The reduction of wetlands due to the increase of urbanization and industrialization has been an emerging global concern and is a threat to the fish population. Fishes have been proved as excellent indicators of heavy metal contamination of the aquatic ecosystems. The present research aims to determine the metal accumulation in fishes of different wetlands. Fish samples were collected for analysis of different metals like lead (Pb), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Pb concentration varies from 0.41-44.33 µg/g and found to be highest at Hirakud, whereas Cr, Cu and Zn were highest at Koraput which vary from 1.3-10.36 µg/g, 1.29-4.17 µg/g and 20.97-54.99 µg/g, respectively.

A graphene-based magnetic composite (Fe3O4/GO) was prepared and used for simultaneous removal of Cu(II) and 1-naphthol. The composite was characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, FT-IR and Raman. Electron microscopy reflected that Fe3O4 spheres were dispersed on graphene layers. The pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models could best describe the sorption kinetics and isotherms. The sorption of Cu(II) and 1-naphthol increased with increasing temperature, and thermodynamic parameters calculated from temperature dependent sorption revealed that sorption of Cu(II) and 1-naphthol on Fe3O4/GO was spontaneous and endothermic. The results indicated that Fe3O4/GO can be utilized as potential adsorbents for purification of co-contaminated water systems.

Environmental biomonitoring of water bodies is routinely done to assess the ecological state of aquatic systems by detecting the hazardous and genotoxic pollutants. In this study, a combination of atomic absorption spectroscopy and the fish micronucleus assay was used to determine and compare the genotoxic potential of water bodies specifically the two Esteros namely, Estero de Vitas and Estero de Paco, which are part of the Pasig River System, Philippines. As part of the strategy, the Esteros are being rehabilitated to control pollution in the river systems whereby Estero de Paco was recently rehabilitated, whereas, Estero de Vitas is still largely neglected. The elevated levels of micronuclei and nuclear abnormalities were observed in the erythrocytes of the genetic model, the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) exposed to water samples from the two sources tested when compared to a control group indicating the presence of genotoxic and hazardous pollutants in the water bodies of Estero de Paco and Estero de Vitas. Further, the water samples from Estero de Vitas were found to be far more genotoxic as compared to the water samples from Estero de Paco (p<0.05). The observed genotoxic effects of the water samples appeared to be related to the physico-chemical characteristics studied using atomic absorption spectroscopy, which showed the presence of heavy metals in the water samples from both the sources. The AAS results also confirm the presence of heavy metals in the fish tissue exposed to the water samples from the two locations. Hence, the tilapia fish (a component of Filipino diet) should be consumed with precautions as it can absorb the heavy metals present in ecosystems. The results establish that the fish micronucleus test is an effective assay for environmental biomonitoring. The lower genotoxicity potential of Estero de Paco clearly demonstrates that the restoration of the Esteros can be an effective approach to control pollution of the water bodies, especially the Pasig river system.

The objective of this work is to experimentally study the consequence of blending lower order alcohol (methanol and ethanol) with jatropha oil methyl ester (JOME) in a single cylinder, four stroke and watercooled CI engine. 70% JOME blended with 30% methanol (J70M30) and 70% JOME blended with 30% ethanol (J70E30) are the two blends prepared to operate the engine. Experiments were conducted from 0 to 100% load at a fixed engine speed of 1500 rpm and the results were compared with base fuels. Due to the inferior physical properties of JOME, brake thermal efficiency (BTE) decreases compared to diesel at maximum load. Also, NO emissions increased by 4% and smoke opacity decreases by 10% while operating the engine with JOME compared to diesel. Simultaneous reduction of NO and smoke is achieved by blending lower order alcohol with JOME and a slight improvement in BTE is observed.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacteria which can live in freshwater, soil and plants. It is a commensal of the digestive tube, slightly abundant in human body. Its presence in wells water is a result of current anthropogenic activity and pollution loads. It is an important nosocomial pathogenic agent characterized by an intrinsic resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents which can develop high-level multidrug resistance. To assess the contamination of these well waters by this pathogenic germ, two hundred samples were collected for four seasonal campaigns between March 2017 and May 2018 with a rate of forty three (43) samples per season in an irrigated zone. The samples were analysed to identify P. aeruginosa, then the isolated serotypes were determined by slid agglutination test using four pools and 20 monovalent Antisera. The detected P. aeruginosa were tested for susceptibility to 18 antibiotics. A total of (n=85/139) isolated strains were identified as P. aeruginosa representing 61.15 % of prevalence among Pseudomonas spp. Antimicrobial resistance revealed that 68% of them are multidrug resistant, while15.09 % of strains resist at least to 7 antibiotics, 30.19% resist at least to 11 antibiotics, 13.21% resist at least to 12 antibiotics, 5.66% resist at least to 13 antibiotics, and 3.77% resist at least to 14 antibiotics. The high level resistance of P. aeruginosa is observed with piperacillin tazobactam (100/10μg) (84.91%), ciprofloxacin (5μg) (79.25%), imipenem (10μg) and ceftazidime (30μg) (37.58%). The resistance of phenotypes of P. aeruginosa strains allowed to identify (n=20/85) ESBL, (n=31/85) oxacillinase broad spectrum ES-OXA, (n=5/85) phenotype of impermeability to imipenem, (n=12/85) cephalosporinase AMPC, and (n=17/85) wild type. The results showed the high antibiotic resistance levels of P. aeruginosa strains from well water samples against antibiotics. Furthermore, based on the results, these well waters can be a source of P. aeruginosa and human and animal susceptibility to other opportunistic pathogens.

