Valorization of coffee agro-industry residues for prebiotic production by one-pot fermentation

Prebiotics are interesting compounds able to modulate the gut microbiota by inducing the growth or activity of beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract, while the pathogenic ones are inhibited. Several carbohydrates have been considered prebiotics including xylooligosaccarides (XOS). XOS are the only nutraceuticals that can be produced from lignocellulosic biomass. Indeed, XOS can be produced from agro-residues, which is encouraging to the food ingredient industries, as these raw materials are inexpensive, abundant and renewable in nature. In particular, the coffee agro-industry generates million tonnes of solid residues yearly worldwide, including coffee sliver skin (CSS). The use of coffee agro-industry residues for XOS production through a sustainable process is undoubtably aligned with the concept of circular economy. In this work, the production potential of XOS was evaluated for CSS and CSS pellets (CP), using one-pot fermentation by recombinant Bacillus subtills. In previous work, this strain was genetically modified to express the xylanase gene (xyn2) from Trichoderma reesei. CP presented the highest potential for XOS production. After process optimization, the highest reducing sugars yield (63 ± 3 mg.gCP-1) was achieved at 8 h, 45 °C, pH 7.0 and 10 g.L-1 of CP. One-pot fermentation proved to be a promising strategy for XOS production from CP, presenting advantages over the use of commercial enzymes. This study provides important insights for novel bioprocess integration approaches using agro-residues towards production cost reduction.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Olive oil by-products as potential alternative substrates for xylooligosaccharides production

Olive pomace (OP) and olive stones (OS) are industrial by-products from the olive oil production. These residues have a high percentage of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, which makes them a good source of fermentable sugars and xylan, as well as a potential alternative substrate for xylooligosaccharides (XOS) production. In this work, OP and OS were chemically characterized and used for the first time as a xylan source to produce XOS through direct fermentation by Bacillus subtilis 3610 containing the xylanase gene xyn2 from Trichoderma reesei. OS presented the highest potential for XOS production. The fermentation process was further optimized for this residue in terms of residue concentration (5, 10, 20, 40 and 60 g L-1), pH (5.0, 6.0, 7.0 and 8.0), and temperature (30, 37, 45 and 50°C). The highest total sugars yield (27 ± 2 mg g-1) was achieved after 12 h, using 20 g L-1 of OS at pH 7.0 and 45°C.CA and AC acknowledges her junior researcher contract (CEECIND/00293/2020) and her PhD scholarship (UI/BD/153689/2022), respectively, from the Portuguese Foundation of Science and Technology (FCT). This study was supported by FCT under the scope of the strategic funding of CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020), CEB (UIDB/04469/2020) and Associate Laboratory SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Tailored virtual reality for smart physiotherapy

Remote sensing and Virtual Reality (VR) are technologies that create new development opportunities in the field of serious games with application in physiotherapy. Thus, during a physiotherapy training session expressed by a game around the remote sensing of user body motion provides measurements that can be used for objective evaluation of physical therapy outcomes. In this work is presented a serious game for physiotherapy characterized by Kinect natural user interface and a set of VR games developed in the Unity3D. To provide patient electronic health record, game remote configuration as well as for data presentation for physiotherapist a mobile application was developed. Additionally, several training results expressed by upper limb, neck and spine angles are included in the paper.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Evaluation of Aloe arborescens as a coagulant for color and turbidity removal in conventional water treatment

[PT] O uso de coagulantes naturais no tratamento de água é alternativo ao de sintéticos, possíveis causadores de toxicidade. Este trabalho avaliou a viabilidade do uso de extrato de babosa (Aloe arborescens) como coagulante para remoção de cor aparente e turbidez no tratamento convencional. Os ensaios foram realizados em jar test, com água bruta do rio São Tomás, estado de Goiás, Brasil, abrangendo os intervalos de 6.0 a 8.0 unidades de pH e de 0.025 a 10.0 mL L-1 de coagulante. Elaboraram-se diagramas de coagulação com as eficiências obtidas de cada um dos 72 pares de valores pH versus dose de coagulante e obtiveram-se remoções na água decantada de 36% para turbidez e 52% para cor aparente e na água filtrada de 68% para turbidez e 70% para cor aparente. As eficiências obtidas não foram suficientes para atender às exigências do padrão de potabilidade brasileiro para os parâmetros analisados.[EN] The use of natural coagulants in water treatment is an alternative to synthetic that can cause toxicity. This research evaluated the viability of utilizing Aloe arborescens as a coagulant for the removal of color and turbidity in conventional water treatment. The assays were performed in a jar test with water from the São Tomás River, State of Goiás, Brazil, which covers a pH range of 6.0 to 8.0, with coagulant concentrations of 0.025 to 10.0 mL L-1. The authors elaborated coagulation diagrams with the efficiencies obtained from each of the 72 pH values versus the coagulant doses and obtained a 36% reduction in turbidity and 52% reduction in apparent color with the decanted water and a 68% reduction in turbidity and 70% reduction in apparent color with the filtered water. The efficiencies for the parameters analyzed were not sufficient to meet the requirements of the Brazilian Potability Standard.Os autores agradecem ao Instituto Federal Goiano e às empresas Saneamento de Goiás S/A e Asplan Assessoria e Planejamento Agropecuário Ltda. pelos suportes fornecidos para a elaboração do presente estudo.Rodrigues, AM.; Aquino, DS.; Cordeiro, LL. (2020). Avaliação de Aloe arborescens como coagulante para remoção de cor e turbidez em tratamento convencional de água. Ingeniería del agua. 24(2):81-88. https://doi.org/10.4995/ia.2020.11562OJS818824

Sistemas de producción de musáceas en Brasil the musacea production systems in Brazil.

