Source Of New Products Research Articles

Potential of the Desert Locust Schistocerca gregaria (Orthoptera: Acrididae) as an Unconventional Source of Dietary and Therapeutic Sterols.

Insects are increasingly being recognized not only as a source of food to feed the ever growing world population but also as potential sources of new products and therapeutic agents, among which are sterols. In this study, we sought to profile sterols and their derivatives present in the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria, focusing on those with potential importance as dietary and therapeutic components for humans. Using coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), we analyzed and compared the quantities of sterols in the different sections of the gut and tissues of the locust. In the gut, we identified 34 sterols which showed a patchy distribution, but with the highest composition in the foregut (55%) followed by midgut (31%) and hindgut (14%). Fed ad libitum on wheat seedlings, five sterols unique to the insect were detected. These sterols were identified as 7-dehydrocholesterol, desmosterol, fucosterol, (3β, 5α) cholesta-8, 14, 24-trien-3-ol, 4, 4-dimethyl, and (3β, 20R) cholesta-5, 24-dien-3, 20-diol with the first three having known health benefits in humans. Incubation of the fore-, mid- and hindgut with cholesterol-[4-13C] yielded eight derivatives, three of these were detected in the gut of the desert locust after it had consumed the vegetative diet but were not detected in the diet. Our study shows that the desert locust ingests phytosterols from a vegetative diet and, amplifies and metabolizes them into derivatives with potential salutary benefits and we discuss our findings in this context.

Lost interest for existing compounds: New boosts

Development of new drugs is typically thought of as a bottom-up endeavor where basic science identifies a target, various strategies are used to generate drugs that stimulate or inhibit the target, the drugs are first tested for safety and efficacy in animals and finally efficacy and safety are evaluated in a well defined clinical development process. However, this is not the only way that new drug products are developed. Many new products come from re-initiating development of discontinued drugs, finding new uses for existing drugs, creating a new product by obtaining marketing approval in expanded territories, obtaining approvals for new formulations or a single isomer of a previously approved racemic drug, converting products from prescription to over-the- counter use or converting folk medicines or vitamins to modern pharmaceuticals. Based on this long and successful history of contributions to modern therapeutics, these alternative sources of new products should not be neglected.

A new source for production of ceramic filters

A industrial solid waste from the process of precision casting by lost-wax was used and evaluated for the production of ceramic filters. PU sponges (9.8ppi) impregnated with a stable suspension were successfully fired at 1550°C/2h so that filters well reproduced (9.5ppi), and mechanically stronger (1.0MPa) were obtained. The produced filters tested in industrial scale showed very good performances with good filtering efficiency (1.7kg/s) for liquid cast iron.

Thermophilic fungi as new sources for production of cellulases and xylanases with potential use in sugarcane bagasse saccharification.

To obtain new cellulases and xylanases from thermophilic fungi; evaluate their potential for sugarcane bagasse saccharification. Thirty-two heat-tolerant fungi were isolated from the environment, identified (morphological/molecular tools) and the production of the enzymes was evaluated by solid state fermentation using lignocellulosic materials as substrates. Myceliophthora thermophila JCP 1-4 was the best producer of endoglucanase (357·51Ug(-1) ), β-glucosidase (45·42Ug(-1) ), xylanase (931·11Ug(-1) ) and avicelase (3·58Ug(-1) ). These enzymes were most active at 55-70°C and stable at 30-60°C. Using crude enzymatic extract from M.thermophila JCP 1-4 to saccharify sugarcane bagasse pretreated with microwaves and glycerol, glucose and xylose yields obtained were 15·6 and 35·13% (2·2 and 1·95g l(-1) ), respectively. All isolated fungi have potential to produce the enzymes; M.thermophila JCP 1-4 enzymatic extract have potential to be better explored in saccharification experiments. Pretreatment improved enzymatic saccharification, as sugar yields were much higher than those obtained from in natura bagasse. Myceliophthora thermophila JCP 1-4 produces avicelase (not commonly found among fungi; important to hydrolyse crystalline cellulose) and a β-glucosidase resistant to glucose inhibition, interesting characteristics for saccharification experiments.

