9 research outputs found
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Assessment of three decades treated wastewater impact on soil quality in semi-arid agroecosystem
The use of treated wastewater (TWW) for crop irrigation is practiced in many countries worldwide as a strategy to offset water scarcity. Soil quality assessment is required to ensure that the application of this non-conventional irrigation water is sustainable over long periods. A relatively limited number of studies have used soil quality indexing approaches to investigate the impacts of TWW irrigation on soil quality. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impacts of more than three decades of TWW irrigation on Fluvisol in semi-arid agrosystem to develop soil quality indices and evaluate their use as a practical tool to support TWW irrigation management. Overall, a total of 13 key soil attributes, used as soil quality indicators, were monitored in three TWW-irrigated plots and their adjacent non-irrigated control in eastern Tunisia. These selected indicators were used to develop a soil quality index (SQI) based on either a total data set (SQI-TDS) or a minimum data set (SQI-MDS) indexing approach. In comparison to the control, TWW application significantly increased saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) (+740%), saturation percentage (SP) (+20%), aggregate stability (AS) (+64%), field capacity (FC) (+52), electrical conductivity (EC) (+72%), phosphorous (P) (+472%), potassium (K) (+43%), organic matter (OM) (+90%) and basal respiration (BMR) (+117%) and decreased hydrophobicity (−17%), bulk density (BD) (−13%), cone penetration resistance (CPT) (−17%) and pH (−4%). The two developed SQI-TDS and SQI-MDS indices were sensitive to distinguish the impacts of TWW irrigation on soil quality in the study area. In comparison to the control, the TWW-irrigated soils exhibited higher SQI ratings by 42 and 52% based on SQI-MDS and SQI-TDS, respectively. Based on the monitored soil quality indicators in TWW-irrigated and control plots, this study indicates that long-term TWW application improved the overall soil quality and supports SQI-MDS’s efficiency in providing an adequate evaluation of soil quality in the study area
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Microbial adaptation to different environmental conditions: molecular perspective of evolved genetic and cellular systems
Microorganisms are ubiquitous on Earth and can inhabit almost every environment. In a complex heterogeneous environment or in face of ecological disturbance, the microbes adjust to fluctuating environmental conditions through a cascade of cellular and molecular systems. Their habitats differ from cold microcosms of Antarctica to the geothermal volcanic areas, terrestrial to marine, highly alkaline zones to the extremely acidic areas and freshwater to brackish water sources. The diverse ecological microbial niches are attributed to the versatile, adaptable nature under fluctuating temperature, nutrient availability and pH of the microorganisms. These organisms have developed a series of mechanisms to face the environmental changes and thereby keep their role in mediate important ecosystem functions. The underlying mechanisms of adaptable microbial nature are thoroughly investigated at the cellular, genetic and molecular levels. The adaptation is mediated by a spectrum of processes like natural selection, genetic recombination, horizontal gene transfer, DNA damage repair and pleiotropy-like events. This review paper provides the fundamentals insight into the microbial adaptability besides highlighting the molecular network of microbial adaptation under different environmental conditions
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Broadening the scope of biocatalysis engineering by tailoring enzyme microenvironment: a review
The rational design of catalysts that fine-tune/mimics the enzyme microenvironment remains the subject of supreme interest. Several strategies moving from traditional to technologically advanced methods have been proposed and deployed to develop high efficacy enzymes. There is a plethora of literature on simple enzyme immobilization through different materials as support carriers, even at the micro- and nanoscale. Regardless of extensive strategic efforts, the existing literature lacks deep insight into tailoring the microenvironment surrounding the target enzyme molecules and can sophisticatedly integrate the bio-catalysis for multipurpose applications. The ongoing advancement in the industrial sector also demands catalysts with unique features. For instance, catalytic turnover, substrate affinity, stability, specificity, selectivity, resistivity against reaction impurities or inhibitors, prevention of subunit dissociation, ease in recovery, and reusability are highly requisite features. This review spotlight state-of-the-art protein engineering approaches that facilitate the redesigning of robust catalysts or fine-tuning the catalytic microenvironment of enzymes. The entire work critically focuses on protein engineering approaches, i.e., regulating pH microenvironment, creating a water-like microenvironment, activating enzyme catalysis in organic solvents and gas phase, tuning reaction kinetics (KM and kcat), engineering substrate specificity, reaction promiscuity, computational design, and structure-guided biocatalyst engineering. This study unveils the advanced insights of enzyme microenvironment engineering, which can also be considered catalytic yield enhancement strategies to green the future bio-catalysis research for industrial bioprocesses
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Adsorptive remediation of naproxen from water using in-house developed hybrid material functionalized with iron oxide
