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Antibiofilm activity of biomolecules: gene expression study of bacterial isolates from brackish and fresh water biofouled membranes
No full textMembrane biofouling is a common and emerging problem, where cells get cemented and create problems in
industrial process. Frequent chemical cleaning used for the treatment of biofouled membrane shortens the membrane life
time and creates ‘stress’ to existing microflora to trigger more exopolysaccharides production, which becomes the principle
cause of biofouling. To understand safe and environmentally feasible antifouling strategies, key biofilm forming representative
bacteria isolated from brackish and fresh water biofouled membranes were subjected to natural agents, such as vanillin
(0.05–0.4 mg/mL) and salicylic acid (0.1–0.7 mg/mL). Salicylic acid (0.7 mg/mL) was found to be effective against only
Pseudomonas group, whereas vanillin was remarkably potent against majority of the isolates because of structural mimicking
with signalling autoinducer molecules. The present study showed that vanillin served as a good quorum quencher molecule as
it inhibited 90% acyl homoserine lactones production at 0.3 mg/mL concentration in biosensor Chromobacterium violaceum
CV026 strain and also inhibited 70% to > 90% biofilm formation in bacterial isolates. Biofilm formation and quorum sensing
inhibition activities were validated by real-time quantitative PCR gene expression analysis in key representative membrane
isolates. Vanillin served as antifouling natural agent towards broad spectrum community found on membranes
A Mechanical Automatic Urinal-Toilet Flusher for Swach Bharat Mission
Get PDFA flush urinal-toilet disposes human waste by using water through a drainpipe to another location. A series of urinal-toilets
are fitted in offices, malls, multiplexes, educational institutions, bus railway stations, airports, commercial complexes, stadia and
other public places. Most have manual flushing systems like push button, trigger, pull chain, etc. however, use of such manually
operated flush can spread germs and bacteria when contacted and thus users avoids to flush or lead to wastage of water if used.
Now a day’s laser or infrared sensor operated flushes is also used in the places of high commercial value and importance but are
expensive and required continuous O&M. Therefore, the sanitary facility may remain un-flushed leading to unhygienic
conditions and foul smell. Thus need for a low cost automatic flushing apparatus which can flush the right-controlled amount of
water and avoid direct contact thus conserving water as well as maintaining personal hygiene and sanitationThe present invention
relates to a specially designed mechanical automatic urinal-toilet flusher and a mechanism thereof, which utilizes the weight
load/pressure of the person using the urinal-toilet for automatic flushing the urinal- toilet with the specified or measured quantity
of water to prevent odors, soil drain and scale buildup. It ensures the compulsory, regular and un-intentional flushing of the
urinal-toilet without any direct hand contact of the user to the flush and also conserve water at the same time is simple and cheap,
which can be fitted-retrofitted to new as well as existing water pipe line of the urinal-toilets
Evaluation of the effect of size reduction and thermal treatment on metal extraction from PCBs of mother board and digital video drive of desktop PC
Get PDFThe study aims at evaluating the effect of particle size and thermal treatment on printed circuit boards (PCBs) of Mother Board (MB) and DVD on metal extraction. Results show around 90–95% (w/w) and 35–40% (w/w) of total Al and Cu respectively, in CPU could be recovered by systematized disassembly. Re-maining embedded Al and Cu require metallurgical or hydro-metallurgical processing. Cu extraction in-creases with size reduction. Thermal treatment of MB–PCB shows reduction in Cu extraction (23–38%) for all sizes in comparison without thermal treatment, while DVD–PCB showed surge in extraction after thermal treatment (41–141%) in comparison without thermal treatment
Genomic and functional features of the biosurfactant producing Bacillus sp. AM13
No full textGenomic studies provide deeper insights into
secondary metabolites produced by diverse bacterial communities,
residing in various environmental niches. This study
aims to understand the potential of a biosurfactant producing
Bacillussp. AM13, isolated from soil. An integrated approach
of genomic and chemical analysis was employed to characterize
the antibacterial lipopeptide produced by the strain AM13.