Bioprospecting for microbial endophytes and their natural products

Endophytes are microorganisms that reside asymptomatically in internal tissues of all higher plants. There is growing interest amongst the researches about this group of organisms because these are promising sources of biologically active agents. They are potential sources of novel natural products for scope of utilization in the pharmaceutical industry, agriculture, and in environmental applications. Many researches have proven that endophyte in new and potential source of novel natural products for exploitation in modern medicine, agriculture and industry. So far, a great number of novel natural products possessing antimicrobial activities have been isolated from endophytes. It is believed that screening for antimicrobial compounds from endophytes is a promising way to overcome the increasing threat of drug resistant strains of human and plant pathogen. Antimicrobial metabolites isolated from endophytes belong to diverse structural classes, including: alkaloids, peptides, steroids, terpenoids, phenols, quinones, and flavonoids. These would provide the opportunity to utilize endophytes as a new source for production of antibiotics.

Biosurfactant production by Myrciaguianensisendophytic fungi

Surfactants are amphipathic molecules constituted by hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions that usually get distributed on interfaces between fluid phases of different polarities (water/oil and oil/water) [1]. Several compounds with tensoactive properties are synthetized by living organisms (animals, plants and microorganisms), being considered natural surfactants or biosurfactants, which reduce superficial tension and present a significant emulsifying capacity. Endophytic fungi are microorganisms associated to plants, which inhabit, at least during a certain period of time, the interior of vegetal tissues without causing any damage or producing external structures [2]. Plants present a great potential for the obtainment of biologically active compounds. However, there are only a few reports regarding endophytic microorganisms isolated from tropical plants. Among the interesting host species, the genus Myrcia has brought the scientific interest due to the presence of a considerable amount of biologically active compounds for the production of antibiotics and antioxidants [3]. Therefore, this work aimed to verify the production of biosurfactants by endophytic fungi isolated from roots and stems of Myrcia guianensis. The endophytes were isolated previously [4] and maintained on BDA tubes, being activated on this media at 28°C during 5 to 10 days. It was produced a spore suspension (1,0 × 108 spores/mL), which was inoculated in Erlenmeyer flasks containing the liquid media - MgSO4 (0.5 g/L), Na2HPO4 (3.0 g/L), KH2PO4 (1.0 g/L) and yeast extract (1.3 g/L). After autoclaving the media, it was added 0.5 g/L of soybean oil in order to induce the biosurfactant production [5]. The fungi were cultivated in duplicate during 7 days in a shaker at 28°C and 170 rpm. After the experiment, the cultivated media was filtered and the supernatant was used in a quantitative test to determine its emulsifying capacity (E24). Eight endophytic fungi were evaluated for the production of biosurfactants (MgC 3.1.1, MgC 3.3.2, MgRe 1.3.3, MgRe 2.3.1, MgRe 2.1.1, MgRe 1.3.1, and MgC 2.1.2). The results showed that four culture media formed emulsions with kerosene, indicating the production of tensoactive molecules by the isolated fungi. The emulsifying index obtained was 64,93% for MgRe 2.3.1, 69,52% for MgC 3.3.2, 70,0% for MgC 3.1.1 and 75,75% for MgRe 1.3.1. It is worthy to mention that the synthetic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate, used as positive control, presented a emulsifying index of 78,45% at a 1% solution. Hence, it is possible to conclude that the endophytic fungi isolated from Myrcia guianensis were able to produce biosurfactants and that they present a great potential as a source of new products.

Sub- and supercritical fluid technology applied to food waste processing

Food industries produce annually billions of tons of non-edible residues, which can cause pollution, management and economic problems worldwide. Environment damages such as water, soil and air contamination are global concerns, and are the main reason for the development of different strategies to use agricultural and industrial residues as source of new products. To apply the food wastes, environment-friendly processes are recommendable, in which renewable sources are used and the products do not offer environmental risks. Sub- and supercritical fluid technologies can meet such requirements when using green solvents. This review gives an overview of the potential of food residues as raw materials for the production of nutritionally interesting compounds, chemicals and biofuels. Aiming to recover components from food residues, processes in which sub- and supercritical technologies can be used, in single or combined ways, are discussed. Several applications are reported.

Disruptive Innovation … in Reverse: Adding a Geographical Dimension to Disruptive Innovation Theory

Based on a literature review on disruptive innovation and innovation from emerging economies, we offer an interpretation of a subset of reverse innovation within the disruptive innovation theory. We argue that the combination of these two theories provides a useful framework to look at emerging economies as sources of new products and technological solutions. Finally, we provide a new categorization of disruptive innovation considering a geographical dimension and future research directions.

