Vol. 23(10) October 2019
Effect of first-flush runoff on nutrient influx of
a river in semi-arid environment: a preliminary study
Artwell Kanda, France Ncube F. and Pride Madziro
Page No. 1-7
In order to understand nutrient influx into Cheche River
through first-flush runoff other than point (domestic effluent discharge), the concentrations
of TN and TP in water and river surface discharge were investigated during two runoff
events and dry weather periods in two years. First-flush runoff provides energy
to erode and transport materials en masse from the watershed into watercourses which
are normally under low flow regimes in semi-arid environments. Waste stabilization
pond effluent discharge (S 3) did not influence (p < 0.05) nutrient loading after
the first-flush runoff event (TN: 7.76±0.57 and 8.27±0.57 TP: 1.52±0.01 and 1.50±0.12
g/s) suggesting that increased nutrient loading was imported mainly from the watershed.
Surface runoff increased river discharge, nutrient concentrations and their loading
downstream.
Further downstream (S 10), after the first-flush runoff event, the river had higher
nutrient loadings for TN (9.78±1.40) and TP (1.81±0.17 g/s) than during the dry
period (TN: 3.00±0.60; TP: 0.39±0.05 g/s). Land use in the watershed increased nutrient
loading of Cheche River beyond its assimilative capacity.
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Isolation, lipid extraction and biodiesel property
analysis of Mougeotia gracillima (Hassall) Wittrock
Nayana Borah and Mohana Devihalli Chikkaiah
Page No. 8-14
The present study evaluated the lipid production, fatty
acid profile and biodiesel properties of the fresh-water isolates of Mougeotia gracillima.
The lipid was estimated by gravimetric and fluoro-spectrophotometric methods. The
fatty acid profiles from fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) of M. gracillima were determined
by Gas chromatography-Mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The total cytosolic lipid content
of M. gracillima was 19.5%. Among the six different fatty acids, the major fatty
acids identified from FAME products were palmitic acid and 9,12-octadecadienoic
acid.
The biodiesel properties of FAME products of M. gracillima showed kinematic viscosity
3.68 cSt at 40 ºC, flash point was 110°C, density at 15°C was 0.86 Kg m-³ and ash
content was 0.01 % with 0.3% acid number. The percentage of biodiesel was found
to be 45.8%. The optimum lipid production from M. gracillima was observed at 30.0
± 2 ºC, pH 8, NaCl (0.15 mg mL-1), sucrose (0.5 mg mL-1) as carbon source and KNO3
(0.5 mg L-1) as nitrogen source. The obtained results confirm that the lipid extracted
from M. gracillima could be used as an alternative source for biodiesel production.
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Efficiency of remediating soil contaminated with cadmium
by Solanum nigrum. L
Nguyen Thanh Hung and Mai Huong Tra
Page No. 15-21
A study of cadmium uptake by Solanum nigrum. L (S. nigrum)
was conducted using outdoor pot-culture and small scale field experiments. Results
in outdoor pot-culture experiment showed that S. nigrum biomass compared with control
(CK) is not significantly different (P< 0.05) under the Cd concentration of 25 mg
kg-1 soil. The ability to accumulate Cd in above-ground parts is greater than 100
mg kg-1 biomass; BF (Bioconcentration factor) and TF (Translocation factor) coefficients
are greater than 1. At the same time, the results achieved from small-scale field
experiment were similar.
In addition, trials of planting S. nigrum in two industrial zones contaminated with
typical Cd were conducted. Results showed that the effective remediation of soil
contaminated with Cd by S. nigrum is very good. From the results of this study,
it was demonstrated that S. nigrum is a Cd hyperaccumulator. This is an important
finding to contribute to solve cadmium pollution problems as well as to apply for
phytoremediation in specific situations.
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The inhibition mechanism of antiviral drugs towards
the influenza A (H1N1) virus neuraminidase – in silico analysis
Sivanandam M., Parasuraman P. and Veluraja K.
