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Synthesis of a nanocomposite hydrogel P-PAMPS-PAAm/ZnO, has been made by the polymerization of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) and acrylamide (AAm) in the presence of pectin (P) and zinc oxide (ZnO) using microwave irradiation technique. FTIR, XRD, SEM and TEM studies indicated the formation of a gel network and incorporation of ZnO particles within gel structure. The system was evaluated for adsorption of Cu (II) and Pb(II) ions from aqueous solutions. About 77 mgg-1 of Cu(II) and 125 mgg-1 of Pb(II) could be adsorbed from aqueous solutions. Different isotherm models have been employed to study the adsorption process and the data is found to fit well with Langmuir isotherm model. The kinetic studies revealed a second-order adsorption process. About 95% of the metal ions adsorbed could be stripped in acidic medium of pH 1.2 indicating the reusability of the gel.

The study aimed at detoxifying JCSM using biological treatments (spontaneously, fungi cocktail and specific). Shimadzu HPLC/ UV was used to quantify phorbol esters in Jatropha curcas seed meal under isocratic conditions. After six days of fermentation, cocktail of fungi, and spontaneous fermentation of JCSM was effective in reducing PE concentration. Defattening seed meal using cold maceration in petroleum ether reduced phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) in the JCSM from 40.42 to 10.9 ng/ml prior to solid state fermentation. Spontaneous fermentation of defatted JCSM further reduced PMA from 10.9 to 5.05 ng/ml (53.6%). Fungi isolated during spontaneous fermentation included, Aspergillus niger (B), Aspergillus flavus (A), Rhizopus Stolonifer (C), Penicillium chrysogenum (D) and Fusarium species. The reduction of PE ranged between 10.71 – 1.46 ng/ml when single or a combination of the fungi isolates were used in solid state fermentation of the defatted seed meal. P. chrysogenum reduced phorbol ester levels (PE) in defatted seed 76.5%, R. stolonifer 43.3%, A. flavus 35.6% and A. niger 1.72%. When fungi isolates were paired, A. niger + P. chrysogenum (BD) reduced PE levels by 13.7%, A. flavus + A. niger 64.5%, A. flavus + P. chrysogenum 70.3%, A. flavus + R. stolonifer 78.8%, A. niger + R. stolonifer 86.6% and R. stolonifer + P. chrysogenum 86.6%. The treatment combination of A. niger + R. stolonifer + P. chrysogenum reduced PE levels by 84.0%, A. flavus + A. niger + R. stolonifer to 67.2% and A. flavus + R. stolonifer + P. chrysogenum to 62.3%. P. chrysogenum was effective as a single isolate but its activity was suppressed when paired with A. niger. Treatments of the deffated seed with, A. flavus + R. stolonifer; A. niger + R. stolonifer; R. stolonifer + P. chrysogenum; and A. niger + R. stolonifer + P. chrysogenum were the only combination that exceeded the phorbol reductive activity of P. chrysogenum in. It could therefore be concluded that Jatropha curcas seed meals can be detoxified by solid state fermentation.

The mangroves are the dominant flora of the estuarine ecosystem, showing different adaptations with unrelated species. Therefore in present investigation attempts were made to study vegetation characters of the mangroves from Western Maharashtra of India. The area is unique due to its diversity and dominant species occurred at different sites. It mainly consists of species like A. marina, A. officinalis, Rhizophora mucronata etc. with dominance occurring commonly at all the study sites. Sensitivity and adaptability of the species in the critical ecosystem become important to assess the vulnerability of a species.

The objective of this note is to present data pertaining to the basic needs and minimal requirements of water for sustenance and survival. In view of the concerns expressed by various agencies and citizen groups on the dwindling water supplies and the lack of access to clean water in many parts of the world, this note may help the reader to put in perspective the quantity of available water resources and the basic per capita water needs and minimal requirements of humans for their survival to carry on their other daily activities. India is taken as a case in point to examine the availability of its water resources for various uses. Other developing countries may make their own inventories of water available for various uses, and how they can meet the daily minimum needs of their people. The questions posed in the epilog section of this note are provided for readers to think seriously as to what can be done to ensure the sustainability of the economic growth of developing countries, and still preserve the quality and quantity of existing water resources.

