Rasha Hussein Ahmed

Synthetic dyes from textile, paper, leather, and plastic processing, etc. are the majority of the colored effluents and have a harmful impact on human health and environment. Dye biosorption through endophytic fungi will be a challenge. A new fungus isolated from blueberry pulp was identified morphologically and genetically as Penicillium janthinellum LM5. It was utilized for the biosorption of synthetic dyes by forming mycelium particles with efficient decolorization properties in the dye solution. The results of decolorization experiments exhibited that dye type, pH, temperature and time were the important factors and the best decolorization condition on Congo red was pH 6.0, 30 ℃ and 48 h. Moreover, LM5 can achieve 90% decolorization rate even under the high salt concentrations of 200 mg/mL. Based on spectral analysis, the decolorization of Congo red was mainly attributed to the biosorption of mycelium and its pellet structure. Additionally, the fungus adsorbed Congo red can be as an excellent electrode material with a long-cycle performance and stable capacitance property, being a good way for recycling. In summary, this research employed a novel dye treatment method with simultaneous culture and decolorization through an endophytic fungus LM5, being a promising biomaterial in the application of dye wastewater treatment.

The research highlights the environmentally sustainable biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles from fresh leaves of the herbal medicinal plant Moringa oleifera. They may have been used as anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antimicrobial agents. M. oleifera extract both reduces and stabilizes silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Optimum factors needed for AgNP biosynthesis were studied using a central composite design (CCD) matrix. Ultraviolet-visible (UV–Vis) absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were used to confirm and characterize the synthesized AgNPs. The biogenic AgNPs demonstrated substantial antibacterial potential against the pathogenic strains Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus subtilis. The antioxidant activity of biosynthesized AgNPs with M. oleifera extract increased from 11.96% when the concentration of the extract was 4 mg/mL to 63.79% at a plant concentration of 20 mg/mL. This research provides an easy and cost-effective technique for the production of stable nanoparticles, with an evaluation of their bioactivity.

Microalga would be the paramount resource of biodiesel able of satisfying the world requirements for transportation fuels, which could fully replace the petrodiesel. Therefore, the research studies focus on developing novel biodiesel production methods. The present study investigates the effect of monochromatic light such as red light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and He–Ne red laser radiation on the accumulated lipid and the growth of the green microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana. The irradiation of microalgal cells with He–Ne red laser source which has a wavelength of 632.8 nm was hypothesized to enhance the accumulation of lipid inside the algal cells, which ultimately increases the biodiesel production. The photobiostimulating effects of laser irradiation on biodiesel was investigated by irradiating the microalga for a duration of 2 h with 632.8 nm He–Ne red laser source compared with 2 h irradiation with red LEDs and 2 h irradiation with white light (the control). The results showed that the oil content inside the algal cells irradiated with He–Ne red laser was 3.1 times the algal cells irradiated with white light (the control). Similarly, the biodiesel yielded from the algal cells irradiated with He–Ne red laser was 3.1 times the biodiesel yielded from the algal cells irradiated with white light (the control). However, the oil content and the biodiesel yield from algal cells irradiated with red LEDs were only 0.82 times those of the control. Therefore, it was concluded that the irradiation of microalga with red laser increases the biodiesel yield.

At present, the major body of research is focused on weaning the world from fossil fuels. The problem is that the world is running out of fossil fuel. Therefore, an alternative source must be identified. The biofuels are promising alternatives. In the case of petrodiesel, a promising alternative is biodiesel production from algae. The ability of microalgae to generate large quantities of lipids with a fast growth rate made them superior biodiesel producers. Using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as an energy source in microalgal cultivation was recently increased owing to its large spectrum, endurance, and low-energy utilization. Changes in cultivation conditions, limited capabilities of harvesting light, and self-shading of microalgae were the most important problems. Therefore, the photobiostimulation of algae using LEDs radiation led to an increase in algal growth rate which results in increased lipid production. This research investigated the influence of monochromatic LEDs on the growth of Chlorella sorokiniana microalga. At the first phase, microalgae growth and algal biomass significantly increased under red LEDs [2.3 g/L], blue LEDs [1.8 g/L], green LEDs [0.7 g/L], and white LEDs (0.6) g/L as a control, respectively. At the second phase, microalgal growth and algal biomass significantly increased under red LEDs [2.9 g/L], blue LEDs 2.3 g/L, and white LEDs (1.5) g/L as a control, respectively. The percentage of extracted oil (%) or the yield of extracted oil of microalgae was 10.38 % (white LEDs), 16.94 % (blue LEDs), and 15.55 % (red LEDs) respectively. It was concluded that the photobiostimulation of algae using LEDs led to the enhanced weight of algal biomass, therefore increased of lipids and biodiesel production. The red LEDs were the best one in terms of increasing the weight of algal biomass. The blue LEDs were the best one in terms of increasing the percentage of extracted oil. However, the green LEDs were not effective.

