Production of cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic enzymes by Aspergillus niger 3T5B8 mutants and parental strains in solid-state fermentation.

Several studies have sought to increase the efficiency of the enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. In this context, the improvement of strains producing cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic enzymes may result in more efficient enzymatic mixtures. The parent strain of Aspergillus niger 3T5B8, referred as a polygalacturonase producer, was used for genetic improvement in order to increase the production of cellulases and hemicellulases. The production of the enzymes CMCase, xylanase, beta-glucosidase and polygalacturonase by solid-state fermentation using two mutant strains P49 and P83 was evaluated and compared with the parental strain. The results showed a prominence for the P83 strain with an increase in the production of 174% for xylanase and 402% for polygalacturonase.SINAFERM; SHEB. 3 a 6 de setembro. Seção Trabalhos. Ref. 56374

Structural Attributes and Photodynamics of Visible Spectrum Quantum Emitters in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Newly discovered van der Waals materials like MoS2, WSe2, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), and recently C2N have sparked intensive research to unveil the quantum behavior associated with their 2D structure. Of great interest are 2D materials that host single quantum emitters. h-BN, with a band gap of 5.95 eV, has been shown to host single quantum emitters which are stable at room temperature in the UV and visible spectral range. In this paper we investigate correlations between h-BN structural features and emitter location from bulk down to the monolayer at room temperature. We demonstrate that chemical etching and ion irradiation can generate emitters in h-BN. We analyze the emitters' spectral features and show that they are dominated by the interaction of their electronic transition with a single Raman active mode of h-BN. Photodynamics analysis reveals diverse rates between the electronic states of the emitter. The emitters show excellent photo stability even under ambient conditions and in monolayers. Comparing the excitation polarization between different emitters unveils a connection between defect orientation and the h-BN hexagonal structure. The sharp spectral features, color diversity, room-temperature stability, long-lived metastable states, ease of fabrication, proximity of the emitters to the environment, outstanding chemical stability, and biocompatibility of h-BN provide a completely new class of systems that can be used for sensing and quantum photonics applications

Percepção das cores com ImageJ: elaboração de um guia para análise de imagens de microrganismos produtores de corantes naturais.

As cores são vistas pelos olhos humanos que traduzem a informação baseada em suas percepções e preferências. As cores podem ser entendidas como fótons percebidos da luz do dia onde vermelho corresponde a fótons de luz de comprimento longo (baixa frequência), amarelo e verde intermediários e azul comprimento de onda curto (alta frequência). Dessa forma a cor pode ser quantificada e analisada em sistemas de computador para determinar a quantidade de vermelho, verde e azul presente em cada cor. Este trabalho teve como objetivo criar uma estratégia baseada em análise de imagem digital para identificação das cores de microrganismos visando auxiliar a seleção de linhagens produtoras de corantes sem a necessidade de manipulação das amostras

Mesenchymal stem cell-like properties of CD133+ glioblastoma initiating cells

Glioblastoma is composed of dividing tumor cells, stromal cells and tumor initiating CD133+ cells. Recent reports have discussed the origin of the glioblastoma CD133+ cells and their function in the tumor microenvironment. The present work sought to investigate the multipotent and mesenchymal properties of primary highly purified human CD133+ glioblastoma-initiating cells. To accomplish this aim, we used the following approaches: i) generation of tumor subspheres of CD133+ selected cells from primary cell cultures of glioblastoma; ii) analysis of the expression of pluripotency stem cell markers and mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) markers in the CD133+ glioblastoma-initiating cells; iii) side-by-side ultrastructural characterization of the CD133+ glioblastoma cells, MSC and CD133+ hematopoietic stem cells isolated from human umbilical cord blood (UCB); iv) assessment of adipogenic differentiation of CD133+ glioblastoma cells to test their MSC-like in vitro differentiation ability; and v) use of an orthotopic glioblastoma xenograft model in the absence of immune suppression. We found that the CD133+ glioblastoma cells expressed both the pluripotency stem cell markers (Nanog, Mush-1 and SSEA-3) and MSC markers. In addition, the CD133+ cells were able to differentiate into adipocyte-like cells. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrated that the CD133+ glioblastoma-initiating cells had ultrastructural features similar to those of undifferentiated MSCs. In addition, when administered in vivo to non-immunocompromised animals, the CD133+ cells were also able to mimic the phenotype of the original patient’s tumor. In summary, we showed that the CD133+ glioblastoma cells express molecular signatures of MSCs, neural stem cells and pluripotent stem cells, thus possibly enabling differentiation into both neural and mesodermal cell types