Greening of industry relates to the greening of the process of producing and the product as most pollution occurs due to process of raw materials. In this article, we propose that green product innovation, green process innovation and combined green innovation will be positively influencing manufacturing firms to achieve corporate competitive advantages in the marketplace. This is in line with a suggestion in the literature whereby firms that implement green technology and show high environmental performance to be prone towards being profitable compared to those that are not. If this is true, then the proposed model is expected to show positive results, indicating that green innovation investment is indeed beneficial to manufacturing firms to as a business strategic tool to compete in the marketplace. Thus, the importance of green innovation practices in corporation should be implemented by firms.

Intense interest in Asparaginase has resulted from the discovery of its ability to inhibit growth of tumors in mouse, rat and dog to suppress human leukamias in clinical trails. L-Asparaginase is an effective antineoplastic agent, used in the acute lymphoblastic leukemia.Asparaginase catalyzes the deamination of asparaginases into L-aspartic acid and ammonia. The aim of the present investigation was to study production of asparaginase from agricultural waste like citrus limetta pulp using solid state fermentation (SSF).Citrus limetta pulp used as a sole source for growth in SSF showed maximum enzymes production. Optimized process parameters like incubation time: 72 hrs; incubation temperature:280C; pH of the culture medium: 7.5; and moisture content: 60% v/w gave an overall yield of 101 U/g.

We are very happy to announce that from 8th April 2011, Prof.Wael Abd-Allah El-Helece has joined the team of Elixir Editorial Advisory Board. He will carry a special responsibility for dealing with manuscripts based on the Chemistry. Prof.Wael Abd-Allah El-Helece is currently at Department of Chemistry, Jazan University, Jazan, KSA. The appointment of Prof.Wael Abd-Allah El-Helece as member Editorial Advisory Board strengthens the links and will make it easier for prospective authors to establish contact with the journal. Please send any expressions of interest to chiefeditor@elixirjournal.org. Sincerely Editor-in-Chief

The current research is focused on the need to find an economical adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater. The research was performed to assess the potential of a biocarbon generated from medicinal plant called Phyllanthus niruri (Phyllanthaceae) as an adsorbent in the removal of heavy metals from solution. Results from batch adsorption studies on the effect of pH, contact time, different concentration of Cu metal ions were used to estimate the optimum adsorption conditions. The obtained results showed that, the adsorption of the metal ions was dependent on adsorbent dosage, contact time and pH. The optimum adsorbent dosage, and pH, was found to be at 2.5 g and pH 4.4 respectively. The effective contact time was 150min at 30 0C. The study also showed that activated carbon produced from Phyllanthus Niruri biomass can be efficiently used as low cost alternative for removal of metal ions.

This study was conducted to determine the existing social service and community requirements in rural area of Uttrakhand Hill. Most of the hill village community in India including Uttrakhand have very poor to poor options of quality school education and health related assets option in their local places. Under this study also assess the community priority for education, health services and child development. The results stated that the Government education and health services are ultimate options for marginal and low economy groups but scarcity of modern educational assets and health services accelerate the high out migration from these villages. Thus to stop the fast out migration of middle and middle upper groups from rural area the planning polices of State and Central Government have need to give promotion to public private partnership in social services as per their priority. This efforts further supplement to minimize the out migration and avail services with local employment generation, deliver as the new catalyst for rural social revitalization.

Ni-substituted MnZn mixed ferrite prepared by conventional sol-gel method. Ni substituted MnZn ferrite of molecular formula Mn0.3Zn0.7NixFe2-xO4 in which five samples of x=0.0, x=0.4, x=0.8, x=1.2 and x=1.6 were prepared. The X-ray intensity of (4 0 0) plane were used to calculate particle size and studied its variation with Nickel concentration. XRD, SEM, FTIR and VSM characteristics were presented. The substitution of Ni by replacing Fe reduces the coercivity of the ferrite due to replacement of Ni2+ by Fe3+ in tetrahedral site. Infrared spectroscopies have been discussed so as to bring out the role of nickel substitution in determining structural properties of Zn–Mn ferrites and the role of nitrates in preparation of these compounds.