Search

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 is a precious natural resource. Unfortunately, bodies of water become polluted by waste, such as untreated wastewater and detritus, along with oil spills, with minimum or no consideration for their limited capacity to renew themselves. Among these pollutants, dyes are harmful as they are persistent and not biodegradable in nature. The present study demonstrates the removal of crystal violet (CV), a toxic cationic dye, by using three systems: Peroxymonosulfate (PMS), UV-254 nm radiation and UV/P5MS. The effects of various parameters, such as the effects of the initial dose of crystal violet, initial concentration of PMS, pH, typical inorganic ions, etc., were also investigated. The effect of pH was investigated in the range of 1.92–12.07. Similarly, the effect of various anions such as NO2•−, HCO3•−, CO3•2−, SO4•2− and CH3COO•− was investigated for the degradation of target pollutants. The order of degradation of crystal violet was UV/PMS > PMS > UV with removal efficiencies of 97%, 76% and 42%, respectively, at reaction times of 60 min. The degradation of crystal violet was enhanced significantly at a pH range of 10.52–12.07. Electrical energy per order (EE/O) values for UV/PMS, PMS and UV were calculated to be 1.68, 3.62 and 48.96 KWh/m3/order, respectively. The addition of inorganic ions inhibited the removal of CV in the order of SO4•2− > NO2•− > HCO3•− > CO3•2− > CH3COO•−. Moreover, the kinetic studies on the degradation of CV by the UV-254 nm, PMS, and UV/PMS systems, were also carried out and found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics. The study revealed that oxidation processes are most efficacious for the removal of organic dyes from wastewater.

Nickel (Ni) is an essential element for plants; however, excessive uptake of Ni causes phytotoxicity in plants. The phytotoxic effects of Ni on the growth of quinoa and the underlaying mechanisms for Ni tolerance and phytoremediation are unknown. Hence, the present study investigated Ni tolerance and accumulation potential of two quinoa genotypes (Puno and Vikinga). Both genotypes were exposed to Ni (0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 μM) in half-strength Hoagland nutrient solution for three weeks. Results revealed that shoot and root lengths, biomass, stomatal conductance, and chlorophyll contents were decreased with the increase of Ni concentration. Excessive uptake of Ni resulted in the limited uptake of K by root and its translocation to shoot. Ni caused oxidative stress in plants by overproduction of H

Land surface temperature (LST) is defined as a phenomenon which shows that microclimate of an urban system gets heated much faster than its surrounding rural climates. The expansion of buildings has a noteworthy influence on land use/land cover (LULC) due to conversion of vegetation land into commercial and residential areas and their associated infrastructure by which LST is accelerated. The objective of the research was to study the impact of changes in LULC on LST of Southern Punjab (Pakistan) through remote sensing (RS) data. Landsat images of 30-year duration (1987, 1997, 2007 and 2017) were employed for identifying vegetation indices and LST in the study region. These images also helped to work out normalized difference water index (NDWI) and normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) maps. There was an increase from 29620 (3.63 %) to 88038 ha (10.8 %) in built-up area over the 30 years. LST values were found in the range 12-42 °C, 11-44 °C, 11-45 °C and 11-47 °C in the years 1987, 1997, 2007 and 2017, respectively. Regression coefficients (R

The present food system (including production, transportation, processing, packaging, storing, retail, and consumption) is a source of nutrition for the great majority of the world population in addition to supporting the livelihoods of about 200 million people. Food supply per capita has increased by more than 30% since 1961, this is accompanied by more use of nitrogen fertilizers (showing an increase of about 800%) and water resources for irrigation (with an increase of more than 100%). Global food security will continue to be an international concern for the coming 50 years and even beyond. Crop yield has fallen in many areas recently due to decreasing investments in infrastructure and research, as well as due to growing water scarcity. Climate change is a global concern irrespective of borders. The poor nations are highly vulnerable to climate change and are at high risk. Food security is directly dependant on the food chain and the associated food system process. All dimensions of food security could be affected by climate change in complex ways. Approximately, 15 countries are highly vulnerable to food insecurity due to climate change, from Asia and Africa. Most of these nations are not able to cope with or counter the impact of climate change on an urgent basis. However, some countries have developed their national strategies and adaptation plans to alleviate the negative impacts of climate change.

