Biomedical subjects

S A Abbasi

Publications and source records attributed to S A Abbasi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Dust explosions-cases, causes, consequences, and control.

Dust explosions pose the most serious and widespread of explosion hazards in the process industry alongside vapour cloud explosions (VCE) and boiling liquid expanding vapour explosions (BLEVE). Dust explosions almost always lead to serious financial losses in terms of damage to facilities and down time. They also often cause serious injuries to personnel, and fatalities. We present the gist of the dust explosion state-of-the-art. Illustrative case studies and past accident analyses reflect the high frequency, geographic spread, and damage potential of dust explosions across the world. The sources and triggers of dust explosions, and the measures with which different factors associated with dust explosions can be quantified are reviewed alongside dust explosion mechanism. The rest of the review is focused on the ways available to prevent dust explosion, and on cushioning the impact of a dust explosion by venting when the accident does take place.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed2006

The boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion (BLEVE): mechanism, consequence assessment, management.

Among the most devastating of accidents likely in chemical process industry is the boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion (BLEVE). It is accompanied by highly destructive blast waves and missiles. In most situations there is also a fireball or a toxic gas cloud. The damaging effect of BLEVEs is reflected in the fact that the 80-odd major BLEVEs that have occurred between 1940 and 2005 have claimed over a 1000 lives and have injured over 10,000 persons besides harming property worth billions of dollars. Release of toxic chemicals like chlorine and phosgene from BLEVEs have damaged large chunks of areas surrounding the BLEVE site. This paper presents an overview of the mechanism, the causes, the consequences, and the preventive strategies associated with BLEVEs.

Accidents, Occupational↗

PubMed2006

Qualidex--a new software for generating water quality indices.

Water quality indices are necessary for resolving lengthy, multi-parameter, water analysis reports into single digit scores. This, in turn, is essential for comparing the water quality of different sources and in monitoring the changes in the water quality of a given source as a function of time and other influencing factors. In this paper we present the computer-automated tool QUALIDEX (water QUALIty inDEX), which has been developed by us to generate and operate water quality indices. Several popular indices--such as the Oregon Water Quality Index developed in the 1970s by Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and later updated in 1995, the Aquatic Toxicity Index developed by Wepener and coworkers for protection of aquatic life at the Olifants river, Kruger National Park, South Africa, the water quality index developed by Dinius in 1987, the Overall Index of Pollution (of surface waters) developed at the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), and the water quality index of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)--have also been added to QUALIDEX in modular form. There is also a New water quality index sub-module which enables the user to generate his or her own index and compare its performance with these well-known indices. The package is also capable of analyzing the variations in the water quality of different sites at different times. The software has been coded in Visual C++ and has been integrated with MS Access database.

Environmental Monitoring↗

PubMed2006

Cellular automata-based forecasting of the impact of accidental fire and toxic dispersion in process industries.

The strategies to prevent accidents from occurring in a process industry, or to minimize the harm if an accident does take place, always revolve around forecasting the likely accidents and their impacts. Based on the likely frequency and severity of the accidents, resources are committed towards preventing the accidents. Nearly all techniques of ranking hazardous units, be it the hazard and operability studies, fault tree analysis, hazard indice, etc.--qualitative as well as quantitative--depend essentially on the assessment of the likely frequency and the likely harm accidents in different units may cause. This fact makes it exceedingly important that the forecasting the accidents and their likely impact is done as accurately as possible. In the present study we introduce a new approach to accident forecasting based on the discrete modeling paradigm of cellular automata. In this treatment an accident is modeled as a self-evolving phenomena, the impact of which is strongly influenced by the size, nature, and position of the environmental components which lie in the vicinity of the accident site. The outward propagation of the mass, energy and momentum from the accident epicenter is modeled as a fast diffusion process occurring in discrete space-time coordinates. The quantum of energy and material that would flow into each discrete space element (cell) due to the accidental release is evaluated and the degree of vulnerability posed to the receptors if present in the cell is measured at the end of each time element. This approach is able to effectively take into account the modifications in the flux of energy and material which occur as a result of the heterogeneous environment prevailing between the accident epicenter and the receptor. Consequently, more realistic accident scenarios are generated than possible with the prevailing techniques. The efficacy of the approach has been illustrated with case studies.

