Recovery of uranium, thorium and zirconium from allanite by extraction chromatography using impregnated chromosorb

AbstractChromosorb 102 impregnated with Cyanex 923 was used as a stationary phase in the extraction chromatographic separation of lanthanides, U(VI), Th(IV) and Zr(IV). Batch studies were carried out to investigate the uptake behaviour of these metal ions, along with few other metal ions. The effect of different parameters like equilibration time, concentration of acid, metal ions and extractant has been studied. The distribution data has been used to develop suitable eluting agents. The sorbing and desorbing capacity of the column for U(VI), Th(IV) and Zr(IV) was determined. Results indicate an insignificant change in the efficiency of the column up to 10 such cycles. The practical utility of the column has been demonstrated by the recovery of around 95% of U(VI), Th(IV) and Zr(IV) from allanite sample with a purity of around 97%±2%

Aquipuribacter nitratireducens sp. nov., isolated from a soil sample of a mud volcano

A novel Gram-stain-positive, coccoid, non-motile bacterium, designated strain AMV4T, was isolated from a soil sample collected from a mud volcano located in the Andaman Islands, India. The colony was pale orange. Strain AMV4T was positive for oxidase, aesculinase, lysine decarboxylase and ornithine decarboxylase activities and negative for amylase, catalase, cellulase, protease, urease and lipase activities. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain AMV4T was a member of the order Actinomycetales and was closely related to Aquipuribacter hungaricus with a sequence similarity of 97.13 % (pairwise alignment). Phylogenetic analyses showed that strain AMV4T clustered with Aquipuribacter hungaricus and was distantly related to the other genera of the family Intrasporangiaceae. DNA–DNA hybridization between strains AMV4T and Aquipuribacter hungaricus IV-75T showed a relatedness of 28 %. The predominant cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0 (6.9 %), anteiso-C15 : 0 (25.3 %), C16 : 0 (12.9 %), anteiso-C16 : 0 (5.6 %), C18 : 1ω9c (19.8 %) and C18 : 3ω6,9,12c (9.1 %). The diagnostic diamino acid in the cell-wall peptidoglycan of strain AMV4T was meso-diaminopimelic acid. Strain AMV4T contained MK-10(H4) as the predominant respiratory quinone. The polar lipids consisted of phosphatidylglycerol, one unidentified glycolipid, two unidentified phospholipids and five unidentified lipids. The DNA G+C content of strain AMV4T was 74.3 mol%. Based on data from this taxonomic study using a polyphasic approach, it is proposed that strain AMV4T represents a novel species of the genus Aquipuribacter, with the suggested name Aquipuribacter nitratireducens sp. nov. The type strain is AMV4T ( = CCUG 58430T = DSM 22863T = NBRC 107137T)

Analysing the aid effectiveness on the living standard: A check-up on Southeast Asian countries

The present research work aims to analyse the effect that the disaggregated developmental aid has had on the health status and the standard of living in the urban sector after the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were established. Infant Mortality and Improved sanitation facilities are taken as indicators for health status and urbanisation respectively; and the relationship between disaggregated health aid with Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and disaggregated aid for water and sanitation with improved sanitation facilities was analysed for the years from 2002–2012 using data from India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam and Lao PDR of Southeast Asia through the dynamic panel data modelling using the Generalized Methods of Moments (GMMs). Findings suggest that the developmental aid has not been effective in both the health sector and urbanisation sector. Moreover, improvement in health status has been growth driven. With the advent of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); the most important thing to ensure is that the disbursed aid is used effectively to achieve the very purposes it is being given for and to reduce the gaps in various classes of developing countries in the region

Application of System Thinking Causal Loop Modelling in understanding water Crisis in India: A case for sustainable Integrated Water resources management across sectors

India is one among the high risk countries susceptible to water stress and as a result of exponential population growth, industrialization and rapid urbanization the per capita water availability is fast diminishing and adding to this climate change is further expected to exacerbate the problem resulting in more frequent and prolonged drought. Water is considered to be a wicked problem and hence relying on a linear and reductionist approach may no longer seems relevant in solving such complex systems. This paper adopts a system thinking principle to understand various water management challenges across sectors. System thinking has its roots in mental models and has been evolving and increasingly being used to understand Complex Dynamic Systems. Based on a systematic review of literature, the present study has developed a series of Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) capturing key variables pertaining to water sector. CLDs are believed to create a broader and holistic understanding of the water management challenges by clearly exhibiting the relationship between the key variables. The proposed CLDs serve as a decision making tool to understand the challenges of integrated water resources management through the complex interactions of the variables between balancing and reinforcing loops. The CLDs highlights the existing water related challenges in India and proposes a pathway for sustainable management of water resources across agriculture, industry and domestic sectors. Though the CLD discussion in this paper is based on Indian scenario, it holds good for any developing countries context

