IR@NEERI (CSIR)
Not a member yet
785 research outputs found
Sort by
Characterization of Major Inorganic Ions in Precipitation in Area of Hisar, India
Get PDFThe rainwater samples were collected on event basis during June-July-August-2012 and were
analyzed for pH, major anions (Cl, NO , SO ) and cations (Ca, Mg, Na, K, NH ). The pH value varied from 6.0 to 3 4 4
7.2 indicating alkaline nature of rainwater. The pH of the rainwater was found well above the reference pH
(5.6), showing alkalinity during the monsoon season. The average and standard deviation of ionic composition
was found to be 98.1 ± 9.8 l eq L-1. The total anions contribute 48 % and cations 52 %, respectively to
rainwater. Neutralization factors (NF) followed a sequence of NFCaNFMg (NFNH ) with factors of 1.1, 0.36 4
and 0.16 indicating the crystal components are responsible for neutralization of anions. The average ratio of
(NO + Cl)/SO observed as 1.2 indicates that nitric and hydrochloric acid influences the acidity of rainwater. 3 4
The ratio of NH /NO and NH /SO was observed as 0.7 and 0.3 thus indicates that the possible compounds 4 3 4 4
which may predominate in the atmosphere are NH NO and (NH ) SO . Ionic correlation was established to 4 3 4 2 4
identify sources of origin. Agood correlation was seen between Ca and Mg (r = 0.98); suggesting the common
occurrence of these ions from crustal origin. Similarly, the acidic ions SO and NO correlated well (r = 70) 4 3
indicating their origin from similar sources. Other relatively significant correlations were observed between Ca
and SO (r = 0.93), Mg and SO (r = 0.76), Ca and NO (r = 0.07), Ca and Cl (r = 0.28) and Mg and Cl (r = 0.32), 4 4 3
and Mg and NO (r = 0.69). The observed rainwater ratio of Cl/Na (1.4) is closer to that of seawater ratio (1.18) 3
indicates fractionation of sea-salt and modifications by non-marine constituents as the site is 2040 km away
from the sea coast. The nss-Ca contribution was observed as 95.7% suggesting their crustal origin whereas
nss-Mg and nss-K shows their contribution as 86.8% and 83.9% indicating influence of soil sources. The nss-
SO contributed as 86.7% shows anthropogenic origin
Bench Scale Experiments of Diesel Soot Oxidation Using Pr0.7Sr0.2K0.1MnO3 Perovskite Type Catalyst Coated on Ceramic Foam Filters
No full textPotassium and strontium substituted praseodymium
manganate type perovskite catalyst coated on
ceramic foam filters have been studied for diesel particulate
removal. The synthesized catalyst coated filter pieces have
been characterized by using XRD, SEM and TG analysis,
whereas their catalytic activity towards soot oxidation was
tested using a bench scale facility with real diesel engine
exhaust. The catalyst coated filters decrease the soot oxidation
Tinitial value by 150 �C and Tfinal by 100 �C as
compared to bare soot oxidation reaction, which can be
considered as high activity under the actual conditions of
diesel engine. The catalytic materials show good thermal
stability, while their low cost will also add to their potential
for practical applications. Although perovskites have been
studied for laboratory evaluations of catalytic soot oxidation,
present results further substantiate the possibility of
using low-cost, supported, non-noble metal based catalysts
for diesel exhaust emission control applications, especially
for the cost-effective retrofitment of in-use vehicles with
old generation engines
Catalytic preferential oxidation of carbon monoxide over platinum supported on lanthanum ferrite-ceria catalysts for cleaning of hydrogen
No full textSince hydrogen is produced by reforming of hydrocarbon it contains carbon monoxide (CO). In order to
make hydrogen suitable for proton exchange membrane fuel cell application there is need to reduce
concentration of CO less than 100 ppm. WatereGas-Shift reactions subsequent to reforming lower CO
concentration in H2 to about 1e1.5% by volume. Preferential oxidation of CO (PROXeCO) using a catalyst
is therefore important for further cleaning up of CO from H2. The catalyst in this study is platinum
supported over lanthanum ferriteeceria (Pt/LaFeO3eCeO2) exhibits excellent activity of 99.8% and
selectivity of 95.7% at a relatively lower temperature of 100 �C with an equivalence ratio of 3 for PROX
eCO. The concentration of CO is reduced from 1% v/v in feed to ca. 30 ppm in product gas with relatively
lower loss of hydrogen is the most significant achievement in this study. The catalyst is selective
towards CO oxidation as the hydrogen loss is relatively low (ca. 3.8%) and there is no methane formation.
