Environmental Microbiology articles list

India is a country of immense diversity. It is home to people of many different racial, languages, ethnic, religious, and national backgrounds. Groups of people in India differ from each other not only in physical or demographic characteristics but also in distinctive patterns of behavior and these patterns are determined by social and cultural factors like language, region, religion, and caste. Apart from behaviour, economic development, level of education and political culture of the people in various social segments differ from region to region. More you can say that economy and cultures have been enriched by the contributions of migrants from round the globe. In an increasingly globalised world, migratory movements is continuously shaping the countries all over the world. Some countries like India and Ireland, which set the example of economic development and social integration, have the positive impact of the migration by globalisation and some countries like USA, which recently witness racism, xenophobia and discrimination have the negative impact on the migrants. It does not mean India do not face fragmentation and USA do not have cohesion. USA have many stories which show successful integration process, that facilitated the lives of immigrant communities, but being a developed country it still suffers from cultural alienation. In these countries, borders are built within borders to create cultural divides that do not allow people to integrate. Recently, this problem has become more prominent due to the rise of terrorism, clash of cultures in the world, leading to the glorification of stereotypes. People are becoming less accepting towards anyone who does not belong to their region. Migration does not stop after people move from one place to another place. The main question start after that ‘now what’ they will do. That is why this topic needs to be discussed thoroughly in order to find better solutions. This paper will begin with an analysis of different approaches to Migration, discuss the target groups for integration policies, provide indicators of the current situation of migrants and proceed to an analysis of integration tools: legislation, social policies and participatory processes. It will focus not only on the impact of migration but also on social integration, mix culture like indo-western culture in a comparative basis.

Ekta Meena

India is a country of immense diversity. It is home to people of many different racial, languages, ethnic, religious, and national backgrounds. Groups of people in India differ from each other not only in physical or demographic characteristics but also in distinctive patterns of behavior and these patterns are determined by social and cultural factors like language, region, religion, and caste. Apart from behaviour, economic development, level of education and political culture of the people in various social segments differ from region to region. More you can say that economy and cultures have been enriched by the contributions of migrants from round the globe. In an increasingly globalised world, migratory movements is continuously shaping the countries all over the world. Some countries like India and Ireland, which set the example of economic development and social integration, have the positive impact of the migration by globalisation and some countries like USA, which recently witness racism, xenophobia and discrimination have the negative impact on the migrants. It does not mean India do not face fragmentation and USA do not have cohesion. USA have many stories which show successful integration process, that facilitated the lives of immigrant communities, but being a developed country it still suffers from cultural alienation. In these countries, borders are built within borders to create cultural divides that do not allow people to integrate. Recently, this problem has become more prominent due to the rise of terrorism, clash of cultures in the world, leading to the glorification of stereotypes. People are becoming less accepting towards anyone who does not belong to their region. Migration does not stop after people move from one place to another place. The main question start after that ‘now what’ they will do. That is why this topic needs to be discussed thoroughly in order to find better solutions. This paper will begin with an analysis of different approaches to Migration, discuss the target groups for integration policies, provide indicators of the current situation of migrants and proceed to an analysis of integration tools: legislation, social policies and participatory processes. It will focus not only on the impact of migration but also on social integration, mix culture like indo-western culture in a comparative basis.

Ekta Meena

In this paper, investigations are made to analyze the human body temperature during wound healing process due to surgery. Wound is considered after the skin graft. Skin graft is a technique used in plastic surgery. Skin is the first line of defense between the human and environment, it is very susceptible to damage. Internal body or core temperature (Tb) is one of the clinical vital signs along with pulse and respiratory rates. Any disturbance in body temperature will drive complexities in wound healing process. These studies are important in the mechanism of establishing the limits of thermal regulation of human body during the healing process in different situations and conditions. The Finite element method is used to analyze tissues temperature for normal tissues (donor site) and abnormal tissues (tissues after surgery). Appropriate boundary conditions have been framed. Numerical results are obtained using Crank Nicolson Method.

Manisha Jain

Physically unclonable function (PUF) is a hardware security module preferred for hardware feature based random number and secret key generation. Security of a cryptographic system relies on the quality of the challenge-response pair, it is necessary that the key generation mechanism must unpredictable and its response should constant under different operating condition. Metastable state in CMOS latch is undesirable since it response becomes unpredictable, this feature used in this work to generate a unique response. A feedback mechanism is developed which forces the latch into the metastable region; after metastable state, latch settle to high or state depends on circuit internal condition and noise which cannot be predicted. Obtained inter hamming variation for 8 PUF is 51% and average intra hamming distance is 99.76% with supply voltage variation and 96.22% with temperature variation.

