Environmental Pollution and Protection

9

Authors: Ana Paula de Castro Rodrigues, Rodrigo Guerra Carvalheira, Vanessa Gomes, Ana Rosa Linde Arias, Nádia Regina Pereira Almosny, Zuleica Carmen Castilhos, Edison Dausacker Bidone

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is an important regulatory enzyme that controls the transmission of nerve impulses across cholinergic synapses. This study evaluated AChE activity as an effect biomarker for ecological risk assessment related to mercury contamination in fish from Guanabara bay, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. A total of 30 fishes were collected, 14 specimens of Genidens genidens and 16 specimens of Haemulon sp. at three sampling stations. AChE activity varied from 0.18 to 1.29 μmol min-1 mg-1 protein for G. genidens and a negative correlation between AChE activity in muscles and mercury concentrations in kidney was found (-0.55; p<0.05; n=14). For Haemulon sp. the enzyme activity showed a smaller range (0.06 to 0.22 μmol min-1 mg-1 protein) and a negative correlation between mercury concentrations in muscles and AChE activity was found (r = -0.570; p<0.05; n=16), suggesting a decrease on enzymatic response in specimens with higher mercury bioaccumulation.

19

Authors: Mateus Habermann, Monica Billger, Marie Haeger-Eugensson

In order to visualize the geographical distribution of air pollution concentration realistically, we applied the Land Use Regression (LUR) model in the urban area of Gothenburg, Sweden. The concentration of NO2 was obtained by 25 passive air samplers during 7-20 May, 2001. Explanatory variables were estimated by GIS in buffers ranging from 50 to 500 m-radii. Linear regression was calculated, and the most robust were attained to the multiple linear regression. Additionally, the LUR model was compared with a dispersion model. The final model explained 81.7% of the variance of NO2 concentration with presence of sum of traffic within 150 m and altitude as predictor variables. Mann-Whitney Test did not exhibit significant difference between yearly concentrations of NO2 measured by regulatory measurement sites and measurements from passive samplers, thus LUR model was extrapolated for later years and mapped. The extrapolation indicated more elevated levels of pollution for the years 2003, 2006 and 2010. The results highlight the contribution of traffic on air quality and suggest that LUR modelling may explain the variations of atmospheric pollution with good accuracy. In addition, the model puts focus on spatial and temporal variability needed to describe retrospective exposure to air pollution in studies that evaluate health effects.

13

Authors: Virendra Kumar Mishra, Reetika Shukla, Prabhu Nath Shukla

Methane (CH4) is one of the most important greenhouse gases and is oxidized by the methanotrophic bacteria in the soil. Present work is an effort to review the available information in this regard and present them in a systematic way. In this review, we concluded that low NH4 + concentration can be supportive to the methane oxidation and growth of the methanotrophs. However, their high contents suppress the methanotrophic bacteria by inhibiting the enzymes particularly methane monooxygenase (MMO) involved in the methane oxidation. There are a range of the soil and environmental factors such as type of soil and vegetation, methane availability, amount and exposure time of ammonium, and type of methanotrophic community dominating in an ecosystem, which affect the response of the methanotrophic bacteria towards the fertilizer application. However, still there are several gaps in our knowledge as complex interaction of edhapic factors affecting the availability of ammonium is unraveled.

10

Authors: Rajesh Iyer, Abha Chhabra, Prakash Chauhan, Tejas Turakhia, Mohit Porwal, Divya Patel

Particulate matter (PM), or aerosol play an important role in Air Quality. Ahmedabad is an urban, industrialized and one of the fastest growing city in Western India. This study presents spatio-temporal variability in mass concentrations of different Particulate Matter as well as their characteristics during different seasons based on field measurements in different micro urban environments of Ahmedabad. The meteorological parameters such as wind speed, temperature, relative humidity and atmospheric pressure played a very important role in the seasonal variation of the PM concentrations. The PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 were found to be highest with 229.4 μg/m3, 82.20 μg/m3 and 53.53 μg/m3, respectively in winter season. These PM concentrations are higher than the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for PM10 and PM2.5. The aerosol characteristic based on field measurement of spectral Aerosol Optical Depth indicates significant contribution by coarser mode particles. The Inhalable, Thoracic and Alveolic PM concentrations which are significant for human health impacts of ambient air quality were observed in the increasing order of monsoon

3

Authors: K.M. Mohamed Sheriff, A. Zahir Hussain

The present study is accomplished to evaluate the quality of groundwater on the bank of Noyyal river for the purpose of drinking and domestic usage by using correlation analysis. The study was carried out for three successive years in both summer and rainy seasons (2013-2015). The results were evaluated and compared with WHO water quality standards. The statistical data predict that the groundwater quality is unsuitable for drinking purposes in the study area.

11

Authors: Riddhi Naresh Dholakiya, Madhava Anil Kumar, Kalpana H. Mody

Streptomyces cavourensis strain RD8, a marine actinomycete capable to produce melanin with high antioxidant activity was screened and optimized the production using the chemometric statistical tools. The results from the optimization study revealed that the melanin production could be enhanced when medium is supplemented with L-tyrosine, 0.15, casein, 1.0 and sodium nitrate, 1.0 (g/100 mL) at pH 7.0 and 30°C at 120 rpm. The purified melanin exhibited potential antibacterial and antioxidant activities. The stability of melanin with respect to antioxidant activity against pH, temperature and salts were also observed. The outcome of the study suggested that S. cavourensis strain RD8 would be a potential candidate for melanin production with minimum medium components which could furthermore nurture as natural antioxidants in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

15

Authors: Andaleeb Azam, Abdul Hameed, Ikhtiar Khan

A steady increase in the atmospheric CO2 concentration due to human activities in the last few decades is largely believed to be a major cause of climate change. Since agriculture is a climate sensitive system, there is a growing concern that the CO2 added to the air is changing the nutritional composition of fruits, grains and vegetables. Based on this hypothesis, the present experiment work was conducted to study the effect of enhanced atmospheric CO2 on nutritional and biochemical composition of chili (Capsicum annuum). Five local varieties of capsicum (Angrika, Best Choice, Diana, Magama, and 99PE-1689) were grown under two concentrations of CO2, i.e. 400µmol mol-1 (ambient) and 1000µmol mol-1(elevated) under controlled conditions in green houses. Fruits were harvested at two stages of maturity and analyzed for proximate, elemental, fatty acid and amino acid concentration. Capsicum fruits grown under higher CO2 concentration had different nutritional composition.Vitamin C, protein, ash and fat contents decreased significantly (P≤0.05), acidity decreased non-significantly (P>0.1) whereas sugar and fiber contents increased significantly under enhanced CO2. Elemental composition showed a significant increase in C, H, Fe, Mn and a decrease in N, Ca, Mg and Zn contents. Few elements (S, K and Cu) showed no significant trend with elevated CO2. Fatty acids, with few exceptions,were not much affected by CO2 enrichment. Amino acids decreased with elevated concentration of CO2. The effect of enhanced CO2 was more pronounced at the fully matured (red) stage as compared to the pre-mature (green) stage of capsicum fruit. Enhanced atmospheric CO2 lowered the nutritional quality of capsicum fruit by decreasing its vitamin C, proteins, Ca, Mg and Zn contents.