Effect of pretreatment on Cd2+ biosorption by mycelial biomass of Pleurotus florida

The effect of pretreatment on the Cd2+ biosorption capacity of mycelial biomass of Pleurotus florida was investigated. For this purpose, the biomass was subjected to physical treatments such as heat, autoclaving and freeze drying and chemical treatments using acids, alkali and organic solvents. All the pretreatment methods improved the biosorption of Cd2+ in comparison with live biomass of P. florida. Among physical treatments, freeze drying showed significant improvement in Cd2+ sorption capacity.Pretreatment of biomass with NaOH showed maximum cadmium biosorption followed by formaldehyde and methanol treatment

SCREENING OF CELLULOLYTIC BACTERIA FOR PRODUCING CELLULASE UNDER SOLID STATE FERMENTATION USING WATER HYACINTH AS A SUBSTRATE

Objective: The infestation of water hyacinth in the aquatic system produces serious environmental problems. In our study, we have used the water hyacinth as a substrate for the production of cellulase enzyme from bacteria isolated from decayed water hyacinth.Methods: The bacterial isolates were morphologically and biochemically characterized and the bacterial cultures were identified as Proteus vulgaris and Serratia ficaria respectively. The effect of various process parameters such as pH, temperature, substrate concentration and fermentation time on cellulase production by Proteus vulgaris were optimized.Results: Out of twenty five isolates, two bacteria viz. AK1 and AK2 grew well on CMC agar media. Cellulase enzyme activity was found to be higher (4.07 U/ml) in case of Proteus vulgaris compared to Serratia ficaria. Cellulase production by Proteus vulgaris was optimized as pH 7, 35 °C temperature, 30% of water hyacinth and 24 h of incubation time. Cellulase produced under optimum condition was purified using dialysis and ion exchange chromatography. The molecular weight and specific activity of completely purified cellulase was found to be 33 KDa and 361.25 U/mg respectively.Conclusion: It can be concluded that the water hyacinth can be used as a potential substrate for production of cellulase by Proteus vulgaris which is isolated from decayed water hyacinth

DECOLOURIZATION OF TRIPHENYLMETHANE DYES AND DYE INDUSTRY EFFLUENT BY STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS ISOLATED FROM DYE CONTAMINATED SITE

Objective: The objectives of the present study were a) to isolate and screen bacteria for dye removal from synthetic solution b) to optimize various variables such as pH, static/shaking and initial dye concentration on degradation of triphenyl methane dyes namely basic violet 3 and basic green 4 by isolated Staphylococcus aureus c) to analyse enzymes involved in the biodegradation of triphenylmethane dyes d) to treat real leather dyeing wastewater with newly isolated strain of Staphylococcus aureus e) to characterize untreated and treated leather dyeing wastewater f) to study the effects of real and treated effluent on plants and Rhizobium.Methods: Isolation of bacteria from sludge was carried out by spread plate method and the bacteria was identified by morphological and biochemical characterization. The isolated bacterium was screened for dye decolorization potential of triphenylmethane dyes basic violet 3 and basic green 4 The effects of parameters were studied by varying pH (from 3 to 9), temperature (from 15-45 °C), and initial dye concentration (from 10-500 mg/l). The enzyme involved in biodegradation was studied in intracellular extract. Real leather dyeing wastewater was treated with the bacteria and characterized. The treated wastewater was tested on plants and Rhizobium for toxicity. Results: Dye decolorization potential of bacteria Staphylococcus aureus isolated from wastewater for leather dyes basic violet 3 and basic green 4 were evaluated. Dye decolorization using bacteria was found to be dependent on physicochemical parameters (shaking, pH and initial dye concentration). Enzymes NADH-DCIP reductase and MG reductase were found to play dominant role during biodegradation of synthetic dyes. Application oriented studies using growing bacteria in pure cultures were carried out with leather dyeing wastewater collected from DKS prime tanners. Analysis of raw leather dyeing wastewater showed high pollution load in terms of color, Total solids, Total suspended solids, Total dissolved solids and Biological oxygen demand whereas the leather dyeing wastewater treated with pure culture of Staphylococcus aureus showed considerable decrease in Total solids, Total suspended solids, Total dissolved solids and Biological oxygen demand values which were within the permissible limits. Phytotoxicity and microbial toxicity studies confirmed the non-toxic nature of treated leather dyeing wastewater. Conclusion: Our study proved that Staphylococcus aureus can serve as a potential remediation agent for the treatment of leather dyeing wastewater