The Economics of CO2 Sequestration Through Enhanced Oil Recovery

In this paper, we provide an overview of the economics of sequestration through CO2-enhanced oil recovery (EOR), at both the micro level of individual EOR projects and the macro level of the oil market as a whole. At the micro level, a key result is that EOR operators incentives to co-optimize oil production and CO2 sequestration are much more sensitive to oil prices than to sequestration subsidies. At the macro level, a key result is that the introduction of EOR may not displace any conventional production at all, though it necessarily will delay the development of some new sources of production. The implication is that, unless EOR projects utilize on average as much CO2 per incremental barrel produced as the CO2 generated when that barrel is consumed, they may not reduce carbon emissions overall.

Mustard stalk and straw: A new source for production of lignocellulolytic enzymes by the fungus Termitomyces clypeatus and as a substrate for saccharification

Agro residue of mustard obtained as mustard stalk and straw (MSS) was investigated for the first time for production of lignocellulolytic enzymes by Termitomyces clypeatus and also for use as substrate for saccharification. MSS with high cellulose and hemicellulose content was utilized as sole source of carbon by the fungus for productions of enzymes such as (CMcase, β-glucosidase, xylanase and β-xylosidase) in submerged fermentation. Production of enzymes were further increased by 2–10 folds on supplementation with common agro-residues such as wheat bran and rice straw (MWR) in 1:1:1 ratio and by using alkali treated MSS (TMSS). The enzymes obtained from MWR and TMSS media could saccharify 10% (w/v) wheat bran up to 53% and 58% in 24h, and xylan up to 52% and 81% in 12h, respectively. MSS was used for saccharification by enzymes of T. clypeatus grown in cellulose media after pretreatment with hot water and NaCl respectively, where extent of saccharification was doubled to 80% by salt treatment as compared to that with hot water. The results indicated that MSS can be used as a potential and cheap renewable raw material from India for production of bio-ethanol.

Traditional healing practice and folk medicines used by Mishing community of North East India.

Assam and Arunachal Pradesh have very rich tradition of herbal medicines used in the treatment of various ailments. Tribal communities practice different types of traditional healing practices. Enough documentation is available on the healing practices in other tribal communities except Mishing community of Assam and foot hill of East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh hence the attempt was made for the same. A survey on folk medicinal plants and folk healers of Mishing tribe was conducted in few places of Lakhimpur and Dhemaji district of Assam and East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, where this ethnic group is living since time immemorial. All information was collected based on interview and field studies with local healers within the community. The identification of medicinal plants collected with help of indigenous healers was done. Such medicines have been shown to have significant healing power, either in their natural state or as the source of new products processed by them. This study is mainly concentrated with plants used to cure diseases and to enquire about different healing systems. Detail note on the method of preparation of precise dose, the part/parts of plants used and method of application is given.

Potency of Biocontrol Agents Isolated from Compost and Peat Soil of Tropical Peat Swamp Forest in Kalampangan Zone, Central Kalimantan

Rhizoctonia solani is a soil pathogen that causes diseases in wide range of hosts of agricultural, horticultural and flower crops. Biological control is the most promising way for the diseases management and it is environment friendly too. The objective of this study was to isolate and screen the potency of soil bacteria as biological control from various local compost and peat soil of tropical peat swamp forest in Kalampangan Zone, Central Kalimantan. Forty seven isolates from peat soil and compost were screened for biocontrol agent of Rhizoctonia solani . R. Solani Seven out of thirteen peat soil isolates, and six out of thirty three compost isolates showed antagonistic activity against in Potato Dextrose Agar. The cultivation of the antagonistic isolates in Trypticase Soy Broth (TSB) was extracted and analysed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column. The HPLC analyzes indicated that the antagonistic isolates produce an antifungal iturin A. Macroscopic observation of isolates colonies showed that form of their colonies were amuboid, myceloid, curled, circular, rhizoid, irregular and filamentous. These achievement indicate peat swamp forest not only offer a potential biocontrol agents of damping off but also provide a new source for production of antibiotics.

Lichtheimia blakesleeana as a New Potencial Producer of Phytase and Xylanase

Brazil is known for its great potential for production of renewable resources such as agro-industrial residues. These residues can be used as alternative sources of new products. Meanwhile, solid-state fermentation, with its advantages of energy conservation and pollution reduction, has been identified as a process of great potential for the production of bioactive compounds, especially enzymes. In the present work, a 23 factorial design was used to evaluate the effects of pH, temperature and moisture on the production of phytase and xylanase by Lichtheimia blakesleeana URM 5604 through the fermentation of citrus pulp. Statistical analyses of the results showed that the only the pH influenced the production of these enzymes, with the best phytase production (264.68 U/g) ocurring at pH 6.0, 34 °C, initial moisture 50%, after 48 hours of culture. The best conditions for xylanase production (397.82 U/g) were fermentation for 120 hours at pH 4.0, 26 °C and initial moisture of 70%. The best parameters for the simultaneous production of phytase (226.92 U/g) and xylanase (215.59 U/g) were determined to be initial moisture of 50%, pH 6.0, 26 °C, and 48 hours of fermentation.

