Production and partial purification of extracellular tannase by Klebsiella pneumoniae MTCC 7162 isolated from tannery effluent

Diverse bacteria belonging to various taxa were isolated from tannery effluent of leather industries located at Ranipet, India and were screened for the production of extracellular tannase. One of the strains identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae MTCC 7162 was found to produce tannase (3.4 U/ ml) at pH 6.0, 37°C and 100 rpm. Use of individual carbon and inorganic nitrogen sources resulted in lower tannase production. However, a combination of urea and corn steep liquor extract yielded marginal increase in tannase production (3.9 U/ ml). End-product repression was also studied with inclusion of gallic acid to the growth medium. Enrichment with various additives of metal ions and detergents resulted in inhibition of tannase production. The enzyme was partially purified using ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by the use of DEAE-cellulose. SDS-PAGE analysis indicated that the molecular weight of the protein to be 46.5 kDa. The enzyme was found to be active in a wide range of pH and temperature with an optimal activity at pH 5.5 and 40°C.Key words: Bacterial tannase, Klebsiella pneumoniae MTCC 7162, tannery effluent, minimal media

Studies on degradation of chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbon by using immobilized cell crude extract of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

In this work Pseudomonas aeruginosa (NCIM-2074) has been identified as potential organism to decompose chlorobenzene by its crude extract through immobilization technique. P. aeruginosa wasgrown on chlorobenzene as sole source of carbon and energy. Chlorobenzene was used as an inducer to develop specific intracellular enzymes which will decompose chlorobenzene to non-toxicsubstances. Crude cell extracts produced which contains intracellular enzyme, were immobilized on sodium alginate beads. The beads were mixed with different concentration (100, 200, 300 ppm) of chlorobenzene to study the kinetics of degradation of chlorobenzene. The rate of decomposition of chlorobenzene by immobilized crude extracts was measured at different time intervals and it was found that 93 to 95 percentage of chlorobenzene can be decomposed with in 10 min. The immobilized crude extracts were reused for all other experiments and found that immobilization technique can be used for higher capacity conversion for the scale up process

Biodegradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol using Mycoplana dimorpha extracts and evaluation of kinetic parameters

Twenty seven combinations of process variables were developed and used to produce crude extracts of Mycoplana dimorpha. Crude extracts containing 2,4-dichlorophenol degrading enzymes, were immobilized on sodium alginate beads and degradation studies was conducted in a packed bed column. The rate of degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol by immobilized crude extracts of was measured at different time intervals and it was found that 82 to 86% of 2,4-dichlorophenol can be decomposed with different initial concentrations in 30 min. The Km and Vmax values were determined

Biodegradation of chlorobenzene using immobilized crude extracts in packed bed column

Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been identified as potential organism to decompose chlorobenzene by its crude extract through immobilization technique. P. aeruginosa was grown on chlorobenzene as solesource of carbon and energy. Chlorobenzene was used as an inducer to develop specific intracellular enzymes which will decompose chlorobenzene to non toxic substance. Crude cell extracts producedwhich contains intracellular enzyme, were immobilized on sodium alginate beads. The beads were packed in a glass column and added with different initial concentration (30, 40 and 50 ppm) ofchlorobenzene to study the kinetics of degradation. Nine sets of combinations of process variables were developed and used to produce crude extracts keeping other parameters constant. The rate ofdecomposition of chlorobenzene by immobilized crude extracts was measured at different time intervals and found that 80 to 83% of chlorobenzene can be decomposed with in 35 min. Theimmobilized crude extracts were reused for all other experiments and found that immobilization technique can be used for higher capacity conversion of scaled up process

Primary Interlocking Nailing and Primary Soft Tissue Cover in Open Fractures of Tibia: A Prospective Study

