The aim of this study was to establish a sustainable alternative callus culture of Cereus hildmannianus for the production and bioactive determination of phenolic compounds from this species. The ...conventional callus was cultivated using agar and Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium, while for the alternative culture the agar was replaced with a cotton support covered with filter paper and MS medium (incubated at 32 °C with photoperiod of 16 h), and the morphological characteristics and growth index were assessed (8 weeks). Extracts were obtained by maceration followed by partition, characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance - NMR and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography - UHPLC, quantified (phenolic compounds) by UV-Vis methods, and their antioxidant, antitumor activities, as well as cytotoxicity, were evaluated. The establishment of an alternative callus culture was carried out successfully. Characteristic signals of phenolic compounds were determined by NMR, and 46 compounds with fragment ions were identified using UHPLC analysis. The highest concentrations of phenolic compounds, and greatest antioxidant and antitumor activities, were obtained with the dichloromethane fractions of both callus tissue cultures, which were not cytotoxic. The callus culture from C. hildmannianus has shown promise as a source for the sustainable production of phenolic compounds with antioxidant and antiproliferative activities and thus, has potential use as a natural antitumor product.
•Callus culture of Cereus hildmannianus using cotton as support.•Alternative callus culture was successfully established.•Production of phenolic compounds by C. hildmannianus callus culture.•Phenolic profile was determined by spectroscopy and chromatography methods.•Exhibited antitumoral activity and was not cytotoxic to a non-tumor cell line.
•BC was produced by Komagataeibacter rhaeticus bacterium isolated from Kombucha tea.•Sugarcane molasses (SCM) was used as alternative culture medium.•The increase of SCM in culture media led to ...smooth and flexible BC membranes.•The alternative culture medium favors reducing costs and enhancing BC production.
Komagataeibacter rhaeticus, a bacterium isolated from Kombucha tea, was used to produce bacterial cellulose (BC) through its cultivation in a static sugarcane molasses (SCM) supplemented-culture medium (totally or partially), as an alternative carbon source. BC membranes were characterized by different physicochemical analysis using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission gun-scanning electron microscopy (FEG-SEM), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) and PeakForce quantitative nanomechanics atomic force microscopy (PeakForce (QNM-AFM)). FTIR, XRD and TGA results suggest great similarity among all membranes produced by distinct culture media. Although the glucose (F1) and SCM (F6) media presented the lowest BC yield, all SCM-supplemented culture media (from F2 to F5) showed BC yield values similar to the HS culture medium (F0). FEG-SEM analysis showed that as higher SCM concentrations on culture media higher dense nanofibers network could be prepared. Quantitative nanomechanical results obtained by AFM technique corroborate FEG-SEM analysis besides show smoother and more flexible BC membranes as a function of the increasing of the SCM concentrations. The modification of the carbon source of the culture medium with an important by-product of Brazilian agroindustry appears as a viable alternative to reduce cost of BC production (of up to 20.06%) besides increase the possibilities of industrial scale BC preparation.
Microalgal cultivation by small scale aquaculture farmers is limited by the high cost of synthetic culture media. The current study was conducted to investigate use of banana stem compost extract ...(BSCE) as an alternative medium for cultivation of the microalga Chlorella vulgaris. C. vulgaris was batch cultured for 24 days in the laboratory using synthetic Bold Basal Medium (BBM) as a control and BSCE at concentrations of 2%, 5% and 10% (by volume) as the treatments. Algal growth was evaluated by measuring dry cell weight and specific growth rate (SGR) during the experimental period. Chemical composition was analysed following standard analytical methods. Variations in growth trends among culture media were attributed to variations in nutrient concentration and lack of acclimatization period. Some macro- and micronutrients in BSCE-cultivated C. vulgaris were higher than or similar to those observed in BBM-cultivated algae. The macronutrients differed among BSCE treatments. It was concluded that BSCE can be used as the culture medium, providing similar nutritional value and supporting similar growth performance to synthetic media. However, selection of BSCE concentration should be based on macronutrients and take into account the intended use of cultivated microalgae.
