Avaliação de técnicas de separação fluido-sólido na produção de bioinseticidas a partir de Bacillus sphaericus e Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis

The aim of this work was the use of flocculation/sedimentation and flotation techniques for production of bioactive concentrates os Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis and Bacillus sphaericus. Both are used as biological control agents to control larval insects related to endemic diseases such as yellow fever, filariasis and malaria. The fermented broths were produced batch wise from limpid and turbid cultivation media. The last one envisaging the reduction of the biolarvicides production costs. The addition of flocculating agents and pH effects on flocculation/sedimentation were studied. The process showed to be dependent on the microorganism strain, flocculated suspension characteristics and flocculating agent used.CAPESO trabalho teve como objetivo a utilização da floculação/sedimentação e da flotação para a obtenção de concentrados bioativos das bactérias "Bacillus sphaericus e Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis", agentes de controle à larvas de insetos vetores de doenças endêmicas como dengue, febre amarela, filariose e malária. Os caldos fermentados foram produzidos em modo batelada a partir de meios de cultivo límpidos e contendo sólidos em suspensão, estes últimos visando-se diminuir os custos de produção dos biolarvicidas. Foi analisada a influência do pH e da adição de agentes floculantes sobre a floculação e sedimentação dos caldos fermentados, e o processo mostrou-se dependente do tipo de microrganismo, da característica da suspensão floculada e do agente floculante empregado

CONTROLE DE INSETOS: UMA BREVE REVISÃO

A utilização indiscriminada dos defensivos químicos e suas conseqüências danosas ao meio ambiente impulsionaram o desenvolvimento de técnicas de controle biológico no combate a insetos prejudiciais, tanto na agricultura, como em saúde pública. Dentre os procedimentos empregados para o manejo integrado de pragas, o controle biológico se destaca pelas vantagens que apresenta, particularmente especificidade e inocuidade para o homem

Hidrólise ácida e enzimática de pectina para crescimento celular de Cupriavidus necator e Pseudomonas putida

Substâncias pécticas são encontradas em grandes quantidades nos resíduos da industrialização de sucos de frutas. Esses compostos são susceptíveis à hidrólise por métodos ácidos e enzimáticos, podendo ser empregados como substratos de baixo custo em processos de conversão biológica para obtenção de bioprodutos, como os biopolímeros. Cupriavidus necator e Pseudomonas putida são micro-organismos conhecidos por sua capacidade de acumular poli-hidroxialcanoatos (PHAs) como fonte de carbono e energia, em condições desfavoráveis de crescimento e excesso de fonte de carbono. Foram estudadas as hidrólises ácida e enzimática de uma pectina comercial, e os hidrolisados foram empregados como substrato para crescimento celular de ambos os micro-organismos. O substrato obtido por hidrólise ácida, realizada em sistema de rotaevaporador com refluxo, permitiu o crescimento celular de C. necator após uma fase adaptativa de 12 horas. Os ensaios de hidrólise enzimática foram realizados com a enzima poligalacturonase utilizando-se a pectina esterificada e não esterificada como substrato, obtendo-se ao final de 24 horas mais de 5 g/L de redutores. O hidrolisado obtido permitiu apenas o crescimento celular de C. necator, após uma fase adaptativa de 8 horas, enquanto P. putida não apresentou crescimento celular em nenhuma das condições de hidrólise avaliadas. Palavras-chave: Pectina. Hidrólise. Poligalacturonase. Poli-hidroxialcanoatos

Sarah's birth. How the medicalisation of childbirth may be shaped in different settings: vignette from a study of routine intervention in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Background The expansion of the medicalisation of childbirth has been described in the literature as being a global phenomenon. The vignette described in this paper, selected from an ethnographic study of routine intervention in Saudi Arabian hospitals illustrates how the worldwide spread of the bio-medical model does not take place within a cultural vacuum. Aim To illuminate the ways in which the medicalisation of birth may be understood and practised in different cultural settings, through a vignette of a specific birth, drawn as a typical case from an ethnographic study that investigated clinical decision-making in the second stage of labour in Saudi Arabia. Methods Ethnographic data collection methods, including participant observation and interviews. The data presented in this paper are drawn from ethnographic field notes collected during field work in Saudi Arabia, and informed by analysis of a wider set of field notes and interviews with professionals working in this context. Findings While the medicalisation of care is a universal phenomenon, the ways in which the care of women is managed using routine medical intervention are framed by the local cultural context in which these practices take place. Discussion The ethnographic data presented in this paper shows the medicalisation of birth thesis to be incomplete. The evidence presented in this paper illustrates how local belief systems are not so much subsumed by the expansion of the bio-medical model of childbirth, rather they may actively facilitate a process of localised reinterpretation of such universalised and standardised practices. In this case, aspects of the social and cultural context of Jeddah operates to intensify the biomedical model at the expense of respectful maternity care. Conclusion In this article, field note data on the birth of one Saudi Arabian woman is used as an illustration of how the medicalisation of childbirth has been appropriated and reinterpreted in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

The impact of HIV/SRH service integration on workload: analysis from the Integra Initiative in two African settings.

