Assessment of trace metal contamination of wetland sediments from eastern and western coastal region of India dominated with mangrove forest.

Ecosystem and biodiversity of India's coastal areas dominated with mangrove forest have been threatened by growing anthropogenic activities. The present work aims to investigate the contamination of wetland sediments with trace elements and assess the sediment quality at different sampling locations in eastern and western costal region dominated with mangrove forest. The longitudinal profile of trace elements in sediments from different sampling locations analyzed by employing Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometer shows variations in distribution of elements like Al, Si, K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb. The enrichment factor (EF) and Geo-accumulation index (Igeo) values suggested depletion of clay minerals and enrichment of heavy metals like Cr, Cu Fe and Mn. Depending on the variations in Igeo values, the elements are put into Igeo Class 0 to 3 levels of contamination. Contamination factor (Cf) and pollution load index (PLI) suggested deterioration of sediments analyzed in the present study. Assessment of ecological risk potential of elements suggests that few elements (Cr and Cu) are moderately contaminated and may cause environmental stress on the exposed flora and fauna.

Room for improvement? A quality-of-life assessment in patients with malignant bowel obstruction.

This prospective study followed 35 patients admitted to hospital with malignant bowel obstruction (MBO) to evaluate quality of life (QOL). Subjects completed the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) and Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL) at recruitment, and at one week, one month and three months.The highest ranked ESAS scores at recruitment (which was generally 18-36 hours post admission to hospital) included loss of appetite (median=7.5), fatigue (6.5) and overall well-being (6.0). The total ESAS score improved by 7.5, 11.5 and 11.0 points respectively at one week, one month and three months (p<0.05, p<0.01, NS).RSCL median scores for physical and psychological subscales were high at baseline (36.2, 42.9) and improved significantly at one week and one month (p<0.05). Psychological functioning appeared to be worsening by three months and at no time did activity level improve significantly. The overall QOL score was extremely poor at baseline (6.0 median) improving to 3.3 at one month (median fall=1.0, p<0.05) and 3.4 at three months.Further work should address the lack of improvement in activity and apparent deterioration in psychological functioning after one month.

Assessment of the impact of pesticide residues on microbiological and biochemical parameters of tea garden soils in India.

The main aim of this study was to assess the impact of pesticidal residues on soil microbial and biochemical parameters of the tea garden soils. The microbial biomass carbon (MBC), basal (BSR) and substrate induced respirations (SIR), beta-glucosidase activity and fluorescein diacetate hydrolyzing activity (FDHA) of six tea garden soils, along with two adjacent forest soils (control) in West Bengal, India were measured. The biomass and its activities and biochemical parameters were generally lower in the tea garden soils than the control soils. The MBC of the soils ranged from 295.5 to 767.5 micro g g(- 1). The BSR and SIR ranged from 1.65 to 3.08 mu g CO2-C g(- 1) soil h(- 1) and 3.08 to 10.76 micro g CO2-C g(- 1)h(- 1) respectively. The beta-glucosidase and FDHA of the soils varied from 33.3 and 76.3 micro g para-nitrophenol g(- 1) soil h(- 1) and 60.5 to 173.5 micro g fluorescein g(- 1)h(- 1)respectively. The tea garden soils contained variable residues of organophosphorus and organochlorine pesticides, which negatively affected the MBC, BSR, SIR, FDHA and beta -glucosidase activity. Ethion and chlorpyriphos pesticide residues in all the tea garden soils varied from 5.00 to 527.8 ppb and 17.6 to 478.1 ppb respectively. The alpha endosulfan, beta endosulfan and endosulfan sulfate pesticide residues in the tea garden soils ranged from 7.40 to 81.40 ppb, 8.50 to 256.1 ppb and 55 to 95.9 ppb respectively. Canonical correlation analysis shows that 93% of the total variation was associated with the negative impact of chlorpyriphos, beta and alpha endosulfan and endosulfan sulfate on MBC, BSR and FDHA. At the same time ethion had negative impact on SIR and beta-glucosidase. Data demonstrated that the pesticide residues had a strong impact on the microbial and biochemical components of soil quality.

Simulation of biomimetic recognition between polymers and surfaces.

