7 research outputs found
Fucoidan-degrading fungal strains: screening, morphometric evaluation, and influence of medium composition
Ten different fungal strains from the genus Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Mucor
were screened for fucoidan hydrolyzing ability aiming to find microorganisms able to
produce sulfated fucan-degrading enzymes. Screening was carried out by measuring the
strains kinetic and morphometric behavior over plate assays using Laminaria japonica
fucoidan as only carbon source, testing three nitrogen sources (urea, peptone, and sodium
nitrate). The selected fungal strains were subsequently used in submerged fermentations,
which were performed for (1) selection of the strains able to growth over fucoidan medium
and (2) media selection, testing the synergy of fucoidan with other sugars for inducing high
enzyme titles. Radial expansion and hyphae parameters were observed for Aspergillus niger
PSH, Mucor sp. 3P, and Penicillium purpurogenum GH2 grown only over fucoidan-urea
medium. A. niger PSH showed the maximum enzymatic activity values, which were
significantly different (p<0.05) from those achieved by the other selected fungi. Sucrose
addition to fucoidan media proportioned the highest fucoidanase activity values for this
fungal strain. This research allowed establishing optimal conditions for metabolites
synthesis by fungal stains able to act toward fucoidan ramified matrix.Mexican
Science and Technology Council (CONACYT
Observation of optical solitons in PT-symmetric lattices
Controlling light transport in nonlinear active environments is a topic of considerable interest in the field of optics. In such complex arrangements, of particular importance is to devise strategies to subdue chaotic behaviour even in the presence of gain/loss and nonlinearity, which often assume adversarial roles. Quite recently, notions of parity-time (PT) symmetry have been suggested in photonic settings as a means to enforce stable energy flow in platforms that simultaneously employ both amplification and attenuation. Here we report the experimental observation of optical solitons in PT-symmetric lattices. Unlike other non-conservative nonlinear arrangements where self-trapped states appear as fixed points in the parameter space of the governing equations, discrete PT solitons form a continuous parametric family of solutions. The possibility of synthesizing PT-symmetric saturable absorbers, where a nonlinear wave finds a lossless path through an otherwise absorptive system is also demonstrated
Non-Hermitian physics and PT symmetry
In recent years, notions drawn from non-Hermitian physics and parity–time (PT) symmetry have attracted considerable attention. In particular, the realization that the interplay between gain and loss can lead to entirely new and unexpected features has initiated an intense research effort to explore non-Hermitian systems both theoretically and experimentally. Here we review recent progress in this emerging field, and provide an outlook to future directions and developments