Page No. 22-28
Influenza A (H1N1) virus is the subtype of influenza
A virus which is responsible for the most common cause of human influenza and is
often called as swine flu. Inhibition of this subtype influenza A (H1N1) virus [H1N1A]
enzymatic mechanism leads to cure the pandemic swine flu. The most familiar drugs
used to control the H1N1A are Oseltamivir, Oseltamivir carboxylate, Peramivir and
Zanamivir. In this present work, molecular docking study is carried out for these
four drug molecules towards H1N1A and the study confirms that the strong hydrogen
bonding interactions and hydrophobic contacts have been formed with the binding
site residues of H1N1A.
The calculated binding energy for the drug molecules such as Oseltamivir, Oseltamivir
carboxylate, Peramivir and Zanamivir with the receptor H1N1A virus are -6.76, -6.89,
-7.25 and -6.81 kcal/mol respectively. Based on the analysis of hydrogen bonding
interactions, hydrophobic contacts and the binding energy calculations, Oseltamivir
may be the best inhibitor for influenza H1N1A virus. The proposed conformer of OseltamivirH1N1A
will be used to design the new drugs with enhanced efficiency to treat influenza
virus.
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Photocatalytic Degradation of Mono Azo Dye Acid Red
88 by using Synthesized Calcium Aluminate Nanoparticle and its Kinetics
Shilpa G., Yogendra K., Mahadevan K.M. and Santhosh A.M.
Page No. 29-35
Calcium aluminate (CaAl2O4) nanoparticle was synthesized
by simple solution combustion method by using glycine as fuel. Synthesized nanoparticle
was characterized by Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscope
(SEM), Fourier transmission electron microscope and UV-visible spectrophotometer.
From the obtained results, average crystal size was found to be 22nm and band gap
was found to be 2.3eV. Further Acid red 88 (AR88) dye was selected for the photocatalytic
degradation carried out under sunlight.
The rate of degradation efficiency was studied by varying different parameters such
as catalyst concentration, solution pH and dye concentration. The rate of degradation
is highly efficient in 2×10-4 dye concentration with pH 8 and constant catalyst
concentration was 0.025g/50ml. Pseudo first order rate constants and percentage
of degradation were determined. Further photocatalytic mechanism was proposed. The
result proves that CaAl2O4 can be used for removal of dyes from wastewater.
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Impact of Land-Use/ Land-Cover Changes and Hydro-Meteorological
Phenomenon on Lake Biodiversity: A Case Study on Saheb Bandh Lake, India
Dutta Geetanjali, Gupta Srimanta, Ghosh Apurba Ratan and Mukherjee Priyabrata
Page No. 36-45
Ever increasing population, urbanization and innovation
or modernization are posing problems of waste and wastewater discharge and contamination
of lake waterbody. The current research work has been undertaken with the views
to study the change detection scenario of land-use/land-cover pattern in the Saheb
bandh lake catchment area and its consequence over micro-meteorological phenomena
as well as lake hydrochemistry and biodiversity in a span of eleven years (2006
– 2017).
Land-use/land-cover study reveals that there is a rapid increase of mixed or urban
built up land (40.25%) with 3.66% annual average rate of expansion. Land-use change
has a direct bearing on increasing ambient temperature over lake catchment area
which in turn affects the lake nutrients levels and thereby biodiversity. Nutrient
model suggests that the lake is well mixed throughout the year and the changes of
micro-meteorological parameters have significant effect for the dynamic behaviour
of this lake. Gradual decrease in nutrient concentration (NO3-N, TP) over the studied
time span leads to less productive nature of the lake which is also reflected through
the decrease in zooplankton and increase in phytoplankton population.
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Synthesis of Keratinase Enzyme from Sheep Wool for
Bio-polishing
Selvakumar A., Saravanan D., Balaji S., Balakrishnaraja R. and Kannan K.P.