INTRODUCTION: The tibial shaft is one of the most common sites of an open fracture, a fracture that involves a break in the skin with soft tissues communicating with the fracture or its hematoma, or both. Because of the high prevalence of complications associated with these fractures, management often is difficult, and the optimum method of treatment remains a subject of controversy. About 23% of all tibial fractures are open and most of these are Gustilo grade III. Most of them due to road traffic accidents followed by fall, sports activities, blow / assault, gun shot injuries and other rare injuries like blasts. Open injuries of tibia are associated with twice the amount of contamination than other open fractures. With better understanding of the importance of serial wound debridement and early soft tissue cover for open fracture 18,20 good results have been achieved. Subcutaneous nature of the tibia makes the secondary reconstructive procedures difficult. But the advent of free flaps and advancement made in the micro-vascular techniques have led to reliable cover of traumatic musculocutaneous defects. Progressive refinement in the fixation of fractures and early bone grafting have resulted in a shorter time to union. The combined treatment of both the soft-tissue and skeletal components of severe open tibial fractures by dedicated teams commonly the orthopaedic-surgeon and plastic-surgeon has further improved outcomes and reduced morbidity. AIM: To evaluate the functional outcome of primary interlocking nailing and softtissue cover in open fractures of tibia in government hospital setup. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was done from February 2006 – November 2007, for a period of 22 months, in Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Madras Medical College & Government General Hospital, Chennai. We did primary interlocking nailing and immediate skin cover in 31 patients for 31 fractures. Out of these 31 patients, we have lost follow-up of 4 patients and we have analysed the results with the average follow-up of 12 months and minimum follow up of 5 months. Inclusion criteria - Any Gustilo and Anderson Grade II, III A and III B compound tibial fractures presenting to our institute within 48 hours of injury. Exclusion criteria - Patient presenting with more than 48 hours of injury. Grade I and Grade III C compound tibial fractures. Patients’ age ranged from 18 to 70 years. Average: 37. In our series, Male predominated with the ratio of 9:1. In our series, RTA was the predominant cause of injury. In RTA, 2 wheeler Vs 4 wheeler was the most common (10 cases). In our series, nearly half (45%) of the patients were referred from other hospitals. RESULTS: Type II Fractures - Union was observed in 11 of the 13 patients. The mean time to union was 27 weeks (range 20 weeks to 40 weeks). Dynamisation was done in 1 patient and Dynamisation followed by bone grafting was done in 1 patient. For infective non union seen in 1 patient posterolateral bone grafting was done and for non union in 1 patient bone grafting was done. Results of these patients were awaited. Type III A Fractures - Union was observed in 7 of the 10 patients. The mean time to union was 31 weeks (23-37 weeks). Prophylactic bone grafting was done in 1 patient. Aseptic nonunion was seen in 1 patient for which bone grafting13 was done. Infective non union was seen in 2 patients, for which antibiotic exchange nailing has been planned. Type III B Fractures - Two of the four type III B fractures united in average time of 47 weeks. Out of the 4 patients muscle flaps was done in 2 patients and fasciocutaneous flaps in 2 patients. 3 patients developed infection, for which appropriated anti biotics were given. CONCLUSION: Primary interlocking and primary closure produces excellent results in GrI and GrII fractures as compared to any other modality of treatment. For GrIII fractures infection rate was 35%, which is as good as external fixation but better than secondary nailing. Primary interlocking nailing and primary closure as a single staged procedure required less number of secondary procedures as compared to external fixation and secondary nailing. Functional outcome was far better in primary interlocking and primary closure than other procedures. Although the infection rates in GrIIIB fractures treated with primary interlocking was high this can be improved by better theatre sterility, early surgical intervention, timely secondary procedures and accurate assessment of soft tissue injury

Electrochemical Performance of AlÕMnO2 Dry Cells: An Alternative to Lechlanche Dry Cells

