Effect of selected fungi on the reduction of gossypol levels and nutritional value during solid substrate fermentation of cottonseed meal

The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of six individual strains of fungi on the reduction of gossypol levels and nutritional value during solid substrate fen＇aentation of cottonseed meal （CSM）. Six groups of disinfected CSM substrate were incubated for 48 h after inoculation with either of the fungi C. capsuligena ZD- 1, C. tropicalis ZD-3, S. cerevisae ZD-5, A. terricola ZD-6, A. oryzae ZD-7, or A. niger ZD-8. One not inoculated group （substrate） was used as a control. Levels of initial and final free gossypol （FG）, crude protein （CP）, amino acids （AA） and in vitro digestibility were assayed. The experiment was done in triplicate. The experimental results indicated that microbial fermentation could greatly decrease （P〈0.05） FG levels in CSM. The detoxification efficiency differed between the species of microorganisms applied. From the perspective of reducing CSM potential toxicity, C. tropicalis ZD-3 was most successful followed by S. cerevisae ZD-5 and A. niger ZD-8. They could reduce FG levels of CSM to 29.8, 63.07 and 81.50 mg/kg based on DM （dry matter）, respectively, and their detoxification rates were 94.57%, 88.51% and 85.16%, respectively. If crude protein, amino acids content and their in vitro digestibility were also taken into account, Aniger ZD-8 may be the best choice. The CP content of CSM substrate fermented by C. tropicalis ZD-3 and A. niger ZD-8 were improved by 10.76% and 22.24%; the TAA （total amino acids） contents were increased by 7.06% and 11.46%, and the EAA （essential amino acids） were raised by 7.77% and 12.64%, respectively. Especially, the levels of methionine, lysine and threonine were improved greatly （P〈0.05）. The in vitro CP digestibility of CSM fermented by C. tropicalis ZD-3 and A. niger ZD-8 was improved by 13.42% and 18.22%, the TAA were increased by 17.75% and 22.88%, and the EAA by 16.61% and 21.01%, respectively. In addition, the in vitro digestibility of methionine, lysine and threonine was also improved greatly （P〈0.05）.

Xylanase production by Trichoderma strains in solid substrate fermentation

The importance of microbial enzymes in pulp and paper manufacturing has grown significantly in the last two decades. Solid substrate fermentation (SSF) holds tremendous potential for the production of microbial enzymes of commercial interest. SSF can be of special interest in those processes where the crude fermented product (whole SSF culture, in situ enzyme) may be used directly as the enzyme source. Xylanase preparations practically free of cellulase activity are especially useful for biobleaching of crude cellulose pulps. Thirty-nine Trichoderma isolates have been screened in SSF for xylanase production on hardwood oxygen-delignified soda-aq pulp as carbon source and enzyme inducer. Xylanase activities varied between 0 and 2200 IU/g dry matter (DM) of initial substrate. In most instances, the simultaneously produced cellulase levels were below 1.0 Filter Paper Unit (FPU) /g DM. The xylanase to cellulase activity ratio varied in the range of 5 to 3500. The three most promising isolates (TUB F-1647, TUB F-1658 and TUB F-1684) yielded xylanase activity of 2040, 1300 and 1500 IU/g DM xylanase, respectively, and 0.64, 0.43 and 0.43 FPU/g DM cellulase with a xylanase to cellulase activity ratio of 3200, 3000 and 3500, respectively. Wild strains F-1647, F-1658 and F-1684 were isolated from tree bark of Maldives, soils of Peru (last two), respectively. Medium optimization experiments to enhance the xylanase yield and to increase the xylanase to cellulase ratio have also been performed.

Determination of Trace Titanium by Solid Substrate-Room Temperature Phosphorimetry with 4,5-Dibromophenylfluorone as Luminescent Ligand and Triton X-100 as Sensitizer

A new highly sensitive solid substrate room temperature phosphorimetry for the determination of trace titanium is proposed based on the sensitization of Triton X-100 to the SS-RTP intensity of 4,5-dibromophenylfluorone-titanium complex adsorbed on the filter paper substrate modified by gelatin. When Triton X-100 was added into the luminescence system, the RTP intensity was raised 3 times stronger than that of the system without Triton X-100. The linear dynamic range of the new method is 0 64~3 2 fg/spot(0 4 μL) with a detection limit of 12 8 ag/spot, and the regression equation of the working curve is Δ I p =482 0+119 5 m Ti(Ⅳ) (fg/spot), the correlation coefficient r =0 9992, n =6. The phosphorescence lifetime( τ =0 85 ms) was also determined. The recoveries(and RSD) for the determinations of titanium in human hair and tea samples were 101 0%(3 0%) and 99 97%(4 2%), respectively.

Water Retention Value： A Study Model-based by Asperglillus awamori and Aspergillus oryzae Embrace Three Models of Solid Substrate

The goal of this study was to evaluate the water retention value （WRV） of a test solid substrate and a fungal cell in solid state fermentation （SSF）. WRV is the ratio of the weight of water retained after centrifugation under specific conditions by a wet sample to the oven dry weight of the same sample. SSF refers to the microbial fermentation, which takes place in the absence or near absence of free water, thus being close to the natural environment. Many factors are involved in a successful SSF process. In addition to biological parameters, the SSF process is also dependent on physical factors such as WRV. A centrifugal technique has been modified and applied to the evaluation of WRV. Wheat bran, soybean hulls and rapeseed meal were used as model substrate. Aspergillus awamori and Aspergillus oryzae were used as model microorganism. Results revealed that the ability of wheat bran to retain water in the solid substrate is 56% higher than that of soybean hulls and rapeseed meal. In the term of fungal cell, the ability of A. oryzae to retain water in the cells was higher （73% higher） than that ofA. awamori. In addition, through oven method moisture content loss from A. awamori is 46% higher than that from A. oryzae during drying process. Nevertheless, it can be seen that A. oryzae is able to retain water content about 5 times higher than A. awamori. Through this results, we found that WRV varies depending on solid substrates and microorganisms. This initial information can be beneficial in the SSF process to be carried out.

Interaction of water droplets with pyrolyzing coal particles and tablets

The paper presents the experimental research findings for the patterns of collisions of water droplets with pressed tableted samples used as substrates and with small particles of a pyrolyzing solid fuel.Brown coal samples were used.Droplet-substrate interactions were studied when varying the droplet diameter in the range from 1 to 4 mm and velocity from 0.5 to 4 m/s.That corresponded to the Weber number range of 7-830.The coal tablet surface temperature was varied from 20 to 700℃.In the interactions of water droplets(0.7-1.5 mm in diameter,pre-collision velocity from 1 to 3 m/s)with coal particles(with a size of 0.2-1 mm,pre-collision velocity 0.7-2 m/s),the temperature of the latter was varied in the range of 330-480℃.The following regimes of the interaction of droplets with solid particles during chemical reactions and phase transformations were distinguished:spreading/agglomeration and break-up/separation.Differences in the characteristics of the interaction of water droplets with coal particles at varying temperatures were identified.Droplet-particle interaction regime maps for B(We),We(Oh)and We(Ca)were constructed.The collision regime boundaries were described using fitted curves that can be utilized to develop the existing mathematical models of droplet-particle collisions in gas.It was established that the gaseous volatile production in coal pyrolysis has a modest effect on the regimes and characteristics of the droplet destruction in the temperature range under consideration(20-700℃).