Wastewater of anthropogenic origin is known to harbor various bacteria that are known to be of potential risk to human health and environment. It is of utmost importance to monitor such water sources. Coliforms present in the sewage water samples of municipal sewage treatment plants located at three different places in the South Gujarat region (Surat, Navsari and Vapi) of India were analyzed for their coliforms load as well as tested for their drug resistance. Using cultivation-based techniques microbial load and drug resistance (Amoxicillin, Tetracycline, Ciprofloxacin, Erythromycin, Trimethoprim and Sulphamethoxazole) were analyzed. Water treatment statistically significantly decreased the bacterial load in Vapi and Navsari samples. The optical density of with and without antibiotics of all the three locations was shown to increase significantly after 72 hours. Of all the isolates tested, except isolate 'VA5' (resisted up to 90 ㎍ of Ampicillin) all other isolates resisted 256 ㎍ concentration of antibiotics tested. This study indicates that the sewage water is being contaminated with drugs and/or antibiotics due to industrial and/or anthropogenic activities. Regular monitoring of the water quality is required followed by implementation of environmental laws for reducing the pollutants, that are of human health and environment concern.

This article presents studies of the adsorption process in a continuous system of fluoride solutions at a concentration of 30 mg/L using a bone char packed in fixed-bed columns, as well as regeneration studies in the same system using HNO₃, HCl and NaOH at 0.01, 0.1 and 1 M. The Thomas Model, Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), Numerical Integration and Mass Transfer Zone were used for the modeling of asyemmetrical breakthrough curves obtained from the fluoride adsorption on bone char. The maximum adsorption capacity of the breakthrough curves was estimated, and various design parameters of the columns were obtained for the different operating conditions. Results showed that an improvement in the modeling capabilities of the Thomas model can be obtained using ANNs. Moreover, ANNs are useful for determining reasonable and accurate design parameters of packed-bed adsorption columns. This modeling approach can be useful for the process system engineering of dynamic adsorption systems involved in the field of water treatment and purification. It is important to highlight that the obtained results indicate that, when using HCl or HNO₃ at a concentration of 0.1 M, a large number of adsorption-desorption cycles are obtained and, therefore, the highest values of adsorption capacity, which leads to a reduction in operation costs.

In developing countries, solid waste is typically disposed of inappropriately, which has a negative impact on the environment and healthcare. One of the most serious environmental issues is the management of municipal solid waste because of the huge increase in waste generation brought on by industrialization, economic development, urbanization, and the exponential growth of Gurugram City's population. Municipal Corporation Gurugram (MCG) handles solid waste collection, transportation, and disposal. The city generates over 1100 tons of solid waste per day. In consideration of this, the current study employed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats framework called SWOT analysis to critically examine the city's current methods for the management of municipal solid waste to provide more effective policy solutions. For conducting the analysis, the questionnaires and other interviews were conducted to gather information from households and officials in the city, and the observation made during field visits were recorded. The analysis shows that the waste management issue is getting worse for a variety of causes, including a lack of regulatory enforcement, insufficient technical and financial resources, insufficient people's participation, inadequate execution of policies, a lack of political priorities, and poor coordination between authorities.

The sustainable management of rice straw is essential for protection of human health and environment. This study assesses the impact of stock density of earthworm (Eisenia fetida) and Neem leaves (Azadirachta indica) on the quality of the final vermicompost. The vermicompost is produced using different combinations of rice straw, Neem leaves, and cow dung (bulking agent) by varying stock density of earthworms. The vermicomposting experiments are performed in plastic containers (32 cm × 28 cm × 28 cm) in open for 90 days under laboratory conditions. The stock density of the earthworm is found to be an important factor to influence nutritional quality of the final vermicompost. There is observed significant improvement in the total nitrogen (91.8%), phosphate (73.4%), potassium (38.8%), and calcium (59.05%) content of the vermicompost produced with the highest stock density of the earthworms. All the treatments showed decrease in TOC and C:N content after 90 days of vermicomposting. The treatment with Neem leaves showed maximum growth of earthworms (2.65 fold). Neem leaves brought positive changes in the quality of final vermicompost by enhancing the growth and reproduction of the earthworms. The calcium content increased by 39% in the final vermicompost with the addition of Neem leaves at the same stock density of the earthworms. The stock density of the earthworms and Neem leaves are found to significantly improve quality of the final vermicompost as compared with the compost (control). The surface morphology in SEM images showed high degree of fragmentation in the vermicompost as compared with the compost. The combined action of microbes and earthworms resulted in high degree of disintegration in the vermicompost.

The effect of homobrassinolide (HBL) on the nutrient value of Curcuma longa L. (turmeric) rhizome grown in Nizamabad, Telangana State, India was studied. Application of homobrassinolide (HBL) as foliar spray to turmeric plants on the 20^th, 40^th and 60^th day from sowing resulted in enhanced chemical composition of turmeric rhizome. Application of homobrassinolide (HBL) resulted in enhanced total sugars, principal ingredient curcumin, total poly phenol content, total flavonoid content, total tannin content, crude fat, crude fibre and essential oils (turmerone, zingiberene, cineole and p-cymene) present in the turmeric rhizome indicating the ability of homobrassinolide (HBL) as a potential plant growth regulator (PGR).