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Global petroleum consumption suffered drastically as lockdowns were put in place to contain the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). As a result, oil costs dropped, making virgin plastics more cost-effective than recycled plastics. The usage of plastic has increased as a result of lifestyle modifications, cost-based incentives, and other factors, further obscuring the issue. The utilization of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic had resulted in a significant surge in the quantity of plastic waste. The plastic packaging industry achieved a revenue milestone of US$ 909.2 billion in 2021, boosting a compound annual growth rate of 5.5 %. The escalating dependence on plastics imposed additional pressure on waste management systems, which were proven to be ineffective and insufficient in addressing the issue. This situation exacerbated the problem and contributed to environmental pollution. Globally, 40 % of plastic waste ended up in landfills, 25 % was incinerated, 16 % was recycled, and the remaining 19 % infiltrated within the environment. By investing in circular technologies like feedstock recycling and enhancing infrastructural and environmental conditions, it expected to become viable to manage plastic waste flows during such a period of crisis. Investing in valorization strategies that transform plastic waste into value-added goods, such as fuels and building materials, receives a compelling macroeconomic signal when both plastic waste and plastic demand are on the rise. A robust circular economy can be accomplished by finalising the life cycle of plastic waste. The concept of Plastic Waste Footprint (PWF) aims to assess the environmental impact of plastic products throughout their intended usage period. In the midst of the emerging challenges in waste management during and post pandemic period, this research study has been conducted to explore the challenges and strategies associated with plastic waste in the environment., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

The present research study has evaluated the roles of different naturally occurring compounds in termite mounds of Odontotermes longignathus (GenBank Id: MZ542727.1) which facilitate to promote higher population growth of termites and subsequent biodegradation. The study has also monitored the change in physicochemical parameters along with the trend of biodegradation of complex organic carbon-based compounds like lignin, polysaccharides etc. and nitrogenous compounds from two different types of termite mounds such as developing (T1) and developed (T2) mounds. The GC MS profiling of mound samples have revealed the occurrence of different humic acids like organic materials in both T1 and T2 mound samples. Both the termite mounds have demonstrated a high population density as T1 (23.67 ± 1.56) individuals and T2 (43.51 ± 2.36) individuals per 0.1 kg of mound materials. Such observations have prompted to undertake molecular docking experiments which revealed that different molecules interact at low binding affinity with hormone receptors involved in moulting, spermatogenesis and oogenesis of termite like Adamantane carboxylate (EcR: -7.6 Kcal/mol; BTB-KLHL10: -6.2 Kcal/mol; USP-LBD: -7.3 Kcal/mol; VgR: -6.8 Kcal/mol), Benzene dicarboxylic acid (EcR: -5.5 Kcal/mol; BTB-KLHL10: -5.1 Kcal/mol; USP-LBD: -5.4 Kcal/mol; VgR: -5.6 Kcal/mol), Hexadecanol (EcR: -6.0 Kcal/mol; BTB-KLHL10: -4.4 Kcal/mol; USP-LBD: -6.9 Kcal/mol; VgR: -6.0 Kcal/mol), oxirane (EcR: -5.3 Kcal/mol; BTB-KLHL10: -4.9 Kcal/mol; USP-LBD: -5.2 Kcal/mol; VgR: -5.3 Kcal/mol) and tocopherol (EcR: -8.0 Kcal/mol; BTB-KLHL10: -5.4 Kcal/mol; USP-LBD: -7.6 Kcal/mol; VgR: -7.0 Kcal/mol). Such spontaneous ligand binding phenomenon coupled with high population density of termites have established the significance of different bioactive xenobiotics in achieving high reproductive potential of termites which in turn facilitate the process of biodegradation and enhance the nutrient enrichment in the soils of tropical deciduous forest., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Main insight of the study was to evaluate the potential of Perionyx excavatus , an indigenous earthworm of India towards bioconversion of toxic paper mill wastes. The study had considered a comprehensive study over succession of different enzymes and microbial biomasses alongside removal of heavy metals to reflect the qualitative enrichment of the toxic waste through valorisation procedure., Methods: The process of vermicomposting was performed using ratio of paper mill sludge: cow dung: straw as 5:4:1 and Perionyx excavatus for a period of 60 days. Qualitative enrichment was considered through detailed evaluation of physicochemical parameters and succession of 19 enzymes using API ZYM technology. Heavy metal loads in terms of Zn, Cr, Cu, Pb along with bioaccumulation factor (BAF) were considered to establish functional role of earthworm in bioremediation. Microbial succession was measured in terms of PLFA biomarkers., Results: Enzymatic enrichment of different isozymes of esterase, aminopeptidase and glycosyl hydrolase were found in the vermicompost. A significant reduction of heavy metals was noticed in vermicomposting of primary sludge as Zn > Pb > Cr > Cu and secondary sludge as Zn > Pb > Cu > Cr. An increase in density of Gram positive bacterial and fungal populations was found at the end phase of vermicomposting process which supports maturity of vermicompost., Conclusion: Presence of different enzyme activities, reduction of heavy metal loads along with rise of eukaryotic PLFA markers, had illustrated the efficiency of vermicomposting as a valorisation procedure in the qualitative enrichment of toxic organic paper mill sludge., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestAuthors have no conflict of interest., (© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021.)

