A new strategy for using banana as an ingredient in the brewing process

Beer is a traditionally fermented beverage made from malted grains of barley, hops, yeast, and water, while banana is an important food crop cultivated widely in tropical and subtropical areas and is one of the major fruits in Brazil. Besides, the banana is also very favorable to food industry (e.g. fermented beverages) due to its rich content on soluble solids, presence of minerals, and providing low acidity. In this context, the objective of this work was to evaluate a new strategy for using banana as adjunct to increase the fermentable sugars and to supply a specific aroma in pilot-plant brewing experiments. For this, static fermentations were conducted in a 180 L cylindrical-conical reactor using 140 L as working volume. Addition of banana was evaluated when changing the concentration of the wort from 10 to 12 ºP and from 10 to 13.5 ºP (ºP is the weight of the extract or the sugar equivalent in 100 g solution, at 20 ºC) and fermented under a constant temperature of 10 and 12.5 ºC, respectively. The results showed that the increment in the initial sugar concentration (12 to 13.5 ºP, due to the use of banana juice as adjunct), and in the temperature (10 to 12.5 ºC), increased approximately 17% the ethanol productivity. Thus, it was concluded that by using of simple preparation techniques of banana juice, banana can be used as adjunct in brewing processes, helping in the development of new products as well as in the elaboration of more concentrated worts when compared the traditional brewing worts.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Malteria do ValeCorn Products BrasilWallerstein Industrial e ComercialDiverseyLever (Brazil)Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)CAPES/GRICES (Brazil/Portugal

Determinação de doses de micronutrientes a serem aplicadas via sementes à cultura do feijão (Phaseolus vulgaris L.).

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo estudar a aplicação dos micronutrientes Boro (na forma de ácido bórico - H3BO3), Molibdênio (na forma de molibidato de sódio - Na2MoO4) e Cobalto (na forma de sulfato de cobalto - CoSO4) em sementes de feijão, através do processo de recobrimento

Análise da fermentação em bioreatores cilindrocônicos de bancada na elaboração de cerveja com adjunto de banana

O aumento do extrato inicial de fermentação e uso de adjuntos na substituição do malte vem sendo uma alternativa para diminuição de custos na produção de cervejas. Uma outra característica deste processo tem sido a utilização de nutrientes para aumentar a produtividade volumétrica em etanol. Pelo fato da banana ser uma fruta abundante no Brasil e ser pouco qualificada para a exportação, pode-se utilizá-la como alternativa de adjunto do malte. Neste estudo foi elaborada cerveja utilizando a banana como adjunto do malte e estudado os parâmetros fermentativos principais obtidos no ponto otimizado em bioreatores cilindrocônicos de bancada. Para isso os mostos foram fermentados à 17,5 °P e 15 °C suplementados no início da fermentação com 420 mg/L de MgSO4. A produtividade volumétrica (Qp) alcançada foi de 0,68 g/L.h no tempo de 64 h de fermentação. Essa suplementação gerou um benefício, devido ao aumento de 6 % do valor de Qp

Whole transcriptome analysis of the hippocampus: toward a molecular portrait of epileptogenesis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Uncovering the molecular mechanisms involved in epileptogenesis is critical to better understand the physiopathology of epilepsies and to help develop new therapeutic strategies for this prevalent and severe neurological condition that affects millions of people worldwide.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Changes in the transcriptome of hippocampal cells from rats subjected to the pilocarpine model of epilepsy were evaluated by microarrays covering 34,000 transcripts representing all annotated rat genes to date. Using such genome-wide approach, differential expression of nearly 1,400 genes was detected during the course of epileptogenesis, from the early events post <it>status epilepticus (SE) </it>to the onset of recurrent spontaneous seizures. Most of these genes are novel and displayed an up-regulation after <it>SE</it>. Noteworthy, a group of 128 genes was found consistently hyper-expressed throughout epileptogenesis, indicating stable modulation of the p38MAPK, Jak-STAT, PI3K, and mTOR signaling pathways. In particular, up-regulation of genes from the TGF-beta and IGF-1 signaling pathways, with opposite effects on neurogenesis, correlate with the physiopathological changes reported in humans.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A consistent regulation of genes functioning in intracellular signal transduction regulating neurogenesis have been identified during epileptogenesis, some of which with parallel expression patterns reported in patients with epilepsy, strengthening the link between these processes and development of epilepsy. These findings reveal dynamic molecular changes occurring in the hippocampus that may serve as a starting point for designing alternative therapeutic strategies to prevent the development of epilepsy after acquired brain insults.</p

Avaliação fisiológica e sanitária de diferentes lotes de sementes de paricá (Schizolobium parahyba var. amazonicum (Huber ex Ducke) Barneby) utilizada em SAFs.

