Assessment of microbial flora and pesticidal effect of vermicast generated from Azadirachta indica (neem) for developing a biofertilizer-cum-pesticide as a single package.

The soil comprising organic matter, nutrients, serve as substrate for plant growth and various organisms. In areas where there are large plantations, there is a huge leaf litter fall. The leaf litter upon decomposition releases nutrients and helps in nutrient recycling, for which the soil engineers such as earthworms, ants and termites are important key players. In this context, the present study was conducted to assess the characteristics of the vermicast obtained by vermicomposting neem leaf litter in terms of microbial flora, plant growth promoting properties and antagonistic activities of the vermicast against phytopathogens. Vermicomposting of neem leaf litter was done using two epigeic earthworm species Eisenia fetida and Eudrilus eugeniae. The vermicast exhibited antagonistic potential against plant pathogens. Out of the four vermiwash infusions studied, the 75 % formulation reduced the disease incidence against mealybug by 82 % in the tree Neolamarkia cadamba. The result of the study suggests that vermicast made from neem leaf litter may be a potent combination of a biofertilizer and a pesticide.

Investigation on the physico-chemical properties of soil and mineralization of three selected tropical tree leaf litter.

Plant leaf litter has a major role in the structure and function of soil ecosystems as it is associated with nutrient release and cycling. The present study is aimed to understand how well the decomposing leaf litter kept soil organic carbon and nitrogen levels stable during an incubation experiment that was carried out in a lab setting under controlled conditions and the results were compared to those from a natural plantation. In natural site soil samples, Anacardium. occidentale showed a higher value of organic carbon at surface (1.14%) and subsurface (0.93%) and Azadirachta. indica exhibited a higher value of total nitrogen at surface (0.28%) and subsurface sample (0.14%). In the incubation experiment, Acacia auriculiformis had the highest organic carbon content initially (5.26%), whereas A. occidentale had the highest nitrogen level on 30th day (0.67%). The overall carbon-nitrogen ratio showed a varied tendency, which may be due to dynamic changes in the complex decomposition cycle. The higher rate of mass loss and decay was observed in A. indica leaf litter, the range of the decay constant is 1.26-2.22. The morphological and chemical changes of soil sample and the vermicast were substantained using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR).

Laryngeal Dysfunction in Acute Organophosphorus and Carbamate Poisoning.

Background: Organophosphorus (OP) and carbamate pesticides are widely used for crop protection. We describe the spectrum of laryngeal abnormalities in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with acute OP and carbamate poisoning as there is limited information on it. Materials and methods: Consecutive patients admitted to the ICU with acute OP and carbamate poisoning over 20 months (December 2014-July 2016) were recruited. Patients were followed up post-discharge if they had undergone tracheostomy or developed hoarseness of voice or stridor following extubation. Asymptomatic individuals who consented underwent laryngoscopy after ICU discharge. The primary outcome was the development of laryngeal dysfunction. Other outcomes included length of stay, need for ventilation, mortality, tracheostomy, and time to decannulation of tracheostomy. Results: Of the 136 patients recruited, 71 (52%) underwent laryngoscopy. The overall mortality rate was 9.6%. Of the 71 patients who underwent laryngoscopy, 18 had abnormal findings, which included unilateral or bilateral vocal cord paresis or palsy (n = 14) and/or aspiration (n = 9), subglottic stenosis (n = 1), tracheal stenosis (n = 1), or arytenoid granuloma (n = 1). Laryngeal dysfunction was associated with the ingestion of a dimethyl OP compound (p = 0.04) and quantum consumed (p <0.001). Patients with laryngeal dysfunction had significantly (p = 0.004) longer hospital stay (19.1 ± 10.7 vs 11.8 ± 8.3 days). Conclusion: Laryngeal dysfunction is not uncommon in OP and carbamate poisoning and is associated with the ingestion of larger quantity of a dimethyl OP compound and longer hospital stay. Otorhinolaryngologists could be involved early to help identify these abnormalities and initiate an appropriate treatment to ensure a functional voice and good airway. How to cite this article: Mani GS, Mathews SS, Victor P, Peter JV, Yadav B, Albert RRA. Laryngeal Dysfunction in Acute Organophosphorus and Carbamate Poisoning. Indian J Crit Care Med 2022;26(2):167-173.

