Optimization of Chaetoceros gracilis microalgae production for fish feeding using an airlift photobioreactor

An experimental procedure was carried out to maximize Chaetoceros gracilis growth. Chaetoceros gracilis, marine microalgae, is considered for feeding fisheries with no GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) to avoid human health hazards. Furthermore, following United Nations Resolution on water, the microalgae is grown in photobioreactors due to its low water usage. To maximize the microalgae growth, an experimental design was carried out to analyze the effects of Light Intensity, CO2 supply per day, Sparger type, Photoperiod and Inlet airflow, pH and water temperature were monitored but not controlled. It was found that Light intensity and CO2 supply per day have statistical significance. Out of three possible scenarios, 1700 lux and 80 gr/day of CO2, leads to a cell density at day three of 310×104 cel/mL which represents 20% more of the density attained in day two under bag (standard) growing conditions. It was also found that water Ph has also a strong effect over cell density

A simple method for the quantitative analysis of tyrosol by hplc in liquid Czapek Cultures from endophytic fungi

Tyrosol is a possible quorum sensing molecule in endophytic fungi. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with diode array detector (DAD) was used for the analysis of tyrosol in liquid Czapek fungal cultures. The optimized conditions were gradient mobile phase, in linear mode, consisting initially of acetonitrile/water (1:9 v/v) and increasing up to acetonitrile (100%) in 30 minutes at a flow rate of 1 mL min-1. The column used was a ZORBAX® ODS (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) at 25 ºC. Liquid-liquid extraction of 0.5 mL medium (pH 7.0) with ethyl acetate and injection of 20 μL after solvent evaporation under air flow gave good results. Some validation parameters obtained were: linearity 0.0125-5.0 μg mL-1 medium (r = 0.9967), quantification limit of 0.0125 μg mL-1 medium, %CV (precision) and %E (accuracy) bellow 15% and recovery around 80%. Therefore, the developed method presented satisfactory validation parameters and it was efficient for the analysis of tyrosol in Czapek medium.O tirosol é provavelmente uma molécula sinalizadora em fungos endofíticos. A análise do tirosol em cultura líquida Czapek de fungo endofítico foi realizada através de cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência acoplada a detector por arranjo de diodos. As análises foram obtidas em sistema de fase móvel utilizando gradiente, modo linear, iniciando em acetonitrila/água (1:9 v/v) e terminando em acetonitrila 100% em 30 minutos com vazão de 1 mL min-1. Coluna analítica ZORBAX® ODS (250 × 4,6 mm, 5 μm) à 25 ºC foi utilizada. Extração líquido-líquido de 0,5 mL do meio (pH 7,0) com acetato de etila e injeção de 20 μL após concentração do solvente sob ar comprimido originou bons resultados. Os parâmetros validados foram: linearidade 0,0125-5,0 μg mL-1 (r = 0,9967), limite de quantificação 0,0125 μg mL-1 obtidos pela média das análises; %CV (precisão) e %E (exatidão) com valores abaixo de 15% e recuperação de cerca de 80%. Além disso, o método desenvolvido apresentou valores de validação satisfatórios demonstrando eficiência na análise do tirosol em meio líquido Czapek.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)FAPES

Kinetics of antibodies in sera, saliva, and urine samples from adult patients with primary or secondary dengue 3 virus infections

SummaryObjectivesThe kinetics of three serological markers (IgM, IgA, and IgG) in serum, saliva, and urine samples from adult patients with primary or secondary dengue infection were studied.DesignSerum, saliva, and urine samples were collected from 22 patients with clinical and confirmed dengue 3 virus infection during the outbreak in Havana City in 2001. They were tested by capture IgM (MAC-ELISA), IgA (AAC-ELISA), and IgE (EAC-ELISA) and IgG ELISA inhibition method (EIM) to detect specific dengue antibodies.ResultsSimilar kinetics were observed in IgM, IgA, and IgG antibodies in saliva and IgA and IgG in urine samples from secondary cases compared with kinetics in serum samples, although the values were lower. No IgG antibody was detected in saliva and urine samples in primary cases and IgM antibody was not detected in urine samples from either primary or secondary infection. All secondary cases were positive for IgG in saliva and urine samples at day 7. The kinetics of specific IgE antibodies in primary and secondary cases were different.ConclusionsThe kinetics of three serological markers (IgM, IgA, and IgG) in serum, saliva, and urine samples from adult patients with primary or secondary dengue 3 virus infection were studied for the first time, showing its behavior and usefulness in dengue virus diagnosis. The specific IgE could play a role as a serological marker in secondary infections

