No abstract

Endosulfan is a widely used broad-spectrum organochlorine pesticide, which acts as a contact and stomach poison. Nontarget species, such as cattle, fish, birds, and even humans, are also affected. Studies on the genotoxicity and mutagenicity of endosulfan have been inconsistent and nothing is known about the genotoxicity of its metabolites. In the present study, endosulfan (as a commercial isomeric mixture and as the alpha- and beta-isomers), and metabolites of endosulfan (the sulfate, lactone, ether, hydroxyether, and diol derivatives) were assayed for their ability to induce DNA damage in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells and human lymphocytes using the Comet assay and were assayed for their mutagenicity using the Salmonella reversion assay (Ames test with TA98, TA97a, TA102, TA104, and TA100, with and without S9 activation). The compounds produced statistically significant (P < 0.01), concentration-dependent (0.25-10 microM) increases in DNA damage in both CHO cells and human lymphocytes. Endosulfan lactone caused the most DNA damage in CHO cells, while the isomeric mixture of endosulfan produced the greatest response in lymphocytes. The test compounds also were mutagenic in Salmonella strains at concentrations of 1-20 mug/plate (P < 0.05), with TA98 being the most sensitive strain and the diol and hydroxyether metabolites producing the highest responses. The results indicate that exposure to sublethal doses of endosulfan and its metabolites induces DNA damage and mutation. The contribution of the metabolites to the genotoxicity of the parent compound in Salmonella and mammalian cells, however, is unclear, and the pathways leading to bacterial mutation and mammalian cell DNA damage appear to differ.

The heavy metal-resistant bacterial strain SJ-101 has been isolated from fly ash contaminated soil. Based on the morphological and biochemical characteristics, the isolate SJ-101 was presumptively identified as Bacillus sp. The adsorption isotherms revealed the absolute adsorption capacity (Q degrees) of 244 mg Ni g(-1) dry cell mass vis-à-vis 161 mg Ni g(-1) synthetic resin (Amberlite IR-120). The higher relative adsorption capacity (K(F)) of 7.37, and the intensity of adsorption (1/n) of 0.58 with dry cell biomass suggested higher affinity of Bacillus cells towards nickel ions. The data conform to the Langmuir adsorption model relatively better than the Freundlich model. The thermodynamic parameters indicated the feasibility, endothermic, and interactive nature of nickel adsorption process on the cell surface. Higher Ni tolerance and sorption capacity of Bacillus sp. SJ-101, explicitly signifies its implications in Ni bioremediation process.

The study is focused on users' opinion as regards the adequacy of library collection and analyzes the level of users' satisfaction about library collection, organization, facilities and services both traditional as well as, IT enabled services. A well structured questionnaire was administered to faculty members, research scholars and students of the AMU to collect data regarding the adequacy of library collection and analyze the level of users' satisfaction. The survey reveals that the library collection in the AMU library is adequate enough for their users. AMU library users were also satisfied with the existing infrastructure of library and organization of their collections. The researcher observed that the overall satisfaction levels of the users regarding the AMU library is good.

No abstract