Page No. 46-49
At present, the scenario of textile industry has been
radically changed to use eco-friendly chemicals and enzymes for various wet processing
of wool fibres. In general, wool bio-polishing is not so easy because of its complex
fibre structure. The wool fibre has about 18 amino acids with the major composition
part that contains proteins (97%) and lipids (1%). The wool fibre has some intrinsic
properties (due to its morphological and scale structure) that makes wool fibre
tendency to felting and shrinkage. Many research works have been carried out on
bio-polishing of wool fibres using various enzymes. In this research work, we made
an attempt to synthesize keratinase enzymes for polishing of wool fibres.
This is because keratinase enzyme has the ability to attack the disulfide (-S-S-)
bond in the keratin substrate, so it can be employed for bio-polishing of wool.
The keratinase enzymes were produced by taking sheep wool and soil from sheep cattle
through various biological processes. The enzymes produced through the mass culture
and the enzymatic activity were observed through keratinase activity assay testing.
It is reported that the enzyme production is realized better to the source wool
fibre and cattle sand taken. The optimized production process may be the better
alternative way for bulk production of keratinase enzyme for bio-polishing of wool
fibres.
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Potentials of the total phenolic content and antioxidant
activity of ethanolic extract of Momordica charantia L leaves
Sukmawati, Muflihunna A. and Rahmawati
Page No. 50-52
Pare (Momordica charantia L.) plant is known as one of
the herbal plants in Indonesia. Pare has antioxidant properties that can avoid free
radicals and also properties as Vermox drug, cough, fever, constipation medication,
appetite booster, treating syphilis and liver. Pare leaves contain vitamin A,B,C,
saponin, flavanoid, steroid, alkaloid, carotenoid, momordicine, tricosanoic acid
and resinate acid. This study aims at determining the total phenolic content and
antioxidant activity of ethanolic extract Pare leaves. The extraction was done by
a maceration method using 90% ethanol solvent. A qualitative analysis of content
was done about the addition of chloride copper (II) solution for antioxidant activity.
The determination of total phenol content was done by using UV-Vis spectrophotometer
method with a maximum wavelength of 709 nm and to examine the antioxidant activity
of Pare leaves with a wavelength of 452 nm by using Trolox solution as the comparator.
Results of the study show that in the qualitative assay, the sample had the content
of phenolic compound, while in the determination of total phenolic compound or in
the quantitative assay, 14.181 GAE/g of extracts was obtained while the Trolox equivalent
antioxidant capacity (TEAC) of Pare leave ethanolic extract was 11.496 µmol TR/g
of extract.
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Sewage sludge adsorbents used to remove Lambda Cyhalothrin
from aqueous phase
Belarbi Ouassyla, Marouf Reda, Ouadjenia Fatima and Schott Jacques
Page No. 53-61
The sewage sludge was obtained from the wastewater treatment
plant in the town of Saida (Algeria). Before use, the sewage sludge was dried in
the open air for three days, then washed several times and calcined at 900°C, then
at 1000°C. The adsorption of Lambda-Cyhalothrin from aqueous solutions onto sewage
sludge was investigated as a function of pH, contact time, initial L-C concentration
and temperature. The adsorption capacities of Lambda-Cyhalothrin were found equal
to 11.62, 10.63 and 6.67 mg/g at pH = 3 and room temperature, for raw sludge (S-R),
S-900 and S-1000 respectively.
The adsorption capacity increased smoothly as the temperature rose. Langmuir, Freundlich
and Langmuir–Freundlich adsorption isotherm models were applied to describe the
related isotherms. The Freundlich equation showed the best fit to the experimental
data. The pseudo-first and pseudo-second order kinetic models were used to describe
the adsorption kinetics. The kinetics study results showed that the adsorption of
Lambda-Cyhalothrin onto samples followed the pseudo-second order model.
