Process optimization of xylanase production using cheap solid substrate by Trichoderma reesei SAF3 and study on the alteration of behavioral properties of enzyme obtained from SSF and SmF.

This study aimed to assess the variability in respect of titer and properties of xylanase from Trichoderma reesei SAF3 under both solid-state and submerged fermentation. SSF was initially optimized with different agro-residues and among them wheat bran was found to be the best substrate that favored maximum xylanase production of 219 U (gws)(-1) at 96 h of incubation. The mycelial stage of the fungi and intracellular accumulation of Ca(++) and Mg(++) induced maximum enzyme synthesis.

Determinants for the retreatment groups of pulmonary tuberculosis patients treated in a DOTS programme in Sikkim, India.

Objective: To assess knowledge, attitude and different health-seeking behaviours among 250 cured and 250 category-II tuberculosis patients.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted in different health settings in Sikkim, a part of the Indian continent. A questionnaire was filled for the purpose.

A highly efficient solvent system containing functionalized diglycolamides and an ionic liquid for americium recovery from radioactive wastes.

Three room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), viz. C(4)mim(+)·PF(6)(-), C(6)mim(+)·PF(6)(-) and C(8)mim(+)·PF(6)(-), were evaluated as diluents for the extraction of Am(III) by N,N,N',N'-tetraoctyl diglycolamide (TODGA). At 3 M HNO(3), the D(Am)-values by 0.

Characterization of tannase protein sequences of bacteria and fungi: an in silico study.

The tannase protein sequences of 149 bacteria and 36 fungi were retrieved from NCBI database. Among them only 77 bacterial and 31 fungal tannase sequences were taken which have different amino acid compositions. These sequences were analysed for different physical and chemical properties, superfamily search, multiple sequence alignment, phylogenetic tree construction and motif finding to find out the functional motif and the evolutionary relationship among them.

Variation in effects of four OP insecticides on photosynthetic pigment fluorescence of Chlorella vulgaris Beij.

Effects of the insecticides quinalphos, chlorfenvinphos, dimethoate and phorate on photosystem activity of Chlorella vulgaris were investigated by different chlorophyll fluorescence measurements. Exposure to each of the insecticides increased the proportion of inactivated PS II reaction center. Quinalphos and chlorfenvinphos caused OJIP fluorescence reduction at all levels by decreasing the proportion of Q(A)-reducing PS II reaction centers (RCs).

Genetic population structure of the malaria vector Anopheles baimaii in north-east India using mitochondrial DNA.

Background: Anopheles baimaii is a primary vector of human malaria in the forest settings of Southeast Asia including the north-eastern region of India. Here, the genetic population structure and the basic population genetic parameters of An. baimaii in north-east India were estimated using DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase sub unit II (COII) gene.

Spatial distribution and molecular characterization of Anopheles nivipes and Anopheles philippinensis (Diptera: Culicidae) in north-east India.

Anopheles philippinensis-nivipes species of mosquitoes are considered secondary malaria vectors in the north-east India. However, difficulty in separating An. philippinensis and An.

Collagen scaffolds derived from fresh water fish origin and their biocompatibility.

Collagen, a major component of native extracellular matrix, has diverse biomedical applications. However, its application is limited due to lack of cost-effective production and risk of disease transmission from bovine sources currently utilized. This study describes fabrication and characterization of nano/micro fibrous scaffolds utilizing collagen extracted from fresh water fish origin.

Role of diluent on the separation of 90Y from 90Sr by solvent extraction and supported liquid membrane using T2EHDGA as the extractant.

The separation behaviour of (90)Y from (90)Sr was investigated by diluent variation using solvent extraction and supported liquid membrane techniques employing N,N,N',N'-tetra-2-ethylhexyldiglycolamide (T2EHDGA) as the extractant. Both D(Y) (distribution ratio of Y(III)) and S.F.

Xylanase isozymes from the newly isolated Bacillus sp. CKBx1D and optimization of its deinking potentiality.

Recycling of civic paper waste by enzyme-based technology is nowadays a point of much concern for pollution-less green environment. In this study, the deinking effectiveness of purified xylanase from a newly isolated bacterium was evaluated for recycling of laser jet paper waste. A potent xylanases-producing bacterium from the microbial consortia of termite gut was isolated, which was further identified on the basis of 16S rRNA sequence as Bacillus sp.

Tannase production by Penicillium purpurogenum PAF6 in solid state fermentation of tannin-rich plant residues following OVAT and RSM.

Tannase production by newly isolated Penicillium purpurogenum PAF6 was investigated by 'one variable at a time' (OVAT) approach followed by response surface methodology (RSM). Tannin-rich plant residues were used as supporting solid substrate and sole carbon source and, among them, tamarind seed was found to be the most favorable substrate than haritaki, pomegranate, tea leaf waste and arjun fruit. Physicochemical parameters were initially optimized using OVAT methodology and some important factors like incubation time, incubation temperature, substrate:moisture ratio as well as carbon, nitrogen and phosphate concentrations were verified with Box-Behken design of response surface methodology.

Malaria in South Asia: prevalence and control.

The "Malaria Evolution in South Asia" (MESA) program project is an International Center of Excellence for Malaria Research (ICEMR) sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health. This US-India collaborative program will study the origin of genetic diversity of malaria parasites and their selection on the Indian subcontinent. This knowledge should contribute to a better understanding of unexpected disease outbreaks and unpredictable disease presentations from Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax infections.

Keratinase production and biodegradation of whole chicken feather keratin by a newly isolated bacterium under submerged fermentation.

A new feather-degrading bacterium PKD 5 was isolated from feather dumping soil and identified as Bacillus weihenstephanensis based on morphological and physiochemical characteristics as well as 16S rRNA gene analysis. Extracellular keratinase was produced during submerged aerobic cultivation in a medium containing chicken feather as sole carbon and energy source and supplemented with salt solutions (NaCl 5.0, MgSO₄ 1.