The Legon Bajak port is a strategic port in Indonesia, because it is located in a busy and potential shipping lane. The port is adjacent to the Karimunjawa Marine National Park which is protected by the Indonesian government; therefore, this study aims to provide an overview of the ecological status of the Legon Bajak sea and the prediction of the impact of port activities on the ecological status of the Marine National Park. This research is a descriptive study by analysing seawater quality using atomic absorption spectroscopic methods, the status of biodiversity of seaweed and coral reefs with the transect method at 6 observed sample points and photos of underwater marine supporters. The results of the analysis of seawater quality indicate that it is in good condition, but when viewed from the analysis of seaweed conditions and coral cover <10%, this indicates that the ecological status is in a damaged condition and a category with a low functional value. An in-depth study is needed for the analysis of the environmental impact of the Legon Bajak port on the Karimunjawa National Marine Park Conservation Area.

Anthropogenic activities are most likely to alter the natural composition of waters. Extensive phosphate mining in Huangbaihe River Basin (HRB), China, has resulted in the reduction of the self-purification capacity of freshwater reservoirs in the basin. Based on a three-year (2014-2016) water quality monitored data and the application of three pollution index assessment (PIA) methods: Single Factor Pollution Index (SFPI), Nemerow’ Pollution Index (NPI), and Water Quality Index (WQI), the main objective of this study was to determine the water quality standards of surface water in the river basin. Research findings indicated that a holistic approach, a combination of a single factor and multi factor pollution indexes (MFPIs) method was able to distinguish pollutant characteristics and used to classify water quality of the river system. Comparison of the results showed that the SFPI classification is more conservative and highly influenced by the worst evaluated index. On the other hand, the MFPIs: the NPI and the WQI methods classified the water quality into a more reasonable grade because they integrate the effects of different impacting factors. The most impaired pollutants affected the water quality classification were total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN). Application of the PIA result for the water quality management purpose in the basin showed that there is a direct causal relationship between the TP concentration and water quality of reservoir water; low water quality reservoirs were correlated with high TP. On the other hand, the reservoir water quality did not show any significant dependence on TN. A linear regression equation was proposed to determine WQI of reservoirs’ water using measured TP. The equation may be used to characterize the pollution level of reservoir water for prioritizing water quality management measures in HRB.

The cell-phone radiation is a potential health hazard not only to the singular user but to the whole population through the environmental pollution. The environmental radiation density may vary from place to place depending upon its absorption or reflection by surroundings, e.g., trees, buildings, human population, water bodies, etc. The present work was taken to study the effect of population density and surroundings on the environmental radiation. The power density values of radiation were measured using a hand-held portable power density meter TES 593, and specific absorption rates (SAR) were estimated from the measured values. The SAR values were compared with the safe limit of 1 mW/kg above which biological system of humans and animals starts getting affected. The studies indicated that the average environmental radiation power density values were higher in unpopulated and open areas than densely populated regions by 300%.

Bioavailability of heavy metals can be reduced in acidic soils with biochar amendment but the situation in alkaline soils is not much clear. Effects of four rates (1%, 5%, 10% and 15% w/w) of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) straw biochar (FBC) prepared at 600oC on the properties of soil, fraction and phytoavailability of Pb and Cd, and plant growth in the simulated Pb (1000 mg.kg-1) or Cd (20 mg.kg-1) contaminated light sierozem were assessed with pot experiments using maize (Zea mays L.) as an indicator plant. The amendment of FBC significantly enhanced the pH value, cationic exchange capacity (CEC) and organic matter of soil (P < 0.05). The BCR sequential extraction results indicated that the acid extractable fraction of Pb or Cd only decreased by 12.80% or 5.56% when FBC was added with the high rate of 15%. The uptake of Pb or Cd by maize shoots scarcely decreased with 1% and 5% of FBC amendment. Significant inhibitory effects of FBC on the growth of maize shoots were observed with FBC amendment at the rates of 10% and 15%. The results could provide a different implication for immobilization remediation of loess soils (e.g., light sierozem) contaminated with heavy metals.

There are no recognized data about the relationships between soil organic carbon and soil texture in Northern Agriculture Region (NAR), Western Australia (WA). Such information is central in understanding the impact of silt and clay content of soil profile soil organic carbon. In order to describe mathematically this relation, twenty-one soil orders highly weathered soils (mostly sandy soils) in Northern Agricultural Region, Western Australia under similar climate, vegetation and topography were sampled at 120 cm depth and analyzed for texture and total SOC concentration. The SOC concentration was directly and linearly correlated with the combined clay + silt (but not to clay alone) content for all depths. The intercept and slope of these linear relations decreased with depth following exponential and logarithmic functions (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.81 and 0.76, respectively). These mathematical functions permitted the adjustment of the intercept and slope parameters of a SOC = a + b (clay + silt) function for any depth in the 0-120 cm interval. This profile pedotransfer function precisely estimated SOC concentration (P < 0.0001, R2 = 0.90) up to 120 cm of the studied soils. Using data from different soil orders, estimated vs. measured SOC relations with similarly high R2 values were obtained, despite slopes and intercepts were different than 1 and 0. This indicates that for the NAR, WA the textural control of SOC varies predictably with depth, and the proposed model can be calibrated to estimate SOC in subsurface layers of highly weathered soils.