REMOVAL OF MALACHITE GREEN USING SILVER NANOPARTICLES VIA ADSORPTION AND CATALYTIC DEGRADATION

Objectives: The objectives of the present study were a) to optimize the parameters for the AgNPs synthesis using aqueous leaf extract of Aegle marmelos b) to evaluate the performance of AgNPs as nanosorbents of synthetic dye Malachite Green c) to investigate the performance of AgNPs as nanocatalysts in the reduction of Malachite Green. Methods: The effects of parameters such as leaf extract concentration and pH were studied by varying the leaf extract concentration from 5% to 20 % and reaction pH from 3 to 8 respectively. Under optimized leaf extract concentration and pH, AgNPs were synthesized and subjected to biosorption of Malachite Green from aqueous environment. Influence of pH, sorbent dosage and contact time on sorption of dye was investigated. In addition, the Catalytic activity of AgNPs in reduction of the synthetic dye using aqueous leaf extracts of Aegle marmelos was also investigated. Results: The UV -visible absorption spectra of the AgNPs exhibited distinct band around 400- 460 nm. 20% leaf extract concentration and pH 7 were found to be the optimum conditions for synthesis of AgNPs. Sorption studies on influence of pH, sorbent dosage and contact time showed maximum adsorption at pH 5, 0.3 g and 4 h respectively. The UV visible spectra of the reaction mixture containing aqueous leaf extract of Aegle marmelos, Malachite Green and AgNPs confirmed the catalytic degradation of Malachite Green. Conclusion: Our study revealed that AgNPs synthesized using aqueous leaf extract of Aegle marmelos can be used as nanosorbents and nanocatalysts in treatment of dye containing wastewater

Impact of hedonic and utilitarian shopping motive on online purchase decision

VARADARAJ, A., CHARUMATHI, D. Impact of hedonic and utilitarian shopping motive on online purchase decision. CSIE Working Papers Series. March 2019, issue 11, pp. 6-16. ISSN 2537-6187.The change in technological area all over the world has changed the concept of information and communication. The use of internet for commercial purposes gave rise to the existence of the electronic commerce (e-commerce) phenomenon. Online shopping or e-shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser. The study focuses on the impact of hedonic and utilitarian motives on the consumers buying behaviour towards online shopping. Questionnaire was used to collect the primary data. The sample size of the study was 125 and the sample design adopted was convenience sampling. This paper tried to find out the impact of hedonic and utilitarian motive on the consumer buying behaviour towards online shopping and gives suggestions to improve the same

OF DRIED BIOMASS OF CANDIDA TROPICALIS FOR REMOVAL OF BASIC VIOLET 3 FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

ABSTRACT In this study dried biomass of Candida tropicalis, is used to remove Basic Violet 3 in a batch process. The influences of operational parameters such as particle size, pH, biosorbent dosage, initial dye concentration on biosorption were investigated. The experimental data were analyzed by the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin models of adsorption. The adsorption isotherm data were fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm with monolayer adsorption capacity of 19.53 mg/g. The kinetic data obtained at different initial concentrations were analyzed using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion equations. The adsorption process was found to follow the pseudo-second-order kinetic model suggesting the adsorption process was controlled by chemisorption. The intraparticle diffusion plots being non linear over whole time range indicated that intra-particle diffusion cannot be the dominating mechanism for the biosorption of Basic violet 3. The results revealed that the yeast C.tropicalis has the potential to be used as good adsorbent for the removal of textile dye

Representation of women, older patients, ethnic, and racial minorities in trials of atrial fibrillation

BackgroundRepresentation trends of women, older adults, and ethnic/racial minorities in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of atrial fibrillation (AF) are uncertain.MethodsWe systematically reviewed 134 AF related RCTs (phase II and III) encompassing 149,162 participants using Medline and ClinicalTrials.gov through April 2019 to determine representation trends of women, older patients (≥75 years), and ethnic/racial minorities. Weighted data on the prevalence of AF from epidemiological studies were used to compare the representation of the studied groups of interest in AF RCTs to their expected burden of the disease.ResultsOnly 18.7% of the RCTs reported proportion of older patients, and 12.7% RCTs reported ethnic/racial minorities. The proportions of women in RCTs versus general population were 35.2% and 35.1%, of Hispanics were 11.9% and 5.2%, of Blacks were 1.2% and 5.7%, of American Indian/Alaskans were 0.2% and 0.2%, of Asians were 14.2% and 2.4%, of native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders were 0.05% and 0.1% and of non-Whites were 19.5% and 22.5%, respectively. The weighted mean age (SD) across the trials was 65.3 (3.2) years which was less than the corresponding weighted mean age of 71.1 (4.5) years in the comparative epidemiological data.ConclusionThe reporting of older patients and ethnic/racial minorities was poor in RCTs of AF. The representation of women and American Indian/Alaskan natives matched their expected population share of disease burden. Hispanics and Asians were over-represented and Blacks, native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders and non-Whites were under-represented in RCTs of AF

