Vol. 18(1) January 2014
The Spread of 137Cs in Terrestrial Ecosystems of the
Ignalina NPP and other Lithuanian Regions
Jefanova O.*, Marciulioniene E. D. and Luksiene B.
The aim of the study is to evaluate the spread of 137Cs
in the terrestrial ecosystems of the investigated regions [Ignalina NPP (INPP) region
and other Lithuanian regions (Varena, Plunge, Ignalina)]. Moss and soil were used
as the indicators. The 137Cs spread in forest ecotopes was unequal in the INPP region
and other regions of Lithuania due to radionuclide coming from different sources.
137Cs specific activity is continuously decreasing in moss and soil in those Lithuanian
regions which were polluted during the Chernobyl accident although in the INPP region
it is known to fluctuate in the similar range, especially before the unit one was
decommissioned. However, the correlation of the 137Cs specific activity between
soil and moss in different locations and years has not been observed. It was observed
between the soil and moss which grew in the forest ecotopes in the INPP region in
the same year. The moss from the forest ecotopes (Hylocomium splendens) most evidently
shows the 137Cs spread in the terrestrial ecosystem and it is quite possible to
assess the soil contamination level.
Full Text
The use of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
for interactions between food and/or the food additives and the packaging materials
Enache (Bontos) A. I.* and Vaireanu D. I.
This paper attempts to present a possible use of the
electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to investigate the presence or absence of
some interactions between food and/or the food additives with the packaging materials.
Although the initial scope was to qualitatively indicate the presence of these interactions,
one has gone further by proposing a relative interaction index RInt, taken as a
relative value of the polarization resistance supplied from electrochemical impedance
spectrograms with reference to the initial point in time and by doing so one has
now also a quantitative index for quantifying the said interactions. The experiments
conducted on two different samples and evaluated within six month time interval
showed that this method yields good results.
Full Text
Exploration of wild yeast strains for thermotolerance
and ethanol production
Ganesan Sasikala* and Nellaiappan Olaganathan Gopal
Ethanol fermentation from lignocellulosics necessitate
high temperature for better saccharification and to increase the fermentation efficiency
which is feasible by employing efficient thermotolerant yeast strain. In view of
this, a total of 55 yeast strains were isolated from 26 samples collected from different
locations of sugar distilleries and fruit processing industries. Among them, 22
strains TY1 to TY22 were found to exhibit thermotolerance at 40C. The strains TY11,
TY16, TY18 and TY20 exhibit tolerance both at 45C and 50C. Among the 4 strains,
TY11 and TY16 exhibited maximum growth at 45C and 50C. Fermentation was carried
out for all the 22 thermotolerant yeast strains in medium containing 20% (w/v) glucose
at 282 and 452C and ethanol production was measured after 72 h of incubation.
The screened strains produced ethanol in the range of 0.293 to 0.508 gg-1 with fermentation
efficiencies of 57.40% to 99.47% and productivity of 0.625 to 1.058 g l -1 h-1.
TY11 and TY16 produced relatively high ethanol concentrations i.e. 0.464 and 0.473
gg-1 at 282 and 0.503 and 0.508 gg-1at 452C after 72 h respectively. The thermotolerant
ability of yeast strains were confirmed by trehalose accumulation and the presence
of heat shock proteins. The two best thermotolerant yeast strains TY11 and TY16
were identified by 18S rRNA partial gene sequencing and the sequences were phylogenetically
analyzed and identified as Pichia kudriavzevii and Kluyveromyces marxianus respectively.
The 18s rRNA partial sequences were submitted to NCBI GenBank and deposited under
the accession no. KC905770 and KC905771 respectively. The two yeast strains obtained
in this study can be considered for high temperature industrial fermentation processes.
Full Text
Application of Ecological Compensation to study Environmental
Impact of Transportation Infrastructure
Hsi-Chi Yang* and Hua-Hsun Yang
This research has applied ecological compensation to
study the environmental impact of transportation infrastructure construction. Ecological
compensation is based on the three mechanisms, "Avoidance", "Mitigation" and "Compensation",
to reduce the impact of infrastructure construction on the ecological environment.
This research first, through literature review, formulates an initial evaluation
framework for transportation infrastructure construction. Then, the Fuzzy Delphi
method (FDM) is used to establish the final evaluation framework which has four
major issues with a total of 16 factors. Thereafter, the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchical
process (FAHP) is used to determine the weighted value for each factor in order
to establish an ecological compensation assessment table. The obtained scores presented
in the table can demonstrate the seriousness of the ecological damage caused by
the transportation construction. Finally, through expert interviews and using the
Delphi method, the criteria to determine the proper ecological compensation mechanism
are established. The table and criteria can help a planner assess the feasibility
of a transportation infrastructure construction before doing the environmental impact
assessment. In this paper, two transportation construction study cases are presented
using the established table and criteria.