Elites, democracy, and parties in the Italian Constituent debates, 1946–1947

Discussions of the role and legitimacy of elites in democratic societies have rarely taken the shape of debates about the internal organization and working of political parties. Except for Michels and Ostrogorski, the party has not received much attention from theorists interested in the elitist dimensions of democratic politics. In this article, I purport to look at the party as a battling ground for competing accounts of the role elites should play in modern democratic societies. However, I will not focus on theoretical analyses of the party. Rather, I will look at how political actors discussed the party in the context of the constituent debates at the Italian Constituent Assembly of 1946–1947. These debates do not explicitly deal with the role elites should play in democratic society. Instead, they center on whether and how the constitution should regulate political parties. Yet while discussing details of legal regulation, the constituents offered contrasting understandings of modern democracy, competing accounts of the role of the masses as well as of the elites, and creative attempts to create stable compromises between the two in a changing society. It is through the reconstruction of these rather practical debates that I aim to uncover how one of the main questions of modern democracy—the relation between elites and masses—has been dealt with politically. This, I suggest, is not only interesting for political or historiographical reasons, but also has theoretical relevance. Not only it directly speaks to recent debates about partisanship and intraparty deliberation, but it is also by looking at political institutions and the reasoning behind their creation that one can recover complex political thinking.1 This, I believe, is made particularly interesting by the fact that it results from long and complicated processes of negotiation of contrasting values as well as from the translation of political ideals into working institutional structures. Reconstructing these processes of negotiation and translation is what I plan to do in this article

Antibiotic Producing Potentials of Three Freshwater Actinomycetes Isolated from the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Crude extracts of three actinomycetes species belonging to Saccharopolyspora (TR 046 and TR 039) and Actinosynnema (TR 024) genera were screened for antibacterial activities against a panel of several bacterial strains. The extracts showed antibacterial activities against both gram-negative and gram-positive test bacteria with inhibition zones ranging from 8 to 28 mm (TR 046); 8 to15 mm (TR 039); and 10 to 13 mm (TR 024). The minimum inhibitory concentrations ranged from 0.078 to 10 mg/mL (TR 046); 5 to >10 mg/mL (TR 039); and 1.25 to 5 mg/mL (TR 024). Time-kill studies revealed that crude extract of TR 046 showed strong bactericidal activity against Bacillus pumilus (ATCC14884), reducing the bacterial load by 104 cfu/mL and 102 cfu/mL at 4× MIC and 2× MIC, respectively, after 6 h of exposure. Similarly, against Proteus vulgaris (CSIR 0030), crude extract of TR 046 achieved a 0.9log10 and 0.13log10 cfu/mL reduction at 5 mg/mL (4× MIC) and 1.25 mg/mL (2× MIC) after 12 h of exposure. The extract was however weakly bactericidal against two environmental bacterial strains (Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus epidermidis); and against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 19582): the extract showed bacteriostatic activities at all concentrations tested. These freshwater actinomycetes appear to have immense potential as a source of new antibacterial compound(s)

Genome Sequence of Streptomyces sp. Strain RTd22, an Endophyte of the Mexican Sunflower

We report here the complete genome sequence of Streptomyces sp. strain RTd22, an endophytic actinobacterium that was isolated from the roots of the Mexican sunflower Tithonia diversifolia. The bacterium’s 11.1-Mb linear chromosome is predicted to encode a large number of unknown natural products

Construção de redes de agroecologia nas regiões da Mantiqueira-Mogiana e do Pontal do Paranapanema: base para a sustentabilidade.

Esse trabalho apresenta o projeto de consolidação das Redes de Agroecologia Mantiqueira - Mogiana e do Pontal do Paranapanema, no Estado de São Paulo. Essas atualmente contam com 13 núcleos microrregionais, nos quais vêm sendo desenvolvidas, juntamente com parceiros locais, iniciativas no sentido de implantar unidades de referência em Agroecologia. Para tal estão sendo elaborados projetos junto aos agricultores de referência, a partir de metodologias participativas, com o intuito de apoiar o processo de transição agroecológica

Biological activities from extracts of endophytic fungi isolated from Viguiera arenaria and Tithonia diversifolia

A total of 39 endophytic fungi have been isolated from Viguiera arenaria and Tithonia diversifolia, both collected in São Paulo State, Brazil. The isolates were identified based on their ribosomal DNA sequences. The ethyl acetate (EtOAc) extracts of all endophytic fungi were evaluated for their antimicrobial, antiparasitic and antitumoral activity. Antimicrobial screening was conducted using an agar diffusion assay against three pathogenic microorganisms: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans. Antiparasitic activity was determined by enzymatic inhibition of gGAPDH of Trypanosoma cruzi and adenine phosphorybosiltransferase (APRT) of Leishmania tarentolae. Antitumoral activity was tested against human T leukemia cells by the Mosmann colorimetric method. All extracts showed activity in at least one assay: 79.5% of the extracts were cytotoxic against leukemia cells, 5.1% of the extracts were active against S. aureus, 25.6% against E. coli and 64.1% against Candida albicans. Only one extract showed promising results in the inhibition of parasitic enzymes gGAPDH (95.0%) and three were found to inhibit APRT activity. The cytotoxic extract produced by the strain VA1 (Glomerella cingulata) was fractionated and yielded nectriapyrone and tyrosol. Nectriapyrone showed relevant cytotoxic activity against both human T leukemia and melanoma tumor cell lines.FAPESP 03/07535-5FAPESP 04/07935-6CAPE