Screening and identification of newly isolated Pseudomonas sp. for biodegrading the textile azo dye C.I. Procion Red H-3B.

AIM: To test the potential of a newly isolated strain of Pseudomonas sp., and its optimization for carrying out bioremediation of textile azo dye Procion Red H-3B. METHOD: The isolation of the bacterial strain was done from a textile waste dumping site, followed by screening techniques to study the decolourization of an azo dye. The isolated pure culture was selected by its ability to form clear zones. The biochemical tests gave partial confirmation of the isolates, and the phylogenic analysis made the complete confirmation by 16S rRNA sequencing. RESULT: The identified strain belongs to the genus Pseudomonas. The phylogenic analysis confirmed that the strain belongs to Pseudomonas stutzeri. The culture exhibited maximum decolourization at pH between 6 and 8, the optimum at pH 7·5 and 37°C temperature. A maximum of 96% discolouration was observed at 50 mg l-1 of initial dye concentration after 24 h of incubation period. At a dye concentration equally or greater than 600 mg l-1 , the colour removal was drastically decreased to 30%. The use of fructose at 1% (w/v) and peptone 0·5% (w/v) concentration for 24 h of incubation, as carbon and nitrogen source, showed luxuriant decolourization. The results showed that the Pseudomonas sp. holds immense potential in treating textile effluents containing the dye Procion red H-3B. CONCLUSION: Pseudomonas is a known organism in bioremediation of various textile dyes but not much has being reported about the role of P. stutzeri in the bioremediation of azo dyes. This study revealed the immense potential of this strain in degrading the azo dyes. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The strain shows prospective for industrial application in the field of textile wastewater treatment. Bioremediation is comparatively cheaper and more effective treatment, thus holds promising future for a cleaner environment.

The Oxylipin Signaling Pathway Is Required for Increased Aphid Attraction and Retention on Virus-Infected Plants.

Many studies have shown that virus infection alters phytohormone signaling and insect vector contact with hosts. Increased vector contact and movement among plants should increase virus survival and host range. In this study we examine the role of virus-induced changes in phytohormone signaling in plant-aphid interactions, using Pea enation mosaic virus (PEMV), pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum), and pea (Pisum sativum) as a model. We observed that feeding by aphids carrying PEMV increases salicylic acid and jasmonic acid accumulation in pea plants compared to feeding by virus-free aphids. To determine if induction of the oxylipin jasmonic acid is critical for aphid settling, attraction, and retention on PEMV-infected plants, we conducted insect bioassays using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS), an oxylipin signaling inducer, methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and a chemical inhibitor of oxylipin signaling, phenidone. Surprisingly, there was no impact of phenidone treatment on jasmonic acid or salicylic acid levels in virus-infected plants, though aphid attraction and retention were altered. These results suggest that the observed impacts of phenidone on aphid attraction to and retention on PEMV-infected plants are independent of the jasmonic acid and salicylic acid pathway but may be mediated by another component of the oxylipin signaling pathway. These results shed light on the complexity of viral manipulation of phytohormone signaling and vector-plant interactions.

Negative Differential Resistance Behavior of the Iron Storage Protein Ferritin.

Realization of useful nanometer length scale devices in which metalloproteins are junction-confined in a distinct molecular arrangement for generating practical electronic signals (e.g., in bioelectronic switch configuration) is elusive till date. This is mostly due to difficulties in observing an electronically appropriate signal (i.e., reproducible and controllable), when studied under junction-assembled condition. A useful "ON"-"OFF" behavior, based on the negative differential resistance (NDR) peak characteristics in the current-voltage response curves, acquired using metal-insulator-metal (MIM) configuration, has been observed only in the case of a few proteins, namely, azurin, cytochrome c, bacteriorhodopsin, so far. The case of NDR in ferritin, an iron storage protein having a semiconducting iron core consisting of few thousands of iron atoms connected in an oxide network, has not been studied in the MIM configuration where single (or a few) molecule(s) are junction-trapped, for example, as in the case of local probe configuration of scanning probe microscopy. The present study by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), using the naturally occurring iron-containing ferritin (human liver), as well as different iron-loaded ferritins, provides clear indication of the capability of ferritins to be NDR capable, at varying sweep conditions. As ferritin can be tailor-made in a structurally conserved manner, metal core-reconstituted ferritins, that is, Mn(III)-ferritin, Cu(II)-ferritin, and Ag-ferritin, were prepared. A correlation between the NDR peak signatures, as observed in the respective current-voltage response curves of these reconstituted ferritins, and the nature of the metal core is demonstrated. In support of our earlier proposition, here, we affirm that the ferritin protein behaves as a conductor-insulator (metal core-polypeptide shell) composite, where the overall electronic structure of the material can alter as a function of the nature of the conducting filler placed inside the insulated matrix.

