The upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor has been recognized as an important wastewater treatment technology among anaerobic treatment methods. The objective of this study was to perform literature review on the treatment of domestic sewage using the UASB reactor as the core component and identifying future areas of research. The merits of anaerobic and aerobic bioreactors are highlighted and other sewage treatment technologies are compared with UASB on the basis of performance, resource recovery potential, and cost. The comparison supports UASB as a suitable option on the basis of performance, green energy generation, minimal space requirement, and low capital, operation, and maintenance costs. The main process parameters such as temperature, hydraulic retention time (HRT), organic loading rate (OLR), pH, granulation, and mixing and their effects on the performance of UASB reactor and hydrogen production are presented for achieving optimal results. Feasible posttreatment steps are also identified for effective discharge and/or reuse of treated water.

Five different weed plants viz.Convulvulus arvensis, Chenopodium murale, Tribulus terrestris, Trianthema portulacastrum, andAchyranthes asperawere investigated for their entomocidal and genotoxic effects againstCulex quinquefasciatusmosquitoes. High mortality was observed at 72 hours in a dose dependent manner. Among all the tested plants,A. asperawas found highly significant which showed 100% mortality at 250 ppm after 72 hours with LC₅₀of 87.46, 39.08 and 9.22 ppm at 24, 48, respectively. In combination withBacillus thuringiensis israelensis(Bti);A. asperaalso caused 100% mortality at 250 ppm concentration after 72 hours (LC₅₀8.29 ppm). Phytochemical analysis of all the tested weed plants showed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, tannins, steroids, cardiac glycosides, alkaloids, anthrequinones and terpenoids. Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA-Polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) and comet assay were performed to assess the genotoxic effect ofA. asperabut no change in DNA profile was observed. Furthermore, FTIR showed the presence of phenolic compounds inA. asperaextract. It is suggested that certain phenolic compounds such as flavonoids modulate the enzymatic activity and, hence, cause the death of larvae ofCx. quinquefasciatus. Altogether, current study would serve as an initial step towards replacement of synthetic insecticides to plant-microbe based biopesticide againstCulexmosquitoes in future.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods were fabricated through hydrothermal route and employed for the adsorption of Cr(VI) ions from aqueous medium. Zinc nitrate hexahydrate (Zn(NO₃)₂.6H₂O) was used as a zinc precursor and Triton-x 100 was used as a capping agent. As synthesized ZnO nanorods were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy (UV), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDX) techniques. The adsorption affecting parameters were investigated for maximum adsorption of Cr(VI) onto ZnO nanorods. The adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamics were applied for adsorption mechanism evaluation. Maximum adsorption of Cr(VI) ions (250 mg/g) was achieved using 0.055 g/L ZnO dose at pH 2.0 for the contact time of 30 min. Pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm explained well the Cr(VI) adsorption onto ZnO nanorods. The Cr(VI) adsorption onto ZnO was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. In view of promising adsorption efficiency, ZnO nanorods could possibly be used for Cr(VI) ions removal from wastewater and also extendable for the adsorption of other heavy metals ions.

Resistance development against some frequently used insecticides, i.e., deltamethrin (1.5% EC), cypermethrin (10% SC), permethrin (0.5% WP) and DDVP (50% EC) was evaluated against Musca domestica L. Insecticide bioassays were carried out against susceptible and resistant strains at 2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 40 μg/μl concentrations. Mortality data was recorded after 24, 48 and 72 hours. Resistance was monitored up to three generations and the flies with higher LD50values than the F1 generation were considered resistant. LD50values for Permethrin increased from 58.258 μg/μl to 85.1375 μg/μl with highest resistance ratio (RR) in F1 to F3. The lowest resistance ratio was observed with DDVP. Maximum inhibition in adult emergence was observed against DDVP. The inhibitory activity of Esterases; Acetylcholine and Phosphatases; ACP, AKP was recorded. Deltamethrin inhibited the maximum activity of AChE (50%), whereas, DDVP caused maximum inhibition of acid phosphatases. The results suggested that house fly populations are more resistant to pyrethroids compared to organophosphate insecticides.