Blending of microbial inocula: An effective strategy for performance enhancement of clayware Biophotovoltaics microbial fuel cells.

Performance of clayware Biophotovoltaics (BPVs) with three variants of inocula namely anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria (APB) rich Effective microbes (EM), Up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB) sludge, SUPER-MIX the blend of EM and UASB inoculum were evaluated on the basis of electrical output and pollutant removal. SUPER-MIX inocula with microbial community comprising of 28.42% APB and 71.58% of other microbes resulted in peak power density of 275 mW/m2, 69.3 ± 1.74% Coulombic efficiency and 91 ± 3.96% organic matter removal. The higher performance of the SUPER-MIX than EM and UASB inocula was due to the syntrophic associations of the various APBs and other heterogenous microorganisms in perfect blend which improved biocatalytic electron transfer, electro-kinetic activities with higher redox current and bio-capacitance. The promising performance of clayware BPVs with SUPER-MIX inocula indicate the possibility of BPVs to move towards the scale-up process to minimize the investment towards pure culture by effective blending strategies of inocula.

Recovery of methane-rich gas from solid-feed anaerobic digestion of ipomoea (Ipomoea carnea).

Studies are presented on new types of anaerobic digesters in which chopped or dry crushed Ipomoea carnea was fed without any other pretreatment, in an attempt to develop commercially viable means of utilizing the otherwise very harmful plant. Two types of solid-feed anaerobic digesters (SFADs) were studied. The first type had a single vessel in which the bottom 35% portion was separated from the top portion by a perforated PVC disk. The weed was charged from the top and inoculated with anaerobically digested cowdung-water slurry. The fermentation of the weed in the reactor led to the formation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs) plus some biogas. The leachate, rich in the VFAs, was passed through the perforated PVC sheet and collected in the lower portion of the vessel. The other type of reactors had two vessels, the first one was fully charged with the weed and the second received the VFA leachate. With both types were attached upflow anaerobic filters (UAFs) which converted the leachate into combustible biogas consisting of approximately 70% methane. All SFADs developed very consistent performance in terms of biogas yield within 17 weeks of start. The two-compartment reactors yielded significantly more biogas than the single-compartment reactors of corresponding total volume, and the reactors with which anaerobic filters (AF) were attached yielded more biogas than the ones without AF. The best performing units generated 2.41m(3) of biogas per m(3) of digester volume, as compared to 0.1-0.2m(3) of biogas, m(-3)d(-1), obtainable with conventional digesters. This indicates the viability of this technology. The spent weed can be vermicomposted directly to obtain good soil-conditioner cum fertilizer; earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae produced 540mg vermicast per animal every day, achieving near total conversion of feed to vermicast in 20 days. The proposed systems, thus, makes it possible to accomplish total utilization of ipomoea.

Composting-vermicomposting of leaf litter ensuing from the trees of mango (Mangifera indica).

Litter of the mango (Mangifera indica) tree leaves was composted and then converted into vermicast by the action of the earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae Kinberg. After over nine months of continuous operation the vermireactors with 62.5 animals l(-1) generated approximately 13.6g vermicast per litre of reactor volume (l) per day (d) whereas the reactors with 75 animals l(-1) produced approximately 14.9 g vermicast l(-1) d(-1). This difference in performance of the reactors operating in duplicate at the two different earthworm densities was statistically significant (> or = 90% confidence level) for most of the nine-month span. The animals grew well in all reactors, increasing their zoomass by approximately 103% and producing approximately 157 offspring. Not a single of the 1100 animals died during the first four months. In the subsequent five months a total of 122 worms died, representing a loss of approximately 2% per month. We attribute this to the normal process of ageing. The ability of the earthworms to survive, grow and breed in the vermireactors fed with composted mango tree leaves, and a rising trend in vermicast output inspite of the death of a few worms after four months of reactor operation, indicate the sustainability of this type of vermireactors. The studies also indicate that even better vermireactor efficiency may be possible by modifying the reactor geometry. Studies on changes in C:N ratio during composting and vermicomposting revealed that whereas composting helped in lowering the ratio due to loss of carbon in bacterial metabolism, vermicomposting had no such effect on the ratio.

