Microalgal bio-flocculation: present scenario and prospects for commercialization

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The need for sustainable production of renewable biofuel has been a global concern in the recent times. Overcoming the tailbacks of the first- and...     

Cross-reactivity of anti-Salmonella egg-yolk antibodies to Salmonella serovars

The cross-reactivity of egg yolk antibodies specific to antigens of Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium to killed bacterial cells of common Salmonella serovars were tested using an indirect Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Egg yolk antibodies were produced against purified fimbriae, flagella and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of S. Enteritidis strain ATCC13076 and flagella, LPS and outer membrane proteins (OMP) of S. Typhimurium strain ATCC13311. For immunological specificity of egg yolk antibodies against killed bacterial cells, we found that the titers of the anti-S. Enteritidis egg yolk antibodies were higher than those of the anti-S. Typhimurium antibodies. In the evaluation of cross-reactivity of these egg yolk antibodies to various Salmonella serovars, we observed that the anti-S. Enteritidis antibodies exhibited more specific affinity than those of the anti-S. Typhimurium antibodies. All S. Enteritidis strains reacted specifically with the anti-S. Enteritidis fimbrial and flagellar egg yolk antibody whereas anti-S. Enteritidis LPS and anti-S. Typhimurium LPS, OMP and flagellar antibodies displayed non-specific reactivity to all Salmonella serovars used in this study. This finding suggests that it may be possible to design a anti-fimbrial egg yolk antibody of S. Enteritidis as a diagnostic tool and a cocktail of OMP and LPS antigens of S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium could be used for administering broad spectrum passive immunity to protect against the colonization of pathogenic Salmonella strains in food animals.     

Normality of Hydrological Data1

ABSTRACT: Assessment of normality of hydrological data has been based upon subjective judgments. This paper aims to provide an objective method for such an assessment by introducing three computationally simple statistical tests. Application to some stream flow data indicates that (1) for annual values, at least one of the three sequences- original, square root, and logarithmic - can be considered to be normally distributed; and (2) most monthly stream flows are skew and neither the square root nor the logarithmic transformation is able to render their sequences in all the 12 months normal.     

Construction of avulsion potential zone model for Kulik River of Barind Tract,India and Bangladesh

Avulsion is a natural fluvial process but considered it as a hazard in the populated region due to the chance of immense failure of lives and properties. So, early warning indicates that the zone of avulsion can facilitate the people living there. About 317 numbers of local and regional historical imprints of channel cutoff along river Kulik claim the need of this work. The present study tried to identify avulsion potential zone (APZ) of Kulik river of Indo-Bangladesh using multi-parametric weighted combination approach. Analytic hierarchy approach (AHP) is applied for weighting the used parameters. Avulsion potential model clearly exhibits that 9.51-km stream segment of middle and lower catchment is highly susceptible for avulsion especially during sudden high discharge and earthquake incidents. There is also high chance of channel avulsion following the existing Paleo-avulsion courses and left channels. Hard points can also be erected alongside the main channel for resisting channel avulsion propensity.     

Biohythane production from organic wastes: present state of art

The economy of an industrialized country is greatly dependent on fossil fuels. However, these nonrenewable sources of energy are nearing the brink of extinction. Moreover, the reliance on these fuels has led to increased levels of pollution which have caused serious adverse impacts on the environment. Hydrogen has emerged as a promising alternative since it does not produce CO₂ during combustion and also has the highest calorific value. The biohythane process comprises of biohydrogen production followed by biomethanation. Biological H₂ production has an edge over its chemical counterpart mainly because it is environmentally benign. Maximization of gaseous energy recovery could be achieved by integrating dark fermentative hydrogen production followed by biomethanation. Intensive research work has already been carried out on the advancement of biohydrogen production processes, such as the development of suitable microbial consortium (mesophiles or thermophiles), genetically modified microorganism, improvement of the reactor designs, use of different solid matrices for the immobilization of whole cells, and development of two-stage process for higher rate of H₂ production. Scale-up studies of the dark fermentation process was successfully carried out in 20- and 800-L reactors. However, the total gaseous energy recovery for two stage process was found to be 53.6 %. From single-stage H₂ production, gaseous energy recovery was only 28 %. Thus, two-stage systems not only help in improving gaseous energy recovery but also can make biohythane (mixture of H₂ and CH₄) concept commercially feasible.     

