Enzymatic hydrolysis of salmon oil by native lipases: optimization of process parameters

In an attempt to concentrate the content of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) in the residual acylglycerol, salmon oil (n-3 PUFA content of 30.1%) was hydrolyzed with three kinds of native microbial lipases (Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus javanicus and Penicillium solitum). For each lipase, a response surface methodology was used to obtain maximum PUFA content and to optimize the parameters of enzymatic reactions with respect to important reaction variables; temperature (X1), amount of lipases (X2) and water/oil ratio (X3). Based on these results, optimal reaction conditions were established. Aspergillus niger lipase was the most effective in concentrating n-3 PUFA. The degree of hydrolysis (60%) led to an increase in the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content from 14.4% in the original oil to 34.0% (2.4-fold enrichment) in the residual acylglycerol under optimum conditions: enzyme concentration of 500 U g-1 oil, reaction temperature of 45 ºC and water/oil mass rate of 2:1 (m/m) after 24 h reaction.Três lipases microbianas nativas (Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus javanicus e Penicillium solitum) foram utilizadas na hidrólise do óleo de salmão (teor de AGPI n-3 de 30,1%) com o objetivo de concentrar o conteúdo de ácidos graxos poliinsaturados n-3 (AGPI n-3) nos acilgliceróis residuais. A metodologia de planejamento experimental e análise de superfície de resposta foi usada para se chegar às condições otimizadas de cada reação enzimática, utilizando as seguintes variáveis; temperatura (X1), quantidade de lipase (X2) e taxa de água/óleo (X3). Com base nos resultados do planejamento, a lipase de Aspergillus niger foi a mais eficiente na concentração dos AGPI n-3, sendo que as condições ótimas de reação foram: concentração de enzima de 500 U g-1 óleo, temperatura 45 ºC e taxa de água/óleo de 2:1 m/m após 24 h de reação. O grau de hidrólise (60%) conduziu a um aumento do conteúdo de ácido docosahexaenóico (DHA) de 14,4% para 34,0% (enriquecimento de 2,4 vezes) nos acilgliceróis residuais após a hidrólise do óleo de salmão.117124Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Lifetime and decay of unstable particles in strong gravitational fields

We consider here the decay of unstable particles in geodesic circular motion around compact objects. For the neutron, in particular, strong and weak decay are calculated by means of a semiclassical approach. Noticeable effects are expected to occur as one approaches the photonic circular orbit of realistic black-holes. We argue that, in such a limit,the quasi-thermal spectrum inherent to extremely relativistic observers in circular motion plays a role similar to the Unruh radiation for uniformly accelerated observers.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Final version to appear in PR

Semiclassical approach to the decay of protons in circular motion under the influence of gravitational fields

We investigate the possible decay of protons in geodesic circular motion around neutral compact objects. Weak and strong decay rates and the associated emitted powers are calculated using a semi-classical approach. Our results are discussed with respect to distinct ones in the literature, which consider the decay of accelerated protons in electromagnetic fields. A number of consistency checks are presented along the paper.Comment: To appear in Physical Review

Metagenomic analysis of the turkey gut RNA virus community

Viral enteric disease is an ongoing economic burden to poultry producers worldwide, and despite considerable research, no single virus has emerged as a likely causative agent and target for prevention and control efforts. Historically, electron microscopy has been used to identify suspect viruses, with many small, round viruses eluding classification based solely on morphology. National and regional surveys using molecular diagnostics have revealed that suspect viruses continuously circulate in United States poultry, with many viruses appearing concomitantly and in healthy birds. High-throughput nucleic acid pyrosequencing is a powerful diagnostic technology capable of determining the full genomic repertoire present in a complex environmental sample. We utilized the Roche/454 Life Sciences GS-FLX platform to compile an RNA virus metagenome from turkey flocks experiencing enteric disease. This approach yielded numerous sequences homologous to viruses in the BLAST nr protein database, many of which have not been described in turkeys. Our analysis of this turkey gut RNA metagenome focuses in particular on the turkey-origin members of the Picornavirales, the Caliciviridae, and the turkey Picobirnaviruses