Aluminum-MnO2 �Al/MnO2� dry cells of “D” size configuration are investigated as an alternative to the Lechlanche dry cell, where aluminum is replaced for zinc as the anode, MnO2 as the cathode, and a mixture of aluminum chloride/ammonium chloride/chromium chloride as the electrolyte. Investigations regarding the optimization of conducting material, electrolyte composition, and electrochemical performance of the cell at different temperature and current drains �100, 200, and 400 mA� are carried out. Internal resistance and storage life of the fabricated aluminum dry cells are also evaluated. The results suggest that Al/MnO2 dry cells exhibit a superior performance than their Zn counterpar

Sol-Gel Synthesis of 5 V LiCuxMn2−xO4 as a Cathode Material for Lithium Rechargeable Batteries

Spinel LiCuxMn2−xO4 0.025 x 0.1 has been synthesized using oxalic acid as the chelating agent using a sol-gel method to obtain submicrometer-sized particles, good surface morphology, homogeneity, agglomeration, and high crystallinity involving short heating time. X-ray diffraction XRD, scanning electron microscopy SEM, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis were carried out for the physical characterization of the synthesized powder. The XRD patterns of LiCuxMn2−xO4 show the single-phase spinel product, which is in good agreement with the JCPDS card 35-782. SEM images show that the particles, on the average, are of 50 nm in size and are present as agglomerated clusters at all dopant levels. Electrochemical cycling studies of the compound were carried out between 3 and 5 V to understand the redox behavior of Cu2+ ions. The charge–discharge cycling studies of spinel material with Cu stoichiometry of x = 0.1 calcined at 850°C exhibit an initial discharge capacity of 130 mAh g−1 and stabilized at 120 mAh g−1

Design strategies for residential high rise buildings through open building principles

Current high rise living trends view apartments as rigid inflexible structures. People are dynamic, progressive and adaptive. Our living spaces should be able to adapt to our changing needs, expanding families, tendency to migrate and fast-paced oriented lifestyles. We are constantly upgrading our building stock with new systems and technologies to meet current social, financial and technological demands. However, high-rise housing has been slow to adapt due to its rigid form. Not only does it directly affect the inhabitant, but it also poses greater problems in the future when these buildings become obsolete due to its inflexibility, despite being in good working order. This dissertation looks at approaches to increase flexibility and adaptability in residential high rise architecture. It determines the best design strategies for high-rise living using open building principles. Data collection and analysis was done through comprehensive literature reviews, analysing case studies and field research. Open building case studies were primarily used to compare and contrast various approaches and summarise the best design strategies for high rise living. There are many recommendations highlighted in this dissertation, listed according to system level, building level, unit level, room level and layout level. This study is essential because the implementation of these design strategies and the Open Building principles tackle issues on changing household composition and income; mass housing, loss of individuality and exclusion of the end user; inflexibility and obsolescence; preventable construction waste; entanglement and finance

Three dimensional Aero-Structural Shape Optimization of Turbomachinery Blades

Aero-structural optimization of gas turbine blades is a very challenging task, given e.g. three dimensional nature of the flow, stringent performance requirements, structural and manufacturing considerations, etc. The current research work addresses this challenge by development and implementation of structural shape optimization module and integrating it with an aerodynamic shape optimization module to form an automated aero-structural optimization procedure. The optimizer combines a Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm (MOGA), with a Response Surface Approximation (RSA) of the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) type. During the optimization process, each objective function and constraint is approximated by an individual ANN, which is trained and tested using an aerodynamic as well as a structure database composed of a few high fidelity flow simulations (CFD) and structure analysis (CSD) that are obtained using ANSYS Workbench 11.0. Addition of this multiple ANN technique to the optimizer greatly improves the accuracy of the RSA, provides control over handling different design variables and disciplines. The described methodology is then applied to the aero-structural optimization of the E/TU-3 turbine blade row and stage at design conditions to improve the aerodynamic and structural performance of the turbomachinery blades by optimizing the stacking curve. The proposed methodology proved quite successful, flexible and practical with significant increase in stage efficiency and decrease in equivalent stress