The improvement in catalytic activity and selectivity is attributed to the strong metal support interaction
and open morphology of catalyst. The results obtained in this study reveal the excellent catalytic activity
by using LaFeO3eCeO2 as support for Pt catalys
Mercuric reductase activity of multiple heavy metal-resistant Lysinibacillus sphaericus G1
No full textA culture was isolated from an industrial mercuric salt-contaminated soil, which could tolerate Cd, Co, Zn, Cr, and Hg up to 190, 525, 350, 935, and 370 μM, respectively. The isolate was identified as Lysinibacillus sphaericus by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. It bioaccumulated Cd, Co, and Zn, and reductively detoxified Cr and Hg. Chromate reductase and mercuric reductase (MerA) activities in the cell extract were 2.4 and 0.13 units mg-1 protein, respectively. The study also describes designing of broad-specificity primers based on firmicute merA genes. These primers were successfully used to amplify a 440 bp merA fragment from the current isolate. Based on the partial sequence, complete merA ORF of 1641 bp was amplified. It showed 99% similarity to a putative merA gene from distantly related Streptococcus agalactiae, but only 72% identity with the well-characterized merA from a more closely related Bacillus cereus RC607. The gene sequence possessed all the features required for the functioning of MerA enzyme, and its function was confirmed by recombinant expression in E. coli. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of full length merA gene from L. sphaericus
Novel bacteriophage therapy for controlling metallo-beta-lactamase producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in Catfish
Get PDFBackground: The bacteriophage therapy is an effective antimicrobial approach with potentially important
applications in medicine and biotechnology which can be seen as an additional string in the bow. Emerging drug
resistant bacteria in aquaculture industry due to unrestricted use of antibiotics warrants more sustainable and
environmental friendly strategies for controlling fish infections.
The isolated bacteria from fish lesions was characterised based on isolation on selective and differential medium
like Pseudomonas agar, gram staining, biochemical tests and 16SrRNA sequencing. The metallo-beta-lactamase
(MBL) producing bacterial isolate was evaluated using Imipenem - Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) disk
method. The specific bacteriophage was isolated and concentrated using coal bed developed in our lab at
CSIR-NEERI. The isolated and enriched bacteriophage was characterised by nucleotide sequencing and electron
microscopy. The phage therapy was applied for treating ulcerative lesion in fish.
Results: The pathogenic bacterium responsible for causing ulcerative lesions in catfish species (Clarias gariepinus)
was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. One out of twenty P. aeruginosa isolate showing multi drug resistance
(MDR) was incidentally found to be MBL producing as determined by Imipenem-EDTA disk method. The phage
therapy effectively cured the ulcerative lesions of the infected fish in 8–10 days of treatment, with a sevenfold
reduction of the lesion with untreated infection control.
Conclusion: Bacteriophage therapy can have potential applications soon as an alternative or as a complement to
antibiotic treatment in the aquaculture. We present bacteriophage therapy as a treatment method for controlling
MDR P. aeruginosa infection in C. gariepinus. To the best of our knowledge this is a first report of application of
phage therapy against MBL producing P. aeruginosa isolated from aquatic ecosystem.
