Citrus pulp and enzyme complex for growing and finishing pigs

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

Soil microbial properties after 5 years of consecutive amendment with composted tannery sludge

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Deconstructing the DGAT1 enzyme: Binding sites and substrate interactions

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

Evaluation of Three Enzyme Immunoassays for Diagnosis of Clostridium difficile-Associated Diarrhea in Foals

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

ENDO-OLIGOPEPTIDASE-A, A PUTATIVE ENKEPHALIN-GENERATING ENZYME, IN THE VERTEBRATE RETINA

Endo-oligopeptidase A, EC 3.4.22.19, converts small enkephalin-containing peptides into the corresponding enkephalins in vitro. We investigated the presence of endooligopeptidase A in the retina and its possible colocalization with enkephalins in retinal neurons. The specific activity of endo-oligopeptidase A found in pigeon retinae (30.3 +/- 7.3 mU/mg, mean +/- standard deviation) was four times higher than in rabbit retinae (7.0 +/- 1.1 mU/mg). The enzyme activity was not modified by EDTA, but it was enhanced by dithiothreitol and inhibited by zinc and 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid). Immunohistochemical experiments with a purified antiserum against rabbit endo-oligopeptidase A revealed labeled neurons in both the inner nuclear layer and the ganglion cell layer of pigeon and rabbit retinae. Double-labeling immunofluorescence experiments demonstrated that about 90% of neurons containing endo-oligopeptidase A-like immunoreactivity also contained [Leu5]-enkephalin-like immunoreactivity. These colocalization results may represent an important step toward the demonstration of the possible involvement of endo-oligopeptidase A in enkephalin generation in vivo.

Comparison of polymers and ceramics in new and discarded electrical insulators: reuse and recycling possibilities

The expansion and maintenance of electricity distribution networks generates large amounts of waste, much of it in the form of discarded insulators that are not reused or recycled. This paper describes the results of tests on used and new ceramic and polymeric insulators to verify if their exposure to weathering justifies their replacement. In new and used ceramic insulators, properties such as contact angle, relative density, porosimetry, dilatometry and X-ray diffraction patterns showed no differences or the differences that were found could not be related to their use. The discarded ceramic material showed high thermal stability, an interesting characteristic for application as chamotte. It can also be reused to replace gravel used in substations. In polymeric insulators, thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry and relative density test results suggest degradation of used material compared to new. This would justify their replacement and discard as waste, but they show little recycling potential.

SAXS Studies of the Endoglucanase Cel12A from Gloeophyllum trabeum Show Its Monomeric Structure and Reveal the Influence of Temperature on the Structural Stability of the Enzyme

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

Fibrolytic enzyme production of Myceliophthora thermophila M.7.7. using inexpensive carbon sources and mineral nutrients

This study investigated the effect of inexpensive carbon and nitrogen sources on enzyme production by Myceliophthora thermophila M.7.7 in solid-state fermentation. Three kinds of lignocellulosic waste (corn straw, sugarcane bagasse and sugarcane straw) and six nitrogen sources (urea, calcium nitrate, analytical ammonium sulphate, yeast extract, agricultural fertilizer NPK 20-05-20 and fertilizing grade ammonium sulphate) were tested. Some physical-chermical parameters of the fermentation, such as temperature, initial pH and moisture content of the substrate on enzyme production, were evoluated. The maximum activities of xylanase (446.9 U/ml) endoglucanase (94.7 U/ml) and beta-glucosidase (2.8 U/ml) were observed in a mixture of corn straw and wheat bran (1:1 w/w) as the carbon source using fertilizer grade ammonium sulphate as the nitrogen source. This production occurred for an incubation period of 96 h, at 40°C, with initial moisture content of 70% and pH 5.0. These results have significant interest since they could be used for the future production of enzymes in a low-cost industrial process.

Angiotensin converting enzyme polymorphism in type 2 diabetes mellitus

This study was undertaken to assess the frequency of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. A total of 162 patients with type 2 diabetes and 160 individuals without this disease were analyzed. From the diabetes group, 81 patients with cardiovascular risk (according to American Diabetes Association parameters) were selected to form another subgroup. For polymorphism identification, two polymerase chain reactions were performed: one reaction to identify all genotypes and a second one to confirm the presence of the I allele. The observed genotype frequencies were as follows: diabetes group I/I (19.1%), I/D (52.5%), D/D (28.4%); control group I/I (12.5%), I/D (55.6%), D/D (31.9%); and diabetes with cardiovascular risk group I/I (16.0%), I/ D (59.3%), D/D (24.7%). No statistically significant difference was observed between the allelic and genotypic frequencies in the analyzed groups. Previous studies reported an association between the D allele and type 2 diabetes in Caucasian and East Asian populations. However, in mixed populations, such as those found in Brazil, such an association was not found. This fact does not discard the need for more studies on the frequencies of this polymorphism in the Brazilian population and the associations with risk factors, which can compromise the quality of life of diabetes patients

Atividade de fosfomonohidrolases presentes em fígado de girino de rã-touro (Lithobates catesbeianus) durante a metamorfose

Pós-graduação em Biotecnologia - IQ

Investigation, expression, and molecular modeling of ORF2, a metagenomic lipolytic enzyme

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

Natural rubber/leather waste composite foam: A new eco-friendly material and recycling approach

This article describes a new approach of recycling the leather waste (shavings) using it as filler in natural rubber foams composites. The foams were prepared using different amounts of leather waste (0-60 parts per hundred of rubber) and submitted to morphological (SEM microscopy) and mechanical analyses (cyclic stress-strain compression). The increase of leather shavings on the composite causes an increase of viscosity in the mixture, which reflects in the foaming process. This results in smaller and fairly uniform cells. Furthermore, expanded rubber has the biggest cell size, with more than 70% of cell with 1000 mu m, while the composite with the higher concentration of leather has around 80% of total number of cells with 100-400 mu m. The mechanical parameters were found to depend on the leather dust concentration. Moreover, the stiffness rises with the increase of leather shavings; consequently, the compression force for expanded rubber was 0.126 MPa as well as the composite with higher concentration of leather was 7.55 MPa. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41636.

Recycling scrap automotive heat shield insulation material

Automotive heat shields are usually composed of two metal sheets enclosing an insulating material with a paper-like texture that contains refractory ceramic particles. This article discusses the results achieved by recycling the scrap automotive insulation that is discarded in landfills, using the same concept as paper recycling. For comparison with the original product, tests of thickness, bulk density, weight loss on ignition, tensile strength, compressibility, and recovery were performed on recycled materials produced in a so-called "manual" process (involving little automation and performed in adapted facilities) without pressing, and pressed once, twice, and four times. Materials recycled in a so-called "industrial" process (in a paper recycling plant) without pressing, and pressed once were also tested. The recycled materials can be considered approved with respect to the main requirement, thermal insulation, since they dissipated the under-hood temperature by more than 300 A degrees C (like the original product). Like the heat insulation tests, the thermogravimetric analysis suggested that the recycled materials showed higher stability than the original product. Thermogravimetric, microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy analyses indicated that the structural and compositional characteristics of the original product were preserved after recycling.