Browsing by Author "Sharma, A"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11
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    Efficient two‑step lactic acid production from cassava biomass using thermostable enzyme cocktail and lactic acid bacteria: insights from hydrolysis optimization and proteomics analysis
    (2020-08) Sharma, A; Kumar, P; Singh, S
    Lactic acid is an intermediate-volume specialty chemical, used in the production of biodegradable polymers and other chemi cals. Although lactic acid production process is well established, however, the cost of production is very high. Therefore, in this study; starchy biomass (cassava) was hydrolyzed with in-house enzyme cocktail prepared from Aspergillus foetidus MTCC508 and Bacillus subtilis RA10. Process optimization using Taguchi experimental design helped to optimize the most efective ratio of fungal and bacterial amylase for efective saccharifcation of cassava. A higher sugar yield of 379.63 mg/ gds was obtained under optimized conditions, using 30 U/gds of bacterial enzyme and 90 U/gds of the fungal enzyme at pH 4 within 48 h of saccharifcation. Among 11 lactic acid bacteria isolated, Lactobacillus fermentum S1A and Lactobacillus farraginis SS3A produced the highest amount of lactic acid 0.81 g/g and 0.77 g/g, respectively, from the cassava hydro lysate. The study proved the potential renewable source of cassava biomass as a source for fermentable sugars that can be fermented to lactic acid with high yield. In future, this cost-efective and environmental-friendly bioprocess can be upscaled for industrial lactic acid production
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    Ginnalin A and hamamelitannin: the unique gallotannins with promising anti-carcinogenic potential
    (2023-04) Rippin; Beniwal, V; Sharma, A; Singh, B; Sharma, A
    Tannins are secondary metabolites that belong to the family of polyphenolic compounds and have gained a huge interest among researchers due to their versatile therapeutic potential. After lignin, these are the second most abundant polyphenols found in almost every plant part like stem, bark, fruit, seed, leaves, etc. Depending upon their structural composition, these polyphenols can be divided into two distinct groups, namely condensed tannins and hydrolysable tannins. Hydrolysable tannins can be further divided into two types: gallotannins and ellagitannins. Gallotannins are formed by the esterification of D-glucose hydroxyl groups with gallic acid. The gallolyl moieties are bound by a depside bond. The current review focuses mainly on the anti-carcinogenic potential of recently discovered gallotannins, ginnalin A, and hamamelitannin (HAM). Both of these gallotannins possess two galloyl moieties linked to a core monosaccharide having anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-carcinogenic abilities. Ginnalin A is found in plants of the genus Acer whereas HAM is present in witch hazel plants. The biosynthetic pathway of ginnalin A along with the mechanism of the anti-cancer therapeutic potential of ginnalin A and HAM has been discussed. This review will certainly help researchers to work further on the chemo-therapeutic abilities of these two unique gallotannins.
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    Improvement of power quality of a 200 kW grid-connected PV system
    (2023-09) Saini, M; Khan, S; Sharma, A
    In order to enhance electricity quality, a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system simulation is presented in this study. A 200 kW photovoltaic system is integrated to a utility grid and loads. A 25 kV 3-level insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) bridge converter is used. Through this system integration of a renewable energy source with a non-renewable source is achieved. This system also wins over the intermittent nature of the renewable source (solar energy) and non-reliability of conventional sources (utility grid). Power and signal quality for various signals such as ripple factor and total harmonic distortion has improved. The suggested system is investigated using MATLAB/Simulink environment. Total harmonic distortion (THD) in voltage and current, ripple factor correction is also incorporate in the MATLAB model.
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    Metal-Organic Framework MOF-76(Nd): Synthesis, Characterization, and Study of Hydrogen Storage and Humidity Sensing
    (2021-01) Garg, A; Almási, M; Paul, D; Poonia, E; Luthra, J; Sharma, A
    The nanoporous metal-organic framework (MOF), MOF-76(Nd) [neodymium (III) benzene 1,3,5-tricarboxylate], has been synthesized, characterized, and tested for hydrogen storage and humidity sensing applications. These synthesized MOFs were characterized using scanning and transmission electron microscopy techniques. Thermal analysis revealed that, after the dehydration process, the compound showed high thermal stability up to 500°C. Hydrogen adsorption/desorption measurements of MOF-76(Nd) were performed at 77K and 20bar and the material was further used for the humidity measurement at room temperature.