Regulation of xylanase biosynthesis in Bacillus cereus BSA1.

Microbial xylanases have a promising biotechnological potential to be used in industries. In this study, regulation of xylanase production was examined in Bacillus cereus BSA1. Xylanase production was induced by xylan.

Determination of processes affecting groundwater quality in the coastal aquifer beneath Puri city, India: a multivariate statistical approach.

Variability of groundwater quality parameters is linked to various processes such as weathering, organic matter degradation, aerobic respiration, iron reduction, mineral dissolution and precipitation, cation exchange and mixing of salt water with fresh water. Multivariate statistical analyses such as principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) were applied to the standardized data set of eleven groundwater quality parameters (i.e.

Complexation of novel diglycolamide functionalized calix[4]arenes: unusual extraction behaviour, transport, and fluorescence studies.

Three diglycolamide functionalized calix[4]arenes (calix[4]-nDGA) were synthesized and evaluated for their extraction behaviour towards lanthanide/actinide ions. Exceptionally high D(Am) and D(Pu) values indicate these radiotoxic elements can be selectively removed from nuclear waste solutions. Transport and laser induced fluorescence studies indicated strong complexation of the trivalent metal ions with the calix[4]-4DGA ligand.

Liquid-liquid extraction and flat sheet supported liquid membrane studies on Am(III) and Eu(III) separation using 2,6-bis(5,6-dipropyl-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)pyridine as the extractant.

Solvent extraction and supported liquid membrane transport studies for the preferential removal of Am(3+) from feeds containing a mixture of Am(3+) and Eu(3+) was carried out using 2,6-bis(5,6-dipropyl-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)pyridine (n-Pr-BTP) as the extractant. Diluent plays an important role in these studies. It was observed that the distribution coefficients deteriorate significantly for both Am(3+) and Eu(3+) though the separation factors were affected only marginally.

Chromatographic separation of carrier free 90Y from 90Sr using a diglycolamide based resin for possible pharmaceutical applications.

N,N,N',N'-tetraoctyl diglycolamide (TODGA) has been used as the stationary phase in an extraction chromatography resin (XCR) material prepared for evaluating the uptake and the separation behaviour of (90)Y and (90)Sr from acidic feeds. Chromosorb-W was used as the solid support material while the feed solution was usually 4M HNO(3). The batch uptake studies have suggested almost no Sr(II) uptake while Y(III) uptake increased with acidity up to 4M HNO(3) beyond which a decrease in the K(d,w) values were observed.

Purification and characterization of an endoxylanase from the culture broth of Bacillus cereus BSA1.

An extracellular xylanase from the fermented broth of Bacillus cereus BSA1 was purified and characterized. The enzyme was purified to 3.43 fold through ammonium sulphate precipitation, DEAE-cellulose chromatography and followed by gel filtration through Sephadex G-100 column.

Studies on the selective Am3+ transport, irradiation stability and surface morphology of polymer inclusion membranes containing Cyanex-301 as carrier extractant.

Transport behaviour of Am(3+) across cellulose triacetate (CTA) based polymer inclusion membranes (PIM) containing Cyanex-301 (bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl)dithiophosphinic acid) as the carrier extractant and tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) or 2-nitrophenyloctylether (NPOE) as the plasticizer was investigated from different feed and strip conditions. The TBP plasticized membrane resulted back transport of Am when alpha-hydroxy iso-butyric acid was used as the complexing agent in the strip phase while no such effect was seen when ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) was used as the complexant. Effect of varying Cyanex-301 concentration and bipyridyl (bipy) concentration on Am transport was also investigated.

Selective americium(III) complexation by dithiophosphinates: a density functional theoretical validation for covalent interactions responsible for unusual separation behavior from trivalent lanthanides.

The separation of trivalent actinides and lanthanides is a challenging task for chemists because of their similar charge and chemical behavior. Soft donor ligands like Cyanex-301 were found to be selective for the trivalent actinides over the lanthanides. Formation of different extractable species for Am(3+) and various lanthanides (viz.

Potassium deficiency affects water status and photosynthetic rate of the vegetative sink in green house tomato prior to its effects on source activity.

The potassium requirement of green house tomatoes is very high for vegetative growth and fruit production. Potassium deficiency in plants takes long time for expression of visible symptoms. The objective of this study is to detect the deficiency early during the vegetative growth and define the roles of aquaporin and K-channel transporters in the process of regulation of water status and source-sink relationship.

Facilitated transport of uranium(VI) across supported liquid membranes containing T2EHDGA as the carrier extractant.

Facilitated transport of uranyl ion from nitric acid feed solutions was investigated across PTFE supported liquid membranes using N,N,N',N'-tetra-2-ethylhexyl-3-pentane-diamide (T2EHDGA) in n-dodecane as the carrier extractant containing 30% iso-decanol as the phase modifier. Solvent extraction studies indicated extraction of species of the type, UO(2)(NO(3))(2)·T2EHDGA. The distribution coefficients increased in the presence of NaNO(3) as compared to equivalent concentration of HNO(3) which was exactly the opposite of what was reported for Am(III)-TODGA extraction system.

Effect of temperature on pseudoternary system Tween-80-butanol-hexane-water.

Phase diagrams of pseudoternary systems of Tween-80, butanol, hexane and water were constructed by a visual titration method. The cloud points (CPs) at various compositions were determined and the variations in the cloud points were analyzed on the basis of changes in the composition of the different components in the microemulsions. A quantitative model was established by using multiple regression analysis considering weight percent of emulsifier (surfactant+cosurfactant) and oil as independent variables.