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Genomically Defined Paenibacillus polymyxa ND24 for Efficient Cellulase Production Utilizing Sugarcane Bagasse as a Substrate
No full textCellulolytic bacteria from cattle rumen with ability to hydrolyze cellulose rich
biomass were explored. The study selected Paenibacillus polymyxa ND24 from 847 isolates
as the most potent strain, which can efficiently produce cellulase by utilizing sugarcane
bagasse, rice straw, corn starch, CMC, and avicel as a sole carbon source. On annotation of
P. polymyxa ND24 genome, 116 members of glycoside hydrolase (GH) family from CAZy
clusters were identified and the presence of 10 potential cellulases was validated using protein
folding information. Cellulase production was further demonstrated at lab-scale 5-L bioreactor
exhibiting maximum endoglucanase activity up to 0.72 U/mL when cultivated in the medium
containing bagasse (2% w/v) after 72 h. The bagasse hydrolysate so produced was further
utilized for efficient biogas production. The presence of diverse hydrolytic enzymes and
formidable cellulase activity supports the use of P. polymyxa ND24 for cost-effective
bioprocessing of cellulosic biomass
Relevance of single-nucleotide polymorphism to the expression of resistin gene affecting serum and gingival crevicular fluid resistin levels in chronic periodontitis and type 2 diabetes mellitus: A randomized control clinical trial
Full text linkAim: The present study is aimed to investigate whether single‑nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of resistin gene
(RETN) at −420 and +299 sites, is associated with resistin levels in serum and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF)
in periodontally healthy, chronic periodontitis (CP) with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.
Materials and Methods: Serum and GCF samples were procured from all the 60 patients (twenty in each group)
of the three study groups i.e., periodontally healthy (Group I), CP (Group II) and CP with T2DM patients (Group III)
to analyze resistin levels using enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assay test and clinical parameters were assessed
at baseline and at 3 months after scaling and root planing (SRP). RETN polymorphism at −420 and +299 was
genotyped by polymerase chain reaction‑restriction fragment length polymorphism technique. Results: Patients
with SNP −420 and +299 were positively correlated with increased serum and GCF resistin levels in Group II and
Group III patients. SRP led to substantial reduction in the serum and GCF resistin levels. Conclusion: These
findings are suggestive of a biologic link between resistin, periodontal diseases, and periodontal diseases with
T2DM and RETN SNP at −420 and +299 in imparting increased resistin levels in inflammatory and diabetic
conditions
Low Temperature CO Oxidation Over a Novel Nano-Structured, Mesoporous CeO2 Supported Au Catalyst
No full textHighly active, nano-structured, mesoporous CeO2
(CN) supported Au catalysts have been studied for low temperature
catalytic CO oxidation. These catalysts were synthesized by first synthesizing the CeO2
support via chitosan template process
followed by 1 wt% Au incorporation using precipitation-deposition method. A complete CO conversion into CO2
was
achieved at room temperature over Au–CeO2 (A-CN-110) catalyst with a specific rate of 2.65 molCO.gAu
−1 h−1. The A-CN-
110 catalyst treated under different oxidation and reduction atmosphere was also very active at room temperature. The CO
oxidation activity of CN based materials was also compared with commercial CeO2
(C) supported catalysts, as well as those
reported in the literature. The catalysts were characterized in detail using p-XRD, BET-SA, ICP-OES, SEM, XPS, EDX,
H2-
TPR, O2-
TPD, and HR-TEM techniques. The structure property relationship clearly demonstrates that the key factors for
superior catalytic activity are; reducible nature of support/improved defects (
Ce3+), lower crystallite size, and high surface
area. Oxidation state, nature of dispersion, and particle size of Au also influences the catalytic activity. Strongly bound gold
nano-particles with ceria surface assist the reducibility of the surface oxygen, which enhances the catalytic activity
Tropical forest conversion to rubber plantation affects soil micro- & mesofaunal community & diversity
Full text linkTropical rainforests play important roles in carbon sequestration and are hot spots for biodiversity.