Abhishek Kumar

One of the unique features of Indian society is prevalence of caste system which was originated thousands of years back to demarcate the people engaged in different occupation or jobs. Initially it was not much rigid but gradually people belonging to upper castes for their own selfish means to maintain their monopoly made this arrangement hereditary and started treating people of lower castes disgracefully. For preservation of this system, people started controlling their women to prevent inter-caste marriages and the concept of endogamy came up. This robbed away many types of freedom from women. For women belonging to lower castes, this situation is worse as they are doubly subjugated on the basis on caste as well as gender. Men belonging to their own caste treat them as secondary beings. This paper throws light on this intersection. How intersection of these two kinds of inequalities place them at the lowest position in Indian society. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar rises as their leader who all his life worked for empowerment of downtrodden section of society. He argues that education is the primary tool for evading these differences among people. He further emphasizes to adopt the concept of exogamy to break the backbone of Indian caste system and to immediately leave a religion or culture which legitimizes such system of inequality among people of the same land.

Swati sharma

One of the unique features of Indian society is prevalence of caste system which was originated thousands of years back to demarcate the people engaged in different occupation or jobs. Initially it was not much rigid but gradually people belonging to upper castes for their own selfish means to maintain their monopoly made this arrangement hereditary and started treating people of lower castes disgracefully. For preservation of this system, people started controlling their women to prevent inter-caste marriages and the concept of endogamy came up. This robbed away many types of freedom from women. For women belonging to lower castes, this situation is worse as they are doubly subjugated on the basis on caste as well as gender. Men belonging to their own caste treat them as secondary beings. This paper throws light on this intersection. How intersection of these two kinds of inequalities place them at the lowest position in Indian society. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar rises as their leader who all his life worked for empowerment of downtrodden section of society. He argues that education is the primary tool for evading these differences among people. He further emphasizes to adopt the concept of exogamy to break the backbone of Indian caste system and to immediately leave a religion or culture which legitimizes such system of inequality among people of the same land.

Swati sharma

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Fixed-bed column has been considered an industrially feasible technique for phosphate removal from water. Besides the adsorption capacity, the effectiveness of an adsorbent is also determined by its reusability efficiency. In this study, phosphate removal by a synthesized amorphous zirconium (hydr)oxide/MgFe layered double hydroxides composite in a fixed-bed column system was examined. METHODS: The effects of flow rate, bed height, phosphate concentration, solution pH, and adsorbent particle size on the phosphate adsorption ability were examined through a series of continuous adsorption experiments. The appropriate breakthrough curve models, phosphate adsorption from real anaerobic sludge and synthetic seawater, column regeneration and reusability, and adsorption mechanism were also investigated for practical application feasibility. FINDINGS: The results showed that the increased bed height and phosphate concentration, and reduced flow rate, pH, and adsorbent particle size were found to increase the column adsorption capacity. The optimum adsorption capacity of 25.15 mg-P/g was obtained at pH 4. The coexistence of seawater ions had a positive effect on the phosphate adsorption capacity of the composite. Nearly complete phosphate desorption, with a desorption efficiency of 91.7%, could be effectively achieved by 0.1 N NaOH for an hour. Moreover, the initial adsorption capacity was maintained at approximately 83% even after eight adsorption-desorption cycles, indicating that the composite is economically feasible. The high phosphate adsorption capacity of the composite involves three main adsorption mechanisms, which are electrostatic attraction, inner-sphere complexation, and anion exchange, where the amorphous zirconium hydr(oxide) on the surface of the layered double hydroxides likely increased the number of active binding sites and surface area for adsorption. CONCLUSION: The amorphous zirconium (hydr)oxide/MgFe layered double hydroxides composite, with its high adsorption capacity and superior reusability, has the potential to be utilized as an adsorbent for phosphorus removal in practical wastewater treatment. This study provides insights into the design of amorphous zirconium (hydr)oxide/MgFe layered double hydroxides composite for phosphorus removal and recovery in a practical system.