Entre as espécies que assumem grande interesse para composição de sistemas agroflorestais está o paricá pertencente à família Caesalpiniaceae. O presente trabalho objetivou avaliar as condições fisiológica e sanitária de sementes de paricá, e assim fornecer subsídios para armazenamento e produção de mudas com qualidade. O experimento foi conduzido em germinador sob temperatura constante de 25 °C, utilizando como substrato o papel toalha. As sementes foram submetidas aos tratamentos: com assepsia (1% de NaClO; 3 min) e sem assepsia. Cada tratamento recebeu 25 sementes por repetição, com um total de 100 sementes para os lotes 2008 e 2009. Para determinação dos índices germinativos e avaliações sanitárias, os estudos foram realizados com base nas metodologias das Regras para Análises de Sementes, do Ministério da Agricultura Pecuária e Abastecimento ? MAPA. Os dados absolutos de contagem de germinação foram transformados em percentagem e estes dados, foram transformados em arco seno (x/100)½ para normalização de sua distribuição. As sementes apresentaram grau de umidade de 4,94% e 5,4% para os lotes 2008 e 2009, respectivamente. Os índices germinativos do lote 2008 foram de 86% e 88% para o tratamento com assepsia e sem assepsia, respectivamente. O lote 2009 apresentou índices de germinação superior ao lote 2008, sendo 97% e 98% para o tratamento com e sem assepsia, respectivamente. Com relação a incidência de fungos foi detectada a presença dos gêneros Aspergillus sp. e Penicillium sp. Os fungos interferiram diretamente no processo de germinação e formação das plântulas causando infecção.Editores técnicos: Roberto Porro, Milton Kanashiro, Maria do Socorro Gonçalves Ferreira, Leila Sobral Sampaio e Gladys Ferreira de Sousa

Worrying news for brazilian caatinga : prevalence of batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in amphibians

The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been linked to the declines of more than 500 amphibian species globally. In Brazil, Bd has been identified in several regions but predominantly in the Atlantic Forest. Data on the occurrence of this amphibian pathogen in northeastern Brazil are scarce, specifically from the Caatinga ecoregion, where there is only one study that reports Bd in the region. This study is the first to show a high prevalence of Bd in Caatinga’s species and includes two new records of species infected by Bd: Rhinella granulosa and R. jimi. In addition, we discuss the possibility of amphibian with terrestrial habits serving as potential Bd reservoirs in semiarid climate regions12CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP155556/2018–52015/11821–0; 2016/ 25358–3The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Financial support was provided by grants from Coordenacão de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de N ıvel Superior, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient ıfico e Tecnologico (#155556/2018–5), and Fundacão de Amparo a` Pesquisa do Estado de S~ao Paulo (#2015/11821–0; #2016/ 25358–3

Tinctorial behavior of curaua and banana fibers and dyeing wastewater treatment by porous alumina membranes

Physicochemical and dyeing properties using reactive dyes of curaua and banana fibers were studied by means of color strength (K/S), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analyses. SEM analysis of alkali-treated fibers showed an increase in roughness due to surface lignin and hemicellulose defibrillation. DSC analysis showed for all the samples an endothermic and an exothermic peak at 70–80 and 340–360 ̊C due to the loss of adsorbed/ absorbed water and to decomposition of α-cellulose, respectively. Alkali-treated fibers dis- played a second peak around 290 ̊C attributed to the degradation of hemicellulose. FTIR spectra of the studied fibers show similar bands with different intensities attributed to the main components of cellulose-based materials. Alkali-pretreated fibers demonstrated excel- lent dyeing ability for all the tested dyes. Dye absorption depends on the chemical fiber, dye structure, and concentration. The results of washing fastness are very good for all the tested fibers. The dyeing effluent treated with an advanced microfiltration method using an improved alumina ceramic membrane shows an average efficiency of 98% in turbidity and color reduction. Low-cost ceramic alumina microfiltration membranes are a very promising advanced treatment for textile industrial effluents allowing water reuse.C2011-UMINHO-2C2T-01 acknowledges the funding from Programa Compromisso para a Ciência 2008, Portugal

New Algorithm to Discriminate Phase Distribution of Gas-Oil-Water Pipe Flow With Dual-Modality Wire-Mesh Sensor

Three-phase gas-oil-water flow is an important type of flow present in petroleum extraction and processing. This paper reports a novel threshold-based method to visualize and estimate the cross-sectional phase fraction of gas-oil-water mixtures. A 16×16 dual-modality wire-mesh sensor (WMS) was employed to simultaneously determine the conductive and capacitive components of the impedance of fluid. Then, both electrical parameters are used to classify readings of WMS into either pure substance (gas, oil or water) or two-phase oil-water mixtures (foam is neglected in this work). Since the wire-mesh sensor interrogates small regions of the flow domain, we assume that the three-phase mixture can be segmented according to the spatial sensor resolution (typically 2–3 mm). Hence, the proposed method simplifies a complex three-phase system in several segments of single or two-phase mixtures. In addition to flow visualization, the novel approach can also be applied to estimate quantitative volume fractions of flowing gas-oil-water mixtures. The proposed method was tested in a horizontal air-oil-water flow loop in different flow conditions. Experimental results suggest that the threshold-based method is able to capture transient three-phase flows with high temporal and spatial resolution even in the presence of water-oil dispersion regardless of the continuous phase

Leishmanicidal activity of fractions rich in aporphine alkaloids from amazonian unonopsis species

In vitro evaluation of alkaloidal fractions of twigs, barks and leaves from two Unonopsis species, Unonopsis guatterioides R.E. Fr. and Unonopsis duckei R.E. Fr., Annonaceae, against promastigote forms of Leishmania amazonensis revealed these species as sources of substances with promising leishmanicidal potential. All alkaloidal fractions from twigs, barks and leaves of U. guatterioides were classified as highly active, with IC50 1.07, 1.90, and 2.79 mg/mL, respectively. Only the alkaloidal fraction from the twigs of U. duckei was classified as inactive2261368137