Genome analysis revealed that strain AM13 harbors a
nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) cluster; highly
similar with known biosynthetic gene clusters from surfactin
family: lichenysin (85 %) and surfactin (78 %). These findings
were substantiated with supplementary experiments of oil
displacement assay and surface tension measurements,
confirming the biosurfactant production. Further investigation
using LCMS approach exhibited similarity of the biomolecule
with biosurfactants of the surfactin family. Our consolidated
effort of functional genomics provided chemical as well as
genetic leads for understanding the biochemical characteristics
of the bioactive compound
Molecular diagnosis of leishmaniasis at the subgenus and species level
No full textWe report three cases of imported cutaneous leishmaniasis
in Canada. The current diagnostic modalities such as
culture and histopathology demand expertise and are time
consuming. We adapted a rapid molecular diagnostic method
like real-time PCR (RT-PCR) for leishmaniasis, which enabled
speciation not possible by traditional culture methods.
Based on the findings of RT-PCR, the management of cutaneous
leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania (Leishmania )
tropica may be done with a conservative approach; an aggressive
treatment approach may be adapted for management
of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania (Viannia)
panamensis especially considering the potential risk of
Leishmania Viannia complex causing mucocutaneous leishmaniasis.
The RT-PCR assay described here enables the speciation
of Leishmania, which may be useful to the clinical
management of leishmaniasis in returning travelers
Overexpression of rice glutaredoxins (OsGrxs) significantly reduces arsenite accumulation by maintaining glutathione pool and modulating aquaporins in yeast
No full textArsenic (As) is an acute poison and class I carcinogen, can cause a serious health risk. Staple crops like
rice are the primary source of As contamination in human food. Rice grown on As contaminated areas
accumulates higher As in their edible parts. Based on our previous transcriptome data, two rice glutaredoxins
(OsGrx_C7 and OsGrx_C2.1) were identified that showed up-regulated expression during As
stress. Here, we report OsGrx_C7 and OsGrx_C2.1 from rice involved in the regulation of intracellular
arsenite (AsIII). To elucidate the mechanism of OsGrx mediated As tolerance, both OsGrxs were cloned
and expressed in Escherichia coli (Dars) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant strains (Dycf1, Dacr3). The
expression of OsGrxs increased As tolerance in E. coli (Dars) mutant strain (up to 4 mM AsV and up to
0.6 mM AsIII). During AsIII exposure, S. cerevisiae (Dacr3) harboring OsGrx_C7 and OsGrx_C2.1 have lower
intracellular AsIII accumulation (up to 30.43% and 24.90%, respectively), compared to vector control.
Arsenic accumulation in As-sensitive S. cerevisiae mutant (Dycf1) also reduced significantly on exposure
to inorganic As. The expression of OsGrxs in yeast maintained intracellular GSH pool and increased
extracellular GSH concentration. Purified OsGrxs displays in vitro GSH-disulfide oxidoreductase, glutathione
reductase and arsenate reductase activities. Also, both OsGrxs are involved in AsIII extrusion by
altering the Fps1 transcripts in yeast and protect the cell by maintaining cellular GSH pool. Thus, our
results strongly suggest that OsGrxs play a crucial role in the maintenance of the intracellular GSH pool
and redox status of the cell during both AsV and AsIII stress and might be involved in regulating
intracellular AsIII levels by modulation of aquaporin expression and functions
Long-Range Correlations in Air Quality Time Series: Effect of Differencing and Shuffling
Get PDFLong-range correlations in the air quality index (AQI) are analysed using rescaled range analysis (R/S), detrended
fluctuation analysis (DFA) and power spectral density analysis. Air quality index in five cities of India is considered for
this purpose. Statistical transformations such as differencing and shuffling have been carried out to examine the effect of
temporal correlations on long-range correlation property of the time series. All three methods indicated the presence of
persistence in original AQI time series. After differencing, long-range correlation property is, however, observed to be
distorted. R/S analysis did not show the similar results as DFA and power spectral density analysis. Shuffled time series is
shown to possess persistence as in the original one by using R/S analysis, whereas other two methods showed random