Single crystal Er3+ : YAG fibers with tailored refractive index profiles.

Erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er3+:YAG) rods were inserted inside undoped tubes and grown into single-crystal fibers of a diameter of 300 µm using the laser-heated pedestal growth technique. Growth at various rates resulted in radially graded distributions of Er3+ dopant ions, as observed using laser-induced fluorescence imaging. Profiles of the refractive index were measured using cross-sectional reflectometry in a microscope. Dopant distributions and the corresponding index profiles were compared with thermal diffusion theory to determine the inter-diffusion coefficient of Y3+ and Er3+ ions at 2000°C, yielding an estimated value of D=(9.10±0.8)×10-11 m2/s. This work constitutes a step toward controlled growth of fibers with high thermal conductivities, low Brillouin gain, and waveguiding properties required for high-power optical amplifier and laser applications.

The effects of selenium and the GPx-1 selenoprotein on the phosphorylation of H2AX.

BACKGROUND: Significant data supports the health benefits of selenium although supplementation trials have yielded mixed results. GPx-1, whose levels are responsive to selenium availability, is implicated in cancer etiology by human genetic data. Selenium's ability to alter the phosphorylation of the H2AX, a histone protein that functions in the reduction of DNA damage by recruiting repair proteins to the damage site, following exposure to ionizing radiation and bleomycin was investigated. METHODS: Human cell lines that were either exposed to selenium or were transfected with a GPx-1 expression construct were exposed to ionizing radiation or bleomycin. Phosphorylation of histone H2AX was quantified by flow cytometry and survival by the MTT assay. Phosphorylation of the Chk1 and Chk2 checkpoint proteins was quantified by western blotting. RESULTS: In colon-derived cells, selenium increases GPx-1 and attenuated H2AX phosphorylation following genotoxic exposures while the viability of these cells was unaffected. MCF-7 cells and transfectants that express high GPx-1 levels were exposed to ionizing radiation and bleomycin, and H2AX phosphorylation and cell viability were assessed. GPx-1 increased H2AX phosphorylation and viability following the induction of DNA damage while enhancing the levels of activated Chk1 and Chk2. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure of mammalian cells to selenium can alter the DNA damage response and do so by mechanisms that are dependent and independent of its effect on GPx-1. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Selenium and GPx-1 may stimulate the repair of genotoxic DNA damage and this may account for some of the benefits attributed to selenium intake and elevated GPx-1 activity.

Density of states in graphene with vacancies: midgap power law and frozen multifractality.

The density of states ϱ(E) of graphene is investigated numerically and within the self-consistent T-matrix approximation in the presence of vacancies within the tight binding model. The focus is on compensated disorder, where the concentration of vacancies n(A) and n(B) in both sublattices is the same. Formally, this model belongs to the chiral symmetry class BDI. The onlinear sigma model predicts for BDI a Gade-type singularity ϱ(E)∼|E|(-1)exp[-|log(E)|(-1/x)]. Our numerical data are comparable to this result in a preasymptotic regime that gives way, however, at even lower energies to ϱ(E)∼E(-1)|log(E)|(-x̃), 1≤x̃<2. We take this finding as evidence that, similar to the case of dirty d-wave superconductors, generic bipartite random hopping models may also exhibit unconventional (strong-coupling) fixed points for certain kinds of randomly placed scatterers if these are strong enough. Our research suggests that graphene with (effective) vacancy disorder is a physical representative of such systems.