The present study emphasizes on the antimicrobial susceptibility of different bacterial strains isolated from the external body surface of a commonly found zooplanktonic copepod (Heliodiaptomus viduus, Gurney, 1916) inhabiting both in fresh and brackish water bodies of Midnapore (West and East) Districts, West Bengal, India. Out of 62 bacterial isolated strains, 38 isolates were identified as Gram-positive while the remaining 24 isolates were found to be Gram-negative. Antimicrobial properties of all those bacterial strains were determined by Vitek 2 compact system using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values. All isolated bacterial strains had exhibited differential susceptibilities against some selected antibiotics. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) analysis revealed the considerable association of bacteria on the cuticular body parts of the studied zooplankton. The outcomes of the present research are expected to enable health professionals in identifying two major problems -1) bacterial association with zooplankton which is so far mostly considered as a novel source of food for fish in aquatic ecosystems. 2) Selection of antibiotics as treatment measure because of the pathogenic effects of zooplankton associated bacteria on human being. This unattended arena of research is also supposed to evoke a new dimension not only because of bacteria-zooplankton interactions but also on undertaking of judicious strategies to find out proper ways and means to make the surface water suitable for the utilization by the common peoples (minimising bacterial contamination) in the context of human health and environmental safety., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

The process of bioconversion of solid organic wastes through vermicomposting justifies the environmental message for sustainability such as reduce, recycle and reuse of wastes. In the present study, wastes derived from two different types of paper mill sludge (primary and secondary), was used for their bioconversion through the vermicomposting process using an indigenous species of earthworm ( Perionyx excavatus). The maturity and stability stage of vermicompost production was assessed using FT-IR, GC-MS and TG analyses. During vermicomposting, different biochemical functional groups present in the wastes have shown differential chemical alteration and turnover as revealed by FT-IR spectroscopy. This study has also confirmed the trend of biodegradation of complex substances like lignin, cellulose, proteins etc. and thereby demonstrates the extent of mineralization. TG spectral analysis had revealed a mass loss of 80% and 71% in vermicompost produced from primary and secondary sludge respectively. GC-MS studies have also shown the presence of several humic acids like octadecanoic acid, heptadecanoic acid etc. in the decomposing substances demonstrating as an indicator of the maturity of products. This was further confirmed by the decrease of humification index which focuses the combined action of both earthworms and microbes in the degradation of organic wastes. The present study has highlighted the role of an indigenous earthworm in converting specific industrial wastes especially by recording the point of maturation using humic acids an indicator of the quality of decomposing of wastes following several instrumental applications.

Mass production of vermicompost using suitable species of earthworms and selecting target organic waste materials has appeared to be a great development in the realm of biotechnological research for the sustainable eco-management. Although, for the bioconversion of organic wastes to vermicompost, suitable earthworm species play major roles, a hoard of bacterial assemblages by virtue of production of different enzymes facilitate the process of vermicomposting. The present study has documented the roles of vermicompost associated bacteria in combating, preventing, and controlling of cancer so as to open a new vista not only in the field of vermitechnology but also on biomedical research. Earthworms' associated bacterial metabolic products having their unique physicochemical excellence have gained importance due to their roles as a facilitator of apoptosis (programed cell death in a MCF-7 cell line). The antioxidant and anticancer activities of ethyl acetate extracts' of vermicompost associated bacterium Bacillus anthracis were undertaken by antioxidant assay which revealed maximum DPPH radical scavenging effect (75.79 ± 5.41%) of the extracts' at 9 00  μ g ml-1. Furthermore, the crude extracts obtained from the same bacteria were found to decrease the activity of SOD (superoxide dismutase) with the increase in doses. MTT assay showed potent cytotoxic activity against human breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7) with the IC50 value of 46.64 ± 0.79  μ g ml-1. It was further confirmed through Hoechst 33258 staining of nuclear fragmentation assay and DNA fragmentation analysis. Western blotting test has confirmed a downregulation of Akt upon application of crude extracts. Increase of SOD activity along with decrease of Akt level reflects that the mode of action is entirely PI-3K dependent. This study tends to indicate that B . anthracis isolated from vermicompost could be potentially explored for the development of new therapeutic agents, especially against cancer.

Purpose: Main thrust of the present study is to determine the role of microbes in changing the proportion and turnover of nutrients such as carbon and nitrogen during vermicomposting of paper mill sludge through the assessment of β-glucosidase and Leucine arylamidase activities., Methods: The change in the ratio of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) during sludge composting using paper mill sludge, cow dung, straw in the ratio of 5:4:1 have been determined alongside observing β-glucosidase and Leucine arylamidase activities in different phases (0th, 30th and 60th days) of vermicomposting. The present study also assessed the bacterial assemblages in order to predict their role as major producers of these enzymes as estimated by Vitek 2 system., Results: A declining trend of C/N ratio was observed which exhibited significant negative and positive correlations with the activity of β-glucosidase and Leucine arylamidase respectively. Twenty-four strains were isolated under two genus Bacillus spp. and Lysinibacillus spp. which revealed differential sensitivity towards major carbon and nitrogen turnover mediating enzymes., Conclusion: Change in the activities of carbon and nitrogen turnover enzymes due to microbial growth and proliferation are the mediator for the change in C/N ratio., Competing Interests: Authors have no conflict of interest.Not applicable for this study.