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The study investigated chromium (Cr) in the Yamuna river at Mathura - Agra region in Uttar Pradesh, India. The water and fish samples were collected quarterly from the sites, i.e. Vrindavan (Vihar ghat) and Agra (Renuka ghat) from October 2018 to January 2020.The average Cr concentration in water at the Vrindavan site was observed to be maximum (2.27 mg/l) than the Agra site (1.93 mg/l) in the month of April 2019 compared to its BIS/WHO standards (0.05 ppm). Among the samples of fish organs like gill, liver, muscle and kidney, maximum Cr concentration was found in the samples of gills from Vrindavan (Vihar ghat) site (9.63μg/g) and from Agra (Renuka ghat) site (7.78 μg/g) being above the standards values (1 μg/g by European union commission; 0.15 μg/g by Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) and World Health Organization (WHO). The Cr concentration in the samples was in the order of gill > liver > muscle > kidney. The lower Bio-concentration factor (BCF) and target hazard quotients (THQ) in the muscles indicated fish to be safe for consumption. Heavy metal pollution index (HPI) and Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis indicated more HPI (2676.67) and a positive correlation between all the samples. The contamination degree (Cd) values were above the critical level at both the sampling sites-Vrindavan (38) and Agra (28). The higher pollution indices (HPI, HEI, Cd values) indicated higher degree of contamination in water samples. Hence strategies need to be formulated to check the rising concentration of heavy metals and ensure the safety of the people in the nearby areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteases have characteristics of biotechnological interest and have thus become important industrial enzymes. We report the production of thermostable protease and its characterization in Bacillus species, which is a thermotolerant bacterium; Bacillus subtilis is widely used for isolating protease enzyme. Gelatin was used as the substrate in nutrient agar medium for screening and showed the maximum zone of activity (22 mm) after overnight incubation and addition of the indicator. Under submerged fermentation conditions, a high level of protease production was found at 45 °C after 36 h at pH 10, with continuous agitation (180 rpm). The presence of galactose and peptone in the medium enhanced enzyme production by 0.5% when compared with other carbon and nitrogen sources. Thus, such additions can augment protease production and their application in various industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This is the first report that analyses the genetic diversity of Aerides multiflora and Rhyncostylis retusa from a variety of locations in Uttarakhand. • The study indicating a genetic connection between the orchids that were collected from host trees and altitudes that were similar to one another. • Data can help in developing sustainable natural resource management, as well as conservation and hybridization strategies for A. multiflora and R. retusa. Aim of the study was to analyze genetic variability among natural populations of two endemic orchids (Aerides multiflora and Rhynchostylis retusa) of Uttarakhand, India using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) makers. Both the species, known for their ornamental and medicinal potential, were collected from different locations in Uttarakhand region, and isolated DNA samples were amplified using fourteen ISSR primers. In the case of A. multiflora , eight of the fourteen primers tested showed amplification products with an average polymorphism of 35.39% and in the case of R. retusa , the average polymorphism was 63.32%. Cluster analysis for both species showed that samples collected from sites of similar latitudes and elevations were clustered together. Another key observation in the case of R. retusa was that the sub-clusters were formed on the basis of host tree association. This is the first report on the diversity analysis of A. multiflora and R. retusa in Uttarakhand. This study suggests that the orchids collected from locations with similar altitudes and host trees are genetically related to each other. This genetic profiling can be used as the basis to develop conservation protocols for these orchids to prevent them from entering the threatened category, as the epiphytic orchids are more susceptible to natural and anthropogenic pressures. Besides, the genetic variation analysis can be used to select the parent plants for developing commercial hybrids in both species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional methods used to remediate toxic substances from the environment have failed drastically, and thereby, advancement in newer remediation techniques can be one of the ways to improve the quality of bioremediation. The increased environmental pollution led to the exploration of microorganisms and construction of genetically engineered microbes (GEMs) for pollution abatement through bioremediation. The present review deals with the successful bioremediation techniques and approaches practised using genetically modified or engineered microbes. In the present scenario, physical and chemical strategies have been practised for the remediation of domestic and industrial wastes but these techniques are expensive and toxic to the environment. Involving engineered microbes can provide a much safer and cost effective strategy in comparison with the other techniques. With the aid of biotechnology and genetic engineering, GEMs are designed by transforming microbes with a more potent protein to overexpress the desired character. GEMs such as bacteria, fungi and algae have been used to degrade oil spills, camphor, hexane, naphthalene, toluene, octane, xylene, halobenzoates, trichloroethylene etc. These engineered microbes are more potent than the natural strains and have higher degradative capacities with quick adaptation for various pollutants as substrates or cometabolize. The road ahead for the implementation of genetic engineering to produce such organisms for the welfare of the environment and finally, public health is indeed long and worthwhile. ga1 • Bioremediation – efficient technology for addressing the problems of heavy metal in environment pollution. • Use of genetically engineered microbes (GEMs) for