Impact of a Pretreatment Step on the Acidogenic Fermentation of Spent Coffee Grounds

This work was developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (LA/P/0006/2020), Paulo C. Lemos acknowledges the support by FCT/MCTES for contract IF/01054/2014/CP1224/CT0005.Acidogenic fermentation (AF) is often applied to wastes to produce short-chain organic acids (SCOAs)—molecules with applications in many industries. Spent coffee grounds (SCGs) are a residue from the coffee industry that is rich in carbohydrates, having the potential to be valorized by this process. However, given the recalcitrant nature of this waste, the addition of a pretreatment step can significantly improve AF. In this work, several pretreatment strategies were applied to SCGs (acidic hydrolysis, basic hydrolysis, hydrothermal, microwave, ultrasounds, and supercritical CO2 extraction), evaluated in terms of sugar and inhibitors release, and used in AF. Despite the low yields of sugar extracted, almost all pretreatments increased SCOAs production. Milder extraction conditions also resulted in lower concentrations of inhibitory compounds and, consequently, in a higher concentration of SCOAs. The best results were obtained with acidic hydrolysis of 5%, leading to a production of 1.33 gSCOAs/L, an increase of 185% compared with untreated SCGs.publishersversionpublishe

Enzymatic Potential of Filamentous Fungi as a Biological Pretreatment for Acidogenic Fermentation of Coffee Waste

This work was developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDB/50011/2020, UIDP/50011/2020, and LA/P/0006/2020), and the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry-LAQV (UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/50006/2020). It was financed by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) and, when appropriate, co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. Paulo C. Lemos acknowledges the support of FCT/MCTES for contract IF/01054/2014/CP1224/CT0005 and Joana Pereira thanks FCT/MCTES for her Ph.D. grant SFRH/BD/130003/2017.Spent coffee grounds (SCGs) are a promising substrate that can be valorized by biotechnological processes, such as for short-chain organic acid (SCOA) production, but their complex structure implies the application of a pretreatment step to increase their biodegradability. Physicochemical pretreatments are widely studied but have multiple drawbacks. An alternative is the application of biological pretreatments that include using fungi Trametes versicolor and Paecilomyces variotii that naturally can degrade complex substrates such as SCGs. This study intended to compare acidic and basic hydrolysis and supercritical CO 2 extraction with the application of these fungi. The highest concentration of SCOAs, 2.52 gCOD/L, was achieved after the acidification of SCGs pretreated with acid hydrolysis, but a very similar result, 2.44 gCOD/L, was obtained after submerged fermentation of SCGs by T. versicolor. This pretreatment also resulted in the best acidification degree, 48%, a very promising result compared to the 13% obtained with the control, untreated SCGs, highlighting the potential of biological pretreatments.publishersversionpublishe

Free 2-propen-1-amine derivative and inclusion complexes with beta-cyclodextrin: scanning electron microscopy, dissolution, cytotoxicity and antimycobacterial activity

Inclusion complexes and physical mixtures of isomeric mixture of E/Z (50:50) of 3-(4'-bromo-[1,1'-biphenyl]-4-yl)-3-(4-bromophenyl)-N,N-dimethyl-2-propen-1-amine (BBAP) and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) in the molar proportion of 1:1 and 1:2 were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. The dissolution behavior of BBAP and of the inclusion complexes were also evaluated for six hours. By scanning electron microscopy (SEM), it was possible to observe an inclusion complex formed between BBAP and beta-CD by co-evaporation, either in the molar proportion of 1:1 or 1:2. In the physical mixtures, no complex was observed as previously detected by physicochemical analysis. The dissolution studies showed that the inclusion complexes BBAP/beta-CD 1:1 and 1:2 released respectively 49.07 ± 1.48 and 40.26 ± 3.90% of BBAP during six hours. Free BBAP was less soluble than the inclusion complex and reached 9.00 ± 0.75% of dissolution. Biological assays, such as cytotoxicity to J774 macrophages and to a permanent lung fibroblast cell line (V79), indicated that the BBAP does not exhibit any additional toxic effect with the beta-CD complexes. However, the complexes were less cytotoxic to V79 cells than the free form. The BBAP/beta-CD inclusion complexes were more effective (MIC) than the free compound on several mycobacteria strains. Similar behavior was observed for BBAP/beta-CD complexes and rifampicin, a front-line antitubercular drug, on M. tuberculosis H37Rv growing inside J774 macrophages.Complexos de inclusões e misturas físicas contendo mistura isomérica E/Z (50:50) de 3-(4'-bromo-[1,1'-bifenil]-4-il)-3-(4-bromofenil)-N,N-dimetil-2-propen-1-amina (BBAP) e beta-ciclodextrina (b-CD) nas proporções molares de 1:1 e 1:2 foram analisados por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (SEM). O perfil de dissolução do BBAP e dos complexos de inclusões foram também avaliados durante 6 horas. Por microscopia eletrônica de varredura foi possível observar os complexos de inclusões formados entre BBAP e beta-CD por co-evaporação nas proporções molares de 1:1 e 1:2. Como previamente detectado pela caracterização físico-química, na mistura física não se observou a presença de complexo de inclusão. Os estudos de dissolução mostraram que os complexos de inclusões 1:1 e 1:2 liberaram, respectivamente 49.07 ± 1.48 e 40.26 ± 3.90% de BBAP durante 6 horas. BBAP na forma livre foi menos solúvel que os complexos de inclusões e atingiu 9.00 ± 0.75% de dissolução. Os ensaios de citotoxicidade em macrófagos J774 e em uma linhagem de células fibroblásticas de pulmão (V79) indicaram que o BBAP não exibiu efeito tóxico adicional quando complexado com beta-CD. Entretanto, os complexos de inclusões foram menos tóxicos para células V79 que BBAP na forma livre. Os complexos de inclusões BBAP/beta-CD foram mais efetivos (CIM) que o composto livre em várias cepas de micobactérias. Resultados semelhantes foram observados sobre M. tuberculosis H37Rv intracelular para os complexos de inclusões BBAP/b-CD e rifampicina, uma droga anti-tuberculose de primeira linha.682689Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Markedly Divergent Tree Assemblage Responses to Tropical Forest Loss and Fragmentation across a Strong Seasonality Gradient