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Enhanced peroxymonosulfate activation for Pyridine
degradation by ultrasound irradiation: Performances and mechanisms
Davoud Balarak, Mohadeseh Dashtizadeh and Mortaza Akbari
Page No. 62-66
The degradation of refractory organic compounds to harmless
matters is one of the major concerns of environmentalists. Advanced oxidation processes
(AOPs) are promising technologies producing the hydroxyl and sulfate radicals for
pollutant degradation. In this study, removal of pyridine, a basic heterocyclic
organic compound was investigated by 35 kHz ultrasound in the presence of potassium
monopersulfate (oxone). The variables that change in this strategy were concentration
of oxone, initial pyridine concentration and sonication period. The result has shown
that the separate use of ultrasonic degradation will not take a high performance
with the best removal percent of 80%.
Simultaneously use of US/Oxone cached a more highly reduction in tetracycline concentration
and the best reduction was 97.8% removal that took place at pH7, pyridine concentration
of 10 mg/L, input power of 360 W, sonication period of 60 min. The ultrasonic degradation
of pyridine was enhanced by oxone addition. It was found that the degradation of
the pyridine was accelerated with increased concentrations of oxone for reaction
time of 60 min.
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Dibenzimidamide based colorimetric chemosensor for
Hg2+ ions- A new application of famous drug
Patil Prashant, Sehlangia Suman, Patil Nilesh and Patil Umesh
Page No. 67-75
The dibenzimidamide based receptor 4,4'-(triaz-1-ene-1,3-diyl)dibenzimidamide
(TDB-1) was synthesized and characterized by various spectral data. The metal ions
sensing ability of the receptor TDB-1 was investigated by various UV-Vis experiments
with a series of metal ions such as Ag+, Al3+, Ba2+, Ca2+, Cd2+, Co2+, Cu2+, Cr3+,
Cs+, Fe2+, Fe3+, K+, Li+, Mg2+, Mn2+, Na+, Ni2+, Pb2+, Sr2+, Zn2+ and Hg2+in aqueous
media. Upon addition of Hg2+, the colourless solution of the receptor TDB-1 turned
to yellow and the absorbance at 355 nm of TDB-1 was quenched and concomitantly a
red-shifted band appeared to 410 nm. Without any interference from the other tested
metal ions, the Hg2+ concentration can be detected down to 0.25 µM by using the
receptor TDB-1. The 2:1 binding stoichiometry was confirmed by job’s plot and mass
data and the probably structure of the complex was proposed by DFT calculation.
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Determining ADME properties for clinically available
lung and liver cancer drugs
Shanmuga Sundari Ilangovan, Oviyaasri M., Nandhini K., Manoj Prabu D. and Kavipriya
P.
Page No. 76-81
Traditional drug discovery involves tremendous resources
and inputs to discover and develop new drugs. However, drug failure occurs at various
stages (phases II and III) of clinical trials. The reason behind the failure is
the adverse side effects posed by the drugs that are identified only at late stages.
Hence, determining the Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion (ADME)
properties of drugs before entering the clinical trials is mandatory to reduce the
efforts and cost spent in drug discovery.
Further, predicting ADME with in silico tools reduces the time spent compared to
in vitro ADME prediction. In the present work, anticancer drugs for lung and liver
cancer that are in the clinical trials were retrieved and their ADME properties
were predicted. Among the 25 and 29 lung and liver cancer drugs, 3 and 6 drugs exhibited
ADME properties beyond the permissible limits respectively. Further, only 5 lung
cancer and 2 liver cancer drugs exhibited Blood Brain Barrier penetration with highest
GI absorption, indicating the drugs to possess minimal side effects. The remaining
drugs exhibit minimum of 1 ADME violation which needs further pharmacophore modelling
to make them within the ADME permissible range.