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    Molecular changes associated with migratory departure from wintering areas in obligate songbird migrants
    (2021-04) Sharma, A; Singh, D; Gupta, P; Bhardwaj, S; Kaur, I; Kumar, V
    Day length regulates the development of spring migratory and subsequent reproductive phenotypes in avian migrants. This study used molecular approaches, and compared mRNA and proteome wide expression in captive redheaded buntings that were photostimulated under long-day (LD) conditions for 4 days (early stimulated, LD-eS) or for ∼3 weeks until each bird had shown 4 successive nights of Zugunruhe (stimulated, LD-S); controls were maintained under short days. After ∼3 weeks of LD, photostimulated indices of the migratory preparedness (fattening, weight gain and Zugunruhe) were paralleled with upregulated expression of acc, dgat2 and apoa1 genes in the liver, and of cd36, fabp3 and cpt1 genes in the flight muscle, suggesting enhanced fatty acid (FA) synthesis and transport in the LD-S state. Concurrently, elevated expression of genes involved in the calcium ion signalling and transport (camk1 and atp2a2; camk2a in LD-eS), cellular stress (hspa8 and sod1, not nos2) and metabolic pathways (apoa1 and sirt1), but not of genes associated with migratory behaviour (adcyap1 and vps13a), were found in the mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH). Further, MBH-specific quantitative proteomics revealed that out of 503 annotated proteins, 28 were differentially expressed (LD-eS versus LD-S: 21 up-regulated and 7 down-regulated) and they enriched five physiological pathways that are associated with FA transport and metabolism. Thesefirst comprehensiveresults ongene and protein expression suggest that changes in molecular correlates of FA transport and metabolism may aid the decision for migratory departure from wintering areas in obligate songbird migrants.
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    Oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes: functions and roles in cancers
    (2024-04) Dakal, T; Dhabhai, B; Pant, A; Moar, K; Chaudhary, K; Yadav, V; Ranga, V; Sharma, N; Kumar, A; Maurya, P; Sharma, A
    Cancer, being the most formidable ailment, has had a profound impact on the human health. The disease is primarily associated with genetic mutations that impact oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes (TSGs). Recently, growing evi dence have shown that X-linked TSGs have specific role in cancer progression and metastasis as well. Interestingly, our genome harbors around substantial portion of genes that function as tumor suppressors, and the X chromosome alone harbors a considerable number of TSGs. The scenario becomes even more compelling as X-linked TSGs are adaptive to key epigenetic processes such as X chromosome inactivation. Therefore, delineating the new paradigm related to X-linked TSGs, for instance, their crosstalk with autosome and involvement in cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis becomes utmost importance. Considering this, herein, we present a comprehensive discussion of X-linked TSG dysregulation in various cancers as a consequence of genetic variations and epigenetic alterations. In addition, the dynamic role of X-linked TSGs in sex chromosome–autosome crosstalk in cancer genome remodeling is being explored thoroughly. Besides, the functional roles of ncRNAs, role of X-linked TSG in immunomodulation and in gender-based cancer disparities has also been highlighted. Overall, the focal idea of the present article is to recapitulate the findings on X-linked TSG regulation in the cancer landscape and to redefine their role toward improving cancer treatment strategies.
