Bidhannagar College in Bidhannagar, Kolkata, established on 25 June 1984, is a West Bengal State University affiliated college run by the Government of West Bengal. It was formerly affiliated to the University of Calcutta. Apart from undergraduate courses, the college offers postgraduate courses in anthropology, botany, chemistry, education, microbiology and zoology..
The increased global production of plastic materials and the presence of plastic waste in the environment have resulted in widespread environmental contamination despite the presence of restrictions from various governments. The breakdown of macroplastic materials has resulted in the formation of microplastics (MPs; ≤ 5 mm), which are now widespread in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems. The widespread presence of MPs in the environment poses severe ecotoxicological risks to organisms at various trophic levels. Although there has been increased interest in the study of the impacts of MPs, critical knowledge gaps still exist regarding the application of remediation measures at various scales. This article aims to comprehend the present status of global MP contamination, with a special focus on the patterns of contamination and the difficulties associated with environmental monitoring in India. The study also examines advances over the last decade in the biodegradation of secondary MPs using bacterial and fungal consortia. The critical parameters associated with the degradation process, the efficiency of the microorganisms in various experimental setups, and the associated enzymatic processes are critically reviewed in the study.
Gastrointestinal helminth infection in goats is a serious threat to animal husbandry in India. The present study was conducted to evaluate the epidemiology and prevalence of helminth infection in goats. Reports on such infection from different states across the country were collected from 60 articles and categorized into 5 zones viz. North, South, East, West, and Central based on their geographical location in India. Total 14 genera under phylum Nematoda, 4 genera under class Cestoda and 5 genera under class Trematoda were reported from all over India. Analysis of the prevalence of helminth infection in different zones of India indicated that, the Nematodes- Haemonchus, Trichuris, Strongyle and Strongyloides were prevalent almost in all the zones while; Dictyocaulus, Nematodirus, and Chabertia were specific only to the north zone. The nematodes found to be restricted to the east zone were Gaigeria, Bunostomum, Gongylonema, and Trichostrongylus. Infection of Ancylostoma was reported to occur only in some samples from West zone. Among the Cestodes, Moniezia was most prevalent in all the zones. The Trematodes- Amphistome and Fasciola were observed in almost all the zones. The total prevalence proportions of nematodes, trematodes and cestodes were 0.73, 0.18 and 0.09 respectively all over India. Higher prevalence of nematodes followed by trematodes and Cestodes were also observed in different zones excepting east zone where trematoda and cestoda prevalence proportions were comparable. Maximum prevalence of infection was higher in monsoon season, in younger aged and female hosts. This study may help in better management of gastro-intestinal helminth infection in goats and to reduce resulting economic losses.
Pollination is one of the most essential economic services, and approximately 87.5
Titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) have extensive industrial applications as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, sunscreens, implanted biomaterials, paints, printing ink, etc. However, extensive industrial usage leaves a trail of toxicological implications on the ecological cascade through biological uptake and accumulation. Being the major sink, the aquatic environments might often get adversely affected at different levels of biological organization – from genetic to systemic levels depending on nanoparticles’ size, surface area, agglomeration, surface properties and exposure window. Upon exposure, the TiO2-NPs have been shown to cause oxidative stress, genotoxicity, and histopathological alterations. TiO2-NPs can bind with free radicals and signal molecules and interfere with several biochemical reactions in the plasmalemma. All these toxicological challenges draw attention of the researchers to focus more on the not-so-explored territory of the nanoparticle’s toxicity and associated changes, which could provide an insight into their environmental relevance and ecotoxicological risk. This study is the only one integrating current data on TiO₂-NPs interactions across several trophic levels and environmental compartments. It emphasises on the consequences on non-target aquatic animals under actual exposure situations.