Accident Prevention↗

PubMed2004

Composting-vermicomposting of leaf litter ensuing from the trees of mango (Mangifera indica).

Litter of the mango (Mangifera indica) tree leaves was composted and then converted into vermicast by the action of the earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae Kinberg. After over nine months of continuous operation the vermireactors with 62.5 animals l(-1) generated approximately 13.6g vermicast per litre of reactor volume (l) per day (d) whereas the reactors with 75 animals l(-1) produced approximately 14.9 g vermicast l(-1) d(-1). This difference in performance of the reactors operating in duplicate at the two different earthworm densities was statistically significant (> or = 90% confidence level) for most of the nine-month span. The animals grew well in all reactors, increasing their zoomass by approximately 103% and producing approximately 157 offspring. Not a single of the 1100 animals died during the first four months. In the subsequent five months a total of 122 worms died, representing a loss of approximately 2% per month. We attribute this to the normal process of ageing. The ability of the earthworms to survive, grow and breed in the vermireactors fed with composted mango tree leaves, and a rising trend in vermicast output inspite of the death of a few worms after four months of reactor operation, indicate the sustainability of this type of vermireactors. The studies also indicate that even better vermireactor efficiency may be possible by modifying the reactor geometry. Studies on changes in C:N ratio during composting and vermicomposting revealed that whereas composting helped in lowering the ratio due to loss of carbon in bacterial metabolism, vermicomposting had no such effect on the ratio.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Neem leaves as a source of fertilizer-cum-pesticide vermicompost.

Vermicomposting of neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss) was accomplished in "high-rate" reactors operated at the earthworm (Eudrilus eugeniae) densities of 62.5 and 75 animals per litre of reactor volume. Contrary to the fears that neem--a powerful nematicide--might not be palatable to the annelids, the earthworms fed voraciously on the neem compost, converting upto 7% of the feed into vermicompost per day. Indeed the worms grew faster and reproduced more rapidly in the neem-fed vermireactors than in the reactors fed with mango leaf litter earlier studied by the authors (Gajalakshmi et al., 2003). Another set of experiments on the growth, flowering, and fruition of brinjal (Solanum melongena) plants with and without fertilization with vermicompost, revealed that the vermicompost had a significantly beneficial impact.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Feasibility studies on the treatment of dairy wastewaters with upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors.

The feasibility of using upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactors for the treatment of dairy wastewaters was explored. Two types of UASBs were used--one operating on anaerobic sludge granules developed by us from digested cowdung slurry (DCDS) and the other on the granules obtained from the reactors of M/s EID Parry treating sugar industry wastewaters. The reactors were operated at HRT of 3 and 12 h and on COD loading rates ranging from 2.4 kg per m3 of digester volume, per day to 13.5 kg m(-3) d(-1). At the 3 h HRT, the maximum COD reduction in the DCDS-seeded and the industrial sludge-seeded reactors was 95.6% and 96.3%, respectively, better than at 12 h HRT (90% and 92%, respectively). In both the reactors, the maximum, the second best, and the third best COD reduction occurred at the loading rates of 10.8, 8.6 and 7.2 kg m3 d(-1), respectively. At loading rates higher than 10.8 kg, the reactor performance dropped precipitously. Whereas in the first few months the reactors operating on sludge from EID Parry achieved better biodegradation of the waste, compared to the reactors operated on DCDS, the performance of the latter gradually improved and matched with the performance of the former.

