Selection of a substratum for composing biofilm system of a textile-effluent decolourizing bacteria

Summary Some abundantly and cheaply available substrates were used to develop biofilms of textile-effluent decolourizing bacteria. These biofilm systems were compared for their decolourization efficiency in packed bed system. Biofilm systems using mineral material, sea-shells or nylon web as substratum decolourized effluent (100%) in 9 –12 h without major release of free cells into the medium.     

Cellular response mechanisms in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PseA during growth in organic solvents

Aims:  Solvent-tolerant bacteria have emerged as a new class of micro-organisms able to grow at high concentrations of toxic solvents. Such bacteria and their solvent-stable enzymes are perceived to be useful for biotransformations in nonaqueous media. In the present study, the solvent-responsive features of a lipase–producing, solvent-tolerant strain Pseudomonas aeruginosa PseA have been investigated to understand the cellular mechanisms followed under solvent-rich conditions.
Methods and Results:  The solvents, cyclohexane and tetradecane with differing log P -values (3·2 and 7·6 respectively), have been used as model systems. Effect of solvents on (i) the cell morphology and structure (ii) surface hydrophobicity and (iii) permeability of cell membrane have been examined using transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and other biochemical techniques. The results show that (i) less hydrophobic (low log P -value) solvent cyclohexane alters the cell membrane integrity and (ii) cells adapt to organic solvents by changing morphology, size, permeability and surface hydrophobicity. However, no such changes were observed in the cells grown in tetradecane.
Conclusions:  It may be concluded that P. aeruginosa PseA responds differently to solvents of different hydrophobicities. Bacterial cell membrane is more permeable to less hydrophobic solvents that eventually accumulate in the cytoplasm, while highly hydrophobic solvents have lesser tendency to access the membrane.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  To the best of our knowledge, these are first time observations that show that way of bacterial solvent adaptability depends on nature of solvent. Difference in cellular responses towards solvents of varying log P -values (hydrophobicity) might prove useful to search for a suitable solvent for carrying out whole-cell biocatalysis.     

Involvement of Asada-Halliwell Pathway During Phytoremediation of Chromium (VI) in Brassica juncea L. Plants

Brassica juncea (Indian mustard) L. plants were exposed to different concentrations (0.0, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 mM) of Chromium (Cr) and harvested after 30 and 60 days of sowing for the analysis of growth parameters, metal uptake and oxidative stress markers. Significant accumulation of Cr (VI) by B. juncea L. plants resulted in the reduced growth and modulations in the pool of various biochemical stress markers. The toxic effects of Cr (VI) on growth and other stress markers (protein content, lipid peroxidation and antioxidative enzymes viz.SOD, CAT, POD, APOX, GR, DHAR and MDHAR) in B. juncea L. were observed to be concentration and time dependent. Effect of Cr (VI) on biochemical parameters was differential and their maximum activities of SOD, POD, APX, GR, DHAR and lipid peroxidation were recorded at 0.5 mM concentration in 30 days old plants. Whereas, trend in the activities of most of the stress markers was reversed in 60 days old plants. The results obtained from the study suggested that Cr (VI) stress inhibited growth of B. juncea L. plants is directly interrelated with its accumulation and resulted in the modulation in activities of various stress markers.     

A heuristic method towards deadline-aware energy-efficient mapreduce scheduling problem in Hadoop YARN

Cluster Computing - The MapReduce (MR) scheduling is a prominent area of research to minimize energy consumption in the Hadoop framework in the era of green computing. Very few scheduling...     

Growth profile of rural Meitei children of Manipur state of India

Patterns of growth in 10 anthropometric measurements among the rural Manipuri children (N=425), aged 5 to 14 years, with poor socio-economic backgrounds are reported. The anthropometric dimensions include weight, stature, sitting-height, head, chest and midupper-arm circumferences, biepicondylar widths of humerus and femur, and triceps and biceps skinfolds. Except skinfolds, the boys measured more than the girls in all measurements at all ages, except from 10 to 12 years in weight, stature, sitting-height, and chest and mid-upper-arm circumferences. Across all ages, the girls had thicker fat folds. Up to 12 years, the children lie approximately on the 10th centile of NCHS in stature and weight. The arm circumferences was below the 3rd centile of the Dutch children, until 11 years. The triceps fat fold fluctuated between 10th and 25th centiles of US whites. The rural Meiteis were taller and heavier than rural Burmese and urban Meiteis. The overall growth performance of the rural Meitei children was poor as compared to US, Urban Chinese, and well-nourished Indian children.