The study aims to prepare reliable, ecofriendly and cost efficient zinc nanoparticles (Zn NPs) by Mentha piperita L. leaf extract and zinc sulfate heptahydrate, for four pathogenic bacteria. Synthesized NPs were investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Zeta Potential. Disc diffusion method was used to check their antibacterial activity. For synthesizing Zn NPs leaf extract was used as a biological reducing agent. During reaction, appearance of cloudy white solution due to reduction in the number of zinc ions, indicated the Zn NPs formation. XRD determined the average NPs size i.e. 9.8 nm. FTIR confirmed the presence of functional groups in the leaf extract sample. Spherical shape of the NPs was confirmed by the SEM analysis. Antibacterial activity of the Zn NPs was measured by the inhibition zones against various bacteria (E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus and S. pneumoniae). Inhibition zones were observed in the range of 2.9 to 12.9 mm.

Salinity and lead (Pb) contamination of soil are important environmental issues. A hydroponics experiment was performed to unravel the effects of salinity on modulation of Pb tolerance and phytoremediation potential of quinoa. Four-week-old plants of quinoa genotype “Puno” were treated with different concentrations of NaCl (0, 150 and 300 mM), Pb (0, 250 and 500 μM) and their combinations. It was noticed that plant biomass, chlorophyll contents and stomatal conductance of quinoa were slightly affected at 150 mM NaCl or 250 μM Pb. However, the higher concentrations of NaCl (300 mM) and Pb (500 μM) caused significant decline in these attributes. The accumulation of Na in quinoa increased under the combined application of salt with highest level of Pb. The uptake of K was not affected at the lower levels of either salinity or Pb, but decreased significantly at their highest levels. The combination of salinity and Pb increased H2O2 contents and caused lipid peroxidation that was mitigated by the activation of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase). The activities of these enzymes increased by 4-, 3.75-, 5.4- and 2-fold, respectively, in the combined application of 500 μM Pb and 300 mM NaCl with respect to control. A multivariate analysis indicated that Pb tolerance potential of quinoa under combined application of NaCl and Pb was higher at 150 than 300 mM NaCl. The bioconcentration factor and translocation factor for Pb remained less than one either in the absence or presence of salinity. Lead accumulation and tolerance potential indicated that quinoa genotype "Puno" is suitable for phytostabilization of Pb under saline conditions.

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

Synthesis of Nobel metal nanoparticles, play a key role in the field of medicine. Plants contain a substantial number of organic constituents, like phenolic compounds and various types of glycosides that help in synthesis of metal nanoparticles. Synthesis of metal nanoparticles by green method is one of the best and environment friendly methods. The major significance of the green synthesis is lack of toxic by-products produced during metal nanoparticle synthesis. The nanoparticles, synthesized by green method show various significant biological activities. Most of the research articles report the synthesized nanoparticles to be active against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Some of these bacteria include Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas fluorescens. The synthesized nanoparticles also show significant antifungal activity against Trichophyton simii, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Trichophyton rubrum as well as different types of cancer cells such as breast cancer cell line. They also exhibit significant antioxidant activity. The activities of these Nobel metal nano-particles mainly depend on the size and shape. The particles of small size with large surface area show good activity in the field of medicine. The synthesized nanoparticles are also active against leishmanial diseases. This research article explores in detail the green synthesis of the nanoparticles and their uses thereof.