A comprehensive phenotypic and genotypic evaluation of Spanish groundnuts from diverse crosses to identify superior and stable donors for fresh seed dormancy.

Breeding high yielding groundnut cultivars with 2-3 weeks of fresh seed dormancy, particularly in Spanish-type cultivars, enhances the sustainability of agriculture in groundnuts. In this context, we conducted a comprehensive phenotypic and genotypic evaluation of advanced breeding lines developed in the genetic background of Spanish types. By employing multi-phenotyping and marker data, we identified PBS 15044, 16004, 16013, 16015, 16016, 16017, 16020, 16021, 16026, 16031, 16035, 16037, 16038, 16039, 16041, and 16042 with 2-3 weeks dormancy (> 90%).The various parametric and non-parametric estimates identified the stable fresh dormant genotypes with one or more superior economic trait. PBS 16021, 15044, 16038, and 16039 identified with high hundred pod weight (HPW) were also reported having high intensity of dormancy (> 90% for up to 3 weeks); PBS 15044, 16016, PBS 16038 and PBS 16039 with high hundred kernel weight (HKW) also reported with up to 3 weeks fresh seed dormancy; and PBS 16013, 16031, and 16038 with up to 3 weeks fresh seed dormancy had high shelling percentage (SP). They can be used to develop lines with the desired level of dormancy, and high yields, by designing appropriate breeding strategies.

AMMI and GGE biplot analysis of genotype by environment interaction for yield and yield contributing traits in confectionery groundnut.

The global market has a high demand for premium edible grade groundnut, particularly for table use. India, in particular, exhibits significant potential for exporting confectionary grade large seeded groundnut. The environment plays a significant impact in influencing the expression of seed traits, which subsequently affects the confectionary quality of groundnut genotypes. The states of Gujarat and Rajasthan in India are prominent producers of high-quality groundnuts specifically used for confectionary purposes. The current study was conducted with 43 confectionery groundnut genotypes at Junagadh, Gujarat, and Bikaner, Rajasthan, with the goals of understanding genotype-by-environment interaction (GEI) effects and identifying stable, high yielding confectionery quality groundnut genotypes using AMMI and GGE biplot models. Pod yield per plant (PYP), number of pods per plant (NPP), hundred kernel weight (HKW), and shelling percent (SP) were estimated. The interplay between the environment and genotype has had a notable impact on the manifestation of confectionary grade characteristics in peanuts. The results from the Interaction Principal Component Analysis (IPCA) indicate that HKW contributed 76.68% and 18.95% towards the Global Environmental Index (GEI) through IPCA1 and IPCA2, respectively. Similarly, NPP contributed 87.52% and 8.65%, PYP contributed 95.87% and 2.1%, and SP contributed 77.4% and 16.22% towards GEI through IPCA1 and IPCA2, respectively. Based on the ranking of genotypes, the ideal genotypes were PBS 29079B for HKW, PBS 29230 for NPP. The genotypes PBS 29233 and PBS 29230 exhibited superior performance and stability in terms of pod yield, hundred kernel weight, number of pods per plant, and shelling percentage across various sites. These breeding lines have the potential to be developed for the purpose of producing confectionary grade groundnut with larger seeds, in order to fulfil the growing demand for export.

Performance of some early-maturing groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) genotypes and selection of high-yielding genotypes in the potato-fallow system.

