Assessing the impact of universities’ entrepreneurial activity on regional competitiveness

The aim of this study is to test the multidimensional construct of the Entrepreneurial University (EU), and therefore to confirm whether EU factors make a positive contribution to regional competitiveness. Data were collected from ten Portuguese Public Universities (PPUs) through a self-administered questionnaire. First- and second-order confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were performed through factor and multiple linear regression analyses. The main findings show that EU related factors—perceived and combined with actual regional metrics—especially entrepreneurial supporting measures, positively contributed to regional competitiveness. This study shows policy makers that universities are not merely cost centres but provide knowledge spillovers that can have a positive influence on regional competitiveness.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Processing of byproducts to improve nisin production by Lactococcus lactis

In the last years, disposal from dairy industries have received a special attention due its polluting power in the environment. For this reason, studies have obtained a positive support to develop different alternatives to recycle milk whey components. One of them is its utilization as culture media, aiming to produce biomolecules with noble applications. Nisin is an extracellular peptide, produced by Lactococcus lactis, this peptide has been applied as a natural additive once it presents broad antibacterial activity. Applications of this bacteriocin include dental care products, pharmaceutical products such as stomach ulcers and colon infection treatment and potential birth control. In batch cultures, L. lactis was performed in two different groups of assays. The first group milk whey was prepared in distilled water in four different concentrations: 100 g/l (S100); 50 g/l (S50); 30 g/l (S30); 10 g/l (S10). In the second group of assays, two supplements were added in milk whey with concentration 100 g/l (S100): (1) 5 g/l yeast extract (A1); (2) 5 g/l yeast extract and 10 ml (v/v) tomato extract. Nisin activity was assayed through agar diffusion utilizing Lactobacillus sakei. The results show that the utilization of powder milk whey with concentration of 100 g/l can be used as a culture medium with supplementation. This media is favorable to develop L. lactis cells and nisin production, reaching an activity of about 4 logAU. Biological processing of milk byproduct can be considered as one of the profitable utilization alternatives, generating high-value bioproducts and stimulates researches for its use.The authors wish to thank the Brazilian Committees for the Scientific Technology Research (CNPq, FAPESP, CAPES), for financial support and scholarship

Nisin biotechnological production : evaluation and perspectives in the development of new applications

Nisin is a commercially available bacteriocin of the lantibiotic group produced by Lactococcus lactis ATCC 11454. The importance of nisin as an effective preservative is the fact that its spectrum of inhibitory activity includes almost all Gram-positive, Gram-negative and spoilage bacteria. With several favorable characteristics, this compound has been widely used as a natural food biopreservative. On the other hand, biotechnological production of fuel ethanol from different raw materials (sucrose-containing feedstocks - mainly sugar cane, starchy materials and lignocellulosic biomass) has led to the increase in the researches with trends for improving the bio-ethanol production. During these processes of bio-ethanol production antibiotic agents are added to the pre-fermented broth to prevent unwanted microbial growth. Thus, different questions have been made in relation to performance of the application of the nisin as a natural antibiotic to the ethanol production, as well as their beneficial effects about the yield and productivity in this process. However, the solution to this problematic depends firstly on how the development and implementation of technologies based on nisin production will be undertaken. Perspectives towards the development of modern procedures of nisin production are still needed. In this work the main proposal that has been discussed is the applicability of a novel micro-reactor operated under oscillatory flow mixing envisaged for parallel screening and/or development of industrial bioprocesses in the nisin production. For this reason, initially the objective of this study was to investigate the milk whey, a byproduct from dairy industries, in nisin production aiming to evaluate the growth conditions for L. lactis. In batch cultures, L. lactis was performed in raw milk whey and the nisin activity was assayed through agar diffusion utilizing Lactobacillus sakei ATCC 15521. The results showed that milk whey media is propitious to develop L. lactis cells and produce nisin, reaching activity around 105 AU.mL-1. Biological processing of milk sub-products (milk whey) can be considered one of profitable utilization alternatives, generating high-value bioproducts and contributing to decrease rivers disposal. The use of these sub-products as substrate together with further studies related to application of batch or continuous oscillatory flow reactor would take the more efficient nisin production and finally to a possibility of its evaluation and use in bio-ethanol production.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)FAPESP/BrasilCAPES/Brasi

Effect of oxygen transfer rate on cellulases production in stirred tank and internal-loop airlift bioreactors

In an aerobic process, such as enzymes production by fungi, the oxygen supply into fermentation medium is an important factor in order to achieve good productivities. Oxygen has an important role in metabolism and microorganism growth, being of extreme importance the control of both the dissolved oxygen transfer rate into the bioreactor and the oxygen consumption by the microorganism [1,2]. Dissolved oxygen transfer rate can be analyzed and described by means of the mass transfer coefficient, KLa, being one of the most important parameters for the design and operation of mixing/sparging of aerobic bioreactors. (…

