Co-cultivation Of Aspergillus Nidulans Recombinant Strains Produces An Enzymatic Cocktail As Alternative To Alkaline Sugarcane Bagasse Pretreatment

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Plant materials represent a strategic energy source because they can give rise to sustainable biofuels through the fermentation of their carbohydrates. A clear example of a plant-derived biofuel resource is the sugar cane bagasse exhibiting 60-80% of fermentable sugars in its composition. However, the current methods of plant bioconversion employ severe and harmful chemical/physical pretreatments raising biofuel cost production and environmental degradation. Replacing these methods with co-cultivated enzymatic cocktails is an alternative. Here we propose a pretreatment for sugarcane bagasse using a multi-enzymatic cocktail from the co-cultivation of four Aspergillus nidulans recombinant strains. The co-cultivation resulted in the simultaneous production of GH51 arabinofuranosidase (AbfA), GH11 endo-1,4-xylanase (XInA), GH43 endo-1,5-arabinanase (AbnA) and GH12 xyloglucan specific endo-beta-1,4-glucanase (XegA). This core set of recombinant enzymes was more efficient than the alternative alkaline method in maintaining the cellulose integrity and exposing this cellulose to the following saccharification process. Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis revealed residual byproducts on the alkali pretreated biomass, which were not found in the enzymatic pretreatment. Therefore, the enzymatic pretreatment was residue-free and seemed to be more efficient than the applied alkaline method, which makes it suitable for bioethanol production.7Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho de Desenvolvimento Cientilico e Tecnologico (CNPq)National System for Research on Biodiversity (Sisbiota-Brazil, CNPq) [563260/2010-6]National System for Research on Biodiversity (Sisbiota-Brazil, FAPESP) [2010/52322-3]CNPqFAPESP [2012/20549-4, 2013/18910-3]Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Longitudinal metagenomic profiling of bovine milk to assess the impact of intramammary treatment using a third-generation cephalosporin

Antimicrobial usage in food animals has a direct impact on human health, and approximately 80% of the antibiotics prescribed in the dairy industry are used to treat bovine mastitis. Here we provide a longitudinal description of the changes in the microbiome of milk that are associated with mastitis and antimicrobial therapy. Next-generation sequencing, 16 S rRNA gene quantitative real-time PCR, and aerobic culturing were applied to assess the effect of disease and antibiotic therapy on the milk microbiome. Cows diagnosed with clinical mastitis associated with Gram-negative pathogens or negative aerobic culture were randomly allocated into 5 days of Ceftiofur intramammary treatment or remained as untreated controls. Serial milk samples were collected from the affected quarter and the ipsilateral healthy quarter of the same animal. Milk from the mastitic quarter had a higher bacterial load and reduced microbial diversity compared to healthy milk. Resolution of the disease was accompanied by increases in diversity indexes and a decrease in pathogen relative abundance. Escherichia coli-associated mastitic milk samples had a remarkably distinct bacterial profile, dominated by Enterobacteriaceae, when compared to healthy milk. However, no differences were observed in culture-negative mastitis samples when compared to healthy milk. Antimicrobial treatment had no significant effect on clinical cure, bacteriological cure, pathogen clearance rate or bacterial load

The Roosevelt – Rondon expedition marmoset (Mico marcai) : unveiling the conservation status of a data deficient species

The Roosevelt-Rondon Expedition marmoset, Mico marcai, was collected in 1914 and to date, all information on this species comes from three skins brought back by the Expedition and two additional skins collected in the 1990s. It is no surprise then that M.marcai has been classified as Data Deficient (DD). Given that Mico marcai’s suspected range sits on the path of the advancing Brazilian “Arc-of-Deforestation”, it is urgent that relevant data be collected to assess this taxon. Here we present the first comprehensive field data on the distribution, population size and threats on M. marcai with the goal of removing the species from the DD category. From 2012 to 2015, we surveyed for the species in 11 localities, in and around the Marmelos-Aripuanã interfluve, and estimated density using distance sampling on 10 transects. We also used spatial predictive modelling to project the amount of habitat that will be lost within its range in 18 years under different deforestation scenarios. We found marmosets in 14 localities and calculated its Extent of Occurrence to be 31,073 km2. We walked 271 km and detected 30 marmoset groups, allowing us to estimate their density to be 8.31 individuals/km2 and a total population of 258,217.71 individuals. By a “Business as usual” scenario, 20,181 km2 of habitat will be lost in three marmoset generations (~18 years), compromising 33% of the species’ range. Accordingly, M. marcai should be classified as globally Vulnerable under category A3c. Following our study, we propose the Amazonian marmosets, genus Mico, should undergo similar re-assessment as their ranges all fall in the path of the Arc-of-Deforestation. Keywords: Amazonian marmosets, Conservation Status, Data Deficient, Habitat Loss, Southern Amazoni

