In this work, a pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of organic amendments in alleviation of toxicity of untreated domestic wastewater to okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) and purslane (Portulaca oleracea). Three organic amendments including farm yard manure (FYM), poultry manure (PM) and bagasse ash (BGA) at the rate of 1% and 3% were applied to the soil to evaluate their positive impact on vegetable plants. Results showed that untreated wastewater impeded the growth of both vegetables and increased uptake of heavy metals (HMs) (i.e. Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) by plants whereas organic amendments significantly improved the growth of plants and decreased the uptake of HMs. Shoot and root lengths and dry weights of plants were boosted by the FYM and PM, while chlorophyll a and b and carotenoids were enhanced by PM and BGA amendments. Interestingly, reduced HMs uptake was found where 3% of BGA or FYM were applied. Overall the results of this study showed that all three organic amendments were useful for improving growth of vegetables and alleviating the phytotoxicity of untreated wastewater and uptake of HMs by plants. Our findings suggest that these organic materials could be useful for improving agricultural productivity in untreated wastewater irrigated areas.
Lahore Zoo is an ex-situ conservation facility housing various indigenous and exotic species of captive wild animals and is a source of gratification for visitors, especially children. The location of Lahore Zoo is very prominent in this regard, making it a most active and accessible tourist/visitor destination. On average working days, around 3000-4000 visitors are recorded in Lahore Zoo, which can shoot up to 20,000 on peak weekends and public holidays. The present investigation was carried out to measure spatial and temporal variation in sound levels (dB (A)) at selected sites, along with on-site behavioral recording of selected animals throughout the week. Spatial analysis (Inverse Distance Weighted -IDW) of recorded sound data was done with ArcGIS 10.5 software. A comprehensive questionnaire was also designed to determine visitors' attitudes toward this issue. Results for sound level reveal that the average sound level was under the WHO limits mostly during weekdays, where the average visitor number ranges from 3838 to 4148. On weekends, it goes from 8950 to 19154 visitors with loud noise recorded at most sites. Results from the general ethogram revealed that socially interactive species like monkeys, deer, and bears were more responsive towards visitors, unlike felines (leopard, tiger and lion) which increased their resting period with increased visitor density. Highlighted noisy areas by surveyed visitors were Tiger, Lion, Deer, Monkey, Aquarium, Rhino, Wolf, Cafeteria, Bird section, Ostrich, Camel, Snake House, Zebra, Giraffe, and Bear. To combat this issue, an awareness campaign has been done in the zoo to educate visitors.
Climate change has triggered various catastrophic events including groundwater salinization resulted in quality deterioration worldwide leading to the environmental degradation and posed threat to natural ecosystems. Pakistan is among the countries severely affected by the climate change. Most of the Pakistani depends on groundwater resources for drinking and irrigation purposes but no clear policy exists regarding judicious extraction and usage of groundwater. Over extraction and exploitation of groundwater along with climate change events have deteriorated the quality of groundwater in Pakistan and most of the part is salinized and has excess of soluble salts and other chemical, physical and biological contaminants. This paper reviews the impacts of climate change on salinization and groundwater quality and possible remedies and solution for this problem especially with the perspective of Pakistan. It is the need of the hour of the time to introduce climate smart agricultural practices at farmer level to stop overexploitation of natural resources and to reduce the agriculture share to climate change. Policies should be developed and existing policies should be strictly implemented for the judicious use of surface water and ground water resources to avoid the risks of water scarcity in near future.
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important crop of the world and is considered as an essential food for one third of the world's population.Wheat yield and productivity are affected by many heavy metals including lead (Pb).In order to determine the genetic response of wheat against Pb stress, wheat was grown hydroponically with three different levels of Pb stress: 0, 75 and 225 µM.Total RNA was extracted from the leaves of two wheat cultivars 'Galaxy-13' and 'Punjab-11' in order to determine the expression of genes involved in detoxifying oxidative stress such as glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR), phospholipase Dα (PLDα) and zinc (Zn) transporter 8 precursor (ZIP8) and iron (Fe) regulatory transporter1 (IRT1).In silico characterization was performed to determine the sequence similarity of genes of this study in wheat and other crop plants.The results showed an increase in GST, GR and PLDα genes expression under severe stress conditions in both cultivars and the high expression of these genes could be important to protect cells from oxidative stress.Moreover, these genes could detoxify most of the secondary reactive oxygen species which are produced due to Pb stress.However, ZIP8 gene expression was high under mild stress condition while IRT1 gene expression was low in response to severe stress.In conclusion, high expression of GST, GR and PLDα genes could help wheat to survive under Pb stress and one or more of these genes could be used to screen Pb sensitive and resistant cultivars as well as in genetic transformation to develop Pb resistant wheat.
