Medium optimization for bioleaching of metals from Indian bulk polymetallic concentrate

86-91 Extensive bioleaching work is mainly done only for the Cu and gold extraction from concentrates. Bioleaching of bulk concentrate is at the developing stage. The present work deals with the formulation of an economic medium for the bioextraction of metals from GMDC polymetallic bulk concentrate. For the medium formulation, a 24 factorial statistically designed experiment was adapted. Effect of concentration at two levels each of K2HPO4, (NH4)2SO4, KCl and inoculum was studied. For Cu and Zn extraction, inoculum was the most significant factor with the nutrients checked. KCl and its interaction were found negatively significant. The formulated medium was compared with the 9K- and Jordan's medium. The highest Cu (77.8%) and Zn (84%) extraction achieved with the formulated medium was 1.25 and 1.32 folds higher than the universally used 9K- medium. The final metal extraction rates obtained were 0.65 and 4.2 g/l/d for Cu and Zn respectively with the designed medium. The composed medium was at least 4 times cheaper, less acid consuming and more suitable for the metal extraction from GMDC polymetallic concentrate compared to 9K- medium. </smarttagtype

A novel biphasic leaching approach for the recovery of Cu and Zn from polymetallic bulk concentrate

In scale-up biphasic leaching process of polymetallic concentrate, the ferric bioregeneration cycles were performed in 15.0 L down flow packed bed reactor; whereas the chemical leaching cycles were done using the biogenerated ferric in an indigenously designed 10.0 L stirred tank reactor. The consortium took 25 cycles for proper biofilm formation. It showed highest iron oxidation rate (IOR) of 3908.21 mg/L/h at 25th cycle under no polymetallic stress. Even under stressed conditions, it was 2650 to 558 mg/L/h. Cu extractions were 86.63 to 46.51 and Zn extractions were 67.89 to 14.74% in 1st to 4th cycle respectively. The developed consortium exhibited 17 to 51 times higher IOR compared to original wild type consortium. Extraction isotherm for zinc with 30% Cyanex® 301 indicated that a total of two stages are required for its complete extraction using the phase ratio of 2:1 at equilibrium pH 1.5, leaving behind Fe(II) in the raffinate

Fruit Rot of Tinda Caused by <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i>–A New Report from India

Fruit rot disease (FRD), an emerging problem of tinda (Praecitrullus fistulosus) in India. FRD epidemics begin during rainy and warm weather and often spoil marketable produce. Symptoms appear as numerous, pale brown-to-dark brown, deeply penetrating circular soft rot lesions on fleshy fruit tissues. Noneffervescent bacterial exudates occasionally form on lesions. Repeated isolations from FRD-affected tinda fruits consistently yielded the same bacterial species. Inoculation of the isolated bacterium into asymptomatic tinda fruits produced identical soft rot symptoms. Fruits were inoculated with the isolate ITCC B0030 (0.1 OD) by removing a 2.0-cm deep tissue plug with a sterile cork borer (5 mm in diameter) and injecting the inoculum with a syringe in the cylindrical cavity. After inoculation, the plug (upper 5 mm) was reinserted, sealed with sterile paraffin, and covered with a small piece of wet absorbent cotton to prevent dehydration. High humidity (&gt;90%) and 30 to 33°C temperature was maintained after inoculation in a glasshouse. After 4 to 10 days, fruits showed FRD symptoms. The reisolated bacterium from artificially inoculated symptomatic fruits was identical with the original inoculated bacterium. Identity of the bacterial pathogen for FRD was confirmed by phenotypic and genotypic methods. The causal bacterium was a gram-negative, non-sporing motile rod with a single polar flagellum. The bacterium produced yellowish green and blue-green diffusible pigments on King's B (KB) medium. On yeast dextrose calcium carbonate agar at 30°C, the colonies produced abundant, blue, diffusible pigment within 48 h. The bacterium grew at temperatures up to 42°C but not at 4°C. Excellent growth occurred on Salmonella-Shigella agar and MaConkey's medium, as reported also for Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain P8. The bacterium produced ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, arginine dihydrolase, urease, lipase, catalase, gelatinase, and casinase but not amylase, indole, or acetyl methyl carbinol. The bacterium was identified as P. aeruginosa using Biolog based Bacterial Identification System version 4.2 (Biolog Inc., Hayward, CA). The bacterium did not utilize cellobiose, dulcitol, maltose, sorbitol, sucrose, arabinose, and starch. Upon infiltration on tobacco leaves (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi) at 107 or more cells ml–1, the bacterium gave a strong hypersensitive reaction within 24 h. Transmission electron micrographs (TEM, KYKY 1000B, Japan) of the causal bacterium revealed a single, polar flagellum. Identity was further confirmed as P. aeruginosa based on 16S rRNA sequence (1,491 nt) analysis with universal primers F1 (5′-GAGTTTGATCCTGGCTCAG-3′) and R13 (5′-AGAAAGGAGGTGATCCAGCC-3′). A blastN search of GenBank revealed a &gt;99% nt identity with P. aeruginosa strain TAUC 7 (HQ914782). The 16S rRNA gene sequence (1,491 nt) was deposited in Bankit GenBank (JF797204). To our knowledge, this is the first report of fruit rot of tinda caused by P. aeruginosa in India (ITCC B0030) and a new record of bacterial rot of Praecitrullus fistulosus induced by a fluorescent and blue-green pigment producing P. aeruginosa. To date, P. syringae pv. lachrymans and a nonfluorescent P. pseudoalcaligenes subsp. citrulli were reported to infect Citrullus lanata (1) and Praecitrullus fistulosus (2), respectively. References: (1) D. L. Hopkins and N. C. Schenck. Phytopathology 62:542, 1972. (2) N. W. Schaad et al. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 28:117, 1978. </jats:p

