Chlorpyrifos Removal for Wastewater Reuse

Approximately 1.2 billion people around the world live in areas of physical water scarcity. This could increase to half of the world’s population by 2030 and could displace 24 to 700 million people unless steps are taken to ensure adequate water supply.1 Water scarcity is an escalating issue within the United States, specifically in Western inland states with arid climates. This scarcity is encouraging communities to investigate tertiary level municipal wastewater treatment, allowing for reuse of wastewater. Unfortunately, wastewater contains numerous contaminants that are not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Many of these contaminants are endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). According to the European Union Commission, an endocrine disruptor is “an exogenous substance that causes adverse health effects in an intact organism, or its progeny, in consequence to the induced changes in endocrine functions.”2 Many EDCs are not completely removed by standard secondary wastewater treatment methods. With the growing demand for potable water, as well as water for irrigation and agricultural purposes, communities are having to evaluate the potential health risks due to EDCs and other unregulated compounds. The Woo-Pig-Sewage team selected one unregulated contaminant, chlorpyrifos(CLP), to test. CLP is an organophosphate insecticide that is commonly used residentially and commercially. CLP has a long term impact asa cholinesterase inhibitor in humans.3 Using traditional biological methods, CLP, as well as other pesticides, are nearly impossible to remove.4 CLP is on the Fourth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule list produced by the EPA to provide a basis for future regulation.5 A bench scale unit utilizing ozone treatment (O3), ultraviolet radiation (UV), and granular activated carbon (GAC) was constructed to remove this contaminant from dopednanopure water. Ultimately, the selected technologies will be able to treat secondary wastewater effluent from the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Tucumcari, New Mexico for direct or indirect aquifer reintroduction. Direct aquifer reintroduction would involveinjection of water to the existing aquifer, whileindirect aquifer introduction would consist of introducing treated effluent to an existing canal system. An oxidation process paired with UV and GAC filtration can be utilized to remove EDCs such as CLP and other unregulated contaminants from wastewater. O3is extremely effective at oxidizing bacteria as well as other organic molecules. UV is also a commonly used method to degrade organic compounds and is currently being used at the WWTP in Tucumcari, New Mexico and in Fayetteville, Arkansas. GAC is utilized to remove trace amounts of contaminants from wastewater streams, usually as a final treatment before the water is reintroduced to the environment. The WWTP in Rio Rancho, New Mexicocurrently plans to utilize GAC filtration in this manner. The Woo-Pig-Sewage team performed experiments to determine if the combination of O3, UV, and GAC could reduce CLP to a concentration below the minimum detection limit of 0.001ppm. To test the effectiveness of the bench scale, caffeine was used as an organic tracer. Bench scale results indicate that the proposed system is effective in the removal of caffeine and CLP from doped water samples. Caffeine concentrations were reduced to below the minimum detection limit of 0.05 ppm for samples with initial concentrations ranging from 0.1 ppm to 10 ppm. CLP was reduced to below the minimum detection limit of 0.001ppm from and initial concentration of 0.1 ppm. An industrial scale process was sized based on treating secondary effluent from the WWTP in Tucumcari, NM. The total cost was determined to be an additional $2.31 per 1000 gallons, assuming 0$4.95 per 1000 gallons for the existing treatment paired with the proposed system. While this adds a significant cost to the existing treatment at the WWTP in Tucumcari, plants with larger flow rates would see significantly less of an increase in the total cost per 1000 gallons. This can be seen from the comparison of the 144,000gallonper day (gpd) system with existing UV treatment and the 300,000gpdTucumcari system also utilizing UV treatment. The 144,000gpdsystem was estimated to cost about 60% more per 1000 gallons. However, if the Tucumcari WWTP is awarded a grant to cover 100% of the Fixed Capital Investment (FCI), the proposed system would only increase the cost per 1000 gallons by 38%. If the EPA determines that EDCs such as CLP must be removed from the effluent of WWTPs, a process such as the one proposed by the Woo-Pig-Sewage team will be necessary

