Conversão de pectina citrica a ácido D-Galacturônico usando pectinases produzidas por fermentação no estado sólido

Resumo: A biomassa de resíduos agroindustriais ricos em pectina, como a polpa cítrica, é bastante abundante em alguns países e pode ser explorada para a produção do ácido D-galacturônico por hidrólise química ou enzimática. Este açúcar ácido e seus derivados, ácidos meso-galactárico e L-galactônico, têm aplicações na indústria alimentícia, como agentes acidificantes, e na indústria química como surfactantes e agentes quelantes. Os processos enzimáticos de hidrólise da pectina possuem vantagens em relação aos processos químicos, principalmente a não-degradação dos produtos de hidrólise, a possibilidade de utilizar temperaturas brandas, além de não gerarem efluentes tóxicos. Entretanto, a limitação dos processos enzimáticos está no custo das enzimas, que pode inviabilizar a sua implantação industrial. O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver um processo de hidrólise da pectina para produção do ácido D-galacturônico utilizando sólidos fermentados com atividade pectinolítica, produzidos a partir de resíduos agroindustriais. Inicialmente, a produção de pectinases por diversos fungos foi comparada. O sistema selecionado envolve o crescimento de Aspergillus oryzae CPQBA 394-12 DRM 01, cultivada em meio composto de bagaço de cana (30%) e bagaço de laranja lavado (70%), a 30 °C e 70% de umidade inicial. No decorrer do trabalho, foi otimizado o método de dosagem de pectinases por adição direta do sólido fermentado liofilizado ao meio reacional contendo pectina. A atividade realizada diretamente no sólido foi de cerca de 260 U (uma unidade de atividade corresponde à produção de 1 ?mol de ácido D-galacturônico por min) por grama de sólido fermentado liofilizado. Em estudos prévios de hidrólise da pectina cítrica utilizando sólidos fermentados liofilizados, conversões de até 92% foram obtidas após 36 h, utilizando soluções com 2% (m V-1) de pectina. A hidrólise catalisada por sólidos fermentados liofilizados foi otimizada por delineamento fatorial 23 avaliando-se os efeitos das variáveis "massa de sólido fermentado", "concentração de pectina" e "temperatura" na conversão (%) da pectina e no teor de ácido D-galacturônico produzido, determinado por CLAE. O modelo matemático foi significante para a variável "conversão da pectina" (R2 = 0,94), e a variável mais importante foi a concentração da pectina no meio (p = 0,0014), que influenciou negativamente a resposta. As variáveis "massa de sólido fermentado" e "temperatura" apresentaram efeitos positivos significativos ao nível de 5% (p = 0,0343 e p = 0,0430, respectivamente). O aumento da concentração de pectina no meio para 15% e 20% confirmou os resultados previstos pelo modelo, tendo sido observada uma diminuição do teor de ácido D-galacturônico produzido e da conversão, quando se utilizou 20% de pectina no meio. A determinação da composição monossacarídica do hidrolisado da pectina mostrou a presença de outros açúcares de interesse industrial, como arabinose, manose e glucose

Optical activation of germanium plasmonic antennas in the mid-infrared

Impulsive interband excitation with femtosecond near-infrared pulses establishes a plasma response in intrinsic germanium structures fabricated on a silicon substrate. This direct approach activates the plasmonic resonance of the Ge structures and enables their use as optical antennas up to the mid-infrared spectral range. The optical switching lasts for hundreds of picoseconds until charge recombination redshifts the plasma frequency. The full behavior of the structures is modeled by the electrodynamic response established by an electron-hole plasma in a regular array of antennas

A comparison between characterization and biological properties of brazilian fresh and aged propolis

As propolis is a highly valued bee product, we aimed to verify the quality of aged propolis, investigating their phenolic and flavonoid composition, levels of toxic metals, radical scavenging and antimicrobial activities. Samples of fresh and aged propolis of six different beekeepers, from the same geographical location, were investigated in terms of their phenolic and flavonoid composition and levels of Pb, Cd, and Cr, as well as radical scavenging and antimicrobial activities. The two groups of propolis had similar qualitative composition by HPLC-PDA and ESI(-)-MS. Fresh propolis and aged propolis show no differences when average values of extraction yield, flavonoids, EC50, or MIC were compared and both types of propolis showed good antimicrobial activity at low concentrations. Only levels of phenolic compounds were higher in fresh propolis. The propolis samples considered in this study, aged or fresh, had similar qualitative composition, although they were collected in different periods. Samples only differed in their levels of total phenolic content. Moreover, aged propolis conserves significant radical scavenging and antimicrobial properties. We suggest that aged propolis should not be discarded but explored for alternative applications.As propolis is a highly valued bee product, we aimed to verify the quality of aged propolis, investigating their phenolic and flavonoid composition, levels of toxic metals, radical scavenging and antimicrobial activities. Material and Methods. Samples of2014FINEP - FINANCIADORA DE ESTUDOS E PROJETOSCNPQ - CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOFA - FUNDAÇÃO ARAUCÁRIA DE APOIO AO DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓsem informaçãosem informaçãosem informação10908/PPP/2006sem informaçãoThe study had financial support by Financiadora de Estudos e projetos (FINEP), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), Fundação Araucária (10908/PPP/2006), and P