The effects of a multistrain potential probiotic (Protexin®), acids, and a bacterin from multidrug-resistant E. coli O26, O78, S. Enteritidis (1,9,12 g.m1,7), and S. Typhimurium (1,4,5,12.i.1,2) on the immune response, haematological parameters, cytokines, and growth parameters of broiler chickens challenged with bacterin live serotypes were investigated. Two experiments were designed using 300 one-day-old chicks (Arbor Acres) randomly assigned to 15 groups. The first experiment comprised 9 groups, including positive and negative control groups and other groups received Protexin®, acids, and the bacterin (0.2 ml/SC), either alone or in combination, on the 1st day. The second experiment contained 6 groups, including positive and negative control groups and other groups received a combination of Protexin®, acids, and the bacterin (0.5 ml/SC) on the 8th day. All the groups except the negative control groups were challenged on the 8th and 16th days in both experiments, respectively, with mixed live bacterin serotypes. The groups that received Protexin®, acids, and the bacterin either alone or in combination revealed significant improvements in the immune response to the bacterin (p ≤ 0.05). The groups in the 1st experiment and most the 2nd experiment groups showed a reduced mortality rate and decreased levels IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-12 cytokines (p ≤ 0.05). Moreover, these groups demonstrated increases in haematological parameters and reduced rates of infection-caused anaemia. These groups showed significant increases in growth performance parameters, such as body weight, weight gain, and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) (p ≤ 0.05). There was a beneficial effect on 1-day-old chickens produced by combining Protexin®, acids, and the bacterin (0.2 ml/SC).

Glyphosate is a commonly used organophosphate herbicide that has an adverse impact on humans, mammals and soil microbial ecosystems. The redundant utilize of glyphosate to control weed growth cause the pollution of the soil environment by this chemical. The discharge of glyphosate in the agricultural drainage can also cause serious environmental damage and water pollution problems. Therefore, it is important to develop methods for enhancing glyphosate degradation in the soil through bioremediation. In this study, thirty bacterial isolates were selected from an agro-industrial zone located in Sadat City of Monufia Governorate, Egypt. The isolates were able to grow in LB medium supplemented with 7.2 mg/ml glyphosate. Ten isolates only had the ability to grow in a medium containing different concentrations of glyphosate (50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 mg/ml). The FACU3 bacterial isolate showed the highest CFU in the different concentrations of glyphosate. The FACU3 isolate was Gram-positive, spore-forming and rod-shape bacteria. Based on API 50 CHB/E medium kit, biochemical properties and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the FACU3 isolate was identified as Bacillus aryabhattai. Different bioinformatics tools, including multiple sequence alignment (MSA), basic local alignment search tool (BLAST) and primer alignment, were used to design specific primers for goxB gene amplification and isolation. The goxB gene encodes FAD-dependent glyphosate oxidase enzyme that responsible for biodegradation process. The selected primers were successfully used to amplify the goxB gene from Bacillus aryabhattai FACU3. The results indicated that the Bacillus aryabhattai FACU3 can be utilized in glyphosate-contaminated environments for bioremediation. According to our knowledge, this is the first time to isolate of FAD-dependent glyphosate oxidase (goxB) gene from Bacillus aryabhattai.

Recent advancement was the use of laser radiation to photobiostimulate the methanogenic bacteria in order to increase the biogas and methane production from the anaerobic digestion (AD) of livestock manure. However, the environmental impact of using the laser radiation as anaerobic bacteria stimulator still not evaluated. The objective of this paper is to conduct a comparative environmental impact evaluation of manure treatment with different laser radiation times for biogas production. A life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was implemented for this purpose. The treatments under evaluation were 0.5 h, 1h and 2 h of laser irradiation compared to 1 h incandescent lighting and the control (neither laser irradiation nor light was used). The highest biogas yield, methane content and overall Energy were achieved with 0.5 h laser irradiation and were 335251 m3, 63.1% and 2043353 kWh, respectively. The results were presented in the form of the specific impacts on global warming and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions mitigation of producing and utilizing biogas as an energy source. It was concluded that the photobiostimulation of anaerobic bacteria using laser irradiation has no negative environmental impact compared to the control, where no irradiation was applied.

In the present study, juice of water hyacinth (Eichhorina crassipes), either crude or from its successive dilutions (1:1, 1:10, 1:30, 1:50 v/v) supported the in vitro development of Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus subtilis, Azotobacter chroococcum and Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar Phaseoli with doubling time (23.1–63.0 min) which was comparable if not shorter, to that calculated using the standard laboratory -synthetic media (nutrient, N-deficient mannitol and yeast extract agar media; 48.0–64.8 min). Rhizospheric microorganisms of legume and non-legume plants successfully grew on surface-inoculated agar plates of crude and diluted juices of the macrophyte. Tea bags filled with the dehydrated powders (5 and 10 g l−1) of water hyacinth supported the in situ recoverability of total rhizobacteria in population densities (3 × 107 - >108 cfu.g−1), which were found to be comparable, if not excessive, to those enumerated on the recommended culture media. Morpho-physiological identification of some isolates that had developed on the plant juice and tea bag culture media, revealed that they are not akin to those cultured on the chemically-synthetic culture media; they possibly represent a portion of recommended media - unculturables.