Two-body Z′Z' decays in the minimal 331 model

The two-body decays of the extra neutral boson Z_2 predicted by the minimal 331 model are analyzed. At the three-level it can decay into standard model particles as well as exotic quarks and the new gauge bosons predicted by the model. The decays into a lepton pair are strongly suppressed, with $Br(Z_2 --> l^+l^-) ~ 10^{-2}$ and $Br(Z_2 --> \bar{\nu}_l \nu) ~ 10^{-3}$. In the bosonic sector, Z_2 would decay mainly into a pair of bilepton gauge bosons, with a branching ratio below the 0.1 level. The Z_2 boson has thus a leptophobic and bileptophobic nature and it would decay dominantly into quark pairs. The anomaly-induced decays $Z_2 --> Z_1\gamma$ and $Z_2 --> Z_1Z_1$, which occurs at the one-loop level are studied. It is found that $Br(Z_2 --> Z_1\gamma) ~ 10^{-9}$ and $Br(Z_2 --> Z_1Z_1) ~ 10^{-6}$ at most. As for the $Z_2 --> W^+W^-$ and $Z_2 --> Z_1H$ decays, with H a relatively light Higgs boson, they are induced via Z'-Z mixing. It is obtained that $Br(Z_2 --> W^+W^-) ~ 10^{-2}$ and $Br (Z_2 --> Z_1H) ~ 10^{-5}$. We also examine the flavor changing neutral current decays $Z_2 --> tc$ and $Z_2 --> tu$, which may have branching fractions as large as $10^{-3}$ and $10^{-5}$, respectively, and thus may be of phenomenological interest.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review

The Fecal Viral Flora of Wild Rodents

The frequent interactions of rodents with humans make them a common source of zoonotic infections. To obtain an initial unbiased measure of the viral diversity in the enteric tract of wild rodents we sequenced partially purified, randomly amplified viral RNA and DNA in the feces of 105 wild rodents (mouse, vole, and rat) collected in California and Virginia. We identified in decreasing frequency sequences related to the mammalian viruses families Circoviridae, Picobirnaviridae, Picornaviridae, Astroviridae, Parvoviridae, Papillomaviridae, Adenoviridae, and Coronaviridae. Seventeen small circular DNA genomes containing one or two replicase genes distantly related to the Circoviridae representing several potentially new viral families were characterized. In the Picornaviridae family two new candidate genera as well as a close genetic relative of the human pathogen Aichi virus were characterized. Fragments of the first mouse sapelovirus and picobirnaviruses were identified and the first murine astrovirus genome was characterized. A mouse papillomavirus genome and fragments of a novel adenovirus and adenovirus-associated virus were also sequenced. The next largest fraction of the rodent fecal virome was related to insect viruses of the Densoviridae, Iridoviridae, Polydnaviridae, Dicistroviriade, Bromoviridae, and Virgaviridae families followed by plant virus-related sequences in the Nanoviridae, Geminiviridae, Phycodnaviridae, Secoviridae, Partitiviridae, Tymoviridae, Alphaflexiviridae, and Tombusviridae families reflecting the largely insect and plant rodent diet. Phylogenetic analyses of full and partial viral genomes therefore revealed many previously unreported viral species, genera, and families. The close genetic similarities noted between some rodent and human viruses might reflect past zoonoses. This study increases our understanding of the viral diversity in wild rodents and highlights the large number of still uncharacterized viruses in mammals

Enzymatic hydrolysis of salmon oil by native lipases: optimization of process parameters

In an attempt to concentrate the content of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) in the residual acylglycerol, salmon oil (n-3 PUFA content of 30.1%) was hydrolyzed with three kinds of native microbial lipases (Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus javanicus and Penicillium solitum). For each lipase, a response surface methodology was used to obtain maximum PUFA content and to optimize the parameters of enzymatic reactions with respect to important reaction variables; temperature (X1), amount of lipases (X2) and water/oil ratio (X3). Based on these results, optimal reaction conditions were established. Aspergillus niger lipase was the most effective in concentrating n-3 PUFA. The degree of hydrolysis (60%) led to an increase in the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content from 14.4% in the original oil to 34.0% (2.4-fold enrichment) in the residual acylglycerol under optimum conditions: enzyme concentration of 500 U g-1 oil, reaction temperature of 45 ºC and water/oil mass rate of 2:1 (m/m) after 24 h reaction

