Search

Iron-steel (IS) and textile (T) are among the major polluting industries worldwide which generate large quantities of effluents containing potentially toxic metals (PTMs). Irrigation application of these effluents due to freshwater shortage is a common practice in developing countries. The current research endeavors to investigate potentially toxic metals in IS and T effluents, contamination status and ecological risk assessment of irrigated soils, PTMs accumulation in grains of diverse wheat germplasm and human health risk appraisal. Soil irrigation with effluents significantly enhanced soil nitrate-nitrogen (T, 285.86 mg/kg; IS, 539.70 mg/kg), phosphorus (T, 8.35 mg/kg; IS, 11.44 mg/kg), organic matter (T, 6.05%; IS, 4.48%) and PTMs contents compared to control (C). Enrichment factor and geo-accumulation index revealed substantial contamination trend of PTMs in IS (Ni > Cr > Co > Cd > Pb > Zn > Mn) and T (Co > Cd > Ni > Cu > Cr) treated soils. Potential ecological risk index and modified potential ecological risk index placed T (very high risk) and IS (considerable risk) irrigated soils in respective categories, with highest risk contributions from Cd, Co and Ni. The interactive effects for PTMs accumulation in grains of 30 wheat genotypes were recorded significant. Average PTMs accumulation in grains for the three irrigation treatments was IS > T > C for Zn, Cr, Mn, Pb, Fe, Ni and T > IS > C for Co, Cd, Cu. Multivariate statistical analysis (principal component analyses) was used to identify the wheat genotypes with higher or lower grain PTMs accumulative potential on effluent irrigation. The genotypes with a lower grain PTMs accumulation and human health risks are recommended for cultivation in agro-systems receiving IS and T effluents, in order to safeguard wheat crop and human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous systems and phenomena that appear to fluctuate randomly are mathematically modeled using stochastic processes. In this paper stochastic Phi-4 equation is considered with the multiplicative Wiener process that represents the temporal change of fluctuations. In particle and nuclear physics, the stochastic Phi-4 equation appears to be crucial. Stochastic phenomena represent the microscopic randomness of the nuclear particle. The extended sinh-Gordon expansion approach is used to study the stochastic model in terms of Itô formulation. With the use of this method, variety of solutions from important physical prospectives, such as dark, bright, singular, and periodic solitons has been examined, Furthermore, based on the Itô, the impact of the noise term on Brownian motion is examined. Both 2D and 3D graphs are used to show the impact of the noise term on the obtained soliton solutions. The computations and outcomes demonstrate the method's importance, precision, and effectiveness. Numerous robust nonlinear stochastic differential equations from mathematics, physics, and other relevant domains can be resolved using this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change strongly influences the available water resources in a watershed due to direct linkage of atmospheric driving forces and changes in watershed hydrological processes. Understanding how these climatic changes affect watershed hydrology is essential for human society and environmental processes. Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) dataset of three GCM's (BCC-CSM2-MR, INM-CM5-0, and MPI-ESM1-2-HR) with resolution of 100 km has been analyzed to examine the projected changes in temperature and precipitation over the Astore catchment during 2020–2070. Bias correction method was used to reduce errors. In this study, statistical significance of trends was performed by using the Man- Kendall test. Sen's estimator determined the magnitude of the trend on both seasonal and annual scales at Rama Rattu and Astore stations. MPI-ESM1-2-HR showed better results with coefficient of determination (COD) ranging from 0.70–0.74 for precipitation and 0.90–0.92 for maximum and minimum temperature at Astore, Rama, and Rattu followed by INM-CM5-0 and BCC-CSM2-MR. University of British Columbia Watershed model was used to attain the future hydrological series and to analyze the hydrological response of Astore River Basin to climate change. Results revealed that by the end of the 2070s, average annual precipitation is projected to increase up to 26.55% under the SSP1–2.6, 6.91% under SSP2–4.5, and decrease up to 21.62% under the SSP5–8.5. Precipitation also showed considerable variability during summer and winter. The projected temperature showed an increasing trend that may cause melting of glaciers. The projected increase in temperature ranges from - 0.66°C to 0.50°C, 0.9°C to 1.5°C and 1.18°C to 2°C under the scenarios of SSP1–2.6, SSP2–4.5 and SSP5–8.5, respectively. Simulated streamflows presented a slight increase by all scenarios. Maximum streamflow was generated under SSP5–8.5 followed by SSP2–4.5 and SSP1–2.6. The snowmelt and groundwater contributions to streamflow have decreased whereas rainfall and glacier melt components have increased on the other hand. The projected streamflows (2020–2070) compared to the control period (1990–2014) showed a reduction of 3%–11%, 2%–9%, and 1%–7% by SSP1–2.6, SSP2–4.5, and SSP5–8.5, respectively. The results revealed detailed insights into the performance of three GCMs, which can serve as a blueprint for regional policymaking and be expanded