Traditional Piscicidal Knowledge along the Chakpi River and other Water Bodies in Chandel District, Manipur State : Past and Present Scenario

The present study was undertaken with an aim to expound the various indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) practices centring around the stagnant or semi-stagnant water bodies in Chandel district of Manipur. The prevailing indigenous practices were considered and only three groups of indigenous practices were found to be rational in the present scenario which could be further assessed, documented and propagated for the benefit of farming community. The three group of indigenous practices involve the age-old methods of stupefying the fish in ponds or rivers using tree barks, roots and leaves of specific trees or plants having ichthyotoxic properties. Two filters were applied to identify the ITKs. The first filter being rationality therein only ITK practices having rationality score more than 2.4 being explained in the study. The second filter was mean perceived effectiveness index (MPEI). Of the 17 practices evaluated, 3 were rational (42.08%) while the remaining 14 were rejected as irrational (57.92%). The perceived effectiveness and adoption rate analysis of these age-old ITKs indicated that, the traditional use of stupefying barks was rated as rational (3.01), perceived as highly effective (2.60) and adopted by 78 per cent of the respondents whereas on the lower end, the method incorporating the juice extract of ichthyotoxic leaves was rated as rational (2.48), perceived as effective (1.9) and adopted by 48 per cent of respondents.

Evaluation of antioxidants activity of some tree barks grown in Libya (Al Jabal Al Akhdar) Pinus halepensis Mill, Pistacia lentiscus L, Juniperus phoenicea L

The aim of the present study investigated anti-oxidant activity of various methanol-water extracts from tree barks grown in Libya (Al Jabal AL Akhdar) by four anti-oxidant assays FRAP. DPPH. H2O2 and Metal chelating activity. Additionally, these antioxidant activities were compared with BHA, BHT as reference antioxidants. Tree bark has a large, diverse class of compounds, many with antioxidant properties. This study showed FRAP inhibitory activity of the Pinus halepensis bark extracts 56.8%, while Juniperus phoenicea L 57.6%, and Pistacia lentiscus L bark extracts was 69.2% The DPPH radical scavenging in the bark extracts exerted an inhibition of 66.8 %, 62.3% ,74.6% for Pinus halepensis, Juniperus phoenicea and Pistacia lentiscus L respectively. While H2O2 activity shows variation, ranging from 67. 8 to 81. 3%. The Metal chelating activity of the barks extract was 59% in Pinus halepensis and 57% in Juniperus phoenicea L bark extracts furthermore Pistacia lentiscus L was 67.8% in addition the Metal chelating activity of BHT and BHA 92%, 94% respectively. The high antioxidant activity of bark was founded in Pistacia lentiscus L bark extracts.

Assessment of heavy metal content in tree barks: Picea abies, Pinus sylvestris, and Pinus nigra (RETRACTED)

Extracts obtained from the bark of woody plants are used for their high content in polyphenolic compounds with various biological activities. Thus, it is important to evaluate the heavy metals in various tree barks, as these pollutants may end up in the final product, affecting its properties and having potential health implications. This study assessed the heavy metal content in the barks of spruce (Picea abies) and pine (Pinus sylvestris and Pinus nigra) collected from different areas in Romania. After collecting the vegetal material from different sites, the bark samples were appropriately processed and analyzed via inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The results showed that 6 out of 8 tested samples exceeded the normal values of selenium (Se). Arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) were not detected in any sample, while other metals (chromium (Cr); lead (Pb); nickel (Ni)) were detected in variable amounts. Moreover, relatively high levels of heavy metals were recorded in a spruce bark sample collected from the seemingly most unpolluted site. Although further studies are needed to determine the effects of these heavy metals on extraction yields and their transfer into the final extracts, their presence might indicate a potential problem.

Magnetic properties of PM in indoor/outdoor domestic environments

<p>The finer fraction of the particulate matter (PM) is the most harmful health wise, as it has more capacity to reach deeper parts of the respiratory system. Among other constituents, PM also contains iron oxides, allowing for the use of magnetic methods in its investigation as proxies for the whole of PM. Those methods present advantages in comparison to traditional ones, being quick, cost effective and sensible to investigate iron oxides among PM. </p><p>To better understand the risks related to PM exposition in the domestic context, the assessment of magnetic parameters may be used in outdoor and indoor environments, giving us information on the concentration of iron oxides (and consequently, PM) and its dispersion from one environment to the other. </p><p>We developed a citizen sciences experiment in the city of Toulouse, France. Tree barks were used as bio-collectors. Garlands composed of tree bark pieces were distributed to the population in May-2019, and placed in both indoors and outdoors of flats and homes to capture PM. They were retrieved after one year. Measurement of magnetic susceptibility, ARM, SIRM, S -ratio and estimation of superparamagnetic concentration were performed. A total of 86 bio-collectors kits were successfully analyzed. The preliminary results indicate a higher concentration of iron oxides outdoors, with a mean difference between outdoor and indoor measurements of 6.58x10<sup>-9</sup>m<sup>3</sup>/kg and 1.38x10<sup>-5</sup>Am<sup>2</sup>/kg in susceptibility and SIRM respectively. The concentration of the SP fraction also follows this trend of higher outdoor values. The magnetic mineralogy is mostly dominated by low coercivity magnetite-like carriers.</p><div> <div> <div> </div> </div> <div> <div> </div> </div> </div>