Full Text
Anticancer Evaluation of some of the novel Iminoflavones
Jayashree B. S.*, KawadeShishir and Venkatachalam H.
Flavonoids recovered from plant extracts have been well
known to exhibit wide variety of biological activities and it is worth mentioning
their antiproliferative effects on various cancer cell lines. To support this, several
synthetic flavonoids are reported for their antioxidant activity and anticancer
activity. Based on our earlier study, we attempted to modify the flavones and chalcones
to their corresponding thio and imino compound by isosterically replacing the oxygen
of the carbonyl functional group with sulphur atom. The newly synthesized test compounds
were screened for in vitro antioxidant and anticancer activities.
Full Text
Preparation of Polyamine Wheat Straw Cellulose for
Adsorption of Chromium (VI) and Adsorption Isotherm Study
Daiqi Li, Jianqiang Li* and Qingshan Pan*
Wheat Straw Cellulose (WSC) modified by diethylenetriamine
was investigated as an adsorbent for Cr(VI) removal from aqueous solution. The preparing
parameters on preparation of Polyamine Wheat Straw Cellulose (PWSC) were optimized.
The effects of pH, adsorbent dose, contact time and initial concentration on the
Cr(VI) removal process were studied by using batch methods. The maximum adsorption
capacity of Cr(VI) onto PWSC was found to be 13.51mg/g and the removal percentage
was more than 90%. The adsorption isotherms were analyzed using the Langmuir and
Freundlich isotherms. The results showed that the adsorption process was well described
by Langmuir isotherm model with correlation coefficients (R) of 0.9971 for Cr(VI)
adsorption.
Full Text
Study on Properties of Heavy metal in Coal from Seam
K1, K2 and K3 of Songzao Coal Mine in Chongqing
Xu Guojing , Li Dongwei, Guo Shengli, Peng Qiankun and Jiao Binquan*
The average consumption of coal in Chongqing is 60 million
tons every year and it would increase in the next decade steadily. 1/3 of coal consumed
in Chongqing is from Songzao coal mine. By taking the coal samples from seam K1,
K2 and K3 of Songzao coal mine in Chongqing as the research objects, the total amount
of heavy metal was studied. Among Cu, Zn, Cd, As and Pb, Cu is the element whose
content is the highest and the content of Cd is the least, less then 3 mg/kg. Besides,
there is an obvious trend that the content of these five kinds of heavy metal decreases
in turn from seam K1 to seam K3. The content of Cu in coal from seam K1 reaches
152.25mg/kg and that of Cd in coal from seam K3 is as low as 1.32 mg/kg. By using
the X-Ray diffraction instrument, the major mineral phases and different forms of
heavy metal in coal from seam K1, K2 and K3 of Songzao coal mine were discussed
through XRD patterns with the help of MDI Jade 5.0. The coal samples from seam K1,
K2 and K3 all contain several kinds of major mineral phases including Quartz, Kaolinite,
Pyrite, Anatase and so on. Heavy metal in coal samples from different seams exists
in different forms. In coal samples from seam K1 and K3, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb and As are
all in the forms of compound. In coal from seam K2, Cu, Zn and Cd exist in the forms
of simple substance partly.
Full Text
Fabrication of Lys-PVA-Fe3O4 modified electrode for
the electrochemical determination of uric acid
Nanditha A., Manokaran J. and Balasubramanian N.*
This study discusses the fabrication of Lys-PVA-Fe3O4
coated electrode for the electrochemical detection of uric acid (UA). L-Lysine was
adsorbed on the surface of Polyvinylalcohol (PVA) coated iron oxide nanoparticles.
The presence of PVA and Lysine on the surface of Fe3O4 was confirmed using Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray
diffraction (XRD) analyses. The modified electrode was found to have higher affinity
towards uric acid. Effect of solution pH towards the oxidation of UA was studied.
The effect of scan rate towards uric acid oxidation current was investigated and
the active surface area of the Lys-PVA-Fe3O4 modified electrode was determined to
be 1.0761 nmol/cm2. The modified electrode could perform well in the concentration
ranging from 20×10-6 M - 0.2×10-3 M. The sensitivity and detection limit were calculated
to be 7.13 µA/mM and 2.04 µM respectively using Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV).
The sensitivity and detection limit were calculated to be 7.7 µA/mM and 2.19 µM
respectively using Amperometry. Effect of common interferents such as Ascorbic acid
(AA), Dopamine (DA) and Tyrosine (Tyr) were studied. Simultaneous detection of UA
and Tyr at Lys-PVA-Fe3O4 modified electrode was also successfully studied.
