Purification and Characterization of an Ethanol-Tolerant β-Glucosidase from Sporidiobolus pararoseus and Its Potential for Hydrolysis of Wine Aroma Precursors

An extracellular ethanol-tolerant β-glucosidase from Sporidiobolus pararoseus was purified to homogeneity and characterized, and its potential use for the enhancement of wine aroma was investigated. The crude enzymatic extract was purified in four steps (concentration, dialysis, ultrafiltration, and chromatography) with a yield of around 40 % for total activity. The purified enzyme (designated Sp-βgl-P) showed a specific activity of approximately 20.0 U/mg, an estimated molecular mass of 63 kDa after sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and isoelectric point of 5.0 by isoelectric focusing. Sp-βgl-P has optimal activity at pH 4.0 and at 55 °C. It was stable in a broad pH range at low temperatures and it was tolerant to ethanol and glucose, indicating suitable properties for winemaking. The hydrolysis of glycosidic terpenes was analyzed by adding Sp-βgl-P directly to the wines. The released terpene compounds were evaluated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The enzymatic treatment significantly increased the amount of free terpenes, suggesting that this enzyme could potentially be applicable in wine aroma improvement. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Coffee adulteration: more than two decades of research

Abstract Coffee is a ubiquitous food product of considerable economic importance to the countries that produce and export it. The adulteration of roasted coffee is a strategy used to reduce costs. Conventional methods employed to identify adulteration in roasted and ground coffee involve optical and electron microscopy, which require pretreatment of samples and are time-consuming and subjective. Other analytical techniques have been studied that might be more reliable, reproducible, and widely applicable. The present review provides an overview of three analytical approaches (physical, chemical, and biological) to the identification of coffee adulteration. A total of 30 published papers are considered. It is concluded that despite the existence of a number of excellent studies in this area, there still remains a lack of a suitably sensitive and widely applicable methodology able to take into account the various different aspects of adulteration, considering coffee varieties, defective beans, and external agents.

Composite resin susceptibility to red wine staining after water sorption

Color stability of restorative materials is essential for longevity of esthetic composite restoration over time. The aim of this investigation was assess the effect of prior water immersion on the color stability of a composite resin to red wine staining. Seventy disccshaped specimens (6mm x 1.5mm) were carried out and randomized in 7 groups (n = 10), according to distilled water immersion time at 0 (control), 24, 48, 72,120,192, and 240 h. Baseline color was measured according to the ciel*a*b* system using a reflection spectrophotometer(uvc2450, shimadzu).After that, the specimens were storage in red wine for 7 days. Color difference (∆e) after aging was calculated based on the color coordinates before(baseline) and after storage period.Data were subjected to onecway anova(alpha=0.05).The different times of immersion in.Water before to the red wine storage showed similar behavior on the color stability, without statistical difference compared to control group, immersed directly in the wine(p=0.7057).The previous water uptake of composite resin evaluated did not decrease the susceptibility to red wine staining.

Recurrent oral pyogenic granuloma in port-wine stain

Abstract: Pyogenic granuloma (PG) is a benign inflammatory lesion, nonneoplastic in nature, which occurs in the oral cavity and skin. This lesion arises in response to various stimuli such as low-grade local irritations, traumatic injury, or hormonal factors. Recently, in some cases, the occurrence of recurrent PGs in skin associated with vascular lesions, such as port-wine stains, has been described. It has been postulated that this association is promoted by arteriovenous anastomoses in the vascular lesions, leading to the development of PG. The authors discuss 2 cases of recurrent PG in patients with a port-wine stain, and the treatment options adopted.

Estudo de adulteração em méis brasileiros através de razão isotópica do carbono

Neste trabalho, objetivou-se analisar isotopicamente méis comercializados nas regiões Sul e Sudeste do Brasil, para a detecção de fraude. Foram colhidas amostras comerciais com registro no Serviço de Inspeção Federal, Estadual ou Municipal. As amostras foram submetidas à combustão no Analisador Elementar EA 1108 CHN e analisadas no espectrômetro de massas de razão isotópica DELTA-S (Finningan Mat). Os valores isotópicos (δ13C) dos méis in natura foram comparados aos de suas respectivas proteínas (padrão interno). Foram consideradas adulteradas as amostras cuja diferença entre o valor isotópico da proteína e do mel foi igual ou inferior a -1 . As amostras consideradas adulteradas pela análise isotópica foram submetidas a testes químicos qualitativos que não foram capazes de indicar adulteração para algumas delas. Das 61 amostras analisadas, 18,0% encontram-se adulteradas, sendo 11,5% na Região Sudeste e 6,5% na Região Sul. Ao contrário dos testes químicos, a análise isotópica mostrou-se eficaz em identificar e quantificar a adulteração de méis comerciais.

