Soil heavy metals have been a very useful indicator of environmental quality worldwide. The present study was conducted to investigate the levels, sources, distribution and spatial variability of heavy metals (Cu, Mn, Cd, Pb, and Zn) in soils in close proximity to an industrial area. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) was applied to test the similarities between sampled elements based on neare...

The study focused on assessment of metal accumulation in certain aquatic macrophytes and benthic organisms to be used as biomonitors. The macrophytes and benthic organisms collected during April to May (2011) from river Cauvery, one of the main fresh water aquatic systems in the south of India. Microwave digested samples of discrete organs of macrophytes and benthic organisms were analyzed for ...

The distribution of some heavy metals, namely Cd, Pb, Zn, Fe, Cu, Cr and Mn in epipellic sediments of Igbede, Ojo and Ojora rivers of Lagos was studied weekly in the early summer (November) of 2003. The levels of selected trace metals were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (UNICAM 969 AAS SOLAR). Trends in heavy metal burdens in the sediments revealed weekly variations in all...

A field study was conducted to assess the agronomical performance of eggplant (Solanum melongena cv. Pusa Purple Long Hybrid-F1) grown in sewage sludge amended soil in rainy and summer seasons during two consecutive years 2012 and 2013. The results showed that sewage sludge significantly (P < 0.05/P < 0.01) increased the Organic Carbon (OC), sodium (Na + ), potassium (K + ), calcium (Ca 2+ ), m...

Metal contamination in agricultural soils is of increasing concern due to food safety issues and potential health risks. Accumulation of Heavy and trace metals in vegetables occur by various sources but soil is considered the major one. Consumption of vegetables containing (heavy/trace) metals is one of the main ways in which these elements enter the human body. Once entered, heavy metals are d...

The quality of edible seeds for human and animal nutrition is crucially dependent on high zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) seed concentrations. The micronutrient bioavailability is strongly reduced by seed phytate that forms complexes with seed cations. Superior genotypes with increased seed Zn concentrations had been identified, but low micronutrient seed levels often prevail when the plants are grown ...

Photoexcited quantum dots (QDs) offer a wealth of mechanisms for interactions with the valence band holes or conduction band electrons, influencing electron-hole recombination. The potential to use combinations of these mechanistic pathways to achieve detection of different metal ions with one modified QD system has been tested. Dual-function water-soluble core/shell-modified CdSe/ZnS quantum d...

Crossbred, multiparous beef cows (n = 178 in Year 1; n = 148 in Year 2) were used to evaluate the effects of Cu, Zn, and Mn supplementation and source on reproduction, mineral status, and performance in grazing cattle in eastern Colorado over a 2-yr period. Cows were stratified by expected calving date, age, BW, BCS, and liver mineral status and assigned to the following treatments: 1) control ...

Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization lead atmospheric deposition of heavy metals and dust load to become a global problem. We investigated the deposition of dust and heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Ni, Zn, Mn and Cu) at selected urban and sub-urban sites of Varanasi, India. Dustfall samples from different sampling location were collected and selected heavy metals viz. Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Zn, Mn an...