Recent advances in enhanced photocatalytic activity of bismuth oxyhalides for efficient photocatalysis of organic pollutants in water: A review

Kirti Sharma,Vishal Dutta,Sheetal Sharma,Pankaj Raizada,Ahmad Hosseini-Bandegharaei,Pankaj Thakur,Pardeep Singh 한국공업화학회 2019 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.78 No.-

Recently, layered bismuth oxyhalides (BiOX, X = F, Cl, Br and I) have received significant attention aspotential photocatalysts for energy and environment applications. However, limited visible light activityand recombination of photogenerated charge carriers limit their applications for photocatalytic waterpurification. In this review, various strategies such as heterojunction formation, metal/non-metal doping,interface modification, enhancement in Bi content, inner coupling between different BiOX photocatalyst,use of sensitizers and creation of oxygen vacancies was deliberated for improved photocatalyticperformance of BiOX. The integration of BiOX with other photocatalysts, mechanism for enhancedactivity and conclusive outlook with future challenges was also elaborated.

Pulmonary Artery Stenosis due to Lung Carcinoma: A Rare Cause of Dyspnea

Rajiv Bharat Kharwar,Akhil Sharma,Rishi Sethi,Varun Shankar Narain,Ram Kirti Saran 한국심초음파학회 2014 Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging (J Cardiovasc Im Vol.22 No.4

Acquired bilateral pulmonary artery stenosis in adults due to lung malignancy is infrequently reported. We describe an adultmale who presented to us with chief complaints of dyspnea on exertion and one episode of hemoptysis. Two dimensionaltransthoracic echocardiography with color Doppler showed presence of an extra cardiac mass causing severe extrinsic compressionof both the right and left pulmonary artery leading to high pressure severe tricuspid regurgitation and extension of the mass intothe left atrium. Three dimensional transthoracic echocardiography clearly delineated the anatomy of the left atrial mass and itssurrounding anatomical relationship. The diagnosis of non small cell lung carcinoma was confirmed by multidetector computedtomography (MDCT) and with MDCT guided biopsy with histopathology. Patient succumbed one month later due to anepisode of massive hemoptysis.

Rejuvenation and Restoration of Surface Water Quality Amid COVID-19 Lockdown: A Comprehensive Review in Indian Context

Gunjan Arora,Tanishka Sharma,Kirti Kashyap Taijas,Parul Pant,Chetna Gupta,R. K. Sharma 대한환경공학회 2023 Environmental Engineering Research Vol.28 No.3

Rivers are our country’s lifeline; however, we have done enough destruction to them which leads to deterioration in water quality. Fortunately, COVID-19 lockdown has brought new life to nature. This encouraged us to outline present review article which discusses pilot impacts of lockdown on six Indian rivers. Few rivers including Ganga showed major improvement at few sites in the assessed parameters such as pH, BOD, DO, FC, etc. The Ganga water at Haridwar and Rishikesh was investigated ‘fit for drinking’ (Class A) while at Kanpur was found fit for ‘outdoor bathing’ (Class B). These improvements can be attributed to strict restriction on human activities during lockdown as there were no or minimum industrial discharge, tourism activities, mass bathing and commercial events near rivers. However, after upliftment of lockdown, these activities will return to their previous state and most likely pollutants will eventually reappear in the water bodies. So, in this review we have reviewed government’s existing water pollution control schemes, analysed their limitations and recommended several scopes for improvement. Further research directions in this area have also been highlighted. We believe that plans and actions described in the article, if implemented, will lead to fruitful outcomes in managing water resources.

Composition and Diversity of Gut Bacteria Associated with the Eri Silk Moth, Samia ricini, (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) as Revealed by Culture-Dependent and Metagenomics Analysis

Kondwani MsangoSoko,Sakshi Gandotra,Rahul Kumar Chandel,Kirti Sharma,Balasubramanian Ramakrishinan,Sabtharishi Subramanian 한국미생물·생명공학회 2020 Journal of microbiology and biotechnology Vol.30 No.9