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Application of photocatalyst and kinetic studies of
degradation of copper surfactants derived from non-vegetable oils for sustainable
green chemistry
Sharma Swati, Sharma Rashmi and Sharma Arun Kumar
Page No. 82-95
In the present investigation, photocatalytic degradation
has been applied for degradation of copper neem and karanj surfactants derived from
non-edible oils. Both copper surfactants were synthesized by reported methods and
characterized by elemental analysis as well as spectroscopic techniques such as
IR and NMR. The degradation was carried out by irradiating the aqueous solutions
of copper surfactants containing ZnO with UV. In this technique a semiconductor
ZnO is used which is non-toxic in nature. The rate of reaction was estimated from
residual concentration spectrophotometrically by measuring the absorbance of the
reaction mixture at definite time intervals. Different parameters such as the concentration
of surfactant (0.4-0.96 g l-1), amount of semiconductor (0.01-0.06 g), light intensity
(26-54 mWcm-2), effect of solvent polarity (20-80%) and time period for degradation
(0-18 h) were varied to achieve the optimum rate of photo degradation.
The observations revealed that both copper surfactants were degraded successfully
by using ZnO under UV. The disappearance of copper surfactants follows a pseudo-first-order
kinetics according to the Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) model. A tentative mechanism
has been proposed for the photo degradation of copper surfactants.
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Data on solubility, density, sound velocity and thermoacoustic
parameters of water + 1-propanol + Na2SO4/Na2SO3 system and its triangular phase
diagrams
Jadhav Vidhya, Mane-Gavade Shubhangi, Tamhankar Bhaskar, Kolekar Sanjay and Sabale
Sandip
Page No. 96-105
This data was obtained from solubility of Na2SO4 / Na2SO3
salts in various concentrations of alcohol-water to construct the liquid-liquid-solid
triangular phase diagrams. The density and sound velocity data of binary and ternary
systems of water + 1-propanol and water + 1-propanol + Na2SO4/Na2SO3 are used to
determine the other thermo acoustic parameters including adiabatic compressibility
(βs), excess molar volume (VE), intermolecular free length (Lf), specific acoustic
impedance (Z), relative association (RA) and solvation number (Sn).
The obtained data is explanatory to understand the solute-solute, solute-solvent
and solvent-solvent interactions as well as structure making and structure breaking
properties of solute in aqueous solutions resulting into the salting out of alcohol.
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Simultaneous biodegradation of methylene blue and
phenol by Trametes hirsuta in batch and packed bed reactors
Hachi Mohamed, Hamidi Mohamed, Touati Mostefa, Benalia Yabrir and Souilah Rachid
Page No. 106-115
Fungal biodegradation is widely described as an efficient
technological process for wastewater treatment, especially for removal of recalcitrant
pollutants. Treatment of wastewater containing methylene blue and phenol has received
much attention in recent years due to their toxicities and slow biodegradation.
In this work, Trametes hirsuta mycelium was grown and used to remove methylene blue
and phenol. Single and binary removal of both pollutants was carried out in batch
and fixed bed column. Removal mechanism was investigated using active and inactive
T. hirsuta and crude growth medium.
Results showed that at methylene blue and phenol concentrations of 25 and 10 mg/L
respectively, removal of more than 80% of both products in binary batch system was
achieved within only 80 minutes. Passive adsorption mechanism was slightly involved
in methylene blue removal in single system while the removal of phenol was only
possible through both intracellular and extracellular enzymatic degradation.
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Potential Anti – Cancer effect of Azadirachta indica
bark Ethanolic Extract on NCI-H460 Cell Lines
Sinduja M.E. and Bright John I.
Page No. 116-123
Cancer is the abnormal growth of cells that leads to
death of mankind. According to Americal Cancer Society, the death due to cancer
constitutes up to 2 to 3 % every year. The death reate associated due to cancer
is mainly because of associated side effects of modern treatments such as Chemotherapy
and Radiation therapy. Many cancer patients seeks an alternative method of treatment.
Plant based Secondary metabolites are mainly used as an alternative for modern medicines
and proved to be devoid of any side effects. This study focuses on the search of
potential anti-cancer activity against non-small cell lung carcinoma cell line (NCI-H460)
using the bark extract of Azadirachta indica.
