Simple, novel techniques developed for separation and simultaneous direct morphometric study of Amber micro fragments (AMF) from tropical beach sand are reported yielding rich information on unidentified fossilized microfungi. Sieves of different mesh sizes were used to separate AMF from tropical beach sand. Fractions below 150 μm which proved rich in AMF were used for manual retrieval using stereomicroscope. A handprinted slide microarray having 4 X 12 squares used for microscopic examination of multiple AMF mounts revealed AMF having either rough or smooth surfaces and with or without microinclusions. The microinclusions could be morphologically attributed to fungi. The potential for systematic and comprehensive studies to retrieve and examine AMF at high frequency from tropical beach sand in the world and especially those which are threatened due to sea level rise due to climate change was demonstrated. The potential of retrievable AMF from tropical beach sand in microbiological, metagenomic studies and as biological proxies to reconstruct bygone biospheres has been highlighted.SummaryNovel techniques for retrieval of AMF and visualization using slide microarray are described. Sand samples from various locations from Goa were collected by pool sampling method. Microscopic study helped to reveal that fraction between 150 and below 53 μm contained microscopic fragments of Amber ranging from size of within the size range of 70 μm or below and with or without bio inclusions. AMF Specimens with microinclusions such as fungi were identified and studied using standard keys.
In our laboratory work extending over several years we have successfully studied the biogeochemical role of termite mounds and their occupants the termites and the exosymbiont fungus-Termitomyces. Fungi appear to be promising for large scale production of nanoparticles (NPs) as these are simpler to grow both in laboratory and at industrial scale. This paper reports a novel microfluidics based assay system to detect Gold bioreduction capacity of different tissues in tissue based and cell free environment. Using sterile microtest well, different tissues such as umbo, pileus, lamellae, stipe context, stipe epicutis, pseudorrhiza context, pseudorrhiza epicutis of Termitomyces heimii mature fruitbodies were tested with 200μl chloroauric acid (one mM) and after an interval of 5,10, 15, 30, 45, 60, 120 min and 12, 24 and 48 hours. The results in terms production of distinct nanoparticles were directly visualized microscopically and using mobile based digital colorimeter. Membrane filtered sterile water soluble extracts (SWSE) from the same tissues were similarly screened. The results manifested by mono and polydisperse GNPs and microparticles of mixed size groups demonstrated that cell free system can be potentially useful for bioinspired fabrication of GNPs. Further work in this direction is in progress using several termitomyces cultures.
Gold (I) sulphide is the inorganic compound with the formula Au2 S. It is the principal sulphide of gold. Itdecomposes to gold metal and elemental sulphur, illustrating the nobility of gold. Recovering gold fromsulphide refractory gold ore has been an important guarantee for the sustainable development of goldindustry, while there are many challenges in the treatment of sulphide refractory gold ore, such asenvironmental pollution and low gold recovery. In this study we aimed at separating gold sulphide fromBanded Magnetite Quartzite (BMQ) of Goa. The BMQ sample wasdried, powdered, concentrated by panningmethod and subjected to magnetic separation using neodymium magnet and sieved into different fractionswith the sieve size of 250, 150, 106, 53 μm. Powdered sample was tested for presence of gold sulphide byICP-AES, SEM-EDX, CHNOS Analysis methods.
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