Historical buildings are substantially built with sedimentary rocks, especially limestone, and form an important component of a country’s cultural heritage. The monuments are exposed to external environmental forces (humidity and temperature) that facilitate the proliferation of microorganisms and biofilms in an ecological succession. Feroz Shah Kotla is an ancient monument in Delhi, India, dating back to 1354 ad, and constructed of limestone, and with a discoloured façade now. The main objective of the present study was to characterise the biofilm present in areas of monuments exposed to sun and shaded areas, as influenced by two seasons—winter and monsoon (rainy), in terms of moisture, chlorophyll, protein and exopolysaccharide (EPS) as a function of carbohydrate concentration. The moisture, protein and EPS contents were higher in samples obtained from sun-exposed areas of rainy season samples and least in shaded areas of winter samples, while the chlorophyll content was highest in sun-exposed winter samples. The ICP-MS analysis showed that Ca concentration was highest (15,967.92 µg −1 ). Scanned electron microscope images show the presence of coccoid, bacillus and filamentous forms of microorganisms, and sparser in the dry season. The results of the present study provide significant clues that the deterioration of such ancient monuments is correlated to the establishment and continued presence of biofilms which eventually weaken and corrode the surface; appropriate conservation actions can be congruent in targeting biofilms successfully.

India, one of the most dynamic ancient civilizations, possesses a multitude of historical artifacts, with 37 of its notable architectural structures recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Yet, the ever-changing climate, especially air pollution, expedites the natural deterioration of historic sites and diminishes their aesthetic appeal, causing socio-economic damage. With this in mind, the current study aims to offer a logical scientific foundation for the implications of air pollution, seasonal shifts, and COVID-19 on 14 significant historical places in India during the year 2019-20. Delhi, among the cities most severely affected by atmospheric pollution, recorded an alarming air quality index (AQI) of 102–141, which can intensify the risk of cultural sites to corrode and deteriorate. Analysis reveals that the winter season had elevated levels of NO2 and particle pollution (PM2.5, PM10), whereas summer had the higher levels of O3. Throughout the 5-month lockdown period, ozone levels exhibited an elevation, contrasting with the reduction observed in other air parameters. Notably, there was a substantial 70

In practically every facet of life, especially nutrition, agriculture, and healthcare, microorganisms offer a prospective origin for abundant natural substances and products. Among these microorganisms, bacteria also possess the capability to rapidly acclimate to diverse environments, utilize varied resources, and effectively respond to environmental fluctuations, including those influenced by human activities like pollution and climate change. The ever-changing environment of freshwater bodies influences bacterial communities, offering opportunities for improving health and environmental conservation that remain unexplored. Herein, the study discusses the bacterial taxa along with specialised metabolites with antioxidant, antibacterial, and anticancer activity that have been identified from freshwater environments, thus achieving Sustainable Development Goals addressing health and wellbeing (SDG-3), economic growth (SDG-8) along with industrial development (SDG-9). The present review is intended as a compendium for research teams working in the fields of medicinal chemistry, organic chemistry, clinical research, and natural product chemistry.

Uranium (U) and fluoride (F−) contamination in agricultural products, especially vegetable and cereal crops, has raised serious concerns about food safety and human health on a global scale. To date, numerous studies have reported U and F− contamination in vegetable and cereal crops at local scales, but the available information is dispersed, and crop-wise differences are lacking. This paper reviews the current status of knowledge on this subject by compiling relevant published literatures between 1983 and 2023 using databases such as Scopus, PubMed, Medline, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Based on the median values, F− levels ranged from 0.5 to 177 mg/kg, with higher concentrations in non-leafy vegetables, such as Indian squash “Praecitrullus fistulosus” (177 mg/kg) and cucumber “Cucumis sativus” (96.25 mg/kg). For leafy vegetables, the maximum levels were recorded in bathua “Chenopodium album” (72.01 mg/kg) and mint “Mentha arvensis” (44.34 mg/kg), where more than 50% of the vegetable varieties had concentrations of >4 mg/kg. The concentration of U ranged from 0.01 to 17.28 mg/kg; tubers and peels of non-leafy vegetables, particularly radishes “Raphanus sativus” (1.15 mg/kg) and cucumber “Cucumis sativus” (0.42 mg/kg), contained higher levels. These crops have the potential to form organometallic complexes with U, resulting in more severe threats to human health. For cereal crops (based on median values), the maximum F− level was found in bajra “Pennisetum glaucum” (15.18 mg/kg), followed by chana “Cicer arietinum” (7.8 mg/kg) and split green gram “Vigna mungo” (4.14 mg/kg), while the maximum accumulation of U was recorded for barley “Hordeum vulgare” (2.89 mg/kg), followed by split green gram “Vigna mungo” (0.45 mg/kg). There are significant differences in U and F− concentrations in either crop type based on individual studies or countries. These differences can be explained mainly due to changes in geogenic and anthropogenic factors, thereby making policy decisions related to health and intake difficult at even small spatial scales. Methodologies for comprehensive regional—or larger—policy scales will require further research and should include strategies to restrict crop intake in specified “hot spots”.

