Cnidarian-derived filamentous fungi from Brazil: isolation, characterisation and RBBR decolourisation screening.

Marine-derived fungi represent a valuable source of structurally novel and biologically active metabolites of industrial interest. They also have drawn attention for their capacity to degrade several pollutants, including textile dyes, organochlorides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), among others. The fungal tolerance to higher concentrations of salt might be considered an advantage for bioremediation processes in the marine environment. Therefore, filamentous fungi were isolated from cnidarians (scleractinian coral and zoanthids) collected from the north coast of São Paulo State, Brazil. A total of 144 filamentous fungi were morphologically and molecularly characterised. Among them there were several species of Penicillium and Aspergillus, in addition to Cladosporium spp., Eutypella sp., Fusarium spp., Khuskia sp., Mucor sp., Peacilomyces sp., Phoma sp. and Trichoderma spp. These fungi were tested regarding their decolourisation activity for Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR), a textile dye used as an initial screening for PAH-degrading fungi. The most efficient fungi for RBBR decolourisation after 12 days were Penicillium citrinum CBMAI 853 (100%), Aspergillus sulphureus CBMAI 849 (95%), Cladosporium cladosporioides CBMAI 857 (93%) and Trichoderma sp. CBMAI 852 (89%). Besides its efficiency for dye decolourisation within liquid media, C. cladosporioides CBMAI 857 also decolourised dye on solid media, forming a decolourisation halo. Further research on the biotechnological potential, including studies on PAH metabolism, of these selected fungi are in progress.

Analytical methods for the monitoring of solid phase organic synthesis.

Solid phase synthesis (SPS) is a powerful technique to assemble compound libraries in high-throughput parallel and combinatorial synthesis. The widespread applications of these techniques required the development of analytical methods for both structural elucidation and reaction monitoring. This review covers some recently developed techniques for on-bead analyses together with solution-state ones. Particular emphasis is devoted to software and hardware improvements for automated high-throughput analysis.

Ovarian multifollicularity, high LH and androgen plasma levels, and anovulation are frequent and strongly linked in adolescent irregular cycles.

Ninety-seven adolescents (0.5-6.0 years in gynaecological age) suffering from various kinds of menstrual irregularities were studied and compared with 20 adults by performing ovarian ultrasonography and plasma hormonal determinations. High percentages of multifollicularity (57.7%) and enlarged ovaries (46.3%) were found in the entire group of adolescents. Adolescents with multifollicular ovaries (more than 4 cystic areas) showed higher percentages of luteinizing hormone (LH: 32%), testosterone (T: 34%), and androstenedione (A: 43%) levels exceeding the upper normal adult range than subjects with homogeneous (less than 4 cystic areas) ovaries (LH: 12%, T: 10%, A: 19%, respectively). Ovulation can further discriminate the adolescents: in fact, adolescents with homogeneous ovaries and ovulatory cycles have a hormonal pattern almost identical to that of adults. On the contrary, subjects with multifollicular ovaries and anovulatory cycles show low values of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and high values of LH, T and A, significantly different from those in ovulatory subjects with homogeneous ovaries (P less than 0.005) and from those in adults (P less than 0.005).