Damages of spittlebug on sugarcane quality and fermentation process

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

A kinetic model for Xylella fastidiosa adhesion, biofilm formation, and virulence

Xylella fastidiosa is the causal agent of citrus variegated chlorosis and Pierce's disease which are the major threat to the citrus and wine industries. The most accepted hypothesis for Xf diseases affirms that it is a vascular occlusion caused by bacterial biofilm, embedded in an extracellular translucent matrix that was deduced to be the exopolysaccharide fastidian. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis demonstrated that virulent cells which form biofilm on glass have low fastidian content similar to the weak virulent ones. This indicates that high amounts of fastidian are not necessary for adhesion. In this paper we propose a kinetic model for X fastidiosa adhesion, biofilm formation, and virulence based on electrostatic attraction between bacterial surface proteins and xylem walls. Fastidian is involved in final biofilm formation and cation sequestration in dilute sap. (C) 2004 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spittlebug impacts on sugarcane quality and ethanol production

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Efeito da temperatura no armazenamento de uvas apirênicas minimamente processadas

O trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a qualidade pós-colheita de três cultivares de uvas de mesa sem semente submetidas ao processamento mínimo e armazenadas sob refrigeração e à temperatura ambiente. Para tanto, foram utilizadas uvas das cultivares BRS Clara, BRS Linda e BRS Morena, produzidas na Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA) Uva e Vinho/Estação Experimental de Viticultura Tropical, em Jales-SP. Os cachos, depois de higienizados e imersos em água clorada a 200 mg de cloro.L-1 por 5 minutos, foram mantidos em câmara fria, a 12ºC, por 12 h. As bagas foram degranadas e lavadas em solução de álcool a 70%, por 5 segundos. Depois de escorrido o excesso da solução alcoólica, as bagas foram acondicionadas em bandejas de tereftalato de polietileno (PET) transparente com tampa e com capacidade para 500 mL. Cada unidade, contendo 200 g de bagas, foi armazenada a 12±1,8ºC e 24±0,8ºC, por 12 dias. Avaliaram-se, a cada três dias, a perda de massa fresca, a aparência, a coloração e os teores de sólidos solúveis (SS) e de acidez titulável (AT). A temperatura de 12ºC manteve a turgidez, a coloração, as qualidades organoléptica (relação SS/AT) e comercial das bagas das três cultivares testadas, por nove dias, enquanto no armazenamento à temperatura ambiente (24ºC), ocorre perda da qualidade comercial das bagas aos três dias para as cvs. BRS Clara e BRS Linda, e aos seis dias para a cv. BRS Morena.

Exploiting the versatility of taste sensors based on impedance spectroscopy

The versatility of sensor arrays made from nanostructured Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) and layer-by-layer (LBL) films is demonstrated in two ways. First, different combinations of sensing units are employed to distinguish the basic tastes, viz. sweet, sour, bitter, and salty tastes, produced, respectively, by small concentrations (down to 0.01 g/mol) of sucrose, HCl, quinine, and NaCl solutions. The sensing units are comprised of LB and/or LBL films from semiconducting polymers, a ruthenium complex, and sulfonated lignin. Then, sensor arrays were used to identify wines from different sources, with the high distinguishing ability being demonstrated in principal component analysis (PCA) plots. Particularly important was the fact that the sensing ability does not depend on specific interactions between analytes and the film materials, but a judicious choice of materials is, nevertheless, required for the materials to respond differently to a given sample. It is also shown that the interaction with the analyte may affect the morphology of the nanostructured films, as indicated with scanning electron microscopy. For instance, in wine analysis these changes are not irreversible and the original film morphology is retrieved if the sensing unit is washed with copious amounts of water, thus allowing the sensor unit to be reused.

Cheap assays of malate, glycerol and ethanol in fermenting must and food samples

A preparation, enriched with malate dehydrogenase (MDH), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), glycerol -3- P dehydrogenase (GPDH) and glycerol kinase (GK), was obtained from dry baker's yeast. This preparation was used to assay glycerol, ethanol and malate measuring the variations in absorbance (NADH formation) at 340 nm. Good degrees of recoveries were obtained when glycerol was added to red wine and fermenting sugar-cane juice and when L-malate was added to commercial apple juice samples. Good results were also obtained when ethanol was assayed in fermented sugar-cane juice and wine samples, using both the partially purified preparation obtained from dry yeast and a purified commercial alcohol dehydrogenase.

Cancer risk assessment of ethyl carbamate in alcoholic beverages from Brazil with special consideration to the spirits cachaca and tiquira

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

COLOR STABILITY of SEALED COMPOSITE RESIN RESTORATIVE MATERIALS AFTER ULTRAVIOLET ARTIFICIAL AGING and IMMERSION IN STAINING SOLUTIONS

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of Artificial Aging on the Roughness and Microhardness of Sealed Composites

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of Different Light-Curing Modes on Degree of Conversion, Staining Susceptibility and Stain's Retention Using Different Beverages in a Nanofilled Composite Resin

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)