Abstract India, one of the most dynamic ancient civilizations, possesses a multitude of historical artifacts, with 37 of its notable architectural structures recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Yet, the ever-changing climate, especially air pollution, expedites the natural deterioration of historic sites and diminishes their aesthetic appeal, causing socio-economic damage.With this in mind, the current study aims at offering a logical scientific foundation for the implications of air pollution, seasonal shifts, and COVID-19 on 14 significant historical places in India during the year 2019-20. The highest amounts of atmospheric pollution and an AQI of 102–141 were observed in Delhi, making it the most polluted city, and intensifies the risk of cultural sites to corrode and deteriorate. In general, winter season had elevated levels of NO2 and particle pollution (PM2.5, PM10), whereas summer had the higher levels of O3. However, during the lockdown period of 5 months, the particulate matter concentration sharply declined by 70%, which otherwise remains constant over the year. Depending on different geographic locations and anthropogenic factors, dose-response statistics indicate that the corrosion threats to historic limestone and sandstone buildings are at an all-time high situation in the majority of the sites. On the other hand, various air quality management challenges are also discussed in the paper, along with the information on available approaches or government initiatives and efficient approaches to protect heritage sites against rapid degradation across the country. Conclusively, the present research provides a sound scientific foundation to advance adequate policy-making on risk management and an effective national mandate to guard cultural heritage sites against corrosion.

Over the last several decades, extensive and inefficient use of contemporary technologies has resulted in substantial environmental pollution, predominantly caused by potentially hazardous elements (PTEs), like heavy metals that severely harm living species. To combat the presence of heavy metals (HMs) in the agrarian system, biochar becomes an attractive approach for stabilizing and limiting availability of HMs in soils due to its high surface area, porosity, pH, aromatic structure as well as several functional groups, which mostly rely on the feedstock and pyrolysis temperature. Additionally, agricultural waste-derived biochar is an effective management option to ensure carbon neutrality and circular economy while also addressing social and environmental concerns. Given these diverse parameters, the present systematic evaluation seeks to (i) ascertain the effectiveness of heavy metal immobilization by agro waste-derived biochar; (ii) examine the presence of biochar on soil physico-chemical, and thermal properties, along with microbial diversity; (iii) explore the underlying mechanisms responsible for the reduction in heavy metal concentration; and (iv) possibility of biochar implications to advance circular economy approach. The collection of more than 200 papers catalogues the immobilization efficiency of biochar in agricultural soil and its impacts on soil from multi-angle perspectives. The data gathered suggests that pristine biochar effectively reduced cationic heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Ni) and Cr mobilization and uptake by plants, whereas modified biochar effectively reduced As in soil and plant systems. However, the exact mechanism underlying is a complex biochar-soil interaction. In addition to successfully immobilizing heavy metals in the soil, the application of biochar improved soil fertility and increased agricultural productivity. However, the lack of knowledge on unfavorable impacts on the agricultural systems, along with discrepancies between the use of biochar and experimental conditions, impeded a thorough understanding on a deeper level.

Citric acid holds a dominant position in industrial manufacturing due to its widespread application. It can be extricated as natural products through microbial pathways. A greater part of citric acid production is currently achieved by fermentation techniques where molasses/starch-based media are used. Microbial strains such as Penicillium spp, Aspergillus spp, Acremonium spp, and many others excrete variable amounts of citric acid as a primary metabolite. So far, Aspergillus niger has been recognized to produce a higher yield of around 112 g of citric acid /100 g of sucrose. However, the increasing demands has necessiated the need for more efficient procedures to enhance the yield. Several studies have been documented where agri-wastes such as rice straw, coconut husk, corn stalk, apple pomace, sugarcane bagasse, and many others were subjected to varied microorganisms (mainly fungal species) to increase the productivity of citric acid. Substantial citric acids have been produced using genetically modifying organisms (fungi Aspergillus and yeast Candida) and divergent combinations of microbe-substrate, but large-scale production has not yet been established. Also, the utilization of these fossil carbon sources has caused environmental deterioration, which instigates interest in agricultural waste as a potential substrate. Agricultural wastes are considered an economically feasible option and a renewable source that can be consumed by plenty of microorganisms. This chapter covers a detailed description of agri-waste bioconversion to citric acid which can further help in this fast-moving domain.