upon to establish adaption measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant-derived smoke (PDS) is an emerging area of interest for research in plant growth during stress conditions. Two wheat varieties (NARC 2011 and NARC 2009) were imbibed in different dilutions of PDS solution and were subjected to salinity (50 mM and 100 mM NaCl). Among all three concentrations (1:100, 1:250, and 1:500), the PDS solution 1:500 has shown improvement in germination, morphological, physiological, and biochemical attributes. It has shown an increase in germination percentage by 48.9% and 27.7% at 50 mM and 100 mM salinity, respectively. Similar results were observed among plant physiological attributes (i.e., relative water content, leaf water potential, leaf osmotic potential, membrane stability index, leaf chlorophyll contents, ionic contents) and biochemical parameters (i.e., proline contents, free amino acid, soluble sugar, protein contents). Among antioxidants enzyme assay, superoxide dismutase activity has shown a reduction of 14.02% and 10.5% at 50 mM and 100 mM NaCl, respectively, by application of PDS solution (1:500 conc.). Compound 1 isolated as a result of repeated column chromatography was light brown and its name [1,4-dihydroxybenzene (hydroquinone)] was confirmed by mass spectrometry. Results have shown that lower concentrations (10 ppm and 25 ppm) exhibited more stimulatory effects on seed germination. In light of our findings, it can be suggested that PDS has shown positive and stimulatory effects on wheat variety NARC 2011 under stress conditions. Moreover, it can be used as an alternative to phytohormones in the coming future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out to screen historical diversity panel of bread wheat against municipal wastewater (MW) and remediated wastewater (RW) irrigation to find tolerant and sensitive genotypes and their impact on yield attributes. The experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three water treatments, i.e., tap water (TW), RW, and MW. Yield attributes, health risk assessment, water and soil chemistry were recorded. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify tolerant and sensitive genotypes of wheat on the basis of metal accumulation. Metal accumulation in grains increased in pattern K > Fe > Zn in all irrigation treatments. Tolerant genotypes in MW showed lowest hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI) values (adults 0.62; children 0.67) for Fe and Zn as compared to sensitive genotypes (adults 1.53; children 1.70). However, HI values in sensitive and tolerant genotypes of RW were recorded < 1. Mean values of yield attributes, i.e., plant height, spike length, spikelet per spike, grains per plant, biological yield, grain yield, and thousand kernel weight, were recorded in pattern, i.e., MW > RW > TW. In this study, yield attributes and human health are affected in both cases of higher and lower concentration of Fe and Zn metal. It is suggested that tolerant genotypes can prove useful for cultivation in areas receiving MW and also provide molecular breeding opportunities for seeking tolerance against metal stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of integrating ultrasonic pretreatment with ethanol and Viscozyme in the alkaline extraction of protein from tea residue and the generation of possible by-products such as polyphenols and galacturonic acid was assessed. Four extraction pathways: ethanol, Viscozyme, ultrasound (EVU); water, Viscozyme, ultrasound (WVU); ethanol, water, ultrasound (EWU); and ethanol, Viscozyme, heat (EVH) were employed. EVU pretreatment together with alkaline extraction resulted in the highest protein recovery yield of 80.95% with a purification factor of 8.5. EVU enhanced the functionality of extracted proteins in terms of solubility, foam capacity and stability, and emulsion capacity and stability. Surface hydrophobicity of EVU extracted proteins increased compared to the other treatments. There was an increase in free sulfhydryl and a decrease in disulfide bond contents in all the treatments except EVH. Analysis of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, non-protein nitrogen content and amino acid content revealed slight modification in the protein advance structure in terms of pretreatment, however, the main peptide chain and amino acid composition were not altered. Yield of 79.25 ± 0.75, 54.7 ± 0.98, and 116.50 ± 6.36 mg/g of polyphenols, galacturonic acid, and total sugars were respectively extracted along the extraction protocol as by-products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Albumin, globulin, gliadin, and glutelin were fractionated from tea residue and their antioxidant activities were compared. Upon having a significantly (p < 0.05) higher yield and antioxidant activity, glutelin was further hydrolyzed and the effect of hydrolysis time on the antioxidant activity using DPPH, HRSA, reducing power and FICA were assessed. It was observed that the duration of hydrolysis had a significant effect on the selected antioxidant activities as increase in the hydrolysis duration resulted in an increase in antioxidant activity beyond a certain limit after which there was a decline after continual hydrolysis. Glutelin hydrolysate that exhibited higher activities at the specific hydrolysis duration were fractionated using an ultrafiltration membrane with a molecular weight cut off of 3 kDa. The ultrafiltrated samples