Biosynthesis of γ-Polyglutamic Acid by Bacillus licheniformis Through Submerged Fermentation (SmF) and Solid-state Fermentation (SSF)

Gamma-Polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) was produced from fermentation processes by inoculating the bacterium Bacillus licheniformis on different substrates. In submerged fermentation (SmF), glycerol and glucose were used as the main carbon substrates while ammonium sulfate served to provide nitrogen. In solid-state fermentation (SSF), soybean was used as the main substrate. Tests carried out in an airlift bioreactor with B. licheniformis showed a maximum productivity of 0.789 g L–1 h–1 and a yield of 0.4 g g–1. Different soybean cultivars from the 2015 and 2016 crops were used in the SSF. The BRS 1001IPRO cultivar, from the 2016 crop, showed the highest production, i.e., 1.2 g L–1 of γ-PGA. This cultivar was subjected to different levels of milling (fine, intermediate and coarse). Coarsely milled grains increased γ-PGA production to 2.7 g L–1. Moreover, coarse milling made the internal nutrients of the grains available for fermentation and this particle size did not compromise aeration during fermentation. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Transport and Boundary Scattering in Confined Geometries: Analytical Results

We utilize a geometric argument to determine the effects of boundary scattering on the carrier mean-free path in samples of various cross sections. Analytic expressions for samples with rectangular and circular cross sections are obtained. We also outline a method for incorporating these results into calculations of the thermal conductivity.Comment: 35 pages, Late

Gluino Condensation in an Interacting Instanton Ensemble

We perform a semi-classical study of chiral symmetry breaking and of the spectrum of the Dirac operator in QCD with adjoint fermions. For this purpose we calculate matrix elements of the adjoint Dirac operator between instanton zero modes and study their symmetry properties. We present simulations of the instanton ensemble for different numbers of Majorana fermions in the adjoint representation. These simulations provide evidence that instantons lead to gluino condensation in supersymmetric gluodynamics.Comment: 32 pages, 5 figures, acknowledgment adde

Identification of potential non-invasive biomarkers in diastrophic dysplasia.

Diastrophic dysplasia (DTD) is a recessive chondrodysplasia caused by pathogenic variants in the SLC26A2 gene encoding for a cell membrane sulfate/chloride antiporter crucial for sulfate uptake and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) sulfation. Research on a DTD animal model has suggested possible pharmacological treatment approaches. In view of future clinical trials, the identification of non-invasive biomarkers is crucial to assess the efficacy of treatments. Urinary GAG composition has been analyzed in several metabolic disorders including mucopolysaccharidoses. Moreover, the N-terminal fragment of collagen X, known as collagen X marker (CXM), is considered a real-time marker of endochondral ossification and growth velocity and was studied in individuals with achondroplasia and osteogenesis imperfecta. In this work, urinary GAG sulfation and blood CXM levels were investigated as potential biomarkers for individuals affected by DTD. Chondroitin sulfate disaccharide analysis was performed on GAGs isolated from urine by HPLC after GAG digestion with chondroitinase ABC and ACII, while CXM was assessed in dried blood spots. Results from DTD patients were compared with an age-matched control population. Undersulfation of urinary GAGs was observed in DTD patients with some relationship to the clinical severity and underlying SLC26A2 variants. Lower than normal CXM levels were observed in most patients, even if the marker did not show a clear pattern in our small patient cohort because CXM values are highly dependent on age, gender and growth velocity. In summary, both non-invasive biomarkers are promising assays targeting various aspects of the disorder including overall metabolism of sulfated GAGs and endochondral ossification

Severe peripheral joint laxity is a distinctive clinical feature of spondylodysplastic-ehlers-danlos syndrome (Eds)-b4galt7 and spondylodysplastic-eds-b3galt6

Variations in genes encoding for the enzymes responsible for synthesizing the linker region of proteoglycans may result in recessive conditions known as “linkeropathies”. The two phenotypes related to mutations in genes B4GALT7 and B3GALT6 (encoding for galactosyltransferase I and II respectively) are similar, characterized by short stature, hypotonia, joint hypermobility, skeletal features and a suggestive face with prominent forehead, thin soft tissue and prominent eyes. The most outstanding feature of these disorders is the combination of severe connective tissue involvement, often manifesting in newborns and infants, and skeletal dysplasia that becomes apparent during childhood. Here, we intend to more accurately define some of the clinical features of B4GALT7 and B3GALT6-related conditions and underline the extreme hypermobility of distal joints and the soft, doughy skin on the hands and feet as features that may be useful as the first clues for a correct diagnosis