Effect of vermicomposting on calcium, sulphur and some heavy metal content of different biodegradable organic wastes under liming and microbial inoculation

A study was conducted to evaluate the changes in total calcium and sulphur and some heavy metal (Zn, Cu, and Pb) concentration of different organic wastes affected by liming and microorganism inoculation. Vermicomposting was an effective technology for disposal of organic substrates like municipal solid wastes (MSW), possessing comparatively higher concentration of heavy metals. The addition of lime in initial organic substrates significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased total calcium and total sulphur content of vermicomposts. Inoculation of microorganisms significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced the heavy metal content of final products as compared to control. Fungal strains were comparatively more effective in detoxification of heavy metals than B. polymyxa.     

Utilization of Arachis hypogaea hull, an agricultural waste for the production of activated carbons to remove phenol from aqueous solutions

Arachis hypogaea hulls, an agricultural waste, were used to prepare activated carbon by chemical activation with zinc chloride under four different activation atmospheres. The most important parameter in chemical activation was found to be the chemical ratio (activating agent/precursor). Carbonization temperature and time are the other two important variables, which had significant effect on the pore structure of carbon. The maximum Brunquer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and micropore volume of the activated carbon was found to be 418 m(2)/g and 0.28 cm(3)/g, respectively. The activated carbon developed shows substantial capability to adsorb phenol from aqueous solutions. The kinetic data were fitted to the models of intraparticle diffusion, pseudo-second-order, and Lagergren, and followed more closely the pseudo-second-order chemisorption model. The isotherm equilibrium data were well fitted by the Langmuir and Freundlich models. Solution pH has significant effect on adsorption and the maximum uptake of phenol was reported at pH 3.5.     

Food selectivity and reproductive biology of small indigenous fish Indian river shad,Gudusia chapra (Hamilton, 1822) in a large tropical reservoir

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Assessment of life history strategies of economically important small indigenous fishes (SIF) which are rich in nutritive values is essential and...     

Utilization of Arachis hypogaea hull,an agricultural waste for the production of activated carbons to remove phenol from aqueous solutions

Arachis hypogaea hulls, an agricultural waste, were used to prepare activated carbon by chemical activation with zinc chloride under four different activation atmospheres. The most important parameter in chemical activation was found to be the chemical ratio (activating agent/precursor). Carbonization temperature and time are the other two important variables, which had significant effect on the pore structure of carbon. The maximum Brunquer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and micropore volume of the activated carbon was found to be 418 m²/g and 0.28 cm³/g, respectively. The activated carbon developed shows substantial capability to adsorb phenol from aqueous solutions. The kinetic data were fitted to the models of intraparticle diffusion, pseudo-second-order, and Lagergren, and followed more closely the pseudo-second-order chemisorption model. The isotherm equilibrium data were well fitted by the Langmuir and Freundlich models. Solution pH has significant effect on adsorption and the maximum uptake of phenol was reported at pH 3.5.     

Effect of vermicomposting on calcium,sulphur and some heavy metal content of different biodegradable organic wastes under liming and microbial inoculation

A study was conducted to evaluate the changes in total calcium and sulphur and some heavy metal (Zn, Cu, and Pb) concentration of different organic wastes affected by liming and microorganism inoculation. Vermicomposting was an effective technology for disposal of organic substrates like municipal solid wastes (MSW), possessing comparatively higher concentration of heavy metals. The addition of lime in initial organic substrates significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased total calcium and total sulphur content of vermicomposts. Inoculation of microorganisms significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced the heavy metal content of final products as compared to control. Fungal strains were comparatively more effective in detoxification of heavy metals than B. polymyxa.