Radium and Radon exhalation studies of soil

Everyone is exposed to radon because it is present everywhere with varying concentrations. Radon and its progeny are well established as lung carcinogenic. Track etch technique using LR-115 plastic track detectors has been used to measure the effective radium content and radon exhalation rates in soil samples collected from urban area of Etah district of Uttar Pradesh province in Northern India. The values of effective radium content are found to vary from 27.87 to 45.14 Bq.kg-[1] with a mean value of 34.98 Bq.kg-[1]. The mass exhalation rates of radon vary from 2.38 _ 10[-6] to 3.86 _ 10[-6] Bq.kg[-1].d[-1] with a mean value of 2.99 _ 10-6 Bq.kg[-1].d[-1]. The surface exhalation rates of radon have been found to vary from 6.19 _ 10[-5] to 10.03 _ 10[-5] Bq.m [-2].d[-1] with a mean value of 7.77 _ 10[-5] Bq.m [-2].d[-1]. Radon exhalation study is important for understanding the relative contribution of the material to the total radon concentration found inside the dwellings. The values of radium and radon exhalation rates are found to be below the safe limit recommended by OECD, 1979

Organochlorines and organophosphates in bovine milk samples in Allahabad region

Organochlorine and Organophosphate pesticides are likely to pollute lipid-containing food sources, like milk [3-5% fat], owing to their lipophilicity, thereby jeopardizing the benefits of milk as a health food. Pesticide load in bovine milk may be from the leaching of pesticides persisting in the adipose tissue of the animal, or through direct contamination during milking or improper handling of milk. Bovine milk samples from small-scale rural and urban dairies were collected and investigated for selected array of Organochlorines and Organophosphates. The study revealed that BHC, is still the most common pollutant being present in 75% of the samples, followed by Methyl Parathion [37.5%], Dieldrin and 2, 4 DDE [12.5% each]. Mean quantity of Methyl Parathion [0.3496 mg/ kg: whole milk basis] was 1.7 times higher than BHC [mean 0.2104 mg/kg: whole milk basis]. The mean value was 0.35 times higher than the ADI prescribed by Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1992, India, in case of Methyl Parathion, 1.05 times higher for BHC, 2.30 times for Dieldrin and 0.07 times for 2, 4 DDE. Rural dairy samples carried higher load of Methyl Parathion which may be attributed to the large scale agricultural practices and unsafe handling in that area

Saraca indica leaf powder for decontamination of Pb: removal, recovery, adsorbent characterization and equilibrium modeling

The present study explores the effectiveness of Saraca indica leaf powder, a surplus low value agricultural waste, in removing Pb ions from aqueous solution. The influence of pH, biomass dosage, contact time, particle size and metal concentration on the removal process were investigated. Batch studies indicated that maximum biosorption capacity for Pb was 95.37% at the pH 6.5. The sorption process followed the first order rate kinetics. The adsorption equilibrium data fitted best to both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Morphological changes observed in scanning electron micrographs of untreated and metal treated biomass confirmed the phenomenon of biosorption. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of native and exhausted leaf powder confirmed lead biomass interactions responsible for sorption. Acid regeneration was tried for several cycles with a view to recover the sorbed metal ion and also to restore the sorbent to its original state. The findings showed that Saraca indica leaf powder can easily be envisaged as a new, vibrant, low cost biosorbent for metal clean up operations

Isolated tuberculous epididymitis: a case report and literature review

We present a case of isolated tuberculous epididymitis [TBE] in an 18-year-old male with normal fertility profile. The importance of high-resolution scrotal ultrasonography and fine needle aspiration cytology [FNAC] of the epididymis for early detection of tuberculous infection, particularly in underprivileged and developing countries, is discussed. The utility of high-resolution scrotal ultrasonography to observe the course of the disease and efficacy of treatment is also evaluated

Very-long-chain fatty acids activate lysosomal hydrolases in neonatal human skin tissue

The aim of this study was to examine the in vitro effect of peroxisomal dysfunction on lysosomal enzymes, the autophagic machinery in the cell, in order to understand the mechanisms of pathogenesis of peroxisomal disorders. Foreskin samples were obtained immediately after circumcision of 1- to 2-day-old infants at the Maternity Hospital, Kuwait. Skin tissues were cleaned, cut into slices of 1-2 mm[2] in size and treated with lignoceric acid [1-20 micro g/ml], a very-long-chain fatty acid [VLCFA], in the presence or absence of 1-5 mM aminotriazole [ATZ]. A battery of lysosomal enzymes were assayed following treatment of dermal tissue with VLCFA or ATZ. Treatment of skin slices with lignoceric acid significantly increased [p < 0.001] the enzymic activities of acid lipase, acid phosphatase, alpha -glucosidase, alpha -galactosidase, N-acetyl- alpha -D-glucosaminidase [NAGA] and N-acetyl- alpha -D-galactosaminidase [NAGTA]. ATZ [1-5 mM], an inhibitor of key peroxi somal enzyme catalase, also markedly increased the enzymic activities of acid phosphatase, alpha -glucosidase [23%] and alpha -galactosidase [18%] without any significant effect on NAGA or NAGTA. Western blot analysis further revealed that both VLCFA and ATZ significantly increased the protein expression of lysosomal enzymes, beta -galactosidase and beta -glucuronidase. Experimen tal dysfunction of peroxisomes mimicked by elevated VLCFA or ATZ-mediated catalase inhibition significantly increased the activities of lysosomal hydrolases in human dermal tissue, suggesting that activation of the lysosomal system could be one of the factors responsible for cellular damage during pathogenesis of peroxisomal diseases

Isolation and characterization of volatile constituents from the seedling callus of cuminum linn

Since majority of the medicinal properties of cyminum L. a member of family Apiaceae are attributed to its essential oils, the present study was undertaken to analyze the volatile constituents of its 14-month-old seedling callus [unorganized] raised through cotyledonary leaves on MS + 2, 4-D [1.0 mgl-1]. Essential oils extracted through steam distillation was analyzed by TLC and GLC. Occurrence of qualitative and quantitative variation in the constituents can be attributed to the climatic factors and media constituents