The present study focuses on testing the potential of starch from two different sources: corn and rice, to produce bioplastics, and the impact of natural agricultural waste materials (eggshells and rice hulls) as fillers. Bioplastic samples with different starches, plasticizers and amounts of fillers, in varying combinations, were prepared to determine the feasibility of the produced bioplastics. The physico-chemical properties of the bioplastics, such as moisture content, water absorption, water and alcohol solubility, biodegradability, tensile strength and Young’s modulus, were investigated. FT-IR analysis was also performed. The RTV silicone coating of the samples was tested to induce hydrophobic properties to water-soluble bioplastics. This study demonstrated that the utilization of starches from different sources, various types of plasticizers, as well as filler types and amounts, can have a significant impact on the physico-chemical properties of the bioplastics. Moreover, the bioplastics produced are safe for the environment and biodegradable, so starch-based bioplastics can be a promising environmentally friendly alternative to harmful petroleum-based plastics.
Boron (B) is an essential micronutrient in the growth of reproductive plant parts. Its deficiency and/or toxicity are widespread in arid and semi-arid soils with low clay contents. This study was planned to determine the response of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L., non-leguminous crop) and cowpea (Vigna sinensis L., leguminous crop) to boron (0, 2, 4, and 16 µg g−1) on four distinct soil series from Punjab, Pakistan i.e., Udic Haplustalf (Pindorian region), Typic Torrifluvent (Shahdra region), Halic Camborthid (Khurianwala region), and Udic Haplustalf (Gujranwala region). Overall, there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in yield between the sorghum (3.8 to 5.5 g pot−1 of 5 kg dry soil) and cowpea (0.2 to 3.2 g pot−1 of 5 kg dry soil) in response to B application. The highest yield was observed in both sorghum and cowpea either in control or at 2 µg g−1 B application in all four soils. Cowpea showed the same yield trend in all four soils (i.e., an increase in yield at 2 µg g−1 B application, followed by a significant decrease at the higher B levels). In contrast, sorghum exhibited greater variability of response on different soils; Udic Haplustalf (Pindorian region) produced the greatest yield at low levels of B application. However, Halic Camborthid produced its lowest yield at that level. Boron concentration in shoots increased with the levels of B application, particularly in sorghum. In cowpea, the plant growth was extremely retarded—and most of the plants died at higher levels of B application even if a lower concentration of B was measured within the shoot. Hot water-extractable B was the most available fraction for cowpea (R2 = 0.96), whereas the easily exchangeable B was most available for sorghum (R2 = 0.90). Overall, these results have implications for micronutrient uptake for both leguminous and non-leguminous crops.
In the current research work, a series of new N-(alkyl/aralkyl)-N-(2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxan-6-yl)-4-chlorobenzenesulfonamides has been synthesized by reacting 1,4-benzozzdioxan-6-amine (1) with 4-chlorobenzenesulfonyl chloride (2) to yield N-(2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxan-6-yl)-4-chlorobenzenesulfonamide (3) which was further reacted with different alkyl/aralkyl halides (4a-n) to afford the target compounds (5a-n). Structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by IR, 1H-NMR, EI-MS spectral techniques and CHN analysis data. The results of enzyme inhibition showed that the molecules, N-2-phenethyl-N-(2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxin-6-yl)-4-chlorobenzenesulfonamide (5j) and N-(1-butyl)-N-(2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxin-6-yl)-4-chlorobenzenesulfonamide (5d), exhibited moderate inhibitory potential against acetylcholinesterase with IC50 values 26.25±0.11 μM and 58.13±0.15 μM respectively, whereas, compounds N-benzyl-N-(2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxin-6-yl)-4-chlorobenzenesulfonamide (5i) and N-(pentane-2-yl)-N-(2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxin-6-yl)-4-chlorobenzenesulfonamide (5f) showed moderate inhibition against α-glucosidase enzyme as evident from IC50 values 74.52±0.07 and 83.52±0.08 μM respectively, relative to standards Eserine having IC50 value of 0.04±0.0001 μM for cholinesterases and Acarbose having IC50 value 38.25±0.12 μM for α-glucosidase, respectively.
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