The consequences of the effects of the chemotherapeutic drug (vincristine) in organs and the influence on the bioavailability of two radio-biocomplexes used for bone evaluations in balb/c female mice

The development of animal model to evaluate the toxicological action of compounds used as pharmaceutical drugs is desired. The model described in this work is based on the capability of drugs to alter the bioavailability of radiopharmaceuticals (radiobiocomplexes) labeled with technetium-99 m(99mTc). There are evidences that the bioavailability or the pharmacokinetic of radiobiocomplexes can be modified by some factors, as drugs, due to their toxicological action in specific organs. Vincristine is anatural product that has been utilized in oncology. The vincristine effect on the bioavailability of the radiobiocomplexes 99mTc- ethylenediphosphonic acid (99mTc-MDP) and 99mTc-pyrophosphate (99mTc- PYP) in Balb/c female mice was evaluated. The fragments of kidney were processed to light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The aim of this work was to study at structural and ultrastructural levels the alterations caused by vincristine in organs. One hour after the last dose ofvincristine, 99mTc-PYP or 99mTc-MDP was injected, the animals were sacrificed and the percentage of radioactivity (%ATI) was determined in the isolated organs. Concerning 99mTc-PYP, the %ATI (i) decreased in spleen, thymus, lymph nodes (inguinal and mesentheric), kidney, lung, liver, pancreas, stomach, heart and brain and (ii) increased in bone and thyroid. Concerning 99mTc-MDP, the %ATI (iii) decreased in spleen, thymus, lymph nodes (inguinal and mesentheric), kidney, liver, pancreas,stomach, heart, brain, bone, ovary and uterus. In conclusion, the toxic effect of vincristine in determined organs could be responsible for the alteration of the uptake of the studied radiobiocomplexes

Translucency parameter of conventional restorative glass-ionomer cements.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the translucency parameter (TP) and contrast ratio (CR) of different conventional restorative glass-ionomer cements (GICs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen brands of GICs were evaluated. Five disks of each material were made following ISO 9917-1. The luminous reflectance and Central Bureau of the International Commission on Illumination parameters of disks were evaluated using a colorimeter, against backings of white and black, to obtain the translucent parameter and contrast ratio of different brands of glass-ionomer cements. The correlation between translucency parameter and contrast ratio was assessed with the Pearson correlation test. The translucent and contrast ratio parameters values were submitted to the one-way ANOVA and Tukey test for multiple comparisons (p < 0.05). RESULTS: There was a strong inverse relationship between CR and TP (r2 = 0.94, p < 0.001). The contrast ratio decreased as translucency increased. There were significant differences in TP and CR among brands (p < 0.001). CONLUSIONS: GICs exhibit different translucency and contrast ratio behavior. Some brands of GICs presented very low TP and this condition would be unacceptable for areas with esthetic demands. In addition, TP and CR showed a strong linear relationship. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The results found in this study demonstrated that the knowledge of the translucency and CR of different conventional restorative GICs is important in order to guide clinicians in the selection of restorative GICs for anterior teeth

Microbiota of Vibrio sp. in the hepatopancreas of cultured white pacific shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei)

ABSTRACT Objective. The present study aimed to investigate the presence of vibrios in the hepatopancreas of cultured shrimp. Materials and methods. Vibrios from the hepatopancreas of fifteen samples of five specimens each, of apparently healthy Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) were isolated, identified and quantified. Results. The vibrio density ranged from 430 to 2,400 MPN g-1 (rs MPN cm-1=-0.114; rs MPN g-1 = 0.211). Thirty isolations were obtained, most of which belonged to the species V. cholerae (n=11) and V. parahaemolyticus (n=7). Conclusions. The outcomes of the present study suggest that, even in the absence of symptoms of vibriosis, the microbiota of the hepatopancreas of cultured shrimp may include sucrose positive and negative vibrios