India imports the most edible oils because domestic demand exceeds production. Horizontally expanding groundnut production in non-traditional areas especially in the potato-paddy rice-fallow system is possible for increasing production and it requires trait-specific cultivars. Only 1% of oilseeds are grown in non-traditional regions. Nine interspecific groundnut derivatives were tested in potato-fallow system at Deesa, Gujarat, and Mohanpura, West Bengal, and non-potato fallow areas in Junagadh during Kharif 2020 to examine their performance and adaptability. Genotype-by-environment (G×E) interaction significantly affected pod yield and its components in the combined ANOVA. "Mean vs. stability" showed that the interspecific derivative NRCGCS 446 and variety TAG 24 were the most stable and valuable genotypes. GG 7 yielded more pods in Junagadh, whereas NRCGCS 254 yielded more in Mohanpur. Low heritability estimates and strong G×E interaction for flowering days showed complicated inheritance and environmental effects. The shelling percentage was significantly correlated with days to 50% blooming, days to maturity, SCMR, HPW, and KLWR, demonstrating negative connections between maturity, component characteristics, and seed size realisation.

Integrating data from asymmetric multi-models can identify drought-resistant groundnut genotypes for drought hot-spot locations.

Water/drought stress experiments are frequently conducted under imposed stress or rainout shelters, while natural drought hot-spot investigations are rare. The "drought hot spot" in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India, is appropriate for drought stress evaluation due to its hot, arid environment, limited rainfall, with over 50% rainfall variability. According to reports, 30 out of 200 groundnut cultivars in India are supposed to possess drought-tolerant characteristics. However, these cultivars are yet to be evaluated in areas that are prone to drought. This study tested these drought-tolerant genotypes in naturally drought-prone areas of Anantapur under rainfed conditions from Kharif 2017 to 2019. Pod yield and rainfall-use-efficiency (RUE) were measured for these genotypes. Genotype and genotype*environment interactions affected pod yield and RUE (GEI). The AMMI model exhibits significant season-to-season variability within the same area with environmental vectors > 90° angles. GGE biplot suggested the 2018 wet season for drought-resistant cultivar identification. Kadiri5 and GPBD5 were the most drought-tolerant cultivars for cultivation in Anantapur and adjacent regions. These types could also be used to generate drought-tolerant groundnut variants for drought-prone regions.

Methylglyoxal induces mitochondria-dependent apoptosis in sarcoma.

In the preceding paper (A. Ghosh et al. (2011) Biochemistry (Moscow), 76, 1051-1060), using several comparable tissue materials, it has been convincingly demonstrated that methylglyoxal, a normal metabolite, inhibits mitochondrial complex I of specifically malignant cells. This suggests a distinct alteration of complex I, a highly important enzyme for energy (ATP) production, in malignancy. The present paper shows that as a consequence of this inhibition mitochondrial membrane potential is drastically reduced in sarcoma tissue but not in normal skeletal muscle. This was estimated spectrofluorimetrically using the dye rhodamine 123. As a consequence, cytochrome c was released from the sarcoma mitochondria as evidenced by Western blot analysis. Moreover, on treatment with methylglyoxal membrane potential collapse of sarcoma 180 cells was also indicated by fluorescence-activated cell sorter analysis. Atomic force microscopic study demonstrated gross structural alteration specifically of tumor mitochondria on methylglyoxal treatment. All these studies suggest that methylglyoxal might initiate an apoptotic event in malignant cells.

Differential inhibition/inactivation of mitochondrial complex I implicates its alteration in malignant cells.

Methylglyoxal strongly inhibited mitochondrial respiration of a wide variety of malignant tissues including sarcoma of mice, whereas no such significant effect was noted on mitochondrial respiration of normal tissues with the exception of cardiac cells. This inhibition by methylglyoxal was found to be at the level of mitochondrial complex I (NADH dehydrogenase) of the electron transport chain. L-Lactaldehyde, which is structurally and metabolically related to methylglyoxal, could protect against this inhibition. NADH dehydrogenase of submitochondrial particles of malignant and cardiac cells was inhibited by methylglyoxal. This enzyme of these cells was also inactivated by methylglyoxal. The possible involvement of lysine residue(s) for the activity of NADH dehydrogenase was also investigated by using lysine-specific reagents trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) and pyridoxal 5' phosphate (PP). Inactivation of NADH dehydrogenase by both TNBS and PP convincingly demonstrated the involvement of lysine residue(s) for the activity of the sarcoma and cardiac enzymes, whereas both TNBS and PP failed to inactivate the enzymes of skeletal muscle and liver. Together these studies demonstrate a specific effect of methylglyoxal on mitochondrial complex I of malignant cells and importantly some distinct alteration of this complex in cancer cells.