The presence of toxic substances in aquifers, particularly potentially toxic heavy metals, is an important environmental and social concern worldwide. These heavy metals are capable to exert many injurious health effects in human beings by intake of drinking metal-contaminated water. However, very little attention is paid towards quantitative and qualitative analysis of groundwater used for drinking purpose in several less-developed countries. Therefore, this study was intended to estimate, for the first time, the heavy metal levels in groundwater/drinking water in District Vehari, Pakistan. A total of 129 groundwater samples were obtained and subjected to analyze heavy metal concentrations (lead, copper, cadmium, nickel, manganese, chromium, iron, and zinc). Moreover, pH, electrical conductivity, temperature, total dissolved solids, and anion (carbonates, chloride, and bicarbonates) and cation (calcium, potassium, sodium, lithium, and barium) contents of groundwater were also determined. It was noticed that the values of several groundwater physicochemical characteristics such as cation contents, alkalinity, chloride concentration, and especially the concentrations of heavy metals such as Pb (93%), Cd (68%), and Fe (100%) were higher than their limit values given by WHO. Principal component analysis separately grouped heavy metals and physicochemical characteristics of groundwater. The risk assessment indices predicted potential carcinogenic risks due to the consumption of metal-rich groundwater, predominantly with Cd (0.0007-0.03). The mean hazard quotient (HQ) values for all the metals were 1, while Pb showed HQ 1 envisaging non-carcinogenic risk with the consumption of studied groundwater. The findings of the study emphasized on the need of appropriate approaches to remediate groundwater before being used for drinking purpose.

A new non-dispersive, anti-washout grout consisting of ordinary Portland cement, slag, superplasticizer, and methylbenzyl cellulose is proposed herein for the treatment of open karst, jointed and fractured rock, open-work gravel, and permeable sediments. A series of laboratory experiments were performed to design an anti-wash out grout suitable for grout injection of coarse aggregates depicting partially and open-jointed saturated rock mass and grouting concrete aggregates for underwater construction. The Taguchi orthogonal array was used to obtain nine different grout mix ratios. A total of four variables were considered, each with three different levels of the water–cement ratio, slag, and dosage of additives such as the superplasticizer and methyl benzyl cellulose. The laboratory determination of grout characteristics recording of mini slump, temperature, pH, visual assessment of grout dispersion, bleeding, and initial setting time and as well as uniaxial compressive strengths and permeabilities of the hardened grout samples were tested. To evaluate the suitability of the grout mixes, an analysis of variance was used for factor analysis and Grey relational analysis (GRA) was used to determine the optimal grout mix design. Based on the GRA, the following levels of the factors afforded the best results: water level 1 (0.3%), SP level 3 (0.01%), methylbenzyl cellulose level 2 (0.002%), and slag level 3 (0.1%). This paper describes the research methodology, detailed research observations, and analyses involved in designing the appropriate concrete mix. Based on the conclusions, relevant commendations regarding the suitability of grout testing equipment and grout mix designs are presented.

Biochar produced from transforming bioresource waste can benefit sustainable agriculture and support circular bioeconomy. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the application of biochar, produced from wheat straws, and a nitrification inhibitor, sourced from neem (Azadirachta indica), in combinition with the recommended synthetic fertilizer on soil properties, maize (Zea mays L.) plant growth characteristics, and maize grain yield and quality paramters. The nitrification inhibitor was used with the concentrations of 5 and 10 mL pot−1 (N1 and N2, respectively) with four levels of biochar (B0 = 0 g, B1 = 35 g, B2 = 70 g, B3 = 105 g, B4 = 140 g pot−1), one recommended nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium syntactic fertilizer (250, 125, and 100 kg ha−1, respectively) treatment, and one control treatment. The results showed that the nitrification inhibitor enhanced crop growth while the application of biochar significantly improved soil fertility. The application of biochar significantly enhanced soil organic matter and soil nitrogen as compared with nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium treatment. The highest root length (65.43 cm) and root weight (50.25 g) were observed in the maize plants treated with B4 and N2 combinedly. The grain yield, total biomass production, protein content from biochar’s B4, and nitrogen–phosphorus–potassium treatments were not significantly different from each other. The application of 140 g biochar pot−1 (B4) with nitrification inhibitor (10 mL pot−1) resulted in higher crop yield and the highest protein contents in maize grains as compared to the control treatments. Therefore, the potential of biochar application in combination with nitrification inhibitor may be used as the best nutrient management practice after verifying these findings at a large-scale field study. Based on the experimental findings, the applied potential of the study treatments, and results of economic analysis, it can be said that biochar has an important role to play in the circular bioeconomy.