Direct, rapid and sustainable vermicomposting of the leaf litter of neem (Azadirachta indica).

The recently developed concept of high rate vermicomposting was successfully used to enable direct vermicomoposting of neem leaves-without any pre-composting or cow dung supplementation as previously reported processes had necessitated. All the three epigeic species of earthworms that were explored, Eudrilus eugeniae, Eisenia fetida and Perionyx excavatus, provided efficient vermicast production with no mortality, persistent gain in body mass and good fecundity over the 16 months long period of reactor operation. In this period, all reactors were pulse-fed at the solid retention time of 20 days and were operated in the pseudo discretized continuous operation protocol developed earlier by the authors. With this, it was possible to almost completely dampen the influence of natural biodegradation of the feed or grazing by the earthworm born in the vermireactors. The findings, thus, conclusively prove that, all-through, the brisk vermicomposting was caused almost entirely by the action of the 'parent' earthworms on fresh feed.

Role of tissue eosinophils in oral Leukoplakia: A pilot study.

CONTEXT: Tissue eosinophilia in oral squamous cell carcinoma has been well - recognized. Studies have reported both favorable and unfavorable prognoses associated with tissue eosinophils in oral squamous cell carcinoma. However, the role of eosinophils in the development of tumor is still unclear. AIMS: The present study was an attempt to elucidate the potential role of tissue eosinophils in oral leukoplakia, a potentially malignant lesion. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: To count eosinophils in tissues of normal subjects and oral leukoplakia cases. To compare tissue eosinophil count (TEC) between normal and oral leukoplakia cases. To compare TEC between dysplastic and non-dysplastic cases of oral leukoplakia and to correlate with degree of epithelial dysplasia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 85 cases (59 cases of oral leukoplakia and 26 normal oral tissues) constituted the study material. Tissue eosinophils were counted in 10 different high- power fields. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Non-parametric tests (Mann-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney post hoc analysis and Spearman's correlation statistics). RESULTS: Mean eosinophil count (MEC) in oral leukoplakia cases was significantly more when compared to normal subjects. MEC in dysplastic cases of oral leukoplakia was significantly more when compared to those without epithelial dysplasia (Mann-Whitney U-test). Furthermore, MEC was directly proportional to the degree of epithelial dysplasia (Spearman's correlation statistics). CONCLUSIONS: TEC may be used as an adjunct to predict the malignant transformation of dysplastic cases of oral leukoplakia. Eosinophilic infiltration in oral dysplastic cases should prompt a thorough evaluation for invasiveness, especially when features of invasion are absent or suspected in smaller biopsy specimens. Use of TEC as a prognostic indicator demands larger sample size and mandates long-term follow-up.

Vermiconversion of paper waste by earthworm born and grown in the waste-fed reactors compared to the pioneers raised to adulthood on cowdung feed.

The performance of four species of earthworm--Eudrilus eugeniae, Kinberg, Drawida willsi Michaelsen, Lampito mauritii, Kinberg and Perionyx excavatus, Perrier--born and grown in vermireactors fed with paper waste was studied over six months, in terms of vermicast output per unit feed, production of offspring, and increase in worm zoomass. These were compared with the performance of the previous generation which had been raised to adulthood on cowdung as principal feed before shifting them to vermireactors operating on cowdung-spiked paper waste. The results indicated that except with D. willsi of which the second generation performed only a shade better than the first, there was significant improvement in vermicast output, animal growth, and reproduction in the second generation compared to the first. The results indicated that cowdung-spiked paper waste can be an adequate food for successive generations of earthworms and that reactors can be operated indefinitely on this feed. The results also indicated that the earthworm generations born and raised in vermireactors operated on this feed become better vermiconverters of this feed than the parent earthworms.

