Predictive approach for simultaneous biosorption of hexavalent chromium and pentachlorophenol degradation by Bacillus cereus RMLAU1

Chromium and pentachlorophenol are the major environmental pollutants emanating from tannery effluent. Indigenous Bacillus cereus isolate was employed for biosorption and PCP degradation studies under varied environmental conditions such as pH, temperature, contact time, presence of other heavy metals, initial biosorbent and Cr6+ concentrations. Best results for Cr6+ biosorption (% removal) by living and dead biomass at 2.0 g l-1 were found to be 35.2 mg Cr g-1 dry wt (63%) at pH 5.0, and 42.5 mg Cr g-1 dry wt (70.5%) at pH 4.0, respectively at 35ºC (150 rpm) during 120 min at an initial concentration of 200 mg Cr6+ l-1 and 500 mg PCP l-1. Among various factors, pH had profound effect on Cr6+ biosorption and PCP degradation. Maximum 7.5 % (w/v) PCP degradation ensued in 2 h only by live cells in the presence of 0.4 % (w/v) cometabolite glucose. Presumably, this is the first report on simultaneous biosorption of chromium and pentachlorophenol remediation by native Bacillus cereus isolate from tannery effluent. Statistical regressional analysis suitably validated the experimental findings. This strain would be helpful in eco-friendly simultaneous bioremediation allied with a predictive computational approach.Key words: Bacillus cereus, Biosorption, Chromium, Heavy metals, Pentachlorophenol

Assessment of tree diversity in tropical moist deciduous forest of Mizoram University, Northeast India

Forests are the main repository of biodiversity and play an important role in maintaining the ecological balance of nature. The status of species diversity reflects the health of the ecosystem. Therefore, the information on variation in the flora, for example,  species composition, diversity and the basal area within any ecosystem like the forest of Mizoram University campus, Tanhril village, Aizawl would be important in understanding the forest wealth of the campus. Keeping in view, the study was analyzed the composition and diversity of  Mizoram University campus by laying 16 (10 m ×10 m) quadrats at random locations during 2015-2016. A total of 35 tree species belonging to 30 genera and 22 families were recorded in the forest communities of University Campus. Aporusa octandra was the most dominant tree species with maximum 31.50 importance value index (IVI), 3.29 Shannon diversity index (H0) and 6972 Simpson’s index (D) followed by Castanopsis tribuloides (28 IVI, 0.22 H0 and 5256 D) and least dominant species recorded were: Albizia odoratissima, Anogeissus acuminate, Lithocarpus elegans, Oroxylum indicum. This study suggests that the forest patches are recovering after the establishment of the University because of adequate protection which was degraded in the past by the villager for collecting the trees for firewood, edible wild food and selecting the mature trees for felling. Therefore, further studies on regeneration potential of tree species would be crucial for the conservation of ecologically important species and to assess rates of their recovery following the disturbance

Fine root and soil nitrogen dynamics during stand development following shifting agriculture in Northeast India

Nitrogen (N) dynamics during changes in land use patterns in tropical forests may profoundly affect fine root dynamics and nutrient cycling processes. Variations in fine root biomass and soil N dynamics were assessed in developing stands of increasing ages following shifting agriculture in Mizoram, Northeast India, and comparisons were made with a natural forest stand. Concentrations of soil available N (NH4-N and NO3-N) and the proportion of NH4-N in total available N increased with stand age. The N-mineralization rate also increased with stand age whilst the proportion of nitrification relative to ammonification declined during succession. Fine root biomass and N-mineralization increased, and available N decreased during the monsoon season while this pattern was reversed during the winter season. A greater proportion of fine roots were <0.5 mm diameter in the younger sites, and turnover of fine roots was more rapid in the developing stands compared to the natural forest. Fine root biomass was correlated positively with N-mineralization rate and soil water content. Thus, it can be concluded that the fine root growth was aided by rapid N-mineralization, and both fine root growth and N-mineralization increase as stands redevelop following shifting cultivation disturbance

Knowledge, attitudes and practice of adverse drug reaction monitoring among physicians in India

Background: Underreporting of ADRs still remains a major obstacle in the complete success of pharmacovigilance programs. In order to improve ADR monitoring, it is thus imperative to assess the current knowledge, attitude, and practices of doctors. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) of the healthcare professionals about pharmacovigilance in various tertiary care government teaching hospital vis-a-vis private clinics in West Bengal.Methods: A cross sectional, questionnaire based survey was conducted among healthcare practitioners in several tertiary care government set-ups and private set-ups in the state of West Bengal (India). The study instrument was a pre-validated structured questionnaire designed to obtain information on the knowledge of the ADRs reporting, the attitudes towards the reporting, and the factors that in practice could hinder the reporting among the doctors.Results: About 89.62% public practitioners correctly spotted the WHO definition for pharmacovigilance, while 77.5% of the private practitioners did the same. Only 19.81% of the public practitioners documented a suspected ADR in any surveillance form, while there were only 3.75% private practitioners who documented it. About 59.43% of the physicians in government hospitals published an ADR case report in any medical journal, while 81.25% private practitioners did no.Conclusions: Study revealed lack of time, incentive less extra work load being major factors responsible for ADR underreporting. In order to improve ADR reporting, continuous medical education, training and proper sensitization of healthcare professionals can help combating the existing scenario and promising an improved tomorrow. The PvPI should be widely publicized in the visual and print media to make health professionals, as well as the general population at large aware of its presence and scope. Pharmacovigilance should be integrated in undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses

Evaluation and utilization of Aegilops germplasm for biofortification of wheat for high grain iron and zinc content

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Phosphorylation of β-catenin at Serine552 correlates with invasion and recurrence of non-functioning pituitary neuroendocrine tumours.

Non-functioning pituitary tumours (NF-PitNETs) are common intracranial benign neoplasms that can exhibit aggressive behaviour by invading neighbouring structures and, in some cases, have multiple recurrences. Despite resulting in severe co-morbidities, no predictive biomarkers of recurrence have been identified for NF-PitNETs. In this study we have used high-throughput mass spectrometry-based analysis to examine the phosphorylation pattern of different subsets of NF-PitNETs. Based on histopathological, radiological, surgical and clinical features, we have grouped NF-PitNETs into non-invasive, invasive, and recurrent disease groups. Tumour recurrence was determined based on regular clinical and radiological data of patients for a mean follow-up of 10 years (SD ± 5.4 years). Phosphoproteomic analyses identified a unique phosphopeptide enrichment pattern which correlates with disease recurrence. Candidate phosphorylated proteins were validated in a large cohort of NF-PitNET patients by western blot and immunohistochemistry. We identified a cluster of 22 phosphopeptides upregulated in recurrent NF-PitNETs compared to non-invasive and invasive subgroups. We reveal significant phosphorylation of the β-catenin at Ser552 in recurrent and invasive NF-PitNETs, compared to non-invasive/non-recurrent NF-PitNET subgroup. Moreover, β-catenin pSer552 correlates with the recurrence free survival among 200 patients with NF-PitNET. Together, our results suggest that the phosphorylation status of β-catenin at Ser552 could act as potential biomarker of tumour recurrence in NF-PitNETs