The Variety of Microalgae Applications as a Renewable Resource

AbstractDie biotechnologische Nutzung von Mikroalgen hat in den letzten Jahrzenten erheblich an Bedeutung gewonnen. Mikroalgen werden als eine der vielversprechendsten Quellen neuer Produkte und Anwendungen angesehen. Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es, eine Übersicht über den aktuellen technischen und kommerziellen Stand der Gewinnung von Produkten aus Mikroalgen zu geben. Während Anwendungen im Bereich von Kosmetik und Lebensmittelergänzung seit langem Standard sind, werden neue Massenprodukte für Futter‐ und Lebensmittel, Feinchemikalien und Biokraftstoffe intensiv erforscht. Zur Bedienung der sich abzeichnenden Märkte dieser Mittel‐ und Niedrigpreis‐ Produkte besteht allerdings noch Entwicklungsbedarf für die verbesserte Wirtschaftlichkeit der Mikroalgen‐Biotechnologie.

The structure and silence of the cognotariat

This paper describes the most likely social structure awaiting ‘knowledge workers’ in the knowledge economies of high‐ and medium‐income nations. Commentators from across the political spectrum and in diverse institutional positions have been noting that the source of new products and industries is increasingly ‘cognitive’. They have been concluding from this that knowledge workers are in effect knowledge capitalists who will either own, and/or control, the economy, and will gradually acquire the economic power historically allotted to owners, shareholders and top executives. The paper analyses the discourse of ‘knowledge management’ in conjunction with the structure of higher education’s primary disciplines to argue that in fact knowledge workers are divided into traditional social groups. Only a small ‘creative class’ will achieve control or creative freedom, and they will achieve this largely because of their direct institutional connections to the owners and executives who run the knowledge economy. There are no signs that the current economy is redistributing economic authority in a more egalitarian way, nor are knowledge workers showing signs of political mobilisation against this traditional stratification.

Attributes that influence the evaluation of travel dining experience: When East meets West

Many destination marketers have utilized gastronomy as a source of new products and activities to attract tourists. Despite the substantial rise in the Chinese outbound market, very little is known about how Chinese tourists evaluate their travel dining experiences. By using narrative analysis, this study examines attributes that may affect Chinese tourists' evaluation of their travel dining experiences. On-site participant observation and focus group interviews were conducted, respectively, with Mainland Chinese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong group tourists, while they were on holiday in Australia. A total of 15 attributes were identified, which were classified under the following six categories: tourists' own food culture, the contextual factor of the dining experience, variety and diversity of food, perception of the destination, service encounter, and tour guide's performance. The respective implications of the attributes on travel dining experience are also discussed.