Professor J. Nouri

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The requirements of stakeholders for the qualitative transformation of the approaches of industrial enterprises – environmental users to introduction of economic activities cause an increase in the role of environmental responsibility as their strategic priority for development. The purpose of the study is to improve the practical tools for calculating and developing strategies for the development of environmental responsibility of industrial enterprises. METHODS: In the study, tools for assessing the level of environmental initiative of an industrial enterprise as an integrated indicator of environmental initiative are suggested. It is expressed as the arithmetic mean of ten factors of environmentally proactive behavior of industrial enterprises. To achieve the objectives of the study, methods of criterion-qualitative assessment are suggested, such as expert assessment and survey. The assessment system includes ten factors rated on a 10-point scale and weighted by significance. The integrated indicator of the environmental initiative acquires values within, is a stimulant of environmental responsibility. FINDING: One justified a scientific and methodological approach to assessing the level of environmental responsibility or the industrial enterprise, including calculation of the corresponding taxonomic indicator with consideration of the quantitative factors of its environmental responsibility and the qualitative and quantitative factors of environmental initiative. This enables the possibility to assess the relevant state of environmental responsibility and determine the volumes for further correction of the ecological strategy for the development of the industrial enterprise. CONCLUSION: As a conclusion, practical recommendations are made for the implementation of organizational and economic support of environmental responsibility in the development strategy of an industrial enterprise taking into account the impact of its environmental initiative and environmental duty. The level of environmental responsibility of industrial enterprises taken into account when developing recommendations on adjustment of their environmental strategy of development is determined, which as a whole allowed to form organizational and economic support for environmental responsibility of the enterprises under study. Thus, an enterprise, which only ensures compliance with environmental emission standards (compensation strategy or sufficiency strategy) cannot be characterized by a high level of environmental responsibility. To ensure a high level of environmental responsibility, an industrial enterprise must rely on a proactive strategy or a strategy for sustainable use of nature.

Professor J. Nouri

Here, we report the draft genome sequences of Bacillus subtilis A1, Sphingobacterium sp. strain A3, and Pseudomonas sp. strain A29; Sphingobacterium sp. A3 and Pseudomonas sp. A29 were identified as Bacillus velezensis strain A3 and Bacillus subtilis strain A29, respectively, after a quality control check of the wholegenome sequences deposited in the NCBI database. These bacteria exhibit tremendous production of siderophores and significant antimicrobial potential. When inoculated on maize, these isolates increase its yield

Oluwaseyi Samuel Olanrewaju

Objectives: Improper and inappropriate use of antibiotics is one of the possible factors affecting the transmission of antibiotic resistance is Because Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most serious pathogenic bacteria in hospital environments and resistant It is an antibiotic that causes problems in treatment. This study aims to determine multiple resistances Pseudomonas has been treated with antibiotics, arsenic and metals. Materials and Methods: In this study, 23 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated from clinical specimens. for review Resistance of these bacteria to penicillin antibiotics was used by Kirby-Bauer method. The minimum concentration C.I.M. (and minimum lethal concentrations (C.B.M.) of antibiotics and heavy metals (cadmium, mercury) and arsenate Tubal dilution, agar and growth were performed in agar plate, respectively. Results: In this study, the highest and lowest MIC values obtained in Pseudomonas aeruginosa for metals, respectively. * 8 and 3 cadmiums (0.6 and 4.9 μg / ml), mercury (<0.12 and 4 μg / ml) and arsenate (10 × were 256 μg / ml). Of 23 strains, 84% to the antibiotic carbonicillin, 63% to piperacillin and 100% to 103 Arsenic and cadmium were resistant. Also, 82.6% of the strains were resistant to mercury. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains have multiple resistance to arsenic, metals and the antibiotics are car penicillin and piperacillin.

Amirhossein jahromi

Objectives: Improper and inappropriate use of antibiotics is one of the possible factors affecting the transmission of antibiotic resistance is Because Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the most serious pathogenic bacteria in hospital environments and resistant It is an antibiotic that causes problems in treatment. This study aims to determine multiple resistances Pseudomonas has been treated with antibiotics, arsenic and metals. Materials and Methods: In this study, 23 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated from clinical specimens. for review Resistance of these bacteria to penicillin antibiotics was used by Kirby-Bauer method. The minimum concentration C.I.M. (and minimum lethal concentrations (C.B.M.) of antibiotics and heavy metals (cadmium, mercury) and arsenate Tubal dilution, agar and growth were performed in agar plate, respectively. Results: In this study, the highest and lowest MIC values obtained in Pseudomonas aeruginosa for metals, respectively. * 8 and 3 cadmiums (0.6 and 4.9 μg / ml), mercury (<0.12 and 4 μg / ml) and arsenate (10 × were 256 μg / ml). Of 23 strains, 84% to the antibiotic carbonicillin, 63% to piperacillin and 100% to 103 Arsenic and cadmium were resistant. Also, 82.6% of the strains were resistant to mercury. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains have multiple resistance to arsenic, metals and the antibiotics are car penicillin and piperacillin.