Anaerobiosis↗

PubMed2004

Vermiconversion of paper waste by earthworm born and grown in the waste-fed reactors compared to the pioneers raised to adulthood on cowdung feed.

The performance of four species of earthworm--Eudrilus eugeniae, Kinberg, Drawida willsi Michaelsen, Lampito mauritii, Kinberg and Perionyx excavatus, Perrier--born and grown in vermireactors fed with paper waste was studied over six months, in terms of vermicast output per unit feed, production of offspring, and increase in worm zoomass. These were compared with the performance of the previous generation which had been raised to adulthood on cowdung as principal feed before shifting them to vermireactors operating on cowdung-spiked paper waste. The results indicated that except with D. willsi of which the second generation performed only a shade better than the first, there was significant improvement in vermicast output, animal growth, and reproduction in the second generation compared to the first. The results indicated that cowdung-spiked paper waste can be an adequate food for successive generations of earthworms and that reactors can be operated indefinitely on this feed. The results also indicated that the earthworm generations born and raised in vermireactors operated on this feed become better vermiconverters of this feed than the parent earthworms.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Growth hormone responses to low-dose physostigmine administration: functional sex differences (sexual diergism) between major depressives and matched controls.

BACKGROUND: Considerable endocrine and non-endocrine evidence supports the hypothesis of increased cholinergic activity relative to noradrenergic activity in major depression. We previously reported functional sex differences (sexual diergism) in hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal cortical (HPA) hormone responses to the administration of low-dose physostigmine (PHYSO), a cholinesterase inhibitor, in 12 female and eight male unipolar major depressives and 12 female and eight male individually matched control subjects. Because growth hormone (GH) secretion also is influenced by cholinergic mechanisms, we measured GH in the samples from this study. METHOD: Subjects underwent four test sessions 5-7 days apart: PHYSO (8 microg/kg i.v.), arginine vasopressin (AVP) (0.08 U/kg i.m.), PHYSO + AVP and saline control. The AVP was administered as a second stimulus to HPA axis hormone secretion. PHYSO and AVP produced no side-effects in about half the subjects and predominantly mild side-effects in the other half, with no significant patient-control differences. Point biserial correlations between side-effects (absent or present) after PHYSO and the corresponding GH responses were non-significant in all groups. RESULTS: Afternoon baseline GH was significantly higher in the women than in the men, but it was not significantly different between the female or the male patients and their respective matched controls. AVP administration had no effect on GH. PHYSO administration acutely stimulated GH secretion, to a similar degree in the women and men. The depressed patients as a group had a significantly greater average post-PHYSO GH response than did their controls, with a trend toward a significant sex x diagnosis interaction: The female depressives had a significantly greater GH response than their female controls, whereas the male depressives had a similar GH response as their male controls. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest sexual diergism (functional sex differences) in baseline and cholinergically stimulated plasma GH measures between major depressives and matched normal controls.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Vermicomposting of different forms of water hyacinth by the earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae, Kinberg.

Six-month long trials were conducted on different vermireactors fed with one of the following forms of water hyacinth: (a) fresh whole plants, (b) dried whole plants, (c) chopped pieces of fresh plants, (d) 'spent' weed taken from reactors after extracting volatile fatty acids (VFAs), (e) precomposted fresh weed and (f) precomposted spent weed. The first four forms were studied with and without cowdung. The experiments revealed three clear trends (i) of the various forms of the weed assessed, the precomposted forms were the most favoured as feed by Eudrilus eugeniae, Kinberg, while the fresh whole form was the least favoured, (ii) the different forms of spent weed were favoured over the corresponding forms of fresh weed, and (iii) blending of cowdung (approximately 14% of the feed mass) with different forms of water hyacinth had a significant positive impact on vermicast output, growth in worm zoomass, and production of offspring relative to the corresponding unblended feed. In all reactors, the 'parent' earthworms steadily grew in size over the six-month span, and produced offspring. There was no mortality. The experiments thus confirm that water hyacinth can be sustainably vermicomposted in any of the forms with E. eugeniae.