Physiological Limitations and Solutions to Various Applications of Microalgae

Despite over a century of research, the various applications of microalgae have only been realized only since the 1940s. With a repertoire of valuable products like biodiesel, astaxanthin, canthaxanthin, lutein, β-carotene, phycocyanin, chlorophyll a, polyunsaturated fatty acids, exopolymeric substance (EPS), and biohydrogen, the commercial importance of microalgae and demand for its product is gaining increasing attention. However, successful transition of the synthesis of microalgal products from laboratory to industries has yet to be realized, even after over 70 years of extensive research. This failure of commercial success of microalgal products can be attributed to the lack of understanding of the physiological role of the products and biological constraint placed by the bioenergetics and physiology, which has been largely ignored. This chapter focuses on the physiological limitations behind synthesis of microalgal products, highlights the crucial unknowns behind the role and synthesis of these products, and hints strategies to overcome the limitations to realize the commercial dream of microalgal products

A Rapid Micropropagation of nodal explants of Eclipta alba (L.); A Multipurpose Medicinal Herb

An efficient in vitro regeneration protocol was developed for medicinally important plant Eclipta alba. Successful regeneration and multiplication of nodal explants of E. alba were obtained in cytokinin enriched B5 medium. Several cytokinins [6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), kinetin (KIN), thidiazuron (TDZ), gibberellic acid (GA3) and spermidine] were supplemented alone and its combinations for obtaining better results. The best growth frequency response was achieved in the combinations of 1.0 BAP + 0.3 KIN + 1.5 GA3 (mg/L) concentration (7.4 ± 0.9 cm shoot length & 100 % regeneration). Better roots were developed in half-strength B5 medium along with IBA (1.0 mg/L) hormone and exhibits maximum root length (7.0 ± 0.8cm) along with multiple roots (8.8 ± 0.8) at 92 %. The well-developed Plantlets were successfully acclimatized to plastic-cups containing autoclaved sand and garden soil (1:1) and kept undisturbed with plastic cover for maintaining the humidity. The plantlets were watered regularly and maintained at green house

IN SILICO DOCKING OF QUERCETIN COMPOUND AGAINST THE HELA CELL LINE PROTEINS

The present molecular docking study can be useful for the design and development of novel compound having better inhibitory activity against human cervical cancer cell line proteins. The docking scores were highest for cellular tumor antigen p53 with -4.52 kcal/mol with the stronger interaction followed by Caspase-3 (-4.09 kcal/mol.), Mucosal address in cell adhesion molecule 1(-4.0 kcal/mol) and the last score was found in the NF-kappaB (-2.83 kcal/mol) and the LogP, lower hydrogen bond counts, confirming the capability of the Quercetin for binding at the active site of the receptor. These potential drug candidates can further be validated in wet lab studies for its proper function

ISOLATION OF ACTINOMYCETES FROM THE SEDIMENTS OF PICHAVARAM MANGROVE FOREST, SOUTH INDIA AND ANALYSING THEIR ANTIBACTERIAL EFFICACY

Objective: The aim of the present investigation is to isolate actinomycetes from the sediments of Pichavaram mangrove forest, South India, and to screen for their antibacterial efficiency. Methods: Actinomycetes were isolated by culturing the samples in Starch Casein Agar medium; they were screened primarily for their antibacterial efficiency against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial organisms. Solvent extraction was done with 50% (percentage) ethyl acetate, crude extracts of actinomycetes were prepared at different concentrations using dimethyl sulfoxide and treated against the bacterial organisms. Antibacterial assay was done in Mueller–Hinton agar medium. Results: Thirteen actinomycetes were isolated; among them, four actinomycete isolates (Pichavaram mangrove actinomycete 2 [PMA2], PMA6, PMA9, and PMA13) exhibited antibacterial activity. Conclusion: Isolate PMA2 exhibited very strong antibacterial activity and isolate PMA13 is weakly active against the tested bacterial organisms

Evaluation of Cicer Arietinum and Pisum Sativum Starch as the Alternative Tablet Binder to Maize Starch: Assessment by Preformulation and Formulation Studies.