Assessing potential effects of a laccase extract over the enzymatichydrolysis of Eucalyptus bark residues

Lignocellulosic materials are rising as an alternative to petroleum, from which biofuels and numerous compounds may be produced. Eucalyptus barks, abundantly generated by pulp & paper mills, are a good example of such materials, being typically used for energy production. Holocellulose conversion of these materials is usually made by enzyme preparations, mainly acting on the hydrolysis of complex cellulose into monomer sugars. These materials, however, can still present a substantial amount of lignin, a well-documented enzymes barrier. This work aimed to assess how a laccases extract can influence the hydrolysis of eucalyptus bark and the best conditions for their action. Eucalyptus bark residues (EBR) were initially subjected to autohydrolysis with a severity (S0) of 3.84 [1]. The pre-treated solid was then hydrolyzed using Cellic CTec2, combined with a laccases-mediated treatment employing an extract prepared by the group of Maria de Lourdes Polizelli [2]. Potential effects of laccases were estimated through the quantification of the glucose produced over time and differences in the profile of enzymes adsorption onto the solid. The effects of laccases over the hydrolysis of EBR seemed to be dependent of numerous factors. For a solids load of 2 %, laccases addition simultaneously with cellulases had no positive effects but when added 24 h before cellulases, glucose production increased 11 %, possibly from an inferior electron donors competition with LPMOs on Cellic Ctec. Increasing laccases dosage from 2 to 10 IU/g solid led to a visible reduction of hydrolysis efficiency, suggesting possible toxicity/inhibition effects above a given level. Applying a washing step showed to be efficient in removing some of the formed phenolics, while its overall benefit seemed to depend on the extension of laccases action before being washed. When an efficient laccases treatment was conducted before the washing step, involving reduced mass transfer limitations and an adequate period of time, subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis produced nearly 30 % more glucose for a 8 % solids load. In accordance, there was also a significant increase on the levels of free Cel7A after hydrolysis of this new solid, suggesting important modifications on the levels and structure of its lignin. The utilization of laccases on the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass may represent an interesting element for more efficient and economic processes.This work had the financial support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the scope of Project EcoTech (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032206). The authors also acknowledge RAIZ for kindly providing the residues of eucalyptus bark.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pretreatment of brewers' spent grains for cellulases production by Aspergillus niger van Tieghem

Successful utilization of cellulosic materials as a renewable carbon source is dependent on the development of economically feasible process technologies both for the production of biomass-degrading enzymes, and for the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic materials to low molecular weight products. Significant cost reduction is required in order to enhance the commercial viability of cellulase production technology and biomass pretreatment can be an essential processing step for this purpose. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the performance of pretreated brewers´ spent grains on the improvement of cellulases production by A. niger van Tieghem. For this, brewers´ spent grains was submitted to autohydrolysis treatment. Initially, the material was dried, milled and sieved (1.0 mm screen). Water was added to the sample in a closed and pressurized vessel (solid/liquid ratio 1:10 w/v), and the system heated to 180, 190 or 200ºC for 10, 35 or 50 min. The liquor obtained (hemicelluloses fraction) was separated from the solids (cellulose/lignin) by filtration and both fractions were used together or not as carbon source on fermentation: 1% (w/v) treated solid fraction; 1% (w/v) solids plus 10% (v/v) liquor, or only liquor. Carboxymethylcellulose, avicel and untreated brewers´ spent grains were used as control. The inocullum was done in Mandels medium and the cultivation conditions were 30ºC/100 rpm for 6 days. Carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase) and avicelase were assayed by DNS using 1% (w/v) carboxymethylcellulose in sodium acetate buffer, pH 4.0 and 1% (w/v) avicel in the same buffer, pH 5.0, respectivelly, while β-glucosidase was detected by p-nitrophenolate released using 5 mM pnp-β-D-glucoside in sodium citrate buffer, pH 4.5. One unit of enzymatic activity was defined as the amount that liberated 1 μmol of product per minute on assay conditions. The results showed that the liquor obtained at 190ºC/50 min autohydrolysis was quite favorable to CMCase and avicellase production, since the enzyme production was significantly higher than with other sources. However, the effect of the treatment on β-glucosidase production was not as significant as the control. These results show that by using autohydrolysis liquor as an alternative substrate, the performance of the bioprocess for cellulase production can be improved

Nanocellulose production: exploring the enzymatic route and residues of pulp and paper industry