Animal Feed↗

PubMed2002

High-rate composting-vermicomposting of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes, Mart. Solms).

In an attempt to develop a system with which the aquatic weed water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes, Mart. Solms) can be economically processed to generate vermicompost in large quantities, the weed was first composted by a 'high-rate' method and then subjected to vermicomposting in reactors operating at much larger densities of earthworm than recommended hitherto: 50, 62.5, 75, 87.5, 100, 112.5, 125, 137.5, and 150 adults of Eudrilus eugeniae Kinberg per litre of digester volume. The composting step was accomplished in 20 days and the composted weed was found to be vermicomposted three times as rapidly as uncomposted water hyacinth [Bioresource Technology 76 (2001) 177]. The studies substantiated the feasibility of high-rate composting-vermicomposting systems, as all reactors yielded consistent vermicast output during seven months of operation. There was no earthworm mortality during the first four months in spite of the high animal densities in the reactors. In the subsequent three months a total of 79 worms died out of 1650, representing less than 1.6% mortality per month. The results also indicated that an increase in the surface-to-volume ratio of the reactors might further improve their efficiency.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Effect of the application of water hyacinth compost/vermicompost on the growth and flowering of Crossandra undulaefolia, and on several vegetables.

The impact of the application of compost/vermicompost obtained from water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes, Mart. Solms) on plants was assessed in terms of growth and flowering of the angiosperm crossandra (Crossandra undulaefolia). Overall nine morphological, size, and yield attributes were studied in crossandra saplings raised on water hyacinth compost or vermicompost as compared to the untreated saplings. Application of vermicompost led to statistically significant improvement in the growth and flowering of crossandra compared to the untreated plants. The impact of compost was also beneficial but a little less distinct than the positive impact of vermicompost. Qualitative studies were simultaneously conducted in five kitchen gardens owned by farmers near Pondicherry. In three of these locations water hyacinth vermicompost was applied-and no other fertilizer-for months to different species of vegetables. Water hyacinth compost was similarly applied in another two locations. In all the locations no adverse effect on any of the plant species was observed. We believe these studies would help in dispelling the apprehension of farmers that compost/vermicompost obtained form a pernicious weed like water hyacinth may have deleterious effect on other plants.

Acanthaceae↗

PubMed2002

Design of greenbelt for an industrial complex based on mathematical modelling.

Greenbelt is a strip of vegetation for which species of trees and shrubs are scientifically chosen and planted to serve a designated purpose such as control of wind erosion, of dust, of noise etc. In the context of air pollution attenuation, greenbelts must be developed around a source of air pollutant in a manner so as to effectively reduce the pollution caused by that source. Design of effective greenbelts involves consideration of meteorological, physico-chemical, biological, and horticultural aspects relevant to pollutant source and the area where greenbelt has to be established. These authors have recently developed mathematical models for effective design of greenbelts. This paper presents an overview of the methodology based on the models, and describes a case study in which the methodology has been applied to design a greenbelt for a real-life situation.

Air Pollution↗

PubMed2002

Modelling of Buckingham Canal water quality.

The paper presents a case study of the modelling of the water quality of a canal situated in a petrochemical industrial complex, which receives wastewaters from Madras Refineries Limited (MRL), and Madras Fertilizers Limited (MFL). The canal well known Buckingham Canal which passes through Chennai (Madras), India has been modelled using the software QUAL2E-UNCAS. After testing and validation of the model, simulations have been carried out. The exercise enables forecasting the impacts of different seasons, base flows, and waste water inputs on the water quality of the Buckingham Canal. It also enables development of water management strategies.

Chemical Industry↗

PubMed2001

SCAP: a new methodology for safety management based on feedback from credible accident-probabilistic fault tree analysis system.

