Características nutricionais da carne de cordeiros terminados com dietas contendo cana-de-açúcar ou silagem de milho e dois níveis de concentrado

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

Perfil fermentativo de silagens de cana-de-açúcar in natura ou queimada e tratadas ou não com Lactobacillus buchneri

Objetivou-se comparar as perdas, a dinâmica microbiológica e as alterações fermentativas e nutritivas de silagens de cana-de-açúcar in natura ou queimada e tratadas ou não com Lactobacillus buchneri durante o período de armazenamento. Os tratamentos foram cana-de-açúcar in natura ou tratada com L. buchneri e cana-de-açúcar queimada ou tratada com L. buchneri, avaliadas com 0, 1, 4, 7, 14, 28 e 56 dias de fermentação, em três repetições por tratamento. Apenas antes da ensilagem foi constatada diferença significativa na população de leveduras entre cana-de-açúcar in natura e queimada, cujos valores foram de 4,85 e 5,43 log ufc/g de forragem, respectivamente. No decorrer do tempo de fermentação, ocorreu redução da recuperação de matéria seca e as perdas se prolongaram até o dia 56. A concentração de etanol foi alta até o dia 28 e estável até o dia 56, sem diferença entre tratamentos. A digestibilidade verdadeira in vitro da matéria seca sofreu severa redução já no primeiro dia de armazenamento, chegando a reduzir cerca de 20 unidades percentuais aos 56 dias de armazenamento. Silagens de cana-de-açúcar queimada apresentam maiores perdas e alterações fermentativas e nutricionais que silagens de cana-de-açúcar in natura. O L. buchneri deve ser utilizado em silagens de cana-de-açúcar queimada, mas nas de cana-de-açúcar in natura seu uso é dispensável.

Desempenho de novilhos recebendo dietas à base de cana-de-açúcar in natura ou hidrolisada

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

Rendimento dos componentes não-carcaça de cordeiros alimentados com silagem de milho ou cana-de-açúcar e dois níveis de concentrado

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

Effect of different substrates on composting of poultry litter

The objective was to evaluate the differences between distinct types of litter material and their combinations in the dynamics of degradation on the organic matter fractions and the quality of the final compound. The treatments were established according to material used as substrate for broiler litter: treatment 1 - rice husks; 2 - sugar cane bagasse; 3 - wood shavings; 4 - wood shavings + sugar cane bagasse; 5 - rice husks + sugar cane bagasse; and 6 - Napier grass. The following variables were monitored: temperature, levels of total solids (TS), volatile solids (VS), mass and volume of the pile, fibrous fraction, and levels and reductions of N, P and K during the process. Piles formed with Napier grass and sugar cane bagasse presented the highest average temperatures during composting. The greater average reductions in TS and VS were attained in piles with sugar cane bagasse (68.12 and 73.07%, for TS and VS, respectively). The reductions of greatest volume occurred in piles with sugar cane bagasse (52.08%), followed by Napier grass (50.56%). Poultry litters composed of rice husks and wood shavings presented 13.21 and 10.23% of lignin, respectively, which contributed to the lower degradation of fibrous fraction and degradability. Substrates with lower lignin content were those with greatest organic matter degradation rate and had reduced losses of N levels during the process. Composting performance is affected by the initial substrate used to compose the poultry litter.

Effects of nutritional factors on growth of Lactobacillus fermentum mixed with Saccharomyces cerevisiae in alcoholic fermentation

The growth of Lactobacillus fermentum was studied in mixed culture with Saccharomyces cerevisiae during alcoholic fermentation of high test molasses (HTM). Yeast extract or a group of 17 amino acids caused a strong and fast decrease in yeast viability due to the strong increase of acidity produced by bacteria. Pure culture of Lactobacillus fermentum in dry sugar cane broth confirmed amino acids as the main nutrients needed to stimulate the growth of bacterial contaminant during alcoholic fermentation. The absence of L. fermentum growth was obtained when leucine: isoleucine or valine were not added to the medium. Phenylalanine, alanine, glutamic acid, cystine, proline, histidine, arginine, threonine, tryptophane, serine and methionine inhibited the bacterial growth at least in one of the cultures of L. fermentum tested.

