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Potential Impacts of Environmental Pollution on the Growth and Metabolism of Medicinal Plants
Published in Azamal Husen, Environmental Pollution and Medicinal Plants, 2022
Nisha Rani, Madhavi Joshi, Anand Sagar, Hardeep Rai Sharma
Salinity is a major global concern and a significant abiotic stress that hampers growth as well as the development of plants and also plays the most important role in determining the ecological distribution of medicinal plant species. Salinization of soil and water is a major reason for medicinal plants encountering this stress. In reality, approximately 40 per cent of the earth’s land area suffers from these problems (Vriezen et al. 2007). There has been an estimated 10 per cent annual increase in the salinized areas for diverse reasons, including more surface evaporation followed by less rainfall, weathering of rocks, poor agriculture and irrigational practices. It has been predicted that, by the year 2050, more than 50 per cent of the arable land will be salinized (Jamil et al. 2011; Mondal and Kaur 2017).
Autofluorescence as a Parameter to Study Pharmaceutical Materials
Published in Victoria Vladimirovna Roshchina, Fluorescence of Living Plant Cells for Phytomedicine Preparations, 2020
Victoria Vladimirovna Roshchina
Salinity is a major abiotic stress limiting the growth and productivity of plants in many areas of the world due to the increasing use of poor-quality water for irrigation and soil salinization (Gupta and Huang 2014). The typical definition of a halophyte is a plant species that can survive and reproduce under growth conditions with more than 200 mM NaCl. It has been conservatively estimated that there is approximately 1000 million ha of salt-affected land throughout the world (Liu et al. 2018). Salt stress is a combination of ionic stress due to the chaotropic effects of incoming Na+ and Cl– and osmotic stress resulting from a decrease in water potential (Lugan et al. 2010). The result of these disturbances in water management is a loss of turgor, inhibition of cell elongation, stomatal closure, and decrease in the intensity of photosynthesis (Cassaniti et al. 2012). Therefore, it is important to carry out studies that allow the selection of suitable, salt-tolerant species. Some medicinal plants have the ability to grow under salinity due to the presence of different mechanisms for salt tolerance; such plants are known as salt-resisting plants, salt-tolerating plants, or halophytes (Aslam et al. 2011).
Dams and dambusters
Published in Théodore H MacDonald, David Player, Mathura P Shrestha, Sacrificing the WHO to the Highest Bidder, 2018
Early evidence of the negative impact of salinization on fish life in the Aral Sea appeared in the mid-1960s, when salinity reached 12–14%. In shallow water the salinity of water increased faster than in the open parts of the sea, negatively affecting spawning sites. By 1971 the average salinity exceeded 15% and resulted in the destruction of fish spawn. Since then the average salinity reached 12% in the open part of the sea, and the first signs of a negative impact on fish appeared. Some kinds of fish slowed their growth, and the number of fish was sharply reduced. By the mid-1970s the average salinity of the sea exceeded 14%, and the natural reproduction of the Aral fishery was completely destroyed. In the late 1970s several species of fish did not reproduce at all, and by 1980 the salinity exceeded 18%.
Opportunistic free-living amoebal pathogens
Published in Pathogens and Global Health, 2022
Mohammad Ridwane Mungroo, Naveed Ahmed Khan, Sutherland Maciver, Ruqaiyyah Siddiqui
Intracellular components of Acanthamoeba trophozoites, enclosed within the plasma membrane, include mitochondria, nucleus, Golgi complex, endoplasmic reticulum and vacuoles [23]. Acanthamoeba trophozoites (15–45 μm) transform into a more compact dormant cyst stage (10–25 μm) when exposed to unfavorable conditions, including extreme temperatures or pH, high salination or osmolarity and lack of nutrients or drought [24]. Acanthamoeba cysts are round and are surrounded by a capsule, consisting of an inner endocyst and an outer ectocyst, made up primarily of cellulose and consolidated by binding of cellulose-binding lectins to glycopolymers [14,24–26]. Acanthamoeba cysts may survive in the environment for prolonged periods of more than 20 years without losing their virulence [27] and resist extreme physiological, chemical and radiological conditions [24]. Acanthamoeba spp. can infect the CNS, causing GAE, and the eyes, leading to a devastating infection known as AK, and may cause infections secondary to other (mainly bacterial) infections that have disrupted tissues, especially the skin in immunocompromised individuals [28, 29, 13]. It is widely recognized that the route of entry for Acanthamoeba involves the respiratory tract, leading to invasion of the alveolar blood vessels, followed by hematogenous spread and that the blood-brain barrier is where entry into the CNS most likely occurs [11].
Geographical differences in semen characteristics of 13 892 infertile men
Published in Arab Journal of Urology, 2018
Haitham Elbardisi, Ahmad Majzoub, Sami Al Said, Khalid Al Rumaihi, Walid El Ansari, Alia Alattar, Mohamed Arafa
From the environmental aspect, the MENA region is known to be a large arid region susceptible to impacts from climate change, including the deterioration of water quality, contamination of groundwater aquifers, high temperature increases, reduced precipitation, and salinization of agricultural land. With the absence of strict policy reforms, the MENA nations can do more in terms of protecting their water resources [33]. In addition, the MENA region is also vastly reliant on hydrocarbon resources and has increasing energy and carbon concentrations, which is not the case in other developed countries [33]. A recent report published in 2013 found that CO2 emissions in the MENA region were higher than the non-MENA, and thus MENA nations seem to be contributing more to environmental pollution [34]. In this case, the population in this region is highly exposed to environmental pollutants and faces increasing temperatures due to the global warming effect, which in turn largely affect the male reproductive system of the population [35].
Impact of pH conditions and the characteristics of two electrodialysis membranes on biofilm development under semi-realistic conditions
Published in Biofouling, 2021
Jörg Böllmann, Marion Martienssen
Freshwater scarcity has become an increasing problem worldwide with an agricultural sector taking up as much as 70% of the total freshwater consumption (FAO 2017). The reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation is one way to meet the increasing demand for irrigation water where there is a decreasing natural water supply (Qadir and Sato 2016). Removal of excess minerals and pathogenic bacteria is often necessary to avoid soil salination and reinfection with diseases (Qadir and Scott 2010; Goodman et al. 2013; Aguas et al. 2019). Membrane-based electro-dialyses is one established procedure (Strathmann 2010; Bunani et al. 2013; Xie et al. 2016) to generate water of adequate quality (Goodman et al. 2013).