Amirhossein jahromi

Women, who constitute the largest group of farmers and who have conserved and improved ago-biodiversity, often have no property rights to land. They also tend to be bypassed by development schemes related to biodiversity. Women’s universities, home science colleges and other educational institutions catering to women’s needs rarely include biodiversity as a field of study. Women can ensure sustainable development and biodiversity conservation/enhancement. Structural obstacles to the advancement of indigenous women need to be addressed, by facilitating and redefining of gender roles and relations in the family and society. Increased involvement of women in decision making structures can contribute to biodiversity: If women are left out of the planning and implementation of local initiatives, valuable input is lost. As well, there tends to be very unequal participation among women and men in official biodiversity initiatives. Given educational biases, cultural obstacles and gender stereotypes, women often find it difficult to enter into relevant professional fields and gain specific expertise. The challenge sustainable agriculture is the safeguarding of agro-biodiversity by paying greater attention to diverse and integrated agricultural systems, especially those managed by women that provide food and livelihood security

SHOBHA RANI

In the present study, the bacterium Achromobacter xylosoxidans was isolated from tannery effluent sludge sample in Dindugal, Tamil Nadu, India and screened for its bio-control efficacy against selected plant pathogens viz., Alternaria solani, Curvularia lunata and Fusarium oxysporum under in vitro. It was observed that maximum percent inhibition of mycelial growth of C. lunata (95%), followed by A. solani (85%) and F. oxysporum (80%). An attempt was also made for testing its plant growth promoting traits such as production of Indole acetic acid (IAA), phosphate solubilization efficacy, Hydrogen cyanide (HCN), ammonia and catalase production. Significant amount of plant growth promoting traits were noticed. Further studies on mechanism of bio-control against plant pathogens and plant growth promoting activities of Achromobacter xylosoxidans need to be conformed under in-vivo condition.

Dr. SARANYA DEVI K

Industrial waste is one of the most essential sources of contamination in the surface environment. Among different industries, tannery industry releases huge amount of pollutants into the ecosystem. Long term disposal of the tannery wastes has resulted in wide contamination of agricultural land and water sources in different parts of India. An attempt was made to study the diversity status of different microbial organisms in tannery effluent treated samples in Dindugal, Tamil Nadu. It was found that Electrical Conductivity (EC) and heavy metal contents were higher and population density of different beneficial microbes found better. Among different microbes isolated, phosphate solubilizing microbes (PSB) was found maximum which is followed by fungi and actinomycetes. The population density of non-symbiotic and symbiotic nitrogen fixers were found to be low in numbers when compared to other samples screened. Similarly, occurrence and distribution of AM fungal spores were also found low in heavy metal polluted samples as compared to the samples collected from non-polluted outside tannery effluent treatment area. Among different Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, Glomus species was found to be dominant in the samples collected from outside tannery effluent treatment area as compared to tannery effluent samples.

Dr. SARANYA DEVI K

The present study reveals that the enriched aerobic cultures of indigenous microbes can be used successfully for decolorizing dye effluents. Physico-chemical analysis of dye effluent revealed high load of pollution indicators. Textile dye effluent and contaminated soils were collected and analyzed for selection of suitable bacteria for dye degradation. The residual bacterial load was found to be in the range of 108 cfu/mL. Six bacterial strains viz., two species of Bacillus, two species of Klebsiella,, one species each of Planococcus and Micrococcus luteus were isolated. The best two dye degraders namely species of Planococcus and Bacillus were further optimized for the effect of carbon and nitrogen source, pH, temperature and percentage of inoculum. The optimized conditions for both the isolates of Planococcus sp. and Bacillus sp. were used in bio-decolorization studies of textile effluent. More than 50% of decolorization was achieved within 4 d of incubation. After 6 d of incubation, decolorization was achieved above 80%. The isolates Planococcus sp. and Bacillus sp. exhibited maximum decolorization ability at pH between 5-8 and temperature 37C. Moreover, 10% (v/v) inoculums, glucose and peptone as carbon and nitrogen sources were found to be the optimum for decolorization. Both the isolates showed highest decolorization percentage of Coractive Blue 3R dye effectively during optimization and more interestingly showed consistent decolorization of textile dye throughout the study.