Neem leaves as a source of fertilizer-cum-pesticide vermicompost.

Vermicomposting of neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) was accomplished in "high-rate" reactors operated at the earthworm (Eudrilus eugeniae) densities of 62.5 and 75 animals per litre of reactor volume. Contrary to the fears that neem--a powerful nematicide--might not be palatable to the annelids, the earthworms fed voraciously on the neem compost, converting upto 7% of the feed into vermicompost per day. Indeed the worms grew faster and reproduced more rapidly in the neem-fed vermireactors than in the reactors fed with mango leaf litter earlier studied by the authors (Gajalakshmi et al., 2003). Another set of experiments on the growth, flowering, and fruition of brinjal (Solanum melongena) plants with and without fertilization with vermicompost, revealed that the vermicompost had a significantly beneficial impact.

Effect of the application of water hyacinth compost/vermicompost on the growth and flowering of Crossandra undulaefolia, and on several vegetables.

The impact of the application of compost/vermicompost obtained from water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes, Mart. Solms) on plants was assessed in terms of growth and flowering of the angiosperm crossandra (Crossandra undulaefolia). Overall nine morphological, size, and yield attributes were studied in crossandra saplings raised on water hyacinth compost or vermicompost as compared to the untreated saplings. Application of vermicompost led to statistically significant improvement in the growth and flowering of crossandra compared to the untreated plants. The impact of compost was also beneficial but a little less distinct than the positive impact of vermicompost. Qualitative studies were simultaneously conducted in five kitchen gardens owned by farmers near Pondicherry. In three of these locations water hyacinth vermicompost was applied-and no other fertilizer-for months to different species of vegetables. Water hyacinth compost was similarly applied in another two locations. In all the locations no adverse effect on any of the plant species was observed. We believe these studies would help in dispelling the apprehension of farmers that compost/vermicompost obtained form a pernicious weed like water hyacinth may have deleterious effect on other plants.

Potential of two epigeic and two anecic earthworm species in vermicomposting of water hyacinth.

The potential of two epigeic species (Eudrilus eugeniae Kinberg, and Perionyx excavatus Perrier) and two anecic species (Lampito mauritii Kinberg and Drawida willsi Michaelson) of earthworms was assessed in terms of efficiency and sustainability of vermicomposting water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes, Mart. Solm.). In different vermireactors, each run in duplicate with one of the four species of earthworms, and 75 g of 6:1 water hyacinth:cowdung as feed, vermicasts were produced with steadily increasing output in all the reactors. E. eugeniae was by far the most efficient producer of vermicasts, followed by the other epigeic P. excavatus. The two anecics came next, with D. willsi being the least effective which could generate only about half the quantity of vermicasts achieved in a corresponding time by E. eugeniae. In all the reactors, the earthworms grew well, increasing their weights by more than 250%. The maximum net gain of weight (average 30.7 g) was by E. eugeniae, followed by P. excavatus, L. mauritii and D. willsi. This trend, which followed the efficiency of vermicast production, was also shown in terms of reproductive ability as measured by the number of offspring produced by the four species.

Vermicomposting of different forms of water hyacinth by the earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae, Kinberg.

Six-month long trials were conducted on different vermireactors fed with one of the following forms of water hyacinth: (a) fresh whole plants, (b) dried whole plants, (c) chopped pieces of fresh plants, (d) 'spent' weed taken from reactors after extracting volatile fatty acids (VFAs), (e) precomposted fresh weed and (f) precomposted spent weed. The first four forms were studied with and without cowdung. The experiments revealed three clear trends (i) of the various forms of the weed assessed, the precomposted forms were the most favoured as feed by Eudrilus eugeniae, Kinberg, while the fresh whole form was the least favoured, (ii) the different forms of spent weed were favoured over the corresponding forms of fresh weed, and (iii) blending of cowdung (approximately 14% of the feed mass) with different forms of water hyacinth had a significant positive impact on vermicast output, growth in worm zoomass, and production of offspring relative to the corresponding unblended feed. In all reactors, the 'parent' earthworms steadily grew in size over the six-month span, and produced offspring. There was no mortality. The experiments thus confirm that water hyacinth can be sustainably vermicomposted in any of the forms with E. eugeniae.