Bacterial Diversity of Ny-Ålesund, Arctic Archipelago Svalbard

The bacterial diversity of the water sample, collected from Ny-Ålesund, Arctic Archipelago Svalbard was analyzed by a phenotypic as well as a genotypic approach. Pure colonies of the culturable bacteria were established and grown at a range of temperatures: 4ºC, 15ºC, 22ºC and 37ºC. Optimum growth was found at 15ºC, and around 28 colonies were obtained. The library was dominated by 16S rDNAs of Gram-negative bacteria ( γ -Proteobacteria). Twenty two isolates exhibited sequences were similar to that of known bacterial isolates (>97% sequence similarity), represented by the species of the genera Psychrobacter , Pseudomonas , and Acinetobacter . Six isolates exhibited sequences showed less affi liation with known taxa (<97% sequence similarity), and may represent novel taxa

Pichia garciniae sp. nov., isolated from a rotten mangosteen fruit (Garcinia mangostana L., Clusiaceae)

Ascogenous yeasts were isolated from a decaying mangosteen fruit (Garcinia mangostana L., Clusiaceae). Based on colony morphology and RAPD analysis, the strains were grouped into four groups (G-I, G-II, G-III and G-IV). Phenotypic properties and analysis of the D1/D2 domain sequence of the 26S rRNA gene identified representative members of groups G-II, G-III and G-IV as Pichia manshurica (=Pichia galeiformis), Pichia fermentans and Pichia anomala, respectively. Representatives of group G-I, YS110<SUP>T</SUP> and YS111, showed similar phenotypic traits, 99.9% similarity in the sequence of the D1/D2 domain of the 26S rRNA gene and ITS1-5.8S rRNA gene-ITS2 sequence and 92% DNA-DNA relatedness. Hence, YS110<SUP>T</SUP> and YS111 are regarded as members of the same species. Based on D1/D2 domain and ITS region sequences, the nearest phylogenetic neighbours of YS110<SUP>T</SUP> and YS111 were identified as Pichia membranifaciens and P. manshurica. However, YS110<SUP>T</SUP> differs from these two nearest phylogenetic neighbours by &gt;3% in the D1/D2 domain sequence and by &gt;18% with respect to the ITS region sequence. In addition, YS110<SUP>T</SUP> and YS111 differ from P. membranifaciens NRRL Y-2026<SUP>T</SUP> and P. manshurica NRRL Y-27978<SUP>T</SUP> with respect to a number of phenotypic traits. The strains show 52-57% DNA-DNA relatedness with P. membranifaciens NRRL Y-2026<SUP>T</SUP> and P. manshurica NRRL Y-27978<SUP>T</SUP>. Strains YS110<SUP>T</SUP> and YS111 are proposed as two strains of a novel species, for which the name Pichia garciniae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is YS110<SUP>T</SUP> (=NRRL Y-48422<SUP>T</SUP> =CBS 10758<SUP>T</SUP>)

Arthrobacter antarcticus sp. nov., isolated from an Antarctic marine sediment

A bacterial strain, SPC26<SUP>T</SUP>, was isolated from a sediment sample of the Southern Ocean off Antarctica. The strain was Gram-staining- and catalase-positive and contained lysine and alanine in the cell-wall peptidoglycan. The major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C<SUB>15:0</SUB> (54.92%), iso-C<SUB>15:0</SUB> (11.47%), anteiso-C<SUB>17:0</SUB> (6.48%) and anteiso-C<SUB>15:1</SUB> (6.38%) and the major menaquinones were MK-8, MK-9 and MK-10. The major polar lipids were phosphatidylethanolamine and diphosphatidylglycerol. The G+C content was 68±0.5 mol%. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities, the nearest phylogenetic neighbours of strain SPC26<SUP>T</SUP> were identified as Arthrobacter gangotriensis Lz1y<SUP>T</SUP> (98.8%), A. sulfureus DSM 20167<SUP>T</SUP> (98.6%), A. psychrophenolicus DSM 15454<SUP>T</SUP> (97.9%) and A. kerguelensis KGN15<SUP>T</SUP> (97.5). With these strains, strain SPC26<SUP>T</SUP> exhibited DNA-DNA relatedness values of 36, 21, 12 and 10%, respectively. Therefore, on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence comparisons, phylogenetic analysis, phenotypic characteristics and DNA-DNA relatedness, it is proposed that strain SPC26<SUP>T</SUP> represents a novel species of Arthrobacter, for which the name Arthrobacter antarcticus sp. nov. is proposed, with strain SPC26<SUP>T</SUP> (=LMG 24542<SUP>T</SUP> =NCCB 100228<SUP>T</SUP>) as the type strain