable, while others are more persistent and mobile in the aquatic environment especially chlorophenols. Gamma radiolytic degradation is one of advance oxidation process that has been thought to be one of the promising treatments to deal with this problem. This radiolytic study was carried out in methanolic 4-CP (4-chlorophenol) samples. Among several factors effecting radiolytic degradation of 4-CP, dose and concentration are important that were evaluated under atmospheric conditions. A degradation yield (G –value) for 4-CP of 0.38 and 1.35 was achieved in 20 and 100mg/dm3 solution. It was observed that degradation yield decreases with increasing 4-CP concentration. Gamma radiolysis produce free radicals in solvent which further react with 4-CP molecules to generate different products. The identification of degradation products was proposed using HPLC and GC-MS.

A new method for selective surface functionalization of silicon with a silicon-nitrogen bonded (Si-N) monolayer and subsequent bioimmobilization is presented. The Si-N monolayer was studied using Xray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fluorescence spectroscopy, and capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements using an electrolyte insulator semiconductor (EIS) sensor. A symmetric ethylene diamine (EDA, C2H4 (NH2)(2)) molecule was used as a precursor compound for monolayer formation in an inert environment in the liquid phase. XPS results show the attachment of EDA molecules proceeds via dissociative and dative bond formation whereas free amine groups on the surface were used for further immobilization of biomolecules. SEM shows selective functionalization and bioimmobilization on a patterned surface such as a silicon nanowire on silicon oxide substrate. Biosensing experiments with bioimmobilized surfaces were carried out in aqueous buffer and show high sensitivity for biosensing. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Picture Archiving and Communication System(PACS) is responsible for storing Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) images fromradiology modalities into its database, images takes a lot of time to transfer to remote location through WAN due to large file size and slow transfer protocol. A PACS alternative system has been developed which performs basic functions of a generic PACS. Images directly from modalities are large in size by default transfer syntax of these images is Endian Explicit syntax. Changing this transfer syntax to lossless JPEG 2000 decreases the file size and because of lossless compression quality of image is still same as original image. These compressed images are then copied into Network Attached Storage working as PACS alternative. A series of test conducted in lab with multiple transfer protocol on Network Attached Storage (NAS) to find out which transfer protocol is faster under moderate speed and high latency network.