The whole study showed the effect of the crude extract showing effective anti –
cancer activity in treated cell lines by exhibiting decreasing cell proliferation
by carrying out MTT Assay. The increasing intracellular ROS was investigated in
treated cells by addition of DCFH-DA which was oxidized to DCF, fluorescent dichloro
fluorescein by significant increase in ROS level due to cytotoxic effect of the
crude extract in treated cell lines. The alteration in mitochondrial membrane potential
and apoptosis in NCI-H460 cells was observed by dual staining method in which the
treated cell appeared orange in colour (ethidium bromide stained). The Ethidium
bromide stains DNA in the cells undergoing apoptosis and hence apoptotic cells were
appeared orange in colour.
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Analysis of Physicochemical Parameters of Petroleum
Sludge impacted soils after remediation with Organic Waste
Useh Mercy Uwem, Dauda Mary Sunday, Abdulrahman Funke Wosilat and Useh Uwem Jonah
Page No. 124-131
For optimization of effective bioremediation processes,
it is essential to consider environmental factors affecting the process. Petroleum
sludge impacted soil samples from around Warri refinery, Delta State, Nigeria were
assessed for some physicochemical parameters before and after remediation with agro-waste
from Moringa seed. The remediation process was carried out for 90 days and samples
were taken for analysis at 30 days interval. The analysis revealed a sinusoidal
pattern of results at the end of the study period which indicated that most of the
degradation activities took place within the first 30 days.
More so, from the analyses after treatment of the samples with Moringa Oleifera
seed cake (MOSC), the results as compared to the control, indicated that the agro-waste
did not only add the needed nutrients to the soil, it was also able to mop-up certain
minerals that could further endanger the use of the soil.
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Chemo-divergent synthesis of polyhydroquinolines using
retrievable Nickel (II) exchanged zeolite nanoparticles as catalyst and their pharmacological
screening
Paul Dhivya and Subramanian Parameswaran Rajendran
Page No. 132-138
A greener protocol involving multi component cyclocondensation
reactions starting from potential precursors 2-hydroxy-4-formyl quinolines 1, malononitrile/
ethylacetoacetate/ methylacetoacetate 2(a-c) and substituted enaminones 3(a-c) to
yield a series of novel heteroannulated compounds was achieved using nickel(II)
exchanged zeolite [Ni(II)Y] (NiNPs). A salient feature is the synthesis of unaromatised
products 4 (a-i).
The synthesised products were screened against human bacterial pathogens activity
against two human bacterial pathogens, the gram-positive Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus
aureus (MRSA) and the gram-negative Pseudomonas aeruginosa and a human yeast pathogen,
Fluconazole resistant Candida albicans (FRCA). The compounds were also evaluated
for their antioxidant activity.
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Recent Advances in the Multicomponent Synthesis of
Pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole derivatives
Maher Khalid and Mohammed Shireen
Page No. 139-156
This review highlights recent multicomponent reactions
improvement in the synthesis of pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole derivatives in presence of
different catalysts including sodium benzoate, CAN, AmberlystA21, L- or S-proline,
CTACl, n-TiO2/H14[NaP5W30O110], SiO2TMG,Fe3O4, DMAP, MS 4Å, DABCO, NH4H2PO4/Al2O3,SnO2QDs,
CAPB, BF3/MNPs, (Ni 0.5 Zn0.5Fe2O4@Hap-Cs2CO3), VB1, ZrO2 NPs,β-CD,TUD, urea, NaBr,
MMT-ZSA, piperidine, NMOAg2O, InCl3, PEG-400, NaF and SiO2.
In this context, modern routes in the preparation and use of pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole
as a pioneer for the heterocyclic framework are based on three- or four-multicomponent
reaction of ethyl acetoacetate, hydrazine or phenylhydrazine, aromatic aldehyde
and malononitrile substrates in presence of catalyst.
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