Ultrafast relaxation of photoexcited carriers in semiconductor quantum wires: A Monte Carlo approach

A detailed analysis of the cooling and thermalization process for photogenerated carriers in semiconductor quantum wires is presented. The energy relaxation of the nonequilibrium carrier distribution is investigated for the ‘‘realistic'' case of a rectangular multisubband quantum-wire structure. By means of a direct ensemble Monte Carlo simulation of both the carrier and the phonon dynamics, all the nonlinear phenomena relevant for the relaxation process, such as carrier-carrier interaction, hot-phonon effects, and degeneracy, are investigated. The results of these simulated experiments show a significant reduction of the carrier-relaxation process compared to the bulk case, which is mainly due to the reduced efficiency of carrier-carrier scattering; on the contrary, the role of hot-phonon effects and degeneracy seems to be not so different from that played in bulk semiconductors

Comportamento de cultivares de videira em relação ao míldio.

A viticultura é geradora de renda tanto em nível mundial como nacional. Entretanto, todas as regiões produtoras no Brasil são afetadas pelo míldio (Plasmopara viticola), doença que pode causar sérios danos a cultura. O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a resistência ao míldio de cultivares de uva introduzidas no norte fluminense. Para tanto foram avaliadas onze cultivares a saber, ?Rosalinda?; ?Itália?; ?Patrícia?; ?Kyoho?; ?Red Globe?; ?Roberta?; ?Rubi?; ?Niágara Rosada?; ?Isabel?; ?Moscatel de Hamburgo? e ?Romana?. As plantas foram conduzidas em sistema de ?latada?, no espaçamento 4,0 x 3,0 m, em delineamento experimental de blocos ao acaso, com três repetições e quatro plantas por parcela. Foram realizadas duas avaliações quanto ao nível da doença, uma referente a leitura dos sintomas, por três avaliadores que utilizaram uma escala de notas variando de 1 (resistente) a 5 (suscetível), e a segunda seguindo a escala proposta por Azevedo (1997). Foi feita análise de variância e teste de comparação de médias de Scott-Knott (P<0,05). Não houve diferença significativa considerando-se os dados gerados pelos avaliadores pela escala de 1 a 5, contudo pela escala proposta por Azevedo (1997) detectou-se diferenças significativas entre cultivares para reação ao míldio. Os genótipos testados diferiram quanto à resistência, sendo possível agrupá-los em duas categorias, a saber, como resistentes: ?Romana?, ?Moscatel de Hamburgo?, ?Isabel? e Niágara Rosada?, e como suscetíveis: ?Rosalinda?, ?Itália?, ?Patrícia?, ?Kyoho?, ?Red Globe?, ?Roberta? e ?Rubi?

Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus V3526 Vaccine RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase Mutants Increase Vaccine Safety Through Restricted Tissue Tropism in a Mouse Model

Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is an arbovirus endemic to the Americas, for which no vaccines or antiviral agents have been approved. TC-83 and V3526 are the best-characterized vaccine candidates for VEEV. Both are live-attenuated vaccines and have been associated with safety concerns, although fewer concerns exist for V3526. A previous attempt to improve the TC-83 vaccine focused on further attenuating the vaccine by adding mutations that alter the error-incorporation rate of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). The research herein examined the effects of these RdRp mutations in V3526 by cloning the 3X and 4X strains, assessing vaccine efficacy against challenge in adult female CD-1 mice, examining neutralizing-antibody titers, investigating vaccine tissue tropism, and testing the stability of the mutant strains. The V3526 RdRp mutants exhibited less tissue tropism in the spleen and kidney than the wild-type V3526, while maintaining vaccine efficacy. Illumina sequencing indicated that the RdRp mutations reverted to wild-type V3526 after five passages in murine pup brains. The observed genotypic reversion is likely to be of limited concern, because wild-type V3526 remains an effective vaccine capable of providing protection. Our results indicate that the V3526 RdRp mutants may be a safer vaccine design than the original V3526

Application of Chinese Jun-Cao technique for the production of Brazilian Ganoderma lucidum strains

Ganoderma lucidum is a medicinal mushroom traditionally used in China against a wide range of diseases such as cancer and also for its prevention. In this work, commercial Chinese strains G. lucidum were compared to wild Brazilian strains aiming to determine the cultivation potential through the use of Jun-Cao. Six formulations were tested and the strains presented good response to the applied method. In general, the mixture between the grass and wood was well suited for the basidiomycetes, contributing to the preparation of substrates that generated better results in Jun Cao