BACKGROUND: There is growing interest in integration of HIV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services as a way to improve the efficiency of human resources (HR) for health in low- and middle-income countries. Although this is supported by a wealth of evidence on the acceptability and clinical effectiveness of service integration, there is little evidence on whether staff in general health services can easily absorb HIV services. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive analysis of HR integration through task shifting/sharing and staff workload in the context of the Integra Initiative - a large-scale five-year evaluation of HIV/SRH integration. We describe the level, characteristics and changes in HR integration in the context of wider efforts to integrate HIV/SRH, and explore the impact of HR integration on staff workload. RESULTS: Improvements in the range of services provided by staff (HR integration) were more likely to be achieved in facilities which also improved other elements of integration. While there was no overall relationship between integration and workload at the facility level, HIV/SRH integration may be most influential on staff workload for provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling (PITC) and postnatal care (PNC) services, particularly where HIV care and treatment services are being supported with extra SRH/HIV staffing. Our findings therefore suggest that there may be potential for further efficiency gains through integration, but overall the pace of improvement is slow. CONCLUSIONS: This descriptive analysis explores the effect of HIV/SRH integration on staff workload through economies of scale and scope in high- and medium-HIV prevalence settings. We find some evidence to suggest that there is potential to improve productivity through integration, but, at the same time, significant challenges are being faced, with the pace of productivity gain slow. We recommend that efforts to implement integration are assessed in the broader context of HR planning to ensure that neither staff nor patients are negatively impacted by integration policy

Orange and Passion Fruit Wastes Characterization, Substrate Hydrolysis and Cell Growth of Cupriavidus necator, as Proposal to Converting of Residues in High Value Added Product

Abstract: Brazil is the world’s largest producer of orange and passion fruit, which are destined mainly for industrialization, generating grand volumes of wastes. The solid portion of these residues is a rich source of pectin - composed mainly of galacturonic acid and neutral sugars, which through the hydrolysis process can be used in biological conversion processes, as the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). This way, we characterized these wastes, followed by the extraction and hydrolysis of pectin for employ as a substrate for the cell growth of Cupriavidus necator. The results confirmed the large portion of pectin (almost 40 g.100g-1) and soluble sugars, present in these wastes. The hydrolyzed extract showed as a good source of carbon for the cell growth of C. necator with YX/S 0.56 and 0.44, µMax 0.27 and 0.21 for orange and passion fruit wastes respectively, similar to other carbon sources. This way, the extraction and hydrolysis of orange and passion fruit wastes for the cellular growth of C. necator, can be a good alternative to converting of residues in high value added product

Comparative analyses of response surface methodology and artificial neural networks on incorporating tetracaine into liposomes

This study evaluated the incorporation of tetracaine into liposomes by RSM (Response Surface Methodology) and ANN (Artificial Neural Networks) based models. RCCD (rotational central composite design) and ANN were performed to optimize the sonication conditions of particles containing 100 % lipid. Laser light scattering was used to perform measure hydrodynamic radius and size distribution of vesicles. The liposomal formulations were analyzed by incorporating the drug into the hydrophilic phase or the lipophilic phase. RCCD and ANN were conducted, having the lipid/cholesterol ratio and concentration of tetracaine as variables investigated and, the encapsulation efficiency and mean diameter of the vesicles as response variables. The optimum sonication condition set at a power of 16 kHz and 3 minutes, resulting in sizes smaller than 800 nm. Maximum encapsulation efficiency (39.7 %) was obtained in the hydrophilic phase to a tetracaine concentration of 8.37 mg/mL and 79.5:20.5% lipid/cholesterol ratio. Liposomes were stable for about 30 days (at 4 °C), and the drug encapsulation efficiency was higher in the hydrophilic phase. The experimental results of RCCD-RSM and ANN techniques show ANN obtained more refined prediction errors that RCCD-RSM technique, therefore, ANN can be considered as an efficient mathematical method to characterize the incorporation of tetracaine into liposomes

Hidrólise ácida e enzimática de pectina para crescimento celular de Cupriavidus necator e Pseudomonas putida

Substâncias pécticas são encontradas em grandes quantidades nos resíduos da industrialização de sucos de frutas. Esses compostos são susceptíveis à hidrólise por métodos ácidos e enzimáticos, podendo ser empregados como substratos de baixo custo em processos de conversão biológica para obtenção de bioprodutos, como os biopolímeros. Cupriavidus necator e Pseudomonas putida são micro-organismos conhecidos por sua capacidade de acumular poli-hidroxialcanoatos (PHAs) como fonte de carbono e energia, em condições desfavoráveis de crescimento e excesso de fonte de carbono. Foram estudadas as hidrólises ácida e enzimática de uma pectina comercial, e os hidrolisados foram empregados como substrato para crescimento celular de ambos os micro-organismos. O substrato obtido por hidrólise ácida, realizada em sistema de rotaevaporador com refluxo, permitiu o crescimento celular de C. necator após uma fase adaptativa de 12 horas. Os ensaios de hidrólise enzimática foram realizados com a enzima poligalacturonase utilizando-se a pectina esterificada e não esterificada como substrato, obtendo-se ao final de 24 horas mais de 5 g/L de redutores. O hidrolisado obtido permitiu apenas o crescimento celular de C. necator, após uma fase adaptativa de 8 horas, enquanto P. putida não apresentou crescimento celular em nenhuma das condições de hidrólise avaliadas. Palavras-chave: Pectina. Hidrólise. Poligalacturonase. Poli-hidroxialcanoatos