Diffusion and criticality in undoped graphene with resonant scatterers.

A general theory is developed to describe graphene with an arbitrary number of isolated impurities. The theory provides a basis for an efficient numerical analysis of the charge transport and is applied to calculate the Dirac-point conductivity σ of graphene with resonant scatterers. In the case of smooth resonant impurities the symmetry class is identified as DIII and σ grows logarithmically with increasing impurity concentration. For vacancies (or strong on-site potential impurities, class BDI) σ saturates at a constant value that depends on the vacancy distribution among two sublattices.

Structural and Optical Properties of GaN Film on Copper and Graphene/Copper Metal Foils Grown by Laser Molecular Beam Epitaxy.

We report the direct growth of crystalline GaN on bare copper (Cu) and monolayer-graphene/Cu metal foils using laser molecular beam epitaxy technique at growth temperature of 700 °C. The surface morphology investigated with field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed that the size of GaN grains for film grown on bare Cu falls in range of 90 to 160 nm whereas large grains with size of ˜200 to 600 nm was obtained for GaN grown on graphene/Cu foil under similar growth condition. The transverse optical mode of cubic GaN and E2 (high) phonon mode for wurtzite GaN phases were obtained on the GaN film grown on Cu and graphene/Cu metal foils as deduced by Raman spectroscopy. The photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy studies showed that the near band edge emission peaks for GaN on Cu and graphene/Cu consist two major peaks at 3.26 and 3.4 eV, corresponding to cubic and wurtzite GaN, respectively. The Raman and PL studies disclosed that the mixed phase growth of GaN occurs on these foils and better structural and optical quality for GaN on graphene/Cu foil. The direct growth of GaN on two dimensional graphene on polycrystalline metal foils is beneficial various transferrable and flexible opto-electronics device applications.

Autophagy lipidation machinery regulates axonal microtubule dynamics but is dispensable for survival of mammalian neurons.

Neurons maintain axonal homeostasis via employing a unique organization of the microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton, which supports axonal morphology and provides tracks for intracellular transport. Abnormal MT-based trafficking hallmarks the pathology of neurodegenerative diseases, but the exact mechanism regulating MT dynamics in axons remains enigmatic. Here we report on a regulation of MT dynamics by AuTophaGy(ATG)-related proteins, which previously have been linked to the autophagy pathway. We find that ATG proteins required for LC3 lipid conjugation are dispensable for survival of excitatory neurons and instead regulate MT stability via controlling the abundance of the MT-binding protein CLASP2. This function of ATGs is independent of their role in autophagy and requires the active zone protein ELKS1. Our results highlight a non-canonical role of ATG proteins in neurons and suggest that pharmacological activation of autophagy may not only promote the degradation of cytoplasmic material, but also impair axonal integrity via altering MT stability.

Molecular characterization of tumor associated glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.

Here we describe the purification of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) from normal leukocytes of healthy subjects and leukocytes of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients and from normal mouse muscle and sarcoma tissue. The data indicate that some properties of GAPDH of leukocytes of CML patients and sarcoma tissues are similar and also similar to those of EAC (Ehrlich ascites carcinoma) cellular GAPDH but distinctly different from those of the normal cellular GAPDH. Polyclonal antiserum raised against the 54 kDa subunit of EAC cell GAPDH strongly reacted with GAPDH of leukocytes of CML patients and sarcoma tissue GAPDH only and weakly reacted with GAPDH of normal leukocyte and normal muscle and a variety of other tissues of normal rats. Both the subunits of GAPDH of sarcoma tissues were partially sequenced from the N-terminus and compared with the known sequences of GAPDH. The altered properties of GAPDH of three different malignant sources might be common feature of all malignant cells, which is discussed in relation to glycolysis and malignant aberrations.