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    Production of ethanol, lipid and lactic acid from mixed agrowastes hydrolysate
    (2023) Singh, J; Sharma, A; Sharma, P; Tomar, G
    To combat the shortage of single agro-residue and overcome the problem of seasonal availability, it is beneficial to use mixture of ligno cellulosic biomasses. In the present study, efforts were made to use mixed lignocellulosic biomass for production of bioethanol, along with microbial lipids and lactic acid. Upon enzymatic hydrolysis of mixed biomass at varied proportions it was observed that mixture of paddy straw and jute in the ratio 3:1 resulted in best sugar yield (41.50 g/L) at 10% substrate loading. Ethanolic fermentation of mixed substrate hydrolysate by thermotolerant yeast, Saccharomyces cerevi siae JRC6 resulted in 8.39 g/L of ethanol. To maintain sustainability and economic impact, oleaginous yeast (Trichosporon mycotoxinivor ans S2) and lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum LP-9) were used for lipid production (14.5 g/L) and lactic acid production (11.08 g/L), respectively. Therefore, this study explored the potential of mixed lignocellulosic biomass to be exploited for production of various value-added products.
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    Sr(II) and Ba(II) Alkaline Earth Metal–Organic Frameworks (AE-MOFs) for Selective Gas Adsorption, Energy Storage, and Environmental Application
    (2023-01) Király, N; Capková, D; Gyepes, R; Vargová, N; Kazda, T; Bednarˇ cík, J; Yudina, D; Zelenka, T; Cudek, P; Zeleˇ nák, V; Sharma, A
    Two new alkaline earth metal–organic frameworks (AE-MOFs) containing Sr(II) (UPJS-15) or Ba(II) (UPJS-16) cations and extended tetrahedral linker (MTA) were synthesized and characterized in detail (UPJS stands for University of Pavol Jozef Safarik). Single-crystal X-ray analysis (SC-XRD) revealed that the materials are isostructural and, in their frameworks, one-dimensional channels are present with the size of ~11 10 Å2. The activation process of the compounds was studied by the combination of in situ heating infrared spectroscopy (IR), thermal analysis (TA) and in situ high-energy powder X-ray diffraction (HE-PXRD), which confirmed the stability of compounds after desolvation. The prepared compounds were investigated as adsorbents of different gases (Ar, N2, CO2, and H2). Nitrogen and argon adsorption measurements showed that UPJS-15 has SBET area of 1321 m2 g 1 (Ar)/1250m2 g 1 (N2),andUPJS-16 does not adsorb mentioned gases. From the environmental application, the materials were studied as CO2 adsorbents, and both compounds adsorb CO2 withamaximumcapacityof22.4wt.%@0 C;14.7wt.%@20 Cand101kPaforUPJS-15 and 11.5 wt.% @ 0C; 8.4 wt.% @ 20 C and 101 kPa for UPJS-16. According to IAST calculations, UPJS-16 showshighselectivity (50 for CO2/N2 10:90 mixture and 455 for CO2/N2 50:50 mixture) and can be applied as CO2 adsorbent from the atmosphere even at low pressures. The increased affinity of materials for CO2 was also studied by DFT modelling, which revealed that the primary adsorption sites are coordinatively unsaturated sites on metal ions, azo bonds, and phenyl rings within the MTAlinker. Regarding energy storage, the materials were studied as hydrogen adsorbents, but the materials showed low H2 adsorption properties: 0.19 wt.% for UPJS-15 and 0.04 wt.% for UPJS-16 @ 196 Cand101kPa. Theenhanced CO2/H2 selectivity could be used to scavenge carbon dioxide from hydrogen in WGS andDSRreactions. The second method of applying samples in the area of energy storage was the use of UPJS-15 as an additive in a lithium-sulfur battery. Cyclic performance at a cycling rate of 0.2 C showed an initial discharge capacity of 337 mAh g 1, which decreased smoothly to 235 mAh g 1 after 100 charge/discharge cycles.