Brasil produce 7,3 millones de toneladas de musáceas, cosechadas en 503.354 hectáreas, con un rendimiento de 14.561 kg/ha/año. La producción brasileña es destinada, prioritariamente, al mercado interno, para abastecer una población de 190 millones de habitantes. Brasil presenta una grande diversidad de sistemas productivos de musáceas, debido a sus diferentes climas, etnias, culturas y hábitos de consumo. Los monocultivos san predominantes en todo el país. Estimase, en área sembrada, que 38,88% de los cultivos de musáceas de Brasil sean monocultivos de bajo impacto, 24,79% sean monocultivos intensivos sin riego, 12,98% sean monocultivos irrigados y 0,34% monocultivos orgánicos. En según plan están las asociaciones, donde la musácea es la especie económica principal (9,95%) o una especie secundaria (4,5%) y otros tipos de cultivo extensivo (3,43%). En tercer plan aparecen los cultivos agroforestales, donde 4,46% san cultivos tradicionales y 0,67% cultivos agroecológicos. En el trabajo se presenta datos y características de las siembras de musáceas en las distintas regiones de Brasil, las variedades cultivadas, y los problemas, retos y ventajas de cada región y sistema de cultivo

Morphological characterization of sweet and sour cherry cultivars in a germplasm bank at Portugal

Nine sweet cherry and eight sour cherry varieties located in a germplasm bank at Fundauo, Portugal, were studied from the viewpoint of characterization. Most of them were autochthonous cultivars that have a high risk of extinction since at the present they are markedly minor varieties. Morphological characteristics were evaluated in different organs: crown and trunk of the trees, leaves, flowers and fruits, over a three consecutive years period. Statistical analyses were carried out in order to detect similarities between cultivars as well as the existence of synonymies. Qualitative characteristics of the fruits were scored in order to carry out the multivariate analysis. A dendrogram of the evaluated characters shows the marked differentiation between sour and sweet cherries and suggests the existing synonymies. Conservation of the autochthonous cultivars in the future is highly recommended

Produtividade de grãos de cultivares de feijão-caupi, [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp], no município de Capitão Poço, PA.

bitstream/item/143875/1/COMUNICADO-TECNICO-272-AINFO.pd

Caracterização e classificação dos solos do Campo Experimental da Embrapa Acre, Rio Branco, Estado do Acre.

bitstream/item/66701/1/Oriental-Doc122.pdfAnexo: Mapa semidetalhado dos solos da área do Campo Experimental do CPAF- Acre

Endothelial Progenitor Cells influence acute and subacute stroke hemodynamics

BACKGROUND: Endothelial Progenitor Cells (EPCs) are a circulating stem cell population with in vivo capacity of promoting angiogenesis after ischemic events. Despite the promising preclinical data, their potential integration with reperfusion therapies and hemodynamic evolution of stroke patients is still unknown. Our aim was to determine the association of EPCs with acute, subacute and chronic hemodynamic features. METHODS: In this prospective study, we included consecutive patients with ages between 18 and 80years and non-lacunar ischemic stroke within the territory of a middle cerebral artery. All patients were subject to hemodynamic evaluation by ultrasound at baseline, seven days and three months. We quantified cerebral blood flow (CBF) and assessed early recanalization and collateral flow. Hemorrhagic transformation was graded in Magnetic Resonance imaging performed at seven days. EPCs were isolated from peripheral venous blood collected in the first 24h and seven days, counted and submitted to functional in vitro tests. RESULTS: We included 45 patients with a median age of 70±10years. The angiogenic and migratory capacities of EPCs were associated with increased collateral flow in the acute stage and day seven CBF, without statistically significant associations with recanalization nor haemorrhagic transformation. The number of EPCs was not associated with any hemodynamic variable. CONCLUSIONS: The functional properties of EPCs are associated with acute and subacute stroke hemodynamics, with no effect on haemorrhagic transformation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

All-fiber broadband spectral acousto-optic modulation of a tubular-lattice hollow-core optical fiber

We demonstrate a broadband acousto-optic notch filter based on a tubular-lattice hollow-core fiber for the first time. The guided optical modes are modulated by acoustically induced dynamic long-period gratings along the fiber. The device is fabricated employing a short interaction length (7.7 cm) and low drive voltages (10 V). Modulated spectral bands with 20 nm half-width and maximum depths greater than 60 % are achieved. The resonant notch wavelength is tuned from 743 to 1355 nm (612 nm span) by changing the frequency of the electrical signal. The results indicate a broader tuning range compared to previous studies using standard and hollow-core fibers. It further reveals unique properties for reconfigurable spectral filters and fiber lasers, pointing to the fast switching and highly efficient modulation of all-fiber photonic devices