Automatically Harnessing Sparse Acceleration

Sparse linear algebra is central to many scientific programs, yet compilers fail to optimize it well. High-performance libraries are available, but adoption costs are significant. Moreover, libraries tie programs into vendor-specific software and hardware ecosystems, creating non-portable code. In this paper, we develop a new approach based on our specification Language for implementers of Linear Algebra Computations (LiLAC). Rather than requiring the application developer to (re)write every program for a given library, the burden is shifted to a one-off description by the library implementer. The LiLAC-enabled compiler uses this to insert appropriate library routines without source code changes. LiLAC provides automatic data marshaling, maintaining state between calls and minimizing data transfers. Appropriate places for library insertion are detected in compiler intermediate representation, independent of source languages. We evaluated on large-scale scientific applications written in FORTRAN; standard C/C++ and FORTRAN benchmarks; and C++ graph analytics kernels. Across heterogeneous platforms, applications and data sets we show speedups of 1.1$\times$ to over 10$\times$ without user intervention.Comment: Accepted to CC 202

Global ensemble projections reveal trophic amplification of ocean biomass declines with climate change

While the physical dimensions of climate change are now routinely assessed through multimodel intercomparisons, projected impacts on the global ocean ecosystem generally rely on individual models with a specific set of assumptions. To address these single-model limitations, we present standardized ensemble projections from six global marine ecosystem models forced with two Earth system models and four emission scenarios with and without fishing. We derive average biomass trends and associated uncertainties across the marine food web. Without fishing, mean global animal biomass decreased by 5% (±4% SD) under low emissions and 17% (±11% SD) under high emissions by 2100, with an average 5% decline for every 1 °C of warming. Projected biomass declines were primarily driven by increasing temperature and decreasing primary production, and were more pronounced at higher trophic levels, a process known as trophic amplification. Fishing did not substantially alter the effects of climate change. Considerable regional variation featured strong biomass increases at high latitudes and decreases at middle to low latitudes, with good model agreement on the direction of change but variable magnitude. Uncertainties due to variations in marine ecosystem and Earth system models were similar. Ensemble projections performed well compared with empirical data, emphasizing the benefits of multimodel inference to project future outcomes. Our results indicate that global ocean animal biomass consistently declines with climate change, and that these impacts are amplified at higher trophic levels. Next steps for model development include dynamic scenarios of fishing, cumulative human impacts, and the effects of management measures on future ocean biomass trends

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Input and Output Inventories in General Equilibrium

We build and estimate a two‐sector (goods and services) dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with two types of inventories: materials (input) inventories facilitate the production of finished goods, while finished goods (output) inventories yield utility services. The model is estimated using Bayesian methods. The estimated model replicates the volatility and cyclicality of inventory investment and inventory‐to‐target ratios. Although inventories are an important element of the model’s propagation mechanism, shocks to inventory efficiency or management are not an important source of business cycles. When the model is estimated over two subperiods (pre ‐ and post‐1984), changes in the volatility of inventory shocks, or in structural parameters associated with inventories play a minor role in reducing the volatility of output

GrassPlot - a database of multi-scale plant diversity in Palaearctic grasslands

GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (releves) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots of eight standard grain sizes (0.0001; 0.001;... 1,000 m(2)) and on nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes. The usage of GrassPlot is regulated through Bylaws that intend to balance the interests of data contributors and data users. The current version (v. 1.00) contains data for approximately 170,000 plots of different sizes and 2,800 nested-plot series. The key components are richness data and metadata. However, most included datasets also encompass compositional data. About 14,000 plots have near-complete records of terricolous bryophytes and lichens in addition to vascular plants. At present, GrassPlot contains data from 36 countries throughout the Palaearctic, spread across elevational gradients and major grassland types. GrassPlot with its multi-scale and multi-taxon focus complements the larger international vegetationplot databases, such as the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and the global database " sPlot". Its main aim is to facilitate studies on the scale-and taxon-dependency of biodiversity patterns and drivers along macroecological gradients. GrassPlot is a dynamic database and will expand through new data collection coordinated by the elected Governing Board. We invite researchers with suitable data to join GrassPlot. Researchers with project ideas addressable with GrassPlot data are welcome to submit proposals to the Governing Board

Potential of Core-Collapse Supernova Neutrino Detection at JUNO

JUNO is an underground neutrino observatory under construction in Jiangmen, China. It uses 20kton liquid scintillator as target, which enables it to detect supernova burst neutrinos of a large statistics for the next galactic core-collapse supernova (CCSN) and also pre-supernova neutrinos from the nearby CCSN progenitors. All flavors of supernova burst neutrinos can be detected by JUNO via several interaction channels, including inverse beta decay, elastic scattering on electron and proton, interactions on C12 nuclei, etc. This retains the possibility for JUNO to reconstruct the energy spectra of supernova burst neutrinos of all flavors. The real time monitoring systems based on FPGA and DAQ are under development in JUNO, which allow prompt alert and trigger-less data acquisition of CCSN events. The alert performances of both monitoring systems have been thoroughly studied using simulations. Moreover, once a CCSN is tagged, the system can give fast characterizations, such as directionality and light curve

Detection of the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background with JUNO

As an underground multi-purpose neutrino detector with 20 kton liquid scintillator, Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is competitive with and complementary to the water-Cherenkov detectors on the search for the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB). Typical supernova models predict 2-4 events per year within the optimal observation window in the JUNO detector. The dominant background is from the neutral-current (NC) interaction of atmospheric neutrinos with 12C nuclei, which surpasses the DSNB by more than one order of magnitude. We evaluated the systematic uncertainty of NC background from the spread of a variety of data-driven models and further developed a method to determine NC background within 15\% with {\it{in}} {\it{situ}} measurements after ten years of running. Besides, the NC-like backgrounds can be effectively suppressed by the intrinsic pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) capabilities of liquid scintillators. In this talk, I will present in detail the improvements on NC background uncertainty evaluation, PSD discriminator development, and finally, the potential of DSNB sensitivity in JUNO