Increasing environmental and sustainability concerns, caused by current population growth, has promoted a raising utilization of renewable bio-resources for the production of materials and energy. Recently, nanocellulose (NC) has been receiving great attention due to its many attractive features such as non-toxic nature, biocompatibility, and biodegradability, associated with its mechanical properties and those related to its nanoscale, emerging as a promising material in many sectors, namely packaging, regenerative medicine, and electronics, among others. Nanofibers and nanocrystals, derived from cellulose sources, have been mainly produced by mechanical and chemical treatments; however, the use of cellulases to obtain NC attracted much attention due to their environmentally friendly character. This review presents an overview of general concepts in NC production. Especial emphasis is given to enzymatic hydrolysis processes using cellulases and the utilization of pulp and paper industry residues. Integrated process for the production of NC and other high-value products through enzymatic hydrolysis is also approached. Major challenges found in this context are discussed along with its properties, potential application, and future perspectives of the use of enzymatic hydrolysis as a pretreatment in the scale-up of NC production.This work was carried out at the Biomass and Bioenergy Research Infrastructure (BBRI)- LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022059, supported by Operational Programme for Competitiveness andInternationalization (PORTUGAL2020), by Lisbon Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa 2020)and by North Portugal Regional Operational Program (Norte 2020) under the Portugal 2020 PartnershipAgreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and was supported by the PortugueseFoundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UIDB/04469/2020 and through Project EcoTech (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032206/FAPESP 2018/07522-6) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope ofNorte2020-Programa Operacional Regional do Norte.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluation of autohydrolysis process for cellulases production by Aspergillus niger van Tieghem using corncob biomass

Lignocellulosic residues, such as corncob, are a complex matrix composed by cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin that can be used for different biotechnological applications (e.g. enzymes production). However, the applications of these crude residues as substrate for enzymes production are often inefficient. An efficient hydrolysis of these residues requires a pretreatment (e.g. autohydrolysis) that lead to a more accessible structure for microorganisms attack. Recently, fungi have received significant attention as a source of new thermostable enzymes for use in many biotechnological applications, including biomass degradation (cellulases are key enzymes for efficient biomass degradation) [1]. The enzymatic degradation of cellulose to glucose is achieved by the cooperative action of endoglucanases (EC 3.1.1.4, hydrolyze randomly the internal glycosidic linkages), exoglucanases (cellobiohydrolases, CBH, EC 3.2.1.91, hydrolyze cellulose chains by removing cellobiose mainly from the non-reducing ends) and _-glucosidases (EC 3.2.1.21, cleave cellooligosaccharides and cellobiose to glucose) [2]. In this context, this work evaluates the inclusion of pretreated corncob in the nutrient media for cellulose production by Aspergillus niger van Tieghem in comparison with non-treated corncob. Autohydrolysis pretreament conditions used were 180, 190 and 200 ºC for 10, 30 and 50 min, and two fractions were obtained: solid and liquid fractions enriched by cellulose and hemicellulose, respectively. Three different mixtures (for each condition) were used as carbon source in Mandels medium [3] during the cellulases production by the A. niger van Tieghem: a solid fraction (1% w/v in medium), a liquid fraction (100 % v/v in medium), and a mixture of the solid and liquid fractions (1% w/v + 10% v/v in medium). Fermentation conditions were at 30ºC, 100 rpm, and the cellulases and _-xylosidase were quantified by Miller [4] and Kersters-Hilderson [5] methods, respectively, after 6 days of fermentation. Interestingly, the results showed that the highest cellulases production was obtained when the microorganism grows in medium containing the hemicellulose fraction (or liquid fraction) as carbon source. The exoglucanase and endoglucanase production using the liquid fraction obtained at 200ºC for 30 min, were three and twenty times higher, respectively, than the production obtained using corncob untreated, as carbon source. In relation to _-g production, the best autohydrolysis condition was 180ºC for 30 minutes; this production was fifteen percent higher than the production detected with crude corncob. This work shows the potential of autohydrolysis retreatment of lignocellulosic residues as a strategy to increase and add-value the cellulase production by filamentous fungi

Autohydrolysis pretreatment of corncob for cellulase production by Trichoderma reesei MUM 97.53

Microbial cellulase production has attracted great attention due its several applications. In this context, studies that become this practice feasible are very important. Corncob is an inexpensive byproduct, which contains more than 30% of cellulose; however, this material is not readily available to enzymatic hydrolysis and pretreatment of lignocellulosic material in autohydrolysis processes become this more easy. The inclusion of this pretreated material in the nutrient media can be a strategy to increase and undervalue cellulase production. The best pretreatment conditions for total cellulase (FPase), β-glucosidase and exoglucanase (avicelase) were obtained using the solid fraction pretreated at 200ºC for 30 or 50 minutes. It was not detected endoglucanase production (CMCase) using corncob without treatment. However, its induction was observed when T. reesei was cultivated with the corncob liquid fraction obtained after 30 minutes of pretreatment, mainly at 200ºC, where the production was maximal