Production of fructooligosaccharides by the mycelia of Aspergillus japonicus immobilized in calcium alginate

This work describes fructose oligosaccharide (FOS) production by the immobilized mycelia (IM) of a strain of Aspergillus japonicus, isolated from soil. The microorganism was inoculated into 50 mi of medium composed of sugar cane molasses (5.0% of total sugars); yeast powder; 2.0%; K2HPO4, 0.5%; NaNO3, 0.2%; MgSO4. 7H(2)O, 0.05%; KCl, 0.05%, final pH 5.0, and the flasks were agitated in an orbital shaker at 200 rpm for 60 h, at 30 degrees C. The beta-fructofuranosidase activity (Uf), transfructosylating activity (Ut), hydrolyzing activity (Uh), and FOS production were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography. FOS production was performed in a batch process in a 2-l jar fermenter by IM in calcium alginate beads. The optimum pH and temperature were 5.0-5.6 and 55 degrees C, respectively No loss of activity was observed when the mycelium was maintaned at 60 degrees C for 60 min. Maximum production was obtained using 5.75% (cellular weight/volume) of mycelia (122.4 Ut g(-1)) and 65% sucrose solution (w:v) for 4 h of reaction when the final product reached 61.28% of fetal FOS containing GF(2) (30.56%), GF(3) (26.45%), GF(4) (4.27%), sucrose (9.6%) and glucose (29.10%). In the assay conditions, 23 batches were performed without loss of activity of the IM, showing that the microorganism and the process utilized have potential for industrial applications. (C) 1998 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of agricultural biomass burning on aerosol size distribution and dry deposition in southeastern Brazil

The size distributed composition of ambient aerosols is used to explore seasonal differences in particle chemistry and to show that dry deposition fluxes of soluble species, including important plant nutrients, increase during periods of biomass (sugar cane trash) burning in São Paulo State, Brazil. Measurements were made at a single site centrally located in the State's sugar cane growing region but away from the immediate vicinity of burns, so that the air sampled was representative of the regional background. Calculation of ion equivalent balances showed that during burning periods smaller particles (Aitken and accumulation modes) were more acidic, containing higher concentrations of SO(4)(2-), oxalate, NO(3)(-), HCOO(-), CH(3)COO(-), and Cl(-), but insufficient NH(4)(+) and K(+) to achieve neutrality. Larger particles showed an anion deficit due to the presence of unmeasured ions and comprised resuspended dusts modified by accumulation of nitrate, chloride, and organic anions. Increases of resuspended particles during the burning season were attributed to release of earlier deposits from the surfaces of burning vegetation as well as increased vehicle movement on unsurfaced roads. During winter months the relative contribution of combined emissions from road transport and industry diminished due to increased emissions from biomass combustion and other activities specifically associated with the harvest period. Positive increments in annual particulate dry deposition fluxes due to higher fluxes during the sugar cane harvest were 44.3% (NH(4)(+)), 42.1 % (K(+)), 31.8% (Mg(2+)), 30.4% (HCOO(-)), 12.8% (Cl(-)), 6.6% (CH(3)COO(-)), 5.2% (Ca(2+)), 3.8% (SO(4)(2-)), and 2.3% (NO(3)(-)). Na(+) and oxalate fluxes were seasonally invariant. Annual aerosol dry deposition fluxes (kg ha(-1)) were 0.5 (Na(+)), 0.25 (NH(4)(+)), 0.39 (K(+)), 0.51 (Mg(2+)), 3.19 (Ca(2+)), 1.34 (Cl(-)), 4.47 (NO(3)(-)), 3.59 (SO(4)(2-)), 0.58 (oxalate), 0.71 (HCOO(-)), and 1.38 (CH(3)COO(-)). Contributions of this mechanism to combined aerosol dry deposition and precipitation scavenging (inorganic species, excluding gaseous dry deposition) were 31% (Na(+)), 8% (NH(4)(+)), 26% (K(+)), 63% (Mg(2+)), 66% (Ca(2+)), 32% (Cl(-)), 33% (NO(3)(-)), and 36% (SO(4)(2-)).