Abstract Conventional culture media are expensive owing to their constituents. Thus, several studies have sought to develop and evaluate the efficacy of alternative, low-cost culture media, in most ...cases, using natural and easily accessible raw materials. The present study is a literature review, observing various formulations of culture media based on products of plant origin for the growth of microorganisms and production of microbial compounds of industrial interest. In most formulations, vegetable substrates, such as soy, certain beans, corn, and rice, were used in addition to hortofruticultural products. Compared to conventional media, the alternative culture media often present satisfactory results in terms of microbial growth efficiency and production cost.
The worldwide renowned Slovenian industrial alternative music group Laibach, which was also a member of the multimedia artists’ collective called NSK, has been a subject of many professional ...discussions. This article attempts to analyse Laibach’s conception of a uniform according to the theory of anti-fashion. As one of the most recognizable elements expressing a mythical, totalitarian aura, inseparably linked with the performers’ distant and constrained attitude, Laibach’s uniform can be erroneously comprehended as anti-fashion clothing, expressing fixed and rigid social environments. The analysis of Laibach’s television interview from 1983, in which the band is directly imitating the ruling ideological language, shows that the strategy of over-identification and subversion represent dominant principles of Laibach’s actions, combining them with the retro-method of using symbols and images of various cultural traditions and periods, as seen in their diversity of clothing worn, including the Yugoslav military uniform, miner and hunting uniforms, jeans and shirts, and even fashionable items. With the performative dimension in the ideological ritual and by emphasizing totalitarian tendencies in contemporary society, Laibach endeavours to show that all changeable multiform clothes are uniforms – timeless, universal and deprived of semiological meaning and thus surpasses the distinction of fashion and anti-fashion or fixed and modish costume. Nearly forty years after the establishment of the group, Laibach is conventionally dressed in regular clothes, nevertheless providing a sentiment of wearing a collective’s uniform.
Different designs of the plant tissue culture vessel, such as size, material, and shape, may alter its microenvironment atmosphere. The present study was conducted on protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) of
...Sabin Blue orchid to determine the development of PLBs on plastic and glass culture vessels of different sizes. PLBs were cultured in half-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with the same initial weight of 0.5 g in 10 replicates. The growth index of the PLBs was calculated after 11 weeks to study their growth in every vessel; additionally, biochemical analysis was performed to determine carbohydrate content, proline concentration, and photosynthesis pigments in the PLBs. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed to study stomata development on PLBs in each vessel, and histological analyses were conducted to study the cell structure. Overall, the PLBs cultured in a large 470 ml plastic vessel showed successful growth with a high growth index, high carbohydrate content, low-stress condition, and high chlorophyll content. SEM confirmed that the presence of trichome and rhizoid in PLBs cultured in the 470 ml plastic vessel. Histological analysis showed the formation of the shoot on the PLBs and the presence of starch granules. Thus, the use of plastic as a culture vessel provides a good impact for culturing PLBs and has low cost.
Abstract Two species of Chlorophyceae, Ankistrodesmus gracilis and Haemotococcus pluvialis, were used to compare and evaluate the effect of sugarcane molasses as a carbon source. Highest cell density ...in the two microalgae culture media was obtained in commercial culture media (CHU12 and WC). During exponential growth (day 1 to day 10), high cell density in H. pluvialis was detected for E. crassipes culture medium ranging between 0.4 x 105 cells mL-1 and 1.7 x 105 cells mL-1. Culture media were fundamental for growth under mixotrophic cultivation. Sugarcane molasses showed different results for the two microalgae with regard to growth performance, lipid and protein levels. Rates were high for H. pluvialis except lipid at the end of the experiment. In fact, A. gracilis presented almost double the lipid levels. Sugarcane molasses may be an alternative carbon source in laboratory conditions.