Assessment of sustainable vermiconversion of water hyacinth at different reactor efficiencies employing Eudrilus eugeniae kinberg.

The viability of vermireactors fed with different proportions of water hyacinth (WH) and cowdung (CD) was assessed over six-month trials. All reactors performed sustainably with a steadily rising vermicast output, worm zoomass, and number of offspring. There was no mortality in any of the reactors. A change in the WH:CD ratios from 4:1 to 6:1 had no discernable impact on the reactor performances. Attempts were also made to improve the efficiency of the reactors in terms of vermicast production per unit time and per unit digester volume. These attempts led to the 'high-rate' vermireactor in which 5.6 times greater vermicast was produced per litre of digester volume per day than in the 'low-rate' reactors. The high-rate vermireactors also performed sustainably, with steady vermicast output, animal growth, and reproduction.

High-rate composting-vermicomposting of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes, Mart. Solms).

In an attempt to develop a system with which the aquatic weed water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes, Mart. Solms) can be economically processed to generate vermicompost in large quantities, the weed was first composted by a 'high-rate' method and then subjected to vermicomposting in reactors operating at much larger densities of earthworm than recommended hitherto: 50, 62.5, 75, 87.5, 100, 112.5, 125, 137.5, and 150 adults of Eudrilus eugeniae Kinberg per litre of digester volume. The composting step was accomplished in 20 days and the composted weed was found to be vermicomposted three times as rapidly as uncomposted water hyacinth [Bioresource Technology 76 (2001) 177]. The studies substantiated the feasibility of high-rate composting-vermicomposting systems, as all reactors yielded consistent vermicast output during seven months of operation. There was no earthworm mortality during the first four months in spite of the high animal densities in the reactors. In the subsequent three months a total of 79 worms died out of 1650, representing less than 1.6% mortality per month. The results also indicated that an increase in the surface-to-volume ratio of the reactors might further improve their efficiency.

Towards maximising output from vermireactors fed with cowdung spiked paper waste.

Paper waste, spiked with varying proportions of cowdung, was vermicomposted in 'low-rate' and 'high-rate' reactors. The former type of reactors had earthworm populations and feed loading rates similar to ones recommended by previous workers. The 'high-rate' reactors were operated with 12.5 times higher earthworm densities and feed loading rates. All the reactors were studied for six months to assess the vermicast output, survivability, growth and reproduction of the earthworms hence the sustainability of the reactors--for long-term, continuous operation. The studies revealed the viability of the high-rate vermireactor concept. The high-rate reactors consistently produced over 6.5 times more castings per unit digester volume with no adverse effect on the earthworm population, as reflected by (a) absence of mortality, (b) consistent growth in worm zoomass, and (c) normal rate of reproduction. The studies also revealed that an increase in the cowdung fraction in the feed from 14.3% to 20% (4:1 paper:cowdung blends to 6:1 blends) had little positive impact on the vermicast output or earthworm health. This indicated that spiking of paper feed with approximately 14% cowdung, or perhaps an even smaller fraction, might be adequate to support earthworms in the paper-fed vermireactors.

Feasibility studies on the treatment of dairy wastewaters with upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors.

The feasibility of using upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors for the treatment of dairy wastewaters was explored. Two types of UASBs were used--one operating on anaerobic sludge granules developed by us from digested cowdung slurry (DCDS) and the other on the granules obtained from the reactors of M/s EID Parry treating sugar industry wastewaters. The reactors were operated at HRT of 3 and 12 h and on COD loading rates ranging from 2.4 kg per m3 of digester volume, per day to 13.5 kg m(-3) d(-1). At the 3 h HRT, the maximum COD reduction in the DCDS-seeded and the industrial sludge-seeded reactors was 95.6% and 96.3%, respectively, better than at 12 h HRT (90% and 92%, respectively). In both the reactors, the maximum, the second best, and the third best COD reduction occurred at the loading rates of 10.8, 8.6 and 7.2 kg m3 d(-1), respectively. At loading rates higher than 10.8 kg, the reactor performance dropped precipitously. Whereas in the first few months the reactors operating on sludge from EID Parry achieved better biodegradation of the waste, compared to the reactors operated on DCDS, the performance of the latter gradually improved and matched with the performance of the former.

