A novel extracellular thermo-alkali-stable laccase from Bacillus tequilensis SN4 (SN4LAC) was purified to homogeneity. The laccase was a monomeric protein of molecular weight 32 KDa. UV-visible spectrum and peptide mass fingerprinting results showed that SN4LAC is a multicopper oxidase. Laccase was active in broad range of phenolic and non-phenolic substrates. Catalytic efficiency (k cat/K m) showed that 2, 6-dimethoxyphenol was most efficiently oxidized by the enzyme. The enzyme was inhibited by conventional inhibitors of laccase like sodium azide, cysteine, dithiothreitol and β-mercaptoethanol. SN4LAC was found to be highly thermostable, having temperature optimum at 85°C and could retain more than 80% activity at 70°C for 24 h. The optimum pH of activity for 2, 6-dimethoxyphenol, 2, 2′-azino bis[3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonate], syringaldazine and guaiacol was 8.0, 5.5, 6.5 and 8.0 respectively. Enzyme was alkali-stable as it retained more than 75% activity at pH 9.0 for 24 h. Activity of the enzyme was significantly enhanced by Cu2+, Co2+, SDS and CTAB, while it was stable in the presence of halides, most of the other metal ions and surfactants. The extracellular nature and stability of SN4LAC in extreme conditions such as high temperature, pH, heavy metals, halides and detergents makes it a highly suitable candidate for biotechnological and industrial applications.

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The effect of iron, copper, cobalt, cadmium, zinc, molybdenum, magnesium and manganese salts was studied on aflatoxin production in relation to mycelial mass. Iron, copper and cadmium salts decreased the aflatoxin production to different levels but a mixed trend was observed depending on salt concentration, with molybdenum, magnesium and manganese. Cobalt and zinc salts stimulated aflatoxin production at all concentrations studied. The maximum increase in aflatoxin production, 655% and 519% was observed in the presence of zinc sulfate and sodium molybdate, respectively. A negative correlation was observed between aflatoxin production and vegetative growth of fungus.

The effect of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids on aflatoxin production was studied in a synthetic medium. The aflatoxin production decreased (10-75%) in the presence of lauric acid and palmitic acid but the addition of behenic and sebacic acid stimulated aflatoxin production by 125-541%. Linolenic and linoleic acids effected aflatoxin production and mycelium growth. An 34-fold increase in aflatoxin production was observed with 50 mM linoleic acid. An inverse relationship was observed between aflatoxin production and mycelium mass, irrespective of the nature of the fatty acid.

Wounds represent various significant health concerns for patients and also contribute major costs to healthcare systems. Wound healing comprises of overlapped and various coordinated steps such as homeostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. In response to the failure of many strategies in delivering intended results including wound closure, fluid loss control, and exhibiting properties such as durability, targeted delivery, accelerated action, along with histocompatibility, numerous nanotechnological advances have been introduced. To understand the magnitude of wound therapy, this systematic and updated review discussing the effectiveness of nanoemulsions has been undertaken. This review portrays mechanisms associated with wound healing, factors for delayed wound healing, and various technologies utilized to treat wounds effectively. While many strategies are available, nanoemulsions have attracted the tremendous attention of scientists globally for the research in wound therapy due to their long-term thermodynamic stability and bioavailability. Nanoemulsions not only aid in tissue repair, but are also considered as an excellent delivery system for various synthetic and natural actives. Nanotechnology provides several pivotal benefits in wound healing, including improved skin permeation, controlled release, and stimulation of fibroblast cell proliferation. The significant role of nanoemulsions in improved wound healing along with their preparation techniques has also been highlighted with special emphasis on mechanistic insights. This article illustrates recent research advancements for the utilization of nanoemulsions in wound treatment. An adequate literature search has been conducted using the keywords ‘Nanoemulsions in wound healing’, ‘Wound therapy and nanoemulsions’, ‘Herbal actives in wound therapy’, ‘Natural oils and wounds treatment’ etc., from PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases. Referred and original publications in the English language accessed till April 2022 has been included, whereas nonEnglish language papers, unpublished data, and nonoriginal papers were excluded from the study.

A decreased antibody response to injected sheep red blood cells and weight losses to the extent of 25-38% were observed in the bursa Fabricii and thymus in chicks fed an aflatoxin diet (10% w/w) for 3 weeks. The immune organs did not show any significant histopathological changes. The antibody titre decreased from day 6 of treatment onward until the 15th day, when the antibody titre had disappeared completely in the test chicks. The body weight gain was also less in test chicks (9.7-37.3%) given test feed or test feed along with Salmonella pullorum in water (10(8) cfu ml 1) in comparison to chicks given toxin-free diet and water after 3 weeks of feeding trials. The disappearing component in the test chicks' liver homogenate was found to be antigenic by immunoelectrophoretic studies.

Among various types of biometric techniques it is the face recognition that gains huge popularity in the last few decades due to its vast applicationsand more user friendly nature.Face Recognition is the procedure of identification and verification of a person's identity using his face. Main steps involved in a FR System are Face Detection, Feature Extraction, Feature Selection and Recognition. Feature Extraction and Feature Selection are the two main phases to be focused on in order to get a good FR System. In this paper, we have carried out anextensive literature review on face recognition focusing on feature extraction and feature selection phases a bit more.

Floods are the most commonly occurring natural disasters in India due to India’s unique geographical location and socioeconomic conditions. Frequent flooding causes enormous loss of human lives and damage crops and public utilities. Furthermore, floods adversely affect economic development and increase the government's financial burden by increasing spending on various disaster mitigation measures. Recent empirical literature based on cross-national comparisons shows that disaster fatalities and damages are monotonically decreasing in per capita income. We challenge this view on the monotonic negative relationship between income and flood damages. We examine the non-monotonic (inverted U-shaped) relationship between per capita income and flood impact in terms of deaths, people affected, and damages due to floods in 19 major Indian states from 1980 to 2011, using Poisson and Tobit estimation methods. In particular, deaths and the population affected by floods increase with a turning point of income up to 882 US$ and 578 US$, respectively, and diminishes thereafter. Our results confirm an inverted U-shaped relationship between income and fatalities and the population affected by floods. In addition to income, we argue that government responsiveness plays an essential role in mitigating the risk of floods. We employ the fixed-effect Poisson estimation method to examine the government's role in protecting people against disaster risk, focusing on regional differences in India. Deaths from floods remain non-linear and follow the inverted U-pattern with respect to government responsiveness. However, the effect of government responsiveness on flood fatalities and flood damages is statistically insignificant. Our results further suggest that high-income states experience a lower death toll from floods. The high-income (rich) states are capable of incurring a higher threshold level of income and higher natural calamity expenditure to reduce flood fatalities and protect the population affected by floods than the low-income (poor) states. The poor states have minimal resources and face severe financial constraints to reduce the death toll from floods. From the perspective of public policy, the poor states, in particular, require an increase in income, better governance, and effective disaster management policies to mitigate flood impact.