Many biological processes, such as transmembrane signaling and pathogen-host interactions, are initiated by a protein recognizing a specific pattern of binding sites on part of a membrane or cell surface. By recognition, we imply that the polymer quickly finds and then adsorbs strongly on the pattern-matched region and not on others. The development of synthetic systems that can mimic such recognition between polymers and surfaces could have significant impact on advanced applications such as the development of sensors, molecular-scale separation processes, and synthetic viral inhibition agents. Attempting to affect recognition in synthetic systems by copying the detailed chemistries to which nature has been led over millenia of evolution does not seem practical for most applications. This leads us to the following question: Are there any universal strategies that can affect recognition between polymers and surfaces? Such generic strategies may be easier to implement in abiotic applications. We describe results that suggest that biomimetic recognition between synthetic polymers and surfaces is possible by exploiting certain generic strategies, and we elucidate the kinetic mechanisms by which this occurs. Our results suggest convenient model systems for experimental studies of dynamics in free energy landscapes characteristic of frustrated systems.

Vanadium toxicology--an assessment of general health, haematological aspects and energy response in an Indian catfish Clarias batrachus (Linn).

The pervasive occurrence of vanadium in nature and its use in various industrial processes has increased its inputs in the environment. This has prompted us to elucidate the impact of vanadium on aquatic environment, the primary body for industrial effluent discharge. The energy response of the fish, Clarias batrachus, its haematological status including haemoglobin (Hb), haematocrit (Ht), leutocrit (Lt), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) etc. And overall general health conditions have been observed to be significantly hampered leading to deleterious alterations in the general metabolism of the fish following long term exposure to vanadate. The increase in muscle and tissue lactic acid (2-12 fold) in association with decrease in pyruvic acid (72% in muscle; 26% in liver) reflect a shift towards an anaerobic metabolism of the fish. We conclude that vanadium could be toxic for the fish in question under long term exposure at the doses under observation (2-10 mg L-1).

Influence of maternal, foetal and socio-economic factors on neonatal morbidity: a study on hospital born babies.

Present study revealed several significant associations. Firstly, two related variables, like duration of antenatal care and birth-weight of newborn were significantly associated with incidence of neonatal morbidity. Apart from these, attributes like mother's educational status and per capita family income were also found as important factors determining occurrence of illness during neonatal period. Moreover, children of working mothers suffered more from illness. However, it should be pointed out here that majority of the attributes discussed here, such as, occupation, literacy, income etc, are inter-dependant. So, to quantify correctly the relative risk and attributable risk of these factors in causing childhood disease needs cohort study with matched control to neutralise the effects of confounding variables.

PIP: Birth weight of newborns, as well as the socio-economics of antenatal care, have a direct relationship on neonatal morbidity. Newborns were studied at district hospital, Chinsurah, in Houghly district (West Bengal) from September 1977-August 1978. 400 newborn infants were later followed up. Mothers were interviewed regarding occupation, income, and obstetric history. Babies were examined 24 hours after birth and birthweight was recorded after bath and cord dressing. Neonates were visited weekly at home and detected for any signs of illness. Morbidity was defined as any illness needing medical attention. Of the 400 newborns studied 178 suffered from some illness during their neonatal period. Results showed highest incidence of birth weight associated with neonatal morbidity was observed in neonates weighing less than 2,000 gms. (86.54%), and lowest among those weighing more than 3,000 gms. (20.59%). Illness among neonates and duration of antenatal care received by mothers has an inverse relationship at 11.02%. Also, illness was higher among infants of working mothers (68.99%), than mothers who were housewives (42.50%). Neonatal illness was also distributed according to literacy of mothers with those groups highlighted: children born to illiterate mothers (54.35%), mothers with primary education (42.37%), and mothers with secondary and above level education (32.94%). Relative and attributable risk of the above factors contributing to causing childhood disease requires cohort study with matched control to minimize confounding variable effects.

Migration and urbanisation problems in Calcutta.

This paper discusses the massive migration into Calcutta when India was divided in 1947 and afterwards. Assimilation of these refugees into the city's social structure and its effect on the living pattern, crime and mental illness are discussed. The process of urbanisation is found to be unique due to the nature of this city.