A Study about Co-Infection of Fungal Pathogens in Active Tuberculosis Patients.

The diagnosis of mycotic lung infection in pulmonary TB patients remains misdiagnosed because of its non-specific clinical manifestations which mimics the symptoms of TB. Physicians have to rely on the investigation but as radiology and pathology cannot probe the appropriate diagnosis, conventional microbiology or PCR testing continue as an essential mode for the diagnosis. In developing country like India PCR is not cost effective. Thus, Direct microscopy by KOH (10%), Gram's staining & Culture remains only option for identification. A three-year cross-sectional study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology, Maharishi Markandeshwar Institute of Medical Science & Research, Mullana, India from August 2015 to August 2018. On 300 LED positive sputum samples collected from previously treated cases of pulmonary TB. Early morning sputum was collected and subjected to KOH 10%, Gram's staining afterwards cultured on Sabouraud Dextrose Agar and species identification was done by LPCB preparation. In 300 LED smear positive samples, the dominant pathogens were C. albicans (43.3%), followed by C. non-albicans (26.7%), A. fumigatus (21.7%) etc. ATT administration for 5-8 months' duration of illness showed highest fungal infection (45%) and maximum growth of fungus was seen in the Autumn season (45%). The co-occurrence of fungi with tubercle bacteria adds fatal consequences thus routine screening is recommended for proper diagnosis and early treatment of mycotic infection in the patients of Pulmonary TB on ATT.

Sorting Fermionization from Crystallization in Many-Boson Wavefunctions.

Fermionization is what happens to the state of strongly interacting repulsive bosons interacting with contact interactions in one spatial dimension. Crystallization is what happens for sufficiently strongly interacting repulsive bosons with dipolar interactions in one spatial dimension. Crystallization and fermionization resemble each other: in both cases - due to their repulsion - the bosons try to minimize their spatial overlap. We trace these two hallmark phases of strongly correlated one-dimensional bosonic systems by exploring their ground state properties using the one- and two-body density matrix. We solve the N-body Schrödinger equation accurately and from first principles using the multiconfigurational time-dependent Hartree for bosons (MCTDHB) and for fermions (MCTDHF) methods. Using the one- and two-body density, fermionization can be distinguished from crystallization in position space. For N interacting bosons, a splitting into an N-fold pattern in the one-body and two-body density is a unique feature of both, fermionization and crystallization. We demonstrate that this splitting is incomplete for fermionized bosons and restricted by the confinement potential. This incomplete splitting is a consequence of the convergence of the energy in the limit of infinite repulsion and is in agreement with complementary results that we obtain for fermions using MCTDHF. For crystalline bosons, in contrast, the splitting is complete: the interaction energy is capable of overcoming the confinement potential. Our results suggest that the spreading of the density as a function of the dipolar interaction strength diverges as a power law. We describe how to distinguish fermionization from crystallization experimentally from measurements of the one- and two-body density.

Microstructures of a Pt/Ni/C multilayer system: an X-ray reflectivity and ion scattering study.

Microstructural characterization of a synthetic periodic and graded Pt/Ni/C multilayer system by X-ray reflectivity and ion scattering techniques is presented. The experimental reflectivity data are fitted with a theoretical multi-trilayer model with graded periodicity which increases from substrate to film surface along the surface normal direction. The increase in periodicity is found to be due to a linear increase in C-layer thickness from the bottom to the top, with a change of slope nearly at the middle of the multilayer stack. The thicknesses of Pt and Ni layers, the variation of C-layer thickness with depth, interface roughness of Pt/Ni, Ni/C, C/Pt interfaces are determined from the analysis of the reflectivity data. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry measurements were also made on the same sample. Simulated Rutherford back scattering spectrometry data using the parameters obtained from the analysis of the X-ray reflectivity data agree well with the measured Rutherford backscattering spectrum.