Estimativa das propriedades térmicas efetivas de grãos em um secador de leito fixo Estimation of effective grain thermal properties in a fixed bed dryer

A secagem de grãos em leito fixo é um processo complexo, ocorrendo simultaneamente a transferência de calor e de massa, dificultando a estimativa dos parâmetros térmicos efetivos, pois estes podem sofrer variações significativas no decorrer da secagem em função de alterações no teor de umidade. Neste trabalho, este problema foi contornado estimando-se os parâmetros térmicos efetivos no final da secagem, quando o teor de umidade dos grãos que compõem o leito alcança valores de equilíbrio, deixando de existir a transferência de massa, persistindo apenas a transferência de calor em regime permanente. Nestas condições, o leito possui um teor de umidade constante e a estimativa dos parâmetros térmicos efetivos pode ser efetuada a partir do ajuste de um modelo pseudo-homogêneo bidimensional estático à várias medidas de temperatura no leito de grãos no final da secagem. Os resultados indicam que a estratégia utilizada para estimativa da condutividade térmica efetiva radial e do coeficiente efetivo de transferência de calor parede-leito foi adequada. Além do que, constatou-se que dentre os grãos estudados - soja, feijão, milho e trigo - a soja apresenta os menores valores de condutividade efetiva radial, enquanto o trigo apresenta o maior valor do coeficiente de transferência de calor parede-leito.<br>Fixed bed grain drying is a complex process, where mass and heat transfer occur simultaneously, complicating the estimation of the effective thermal parameters, because they can go through significant variations along the drying process, due to moisture content variations. In this work, this problem was avoided by estimating the effective thermal parameters at the end of the drying process, when the grain moisture content reaches equilibrium, and mass transfer stops, persisting only the steady state heat transfer. In these conditions, the bed has a constant moisture content and the estimation of the effective thermal parameters can be obtained from the adjustment of a steadystate two-dimensional pseudohomogeneous model to several fixed bed temperature measurements at the end of the drying process. The results show that the strategy used to evaluate the effective thermal conductivity and the effective wall heat transfer coefficient was appropriate. In addition, among the grains analysed - soy, bean, corn and wheat-, soy presents the smallest values of effective radial conductivity, while wheat presents the greatest effective wall heat transfer value

A review on lipid production from microalgae : association between cultivation using waste streams and fatty acid profiles

Microalgae are potential sources of high-value lipids, with essential fatty acids that provide health benefits, as the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. However, its cultivation and downstream processing is still not commercially viable for some applications due to high-water consumption and high costs mainly regarding energy demands and nutrients as nitrogen. Therefore, using waste streams in existing industries as carbon and nutrient sources, as well as evaluating the best methodologies for growth and lipid extraction are essential to viabilize this process. This review focused on the study of scenario the of using different microalgae species, integrating their cultivation into biorefineries using their wastewater and carbon dioxide combating water and air pollution, aiming lipid productivity and fatty acid profile with specific composition. It was found that culture medium conditions and cultivation systems are key elements in understanding the lipid production and can decisively affect the process performance. For example, closed photobioreactors with CO2 supply and light can provide higher photosynthetic efficiency and lipid accumulation, coupled with polyunsaturated fatty acid production. Wastewater use can reduce productivity and affect lipid composition, but CO2 injection can promote both higher biomass and lipid productivities; being Chlorella a potential candidate for implementation in industrial facilities once it showed high PUFA (around 1/3) and lipid content, up to 27%, grown in wastewater. Moreover, it is crucial to seek biomass fractioning to obtain different high-value products that will compensate for high capital and operating costs. Further evaluation of possible effects in the final product quality is required109448466CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP166844/2017-92014/10064-9; 2015/20630-