As it is conventionally done, strategies for incorporating accident--prevention measures in any hazardous chemical process industry are developed on the basis of input from risk assessment. However, the two steps-- risk assessment and hazard reduction (or safety) measures--are not linked interactively in the existing methodologies. This prevents a quantitative assessment of the impacts of safety measures on risk control. We have made an attempt to develop a methodology in which risk assessment steps are interactively linked with implementation of safety measures. The resultant system tells us the extent of reduction of risk by each successive safety measure. It also tells based on sophisticated maximum credible accident analysis (MCAA) and probabilistic fault tree analysis (PFTA) whether a given unit can ever be made 'safe'. The application of the methodology has been illustrated with a case study.

Accident Prevention↗

PubMed2001

Effective design of greenbelts using mathematical models.

Trees, shrubs, and other vegetation can absorb and assimilate certain air pollutants if the pollutants are present within tolerable levels. This concept is being increasingly used in developing strips of vegetation, often called 'greenbelts' around sources of pollution. But several intricacies are associated with the exercise of effective and optimal designing of greenbelts. The pattern of dispersion of air pollutants, as effected by the density of the gaseous plume and the meteorology of the area, must be studied with great precision because these aspects would determine the location and the geometry of the greenbelt. The species composition in the greenbelt should confirm to the pollutants to be attenuated as to the geoclimatic conditions of the region. Decisions on the tree heights, and the sequence of plantation of trees and other vegetation also similarly require complex inputs. In this paper, the authors have addressed these issues and have presented a set of mathematical models, which may help in the rational and optimal design of greenbelts.

Air Pollution↗

PubMed2001

Potential of two epigeic and two anecic earthworm species in vermicomposting of water hyacinth.

The potential of two epigeic species (Eudrilus eugeniae Kinberg, and Perionyx excavatus Perrier) and two anecic species (Lampito mauritii Kinberg and Drawida willsi Michaelson) of earthworms was assessed in terms of efficiency and sustainability of vermicomposting water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes, Mart. Solm.). In different vermireactors, each run in duplicate with one of the four species of earthworms, and 75 g of 6:1 water hyacinth:cowdung as feed, vermicasts were produced with steadily increasing output in all the reactors. E. eugeniae was by far the most efficient producer of vermicasts, followed by the other epigeic P. excavatus. The two anecics came next, with D. willsi being the least effective which could generate only about half the quantity of vermicasts achieved in a corresponding time by E. eugeniae. In all the reactors, the earthworms grew well, increasing their weights by more than 250%. The maximum net gain of weight (average 30.7 g) was by E. eugeniae, followed by P. excavatus, L. mauritii and D. willsi. This trend, which followed the efficiency of vermicast production, was also shown in terms of reproductive ability as measured by the number of offspring produced by the four species.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Towards maximising output from vermireactors fed with cowdung spiked paper waste.

Paper waste, spiked with varying proportions of cowdung, was vermicomposted in 'low-rate' and 'high-rate' reactors. The former type of reactors had earthworm populations and feed loading rates similar to ones recommended by previous workers. The 'high-rate' reactors were operated with 12.5 times higher earthworm densities and feed loading rates. All the reactors were studied for six months to assess the vermicast output, survivability, growth and reproduction of the earthworms hence the sustainability of the reactors--for long-term, continuous operation. The studies revealed the viability of the high-rate vermireactor concept. The high-rate reactors consistently produced over 6.5 times more castings per unit digester volume with no adverse effect on the earthworm population, as reflected by (a) absence of mortality, (b) consistent growth in worm zoomass, and (c) normal rate of reproduction. The studies also revealed that an increase in the cowdung fraction in the feed from 14.3% to 20% (4:1 paper:cowdung blends to 6:1 blends) had little positive impact on the vermicast output or earthworm health. This indicated that spiking of paper feed with approximately 14% cowdung, or perhaps an even smaller fraction, might be adequate to support earthworms in the paper-fed vermireactors.

Animals↗