We examine the effects of forest fragmentation on the structure and composition of tree assemblages within three seasonal and aseasonal forest types of southern Brazil, including evergreen, Araucaria, and deciduous forests. We sampled three southernmost Atlantic Forest landscapes, including the largest continuous forest protected areas within each forest type. Tree assemblages in each forest type were sampled within 10 plots of 0.1 ha in both continuous forests and 10 adjacent forest fragments. All trees within each plot were assigned to trait categories describing their regeneration strategy, vertical stratification, seed-dispersal mode, seed size, and wood density. We detected differences among both forest types and landscape contexts in terms of overall tree species richness, and the density and species richness of different functional groups in terms of regeneration strategy, seed dispersal mode and woody density. Overall, evergreen forest fragments exhibited the largest deviations from continuous forest plots in assemblage structure. Evergreen, Araucaria and deciduous forests diverge in the functional composition of tree floras, particularly in relation to regeneration strategy and stress tolerance. By supporting a more diversified light-demanding and stress-tolerant flora with reduced richness and abundance of shade-tolerant, old-growth species, both deciduous and Araucaria forest tree assemblages are more intrinsically resilient to contemporary human-disturbances, including fragmentation-induced edge effects, in terms of species erosion and functional shifts. We suggest that these intrinsic differences in the direction and magnitude of responses to changes in landscape structure between forest types should guide a wide range of conservation strategies in restoring fragmented tropical forest landscapes worldwide

Reactivation of latent HIV-1 in vitro using an ethanolic extract from Euphorbia umbellata (Euphorbiaceae) latex

Euphorbia umbellata (E. umbellata) belongs to Euphorbiaceae family, popularly known as Janauba, and its latex contains a combination of phorbol esters with biological activities described to different cellular protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms. Here, we identified deoxi-phorbol esters present in E. umbellata latex alcoholic extract that are able to increase HIV transcription and reactivate virus from latency models. This activity is probably mediated by NF-kB activation followed by nuclear translocation and binding to the HIV LTR promoter. In addition, E. umbellata latex extract induced the production of pro inflammatory cytokines in vitro in human PBMC cultures. This latex extract also activates latent virus in human PBMCs isolated from HIV positive patients as well as latent SIV in non-human primate primary CD4+ T lymphocytes. Together, these results indicate that the phorbol esters present in E. umbellata latex are promising candidate compounds for future clinical trials for shock and kill therapies to promote HIV cure and eradication.Research and experimental expenses were funded by the grant E26/2015064289 from FAPERJinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Drivers of habitat availability for terrestrial mammals: Unravelling the role of livestock, land conversion and intrinsic traits in the past 50 years

The global decline of terrestrial species is largely due to the degradation, loss and fragmentation of their habitats. The conversion of natural ecosystems for cropland, rangeland, forest products and human infrastructure are the primary causes of habitat deterioration. Due to the paucity of data on the past distribution of species and the scarcity of fine-scale habitat conversion maps, however, accurate assessment of the recent effects of habitat degradation, loss and fragmentation on the range of mammals has been near impossible. We aim to assess the proportions of available habitat within the lost and retained parts of mammals' distribution ranges, and to identify the drivers of habitat availability. We produced distribution maps for 475 terrestrial mammals for the range they occupied 50 years ago and compared them to current range maps. We then calculated the differences in the percentage of 'area of habitat' (habitat available to a species within its range) between the lost and retained range areas. Finally, we ran generalized linear mixed models to identify which variables were more influential in determining habitat availability in the lost and retained parts of the distribution ranges. We found that 59% of species had a lower proportion of available habitat in the lost range compared to the retained range, thus hypothesizing that habitat loss could have contributed to range declines. The most important factors negatively affecting habitat availability were the conversion of land to rangeland and high density of livestock. Significant intrinsic traits were those related to reproductive timing and output, habitat breadth and medium body size. Our findings emphasize the importance of implementing conservation strategies to mitigate the impacts caused by human activities on the habitats of mammals, and offer evidence indicating which species have the potential to reoccupy portions of their former range if other threats cease to occur.This study investigates the impact of habitat degradation on terrestrial mammal species. By comparing historic and current distribution maps for 475 species, we found that 59% of them have less available habitat in their lost ranges, suggesting habitat loss contributed to range declines. Factors like land conversion to rangeland and high livestock density negatively affected habitat availability. Intrinsic traits such as reproductive timing, habitat breadth and medium body size also played a role. The study underscores the need for conservation efforts to mitigate human-induced habitat threats and identifies species that could potentially reclaim lost range if threats are addressed.imag