The polyphagous eri silk moth, Samia ricini, is associated with various symbiotic gut bacteria believed to provide several benefits to the host. The larvae of S. ricini were subjected to isolation of gut bacteria using culture-dependent 16S rRNA generic characterization, metagenomics analysis and qualitative enzymatic assays. Sixty culturable aerobic gut bacterial isolates comprising Firmicutes (54%) and Proteobacteria (46%); and twelve culturable facultative anaerobic bacteria comprising Proteobacteria (92%) and Firmicutes (8%) were identified inhabiting the gut of S. ricini. The results of metagenomics analysis revealed the presence of a diverse community of both culturable and un-culturable gut bacteria belonging to Proteobacteria (60%) and Firmicutes (20%) associated with seven orders. An analysis of the results of culturable isolation indicates that these bacterial isolates inhabited all the three compartments of the gut. Investigation on persistence of bacteria coupled with metagenomics analysis of the fifth instar suggested that bacteria persist in the gut across the different instar stages. In addition, enzymatic assays indicated that 48 and 75% of culturable aerobic, and 75% of anaerobic gut bacterial isolates had cellulolytic, lipolytic and nitrate reductase activities, thus suggesting that they may be involved in food digestion and nutritional provision to the host. These bacterial isolates may be good sources for profiling novel genes and biomolecules for biotechnological application.

Reduction in post extraction waiting period for dental implant patients using plasma rich in growth factors: an in vivo study using cone-beam computed tomography

Varun Arya,Vijay Laxmy Malhotra,JK Dayashankara Rao,Shruti Kirti,Siddharth Malhotra,Radhey Shyam Sharma 대한구강악안면외과학회 2019 대한구강악안면외과학회지 Vol.45 No.5

Objectives: This study examined the effects of plasma-rich growth factors (PRGF) on accelerating bone regeneration/repair in fresh extraction sock-ets, and determined the quality and quantity of bone by assessing the bone density using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and Methods: Twenty patients, who had undergone bilateral extractions, were included in this study. In one extraction socket, PRGF was used and covered with an autologous fibrin plug. Nothing was used in the opposite side extraction socket. Thirteen weeks post extraction, the level of bone regeneration was evaluated on both sides with CBCT. Results: At the end of the study, the mean bone density according to the Hounsfield units (HU) in the control group and PRGF group was 500.05 HU (type III bone type) and 647.95 HU (type II bone type), respectively. Conclusion: This study recommends the use of PRGF in post extraction sites to accelerate the rate of bone regeneration and improve the quality of regenerated bone. The technique to process PRGF was simple compared to previously mentioned techniques used for platelet-rich plasma (PRP) preparation. PRP preparation requires a two-cycle centrifugation procedure, leading to a longer processing time.

Screening and characterization of lipase producing bacteria isolated from the gut of a lepidopteran larvae, Samia ricini

MsangoSoko Kondwani,Gandotra Sakshi,Bhattacharya Ramcharan,Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian,Sharma Kirti,Subramanian Sabtharishi 한국응용곤충학회 2022 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.25 No.1

Lipolytic enzymes are an important group of hydrolases that have found immense industrial application in biotechnology. In this study, the ability of gut bacteria isolated from the gut of the Eri silkworm, Samia ricini, to produce lipolytic enzymes was evaluated through qualitative and quantitative assays. The results of lipase screening showed that 28 isolates had lipolytic activity. The results of 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing indicated that the genus Bacillus comprised majority of the lipolytic bacterial isolates (71%) followed by Pseudomonas (15%); whilst Acinetobacter, Enterobacter and Enterococcus comprised 11%. Lipolytic activity was found in bac teria isolates identified from all the three gut compartments of S. ricini larvae with significant activity from isolates extracted from the foregut and midgut. The lipolytic index among the bacterial isolates ranged between 0.63 and 2.81 on Rhodamine B medium, and all isolates exhibited significant lipolytic activity with p-nitrophenyl butyrate (PNPB) with specific activity ranging from 0.52 to 0.82 μmol/min/mg. The effect of pH and temperature showed that lipase activity was optimum at 37 ◦ C and pH 7–9. A phylogenetic relationship of lipase producing gut bacteria indicated high cluster stability for isolates from different stages (>50%) suggesting that the isolates persist across developmental stages of the host. The Eri silkworm is reared for its silk and the knowledge of its gut bacteria with the ability to produce lipases lies in the significance as far as boosting production of this insect via development of probiotics to enhance commercial Eri rearing. In addition, this insect may be a good resource for profiling novel lipolytic microbes for commercial production of lipases as lipases from microbial origin have assumed a great deal of importance as industrial enzymes due to their potential for use in biotechnology.