bioremediation. • GEMs as a latest technology to enhance the natural capacity for remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ni3Al films were deposited on silicon (100) substrate at different substrate temperatures by DC magnetron sputtering. The evolution of phase, microstructure, surface topography and mechanical properties have been investigated as a function of substrate temperature via XRD, FE-SEM, AFM and nanoindentation respectively. Results revealed that the deposited film possessed the preferred orientation of (111) whereas the crystallite size increased and grain size decreased with increase in the substrate temperature. The results of nanoindentation showed that the hardness of the film increased up to 400 °C after which it abruptly decreased. Maximum hardness of ∼13 GPa was achieved when the film was deposited at the substrate temperature of 400 °C. The surface roughness of the film increases simultaneously with the increase in substrate temperature whereas the static contact angle and mechanical properties declined significantly for the film deposited at the substrate temperature of 600 °C. This study reflects the impact of substrate temperature on the evolution of phase, microstructure and mechanical properties of Ni3Al coatings deposited at different substrate temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) virus has evolved into variants with varied infectivity. Vaccines developed against COVID-19 infection have boosted immunity, but there is still uncertainty on how long the immunity from natural infection or vaccination will last. The present study attempts to outline the present level of information about the contagiousness and spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest and variants of concern (VOCs). The keywords like COVID-19 vaccine types, VOCs, universal vaccines, bivalent, and other relevant terms were searched in NCBI, Science Direct, and WHO databases to review the published literature. The review provides an integrative discussion on the current state of knowledge on the type of vaccines developed against SARS-CoV-2, the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines concerning the VOCs, and prospects of novel universal, chimeric, and bivalent mRNA vaccines efficacy to fend off existing variants and other emerging coronaviruses. Genomic variation can be quite significant, as seen by the notable differences in impact, transmission rate, morbidity, and death during several human coronavirus outbreaks. Therefore, understanding the amount and characteristics of coronavirus genetic diversity in historical and contemporary strains can help researchers get an edge over upcoming variants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid growth in industrialization sectors, the wastewater treatment plants become exhausted and potentially not able to give desirable discharge standards. Many industries discharge the untreated effluent into the water bodies which affects the aquatic diversity and human health. The effective disposal of industrial effluents thus has been an imperative requirement. For decades nanocellulose based materials gained immense attraction towards application in wastewater remediation and emerged out as a new biobased nanomaterial. It is light weighted, cost effective, mechanically strong and easily available. Large surface area, versatile surface functionality, biodegradability, high aspect ratio etc., make them suitable candidate in this field. Majorly cellulose based nanomaterials are used in the form of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), or bacterial nanocellulose (BNC). This review specifically describes about a variety of extraction methods to produced nanocellulose and also discusses the modification of nanocellulose by adding functionalities in its surface chemistry. We majorly focus on the utilization of nanocellulose based materials in water remediation for the removal of different contaminants such as dyes, heavy metals, oil, microbial colony etc. This review mainly emphasizes in ray of hope towards nanocellulose materials to achieve more advancement in the water remediation fields. • This work focus on potentiality of nanocellulose and its applications in water remediation. • It is light weighted, cost effective, mechanically strong and easily available. • Nanomaterials are used in the form of nanocrystals (CNCs), nanofibers (CNFs), or bacterial nanocellulose (BNC). • A variety of extraction methods to produced nanocellulose and modification of nanocellulose available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study was to find out the effect of hostile and favourable spectators on the performances of motor tasks. For the purpose of this study a total of 50 students of LNUPE were selected and randomly divided into two groups A and B, 25 each (15 male and 10 female). These subjects were tested on the selected variables such as bent knee sit ups, pull-ups (male)/flexed arm hang (female), bass stick test (crosswise), field goal speed test and dribbling test. Total 200 students of LNUPE were selected as spectators and were asked to first act as hostile spectators and then as favourable ones in order to create the two atmospheres for the study. Hostile spectators tried to disturb the subjects while they were performing by whistling, taunting, booing, shouting and hooting them whereas favourable spectators helped in facilitating the performance by clapping, cheering and appreciating the performance efforts in order to create an appropriate atmosphere. These variables were particularly chosen because of their administrative feasibility and they could be conducted very close to the spectators as the size of the spectators was a smaller one. ‘t Test’ was employed at 0.05 level of significance to compare the performance of both the groups under hostile and favourable situations types of spectators on the performance of motor tasks. The statistical findings revealed that the performance of pull ups (male)/flexed arm hang (female), bass stick test (static balance) and field goal speed test showed a significance differences on comparison whereas bent knee sit-ups and dribbling test showed no significant differences on comparison of performances when performed under the presence of hostile and favourable spectators. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]