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) are among the life-threatening issues facing rural as well as sub-/urban communities. Several factors contribute to RTAs ranging from human to technical and natural/environmental impacts. Anthropogenic air pollution and corresponding environmental factors also increase the probability of RTAs. Current study reports the relationship of the weather conditions to RTAs. The study establishes the relevancy of different weather conditions like rainfall, temperature, fog, and wind storm with the incidences of RTAs in rural and urban settings of Vehari, Punjab—Pakistan. The results of the study showed that rainfall, severe coldness, fog, and heat conditions were directly related with the occurrence of RTAs. The percentage of RTAs which occurred due to fog, rainfall, temperature, and other weather-related factors was 34, 25, 21, and 20%, respectively. The age of the driver significantly correlated (R2 = 0.60) with RTAs; the drivers in the age group 40–60 years caused the least RTAs during their drive. Since the smaller vehicles were involved in maximum RTAs, it relates negatively (R2 = 0.82) to vehicles power. Among different vehicles motor bikes were involved in most (42%) of the reported RTAs. Therefore, during severe weather conditions, vehicles with smaller size and young drivers must be dealt with carefully while interacting (crossing, overtaking, and maneuvering) on the roads regardless of rural or urban conditions. Factors including civic sense, traffic education, vehicle size, drivers’ maturity, road conditions, and environmental impacts may be considered while designing traffic rules and traffic aware campaigns specific for developing countries such as Pakistan.

Synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) through “green” chemistry is an exciting area of research with wide applications. Trianthema portulacastrum's extract containing greater amount of reducing agents has been explored first time for the synthesis of ZnO-NPs that characterized with UV/Vis, XRD, FT-IR, SEM,EDX, HR-TEM and XPS. The particles of ZnO-NPs are crystalline and having the size in the range of 25–90 nm. The cell viability of ZnO-NPs was studied using Mouse pre-osteoblast cell line MC3T3-E1 sub-clone 14 cells which confirmed its biocompatibility that render for biomedical applications. The antibacterial properties were evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli which showed high potency of synthesized ZnO-NPs against these species. The antifungal activities of ZnO-NPs were screened against Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus of fungal species. The antioxidant activity of the as-synthesized NPs was also studied using DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) substrate. The ZnO-NPs were evaluated for catalytic activity through degradation of Synozol Navy Blue-KBF textile dye using solar irradiation that causes 91% degradation of the dye in 159 min. Mechanistic pathways for the degradation of Synozol Navy Blue-KBF dye using ZnO-NPs were also proposed from the pattern of the degradation of the dye and the resulting by-products. The results concluded that the ZnO-NPs synthesized by green method have high biological and photocatalytic applications.

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of deficit irrigation and mulch levels on soil physical properties and growth and yield of maize crop. The experiment comprised of two irrigation levels, i.e. I1: 558.8 mm and I2: 711.2 mm while two mulch levels, i.e. M0: no mulch and M15: 15 Mg ha -1 . Soil samples were collected from 0-10, 10-20, and 20-30 cm depths before sowing and at crop harvest. The samples were analyzed for soil physical, i.e. bulk density, field saturated hydraulic conductivity (mm hr -1 ), -1 ) and chemical parameters, i.e. SOC concentration, soil NPK and plant NPK.. The results of this study showed that the maximum increase in plant height (11.39 %), biological yield (29.56 %) and grain yield (35.5 %) was observed with treatment combination I2×M15 as compared to control. In case of soil physical properties, the maximum mean value of infiltration rate and hydraulic conductivity was observed 19.4 and 88.33 mm hr -1 with