Cleanup of industrial effluents containing heavy metals: a new opportunity of valorising the biomass produced by brewing industry

Heavy metal pollution is a matter of concern in industrialised countries. Contrary to organic pollutants, heavy metals are not metabolically degraded. This fact has two main consequences: its bioremediation requires another strategy and heavy metals can be indefinitely recycled. Yeast cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are produced at high amounts as a by-product of brewing industry constituting a cheap raw material. In the present work, the possibility of valorising this type of biomass in the bioremediation of real industrial effluents containing heavy metals is reviewed. Given the autoaggregation capacity (flocculation) of brewing yeast cells, a fast and off-cost yeast separation is achieved after the treatment of metal-laden effluent, which reduces the costs associated with the process. This is a critical issue when we are looking for an effective, eco-friendly, and low-cost technology. The possibility of the bioremediation of industrial effluents linked with the selective recovery of metals, in a strategy of simultaneous minimisation of environmental hazard of industrial wastes with financial benefits from reselling or recycling the metals, is discussed.

Provisões, passivos contingentes e activos contingentes

A adopção do Sistema de Normalização Contabilística constitui um marco muito importante na organização da contabilidade das empresas portuguesas. As inovações trazidas por este normativo e o maior pormenor de algumas matérias contabilísticas levam a que temáticas que eram pouco abordadas suscitem agora um maior interesse. Neste sentido, o presente trabalho, assente na Norma Contabilística e de Relato Financeiro (NCRF) 21, pretende demonstrar as alterações e melhorias trazidas por esta norma no reconhecimento e divulgação das provisões, passivos contingentes e activos contingentes, tendo como referências comparativas o anterior normativo contabilístico, o Plano Oficial de Contabilidade (POC). Através da presente dissertação pretende-se compreender a aplicação da norma ao nível do relato financeiro, através da análise dos Relatórios e Contas de 2010 e 2009 de empresas do sector da Construção. Pelo estudo realizado pode constatar-se que o cumprimento da NCRF 21 trouxe aperfeiçoamento no reconhecimento e divulgação das provisões, e principalmente na divulgação das contingências, praticamente omitidas com o POC. No entanto, deve destacar-se a subjectividade implícita nas provisões, sendo ainda, uma norma de difícil aplicação pela sua ambiguidade. Deve também realçar-se a importância da NCRF 3 - Adopção pela primeira vez das Normas Contabilísticas e de Relato Financeiro, que implicou uma reexpressão das contas de saldos de abertura em 2010 de acordo com o novo referencial contabilístico, o que obrigou as empresas a rever as provisões constituídas até à data Uma breve revisão bibliográfica referente ao tema da problemática fiscal foi ainda realizada.

L'Écho de Paris

1905/03/27 (Numéro 7598).

Resoluciones Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá

Doctrina

Family Record

Family record copied from the family bible. This 1 page, single sided note was in an envelope and gives date and places of births and marriage, but it doesn’t provide any last names, n.d.

El pueblo queretano a su singular patrona María Santísima en su advocación del Pueblito.

UANL

Un año en México

UANL

How real is movement in virtual environments ?

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Anàlisi de les actituds envers les persones amb discapacitat : cap a un programa de formació d'actituds adreçat a mestres i alumnes de primària. 'Análisis de las actitudes respecto a las personas con discapacidad : hacia un programa de formación de actitudes dirigido a maestros y alumnos de primaria'.