Every year, a considerable volume of medications is consumed. Because these medications are not entirely eliminated in the sewage treatment plants and impact the surface waterways, the environmental pollution problem arises. This study objective was to evaluate the possibility of using an absorbent material made with of polyethylene terephthalate and sugarcane bagasse ash functionalized with iron oxide (PETSCA/Fe3+) in the removal of naproxen from water. The feasibility of having viable features in becoming an efficient adsorbent was first determined. The batch test was performed, allowing the dose effect, adsorption kinetics, and isotherm models to be evaluated. The determination of naproxen (NAP) concentration in water was analyzed on a high-performance liquid chromatograph and Langmuir method best represented the adsorption isotherm model. PETSCA/Fe3+ adsorbent material demonstrated potential in the naproxen removal at a low cost. The batching process was satisfactory, with 0.30 g of composite being the optimum fit for the system. The adsorption kinetics was determined and described by the pseudo second order model, with an average correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.974. The adsorption system model was best represented by the Langmuir isotherm curve. Moreover, adsorption in the presence of H2O2 had a positive impact on the process, removing 81.9% of NAP, whereas the process without H2O2 did not remove more than 62.0% of NAP. Therefore, because of its good qualities for NAP removal, PETSCA/Fe3+ is recommended as adsorbent material, primarily in small-volume water filtration systems
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Nanotechnology-based controlled release of sustainable fertilizers. A review
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Phytoremediation of heavy metals in soil and water: an eco-friendly, sustainable and multidisciplinary approach
Rapid industrialization, increased waste production and surge in agricultural activities, mining, contaminated irrigation water and industrial effluents contribute to the contamination of water resources due to heavy metal (HM) accumulation. Humans employ HM-contaminated resources to produce food, which eventually accumulates in the food chain. Decontamination of these valuable resources, as well as avoidance of additional contamination has long been needed to avoid detrimental health impacts. Phytoremediation is a realistic and promising strategy for heavy metal removal from polluted areas, based on the employment of hyper-accumulator plant species that are extremely tolerant to HMs present in the environment/soil. Green plants are used to remove, decompose, or detoxify hazardous metals in this technique. For soil decontamination, five types of phytoremediation methods have been used viz. phytostabilization, phytodegradation, rhizofiltration, phytoextraction and phytovolatilization. Traditional phytoremediation methods, on the other hand, have significant limits in terms of large-scale application, thus biotechnological efforts to modify plants for HM phytoremediation ways are being explored to improve the efficacy of plants as HM decontamination candidates. It is relatively a new technology that is widely regarded as economic, efficient and unique besides being environment friendly. New metal hyperaccumulators with high efficiency are being explored and employed for their use in phytoremediation and phytomining. Therefore, this review comprehensively discusses different strategies and biotechnological approaches for the removal of various HM containments from the environment, with emphasis on the advancements and implications of phytoremediation, along with their applications in cleaning up various toxic pollutants. Moreover, sources, effects of HMs and factors affecting phytoremediation of HMs metals have also been discussed
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Bioinspired engineered nickel nanoparticles with multifunctional attributes for reproductive toxicity
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Discovering untapped microbial communities through metagenomics for microplastic remediation: recent advances, challenges, and way forward
Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous pollutants persisting almost everywhere in the environment. With the increase in anthropogenic activities, MP accumulation is increasing enormously in aquatic, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems. Owing to the slow degradation of plastics, MPs show an increased biomagnification probability of persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic substances thereby creating a threat to environmental biota. Thus, remediation of MP-pollutants requires efficient strategies to circumvent the mobilization of contaminants leaching into the water, soil, and ultimately to human beings. Over the years, several microorganisms have been characterized by the potential to degrade different plastic polymers through enzymatic actions. Metagenomics (MGs) is an effective way to discover novel microbial communities and access their functional genetics for the exploration and characterization of plastic-degrading microbial consortia and enzymes. MGs in combination with metatranscriptomics and metabolomics approaches are a powerful tool to identify and select remediation-efficient microbes in situ. Advancement in bioinformatics and sequencing tools allows rapid screening, mining, and prediction of genes that are capable of polymer degradation. This review comprehensively summarizes the growing threat of microplastics around the world and highlights the role of MGs and computational biology in building effective response strategies for MP remediation