Contents: J. Basic Microbiol. 1/2010

AbstractMicrobiology includes all three domains of life in its research subjects, archaea, bacteria and eukarya. From the eukaryotes, the kingdom of true fungi, the Eumycota, are specifically subjects which can only be investigated by microbiological and molecular genetic techniques. This journal receives and publishes on a regular basis articles dealing with fungi, ascomycetes as well as basidiomycetes, and to a lesser extend also zygomyetes. These organisms differ, in many respects, from the prokaryotic organisms also investigated in microbiology, and therefore warrant specific attention in their own rights. With this Special Issue on “Basic Mycology” we wanted to address the fungi and show their versatility and the basic insights that can be gained from studying these eukaryotic microbes.Fungi create a versatile source of metabolites and enzymes with potential for biotechnological applications. Journal of Basic Microbiology receives, on a regular basis, numerous manuscripts dealing with production of fungal enzymes and metabolites, as well as with fungal biology. Knowing that many of our authors and readers are interested in the fungal laccases, we include here one review which gives insight into the role of lignin modifying enzymes in filamentous basidiomycetes and clarifies the relationships between lignin peroxidases and laccases. For industrial and biotechnological purposes, laccases were, and still are, of major importance, as these fungal oxidoreductases can be used in removal of polyphenols, e.g. in wine and beverages, toxic dyes from waste waters, or in bleaching for paper industry. This is reflected in three original articles in this Special Issue dealing with laccases, which is currently attracting more attention, as the ecological importance of litter degradation is being explored in more detail.Two more papers are dealing with fungal lipases, also showing the ability of fungi for biotechnology. Lipases from microbes also have applications in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. In both cases, aspergilli were used for the applications of basic mechanisms in fungi.Also using Aspergillus as a model, lectins and the production of a compound known from rose oil were investigated. The latter shows, that the isolation of new strains, in this case from within rose tissue, might reveal interesting insights into basic principles.Not an endophytic, but a pathogenic interaction is seen with rust and smut fungi and their plant hosts. A means to determine geographical variation among different strains is shown for Perenospora.A second review article is dealing with the well‐studied model of using different yeasts, in this case to study metal resistance mechanisms. Here, basic insights into chromium resistance are given. Two original papers within this Special Issue relate to this review: one also dealing with heavy metal resistance versus sensitivity, showing involvement of cyclic AMP in this process. The second paper is also using a yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, where the uptake of fluorescently labeled DNA can be visualized.All in all, with articles covering the fungal kingdom with ascomycetes – from unicellular yeasts through aspergilli and Fusarium – over rust and smut fungi to laccase producing basidiomycetes, we hope that we can provide with this Special Issue on “Basic Mycology” an overview over current research on this special clade of microorganisms.The articles included in Special Issue of Mycology originate from different parts of the world: India, China, South‐America and Europe. In Asian countries the emphasis is, not only deduced from the present articles, on identifying fungal species, the products of which (enzymes or metabolites) could and will have practical use. This makes it sometimes difficult to deduce whether the article would fit better into a biotechnological journal. However, fungi have been and will be an extensive source of new products. Therefore, we have and will welcome this type of articles considered as a first step in a process that might lead to large scale applications for a fungal product.The basic sciences, investigating regulation of fungal physiology and morphology, are being at the heart not only of the Special Issue “Basic Mycology”, but generally for the Journal of Basic Microbiology. The topic is becoming better understood by the help of numerous sequenced fungal genomes, and the editors would welcome more basic research on fungal microorganisms. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Plant turnover and productivity growth in Canadian manufacturing

Entry is important because new firms and new plants provide an important source of competition to incumbents. They are a source of new products and technologies. In this paper, we outline the size of the turnover in plants that have entered and exited the Canadian manufacturing sector over each of the last three decades – 1973-79, 1979-88 and 1988-97. We also examine the contribution of plant turnover to labour productivity growth in the manufacturing sector over the three periods. Plant turnover makes a significant contribution to productivity growth as more productive entrants replace exiting plants that are less productive. We also find that a disproportionately large fraction of the contribution of plant turnover to productivity growth is due to multi-plant or foreign-controlled firms closing down and opening up new plants. The plants opened up by multi-plant or foreign-controlled firms are typically much more productive than those opened by single-plant or domestic-controlled ...

Xylo‐Oligosaccharide (XOS) Formation through Hydrothermolysis of Xylan Derived from Viscose Process

AbstractXylo‐oligosaccharides (XOS) have gained growing interest during the past decade owing to their beneficial influence on health. At the same time, a trend to a more effective utilization of biomass and biomass degradation products can be observed. As a consequence, also the steeping‐lye of the viscose process is discussed as a potential source of new products based on xylans, xylooligosaccharides, xylose, and different xylose degradation products, thus being a driving force for the development of appropriate production processes. Therefore, xylan isolated from the steeping‐lye was subjected to hydrothermal degradation for production of xylo‐oligosaccharides (XOS). The experiments were carried out at 120, 150, and 180 °C, respectively. This hydrothermal treatment led to a soluble fraction, consisting of neutral and acidic XOS, and an insoluble residue predominantly made up of highly crystalline cellulose. A mass balance was established to calculate the activation energy for hydrothermal xylan degradation from weight loss kinetics. The degree of polymerization (DP) of the neutral product fraction could be influenced in a wide range by the reaction conditions applied. Acidic XOS were further characterized using mass spectrometry (MS). A 4‐O‐methylglucuronic acid residue α‐(1,3)‐linked to the xylose backbone was detected as a new structural element in alkaline degradation products derived from beech wood xylan.

Valuable products from biotechnology of microalgae.

The biotechnology of microalgae has gained considerable importance in recent decades. Applications range from simple biomass production for food and feed to valuable products for ecological applications. For most of these applications, the market is still developing and the biotechnological use of microalgae will extend into new areas. Considering the enormous biodiversity of microalgae and recent developments in genetic engineering, this group of organisms represents one of the most promising sources for new products and applications. With the development of sophisticated culture and screening techniques, microalgal biotechnology can already meet the high demands of both the food and pharmaceutical industries.