Tropical forests are being replaced by rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) plantations, causing widespread
concern of a crash in biodiversity. Such changes in aboveground vegetation might have stronger
impacts on belowground biodiversity. We studied tropical rainforest fragments and derived rubber
plantations at a network of sites in Xishuangbanna, China, hypothesizing a major decrease in diversity
with conversion to plantations. We used metabarcoding of the 18S rRNA gene and recovered 2313
OTUs, with a total of 449 OTUs shared between the two land-use types. The most abundant phyla
detected were Annelida (66.4% reads) followed by arthropods (15.5% reads) and nematodes (8.9%
reads). Of these, only annelids were significantly more abundant in rubber plantation. Taken together,
α- and β-diversity were significantly higher in forest than rubber plantation. Soil pH and spatial distance
explained a significant portion of the variability in phylogenetic community structure for both land-use
types. Community assembly was primarily influenced by stochastic processes. Overall it appears that
forest replacement by rubber plantation results in an overall loss and extensive replacement of soil
micro- and mesofaunal biodiversity, which should be regarded as an additional aspect of the impact of
forest conversion
Microbial degradation of plastics: Biofilms and degradation pathways
Full text linkPlastics are recalcitrant polymers released in the environment through unpredicted use leading to accumulation and increased water and soil pollution. Transportation of these recalcitrant polymers in agricultural soil, sediment, and water has been causing concerns for environmentalists. Biofilm community adhered on plastic polymers have a significant contribution in their degradation as they warrant bioavailability of substrates, sharing of metabolites and increased cell viability thereby accelerating biodegradation. Metabolic enzymes of the microbes can be exploited as a potent tool for polymer degradation. However very little or no reports are available about the influence of biofilm and plastic degradation and vice versa. The present chapter reports the impact of biofilm microbes in the degradation of commonly used plastics. Furthermore, potent microorganisms and their interactions with the plastic surface has been deciphered, which would serve as a better understanding of the utilization of biofilm-based methods in the development of plastic waste management
Open-mouth spherical g-C3N4/Fe-2, 5-thiophenedicarboxylic acid hybrid photocatalyst for dye degradation and bacterial inactivation
No full textBACKGROUND: Photo-remediation of water is seen as an economical and sustainable solution to undertake the rampant
pollution by dyes and bacterial pathogens. Despite significant advances made in semiconductor mediated photocatalysis,
the search for cheap, efficient, eco-friendly and robust photocatalyst has underachieved.
RESULTS: This paper reports the use of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) supported open-mouth spherical iron (III) based
metal-organic framework (MOF) hybrid photocatalyst for rapid degradation of acidic dyes and bacterial pathogens.
Open-mouth Fe-2,5-thiophenedicarboxylic acid (Fe-TDA) MOF was prepared by microwave-heating and coupled with g-C3N4
using methanol as solvent. Compared with the parent g-C3N4 and Fe-TDA, the resultant g-C3N4/Fe-TDA(x) hybrids have shown
nearly 4-fold increase in acid violet 7 (AV7) dye degradation and Escherichia coli bacterial growth inhibition. The improvement
in photo-response of g-C3N4/Fe-TDA(x) hybrids is ascribed to the exceptional specific surface area of the open-mouth MOF
structure, rapid diffusion, transport of charged species and improved dissociation of photo-excitons. The present work may
offer new directions for the synthesis of g-C3N4/MOF hybrid photocatalysts for visible light-driven applications.
CONCLUSION: A new open-mouth nanospherical g-C3N4/Fe-TDA2wt% photocatalyst developed bymicrowave heating, produced
a high specific surface area of 114m2 g−1, and improved rate kinetics of AV 7 dye photodegradation and E. coli inactivation
Re-suspension of road dust: contribution, assessment and control through dust suppressants—a review
No full textHigh level of particulate matter pollution in the urban areas of major cities is significantly affecting the human health due to its toxic chemical constituents. Re-suspension of road dust along with tyre and brake wear are the dominant sources of PM pollution in the urban area in both developed and developing countries. This paper mainly reviews the contribution of road dust in ambient PM level, factors affecting re-suspension of road dust and chemical reagents available for dust suppression. The emission of road dust re-suspension significantly varies based on amount of silt deposited on the road, type of road (paved and unpaved road, concrete material of the paved road), number and types of vehicles movement. The chemical reagent such as calcium magnesium acetate, magnesium chloride and calcium chloride are reported to significantly reduce the PM emissions from road dust in developed countries. Therefore, the efficacy of these chemicals in reducing the road dust from the urban road in developing countries needs to be evaluated along with the cost–benefit analysis and comparison with the conventional approach of dust control (road cleaning and washing). However, the associated factors in different countries may vary significantly as compared to Western countries
Amino acid‑imprinted polymers as highly selective CO2 capture materials
No full textThe recent atmospheric concentration of CO2
increase to 400 ppm is a cause of global climate change. There is therefore
an urgent need for selective and cost-effective CO2
capture technologies. Fossil fuel consumption during energy production
and transportation are two major sources of CO2
emission into the atmosphere. The capture of CO2
selectively from gaseous
mixtures using reusable adsorbent is thus a challenge. In this article, we report that nanoparticles functionalized with
imprinting of amino acids exhibit a significant increase in the selective adsorption capacities of CO2
in a gaseous mixture.