were subjected to size exclusion chromatography and four fractions (T1, T2, T3, T4) were obtained. The antioxidant activities of the fraction with the highest activity was compared to that of the unfiltered fraction (LTk), vitamin C (VC), L-glutathione (GSH) or ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid which served as positive controls. The fraction from the size exclusion chromatography with the highest activity (T2) had EC50 values significantly (p < 0.05) lower than the positive controls, however, their antioxidant activities were comparable upon increase in concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study provides one of the first attempts to identify tolerant, moderately sensitive, and highly sensitive wheat genotypes on the basis of heavy metal accumulation, biochemical attributes, and human health risk assessments on urban wastewater (UW) irrigation. Mean heavy metals (Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, Mn) and macro-nutrients (Na, K, Ca, Mg) levels increased in the roots, stem, and grains of studied genotypes. Except K (stem > root > grain), all metals were accumulated in highest concentrations in roots followed by stem and grains. Principal component analyses (PCA) identified three groups of UW-irrigated genotypes which were confirmed by hierarchical agglomerative cluster analyses (HACA). Wheat genotypes with the lowest metal accumulation were regarded as tolerant, whereas those with maximum accumulation were considered highly sensitive. Tolerant genotypes showed the lowest hazard quotient for heavy metals, i.e., Co, Mn, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, and Cr, and hazard index (HI) values (adults, 2.04; children, 2.27) than moderately and highly sensitive genotypes. Higher health risks (HI) associated with moderate (adults 2.26; children 2.53) and highly sensitive (adults 2.52; children 2.82) genotypes revealed maximum uptake of heavy metals. The heatmap showed higher mean biochemical levels of chlorophyll, carotenoids, membrane stability index (MSI%), sugars, proteins, proline, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) in tolerant genotypes than remaining genotypes. With the lowest metal accumulation and advanced biochemical mechanisms to cope with the adverse effects of heavy metals in their plant bodies, tolerant genotypes present a better option for cultivation in areas receiving UW or similar type of wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of ultrasound pretreatment using Single Frequency Counter Current Ultrasound (SFCCU) on the enzymolysis of tea residue protein (TRP) extracted with sodium hydroxide was investigated. The concentration of TRP hydrolysate, enzymolysis kinetics and thermodynamic parameters after SFCCU pretreatment were determined and compared with traditional enzymolysis. The results indicated that both ultrasound assisted and traditional enzymolysis conformed to first-order kinetics within the limits of the studied parameters. Temperature and sonication had affirmative effect on the enzymolysis of TRP with temperature yielding greater impact. Michaelis constant (KM) in ultrasonic pretreated enzymolysis decreased by 32.7% over the traditional enzymolysis. The highest polypeptide concentration of 24.12 mg ml−1 was obtained with the lowest energy requirement at improved conditions of 50 g L−1 of TRP, alcalase concentration of 2000 U g−1, time of 10 min and temperature of 50 °C for the ultrasonic treated enzymolysis. The values of reaction rate constant (k) for TRP enzymolysis increased by 78, 40, 82 and 60% at 20, 30, 40 and 50 °C, respectively. The thermodynamic properties comprising activation energy (Ea), change in enthalpy (∆H) and entropy (∆S) were reduced by ultrasound pretreatment whereas Gibbs free energy (∆G) was increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was designed to determine the spatiotemporal patterns in water quality of River Soan using multivariate statistics. A total of 26 sites were surveyed along River Soan and its associated tributaries during pre- and post-monsoon seasons in 2008. Hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis (HACA) classified sampling sites into three groups according to their degree of pollution, which ranged from least to high degradation of water quality. Discriminant function analysis (DFA) revealed that alkalinity, orthophosphates, nitrates, ammonia, salinity, and Cd were variables that significantly discriminate among three groups identified by HACA. Temporal trends as identified through DFA revealed that COD, DO, pH, Cu, Cd, and Cr could be attributed for major seasonal variations in water quality. PCA/FA identified six factors as potential sources of pollution of River Soan. Absolute principal component scores using multiple regression method (APCS-MLR) further explained the percent contribution from each source. Heavy metals were largely added through industrial activities (28 %) and sewage waste (28 %), nutrients through agriculture runoff (35 %) and sewage waste (28 %), organic pollution through sewage waste (27 %) and urban runoff (17 %) and macroelements through urban runoff (39 %), and mineralization and sewage waste (30 %). The present study showed that anthropogenic activities are the major source of variations in River Soan. In order to address the water quality issues, implementation of effective waste management measures are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]