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    Sr(II) and Ba(II) Alkaline Earth Metal–Organic Frameworks (AE-MOFs) for Selective Gas Adsorption, Energy Storage, and Environmental Application
    (2023-01) Sharma, A; Meynen, V; Király, N; Capková, D
    Two new alkaline earth metal–organic frameworks (AE-MOFs) containing Sr(II) (UPJS-15) or Ba(II) (UPJS-16) cations and extended tetrahedral linker (MTA) were synthesized and characterized in detail (UPJS stands for University of Pavol Jozef Safarik). Single-crystal X-ray analysis (SC-XRD) revealed that the materials are isostructural and, in their frameworks, one-dimensional channels are present with the size of ~11 × 10 Å2 . The activation process of the compounds was studied by the combination of in situ heating infrared spectroscopy (IR), thermal analysis (TA) and in situ high-energy powder X-ray diffraction (HE-PXRD), which confirmed the stability of compounds after desolvation. The prepared compounds were investigated as adsorbents of different gases (Ar, N2 , CO2 , and H2 ). Nitrogen and argon adsorption measurements showed that UPJS-15 has SBET area of 1321 m2 g −1 (Ar) / 1250 m2 g −1 (N2 ), and UPJS-16 does not adsorb mentioned gases. From the environmental application, the materials were studied as CO2 adsorbents, and both compounds adsorb CO2 with a maximum capacity of 22.4 wt.% @ 0 ◦C; 14.7 wt.% @ 20 ◦C and 101 kPa for UPJS-15 and 11.5 wt.% @ 0◦C; 8.4 wt.% @ 20 ◦C and 101 kPa for UPJS-16. According to IAST calculations, UPJS-16 shows high selectivity (50 for CO2/N2 10:90 mixture and 455 for CO2/N2 50:50 mixture) and can be applied as CO2 adsorbent from the atmosphere even at low pressures. The increased affinity of materials for CO2 was also studied by DFT modelling, which revealed that the primary adsorption sites are coordinatively unsaturated sites on metal ions, azo bonds, and phenyl rings within the MTA linker. Regarding energy storage, the materials were studied as hydrogen adsorbents, but the materials showed low H2 adsorption properties: 0.19 wt.% for UPJS-15 and 0.04 wt.% for UPJS-16 @ −196 ◦C and 101 kPa. The enhanced CO2/H2 selectivity could be used to scavenge carbon dioxide from hydrogen in WGS and DSR reactions. The second method of applying samples in the area of energy storage was the use of UPJS-15 as an additive in a lithium-sulfur battery. Cyclic performance at a cycling rate of 0.2 C showed an initial discharge capacity of 337 mAh g−1 , which decreased smoothly to 235 mAh g−1 after 100 charge/discharge cycles.
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    Tracing the COVID‑19 spread pattern in India through aGIS‑based spatio‑temporal analysis of interconnected clusters
    (2024) Gupta, M; Sharma, A; Sharma, D; Nirola, M
    Spatiotemporal analysis is a critical tool for understanding COVID-19 spread. This study examines the pattern of spatial distribution of COVID-19 cases across India, based on data provided by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The research investigates temporal patterns during the frst, second, and third waves in India for an informed policy response in case of any present or future pandemics. Given the colossal size of the dataset encompassing the entire nation’s data during the pandemic, a time-bound convenience sampling approach was employed. This approach was carefully designed to ensure a representative sample from advancing timeframes to observe time-based patterns in data. Data were captured from March 2020 to December 2022, with a 5-day interval considered for downloading the data. We employ robust spatial analysis techniques, including the Moran’s I index for spatial correlation assessment and the Getis Ord Gi* statistic for cluster identifcation. It was observed that positive COVID-19 cases in India showed a positive auto correlation from May 2020 till December 2022. Moran’s I index values ranged from 0.11 to 0.39. It signifes a strong trend over the last 3 years with r2 of 0.74 on order 3 polynomial regression. It is expected that high-risk zones can have a higher number of cases in future COVID-19 waves. Monthly clusters of positive cases were mapped through ArcGIS software. Through cluster maps, high risk zones were identifed namely Kerala, Maharashtra, New Delhi, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat. The observation is: high-risk zones mostly fall near coastal areas and hotter climatic zones, contrary to the cold Himalayan region with Montanne climate zone. Our aggregate analysis of 3 years of COVID 19 cases suggests signifcant patterns of interconnectedness between the Indian Railway network, climatic zones, and geographical location with COVID-19 spread. This study thereby underscores the vital role of spatiotemporal analysis in predicting and managing future COVID-19 waves as well as future pandemics for an informed policy response.