International Letters of Natural Sciences Vol. 55

Abstract: High arsenic (As) contents have been reported in numerous Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (KPB) clays worldwide including that from Spain (at Caravaca and Agost) and N. Zealand (at Woodside Creek). The Deccan Traps (India) enormous volcanism is one of the interpretations which have been offered to explain this anomaly. This report shows that the estimated surface densities of As in the boundary clays in Spain and New Zealand strongly contradict that anomalous As was sourced by this volcanic event.

Abstract: A study on the characteristic of sediment quality of Asejire Reservoir was conducted to evaluate the heavy metal content of the reservoir. Twenty stations were selected, samples and analyzed using standard methods. The result showed that the sediment was slightly acidic across the study stations, with low conductivity and organic matter content. The heavy metals order of dominance was: Fe>Pb>Cu>Zn>Mn>Al>Ba>Ni>Cr. The mean concentration levels of all the heavy metals were lower than mean background value except Fe, Cu and Pb. However, calculated Enrichment Factor (EF) values for all the heavy metals investigated showed that they were less than 1.5 (<1.5), suggesting that the heavy metals were all derived mainly from natural sources such as bedrock materials and weathering processes.

Abstract: The article is devoted to studying the mechanisms of regulating physiological maintenance of mental processes and the possibility of Kirlian photography for assessing psycho-emotional state with intuitive thinking. While doing the tasks connected with the intuition, the students with the low level of intuitive thinking demonstrated the increase in the degree of filling blood hemoglobin with oxygen (saturation) and the increase in heart systole rate (HSR). The change of the indices of the heart rhythm variability – the mode decrease with the simultaneous increase in the mode amplitude and the vegetative indices – indicates the activation of both sympathetic and central mechanisms of mental processes regulation. The tension index of the regulatory systems (RS) allows us to judge about the mental process activity. The students were in the state of the compensated distress. All indices of the heart rhythm variability of the students with the medium intuition level indicate the central mechanisms of regulating the intuitive thinking processes. The increase in saturation, increased RS on the background of HSR decrease in the students of this group reveals a special functional state connected with the doubled control over the processes. The area of the Kirlian luminescence crown around the right hand forth finger is increased in all students with intuitive thinking. The energetic luminescence degree of the corresponding finger reveals the level of development of this kind of thinking: the higher the level of intuitive thinking, the more the luminescence area. Due to its high sensitivity, the Kirlian method can be applied for revealing the student’s individuality that is not identified by the psychological tests.

Abstract: Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) B.L. Burtt. & R.M. Sm is an important perennial ginger plant in the tropics with various uses as foods, dietary supplement, cosmetics, essential oil production and traditional medicines. In this study, essential oils, phenolic acids, fatty acids, kavains, total phenols and antioxidant activity in A. zerumbet plants exposed to UV-C were investigated. Number and weights of essential oils increased rapidly from 1 to 3 days of exposure. Major extend of essential oils was recorded in methyl cinnamate and followed by benzyl acetone. The correspondence to the accumulation of palmitic acid was 15 folds, in contrast to the strong reduction of stearic quantity was 10 folds at 3 days of treatment. Changes in chemical components and antioxidant capacity in A. zerumbet are differed reversely between the exposure of UV-C and heavy toxic chemicals. The exposure of UV-C is beneficial for the increasing of essential oil production in A. zerumbet.

Abstract: The present paper discusses the role of earthworms in recycling of sugar industrial wastes. The wastes generated from sugar industry are pressmud, bagasse, bagasse fly ash, sugar cane trash, sugar beet mud, sugar beet pulp, molasses etc. These wastes when mixed with other organic substrates become ideal mixtures for growth of earthworms. These wastes if stored in open field’s causes contamination in the environment and may cause several diseases in public health. But the governments have been unable to tackle the menace of solid waste pollution due to dearth of appropriate technologies, finance and space. Therefore, environment friendly and cost effective technologies for nutrient recycling or remediation of wastes are being advocated as an alternative means for conserving and replenishing natural resources of the ecosystems. Vermicomposting is one such technology that synergises microbial degradation with earthworm’s activity for reducing, reusing and recycling waste materials in a shorter span of time. Earthworm technology can convert sugar industrial wastes into valuable fertilizing material. The final product (vermicompost) produced during the process of vermicomposting is nutrient rich organic fertilizer with plant available nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, calcium and phosphorus. In the present study an attempt has been made to document the role of earthworms in reuse of sugar industry waste.

