Environmental Pollutants

Seeds of Artocarpus hirsutus Lam., Garcinia xanthochymus Hook., Saraca asoca Roxb., Rourea minor Gaertn., Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb., Terminalia chebula Retz., Aporusa lindleyana (Wt.) bail., Holoptelea integrifolia Roxb. and Oroxylum indicum (L.) Vent. were collected from different regions of Western Ghats and exposed to different doses of gamma radiation using Co-60 source. The effect of irradiation was examined on germination, growth and vigor parameters.

Hormesis refers to the beneficial effects of a treatment that at a higher intensity is harmful. In one form of hormesis, sublethal exposure to stressors induces a response that results in stress resistance. The principle of stress-response hormesis is increasingly finding application in studies of aging, where hormetic increases in life span have been seen in several animal models.

BACKGROUND: The heavy metal lead has been shown to be associated with a genotoxic risk. Drosophila melanogaster is a model organism commonly utilized in genetic toxicology testing. The endosymbionts--Wolbachia are now very common in both wild populations and laboratory stocks of Drosophila. Wolbachia may induce resistance to pathogenic viruses, filarial nematodes and Plasmodium in fruit fly and mosquito hosts. However the effect of Wolbachia infection on the resistance of their hosts to heavy metal is unknown.

The genome is programmed by the epigenome. Two of the fundamental components of the epigenome are chromatin structure and covalent modification of the DNA molecule itself by methylation. DNA methylation patterns are sculpted during development and it has been a long held belief that they remain stable after birth in somatic tissues. Recent data suggest that DNA methylation is dynamic later in life in postmitotic cells such as neurons and thus potentially responsive to different environmental stimuli throughout life.

Although there is some evidence supporting the existence of an association between prenatal maternal or postnatal child's urine phthalate metabolite concentrations and poor attentional performances, the interaction between urine phthalate metabolite levels and genetic variation for neuropsychological deficit of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has not been examined.

CONTEXT: Lipophilic toxicants have been associated with hormone disruption, immune system suppression, reproductive disorders, several types of cancer, and other diseases. Due to environmental persistence and bioaccumulation, body burdens of certain toxicants, such as dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), appear to be a health risk despite the toxicants' having been banned for decades. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a safe, standardized, Ayurvedic detoxification procedure can mobilize lipid-soluble toxicants and stimulate their excretion.

Arsenic contamination of ground water is well understood while other environmental systems are rarely considered to be contaminated by arsenic. A vital issue is whether or not appreciable arsenic transmits through the food chain. Reportedly, ayurvedic herbal medicine products (AHMPs) manufactured in Asia were found to be contaminated by harmful level of Arsenic. This study was aimed to quantify the arsenic levels in water, herbal and soil samples collected from the same origin using highly accurate neutron activation analysis (NAA) technique.

The construction and electrodes characteristics of poly(vinylchloride) (PVC)-based polymeric membrane electrode (PME) and coated graphite electrode (CGE), incorporating 1,3-alternate thiacalix[4]crown as ionophore for estimation of Hg(II) ions, are reported here. The best potential response was observed for PME-1 having membrane composition of: ionophore (6.2 mg), PVC (100.0 mg), 2-nitrophenyl octyl ether (2-NPOE; 200.0 mg), and sodium tetraphenyl borate (NaTPB; 2.0 mg); for CGE-1 with the membrane composition: ionophore (3.5 mg), PVC (40.0 mg), 2-NPOE (80.0 mg), and NaTPB (2.0 mg).

Biogeochemical characteristics of the cattle are dealt based on the observations made in Ayurveda in the light of modern scientific developments in applied environmental geochemistry. The biogeochemical characteristics of certain important ecological components and animal products of the stall-fed animals were studied. For this purpose, a dairy farm of Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams, a religious organization in Tirupati, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh was selected.

SCOPE: The "fetal basis of adult disease" hypothesis proposes that prenatal exposure to environmental stress can lead to increased susceptibility to clinical disorders later in life. In utero exposure of fetus to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) leads to alterations in T-cell differentiation in the thymus and increased susceptibility to autoimmune disease later in life. TCDD triggers toxicity through activation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor and severely affects maternal and fetal immune system during pregnancy.