Screening of four species of detritivorous (humus-former) earthworms for sustainable vermicomposting of paper waste.

Four specices of detritivorous (humus-former) earthworms were tested for their ability to vermicompost paper waste blended with cowdung in 6:1 (w/w) ratio. The anecic Lampito mauritii, Kinberg and the epigeic Eudrilus eugeniae, Kinberg were the most effective of the four species employed; 20 animals of each of these species generated castings amounting to about 52% of the feed mass (75 g) per fortnight. The performance of these two species was followed by the anecic Drawida willsi, Michaelsen and the epigeic Perionyx excavatus, Perrier; they achieved approximately 46% vermiconversion in comparable settings. The vermireactors were sustainable as the animals have remained consistently healthy and reproductive over a period of six months, and are continuing to remain so, turning in a steadily rising vermicast output. During this period E. eugeniae have grown to 2.3 times their original weight while the other three species have more than trebled their weights. The studies establish the feasibility of vermicomposting as a viable process for the gainful utilization of paper waste in an environmentally clean manner. They also indicate that all the four species of the worms screened by us are suitable for the process, with L. mauritii and E. eugeniae a shade more efficient than the other two species.

Effect of vermicast generated from an allelopathic weed lantana (Lantana camara) on seed germination, plant growth, and yield of cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba).

In perhaps the first-ever study of its kind, the effect of vermicompost, derived solely from an allelopathic weed, on the germination, growth, and yield of a botanical species, has been carried out. In test plots, the soil was treated with the vermicompost of lantana (Lantana camara) at the rates of 5, 7.5, and 10 t ha(-1), and cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) was grown on it. The performance of these systems was compared with the systems in which the soil was fortified with inorganic fertilizers (IFs) in concentrations equivalent to those present in the respective vermicompost (VC) treatments. Additionally, a set of control was studied in which the soil was used without fortification by either VC or IF. It was seen that up to 51.5 % greater germination success occurred in the VC treatments compared to controls. VC also supported better plant growth in terms of stem diameter, shoot length, shoot mass, number of leaves, and leaf pigments. The positive impact extended up to fruit yield. In addition, vermicast application enhanced root nodule formation, reduced disease incidence, and allowed for a smaller number of stunted plants. The results indicate that allelopathic ingredients of lantana seem to have been totally eliminated during the course of its vermicomposting and that lantana vermicompost has the potential to support germination, growth, and fruit yield better than equivalent quantities of IFs.

Vermicomposting of the leaf litter of acacia (Acacia auriculiformis): possible roles of reactor geometry, polyphenols, and lignin.

Vermicomposting of the pre-composted leaf litter of acacia (Acacia auriculiformis) was studied in reactors of identical volume but with surface area: height ratios varying from 4 to 250. In separate sets of experiments with these reactors, epigeic earthworm species Eudrilus eugeniae and anecic earthworm species Lampito mauritii were employed at densities of 75 and 150 adult animals per litre of reactor volume. The results reveal that greater the surface area: volume ratio of the reactor, higher is the vermicast output in terms of vermicast output per animal; the more densely populated reactors were comparatively under-productive. Even as the vermicast production remained consistently high in all the reactors, there was significant earthworm mortality throughout the course of the experiments and the worms who survived, steadily lost weight with time. A detailed investigation of the possible causes revealed that, whereas the C:N ratio of acacia compost was comparable with that of other substrates; the polyphenols and lignin content were much higher. Studies by other authors on leaf litter consumption by earthworms in natural or man-made forests have indicated that leaf litter rich in polyphenols and lignin are not preferred by most species of earthworm. This may perhaps be the reason for the high rate of mortality and weight loss in earthworms forced to feed upon acacia in the experiments conducted by the authors.