Keywords: P. aeruginosa, Multi drug resistance, Metallo-β-lactamase, Bacteriophage therapy, Catfis
A MECHANICAL AUTOMATIC URINAL-TOILET FLUSHER AND ITS MECHANISM THEREOF
No full textThe 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 comprises of a specially designed Temporary Water Reservoir and Dual-Valve, the tension spring keeps the inlet valve in the closed position in the normal condition, while the outlet valve is in the open position. The motion of both the Dual-Valves is in synchronization with each other, i.e. when one valve closes the other opens and vice-versa. The spring fitted mechanical platform is connected to the Dual-Valve assembly via a cable and a tension spring. The Temporary water reservoir holds and releases the specific or measured quantity of water operated by the spring fitted mechanical platform. 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
Degradation kinetics of resorcinol by Enterobacter cloacae isolate
Get PDFResorcinol was utilized as the sole carbon and energy source by Enterobacter cloacae (identification by 16S rDNA nucleotide sequencing Genbank Accession Number JN093148). The different concentration of resorcinol utilized by the bacterial isolate ranged between 55 and 220 mg l-1 at 30°C and pH of 7.0. It was observed that the batch experimental results were best fitted for Michaelis-Menten and Monod models (for 220 mg l-1 resorcinol) with time under defined conditions. The kinetics constants for the Michaelis-Menten equation (enzyme kinetics) were Km = 11.00 mM and Vmax = 0.03 mM min-1 and for the Monod equation (growth kinetics) was μmax = 0.0371 h-1 in the inhibitory region and KS = 22.09 mg l-1. It was assumed that enzyme reactions limit biomass production (Monod kinetics) during resorcinol degradation by E. cloacae. The enzyme kinetic model (Michaelis-Menten) used was fit to the resorcinol degradation profiles with a set of model parameters such as using pre-induced E. cloacae cells on 220 mg l-1 resorcinol
Prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus in elderly in a primary care facility: An ideal facility
Get PDFIn 2011 census, 5.3% of the Indian population was > 65 years of age. This number has steadily grown over past few years and is steeply growing. Healthcare burden of elderly diabetics is immense and proper diagnosis and treatment alone can prevent further complications. According to the most recent surveillance data in U.S., the prevalence of diabetes among U.S. adults aged ≥65 years varies from 22 to 33%, depending on the diagnostic criteria used. In CSIR-NEERI, India, we have healthcare system wherein a fixed
and limited number of patients are treated for their lifetime by qualifi ed practitioners with negligible financial burden of the treatment costs. The patients have regular monthly follow up and hence we diagnose Diabetes and evaluate the control and diagnose micro vascular and macro vascular complications in all patients. We did retrospective analysis of all elderly patients following up in NEERI Hospital to fi nd the exact prevalence of T2DM in elderly. It was observed that from total 585 elderly people, 178 had T2DM (30.42%-Prevalence).The sex ratio of Diabetic males to females was almost equal (1:0.97).Obesity was present in 114 people (64%).High prevalence of hypertension was found in Diabetic elderly population (80%). Comparing our prevalence rates with few other studies,it was found that our prevalence rates are quite high. The contributing factors may be urban living, with high prevalence of central obesity and Asian ethnicity, over and above, data of all patients undergoing treatment is available. We treated all diabetics with persistent values of Systolic BP > 130 mm of Hg and Diastolic values of BP > 80mm of Hg as Hypertensives, in order to achieve
reduction in cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. This paper is for awareness of disease burden, in real primary care setup. It is not cross-sectional study but study with 100% inclusion of benefi ciaries’ .This is real world urban diabetes prevalence, also associated hypertension and central obesity prevalence
Electricity from Nuclear power: Is it a solution to Greenhouse gas emissions in India
Get PDFIf asked, what is the relation between climate change, intense weather and health - probably the answer would be a straight line relation among the three. The earth is getting warmer day by day and global warming has become a major concern in the past few decades. Various research work is going on but so much of carbon dioxide has already been poured into the atmosphere, so that the technology improvement to reduce the Greenhouse gas emissions is the only solution. This study includes (a) the present scenario of nuclear power plant in India(b) electricity generated from different sources of energy and(c) its adverse effects on the global climate change. This study also includes the critical analysis of coal based thermal power plant because the fossil fuels are dominating in the power sector which is not recommended for the sustainable development of the country. The data concludes that Nuclear energy based power plant is the best option since emission can be minimized up to 7 times and also with respect to the amount of electricity generated and resources used. 90% share of each greenhouse gas is from coal based power plant and only 10% from nuclear based power plant
Green technology concept for commercialization: natural indigo an alternative to its synthetic counterpart
No full textIndigo dye is used to shed fabrics blue and has principal share in the entire quantity of dyes used in the textile industry. In present time, the commercially used indigo is obtained from chemical synthesis using organic and inorganic ingredients obtained from petroleum base. Although know how for indigo dye production is known to Indians since ancient times, adoption of synthetic indigo as an easy and cheap alternative has lead to serious environmental consequence, which is a topical issue in the arena of environmental pollution arising out of dye and textile industries. It is reported that about one third of the dyes used in the aforesaid industries fin into the rivers and water bodies. It is often mentioned that the quality of Indian river water is governed by the fashion show at Paris. This paper enumerates the traditional knowhow of indigo production, the advent of chemical process and the environmental consequences cropped up out of this, recent R&D thrust to develop alternative process and its improvisation for commercial adoption. Further, it discusses the issues for its adoption including improvement strategies. The paper is projected as a whistleblower to adorn concept of Green technology and the requisite to make amenable for commercialization considering natural indigo production as a case study