Enfatizar la importancia del fundamento actitudinal que impregna la práctica escolar y las decisiones y cambios que se pueden dar. Revisar los conceptos que impregnan las filosofías educativas y la implicación que tienen. Plantear la importancia de un programa de formación de actitudes dirigido a maestros y alumnos de primaria en torno a la discapacidad, haciendo especial incidencia en el retraso mental. Analizar las diferentes concepciones en torno a la inclusión escolar entre los profesionales de la educación primaria. Diseñar el proceso de negociación y el plan de trabajo para la realización de un programa de formación de actitudes. Trece profesionales de la educación primaria, en concreto nueve tutores y tutoras, una orientadora, dos maestras de apoyo y una logopeda de un centro de educación infantil, primaria y ESO de la barriada del Polígono de Levante de la ciudad de Palma de Mallorca (Islas Baleares). En primer lugar se realiza una búsqueda bibliográfica exhaustiva en cuanto a los estudios e investigaciones sobre las actitudes hacia la discapacidad aplicadas al ámbito escolar, para revisar los conceptos que impregnan las filosofías educativas. En segundo lugar se vertebra un programa de formación de actitudes dirigido a maestros y alumnos de primaria en torno a la discapacidad, haciendo especial incidencia en el retraso mental y se delimitan la opción metodológica, los criterios de credibilidad, los instrumentos, las fuentes de información y la forma en que se analizarán los datos del trabajo de investigación. En tercer lugar se contextualiza el centro en el que se ha llevado a cabo la investigación y se presentan los protagonistas del estudio, con un análisis de sus concepciones acerca de la inclusión escolar. La cuarta parte recoge el proceso de negociación y el plan de trabajo llevado a cabo así como el rol de la investigadora a lo largo del proceso. Finalmente se recogen los resultados y se presentan las conclusiones y las perspectivas de investigación futura. Programa estadístico SPSS. Se compaginan las técnicas cuantitativas (sociograma explotado con el programa estadístico SPSS) y cualitativas (revisión documental, sociograma explotado con el programa estadístico SPSS, revisión de las entrevistas a los profesionales, transcripción de las sesiones de trabajo, revisión del diario de la investigadora y diario de los participantes, evaluación del programa de formación sobre actitudes, discusión del informe final). Por norma general los alumnos con retraso mental aunque representan el 3,75 por ciento del total de alumnos estudiados, suelen puntuar en los ítems negativos y casi nunca aparecen en los ítems positivos. Los alumnos con rechazo mental son poco valorados como amigos y como personas con valores positivos como pueda ser tener amigos, ser alegres o ayudar a los demás. Esta situación se agrava cuando se dan problemas de comportamiento. Son los alumnos menos elegidos, aunque no los más rechazados, por sus compañeros y su posición sociométrica muestra una clara situación de desventaja en comparación con el resto de compañeros con discapacidades diferentes (problemas motóricos, integración intercultural). Llama la atención el elevado porcentaje de alumnos de etnia gitana que salen rechazados a la hora de jugar, un 31 por ciento. El grupo de profesionales, sin embargo, según se desprende de las entrevistas, sesiones de trabajo y diarios, no percibe la necesidad de poner en marcha medidas especiales ni específicas para las personas con discapacidad, sino que debe tratarse con naturalidad. Sin embargo al analizarse cómo ven los maestros la interacción entre iguales en el centro, manifiestan observar desigualdades y se muestran interesados por aprender a tratar esta problemática. Se demuestra la idoneidad de la investigación y la importancia de los resultados como oportunidad para valorar la necesidad de contar con programas de formación en actitudes y especialmente la inclusión escolar. La gran conclusión en palabras de la autora es que ni la integración física ni funcional, ni una planificación dentro del aula para favorecer la participación del alumnado con retraso mental, suponen o desembocan en una integración social entre iguales. No es suficiente lo que se está haciendo, puesto que la integración social y espontánea en los momentos de juego libre y en las situaciones no estructuradas es un tema pendiente.

Role of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway (PI3K/Akt) in humans

The signaling pathway of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) is critical in many aspects of growth and cell survival. The path of PI3K is stimulated physiologically as a result of many growth factors and regulatory factors. Several genetic alterations such as amplification, mutation and chromosomal arrangements may compromise the PI3K pathway, generating permanent activation in different cancer types have found evidence of these deleterious genetic modifications. Abnormal activation of the PI3K pathway results in alteration of the control mechanisms of growth and cell survival, which favors the competitive growth, and frequently metastatic capacity, greater resistance to treatment. The aim of this paper is to review matters relating to the operation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and its role in the process of carcinogenesis in humans.

Dynamic causal modeling applied to fMRI data shows high reliability

Sensitivity, specificity, and reproducibility are vital to interpret neuroscientific results from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments. Here we examine the scan–rescan reliability of the percent signal change (PSC) and parameters estimated using Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) in scans taken in the same scan session, less than 5 min apart. We find fair to good reliability of PSC in regions that are involved with the task, and fair to excellent reliability with DCM. Also, the DCM analysis uncovers group differences that were not present in the analysis of PSC, which implies that DCM may be more sensitive to the nuances of signal changes in fMRI data.