Dr. SARANYA DEVI K

Background: Ending open defecation has been identified as a top priority for reducing global inequalities in water and sanitation (WASH). It is explicitly referenced in sustainable development goals (SDGs) target 6.2 and closely associated with more comprehensive efforts to end extreme poverty by 2030. Since 2000, the global rate of open defecation has decreased from 21% to 9% (0.7 percentage points per year). However, the 673 million people still practicing open defecation in 2017 were increasingly concentrated in a small number of countries, and these will need to be the primary focus of efforts to end open defecation by 2030. Objectives: To study the socio-economic background of Adivasis, to study the status of sanitation in rural areas, to examine whether economic conditions affect open defecation, to examine whether better sanitation facilities improve health conditions and to examine whether improved sanitation facilities impact the quality of life and thereby dignity of tribal women. Methods: Essentially it is an empirical study and a multi-stage random sample design was adopted. Data were collected from 120 sample households from two villages, i.e., Bandarigudem and Nadikudi of Khammam districts in Telangana State through a structured questionnaire. Statistical tools like frequency distribution, percentages, cross-tabulation with Chi-Square test, and a case study method were used. Results & Discussion: This paper found that 35% of Adivasis have health problems, and 73% said that they are getting treatment with RMP. 87% have toilet facility and more than 12% still defecate openly. 18.3% said that they faced different problems at open defecation, and 50% of women not using sanitary napkins. Nearly 90% of respondents wash their hands after toilets and coming from outside of the home. Ten per cent of respondents said that they do not have an awareness of sanitation. Therefore, the study confirmed that the sanitation facilities considerably made the women's dignity and quality of life better in the study area. Moreover, four case studies also focused on open defecation problems in the study area.

B Suresh Lal

Background and Objective: Endophytic bacteria can protect host plants by producing secondary metabolites and also improve host plant growth by various mechanisms. This unique character makes a special role in, using endophytic bacteria in sustainable agriculture. The study aims to isolate endophytic bacteria from Azadirachta indica (neem) leaf and screened for their biocontrol and plant growth-promoting properties. Materials and Methods: Totally 13 endophytic bacteria isolated from neem leaf and it was tested for their in-vitro antifungal activities against Rhizoctonia solani. A total of 3 isolates (N1B, N4B and N5B) were selected on the broad antifungal activity (50%, 56%, 75% mycelial inhibition). Among different solvents used for the extraction of secondary metabolites from endophytic bacteria, only ethyl acetate extract of N5B showed maximum zone of inhibition in well diffusion method against fungal pathogen. Results: The GC-MS analysis of ethyl acetate extracts of N5B exhibited 14 compounds with antifungal activity, such as Dimethoxyglycerol docosyl ether, Pentadecanoic acid, Oleic acid etc. Selected 3 endophytic isolates were identified up to molecular level using 16S rRNA sequencing and it was identified as Bacillus haynesii, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The identified isolates were used for nursery experiments based on their strong in-vitro antifungal and PGP activities such as P, K, and Zn solubilization, N fixation, IAA, HCN and EPS production. Conclusion: The tested bacterial isolates significantly decreased disease severity in rice, infected with R. solani and increased plant biomass when compared with un-inoculated control. Our findings suggested above mentioned 3 bacterial species may be promising candidates as a biocontrol agent to confer resistance to sheath blight disease of rice.

Dr. SARANYA DEVI K

Aim: Murraya koenigii is a widely used plant both as a potential medicinal agent and also for common cooking purposes. Aim of this present study was to determine the antimicrobial activity of Murraya koenigii leaf extracts on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Study Design: Screening and isolation of pathogenic bacterial strains from contaminated water. Preparation of Murraya koenigii leaf extracts using petroleum ether, acetone and ethyl acetate by using serial extraction method with Soxhlet apparatus. Place and Duration of Study: Department of microbiology, Agro biotec research centre Ltd, Poovanthuruthu, Kottayam, Kerala, India, between 2014 January to 2014 May. Methodology: Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were the bacterial strains used in this study. Morphological and biochemical analysis of microorganisms were conducted to identify the strains. Leaf extracts (petroleum ether, acetone and ethyl acetate) of Murraya koenigii were screened using MHA disc diffusion methods. Results: Various concentration of plant extracts were used to check its activity against isolated pathogens. Acetone extract of curry leaves exhibit maximum zone of inhibition against Staphylococcus aureus and petroleum ether extracts shown maximum inhibition against Escherichia coli.

Dr. Hemand Aravind | Sr.Research Scientist | ABTEC Ltd