PET imaging of brain phosphodiesterase 4 in rats using [C-11]rolipram

OBJECTIVE:Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) catabolizes the second messenger 3', 5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate and may play a critical role in brain diseases. Our aim was to quantify PDE4 in rats with positron emission tomography (PET).METHODS:High (n = 6) and low specific activity (SA) (n = 2) higher affinity ((R)-[(11)C]rolipram) and high SA lower affinity ((S)-[(11)C]rolipram) (n = 2) enantiomers were intravenously administered to Sprague-Dawley rats. Brain data were acquired using the ATLAS PET scanner and reconstructed using the 3D-ordered subset expectation maximization algorithm. Arterial samples were taken to measure unmetabolized [(11)C]rolipram. Total distribution volumes (V(T)') were calculated using a 1-tissue compartment (1C) and an unconstrained 2-tissue compartment (2C) model.RESULTS:High SA R experiments showed later and greater brain uptake, and slower washout than low SA R and S experiments. In all regions and in all experiments, the 2C model gave significantly better fitting than the 1C model. The poor fitting by the latter caused underestimation of V(T)' by 19-31%. The 2C model identified V(T)' reasonably well with coefficients of variation less than 10%. V(T)' values by this model were 16.4-29.2 mL/cm(3) in high SA R, 2.9-3.5 in low SA R, and 3.1-3.7 in S experiments.CONCLUSIONS:Specific binding of (R)-[(11)C]rolipram was accurately measured in living rats. In high SA R experiments, approximately 86% of V(T)' was specific binding. Distribution and changes of PDE4 in animal models can now be studied by measuring V(T)' of high SA (R)-[(11)C]rolipram

Quantification of brain phosphodiesterase 4 in rat with (R)-[11C]Rolipram-PET

Objective: Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) catabolizes the second messenger 3', 5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate and may play a critical role in brain diseases. Our aim was to quantity PDE4 in rats with positron emission tomography (PET). Methods: High (n = 6) and low specific activity (SA) (n = 2) higher affinity ((R)-[C-11]rolipram) and high SA lower affinity ((S)-[C-11]rolipram) (n = 2) enantiomers were intravenously administered to Sprague-Dawley rats. Brain data were acquired using the ATLAS PET scanner and reconstructed using, the 3D-ordered subset expectation maximization algorithm. Arterial samples were taken to measure unmetabolized [C-11]rolipram. Total distribution volumes (V'(T)) were calculated using a 1-tissue compartment (1C) and an unconstrained 2-tissue compartment (2C) model. Results: High SA R experiments showed later and greater brain uptake, and slower washout than low SA R and S experiments. In all regions and in all experiments, the 2C model gave significantly better fitting than the 1C model. The poor fitting by the latter caused underestimation of V'(T) by 19-31%. The 2C model identified V'(T) reasonably well with coefficients of variation less than 10%. V'(T) values by this model were 16.4-29.2 mL/cm(3) in high SA R, 2.9-3.5 in low SA R, and 3.1-3.7 in S experiments. Conclusions: Specific binding of (R)-[C-11]rolipram was accurately measured in living rats. In high SA R experiments. similar to 86% of V'(T) was specific binding. Distribution and changes of PDE4 in animal models can now be studied by measuring V'(T) of high SA (R)-[C-11]rolipram.</p