Transgenic nematodes as biosensors for metal stress in soil pore water samples

Caenorhabditis elegans strains carrying stress-reporter green fluorescent protein transgenes were used to explore patterns of response to metals. Multiple stress pathways were induced at high doses by most metals tested, including members of the heat shock, oxidative stress, metallothionein (mtl) and xenobiotic response gene families. A mathematical model (to be published separately) of the gene regulatory circuit controlling mtl production predicted that chemically similar divalent metals (classic inducers) should show additive effects on mtl gene induction, whereas chemically dissimilar metals should show interference. These predictions were verified experimentally; thus cadmium and mercury showed additive effects, whereas ferric iron (a weak inducer) significantly reduced the effect of mercury. We applied a similar battery of tests to diluted samples of soil pore water extracted centrifugally after mixing 20% w/w ultrapure water with air-dried soil from an abandoned lead/zinc mine in the Murcia region of Spain. In addition, metal contents of both soil and soil pore water were determined by ICP-MS, and simplified mixtures of soluble metal salts were tested at equivalent final concentrations. The effects of extracted soil pore water (after tenfold dilution) were closely mimicked by mixtures of its principal component ions, and even by the single most prevalent contaminant (zinc) alone, though other metals modulated its effects both positively and negatively. In general, mixtures containing similar (divalent) metal ions exhibited mainly additive effects, whereas admixture of dissimilar (e.g. trivalent) ions often resulted in interference, reducing overall levels of stress-gene induction. These findings were also consistent with model predictions

Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate, Albuminuria, and Adverse Outcomes. An Individual-Participant Data Meta-Analysis

IMPORTANCE: Chronic kidney disease (low estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] or albuminuria) affects approximately 14% of adults in the US. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate associations of lower eGFR based on creatinine alone, lower eGFR based on creatinine combined with cystatin C, and more severe albuminuria with adverse kidney outcomes, cardiovascular outcomes, and other health outcomes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Individual-participant data meta-analysis of 27 503 140 individuals from 114 global cohorts (eGFR based on creatinine alone) and 720 736 individuals from 20 cohorts (eGFR based on creatinine and cystatin C) and 9 067 753 individuals from 114 cohorts (albuminuria) from 1980 to 2021. EXPOSURES: The Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration 2021 equations for eGFR based on creatinine alone and eGFR based on creatinine and cystatin C; and albuminuria estimated as urine albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The risk of kidney failure requiring replacement therapy, all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, acute kidney injury, any hospitalization, coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and peripheral artery disease. The analyses were performed within each cohort and summarized with random-effects meta-analyses. RESULTS: Within the population using eGFR based on creatinine alone (mean age, 54 years [SD, 17 years]; 51% were women; mean follow-up time, 4.8 years [SD, 3.3 years]), the mean eGFR was 90 mL/min/1.73 m2 (SD, 22 mL/min/1.73 m2) and the median UACR was 11 mg/g (IQR, 8-16 mg/g). Within the population using eGFR based on creatinine and cystatin C (mean age, 59 years [SD, 12 years]; 53% were women; mean follow-up time, 10.8 years [SD, 4.1 years]), the mean eGFR was 88 mL/min/1.73 m2 (SD, 22 mL/min/1.73 m2) and the median UACR was 9 mg/g (IQR, 6-18 mg/g). Lower eGFR (whether based on creatinine alone or based on creatinine and cystatin C) and higher UACR were each significantly associated with higher risk for each of the 10 adverse outcomes, including those in the mildest categories of chronic kidney disease. For example, among people with a UACR less than 10 mg/g, an eGFR of 45 to 59 mL/min/1.73 m2 based on creatinine alone was associated with significantly higher hospitalization rates compared with an eGFR of 90 to 104 mL/min/1.73 m2 (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.3 [95% CI, 1.2-1.3]; 161 vs 79 events per 1000 person-years; excess absolute risk, 22 events per 1000 person-years [95% CI, 19-25 events per 1000 person-years]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this retrospective analysis of 114 cohorts, lower eGFR based on creatinine alone, lower eGFR based on creatinine and cystatin C, and more severe UACR were each associated with increased rates of 10 adverse outcomes, including adverse kidney outcomes, cardiovascular diseases, and hospitalizations

Association analyses of East Asian individuals and trans-ancestry analyses with European individuals reveal new loci associated with cholesterol and triglyceride levels

Large-scale meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified >175 loci associated with fasting cholesterol levels, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TG). With differences in linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure and allele frequencies between ancestry groups, studies in additional large samples may detect new associations. We conducted staged GWAS meta-analyses in up to 69,414 East Asian individuals from 24 studies with participants from Japan, the Philippines, Korea, China, Singapore, and Taiwan. These meta-analyses identified (P < 5 × 10-8) three novel loci associated with HDL-C near CD163-APOBEC1 (P = 7.4 × 10-9), NCOA2 (P = 1.6 × 10-8), and NID2-PTGDR (P = 4.2 × 10-8), and one novel locus associated with TG near WDR11-FGFR2 (P = 2.7 × 10-10). Conditional analyses identified a second signal near CD163-APOBEC1. We then combined results from the East Asian meta-analysis with association results from up to 187,365 European individuals from the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium in a trans-ancestry meta-analysis. This analysis identified (log10Bayes Factor ≥6.1) eight additional novel lipid loci. Among the twelve total loci identified, the index variants at eight loci have demonstrated at least nominal significance with other metabolic traits in prior studies, and two loci exhibited coincident eQTLs (P < 1 × 10-5) in subcutaneous adipose tissue for BPTF and PDGFC. Taken together, these analyses identified multiple novel lipid loci, providing new potential therapeutic targets