Molecular imprinting of taurine in the vinylbenzyl chloride-co-divinyl benzene polymer formed cavities of 1–3 nm size
and introduced –SOOH and –N–H functionalities, resulting in a very high CO2
adsorption capacity of 5.67 mmol g−1 at
30 °C/1 bar. The selectivity of CO2
over N2
and CH4
was 87–91% and 83–87%, respectively. The isosteric heat of adsorption
(Qst) for CO2
at 298 and 303 K showed an increase in Qst from 36.8 to 47.6 K kJ mol−1, and this would be responsible
for high CO2
adsorption energies and faster kinetics. This study reports first-time imprinting of CO2-
philic templates in the
polymers to capture small gas molecules at ambient conditions, and the results demonstrated that the polymers have a wide
scope for real-life applications of CO2
capture
Metagenomic insights to understand transient influence of Yamuna River on taxonomic and functional aspects of bacterial and archaealcommunities of River Ganges
No full textRiver confluences are interesting ecosystems to investigate for their microbial community structure and functional
potentials. River Ganges is one of the most important and holy river of India with great mythological history
and religious significance. The Yamuna River meets Ganges at the Prayagraj (formerly known as Allahabad),
India to form a unique confluence. The influence of Yamuna River on taxonomic and functional aspects of
microbiome at this confluence and its downstream, remains unexplored. To unveil this dearth, whole
metagenome sequencing of the microbial (bacterial and archaeal) community fromthe sediment samples of December
2017 sampling expeditionwas executed using high throughput MinION technology. Results revealed differences
in the relative abundance of bacterial and archaeal communities across the confluence. Grouped by the
confluence, a higher abundance of Proteobacteria and lower abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes was observed
for Yamuna River (G15Y) and at immediate downstream of confluence of Ganges (G15DS), as compared
to the upstream, confluence, and farther downstream of confluence. A similar trend was observed for archaeal
communities with a higher abundance of Euryarchaeota in G15Y and G15DS, indicating Yamuna River's influence.
Functional gene(s) analysis revealed the influence of Yamuna River on xenobiotic degradation, resistance to toxic compounds, and antibiotic resistance interceded by the autochthonous microbes at the confluence and succeeding downstream locations. Overall, similar taxonomic and functional profiles of microbial communities
before confluence (upstream of Ganges) and farther downstream of confluence, suggested a transient influence
of Yamuna River. Our study is significant since it may be foundational basis to understand impact of Yamuna
River and also rare event of mass bathing on the microbiome of River Ganges. Further investigation would be required
to understand, the underlying cause behind the restoration of microbial profiles post-confluence farther
zone, to unravel the rejuvenation aspects of this unique ecosystem
Wastewater treatment by microbial fuel cell coupled with peroxicoagulation process
No full textA microbial fuel cell is a rapidly growing, eco-friendly and green technology. As per this technology, the microorganisms
are employed to convert the chemical energy stored in the biodegradable portion of organic matter into direct electric current
by simultaneously treating the wastewater. In this study, dual-chambered H-type mediator-less and membrane-less microbial
fuel cell was operated and was optimized using synthetic wastewater as a substrate. The infuence of various factors such
as cathodic electron acceptors, electrode confguration, electrode spacing on chemical oxygen demand removal and current output were investigated. The maximum current of 1.72 mA was obtained using synthetic wastewater with potassium
permanganate as efective catholyte, electrode spacing of 2 cm from the salt bridge and surface area of 98 cm2
. This study
also investigated the efect of substrate in the optimized MFC by applying diferent real wastewaters (municipal wastewater,
dairy wastewater, cassava wastewater) and found a superior performance by dairy wastewater with maximum current output
of 5.23 mA and chemical oxygen demand removal of 94%. Electron microscopic observations revealed the development of
bioflm on the electrode surface, which was responsible for biocatalytic activity in the microbial fuel cell during the operation.
The current generated using microbial fuel cell was supplied to peroxicoagulation process and was used for the removal of
rhodamine B dye. Decolorization of 98% achieved by the novel microbial fuel cell-coupled peroxicoagulation system. The
novel microbial fuel cell-coupled peroxicoagulation is an energy-efcient as well as cost-efective technique