Effect of Lyophilization on Survivability and Growth Kinetic of Trichoderma Strains Preserved on Various Agriculture By-Products

Growth kinetics of four Trichoderma strains was tested on lignocellulosic by-products in solid state fermentation (SSF). The strains were also analyzed for their survival rate and growth after lyophilization on these carriers. All applied monocomponent and bicomponent media were substrates for the production and preservation of Trichoderma biomass. However, the maximum number of colony forming units (CFU/g dm) was acquired on bicomponent media based on dried grass and beet pulp or grass with corn cobs, when compared to monocomponent media. Although the process of lyophilization reduced the survival rate by 50–60%, the actual number of viable cells in obtained biopreparations remained relatively high (0.58 × 108 – 1.68 × 108 CFU/g dm). The studied strains in the preserved biopreparations were characterized by a high growth rate, as evaluated in microcultures using the Bioscreen C system

Establishing the composition of the soil improver on the basis of basalt, biocarbon and oat breast for spring wheat crop

Praca obejmuje opracowanie różnych wariantów mieszanek polepszacza glebowego i testowania go w glebie, w celu poprawy plonu pszenicy jarej. W badaniach wykorzystano 3-czynnikowy układ doświadczalny według Boxa-Behnkena, w celu modelowania wpływu składników takich jak: biowęgiel, bazalt, otręby pszenne na parametry wzrostu roślin w glebie uniwersalnej. Możliwość zastosowania powyższych składników została potwierdzona poprzez wykonaną wcześniej analizę wieloelementową. Prace badawcze polegały na monitorowaniu tempa wzrostu roślin, badania składu gleby po zakończeniu eksperymentu oraz suchej i mokrej masy roślin po zakończeniu doświadczenia. Badania potwierdziły zasadność stosowania dodatków do gleb, szczególnie jeśli chodzi o otręby pszenne i biowęgiel. Dodatek polepszacza nie wpłynął na zwiększenie zawartości metali ciężkich, co wskazuje na możliwości jego wykorzystania.The work includes the development of various variants of soil improver mixtures and testing them in soil to improve the yield of spring wheat. The study used a 3-factor experimental system according to Box-Behnken in order to model the influence of components such as: biochar, basalt, wheat bran on plant growth parameters in a substrate based on universal soil. The applicability of the above ingredients has been confirmed by a multi-element analysis performed earlier. The research work consisted in monitoring the plant growth rate, examining the soil composition after the end of the experiment, and the dry and wet mass of plants after the end of the experiment. The research confirmed the legitimacy of the use of soil additives, especially when it comes to wheat bran and biochar. The addition of an improver did not increase the content of heavy metals, which indicates the possibility of their use

Sustainable Production of Biosurfactant from Agro-Industrial Oil Wastes by <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> and Its Potential Application as Antioxidant and ACE Inhibitor

The microbial conversion of agro-industrial oil wastes into biosurfactants shows promise as a biomass refinery approach. In this study, Bacillus subtilis #309 was applied to produce surfactin using rapeseed and sunflower cakes, the most common oil processing side products in Europe. Studies of the chemical composition of the substrates were performed, to determine the feasibility of oil cakes for surfactin production. Initially, screening of proteolytic and lipolytic activity was performed to establish the capability of B. subtilis #309 for substrate utilization and hence effective surfactin production. B. subtilis #309 showed both proteolytic and lipolytic activity. The process of surfactin production was carefully analyzed by measurement of the surfactin concentration, pH, surface tension (ST) and emulsification index (E24). The maximal surfactin concentration in the sunflower and rapeseed cake medium reached 1.19 ± 0.03 and 1.45 ± 0.09 g/L, respectively. At the same time, a progressive decrease in the surface tension and increase in emulsification activity were observed. The results confirmed the occurrence of various surfactin homologues, while the surfactin C15 was the dominant one. Finally, the analysis of surfactin biological function exhibited antioxidant activity and significant angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory activity. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value for ACE inhibition was found to be 0.62 mg/mL for surfactin. Molecular docking of the surfactin molecule to the ACE domains confirmed its inhibitory activity against ACE. Several interactions, such as hydrophobic terms, hydrogen bonds and van der Waals interactions, were involved in the complex stabilization. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the effect of a lipopeptide biosurfactant, surfactin, produced by B. subtilis for multifunctional properties in vitro, namely the ACE-inhibitory activity and the antioxidant properties, using different assays, such as 2,2-azinobis (3-ethyl-benzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). Thus, the ACE-inhibitory lipopeptide biosurfactant shows promise to be used as a natural antihypertensive agent

Sleep Position Detection with a Wireless Audio-Motion Sensor—A Validation Study

It is well documented that body position significantly affects breathing indices during sleep in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. They usually worsen while changing from a non-supine to a supine position. Therefore, body position should be an accurately measured and credible parameter in all types of sleep studies. The aim of this study was to specify the accuracy of a neck-based monitoring device (Clebre, Olsztyn, Poland) mounted at the suprasternal notch, in determining a supine and non-supine sleeping position, as well as specific body positions during sleep, in comparison to polysomnography (PSG). A sleep study (PSG along with a neck-based audio-motion sensor) was performed on 89 consecutive patients. The accuracy in determining supine and non-supine positions was 96.9%±3.9% and 97.0%±3.6%, respectively. For lateral positions, the accuracy was 98.6%±2% and 97.4%±4.5% for the right and left side, respectively. The prone position was detected with an accuracy of 97.3%±5.6%. The study showed a high accuracy in detecting supine, as well as other gross positions, during sleep based on a sensor attached to the suprasternal notch, compared to the PSG study. We feel that the suprasternal notch is a promising area for placing wireless sleep study devices

Enzymatic bioconversion of feather waste with keratinases of Bacillus cereus PCM 2849

Enzymatic preparation from culture of keratinolytic Bacillus cereus PCM 2849 was applied for hydrolysis of whole chicken feathers, after sulphitolytic pretreatment. This process was optimized using a three-factor Box-Behnken design, where the effect of substrate concentration, sulphite concentration during pretreatment and reaction temperature was evaluated on the release of amino acids. Obtained results revealed the highest impact of reaction temperature, followed by substrate content and sulphite during pretreatment. Optimal process conditions were established, i.e. temperature 44.4°C, feathers 4.7% and treatment with 25.3 mM sulphite. Amino acid composition of the obtained hydrolysate was analyzed. Glutamic acid (9.21 g·kg−1) and proline were dominant, however significant amount of branched-chain amino acids was also observed. The FTIR analysis of residual substrate revealed the cleavage of disulphide bonds in keratin through the presence of thioester residues. The absence of reduced cysteine residues was confirmed, along with minor changes in proportions of keratin substructures

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Additional file 3: Table S2. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the obtained regression model for the release of soluble proteins

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Additional file 4: Table S3. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the obtained regression model for the release of amino acids

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Additional file 6: Table S5. Concentration of dominant amino acids in feather hydrolysates prior to and after treatments