Biotechnological Strategies for Chitosan Production by Mucoralean Strains and Dimorphism Using Renewable Substrates.

We investigated the influence of corn steep liquor (CSL) and cassava waste water (CWW) as carbon and nitrogen sources on the morphology and production of biomass and chitosan by Mucor subtilissimus UCP 1262 and Lichtheimia hyalospora UCP 1266. The highest biomass yields of 4.832 g/L (M. subtilissimus UCP 1262) and 6.345 g/L (L. hyalospora UCP 1266) were produced in assay 2 (6% CSL and 4% CWW), factorial design 22, and also favored higher chitosan production (32.471 mg/g) for M. subtilissimus. The highest chitosan production (44.91 mg/g) by L. hyalospora (UCP 1266) was obtained at the central point (4% of CWW and 6% of CSL). The statistical analysis, the higher concentration of CSL, and lower concentration of CWW significantly contributed to the growth of the strains. The FTIR bands confirmed the deacetylation degree of 80.29% and 83.61% of the chitosan produced by M. subtilissimus (UCP 1262) and L. hyalospora (UCP 1266), respectively. M. subtilissimus (UCP 1262) showed dimorphism in assay 4-6% CSL and 8% CWW and central point. L. hyalospora (UCP 1266) was optimized using a central composite rotational design, and the highest yield of chitosan (63.18 mg/g) was obtained in medium containing 8.82% CSL and 7% CWW. The experimental data suggest that the use of CSL and CWW is a promising association to chitosan production.

Análise da estrutura interna da Bateria de Avaliação Intelectual de Jovens e Adultos / Analysis of the internal structure of the Battery for Assessing Youth and Adults' Intelligence / Análisis de la estructura interna de la Batería de Evaluación Intelectual de Jóvenes y Adultos

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a estrutura interna e a relação das habilidades cognitivas avaliadas pela Bateria de Avaliação Intelectual de Adultos (BAIAD). A amostra foi composta por 963 indivíduos (615 F, 348 M), idades entre 15-64 anos (M = 21, DP/SD/DS = 8). A BAID é composta de sete subtestes: sinônimos, antônimos, analogias, pensamento lógico, pensamento viso-espacial, memória visual-auditiva, rapidez de raciocino. A análise de itens permitiu a redução da BAIAD e índices de precisão de 0,99. A análise confirmatória seguiu o modelo CHC (inteligência cristalizada, inteligência fluída e um fator geral - G) e indicou seu ajuste aos dados. A análise de rede que buscou explorar a relação entre os pares dos indicadores cognitivos e o agrupamento das comunidades apoiou o modelo teórico. Conclui-se que a BAIAD possui evidências de validade e índices de precisão adequados para avaliar a inteligência de adultos. (AU)

The purpose of this study was to analyze the internal structure and the relation of the cognitive abilities evaluated by the Battery of Intellectual Assessment of Adults (BAIAD). The sample consisted of 963 subjects (615 F, 348 M), ages 15-64 years (Median = 21, DP/SD/DS = 8). The BAIAD is composed of seven tests: synonyms, antonyms, analogies, logical thinking, visual spatial thinking, visual-auditory memory and speed of reasoning. Item analysis allowed the reduction of BAIAD and reached the reliability indexes of 0.99. The confirmatory analysis followed the CHC model (crystallized intelligence, fluid intelligence and a general factor -G) and indicated its fit to the data. The network analysis which explored the relationship between the pairs of cognitive indicators and the communities grouping supported the theoretical model. We conclude that BAIAD has validity evidences and adequate reliability to assess adults' intelligence. (AU)