The mechanism of bacterial indigo reduction

The reduction of water-insoluble indigo by the recently isolated moderate thermophile, Clostridium isatidis, has been studied with the aim of developing a sustainable technology for industrial indigo reduction. The ability to reduce indigo was not shared with C. aurantibutyricum, C. celatum and C. papyrosolvens, but C. papyrosolvens could reduce indigo carmine (5,5-indigosulfonic acid), a soluble indigo derivative. The supernatant from cultures of C. isatidis, but not from cultures of the other bacteria tested, decreased indigo particle size to one-tenth diameter. Addition of madder powder, anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonic acid, and humic acid all stimulated indigo reduction by C. isatidis. Redox potentials of cultures of C. isatidis were about 100 mV more negative than those of C. aurantibutyricum, C. celatum and C. papyrosolvens, and reached –600 mV versus the SCE in the presence of indigo, but potentials were not consistently affected by the addition of the quinone compounds, which probably act by modifying the surface of the bacteria or indigo particles. It is concluded that C. isatidis can reduce indigo because (1) it produces an extracellular factor that decreases indigo particle size, and (2) it generates a sufficiently reducing potential.

Synthesis of alpha-galactooligosaccharides with alpha-galactosidase from Lactobacillus reuteri of canine origin

Crude cell-free extracts from Lactobacillus reuteri grown on cellobiose, maltose, lactose and raffinose were assayed for glycosidic activities. When raffinose was used as the carbon source, alpha-galactosidase was produced, showing the highest yield at the beginning of the stationary growth phase. A 64 kDa enzyme was purified by ultra- and gel filtration, and characterized for its hydrolytic and synthetic activity. Highest hydrolytic activity was found at pH 5.0 at 50 degreesC (K-M 0.55 mM, V-max 0.80 mumol min(-1) mg(-1) of protein). The crude cell-free extract was further used in glycosyl transfer reactions to synthesize oligosaccharides from melibiose and raffinose. At a substrate concentration of 23% (w/v) oligosaccharide mixtures were formed with main products being a trisaccharide at 26% (w/w) yield from melibiose after 8 h and a tetrasaccharide at 18% (w/w) yield from raffinose after 7 h. Methylation analysis revealed the trisaccharide to be 6' alpha-galactosyl melibiose and the tetrasaccharide to be stachyose. In both cases synthesis ceased when hydrolysis of the substrate reached 50%.

Synthesis of prebiotic galactooligosaccharides using whole cells of a novel strain, Bifidobacterium bifidum NCIMB 41171

A novel strain of Bifidobacterium bifidum NCIMB 41171, isolated from a faecal sample from a healthy human volunteer and able to express beta-galactosidase activity, was used in synthesis reactions for the production of galactooligosaccharide from lactose. The beta-galactosidase activity of whole bifidobacterial cells showed an optimum activity at pH 6.8-7.0 and 40 degrees C. The transgalactosylation activity of the B. bifidum cells from 50% (w/w) lactose resulted in a galactooligosaccharide mixture (20% w/w) comprising (w/w): 25% disaccharides, 35% trisaccharides, 25% tetrasaccharides and 15% pentasaccharides. Using different initial lactose concentrations, the conversion rate to galactooligosaccharides was maximum (35%) when 55% (w/w) lactose was used. In fermentation experiments, B. bifidum showed an increased preference towards the produced galactooligosaccharide mixture, displaying higher growth rate and short-chain fatty acid production when compared with commercially available oligosaccharides.

In vitro evaluation of the fermentation properties of galactooligosaccharides synthesised by alpha-galactosidase from Lactobacillus reuteri

Stirred, pH-controlled anaerobic batch cultures were used to evaluate the in vitro utilisation by canine gut microflora of novel alpha-galactooligosaccharides synthesised with an enzyme extract from a canine Lactobacillus reuteri strain. Fructooligosaccharides (FOS), melibiose and raffinose were used as reference carbohydrates for the prebiotic properties of the synthesised oligosaccharide (galactosyl melibiose mixture-GMM). Addition of Lactobacillus acidophilus was used as control for the evaluation of the synbiotic properties of the oligosaccharide with L. reuteri. Populations of predominant gut bacterial groups were monitored over 48 h of batch culture by fluorescent in situ hybridisation, and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production was measured. GMM showed a higher increase in bifidobacteria and lactobacilli population number and size as well as a higher decrease in clostridia population number and size compared to the commercial prebiotics (FOS, melibiose, raffinose). This prebiotic effect was further increased by the addition of L. reuteri followed by a change in the SCFA production pattern compared to GMM alone or GMM with L. acidophilus. The observed change in SCFA production was in accordance with the fermentation properties of L. reuteri, suggesting that the novel synbiotic had a significant effect on the canine gut microflora fermentation.