Abstract: The antimicrobial activity of methanolic and aqueous extracts of Chrysophyllum albidum fruits was investigated against clinical isolates (Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia and Candida albicans). Qualitative phytochemistry of the plant indicated that the plant contained Flavonoids, Steroids, Alkaloids, Tannin, Anthraquinone and Cardiac glycosides while Saponins were reported absent. The maximum activity of the aqueous extracts in the test isolates was observed on Staphylococcus aureus, which showed clear zones with diameters of 24.0mm, 20.0mm and 16.5mm at concentrations of 100mg/ml, 50mg/ml and 25mg/ml respectively while it had low activity on Klebsiella pneumonia, with clear zones of inhibition of 15.0mm, 12.0mm and 10.5mm at same concentrations. On the other hand, Methanolic extracts activity on Staphylococcus aureus produced clear zones of 21.0mm, 17.5mm and 12.0mm at concentrations of 200mg/ml, 100mg/ml and 50mg/ml respectively as its best activity while the it had least observed activity on Klebsiella pneumonia with clear zones of 14.0mm, 11.5mm and 10.5mm at same concentrations. The aqueous extracts had greater activity than the methanolic extracts at same concentrations. Therefore, the fruit of the plant can be a good source of remedy in phytomedicine.

Abstract: The effect of polluting the environment with the emissions of the Prydniprovska Thermal Power Plant emissions, Dnipropetrovsk city, on morphometric and cytogenetic indicators of floral system of Tilia genus representatives was examined. The research was conducted in June and July in 2015. The studied objects in conditions of technogenesis show reduction of the bloom intensity rate and an increase of pollen grain sterility, which is the most significant in T. сordata. Sensitive indicators of Tilia generative sphere were suggested as informative test parameters for the use in monitoring the environment state. The recommendations are offered on the use of species of the Tilia genus in gardening industrial sites in terms of the steppe Prydniprovya.

Abstract: The morphological characterization was carried out for 5 isolates of Trichoderma harzianum and 7 isolates of Trichoderma viride and tested for their biocontrol efficacy. The isolates belonging to T.harzianum were analogous in colony colour, culture smell, mycelial colour, conidiation, conidial shape, conidial wall and conidial colour. Correspondingly the isolates of T.viride showed certain similarity in colony colour, colony edge, culture smell, conidiophore branching, conidial wall, conidial colour and chlamydospores. Inter specific differences through cluster analysis based on morphological characters grouped the twelve isolates into three major clusters where all the isolates of T.harzianum formed a single cluster while the isolates of T.viride were bifurcated into two groups. The clustering was substantiated by similarity index which showed maximum similarity among T.harzianum isolates with only less than 20% variation among themselves. Similarly the clusters having isolates of T.viride also had less variation within them. The biocontrol efficacy of these twelve isolates of Trichoderma was experimented by dual culture test under laboratory condition and there existed some relation between the biocontrol efficacy of these isolates and morphology.

Abstract: The capacity of Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) to produce voltage and concurrently treat abattoir waste water was investigated in MFCs that used 0.1M potassium ferricyanide (K3[Fe(CN)6] as catholytes. Physicochemical, electrochemical and Microbiological properties of the MFCs were monitored. The open circuit voltage (OCV) readings were taken at 3 hours interval and maximum OCV of 965mV was recorded. Also, The physicochemical characteristics of the MFCs revealed that the pH decreased by 0.2 after treatment; Chemical Oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, ammonia, and total nitrogen reduced by 88.4%, 65.56%, 43.88%, 60% and 60% respectively. However, Phosphate increased by 54%. The bacterial isolates from the raw abattoir wastewater were Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli and Micrococcus luteus while Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus cereus and Escherichia coli were isolated from the biofilms on the anode. Microbial fuel cells therefore have capacities for simultaneous waste water treatment and electricity generation.

Abstract: In this study, total phenolic, flavonoid contents, antioxidant capacity, and phenolic compositions of Castanopsis phuthoensis and Castanopsis grandicicatricata (Fagaceae family) were investigated. It was found that bark extracts were rich of phenolic contents, whereas leaf extracts were abundant of flavonoids. The total phenolics varied from 11.20 to 35.47 mg gallic acid equivalent g^-1 dry weight (DW), and the total flavonoids were from 2.24 to 12.55 mg rutin equivalent g^-1 DW. The results of antioxidant activity showed that the DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl) radical scavenging activity of the free phenolic extracts were higher than the bound phenolic extracts. Regarding the reducing power and β-carotene bleaching assays, the free phenolic extracts showed remarkably strong antioxidant capacity that were similar to the levels of the standard BHT (dibutyl hydroxytoluene) did. It could be concluded that free phenolic extracts were more effective in antioxidant activities than bound phenolic extracts. A highly significant correlation between phenolic contents and antioxidant activity in extracts were observed. By HPLC analysis, seven phenolic acids were detected including gallic, p-hydroxybenzoic, vanillic, sinapic, p-coumaric, ellagic, and vanillin. Of which, gallic, ellagic, and sinapic acids were the most abundant compounds in the two species. The results suggest C. phuthoensis and C. grandicicatricata contain rich sources of natural antioxidants and phenolic compounds which are probably considered in pharmaceutical use.