El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la estructura interna y la relación de las habilidades cognitivas evaluadas por la Batería de Evaluación Intelectual de Adultos BAIAD). La muestra fue compuesta por 963 individuos (615 F, 348 M), con edades entre 15-64 años (Mediana = 21, DP/SD/DS = 8). La BAIAD está compuesta de 7 subtests: sinónimos, antónimos, analogías, pensamiento lógico, pensamiento visoespacial, memoria visual auditiva, rápidez de razonamiento.El análisis de ítems permitió la reducción de la BAIAD e índices de precisión de 0,99. El análisis confirmatorio siguió el modelo CHC (inteligencia cristalizada, inteligencia fluída y un factor general-G) e indicó su ajuste a los datos. El análisis de red que buscó explorar la relación entre los pares de indicadores cognitivos, y el agrupamiento de las comunidades, apoyó el modelo teórico. Se concluye que la BAIAD posee evidencias de validez e índices de precisión adecuados para evaluar la inteligencia de adultos. (AU)

Biodiversity and phylogeny of novel Trichoderma isolates from mangrove sediments and potential of biocontrol against Fusarium strains.

BACKGROUND: Studies carried out with novel 13 strains of Trichoderma, isolated from mangrove sediments (PE, Brazil) using morphophysiological and molecular characterization, followed evaluation of biocontrol using Fusarium strains isolated from Caatinga soil (PE, Brazil). Trichoderma strains were characterized by polyphasic taxonomic approach, and the extracted DNA was amplified with primers ITS 1 and 4, and sequenced. The biocontrol evaluation was conducted at 24 and 48 h of growth intervals by Tukey test, with a significance of 5%. Antibiosis tests were assessed in vitro by dual plate and partition plate techniques against Fusarium strains. RESULTS: Trichoderma molecular identification, sequences of 500 bp were amplified, deposited into GenBank, and used for phylogenetic analyses. The strains were identified as T. asperellum (10), as T. harzianum (2) and one as T. longibrachiatum. Growth rate presented an average of 0.1207 cm h-1 for Trichoderma and lower growth rate of 0.031 cm h-1 for Fusarium spp., respectively. Antibiosis tests presented the best antagonist level of efficiency for T. asperellum UCP 0149 against F. solani UCP 1395 (82.2%) and F. solani UCP 1075 (70.0%), followed by T. asperellum UCP 0319 against F. solani UCP1083 (73.4%) and T. asperellum UCP 0168 against F. solani UCP1098 (71.5%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The data obtained in this study as tool for identification of novel Trichoderma strains serve as basis for development of several sustainable use for biotechnological processes. Those Trichoderma strains found promising for the management antagonistic potential and interaction could aid the conduct of biotechnological biocontrol of contaminants, and improve environmental conditions for the health of plants.

Waste Soybean Oil and Corn Steep Liquor as Economic Substrates for Bioemulsifier and Biodiesel Production by Candida lipolytica UCP 0998.

Almost all oleaginous microorganisms are available for biodiesel production, and for the mechanism of oil accumulation, which is what makes a microbial approach economically competitive. This study investigated the potential that the yeast Candida lipolytica UCP0988, in an anamorphous state, has to produce simultaneously a bioemulsifier and to accumulate lipids using inexpensive and alternative substrates. Cultivation was carried out using waste soybean oil and corn steep liquor in accordance with 2² experimental designs with 1% inoculums (107 cells/mL). The bioemulsifier was produced in the cell-free metabolic liquid in the late exponential phase (96 h), at Assay 4 (corn steep liquor 5% and waste soybean oil 8%), with 6.704 UEA, IE24 of 96.66%, and showed an anionic profile. The emulsion formed consisted of compact small and stable droplets (size 0.2-5 µm), stable at all temperatures, at pH 2 and 4, and 2% salinity, and showed an ability to remove 93.74% of diesel oil from sand. The displacement oil (ODA) showed 45.34 cm² of dispersion (central point of the factorial design). The biomass obtained from Assay 4 was able to accumulate lipids of 0.425 g/g biomass (corresponding to 42.5%), which consisted of Palmitic acid (28.4%), Stearic acid (7.7%), Oleic acid (42.8%), Linoleic acid (19.0%), and γ-Linolenic acid (2.1%). The results showed the ability of C. lipopytica to produce both bioemulsifier and biodiesel using the metabolic conversion of waste soybean oil and corn steep liquor, which are economic renewable sources.