Lignocellulosic biomasses (LCB) are sustainable and abundantly available feedstocks for the production of biofuel and biochemicals via suitable bioconversion processing. The main aim of this review is to focus on strategies needed for the progression of viable lignocellulosic biomass-based biorefineries (integrated approaches) to generate biofuels and biochemicals. Processing biomass in a sustainable manner is a major challenge that demands the accomplishment of basic requirements relating to cost effectiveness and environmental sustainability. The challenges associated with biomass availability and the bioconversion process have been explained in detail in this review. Limitations associated with biomass structural composition can obstruct the feasibility of biofuel production, especially in mono-process approaches. In such cases, biorefinery approaches and integrated systems certainly lead to improved biofuel conversion. This review paper provides a summary of mono and integrated approaches, their limitations and advantages in LCB bioconversion to biofuel and biochemicals.

With the advancement in urbanization and industrialization, there’s sharp resource exhaustion along with instability in the global economy. Currently, most of the economies and industries follow a take-make-disposal pattern of production and consumption. This linear pattern magnifies the constraints on the availability of the resources and subsequently leads to hiked prices, unsustainable overuse, and economic volatility. Considering the circumstances, developed and developing nations are in lust after new, sustainable and carbon-free economic models to make the planet liveable. In pursuit of feasible advancements, the scientific community has already started exploring approaches to re-use or re-cycle different components across the production-consumption succession and put back the residue into the cycle of product generation, commonly conceptualized as a zero waste biorefinery. The researcher's expertise in this domain emphasis integrating the bioeconomy into a closed and re-circulating loop system to compensate for the burgeoning demands of humans. Biomass wastes from various industrial and agricultural operations have pushed the shortcomings into circular bioeconomy that not only adds auxiliary value but articulate social and environmental concerns as well. Henceforth, the present chapter provides a comprehensive outlook on various aspects of zero waste bio-refinery as a sustainable technology to process lignocellulosic wastes, algal waste, and residues into value-added products.

Synthetic chemicals were used as pesticides for killing numerous pests. There are various classes in which insecticides are one of the types which are responsible for causing dangerous effect on human beings. Due to their efficacy, these insecticides gained popularity, and easy access has made them popular among farmers. Chlorpyrifos is a type of insecticide having broad spectrum effect which makes it a favourable candidate against numerous pests. When it is being used, it remains in the environment for several years, contaminating the quality of soil and the groundwater. The chlorpyrifos pesticide is used rigorously in farming practices. Chlorpyrifos inhibits acetylcholine esterase enzyme causing convulsion, paralysis and ultimately death. Deleterious effect of the chlorpyrifos pesticide has led researchers to ponder about its efficient and eco-friendly degradation/removal process. Biological method of degradation involves microbes where enzymes play a crucial role in degradation of chlorpyrifos. Laccase is an enzyme having broad substrate specificity and explored for chlorpyrifos degradation in its free and immobilized form. And it has been observed that enzyme immobilized onto a suitable support shows more efficiency than the free enzymes. Moreover, the immobilized enzyme can be reused multiple times. So far, numerous carriers or supports have been reported. However, role of nanoparticles in immobilization is in infancy. Large surface area, eco-friendly nature and inexpensive characteristics may enhance the degradation efficiency by retaining the enzymes intact and enhancing the reusability. This chapter will focus on laccase enzyme, their sources of generation, characteristics and application. Further, the chapter would highlight the application of nanoparticle in pesticide degradation and its role as a carrier for enzyme immobilization. Lastly, the chapter would discuss about the mechanism of action of laccase immobilized nanoparticle in pesticide degradation.

Bioenergy is the renewable and sustainable source of energy produced from organic matter. The challenge of depleting non-renewable resources can be addressed by exploiting the capability of biotic systems to produce bioenergy.The study talks about switching from first generation biofuels produced from sugars and seed oils to fourth generation biofuel that involves metabolically engineered plants. Recent developments in molecular biology techniques have provided valuable tools that could effectively optimize and control the processes involved in bioenergy production in the near future. Production of biofuels employing fungi that have high potential for bioconversion of lignocellulosic materials abundant in nature can also be an effective means. Synthesis of nanostructures using fungi that can serve as super capacitors would be a solution to the problem of storage of bioenergy. The paper also discusses the role of bacteria in Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC). General biochemistry involved in MFC is also presented. Possible limitations or shortcomings are also identified and importance of identifying newer approaches is stressed upon in order to match the future demands.