Morphologic changes in the vesical transition epithelium of alcoholic rats

Few studies are available about the effect of alcohol on the epithelium of the urinary bladder. In the present investigation we studied the ultrastructure of the vesical transition epithelium of normal rats and of rats submitted to experimental chronic alcoholism. Adult rats were submitted to experimental chronic alcoholism by the ingestion of sugar cane liquor. The vesical epithelium was examined after 60, 120, 180 and 240 days of alcohol treatment by transmission electron microscopy. Surface cells presented nuclear and cytoplasmic changes and marked cellular desquamation. There was an increase in multivesicular bodies and lysosomes suggesting cell degeneration. Mast cell infiltration was observed, possibly related to increased epithelial sensitivity. Intercellular spaces were frequently observed. The transition epithelium of the urinary bladder was found to be sensitive to the action of alcohol, as demonstrated by the changes in the components of the blood-urine barrier, the greater sensitivity to inflammation, the increase in cell desquamation and the greater recycling of the apical membrane and of the fusiform vesicles of surface cells observed in alcoholic rats.

Nanostructured films employed as sensing units in an electronic tongue system

Nanostructured films of lignin (macromolecule extracted from sugar cane bagasse), polypyrrole (conducting polymer) and bis butylimido perylene (organic dye) were used in the detection of trace levels of fluorine (from H2SiF6), chlorine (from NaCIO), Pb+2, Cu+2, and Cd+2 in aqueous solutions. Langmuir monolayers on ultrapure water were characterised by surface pressure-mean molecular area (II-A) isotherms. Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films were transferred onto gold interdigitated electrodes and used as individual sensing units of an electronic tongue system. Impedance spectroscopy measurements were taken with the sensor immersed into aqueous solutions containing the ions described above in different molar concentrations. Fourier transform infrared absorption (FTIR) was employed to identify possible interactions between the LB films and the analytes in solution, and no significant changes could be observed in the FTIR spectra of BuPTCD and Ppy. Therefore, the results for lignin point to an interaction involving the electronic cloud of the phenyl groups with the metallic ions.

Avaliação química e microbiológica do capim-elefante, cultivar taiwan A-148, preparado para ensilagem com bagaço de cana-de-açúcar

Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.), was cut after nine weeks of regrowth and mixed with 10, 20, 30 and 40% of sugar cane bagasse (SCB) with the objective of reducing the moisture content of the ensiled mass. Willing of the grass for eight and twelve hours was used as a comparative treatment. Initial dry matter of the grass (13%) increased in the forage mass to 17, 23, 24 and 27% by the addition of 10, 20, 30 and 40% of the SCB respectively. Wilting for eight and twelve hours increased initial dry matter to 18 and 24% respectively. Buffering capacity of elephant grass was reduced by the addition of 40% of SCB. Clostridium spores in the ensiled mass tended to be lower due to the effect of the two pre-treatments. Initial dry matter and number of spores of Clostridium were negatively correlated although without statistic significance. The addition of SCB reduced (P < 0.0.5) soluble carbohydrates and crude protein percentages in the ensiled mass. It was concluded that wilting is more effective than the addition of SCB in the practice of ensiling elephant grass.