Full Text
Study of impact of tannery effluent on river water
quality using Vigna radiata L. bioassay
Singh Vinay Kumar*, Ali Zulfiqar and Raj Abhay
Rapid industrialization leads to high discharge of industrial
effluent which may pollute river ecosystem. In present study, an investigation has
been made to ascertain the effect of tannery effluents (treated) on quality of Ganga
river water near Jajmau area at Kanpur city. The effluents were mixed in Ganga river
water sample at concentration of 5%, 15%, 25%, 50%, 75% v/v and analyzed for physico-chemical
parameters like pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total alkalinity
(TA), total hardness (TH), dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD),
chemical oxygen demand (COD) and seed germination test in laboratory condition.
The results of the study indicate that incorporation of tanneries effluents makes
highly adverse effect on quality of Ganga river water. The effects of various concentrations
(5, 15, 25, 50, 75 and 100% v/v) of tannery effluent (TE) were tested on seed germination
of green gram (Vigna radiata L.).The percentage of seed germination, seedling growth
and fresh weight was measured. The above parameters gradually increased up to 5%
only and then they decreased gradually with increase of the effluent concentration.
The lower concentration, 5% of tannery effluent proved more beneficial than other
concentration. At present Ganga water is fit for irrigation as far as the seed germination
is concerned but if effluent concentration in river water increases above 5% from
now the irrigated crop must be affected.
Full Text
Study on the sorption kinetics and thermodynamics
of Eu(III) onto Ca-bentonite by linear and nonlinear method
Yu T.*, Geng Y. X. and Zhang S. W.
Ca-bentonite was prepared as an adsorbent and kinetic
and thermodynamic study of Eu(III) sorption on Ca-bentonite was investigated under
ambient conditions using batch technique. Linear and nonlinear regression methods
were applied on the experimental data to select the optimum sorption isotherm. The
results showed that sorption of Eu(III) on Ca-bentonite can be represented by a
pseudo-second-order rate equation and the nonlinear pseudo-second-order kinetic
expression could fit the kinetics better compared to the linear forms. The nonlinear
method is a better way to describe the sorption isotherm than the linear method
and thus it should be primarily adopted to obtain the sorption isotherm parameters.
Freundlich isotherm model is the best-fit model to the experimental data for the
sorption of Eu(III) on Ca-bentonite. Nonlinear method was found to be the more appropriate
method to determine kinetic and thermodynamic parameters.
Full Text
Microwave assisted synthesis of some Heterocyclic
Schiff’s base Metal Complexes of First Transition Series
Pal R., Kumar V.* and Gupta A. K.
A series of some Schiff base complexes of Cu(II), Ni(II),
Co(II), Mn(II), Zn(II) with a tetradentate Schiff’s base N,N-bis(1-(4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2-oxo-2H-pyran-3-yl)ethylidene)malonohydrazide
(3) has been synthesized under microwave conditions. The process is economical,
easy, environment friendly and provides better yields of metal complexes in a shorter
period of time. All the synthesized metal complexes and ligand were characterized
on the basis of elemental analysis, UV-visible, 1H and 13C NMR, IR and mass spectral
data.
Full Text
Study on chelation of uranium with benzohydroxamic
acid by spectrophotometry
Agrawal Sonalika, Khan Fahmida1* and Ganesh S.
A spectrophotometric method has been developed for the
determination of uranium in aqueous medium with benzohydroxamic acid (BHA). In this
method, uranium in hexavalent state forms a yellowish orange coloured chelate with
BHA (C6H5CONHOH). U(VI)-BHA chelate shows maximum absorption at 381 nm at pH 6.2
and complex is stable for more than 24 hours. The stoichiometry of the coloured
species is found to be 1:6. A calibration graph was made for the concentration range
of uranium from 40-450 mg/L. The molar absorption coefficient at 381.5 nm, detection
limit and Sendell’s sensitivity are 537 L. Mol-1.cm-1, 40 mg/L and 0.41 µg/cm2 respectively.
The relative standard deviation was less than 2% and correlation coefficient was
0.998. The results obtained by the developed procedure are in good agreement with
those obtained by the standard procedure. In these studies, effect of reagent-metal
ratio, pH and metal- chelate stabilities was investigated. The described method
is simple, accurate and applicable for analytical control purpose.
Full Text
Extraction and Characterization of Cellulose from
Pandan Leaves (Pandanusamaryllifolius Roxb.)
Yahya Noor Yahida, Ngadi Norzita and Muhamad Ida Idayu
Cellulose was extracted from Pandan leaves (Pandanusamaryllifolius
Roxb.) by carrying out alkali treatment and bleaching. The determination of chemical
composition covers the percentage of lignin, hemicellulose and α-cellulose. Scanning
electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the morphology of the extracted
cellulose. Structural analysis of extracted cellulose obtained was carried out by
Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The
thermal stability of Pandan leaves and extracted cellulose was investigated by Thermo
Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). The results indicated that the lignin and hemicellulose
were removed extensively after the treatment resulting in 86% extraction of cellulose
with increased thermal stability.
Full Text