behaviour at most of the locations. This suggests that the persistence property is largely influenced by short-range
correlations in the AQI time series. The incorporation of this information can enhance the performance of the models to
forecast the air quality. The similarity in the results of DFA and power spectral density analysis suggests that both methods
can be relied more than R/S analysis in studying the persistence property of the time series
Adsorption of Alizarin Red S Dye by Carbon Nanotubes: An Experimental and Theoretical Investigation
No full textThis study evaluated the feasibility of removal Alizarin Red S dye (ARS) from aqueous solutions, using nanoadsorbents such as single and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT and MWCNT respectively). The effect of pH, shaking time and temperature on adsorption was studied. The pH 2.0 was observed to show optimum removal of for both the carbon nanotubes. The equilibrium time (298-318 K) was fixed at 65 and 100 min, for SWCNT and MWCNT respectively. The kinetics of adsorption was calculated using pseudo first order, pseudo second order and general order equations. The calculations revealed that, general order kinetic equation best-fit the adsorption data. Liu isotherm model best fit the equilibrium data (298-318 K). The maximum sorption capacity at 318 K for ARS dye was 312.5 and 135.2 mgg-1 for SWCNT and MWCNT, respectively. Change in entropy (∆S°), Gibb’s free energy change (∆G°) and enthalpy (∆H°) were calculated for the adsorption of ARS dye. The electrostatic interaction between nanoadsorbent – adsorbate was conveyed using the magnitude of change in enthalpy. Ab initio simulation was used to study the interaction of ARS with (5,5) and (8,0) SWCNTs; and (16,0) and (25,0) SWCNTs with and without vacancy. The theoretical calculations showed that the binding energies between ARS dye and SWCNTs is enhanced as the nanotube diameter gets bigger; however, the distance of binding remains unchanged. Therefore, the results from first principle calculations indicated that electrostatic interaction may be responsible for the adsorption of ARS dye onto SWCNT. The theoretical outcomes were found to be in coordination with the experimental estimate
Synthesis of nano-porous carbon from cellulosic waste and its application in water disinfection
Get PDFThe present study deals with the preparation of new cellulosic catalyst materials, viz. paper and textile industry
waste. Activated nano-carbons were prepared from these waste materials using thermo-chemical method. Nano-silver particles (AgNP) were embedded into the synthesized carbons to incorporate antimicrobial
properties. The catalyst materials were characterized using FESEM-EDX, XRD, FTIR, etc. The characterization results showed that the materials were nanoporous and silver was uniformly distributed throughout the catalyst. The suitability of the catalyst as an antimicrobial agent was studied using pour plate technique. The main advantages of the disinfecting materials over conventional materials were: (i) only small quantities (mg) of catalysts are required to deactivate microorganism for up to 1 litre of water; (ii) time required for more than 99% disinfection is less (60 min); (iii) carbon has been synthesized from cellulosic wastes which otherwise would pollute the environment, hence it is a waste recycling process. The carbons exhibited more than 99% E. coli removal within 60 mi
Diverse Metabolic Capacities of Fungi for Bioremediation
No full textBioremediation refers to cost-effective and
environment-friendly method for converting the toxic,
recalcitrant pollutants into environmentally benign products
through the action of various biological treatments.
Fungi play a major role in bioremediation owing to their
robust morphology and diverse metabolic capacity. The
review focuses on different fungal groups from a variety of
habitats with their role in bioremediation of different toxic
and recalcitrant compounds; persistent organic pollutants,
textile dyes, effluents from textile, bleached kraft pulp,
leather tanning industries, petroleum, polyaromatic hydrocarbons,
pharmaceuticals and personal care products, and
pesticides. Bioremediation of toxic organics by fungi is the
most sustainable and green route for cleanup of contaminated
sites and we discuss the multiple modes employed by
fungi for detoxification of different toxic and recalcitrant
compounds including prominent fungal enzymes viz.,
catalases, laccases, peroxidases and cyrochrome P450
monooxygeneses. We have also discussed the recent
advances in enzyme engineering and genomics and
research being carried out to trace the less understood
bioremediation pathways