In the present study, we evaluated pharmaceutical properties of the novel starch isolated from the seeds of Cicer arietinum and Pisum sativum to assess its functionality as pharmaceutical binder in tablet formulations. The isolated starches were subjected for pre-formulation studies (including DSC, SEM and XRD), where the physicochemical characterization of starches showed poor flow property. Compatibility studies confirmed that there was no significant interaction between drug and polymers. Microbial load test showed that the bacterial and fungal growth was under the limit specified. Efficiency of various binders were studied by wet granulation technique. Four formulations were made for each binder using different concentrations (2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10%), three different binders used to formulate twelve formulations. Pre-compression studies of granules exhibited good flow property and compression characteristics suitable for compression. The formulated tablets were evaluated for post-compression parameters. It was found that tablets with Cicer arietinum starch showed good binding capacity (hardness), friable within limit and slow disintegration with slow drug release in comparison with commercially available binder like Zea mays starch. Release kinetics reveals that the drug release might follow “First order kinetics”. Stability studies were done as per ICH guidelines and the tablets were found to be stable. These findings suggested that Cicer arietinum starch could be an useful binding agent especially where high mechanical strength and slower release concern. Our studies concluded that Cicer arietinum starch (resistant starch) can be used as an appropriate binder in any anti-diabetic drug formulations

Core metabolism plasticity in phytoplankton: Response of Dunaliella tertiolecta to oil exposure

Human alterations to the marine environment such as an oil spill can induce oxidative stress in phytoplankton. Exposure to oil has been shown to be lethal to most phytoplankton species, but some are able to survive and grow at unaffected or reduced growth rates, which appears to be independent of the class and phylum of the phytoplankton and their ability to consume components of oil heterotrophically. The goal of this article is to test the role of core metabolism plasticity in the oil-resisting ability of phytoplankton. Experiments were performed on the oil- resistant chlorophyte, Dunaliella tertiolecta, in control and water accommodated fractions of oil, with and without metabolic inhibitors targeting the core metabolic pathways. We observed that inhibiting pathways such as photosynthetic electron transport (PET) and pentose-phosphate pathway were lethal; however, inhibition of pathways such as mitochondrial electron transport and cyclic electron transport caused growth to be arrested. Pathways such as photorespiration and Kreb\u27s cycle appear to play a critical role in the oil-tolerating ability of D. tertiolecta. Analysis of photo-physiology revealed reduced PET under inhibition of photorespiration but not Kreb\u27s cycle. Further studies showed enhanced flux through Kreb\u27s cycle suggesting increased energy production and photorespiration counteract oxidative stress. Lastly, reduced extracellular carbohydrate secretion under oil exposure indicated carbon and energy conservation, which together with enhanced flux through Kreb\u27s cycle played a major role in the survival of D. tertiolecta under oil exposure by meeting the additional energy demands. Overall, we present data that suggest the role of phenotypic plasticity of multiple core metabolic pathways in accounting for the oxidative stress tolerating ability of certain phytoplankton species

LARVICIDAL AND ANTIBACTERIAL EFFICACY OF GREEN SYNTHESISED SILVER NANOPARTICLES USING MELIA DUBIA

Objectives: Plant extracts seems to be a better alternative to control pathogenic organisms due to the presence of many bioactive compounds. In addition, the plant mediated synthesized silver nanoparticles also have important applications in the field of biology, the present study aims to study the activity of AgNP's (Silver Nanoparticles) synthesized using the leaves of Melia dubia against the 4th instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus and pathogenic microbes Methods: The synthesized AgNP's were characterized by UV-Vis spectrum, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDX) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The 4th instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus were exposed to different concentrations of aqueous leaf extract (5, 10, 15, 20, 25ppm) and Silver nanoparticles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ppm) for 24 hours period. The antibacterial activity was measured by disk diffusion method against Bacillus subtilis, Proteus mirabilis, Klebseilla pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Vibrio cholerae. Results: The observations reveal that the silver nanoparticles synthesized using Melia dubia leaves were more effective than the crude leaf extract of the plant over Culex quinquefasciatus and microbes tested. Moreover, the results of metabolites also revealed that the AgNP's significantly altered the carbohydrates and protein level in the 4th instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus. Conclusion: The larvicidal and bactericidal activities are due to various phytoconstituents coated with the nanoparticles. It is further inferred from the results that the use of AgNP's for the control of targeted vectors is to eradicate disease transmitting mosquitoes as well as to control microbes