Resumo Duas espécies de Chlorophyceae, Ankistrodesmus gracilis e Haemotococcus pluvialis foram utilizadas para comparar o efeito do melaço de cana-de-açúcar como fonte de carbono. Nos dois meios de cultura de microalgas, a maior densidade celular foi obtida em meio de cultura comercial (CHU12 e WC). Durante o crescimento exponencial (1º ao 10º dia), detectou-se alta densidade celular em H. pluvialis para o meio de cultura E. crassipes variando entre 0,4 x 105 células mL-1 e 1,7 x 105 células mL-1. Os meios de cultura foram fundamentais para o crescimento em cultivo mixotrófico. O melaço de cana-de-açúcar apresentou resultados diferentes para as duas microalgas em relação ao crescimento, aos teores de proteína e lipídio foram mais elevados para o cultivo de H. pluvialis, exceto lipídio no final do experimento onde A. gracilis apresentou quase o dobro dos níveis de lipídio. O melaço de cana de açúcar pode ser uma fonte alternativa de carbono em condições de laboratório.
Microalgae cultivation has been used for treating wastewater from diverse activities. The biomass separation after the treatment is usually a costly step and can be traditionally performed by ...coagulation and flocculation, followed by sedimentation or flotation. Tannin-based coagulants have emerged as an alternative to inorganic coagulants, which could contaminate biomass with metals. This study aimed to evaluate using a tannin-based coagulant to separate the biomass of
Parachlorella kessleri
microalgae cultivated in wastewater from chicken meat thermal processing and compare this methodology with the centrifugation method. Jar tests were carried out to evaluate three different tannin-based coagulants. The obtained biomass was then characterized by protein, lipids, suspended solids (total and volatiles), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The Tanfloc MT coagulant reduced the turbidity and apparent color in the wastewater by 99.76% and 80%, respectively. The biomass obtained using the Tanfloc MT presented 39.21% of crude protein, while the biomass obtained by centrifugation had 28.78%. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed a mass loss of 62.2% for the biomass obtained by the centrifugation method and 76.8% for that obtained with the tannin-based coagulant based. Tannin-based coagulant can be considered a potential alternative to separate
Parachlorella kessleri
microalgae used to treat wastewater from the thermal processing of chicken meat.
Several approaches have shown that the immune response against tumors strongly affects patients’ clinical outcome. Thus, the study of anti-tumor immunity is critical to understand and potentiate the ...mechanisms underlying the elimination of tumor cells. Natural killer (NK) cells are members of innate immunity and represent powerful anti-tumor effectors, able to eliminate tumor cells without a previous sensitization. Thus, the study of their involvement in anti-tumor responses is critical for clinical translation. This analysis has been performed in vitro, co-incubating NK with tumor cells and quantifying the cytotoxic activity of NK cells. In vivo confirmation has been applied to overcome the limits of in vitro testing, however, the innate immunity of mice and humans is different, leading to discrepancies. Different activating receptors on NK cells and counter-ligands on tumor cells are involved in the antitumor response, and innate immunity is strictly dependent on the specific microenvironment where it takes place. Thus, three-dimensional (3D) culture systems, where NK and tumor cells can interact in a tissue-like architecture, have been created. For example, tumor cell spheroids and primary organoids derived from several tumor types, have been used so far to analyze innate immune response, replacing animal models. Herein, we briefly introduce NK cells and analyze and discuss in detail the properties of 3D tumor culture systems and their use for the study of tumor cell interactions with NK cells.
The Slovenian LGBT Film Festival, the oldest film festival concerned with LGBT+ sexualities, life, and art in Europe, has been an important instrument of political and cultural activism in the ...region. It is pivotal to contextualize its history and transformations in relation to state socialism and later democratic transition combined with a rampant increase of nationalist definitions of, and interventions in, sexuality, as well as a surge and transformations of the LGBT+ movement since the 1980s. The start of LGBT+ activism in 1980s was inseparably linked to a surge of Slovenian civil-society movements that have had a key role in subverting the political status quo through cultural activism and making queer bodies visible. Analysing the archives of Slovenian LGBT+ activism and interviews with Suzana Tratnik and Brane Mozetič, two long-time selectors of the Festival, the article focuses on the Slovenian LGBT Film Festival in relation to a unique configuration of political forces, state institutions, transition, contested meanings of the public and the Festival's visitors, as well as direct and subtle violence the Festival has had to deal with within its 36-year history. The article thus documents a marginalized history of transitions and reinventions of LGBT+ activism in Yugoslavia and Slovenia.
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