Compact disks, a new source for gold electrodes. Application to the quantification of copper by PSA

In this work we describe a versatile and very sensitive way for copper quantification by potentiometric stripping analysis using gold electrodes obtained from recordable compact disks (CDs). This new source of electrodes (CDtrodes) shown similar performance to the commercial gold electrodes with superior versatility and lower cost. Recordable CDs contains a highly pure gold film with thickness between 50 and 100 nm and superficial area of ca. 100 cm(2). The working electrode developed was used successfully in stationary cell and many experimental parameters have been optimized. For copper, the detection limit attained was 30 ng L-1 (600 s deposition time) with remarkable precision (standard deviation of 1.8 % for 20 repetitive measurements using 25 mu gL(-1) of copper with 60 s of deposition time). The gold electrode developed was used for analysis of copper in sugar cane spirits and tap water samples. The results were compared with those obtained by atomic absorption spectroscopy.

Surface morphology and molecular organization of lignins in Langmuir-Blodgett films

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) are used to investigate molecular organization in Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of two kinds of lignins. The lignins were extracted from sugar cane bagasse using distinct extraction processes and are referred to here as ethanol lignin (EL) and saccharification lignin (SAC). AFM images show that LB films from EL have a flat surface in comparison with those from SAC. For the latter, ellipsoidal aggregates are seen oriented perpendicularly to the substrate. This result is confirmed by a combination of transmission and reflection FTIR measurements, which also point to lignin aggregates preferentially oriented perpendicularly to the substrate. For LB films from EL, on the other hand, aggregates are preferentially oriented parallel to the substrate, again consistent with the flat surface observed in AFM data. The vibrational spectroscopy data for cast films from both lignins show random molecular organization, as one should expect.

Influence of solid wastes in the mycelium growth of Lentinula edodes (berk.) Pegler

In Brazil there was little research related to Shiitake axenic culture. The aim of this research was to understand the substratum effects in the kinetics of the Shiitake mycelium growth. It was used two Shiitake strains and two different base substrate (eucalyptus sawdust and sugar cane bagasse) varying in three proportions of the supplements. The supplements, a blend of rice and wheat brans, were added in the proportion of 0, 10 and 20% of the base substrate. The experiment was composed of six treatments. The mycelium growth kinetics in volume had no effect relation to the strains and substrate and it followed a mathematical model represented by logarithmic equation. Beta, gamma and delta parameters didn't show any correlation with the growth velocity in volume. The strain L55 was better adapted than L17.

Allergenic extracts from Metarhizium anisopliae: Obtainment and characterization

Metarhizium anisopliae is used as a biopesticide for insects that damage agricultural plantations like sugar cane and forage plants. In a previous study the sensitization to this fungus of asthmatic patients coming from sugar cane areas was showed. The aims of this work were: to compare crude extracts obtained with Tris-HCl and Coca liquid from several growth phases of M. anisopliae concerning the total content of proteins and their electrophoretic analysis profile; to evaluate in vivo allergic sensitization in Balb/c mice and allergic patients from a sugar cane area, and to characterize the allergenic fractions in the sera of patients positive for the prick test by means of Western-blotting. The extract obtained with Coca liquid on the 16(th) day was the one that presented the greatest number of proteic fractions, including all those present in the other extracts. Twelve fractions were verified in this extract with approximate molecular weights from 94 to 14 kDa. The allergenicity of the extract obtained on the 16(th) day was proven by the production of IgE antibodies in Balb/c mice, with titres of 200. Prick tests carried out with the extract of the 16(th) day in 79 atopic individuals (from sugar cane area), 35 atopic individuals (from urban area) and 11 non- atopic individuals showed respective positivity of 29%, 9% and 0%. The allergenic characterization in vitro was performed by means of Western blotting, and the fractions that reacted with the positive individuals' sera were those of approximate molecular weights of 67 kDa (95%); 20 kDa (55%); 94 kDa (36%); 34 and 36 kDa (23%); 43 and 48 kDa (14%): 16 kDa (9%) and 54kDa (5%). It was concluded that the crude allergenic extract, obtained with Coca liquid from the 16(th) day growth of Metarhizium anisopliae, contains allergenic fractions and can be used in diagnostic screening tests.